THE PINK COUNTRY
CHAPTER 13.
When the travelers could collect their senses and sit up they staredabout them in bewilderment, for the transition from the sticky, damp fogto this brilliant scene was so abrupt as to daze them at first.
It was a Pink Country, indeed. The grass was a soft pink, the trees werepink, all the fences and buildings which they saw in the near distancewere pink--even the gravel in the pretty paths was pink. Many shades ofcolor were there, of course, grading from a faint blush rose to deeppink verging on red, but no other color was visible. In the sky hung apink glow, with rosy clouds floating here and there, and the sun was notsilvery white, as we see it from the Earth, but a distinct pink.
The sun was high in the sky, just now, which proved the adventurers hadbeen a long time in passing through the Fog Bank. But all of them werewonderfully relieved to reach this beautiful country in safety, foraside from the danger that threatened them in the Blue Country, theother side of the island was very depressing. Here the scene thatconfronted them was pretty and homelike, except for the prevailing colorand the fact that all the buildings were round, without a single corneror angle.
Half a mile distant was a large City, its pink tintings glisteningbravely in the pink sunshine, while hundreds of pink banners floatedfrom its numerous domes. The country between the Fog Bank and the Citywas like a vast garden, very carefully kept and as neat as wax.
The parrot was fluttering its wings and pruning its feathers to removethe wet of the fog. Trot and Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were allsoaked to the skin and chilled through, but as they sat upon the pinkgrass they felt the rays of the sun sending them warmth and rapidlydrying their clothes; so, being tired out, they laid themselvescomfortably down and first one and then another fell cosily asleep.
It was the parrot that aroused them.
"Look out--look out-- There's folks about!"
it screamed;
"The apple-dumplings, fat and pink, Will be here quicker than a wink!"
Trot started up in alarm and rubbed her eyes; Cap'n Bill rolled over andblinked, hardly remembering where he was; Button-Bright was on his feetin an instant. Advancing toward them were four of the natives of thePink Country.
Two were men and two were women, and their appearance was in sharpcontrast to that of the Blueskins. For the Pinkies were round andchubby--almost like "apple-dumplings," as the parrot had calledthem--and they were not very tall, the highest of the men being notaller than Trot or Button-Bright. They all had short necks and legs,pink hair and eyes, rosy cheeks and pink complexions, and their faceswere good-natured and jolly in expression.
The men wore picturesque pink clothing and round hats with pink feathersin them, but the apparel of the women was still more gorgeous andstriking. Their dresses consisted of layer after layer of gauzy tucksand ruffles and laces, caught here and there with bows of dainty ribbon.The skirts--which of course were of many shades of pink--were so fluffyand light that they stuck out from the fat bodies of the Pinkie womenlike the skirts of ballet-dancers, displaying their chubby pink anklesand pink kid shoes. They wore rings and necklaces and bracelets andbrooches of rose-gold set with pink gems, and all four of the newarrivals, both men and women, carried sharp-pointed sticks, made ofrosewood, for weapons.
They halted a little way from our adventurers and one of the womenmuttered in a horrified voice: "Blueskins!"
"Guess again! The more you guess I rather think you'll know the less,"
retorted the parrot; and then he added grumblingly in Trot's ear: "Bluefeathers don't make bluebirds."
"Really," said the little girl, standing up and bowing respectfully tothe Pinkies, "we are not Blueskins, although we are wearing the blueuniforms of the Boolooroo and have just escaped from the Blue Country.If you will look closely you will see that our skins are white."
"There is some truth in what she says," remarked one of the men,thoughtfully. "Their skins are not blue, but neither are they white. Tobe exact, I should call the skin of the girl and that of the boy a muddypink, rather faded, while the skin of the gigantic monster with them isan unpleasant brown."
Cap'n Bill looked cross for a minute, for he did not like to be called a"gigantic monster," although he realized he was much larger than thepink people.
"What country did you come from?" asked the woman who had first spoken.
"From the Earth," replied Button-Bright.
