ight had taken the Book from the Treasure Chamber, and if this
were true it might prove as great a misfortune as if the king had kept
it locked up. For Button-Bright had escaped into the Fog Bank, and
Ghip-Ghisizzle was afraid the boy would never again be seen in the Blue
Country.

He did not tell the Boolooroo of this suspicion, because in that case
the king would realize he was secure and that his deception could never
be proved against him. The Majordomo simply denied taking the Record
Book, and the Boolooroo did not believe he spoke truly. To prevent his
rival from ever becoming the Ruler of the Blue Country, the Boolooroo
determined to have him patched, but for some time he could find no
other Blueskin to patch him with. No one had disobeyed a command or
done anything wrong, so the king was in a quandary until he discovered
that a servant named Tiggle had mixed the royal nectar for Cap'n Bill,
who had been ordered to do it at the time of his capture. This was
sufficient excuse for the Boolooroo, who at once had Tiggle made a
prisoner and brought before him.

This servant was not so long-legged as Ghip-Ghisizzle, and his head was
thicker and his nose flatter. But that pleased the Boolooroo all the
more. He realized that when the great knife had sliced the prisoners in
two and their halves were patched together, they would present a
ridiculous sight and all the Blueskins would laugh at them and avoid
them. So on the very morning that the Pinkies arrived, the Boolooroo
had ordered his two prisoners brought into the room of the palace where
the Great Knife stood, and his soldiers were getting ready to perform
the operation of patching Ghip-Ghisizzle with Tingle when a messenger
came running to say that a great army of the Pinkies had broken through
the Fog Bank.

"Never mind," said the Boolooroo, "I'll attend to them in a minute. I'm
busy now."

"They are marching on the City," said the frightened messenger. "If you
delay, Most High and Mighty One, we shall all be captured. You'd better
save your City first and do your patching afterward."

"What!" roared the Boolooroo. "Dare you dictate to me?" But he was
impressed by the man's logic. After locking the prisoners, who were
still bound, in the Room of the Great Knife, the Ruler hurried away to
assemble his soldiers. By this time the Pinkies had advanced halfway to
the walls of the City, so the first thing the Boolooroo did was to
order all the gates closed and loc