When she went in she found that both Button-Bright and Cap’n Bill were up and dressed, so they decided to take a walk before breakfast. No one restrained them or interfered with them in any way.
“They know we can’t get away,” observed the sailor, “so they don’t need to watch us.”
“We could go into the Fog Bank again,” suggested Trot.
“We could, mate, but we won’t,” answered Cap’n Bill. “If there’s no way for us to get clean off’n Sky Island, I’d rather stay with the Pinkies than with the Blues.”
“I wonder what they’ll do with us,” said Button-Bright. “The Queen seems like a nice girl and I don’t think she’ll hurt us, whatever happens.”
They walked freely along the circular street, seeing such sights as the Pink City afforded, and then returned to Coralie’s house for breakfast. Coralie herself was not there, as she had been summoned to the Queen’s palace, but her husband looked after the guests and when breakfast was finished he said to them:
“I am to take you to Tourmaline, who has promised to decide your fate this morning. I am curious to know what she will do with you, for in all our history we have never before had strangers intrude upon us.”
“We’re curious, too,” said Trot; “but we’ll soon find out.”
As they walked down the street they observed that the sky was now covered with dark clouds, which entirely hid the sun.
“Does it ever rain here?” inquired Button-Bright.
“Certainly,” answered Coralie’s husband; “that is the one drawback of our country; it rains quite often, and although it makes the flowers and the grass grow I think rain is very disagreeable. I am always glad to see the rainbow, which is a sign that the sun will shine again.”
“Looks like rain now,” remarked Cap’n Bill.
“It does,” said the man, glancing at the sky. “We must hurry, or we may get wet.”
“Haven’t you any umbrellas?” asked Button-Bright.
“No; we don’t know what umbrellas are,” replied the Pinky man.
It did not rain at once and they reached Tourmaline’s wretched hut in safety. There they found quite a number of Pinkies assembled, and a spirited discussion was taking place when they arrived.
“Come in, please,” said Tourmaline, opening the door for them, and when they had entered she placed a pinkwood bench for them to sit upon and went back to her throne, which was a common rocking-chair.
At her right were seated six men and women of the Sunrise Tribe and on her left six men and women of the Sunset Tribe, among the latter being Coralie. The contrast between the plain, simple dress of the Queen and the gorgeous apparel of her Counselors was quite remarkable, yet her beauty far surpassed that of any of her people and her demeanor was so modest and unassuming that it was difficult for the prisoners to believe that her word could decree life or death and that all the others were subservient to her. Tourmaline’s eyes were so deep a shade of pink that they were almost hazel, and her hair was darker than that of the others, being a golden-red in color. These points, taken with her light pink skin and slender form, rendered her distinctive among the Pinkies, whatever gown she might wear.
When the strangers were seated she turned to them and said:
“I have searched through the Great Book of Laws and found nothing about foreign people entering our land. There is a law that if any of the Blueskins break through the Fog Bank they shall be driven back with sharp sticks; but you are not Blueskins, so this Law does not apply to you. Therefore, in order to decide your fate, I have summoned a Council of twelve of my people, who will vote as to whether you shall be permitted to remain here or not. They wanted to see you before they cast their final vote, that they may examine you carefully and discover if you are worthy to become inhabitants of the Pink Country.”
“The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
But Trot is sweeter than the two!”
declared the parrot in a loud voice. It was a little verse Cap’n Bill had taught the bird that very morning, while Trot was seeing the sun rise.
The Pinkies were startled and seemed a little frightened at hearing a bird speak so clearly. Trot laughed and patted the bird’s head in return for the compliment.
“Is the Monster Man whose legs are part wood a dangerous creature?” asked one of the Sunrise Tribe.
“Not to my friends,” replied Cap’n Bill, much amused. “I s’pose I could fight your whole crowd o’ Pinkies, if I had to, an’ make you run for your lives; but bein’ as you’re friendly to us you ain’t in any danger.”
The sailor thought this speech was diplomatic and might “head off any trouble,” but the Pinkies seemed uneasy and several of them picked up their slender, pointed sticks and held them in their hands. They were not cowardly, but it was evident they mistrusted the big man, who on Earth was not considered big at all, but rather undersized.
“What we’d like,” said Trot, “is to stay here, cosy an’ peaceable, till we can find a way to get home to the Earth again. Your country is much nicer than the Blue Country, and we like you pretty well, from what we’ve seen of you; so, if you’ll let us stay, we won’t be any more trouble to you than we can help.”
They all gazed upon the little girl curiously, and one of them said:
“How strangely light her color is! And it is pink, too, which is in her favor. But her eyes are of that dreadful blue tint which prevails in the other half of Sky Island, while her hair is a queer color all unknown to us. She is not like our people and would not harmonize with the universal color here.”
“That’s true,” said another; “the three strangers are all inharmonious. If allowed to remain here they would ruin the color scheme of the country, where all is now pink.”
“In spite of that,” said Coralie, “they are harmless creatures and have done us no wrong.”
“Yes, they have,” replied a nervous little Sunrise man; “they wronged us by coming here.”
