.

Suddenly there was a noise in the corridor and evidence of scuffling
and struggling. Then the door flew open and in came the soldiers
dragging a great blue billygoat, which was desperately striving to get
free.

"Villains!" howled the Boolooroo. "What does this mean?"

"Why, you said to fetch the first living creature we met, and that was
this billygoat," replied the Captain, panting hard as he held fast to
one of the goat's horns.

The Boolooroo stared a moment, and then he fell back to his throne,
laughing boisterously. The idea of patching Cap'n Bill to a goat was
vastly amusing to him, and the more he thought of it the more he roared
with laughter. Some of the soldiers laughed, too, being tickled with
the absurd notion, and the Six Snubnosed Princesses all sat up straight
and permitted themselves to smile contemptuously. This would indeed be
a severe punishment, therefore the Princesses were pleased at the
thought of Cap'n Bill's becoming half a billygoat, and the billygoat's
being half Cap'n Bill.

"They look something alike, you know," suggested the Captain of the
Guards, looking from one to the other doubtfully, "and they're nearly
the same size if you stand the goat on his hind legs. They've both got
the same style of whiskers, and they're both of 'em obstinate and
dangerous, so they ought to make a good patch."

"Splendid! Fine! Glorious!" cried the Boolooroo, wiping the tears of
merriment from his eyes. "We will proceed with the Ceremony of Patching
at once."

Cap'n Bill regarded the billygoat with distinct disfavor, and the
billygoat glared evilly upon Cap'n Bill. Trot was horrified, and wrung
her little hands in sore perplexity, for this was a most horrible fate
that awaited her dear friend.

"First, bind the Earth Man in the frame," commanded the Boolooroo.
"We'll slice him in two before we do the same to the billygoat."

So they seized Cap'n Bill and tied him into the frame so that he
couldn't move a jot in any direction. Then they rolled the frame
underneath the Great Knife and handed the Boolooroo the cord that
released the blade. But while this was going on, Trot had crept up and
fastened one end of her rope to the frame in which Cap'n Bill was
confined. Then she stood back and watched the Boolooroo, and just as he
pulled the cord, she pulled on her rope and dragged the frame on its
rollers away, so that the Great Knife fell with a crash and sliced
nothing but the air.

"Huh!" exclaimed