"Release the prisoners. They are now quite safe, and cannot escape
me."

So the men unwound the long cords that were twined around the bodies
of our three friends, and set them free. These men seemed to be
soldiers, although they bore no arms except the cords. Each cord had
a weight at the end, and when the weight was skillfully thrown by a
soldier, it wound the cord around anything in the twinkling of an
eye and held fast until it was unwound again.

Trot decided these Blueskins must have stolen into the garden when
summoned by the bells the Boolooroo had rung, but they had kept out
of sight and crept up behind the bench on which our friends were
seated until a signal from the king aroused them to action.

The little girl was greatly surprised by the suddenness of her
capture, and so was Button-Bright. Cap'n Bill shook his head and
said he was afeared they'd get into trouble. "Our mistake," he
added, "was in stoppin' to eat our lunch. But it's too late now to
cry over spilt milk."

"I don't mind, not much anyhow," asserted Trot bravely. "We're in no
hurry to get back, are we, Button-Bright?"

"I'm not," said the boy. "If they hadn't taken the umbrella, I
wouldn't care how long we stopped in this funny island. Do you think
it's a fairy country, Trot?"

"Can't say, I'm sure," she answered. "I haven't seen anything here
yet that reminds me of fairies, but Cap'n Bill said a floating