"What are you doing?" asked the boy curiously, as Herby poured several pills from a small bottle into his palm.
"Keeping myself from getting cross," puffed the medicine man, quickly swallowing the pills. "Have some?"
"But we want to get cross this river?" chuckled the little Prince laughing in spite of himself.
"Well, I don't see how we are to do it, Phil." Mournfully the little man returned the pill bottle to his chest and slammed the doors. "That's what was making me cross, and I never allow myself to feel cross," he finished placidly.
"Surely there is some way over." Sitting down on a log, Philador stared thoughtfully at the ground. Both had forgotten the thinking cap which would doubtless have solved the problem in a second. As it was, they wasted nearly ten minutes wondering what to do and would probably have been sitting there yet, had not a sudden rattle from the witch's basket attracted their attention. Peeping in to see whether a squirrel had gotten into the sandwiches, Phil was surprised to see the jumping rope knocking its handles sharply together.
"Hurrah!" shouted the medicine man. "Tattypoo is helping us. Take the rope Phil, and see what happens." Rather uncertainly Philador picked up the rope. Nothing happened at first, then Phil began to revolve it as he had seen the little girls on the Ozure Isles do. At the second skip he flew lightly over the raging river. Herby shouted and waved from the other side so he gaily skipped back.
"It's a good thing I took those pills," cried Herby, shaking his finger at Phil, "otherwise I should have been very cross when you skipped across the river and left me." At Philador's suggestion they each took an end of the rope, then both skipping together jumped the river at one bound.