Gently the raft grated on the sandy beach. ThenBetsy easily waded ashore, the mule followingclosely behind her. The sun was now shining andthe air was warm and laden with the fragrance ofroses.

"I'd like some breakfast, Hank," remarked thegirl, feeling more cheerful now that she was ondry land; "but we can't eat the flowers, althoughthey do smell mighty good."

"Hee-haw!" replied Hank and trotted up a littlepathway to the top of the bank.

Betsy followed and from the eminence lookedaround her. A little way off stood a splendid biggreenhouse, its thousands of crystal panesglittering in the sunlight.

"There ought to be people somewhere 'round,"observed Betsy thoughtfully; "gardeners, orsomebody. Let's go and see, Hank. I'm gettinghungrier ev'ry minute."

So they walked toward the great greenhouse andcame to its entrance without meeting with anyoneat all. A door stood ajar, so Hank went in first,thinking if there was any danger he could back outand warn his companion. But Betsy was close at hisheels and the moment she entered was lost inamazement at the wonderful sight she saw.

The greenhouse was filled with magnificentrosebushes, all growing in big pots. On thecentral stem of each bush bloomed a splendid Rose,gorgeously colored and deliciously fragrant, andin the center of each Rose was the face of alovely girl.

As Betsy and Hank entered, the heads of theRoses were drooping and their eyelids were closedin slumber; but the mule was so amazed that heuttered a loud "Hee-haw!" and at the sound of hisharsh voice the rose leaves fluttered, the Rosesraised their heads and a hundred startled eyeswere instantly fixed upon the intruders.

"I--I beg your pardon!" stammered Betsy,blushing and confused.

"O-o-o-h!" cried the Roses, in a sort of sighingchorus; and one of them added: "What a horridnoise!"

"Why, that was only Hank," said Betsy, and as ifto prove the truth of her words the mule utteredanother loud "Hee-haw!"

At this all the Roses turned on their stems asfar as they were able and trembled as if some onewere shaking their hushes. A dainty Moss Rosegasped: "Dear me! How dreadfully dreadful!"

"It isn't dreadful at all," said Betsy, somewhatindignant. "When you get used to Hank's voice itwill put you to sleep."

The Roses now looked at the mule less fearfullyand one of them asked:

"Is that savage beast named Hank?"

"Yes; Hank's my comrade, faithful and true,answered the girl, twining her arms around thelittle mule's neck and hugging him tight. "Aren'tyou, Hank?"

Hank could only say in reply: "Hee-haw!" and athis bray the Roses shivered again.

"Please go away!" begged one. "Can't you seeyou're frightening us out of a week's growth?"

"Go away!" echoed Betsy. "Why, we've no place togo. We've just been wrecked."

"Wrecked?" asked the Roses in a surprisedchorus.

"Yes; we were on a big ship and the storm cameand wrecked it," explained the girl. "But Hank andI caught hold of a raft and floated ashore to thisplace, and--we're tired and hungry. What countryis this, please?"

"This is the Rose Kingdom," replied the MossRose, haughtily, "and it is devoted to the cultureof the rarest and fairest Roses grown."

"I believe it," said Betsy, admiring the prettyblossoms.

"But only Roses are allowed here," continued adelicate Tea Rose, bending her brows in a frown;"therefore you must go away before the RoyalGardener finds you and casts you back into thesea."

"Oh! Is there a Royal Gardener, then?" inquiredBetsy.

"To be sure.

"And is he a Rose, also?"

"Of course not; he's a man--a wonderful man,"was the reply.

"Well, I'm not afraid of a man," declared thegirl, much relieved, and even as she spoke theRoyal Gardener popped into the greenhouse--aspading fork in one hand and a watering pot in theother.

He was a funny little man, dressed in a rose-colored costume, with ribbons at his knees andelbows, and a bunch of ribbons in his hair. Hiseyes were small and twinkling, his nose sharp andhis face puckered and deeply lined.

"O-ho!" he exclaimed, astonished to findstrangers in his greenhouse, and when Hank gave aloud bray the Gardener threw the watering pot overthe mule's head and danced around with his fork,in such agitation that presently he fell over thehandle of the implement and sprawled at fulllength upon the ground.

Betsy laughed and pulled the watering pot offfrom Hank's head. The little mule was angry at thetreatment he had received and backed toward theGardener threateningly.

"Look out for his heels!" called Betsy warninglyand the Gardener scrambled to his feet and hastilyhid behind the Roses.

"You are breaking the Law!" he shouted, stickingout his head to glare at the girl and the mule.

"What Law?" asked Betsy.

"The Law of the Rose Kingdom. No strangersare allowed in these domains."

"Not when they're shipwrecked?" she inquired.

"The Law doesn't except shipwrecks," repliedthe Royal Gardener, and he was about to saymore when suddenly there was a crash of glassand a man came tumbling through the roof ofthe greenhouse and fell plump to the ground.