“Vere,” put in Percy politely.
“Now then, Mr Vere, let us have your story,” said the old soldier, taking a big pinch of snuff. So, with many interruptions from King Fumbo—who seemed to know all about Perhaps City—and many lapses into verse, the Forgetful Poet told of Abrog’s prophecy about the monster, of the strange disappearance of the little Princess and Abrog himself, of his tumble down Maybe Mountain and of his and Dorothy’s adventures since then on the Runaway and Monday Mountain.
“Humph,” grunted the old soldier, when he had finished. “I wouldn’t trust a prophet as far as I could swing a chimney by the smoke. That prophet has run off with her. You can bet your last shoe button on that and, since we are searching for a Princess ourselves, we might as well look for the Princess of Perhaps City. What do you say, my boy?” Grandpa glanced questioningly at Tatters.
“I’ll be glad to help Princess Dorothy and this—this poet, but—” Already Tatters had made up his mind to return with Urtha to Ragbad, regardless of fortunes and Princesses.
“No buts about it,” roared the King’s head indignantly. “She’ll be a splendid match for you, my son, and Peer Haps, from all reports, is one of the merriest monarchs in Oz. Why, I dote on him already!”
“Can’t all this wait till we find the Princess?” protested Percy Vere nervously. “No use rushing matters, you know.” All this talk of marrying rather upset him. Tatters looked gratefully at the Forgetful Poet and decided to forgive him for his rude verse.
“Of course it can wait,” agreed the Prince heartily. “The first thing to do is to rescue the Princess.”
“No, the first thing to do, is to tell us who you are,” laughed Dorothy, who could restrain her curiosity no longer. “Why, we don’t even know your names or how you happened to be in this part of Oz.”
“We followed the directions on the bottle,” explained Bill importantly. “We fell, swum, exploded, sailed and flew!”
“You tell them,” begged Tatters, looking appealingly at the old soldier, for he could see that Bill was going to mix things dreadfully.