"
"That's queer," said Button-Bright. "What would happen if you didn't
march through the Arch?"
"I do not know, for no one has ever refused to do so. It is the Law,
and we all obey it."
"It saves funeral expenses, anyhow," remarked Cap'n Bill. "Where is
this Arch?"
"Just outside the gates of the City. There is a mountain in the
center of the Blue land, and the entrance to the Great Blue Grotto
is at the foot of the mountain. According to our figures, the
Boolooroo ought to march into this Grotto a hundred years from next
Thursday, but he is trying to steal a hundred years and so perhaps
he won't enter the Arch of Phinis. Therefore, if you will please be
patient for about a hundred years, you will discover what happens to
one who breaks the Law."
"Thank'e," remarked Cap'n Bill. "I don't expect to be very curious a
hundred years from now."
"Nor I," added Button-Bright, laughing at the whimsical speech. "But
I don't see how the Boolooroo is able to fool you all. Can't any of
you remember two or three hundred years back when he first began to
rule?"
"No," said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "that's a long time to remember, and we
Blueskins try to forget all we can, especially whatever is
unpleasant. Those who remember are usually the unhappy ones; only
those able to forget find the most joy in life."
During this conversation they had been walking along the streets of
the Blue City, where many of the Blueskin inhabitants stopped to
gaze wonderingly at the sailor and the boy, whose strange appearance
surprised them.
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