Queen of Sky Island, Page 2

  "Glad to meet you, sir," says Sgt. Rik. "Please excuse me for landing on you."

  "I won't excuse you!" says the Boolooroo. "But I'll punish you. You may depend on that."

  "He said he was sorry, okay?" exclaims Tara. "If you came to our country, and something like this happened we'd treat you politely."

  "Your country?" asks the Boolooroo. "Where in the Sky did you come from?"

  "We live on Earth," answers Tara.

  "Nonsense!" shouts the Boolooroo. "No one can live there. It's a round, cold, barren ball of mud and water."

  Bobo speaks up. "Actually, sir, it's quite nice…apart from this, that, and the other thing."

  "I don't believe you," says the Boolooroo. "I believe you are living in Sky Island, where you have no right to be with your horrid skins. And you've intruded into the private garden of the palace of the Greatly Stately Irately Boolooroo, which is a criminal offense."

  "Look!" says Sgt. Rik firmly. "We apologized. We tried to be friendly. We obviously stumbled into something we didn't know anything about. But give us a moment, we'll sail away again."

  "Sail away?"

  "With the umbrella," says Sgt. Rik.

  The Boolooroo cranes his neck and head toward Bobo holding the umbrella. "Oh, I see!"

  "We have a deal?" asks Sgt. Rik.

  "Fine!" And with that, the Boolooroo steps back.

  Sgt. Rik gets to his feet. "Bobo! Stow the umbrella and help Tara untangle this mess."

  Bobo sets down the umbrella and works with Tara to untangle the cords and wooden seats. Sgt. Rik stands guard between the Boolooroo and Tara and Bobo, as the blue despot eyes the trio closely. Sgt. Rik briefly turns away to make an adjustment to one of his prosthetic legs, and at that moment the Boolooroo moves quickly and picks up the umbrella.

  "Now then!" says the Boolooroo. "You can't get away. You're my prisoners!"

  Sgt. Rik springs forward, grabbing the Boolooroo around the neck. "Drop that umbrella! DROP IT!"

  The umbrella drops to the ground, and Bobo grabs it. Sgt. Rik squeezes the Boolooroo's neck more tightly. "Don't kill him, Sgt. Rik!" cries Bobo. Slowly, Sgt. Rik releases the Boolooroo and shoves him away.

  "Kill me? Why he couldn't do that. Nothing could kill me."

  "No?" asks Sgt. Rik doubtfully.

  The Boolooroo pulls the long curl on the top of his head, and in the distance a bell tinkles. "I haven't lived out my six hundred years yet. Every Blueskin in Sky Island lives exactly six hundred years from the time he is born."

  "Is that a fact?" asks Sgt. Rik mockingly.

  The Boolooroo pulls the bottom of his right ear, and in the distance another bell tinkles. "It's a fact. So you needn't think of trying to kill anybody on Sky Island. It's can't be done."

  "How old are you?" asks Tara.

  The Boolooroo touches the end of his nose, and in the distance another bell tinkles. "That's impertinent! But I will say that every Boolooroo is elected to reign three hundred years, and I've reigned not quite--ahem--two hundred. My successor has already been elected, but he can't reign for a hundred years to come."

  "Tara! Bobo! We're outta here!" orders Sgt. Rik.

  Bobo sits on his wooden seat and opens the umbrella. "Ready!"

  "Move it, Tara!"

  Tara sits on the seat alongside Bobo. Sgt. Rik, keeping a close eye on the Boolooroo, sits on his wooden seat. "Twenty-three skidoo, Mr. Boolooroo."

  Suddenly, a blue cord with a weighted end shoots out from the vegetation and wraps around the umbrella handle. Another blue cord, at the same instant, shoots out and wraps around Bobo, holding his arms immobile to his body. A third cord shoots out and envelops Tara. And, finally, a fourth cord shoots out and ties up Sgt. Rik with the end forming the numeral "23."

  Chapter Four

  Snubnosed Princesses

  Into the Great Hall of the Blue Palace, Bobo, Tara, and Sgt. Rik, each bound by blue cords, are force-marched by Blue Guards, all resembling the Boolooroo in physical shape. Members of the court line both sides of the hall, as the trio advances toward the Boolooroo seated on a blue throne holding the umbrella in his lap. The tyrant holds up his hand to stop the captives from advancing further.

  "Captain of the Guards!" shouts the Boolooroo.

  Captain Ultramarine rushes forward.