"The Earth! The Earth!" they repeated. "That is a country we have neverheard of. Where is it located?"
"Why, down below, somewhere," said the boy, who did not know in whichdirection the Earth lay. "It isn't just one country, but a good manycountries."
"We have three countries in Sky Island," returned the woman. "They arethe Blue Country, the Fog Country and the Pink Country; but of coursethis end of the Island is the most important."
"How came you in the Blue Country, from whence you say you escaped?"asked the man.
"We flew there by means of a Magic Umbrella," explained Button-Bright;"but the wicked Boolooroo stole it from us."
"Stole it! How dreadful," they all cried in a chorus.
"And they made us slaves," said Trot.
"An' wanted fer to patch us," added Cap'n Bill, indignantly.
"So we ran away and passed through the Fog Bank and came here," saidButton-Bright.
The Pinkies turned away and conversed together in low tones. Then one ofthe women came forward and addressed the strangers.
"Your story is the strangest we have ever heard," said she; "and yourpresence here is still more strange and astonishing. So we have decidedto take you to Tourmaline and let her decide what shall be your fate."
"Who is Tourmaline?" inquired Trot, doubtfully, for she didn't like theidea of being "taken" to anyone.
"The Queen of the Pinkies. She is the sole Ruler of our country, so theword of Tourmaline is the Law of the Land."
"Seems to me we've had 'bout enough of kings an' queens," remarked Cap'nBill. "Can't we shy your Tut--Tor--mar-line--or whatever you callher--in some way, an' deal with you direct?"
"No. Until we prove your truth and honor we must regard you as enemiesof our race. If you had a Magic Umbrella you may be magicians andsorcerers, come here to deceive us and perhaps betray us to our naturalenemies, the Blueskins."
"Mud and bricks--fiddlesticks! We don't play such nasty tricks,"
yelled the parrot, angrily, and this caused the Pinkies to shrink backin alarm, for they had never seen a parrot before.
"Surely this is magic!" declared one of the men. "No bird can talkunless inspired by witchcraft."
"Oh, yes; parrots can," said Trot.
But this incident had determined the Pinkies to consider our friendsprisoners and to take them immediately before their Queen.
"Must we fight you?" asked the woman, "or will you come with uspeaceably?"
"We'll go peaceable," answered Cap'n Bill. "You're a-makin' a sadmistake, for we're as harmless as doves; but seein' as you'resuspicious we'd better have it out with your Queen first as last."
Their clothing was quite dry by this time, although much wrinkled anddiscolored by the penetrating fog, so at once they prepared to followthe Pinkies. The two men walked on either side of them, holding thepointed sticks ready to jab them if they attempted to escape, and thetwo women followed in the rear, also armed with sharp sticks.
So the procession moved along the pretty roadways to the City, whichthey soon reached. There was a strong high wall of pink marble around itand they passed through a gate made of pink metal bars and foundthemselves in a most delightful and picturesque town. The houses werebig and substantial, all round in shape, with domed roofs and circularwindows and doorways. In all the place there was but one street--acircular one that started at the gate and wound like a corkscrew towardthe center of the City. It was paved with pink marble and between thestreet and the houses that lined both sides of it were gardens filledwith pink flowers and pink grass lawn
s, which were shaded by pink treesand shrubbery.
As the Queen lived in the very center of the city the captives wereobliged to parade the entire length of this street, and that gave allthe Pink Citizens a chance to have a good look at the strangers. ThePinkies were every one short and fat and gorgeously dressed in pinkattire, and their faces indicated that they were contented and happy.They were much surprised at Cap'n Bill's great size and wooden leg--twovery unusual things in their experience--and the old sailor frightenedmore than one Pinky boy and girl and sent them scampering into thehouses, where they viewed the passing procession from behind the windowshutters, in comparative safety. As for the grown people, many of themgot out their sharp-pointed sticks to use as weapons in case thestrangers attacked them or broke away from their guards. A few, morebold than the others, followed on at the tail of the procession, and sopresently they all reached an open, circular place in the exact centerof the Pink City.