In the room
where Rosalie's vision had shown them the Magic Umbrella lying under
a cabinet, Trot attempted to find it, for she considered that next
to rescuing Cap'n Bill this was the most important task to
accomplish; but the umbrella had been taken away and was no longer
beneath the cabinet. This was a severe disappointment to the child,
but she reflected that the umbrella was surely someplace in the Blue
city, so there was no need to despair.
Finally, she entered the King's own sleeping chamber and found the
Boolooroo in bed and asleep, with a funny nightcap tied over his
egg-shaped head. As Trot looked at him, she was surprised to see
that he had one foot out of bed and that to his big toe was tied a
cord that led out of the bedchamber into a small dressing room
beyond. Trot slowly followed this cord and in the dressing room came
upon Cap'n Bill, who was lying asleep upon a lounge and snoring with
great vigor. His arms were tied to his body, and his body was tied
fast to the lounge. The wooden leg stuck out into the room at an
angle, and the shoe on his one foot had been removed so that the end
of the cord could be fastened to the sailor's big toe.
This arrangement had been a clever thought of the Boolooroo. Fearing
his important prisoner might escape before he was patched as
Ghip-Ghisizzle had done, the cruel King of the Blues had kept Cap'n
Bill in his private apartments and had tied his own big toe to the
prisoner's big toe, so that if the sailor made any attempt to get
away, he would pull on the cord, and that would arouse the
Boolooroo.
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