  "Take this umbrella and carry it to my Royal Treasury. See that it is safely locked up. Here is the key, and if you don't return it to me within five minutes, I'll have you patched."

  "Yes, most Mighty Flighty Tight and Right Monarch," answers the Captain, and he takes the umbrella and marches out of the Great Hall at the same moment that the Six Snubnosed Princesses enter.

  "Ah, here come the Six Snubnosed Princesses, the most beautiful and aristocratic ladies in Sky Island," says the Boolooroo.

  The Six Snubnosed Princesses walk in step. They are all gorgeously dressed in silken gowns with many puffs and tucks and ruffles and flounces and laces and ribbons, everything being in some shade of blue, grading from light blue to dark blue. Their blue hair is elaborately dressed and comes to a point at the top of their heads. The girls all walk with mincing steps and holding their chins high. Their skirts prevent their long legs from appearing as grotesque as did those of the men, but their necks are so thin and long that the ruffles around them only make them seem the more absurd.

  "Goodness me, your majesty!" says Cerulia. "What queer, dreadful-looking creatures are these? Where in all the Sky did they come from?"

  "They say they came from the Earth," answers their father.

  "That's impossible," responds Turquoise. "Our scientists have proved that the Earth is not inhabited."

  "How did they get to Sky Island?" asks Sapphire.

  "By means of an umbrella, which I have captured and put away in my Treasure Chamber," says the Boolooroo.

  "What will you do with the monsters, papa?" queries Azure.

  "I haven't decided, yet. They're curiosities, you see, and may serve to amuse us. But as they're only half civilized, I shall make them my slaves."

  "What are they good for?" ask Cobalt. "Can they do anything useful?"

  "We'll see. I can't decide in a hurry. If there's anything I hate, it's a hurry."

  "I've an idea, your Majesty," exclaims Indigo. "Let us take the little girl to be our maid--to wait upon us and to amuse us when we're bored. All the ladies of the court will be wild with envy, and if the child doesn't prove of use to us, we can keep her for a living pincushion."

  "Very well!" says the Boolooroo. "It shall be as you desire." He turns to Tara. "I present you to the Six Lovely Snubnosed Princesses, to be their slave. If you are good and obedient, you won't get your ears boxed oftener than once an hour."

  "I'm not anybody's slave," retorts Tara. "And I won't have anything to do with these freaks."

  "How impudent!" exclaims Cerulia.

  "How vulgar!" says Turquoise.

  "How unladylike!" remarks Sapphire.

  "How silly!" snorts Azure.

  "How absurd!" observes Cobalt.

  "How wicked!" whispers Indigo.

  The Princesses all hold up their hands as if horrified.

  "You'll know how to bring her around, I'm sure," says the Boolooroo. "And if the girl isn't obedient, send her to me, and I'll have her patched. Now then, take her away."

  Sgt. Rik steps forward quickly. "Keep us together, your Majesty. If we're to be slaves, don't separate us, but make us all the same."

  "I'll do what pleases me, for there is only one Royal Will in Sky Island, and that's my own."

  The Princesses each take hold of the trailing end of the cord wrapping Tara from the guard.

  "Don't worry, Tara," says Bobo.

  "We'll get you out of this," say Sgt. Rik.

  The Princesses pull Tara out of the Great Hall, as Captain Ultramarine returns. The Boolooroo turns to the remaining captives.

  "Now, then, I will instruct you two in your future duties." He eyes Sgt. Rik saying, "I shall appoint you the Royal
Nectar Mixer, and if you don't mix our nectar properly, I'll have you patched."

  "How do you mix it?" asks the veteran.

  "How should I know? It's not the Boolooroo's place to mix nectar." The despot turns to Captain of the Guards. "Take him to the servants' quarters, Captain Ultramarine." And immediately the Captain leads Sgt. Rik out of the Great Hall.

  The Boolooroo turns to Bobo. "You, slave, shall be the Royal Bootblue. Your duty will be to keep the boots and shoes of the royal family nice and polished with blue." And with that the Boolooroo summons a distinguished member of the court. "Majordomo! Show him where to go."

  Ghip-Ghisizzle, the majordomo of the palace, steps forward.

  "But I don't know how," says Bobo.

  "You'll soon learn, won't you? Or you'll be patched," smirks the Boolooroo.

  Chapter Five

  Patched Men

  Moments later, as he walks alongside Ghip-Ghisizzle through a hallway in the servants' area of the palace, Bobo suddenly stares with mouth agape at a person approaching.