“They could not help doing that,” argued Coralie, “and it is their misfortune that they are here on Sky Island at all. Perhaps, if we keep them with us for awhile, they may find a way to return safely to their own country.”
“We’ll fly through the sky by-and-by — ki-yi!” yelled the parrot with startling suddenness.
“It that true?” asked a Pinky, seriously.
“Why, we would if we could,” answered Trot. “We flew to this island, anyhow.”
“Perhaps,” said another, “if we pushed them off the edge they could fly down again. Who knows?”
“We know,” answered Cap’n Bill hastily. “We’d tumble, but we wouldn’t fly.”
“They’d take a fall —
And that is all!”
observed the parrot, fluttering its wings.
There was silence for a moment, while all the Pinkies seemed to think deeply. Then the Queen asked the strangers to step outside while they counseled together. Our friends obeyed, and leaving the room they entered the courtyard and examined the rows of pink marble statues for nearly an hour before they were summoned to return to the little room in Tourmaline’s palace.
“We are now ready to vote as to your fate,” said the pretty Queen to them. “We have decided there are but two things for us to do: either permit you to remain here as honored guests or take you to an edge of the island and throw you over the bushes into the sky.”
They were silent at hearing this dreadful alternative, but the parrot screamed shrilly:
“Oh, what a dump! Oh, what a jump!
Won’t we all thump when we land with a bump?”
“If we do,” said Cap’n Bill, thoughtfully, “we’ll none of us know it.”
Rosalie the Witch
TROT and Button-Bright had now become worried and anxious, for they knew if they were tossed over the edge of the island they would be killed. Cap’n Bill frowned and set his jaws tight together. The old sailor had made up his mind to make a good fight for his boy and girl, as well as for his own life, if
he was obliged to do so.
The twelve Counselors then voted, and when the vote was counted Tourmaline announced that six had voted to allow the strangers to remain and six to toss them over the bushes.
“We seem evenly divided on this matter,” remarked the Queen, with a puzzled look at her Council.
Trot thought the pretty Queen was their friend, so she said:
“Of course you’ll have the deciding vote, then, you being the Ruler.”
“Oh, no,” replied Tourmaline. “Since I have asked these good people to advise me it would be impolite to side against some of them and with the others. That would imply that the judgment of some of my Counselors is wrong, and the judgment of others right. I must ask some one else to cast the deciding vote.”
“Who will it be, then?” inquired Trot. “Can’t I do it? Or Cap’n Bill, or Button-Bright?”
Tourmaline smiled and shook her head, while all the Counselors murmured their protests.
“Let Trot do it
Or you’ll rue it!”
advised the parrot, and then he barked like a dog and made them all jump.
“Let me think a moment,” said the Queen, resting her chin on her hand.
“A Pink can think
As quick’s a wink!”
the parrot declared.
But Tourmaline’s thoughts required time and all her Counselors remained silent and watched her anxiously.
At last she raised her head and said:
“I shall call upon Rosalie the Witch. She is wise and honest and will decide the matter justly.”
The Pinkies seemed to approve this choice, so Tourmaline rose and took a small pink paper parcel from a drawer. In it was a pink powder which she scattered upon the seat of a big armchair. Then she lighted this powder, which at first flashed vivid pink and then filled all the space around the chair with a thick pink cloud of smoke. Presently the smoke cleared away, when they all saw seated within the chair Rosalie the Witch.
This famous woman was much like the other Pinkies in appearance except that she was somewhat taller and not quite so fat as most of the people. Her skin and hair and eyes were all of a rosy pink color and her gown was of spider-web gauze that nicely matched her complexion. She did not seem very old, for her features were smiling and attractive and pleasant to view. She held in her hand a slender staff tipped with a lustrous pink jewel.
All the Pinkies present bowed very respectfully to Rosalie, who returned the salutation with a dignified nod. Then Tourmaline began to explain the presence of the three strangers and the difficulty of deciding what to do with them.
“I have summoned you here that you may cast the deciding vote,” added the Queen. “What shall we do, Rosalie: allow them to remain here as honored guests, or toss them over the bushes into the sky?”
Rosalie, during Tourmaline’s speech, had been attentively examining the faces of the three Earth people. Now she said:
“Before I decide I must see who these strangers are. I will follow their adventures in a vision, to discover if they have told you the truth. And, in order that you may all share my knowledge, you shall see the vision as I see it.”
She then bowed her head and closed her eyes.
“Rock-a-bye, baby, on a tree-top;
Don’t wake her up or the vision will stop,”
muttered the parrot; but no one paid any attention to the noisy bird.
Gradually a pink mist formed in the air about the Witch and in this mist the vision began to appear.
First, there was Button-Bright in the attic of his house, finding the Magic Umbrella. Then his first flight was shown, and afterward his trip across the United States until he landed on the bluff where Trot sat. In rapid succession the scenes shifted and disclosed the trial flights, with Trot and Cap’n Bill as passengers, then the trip to Sky Island and the meeting with the Boolooroo. No sound was heard, but it was easy from the gestures of the actors for the Pinkies to follow all the adventures of the strangers in the Blue Country. Button-Bright was greatly astonished to see in this vision how the Boolooroo had tested the Magic Umbrella and in a fit of rage cast it into a corner underneath the cabinet, with the seats and lunch basket still attached to the handle by means of the rope. The boy now knew why he could not find the umbrella in the Treasure Chamber, and he was provoked to think he had several times been quite close to it without knowing it was there. The last scene ended with the trip through the Fog Bank and the assistance rendered them by the friendly frog. After the three tumbled upon the grass of the Pink Country the vision faded away and Rosalie lifted her head with a smile of triumph at the success of her witchcraft.
