"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the Crescent Moon.
The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand, climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.
"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore! Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily, and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed thankfully back on her raft.
"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go, boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"
"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"
"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."
"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from the cliffs.
"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh, Roger?"
"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging. "Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"