  Jimfred Jonesjinks walks forward and stops. This person appears to be made of two separate men, each cut through the middle and then joined together, half of one to half of the other. One side of his blue hair was curly and the other half straight; one ear was big and stuck out from the side of his head, while the other ear was small and flat; one eye was half shut and twinkling, while the other was big and staring; his nose was thin on one side and flat on the other, while one side of his mouth curled up and the other down. He also limps as he walks because one leg was longer than the other, and one hand was delicate and slender, while the other thick and hardened by use.

  "Don't stare," whispers Ghip-Ghisizzle. "The poor fellow has been patched, that's all."

  "Never mind," says Jimfred Jonesjinks. "It's no disgrace to be patched in a country ruled by such a cruel Boolooroo as we have. Let the boy look at me if he wants to. I'm not pretty, but that's not my fault."

  "I'm glad to meet you, sir," says Bobo. "What's your name, please?"

  "I'm now named Jimfred Jonesjinks, and my partner is called Fredjim Jinksjones. He's busy at present guarding the Treasure Chamber. We've had the misfortune to be patched."

  "What's patched?"

  "They cut two of us in halves and mismatch the halves--half of one to half of the other--and then the other two halves are patched together. It's the worst punishment that can be inflicted on Sky Island."

  "Does it hurt?"

  "No, but it makes one frightfully nervous. They stand you under a big knife, which drops and slices you exactly in two, exactly in the middle. It's a terrible punishment in a country where one can't die or be killed until he has lived his six hundred years."

  "Can't you ever get--get--unpatched?"

  "If the Boolooroo would consent, I think it could be done, but he will never consent. This is about the meanest Boolooroo who ever ruled this land, and he was the first to invent patching people as a punishment. I think we will all be glad when his three hundred years of rule are ended."

  "When will that be?"

  "Hush," whispers Ghip-Ghisizzle. "Follow me."

  Ghip-Ghisizzle continues to lead Bobo along the hallway till they stop at a doorway and turn to look. In the room, Blue Servants surround Sgt. Rik, staring at him, scowling, muttering, and behaving unfriendly. Ghip-Ghisizzle enters the room, and Bobo follows. The majordomo chastises the servants.

  "Get back to work!" he shouts. "These are merely base slaves. They are not to be classed with free royal servants such as yourselves. Go on!"

  The servants disperse and go about their duties. Ghip-Ghisizzle glances from side to side then whispers to Bobo and Sgt. Rik. "My name is Ghip-Ghisizzle. Can you remember it?"

  "I can remember the 'sizzle," says Sgt. Rik.

  "I want you to remember my name, because if you are going to live here you are sure to hear of me a great many times. Can you keep a secret?"

  "I can try," says Bobo.

  "Well, try to keep this one."

  Chapter Six

  Blue City

  Outside of the palace, Ghip-Ghisizzle leads Bobo and Sgt. Rik through a maze of passages that suddenly open into a broad street paved with blue marble and lined with splendid buildings adorned with slender spires and imposing turrets.

  "I'm to be the next Boolooroo of Sky Island," says Ghip-Ghisizzle in a quiet voice.

  "I wish you were the Boolooroo now," remarks Sgt. Rik. "But it seems you've got to wait a hundred years or more before you can take this one's place."

  "There lies all my trouble. I'm quite sure the present Boolooroo has reigned three hundred years next Thursday, but he claims it is only two hundred years, and as he holds the Royal Book of Records under lock and key in the Royal Treasury, there is no way for us to prove he is wrong."

  "How old is the Boolooroo?" inquires Bobo.

  "He was two hundred years old when he was elected. If he has already reigned three hundred years as I suspect, then he is now five hundred years old. He is trying to steal another hundred years of rule so as to remain a tyrant all his life."

  "Why am I not surprised," observes Sgt. Rik.

  "But enough of this. Let's talk of your duties. You must learn them well so as not to be punished. Do you know how to mix Royal Nectar?"

  "If it doesn’t pour straight out of a bottle, no," says Sgt. Rik.

  "The Boolooroo is very particular about his nectar. He has given you this job so he can find fault and have you punished. I'll send Tiggle to the Royal Pantry and keep him there to mix the nectar."

  "Much obliged, Mr. Sizzle," says Sgt. Rik with a slight salute.