“Did you see clearly?” she asked.
“We did, O Wonderful Witch!” they declared.
“Then,” said Rosalie, “there can be no doubt in your minds that these strangers have told you the truth.”
“None at all,” they admitted.
“What arguments are advanced by the six Counselors who voted to allow them to remain here as guests?” inquired the Witch.
“They have done us no harm,” answered Coralie, speaking for her side; “therefore we should, in honor and justice, do them no harm.”
Rosalie nodded. “What arguments have the others advanced?” she asked.
“They interfere with our color scheme, and do not harmonize with our people,” a man of the Sunrise Tribe answered.
Again Rosalie nodded, and Trot thought her eyes twinkled a little.
“I think I now fully comprehend the matter,” said she, “and so I will cast my vote. I favor taking the Earth people to the edge of the island and casting them into the sky.”
For a moment there was perfect silence in the room. All present realized that this was a decree of death to the strangers.
Trot was greatly surprised at the decision and for a moment she thought her heart had stopped beating, for a wave of fear swept over her. Button-Bright flushed red as a Pinky and then grew very pale. He crept closer to Trot and took her hand in his own, pressing it to give the little girl courage. As for Cap’n Bill, he was watching the smiling face of the Witch in a puzzled but not hopeless way, for he thought she did not seem wholly in earnest in what she had said.
“The case is decided,” announced Tourmaline, in a clear, cold voice. “The three strangers shall be taken at once to the edge of the island and thrown over the bushes into the sky.”
“It’s raining hard outside,” announced Coralie, who sat near the door; “why not wait until this shower is over?”
“I have said ‘at once’,” replied the little Queen, with dignity, “and so it must be at once. We are accustomed to rain, so it need not delay us, and when a disagreeable duty is to be performed the sooner it is accomplished the better.”
“May I ask, ma’am,” said Cap’n Bill, addressing the Witch, “why you have decided to murder of us in this cold-blooded way?”
“I did not decide to murder you,” answered Rosalie.
“To throw us off the island will be murder,” declared the sailor.
“Then they cannot throw you off,” the Witch replied.
“The Queen says they will.”
“I know,” said Rosalie; “but I’m quite positive her people can’t do it.”
This statement astonished all the Pinkies, who looked at the Witch inquiringly.
“Why not?” asked Tourmaline.
“It is evident to me,” said the Witch, speaking slowly and distinctly, “that these Earth people are protected in some way by fairies. They may not be aware of this themselves, nor did I see any fairies in my vision. But, if you will think upon it carefully, you will realize that the Magic Umbrella has no power in itself, but is enchanted by fairy powers, so that it is made to fly and to carry passengers through the air by fairies. This being the case, I do not think you will be allowed to injure these favored people in any way; but I am curious to see in what manner the fairies will defend them, and therefore I voted to have them thrown off the island. I bear these
strangers no ill will, nor do I believe they are in any danger. But since you, Tourmaline, have determined to attempt this terrible thing at once, I shall go with you and see what will happen.”
Some of the Pinkies looked pleased and some troubled at this speech, but they all prepared to escort the prisoners to the nearest edge of the island. The rain was pouring down in torrents and umbrellas were unknown; but all of them, both men and women, slipped gossamer raincoats over their clothing which kept the rain from wetting them. Then they caught up their sharp sticks and, surrounding the doomed captives, commanded them to march to meet their fate.
The Arrival of Polychrome
CAP’N BILL had determined to fight desperately for their lives, but he was a shrewd old sailorman and he found much that was reasonable in the Witch’s assertion that fairies would protect them. He had often wondered how the Magic Umbrella could fly and obey spoken commands, but now he plainly saw that the thing must be directed by some invisible power, and that power was quite likely to save them from the cruel death that had been decreed. To be sure, the Magic Umbrella was now in the Blue Country, and the fairies that directed its flight might be with the umbrella instead of with them, yet the old sailor had already experienced some strange adventures in Trot’s company and knew she had managed to escape every danger that had threatened. So he decided not to fight until the last moment, and meekly hobbled along the street, as he was commanded to do. Trot was also encouraged by the Witch’s suggestion, for she believed in fairies and trusted them; but Button-Bright could find no comfort in their situation and his face was very sad as he marched along by Trot’s side.
If they had followed the corkscrew windings of the street it would have been a long journey to the outer edge of the Pink Country, but Tourmaline took a short cut, leading them through private gardens and even through houses, so that they followed almost a bee line to their destination. It rained all the way and the walking was very disagreeable; but our friends were confronting an important crisis in their strange adventures and with possible death at their journey’s end they were in no hurry to arrive there.
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 319