ere still in good
condition.

"Eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the birds. They obeyed,
finding the fruit very pleasant to taste. In a few seconds they began
to grow in size and grew so fast that Trot feared they would never
stop. But they finally did stop growing, and then they were much larger
than the Ork, and nearly the size of full-grown ostriches.

Cap'n Bill was much pleased by this result.

"You can carry us now, all right," said he.

The birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased with their immense
size.

"I don't see, though," said Trot doubtfully, "how we're going to ride
on their backs without falling off."

"We're not going to ride on their backs," answered Cap'n Bill. "I'm
going to make swings for us to ride in."

He then asked the Bumpy Man for some rope, but the man had no rope. He
had, however, an old suit of gray clothes which he gladly presented to
Cap'n Bill, who cut the cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was
almost as strong as rope. With this material he attached to each bird a
swing that dangled below its feet, and Button-Bright made a trial
flight in one of them to prove that it was safe and comfortable. When
all this had been arranged one of the birds asked:

"Where do you wish us to take you?"

"Why, just follow the Ork," said Cap'n Bill. "He will be our leader,
and wherever the Ork flies you are to fly, and wherever the Ork lands
you are to land. Is that satisfactory?"

The birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so Cap'n Bill took
counsel with the Ork.

"On our way here," said that peculiar creature, "I noticed a broad,
sandy desert at the left of me, on which was no living thing."

"Then we'd better keep away from it," replied the sailor.

"Not so," insisted the Ork. "I have found, on my travels, that the most
pleasant countries often lie in the midst of deserts; so I think it
would be wise for us to fly over this desert and discover what lies
beyond it. For in the direction we came from lies the ocean, as we well
know, and beyond here is this strange Land of Mo, which we do not care
to explore. On one side, as we can see from this mountain, is a broad
expanse of plain, and on the other the desert. For my part, I vote for
the desert."

"What do you say, Trot?" inquired Cap'n Bill.

"It's all the same to me," she replied.

No one thought of asking Button-Bright's opinion, so it was decided to
fly over the desert. They bade good-bye to the Bum