just has to. And it isn't dirty work at all. You don't black the
royal boots and shoes, you merely blue them with a finely perfumed
blue paste. Then you shine them neatly and your task is done. You
will not be humiliated by becoming a bootblack. You'll be a
bootblue."

"Oh," said Button-Bright. "I don't see much difference, but perhaps
it's a little more respectable."

"Yes, the Royal Bootblue is considered a high official in Sky
Island. You do your work at evening or early morning, and the rest
of the day you are at liberty to do as you please."

"It won't last long, Button-Bright," said Cap'n Bill consolingly.
"Somethin's bound to happen pretty soon, you know."

"I think so myself," answered the boy.

"And now," remarked Ghip-Ghisizzle, "since you understand your new
duties, perhaps you'd like to walk out with me and see the Blue City
and the glorious Blue Country of Sky Island."

"We would that!" cried Cap'n Bill promptly.

So they accompanied their new friend through a maze of passages--for
the palace was very big--and then through a high, arched portal into
the streets of the City. So rapid had been their descent when the
umbrella landed them in the royal garden that they had not even
caught a glimpse of the Blue City, so now they gazed with wonder and
interest at the splendid sights that met their eyes.