"Why, it seems he has mysteriously disappeared,"replied the soldier, shaking his head ominously."Where he has gone to, I can't make out, but I can assure you he is no longer in this castle.I'm sorry, little girl, to disappoint you.Don't blame me; I must obey my master's orders."Now, all her life Trot had been accustomed to depend on Cap'n Bill, so when this good friend was suddenly taken from her she felt very miserable and forlorn indeed.She was brave enough not to cry before the soldier, or even to let him see her grief and anxiety, but after she was turned away from the castle she sought a quiet bench in the garden and for a time sobbed as if her heart would break.
It was Button-Bright who found her, at last, just as the sun had set and the shades of evening were falling.
He also had been turned away from the King's castle, when he tried to enter it, and in the park he came across Trot.
"Never mind," said the boy."We can find a place to sleep.""I want Cap'n Bill," wailed the girl.
"Well, so do I," was the reply."But we haven't got him.Where do you s'pose he is, Trot?
"I don't s'pose anything.He's gone, an' that's all Iknow 'bout it."
Button-Bright sat on the bench beside her and thrust his hands in the pockets of his knickerbockers.Then he reflected somewhat gravely for him.
"Cap'n Bill isn't around here," he said, letting his eyes wander over the dim garden, "so we must go somewhere else if we want to find him.Besides, it's fast getting dark, and if we want to find a place to sleep we must get busy while we can see where to go."He rose from the bench as he said this and Trot also jumped up, drying her eyes on her apron.Then she walked beside him out of the grounds of the King's castle.They did not go by the main path, but passed through an opening in a hedge and found themselves in a small but well-worn roadway.Following this for some distance, along a winding way, they came upon no house or building that would afford them refuge for the night.It became so dark that they could scarcely see their way, and finally Trot stopped and suggested that they camp under a tree.
"All right," said Button-Bright, "I've often found that leaves make a good warm blanket.But -- look there, Trot!
-- isn't that a light flashing over yonder?""It certainly is, Button-Bright.Let's go over and see if it's a house.Whoever lives there couldn't treat us worse than the King did."To reach the light they had to leave the road, so they stumbled over hillocks and brushwood, hand in hand, keeping the tiny speck of light always in sight.
They were rather forlorn little waifs, outcasts in a strange country and forsaken by their only friend and guardian, Cap'n Bill.So they were very glad when finally they reached a small cottage and, looking in through its one window, saw Pon, the gardener's boy, sitting by a fire of twigs.
As Trot opened the door and walked boldly in, Pon sprang up to greet them.They told him of Cap'n Bill's disappearance and how they had been turned out of the King's castle.As they finished the story Pon shook his head sadly.
"King Krewl is plotting mischief, I fear," said he, "for to-day he sent for old Blinkie, the Wicked Witch, and with my own eyes I saw her come from the castle and hobble away toward her hut.She had been with the King and Googly-Goo, and I was afraid they were going to work some enchantment on Gloria so she would no longer love me.But perhaps the witch was only called to the castle to enchant your friend, Cap'n Bill.""Could she do that?" asked Trot, horrified by the suggestion.
"I suppose so, for old Blinkie can do a lot of wicked magical things.""What sort of an enchantment could she put on Cap'n Bill?""I don't know.But he has disappeared, so I'm pretty certain she has done something dreadful to him.But don't worry.If it has happened, it can't be helped, and if it hasn't happened we may be able to find him in the morning."With this Pon went to the cupboard and brought food for them.Trot was far too worried to eat, but Button-Bright made a good supper from the simple food and then lay down before the fire and went to sleep.The little girl and the gardener's boy, however, sat for a long time staring into the fire, busy with their thoughts.But at last Trot, too, became sleepy and Pon gently covered her with the one blanket he possessed.Then he threw more wood on the fire and laid himself down before it, next to Button-Bright.Soon all three were fast asleep.They were in a good deal of trouble; but they were young, and sleep was good to them because for a time it made them forget.