  Ghip-Ghisizzle turns to Bobo. "Your job is easier."

  "But I don't know anything about shining boots!" exclaims the boy.

  "You merely blue them with a finely perfumed blue paste. Then shine them neatly and your task is done."

  "Okay."

  "You do your work at evening or early morning, and the rest of the day you are at liberty to do as you please."

  As they walk through Blue City, many of the Blueskin inhabitants stop to gaze at Bobo and Sgt. Rik. A nervous and restless people, their egg-shaped heads, set on long thin necks, seem grotesque. Their bodies are short and round and their legs exceptionally long, so when a Blueskin walks he covers twice the distance of Bobo and Sgt. Rik.

  "Doesn't the sun ever shine?" asks Bobo.

  "Not in the blue part of Sky Island. The moon shines here every night, but we never see the sun. I am told, however, that on the other half of the Island--which I have never seen--the sun shines brightly but there is no moon at all."

  "Is there another half to Sky Island?" probes the boy.

  "Yes, a dreadful place called the Pink Country. I am told everything there is pink instead of blue."

  "Sounds kind of cheerful to me," observes Sgt. Rik.

  "It's a fearful place!"

  "Is Blue Country very big?" Sgt. Rik asks.

  "It is immense. This enormous city extends a half mile in all directions from the center, and the country outside the City is fully a half-mile wide farther in extent."

  "Is the Pink side of Sky Island bigger than the Blue side?" asks Bobo.

  "No, it is supposed to be the same size," replies Ghip-Ghisizzle.

  "Seems to me you could walk across the whole island in an hour," observes Bobo.

  And with that, Ghip-Ghisizzle, Sgt. Rik, and Bobo mount a flight of stone steps that ascend the walls of Blue City.

  "The two parts are separated by an impassable barrier. Between them lies the Great Fog Bank."

  "A fog bank? That's not a barrier," says Sgt. Rik.

  "The Fog Bank is so thick and heavy that it blinds one, and if once you got into the Bank, you might wander forever and not find your way out again."

  From the high walls of the City, Ghip-Ghisizzle, Bobo, and Sgt. Rik look across Blue Country and see the Great Fog Bank in the distance. "Is Pink Country on the other side of it?" asks Bobo.

  "So we
are told in the Book of Records. None of us living knows anything about it, but the Book of Records calls it the 'Sunset Country' and says that at evening the pink shades are drowned by terrible colors of orange and crimson and golden-yellow and red. It must give the poor people who live there dreadful headaches."

  "I'd like to see that Book of Records," say Sgt. Rik.

  "I'd like to see it myself," says Ghip-Ghisizzle, "but no one can lay hands on it because the Boolooroo keeps it safely locked up in his Treasure Chamber."

  "Where's the key to the Treasure Chamber?" asks Bobo.

  "The Boolooroo keeps it in his pocket night and day. He is afraid to let anyone see the Book because it would prove he has already reigned three hundred years next Thursday, and then he would have to resign the throne to me and leave the Palace and live in a common house with his wife and daughters."

  Chapter Seven

  Animal Magnetism

  Tara kneels bound by the blue cord in a reception room outside the individual bedchambers of the Six Snubnosed Princesses. Each of the Princesses lounges on easy chairs and divans. The furnishings are of the utmost splendor, blue-gold and blue gems being profusely used in the decorations, while the divans and chairs are of richly carved bluewood upholstered in blue satins and silks.

  "Slave! Fetch me a mirror," commands Cerulia.

  "Slave! A lock of my hair is loosened. Bind it up," taunts Turquoise.

  "Slave! Unfasten my shoes. They're too tight," shouts Cobalt.

  "Slave! Bring me my box of chocolates," demands Azure.

  "I'm not your slave!" shouts Tara.

  "But you are!" blasts Indigo.

  Tara shakes off the cord that is binding her, and she rises to her feet defiantly. "You are the most disagreeable and horrible people I have ever met."

  "No impertinence," demands Indigo.

  "And you're ugly," says Tara with a final retort.

  Indigo rushes forward, catches Tara by her shoulders, and shakes her violently. Cobalt slaps one side of Tara's face, and Turquoise slaps the other side. Cerulia pushes Tara one way, and Sapphire pushes her the other way. Azure grabs Tara by her hair and sneers, "Now will you obey?"

  Tara, crying out in pain, relents. "Yes."

  "Then go and feed our pets," orders Azure, and she pushes Tara away and points to a chamber door.