ruffle around his long neck, and on his breast glittered a
magnificent jewel in the form of a star, set with splendid blue
stones.

If the blue man astonished the travelers, they were no less
surprised by his surroundings, for look where they might, everything
they beheld was of the same blue color as the sky above. They seemed
to have landed in a large garden, surrounded by a high wall of blue
stone. The trees were all blue, the grass was blue, the flowers were
blue, and even the pebbles in the paths were blue. There were many
handsomely carved benches and seats of blue wood scattered about the
garden, and near them stood a fountain made of blue marble, which
shot lovely sprays of blue water into the blue air.

But the angry inhabitants of this blue place would not permit them
to look around them in peace, for as soon as Cap'n Bill rolled off
his toes, he began dancing around in an excited way and saying very
disrespectful things of his visitors. "You brutes! You apes! You
miserable, white-skinned creatures! How dare you come into my garden
and knock me on the head with that awful basket and then fall on my
toes and cause me pain and suffering? How dare you, I say? Don't you
know you will be punished for your impudence? Don't you know the
Boolooroo of the Blues will have revenge? I can have you patched for
this insult, and I will--just as sure as I'm the Royal Boolooroo of
Sky Island!"

"Oh, is this Sky Island, then?" asked Trot.

"Of course it's Sky Island. What else could it be? And I'm its
Ruler, its King, its sole Royal Potentate and Dictator. Behold in