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When Tiggle had escaped, the little girl wandered through the palace in search of Cap'n Bill, but soon decided such a quest in the dark was likely to fail and she must wait until morning. She was tired, too, and thought she would find a vacant room of which there were many in the big palace and go to sleep until daylight.
The man stirred a little and rolled against Trot's knee, when she at once became visible to him. "Oh, it's the Earth child," said he. "Are you condemned to be patched, too, little one?" "No," answered Trot. "Tell me where Cap'n Bill is." "I can't," said Tiggle. "The Boolooroo has hidden him until tomorrow morning, when he's to be patched to me.
"But it will take him time to do that, and time is all I want," answered the child. Even while she spoke, Trot was busy with the knots in the cords, and presently she had unbound Tiggle, who soon got upon his feet. "Now I'll go to one end of the passage and make a noise," said she, "and when the guard runs to see what it is, you must run the other way.
"But you needn't be 'fraid of bein' patched with Tiggle, 'cause I've set him loose. By this time he's in hiding, where he can't be found." "That's good," said Cap'n Bill, nodding approval, "but the blamed ol' Boolooroo's sure to find someone else. What's to be done, mate?" Trot thought about it for a moment.
If he did, there's no need for him to hide any longer, for he is now in no danger." She now dispatched messengers all through the City and the surrounding country, who cried aloud for Tiggle, saying that the new Boolooroo wanted him. Tiggle, hiding in the cellar of a deserted house in a back street, at last heard these cries and joyfully came forth to confront the messengers.
Having heard of the old Boolooroo's downfall and disgrace, the old man consented to go to the palace again, and as soon as Trot saw him she asked about the umbrella. Tiggle thought hard for a minute and then said he remembered sweeping the King's rooms and finding a queer thing that might have been an umbrella lying beneath a cabinet.
"What's become of Tiggle?" he shouted. "Where's Tiggle? Who has released Tiggle? Go at once, you dummies, and find him, or it will go hard with you!" The frightened soldiers hurried away to find Tiggle, and Trot was well pleased because she knew Tiggle was by this time safely hidden.
"I'm willing to be saved, mate," he said, "for the Boolooroo is set on patchin' me right after breakfas', which I hope the cook'll be late with." "Who are you to be patched to?" she asked. "A feller named Tiggle, who's in disgrace 'cause he mixed the royal necktie for me." "That was nectar, not necktie," corrected Trot.
Cap'n Bill won't have anything to do, for I've ordered Tiggle to mix the nectar." "Thank 'e, friend Sizzle," said Cap'n Bill. "Now follow me, and I will take you to your rooms." He led them to the rear of the palace, where he gave them three small rooms on the ground floor, each having a bed in it.
"You see," remarked Jimfred as they seated themselves again upon the bench, "The Boolooroo has ordered the patching to take place tomorrow morning after breakfast. The old Earth man is to be patched to poor Tiggle instead of Ghip-Ghisizzle, who has in some way managed to escape from the Room of the Great Knife no one knows how but Tiggle, and Tiggle won't tell."
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