Then Cap'n Bill did a curious thing. He went to a big tree and, taking out his knife, cut away a big, broad piece of thick bark. Then he sat down on the ground and after taking a roll of stout cord from his pocket—which seemed to be full of all sorts of things—he proceeded to bind the flat piece of bark to the bottom of his good foot, over the leather sole.
"What's that for?" inquired the Wizard.
"I hate to be stumped," replied the sailor-man; "so I'm goin' back to that island."
"And get enchanted again?" exclaimed Trot, with evident disapproval.
"No; this time I'll dodge the magic of the island. I noticed that my wooden leg didn't get stuck, or take root, an' neither did the glass feet of the Glass Cat. It's only a thing that's made of meat—like man an' beasts—that the magic can hold an' root to the ground. Our shoes are leather, an' leather comes from a beast's hide. Our stockin's are wool, an' wool comes from a sheep's back. So, when we walked on the Magic Isle, our feet took root there an' held us fast. But not my wooden leg. So now I'll put a wooden bottom on my other foot an' the magic can't stop me."
"But why do you wish to go back to the island?" asked Dorothy.
"Didn't you see the Magic Flower in the gold flower-pot?" returned Cap'n Bill.
"Of course I saw it, and it's lovely and wonderful."
"Well, Trot an' I set out to get the magic plant for a present to Ozma on her birthday, and I mean to get it an' take it back with us to the Emerald City."
"That would be fine," cried Trot eagerly, "if you think you can do it, and it would be safe to try!"