"They have done us no harm," answered Coralie, speaking for her
side, "therefore we should, in honor and justice, do them no harm."
Rosalie nodded. "What arguments have the others advanced?" she
asked.
"They interfere with our color scheme and do not harmonize with our
people," a man of the Sunrise Tribe answered.
Again Rosalie nodded, and Trot thought her eyes twinkled a little.
"I think I now fully comprehend the matter," said she, "and so I
will cast my vote. I favor taking the Earth people to the edge of
the island and casting them into the sky."
For a moment there was perfect silence in the room. All present
realized that this was a decree of death to the strangers. Trot was
greatly surprised at the decision, and for a moment she thought her
heart had stopped beating, for a wave of fear swept over her.
Button-Bright flushed red as a Pinky and then grew very pale. He
crept closer to Trot and took her hand in his own, pressing it to
give the little girl courage. As for Cap'n Bill, he was watching the
smiling face of the Witch in a puzzled but not hopeless way, for he
thought she did not seem wholly in earnest in what she had said.
"The case is decided," announced Tourmaline in a clear, cold voice.
"The three strangers shall be taken at once to the edge of the
island and thrown over the bushes into the sky."
"It's raining hard outside," announced Coralie, who sat near the
door.
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