"I'm now named Jimfred Jonesjinks, and my partner is called Fredjim
Jinksjones. He's busy at present guarding the Treasure Chamber, but
I'll introduce you to him when he comes back. We've had the
misfortune to be patched, you know."

"What is being patched?" asked the boy.

"They cut two of us in halves and mismatch the halves--half of one
to half of the other, you know--and then the other two halves are
patched together. It destroys our individuality and makes us complex
creatures, so it's the worst punishment than can be inflicted in Sky
Island."

"Oh," said Button-Bright, alarmed at such dreadful butchery.
"Doesn't it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt," replied Jimfred. "But it makes one
frightfully nervous. They stand you under a big knife, which drops
and slices you neatly in two, exactly in the middle. Then they match
half of you to another person who has likewise been sliced, and
there you are, patched to someone you don't care about and haven't
much interest in. If your half wants to do something, the other half
is likely to want to do something different, and the funny part of
it is you don't quite know which is your half and which is the other
half. It's a terrible punishment, and in a country where one can't
die or be killed until he has lived his six hundred years, to be
patched is a great misfortune."

"I'm sure it is," said Button-Bright earnestly. "But can't you ever
get--get--UNpatched again?"