"Never mind," said the girl; "I'm as wet as a dish rag now, and I'll never get any wetter."
"Wet, wet, wet! It's awful wet, you bet!"
"I'm a fish-pond, I'm a well; I'm a clam without a shell!"
"Not this evening, thank you, sir; To talk and grumble I prefer,"
They walked along more slowly now, still keeping hold of hands; for although they were anxious to get through the Fog Bank they were tired with the long run across the country and with their day's adventures. They had had no sleep and it was a long time past midnight.
"Look out!" cried the parrot, sharply; and they all halted to find a monstrous frog obstructing their path. Cap'n Bill thought it was as big as a whale, and as it squatted on the gray pebbles its eyes were on a level with those of the old sailor.
"Ker-chug, ker-choo!" grunted the frog; "what in the Sky is _this_ crowd?"
"W--we're--strangers," stammered Trot; "an' we're tryin' to 'scape from the Blueskins an' get into the Pink Country."
"I don't blame you," said the frog, in a friendly tone. "I hate those Blueskins. The Pinkies, however, are very decent neighbors."
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that!" cried Button-Bright. "Can you tell us, Mister--Mistress--good Mr. Frog--eh--eh--your Royal Highness--if we're on the right road to the Pink Country?"
The frog seemed to laugh, for he gurgled in his throat in a very funny way.
"I'm no Royal Highness," he said. "I'm just a common frog; and a little wee tiny frog, too. But I hope to grow, in time. This Fog Bank is the Paradise of Frogs and our King is about ten times as big as I am."
"Then he's a big un, an' no mistake," admitted Cap'n Bill. "I'm glad you like your country, but it's a mite too damp for us, an' we'd be glad to get out of it."
"Follow me," said the frog. "I'll lead you to the border. It's only about six jumps."
He turned around, made a mighty leap and disappeared in the gray mist.
Our friends looked at one another in bewilderment.
"Don't see how we can foller that lead," remarked Cap'n Bill; "but we may as well start in the same direction."
The big frog seemed to understand their difficulty, for he kept making noises in his throat to guide them to where he had leaped. When at last they came up to him he made a second jump--out of sight, as before--and when they attempted to follow they found a huge lizard lying across the path. Cap'n Bill thought it must be a giant alligator, at first, it was so big; but he looked at them sleepily and did not seem at all dangerous.