Cap'n Bill and Trot rode very comfortably in thesunbonnet. The motion was quite steady, for theyweighed so little that the Ork flew without effort. Yetthey were both somewhat nervous about their futurefate and could not help wishing they were safe onland and their natural size again.

"You're terr'ble small, Trot," remarked Cap'n Bill,looking at his companion.

"Same to you, Cap'n," she said with a laugh; "butas long as we have the purple berries we needn'tworry about our size."

"In a circus," mused the old man, "we'd be curiosities.But in a sunbonnet -- high up in the air -- sailin' over abig, unknown ocean -- they ain't no word in anybooktionary to describe us."

"Why, we're midgets, that's all," said the little girl.The Ork flew silently for a long time. The slight swayingof the sunbonnet made Cap'n Bill drowsy, and he began todoze. Trot, however, was wide awake, and after enduringthe monotonous journey as long as she was able she calledout:

"Don't you see land anywhere, Mr. Ork?"

"Not yet," he answered. "This is a big ocean and I'veno idea in which direction the nearest land to thatisland lies; but if I keep flying in a straight line I'msure to reach some place some time."

That seemed reasonable, so the little people in thesunbonnet remained as patient as possible; that is, Cap'nBill dozed and Trot tried to remember her geographylessons so she could figure out what land they werelikely to arrive at.

For hours and hours the Ork flew steadily, keeping tothe straight line and searching with his eyes the horizonof the ocean for land. Cap'n Bill was fast asleep andsnoring and Trot had laid her head on his shoulder torest it when suddenly the Ork exclaimed:

"There! I've caught a glimpse of land, at last."

At this announcement they roused themselves. Cap'n Billstood up and tried to peek over the edge of thesunbonnet.

"What does it look like?" he inquired.

"Looks like another island," said the Ork; "but I canjudge it better in a minute or two."

"I don't care much for islands, since we visited thatother one," declared Trot.

Soon the Ork made another announcement.

"It is surely an island, and a little one, too," saidhe. "But I won't stop, because I see a much bigger landstraight ahead of it."

"That's right," approved Cap'n Bill. "The bigger theland, the better it will suit us."

"It's almost a continent," continued the Ork after abrief silence, during which he did not decrease the speedof his flight. "I wonder if it can be Orkland, the placeI have been seeking so long?"

"I hope not," whispered Trot to Cap'n Bill -- so softlythat the Ork could not hear her -- "for I shouldn't liketo be in a country where only Orks live. This one Orkisn't a bad companion, but a lot of him wouldn't be muchfun."

After a few more minutes of flying the Ork called outin a sad voice:

"No! this is not my country. It's a place I have neverseen before, although I have wandered far and wide. Itseems to be all mountains and deserts and green valleysand queer cities and lakes and rivers --mixed up in avery puzzling way."

"Most countries are like that," commented Cap'n Bill."Are you going to land?"

"Pretty soon," was the reply. "There is a mountainpeak just ahead of me. What do you say to our landing onthat?"

"All right," agreed the sailor-man, for both he andTrot were getting tired of riding in the sunbonnet andlonged to set foot on solid ground again.

So in a few minutes the Ork slowed down his speed andthen came to a stop so easily that they were scarcelyjarred at all. Then the creature squatted down until thesunbonnet rested on the ground, and began trying tounfasten with its claws the knotted strings.

This proved a very clumsy task, because the stringswere tied at the back of the Ork's neck, just where hisclaws would not easily reach. After much fumbling hesaid:

"I'm afraid I can't let you out, and there is no onenear to help me."

This was at first discouraging, but after a littlethought Cap'n Bill said:

"If you don't mind, Trot, I can cut a slit in yoursunbonnet with my knife."

"Do," she replied. "The slit won't matter, 'cause I cansew it up again afterward, when I am big."

So Cap'n Bill got out his knife, which was just assmall, in proportion, as he was, and after considerabletrouble managed to cut a long slit in the sunbonnet.First he squeezed through the opening himself andthen helped Trot to get out.

When they stood on firm ground again their first actwas to begin eating the dark purple berries which theyhad brought with them. Two of these Trot had guardedcarefully during the long journey, by holding them in herlap, for their safety meant much to the tiny people.

"I'm not very hungry," said the little girl as shehanded a berry to Cap'n Bill, "but hunger doesn't count,in this case. It's like taking medicine to make you well,so we must manage to eat 'em, somehow or other."

But the berries proved quite pleasant to taste and asCap'n Bill and Trot nibbled at their edges their formsbegan to grow in size -- slowly but steadily. The biggerthey grew the easier it was for them to eat the berries,which of course became smaller to them, and by the timethe fruit was eaten our friends had regained theirnatural size.

The little girl was greatly relieved when she foundherself as large as she had ever been, and Cap'n Billshared her satisfaction; for, although they had seen theeffect of the berries on the Ork, they had not been surethe magic fruit would have the same effect on humanbeings, or that the magic would work in any other countrythan that in which the berries grew.

"What shall we do with the other four berries?"asked Trot, as she picked up her sunbonnet, marvelingthat she had ever been small. enough to ride in it."They're no good to us now, are they, Cap'n?"

"I'm not sure as to that," he replied. "If they wereeaten by one who had never eaten the lavender berries,they might have no effect at all; but then, contrarywise,they might. One of 'em has got badly jammed, so I'llthrow it away, but the other three I b'lieve I'll carrywith me. They're magic things, you know, and may comehandy to us some time."

He now searched in his big pockets and drew out a smallwooden box with a sliding cover. The sailor had kept anassortment of nails, of various sizes, in this box, butthose he now dumped loosely into his pocket and in thebox placed the three sound purple berries.

When this important matter was attended to they foundtime to look about them and see what sort of place theOrk had landed them in.