"The Boolooroo has hidden him until tomorrow
morning, when he's to be patched to me. Ghip-Ghisizzle was to have
been my mate, but Ghip escaped, being carried away by the Six
Snubnosed Princesses."
"Why?" she asked.
"One of them means to marry him," explained Tiggle.
"Oh, that's worse than being patched!" cried Trot.
"Much worse," said Tiggle with a groan.
But now an idea occurred to the girl. "Would you like to escape?"
she asked the captive. "If I get you out of the palace, can you hide
yourself so that you won't be found?"
"Certainly!" he declared. "I know a house where I can hide so snugly
that all the Boolooroo's soldiers cannot find me."
"All right," said Trot. "I'll do it, for when you're gone, the
Boolooroo will have no one to patch Cap'n Bill to."
"He may find someone else," suggested the prisoner.
"But it will take him time to do that, and time is all I want,"
answered the child. Even while she spoke, Trot was busy with the
knots in the cords, and presently she had unbound Tiggle, who soon
got upon his feet. "Now I'll go to one end of the passage and make a
noise," said she, "and when the guard runs to see what it is, you
must run the other way. Outside the palace, Jimfred and Fredjim are
on guard, but if you tip over the bench they are seated on, you can
easily escape them."
"I'll do that, all right," promised the delighted Tiggle.
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