So Bobbie thanked the dwarf for his promise, and bade him good-by. Then old King Eolus puffed out his cheeks and with a mighty breath sent the bubble spinning. Faster and faster it sped through space, and what with going so fast and thinking so hard about the gold the dwarf had promised him, Bobbie never noticed what was happening around him until he heard a hoarse voice shouting, “Off the track! Off the track! Off the track!”
Imagine how shocked he was to see coming toward him a most remarkable person who was all head and no body—though at first glance the long sandy beard that trailed out behind him took the place of a body. But, indeed, he was no gentleman in any sense of the word. He had wicked looking eyes, and as he shouted again he pointed with one of his great ears.
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“Off the track! Off the track! Off the track!” he repeated at the top of his voice.
Now Bobbie could n't see any track, and of course he couldn't have got off of his own accord if he had seen one. This curious person was coming like a fire engine, too, and things certainly seemed in a bad way.
“He's just like those silly geese,” thought Bobbie. “Folks up here in the sky are always telling other folks to get out of the way!”
Now the air was filled with a terrible rushing sound and the curious person was shouting away louder than ever. “Clear the road, clear the road there for the Comet Express!”