All through that terrible night Prince Inga remainedhidden in his tree. In the morning he watched the greatfleet of boats depart for their own country, carryinghis parents and his countrymen with them, as well aseverything of value the Island of Pingaree hadcontained.

Sad, indeed, were the boy's thoughts when the last ofthe boats had become a mere speck in the distance, butInga did not dare leave his perch of safety until allof the craft of the invaders had disappeared beyond thehorizon. Then he came down, very slowly and carefully,for he was weak from hunger and the long and wearywatch, as he had been in the tree for twenty-four hourswithout food.

The sun shone upon the beautiful green isle asbrilliantly as if no ruthless invader had passed andlaid it in ruins. The birds still chirped among thetrees and the butterflies darted from flower to floweras happily as when the land was filled with aprosperous and contented people.

Inga feared that only he was left of all his nation.Perhaps he might be obliged to pass his life therealone. He would not starve, for the sea would give himoysters and fish, and the trees fruit; yet the lifethat confronted him was far from enticing.

The boy's first act was to walk over to where thepalace had stood and search the ruins until he foundsome scraps of food that had been overlooked by theenemy. He sat upon a block of marble and ate of this,and tears filled his eyes as he gazed upon thedesolation around him. But Inga tried to bear upbravely, and having satisfied his hunger he walked overto the well, intending to draw a bucket of drinkingwater.

Fortunately, this well had been overlooked by theinvaders and the bucket was still fastened to the chainthat wound around a stout wooden windlass. Inga tookhold of the crank and began letting the bucket downinto the well, when suddenly he was startled by amuffled voice crying out:

"Be careful, up there!"

The sound and the words seemed to indicate that thevoice came from the bottom of the well, so Inga lookeddown. Nothing could be seen, on account of thedarkness.

"Who are you?" he shouted.

"It's I -- Rinkitink," came the answer, and thedepths of the well echoed: "Tink-i-tink-i-tink!" in aghostly manner.

"Are you in the well?" asked the boy, greatlysurprised.

"Yes, and nearly drowned. I fell in while runningfrom those terrible warriors, and I've been standing inthis damp hole ever since, with my head just above thewater. It's lucky the well was no deeper, for had myhead been under water, instead of above it -- hoo, hoo,hoo, keek, eek! -- under instead of over, you know --why, then I wouldn't be talking to you now! Ha, hoo,hee!" And the well dismally echoed: "Ha, hoo, hee!"which you must imagine was a laugh half merry and halfsad.

"I'm awfully sorry," cried the boy, in answer. "Iwonder you have the heart to laugh at all. But how am Ito get you out?"

"I've been considering that all night," saidRinkitink, "and I believe the best plan will be for youto let down the bucket to me, and I'll hold fast to itwhile you wind up the chain and so draw me to the top."

"I will try to do that," replied Inga, and he let thebucket down very carefully until he heard the King callout:

"I've got it! Now pull me up -- slowly, my boy,slowly -- so I won't rub against the rough sides."

Inga began winding up the chain, but King Rinkitinkwas so fat that he was very heavy and by the time theboy had managed to pull him halfway up the well hisstrength was gone. He clung to the crank as long aspossible, but suddenly it slipped from his grasp andthe next minute he heard Rinkitink fall "plump!" intothe water again.

"That's too bad!" called Inga, in real distress; "butyou were so heavy I couldn't help it."

"Dear me!" gasped the King, from the darkness below,as he spluttered and coughed to get the water out ofhis mouth. "Why didn't you tell me you were going tolet go?"

"I hadn't time," said Inga, sorrowfully.

"Well, I'm not suffering from thirst," declared theKing, "for there's enough water inside me to float allthe boats of Regos and Coregos or at least it feelsthat way. But never mind! So long as I'm not actuallydrowned, what does it matter?"

"What shall we do next?" asked the boy anxiously.

"Call someone to help you," was the reply.

"There is no one on the island but myself," said theboy; "-- excepting you," he added, as an afterthought.

"I'm not on it -- more's the pity! -- but in it,"responded Rinkitink. "Are the warriors all gone?"

"Yes," said Inga, "and they have taken my father andmother, and all our people, to be their slaves," headded, trying in vain to repress a sob.

"So -- so!" said Rinkitink softly; and then he pauseda moment, as if in thought. Finally he said: "There areworse things than slavery, but I never imagined a wellcould be one of them. Tell me, Inga, could you let downsome food to me? I'm nearly starved, and if you couldmanage to send me down some food I'd be well fed --hoo, hoo, heek, keek, eek! -- well fed. Do you see thejoke, Inga?"

"Do not ask me to enjoy a joke just now, YourMajesty," begged Inga in a sad voice; "but if you willbe patient I will try to find something for you toeat."

He ran back to the ruins of the palace and begansearching for bits of food with which to satisfy thehunger of the King, when to his surprise he observedthe goat, Bilbil, wandering among the marble blocks.

"What!" cried Inga. "Didn't the warriors get you,either?"

"If they had," calmly replied Bilbil, "I shouldn't behere."

"But how did you escape?" asked the boy.

"Easily enough. I kept my mouth shut and stayed awayfrom the rascals," said the goat. "I knew that thesoldiers would not care for a skinny old beast like me,for to the eye of a stranger I seem good for nothing.Had they known I could talk, and that my head containedmore wisdom than a hundred of their own noddles, Imight not have escaped so easily."

"Perhaps you are right," said the boy.

"I suppose they got the old man?" carelessly remarkedBilbil.

"What old man?"

"Rinkitink."

"Oh, no! His Majesty is at the bottom of the well,"said Inga, "and I don't know how to get him out again."

"Then let him stay there," suggested the goat.

"That would be cruel. I am sure, Bilbil, that you arefond of the good King, your master, and do not meanwhat you say. Together, let us find some way to savepoor King Rinkitink. He is a very jolly companion, andhas a heart exceedingly kind and gentle."

"Oh, well; the old boy isn't so bad, takenaltogether," admitted Bilbil, speaking in a morefriendly tone. "But his bad jokes and fat laughter tireme dreadfully, at times."

Prince Inga now ran back to the well, the goatfollowing more leisurely.

"Here's Bilbil!" shouted the boy to the King. "Theenemy didn't get him, it seems."

"That's lucky for the enemy," said Rinkitink. "Butit's lucky for me, too, for perhaps the beast canassist me out of this hole. If you can let a rope downthe well, I am sure that you and Bilbil, pullingtogether, will be able to drag me to the earth'ssurface."

"Be patient and we will make the attempt," repliedInga encouragingly, and he ran to search. the ruins fora rope. Presently he found one that had been used bythe warriors in toppling over the towers, which intheir haste they had neglected to remove, and with somedifficulty he untied the knots and carried the rope tothe mouth of the well.

Bilbil had lain down to sleep and the refrain of amerry song came in muffled tones from the well, provingthat Rinkitink was making a patient endeavor to amusehimself.

"I've found a rope!" Inga called down to him; andthen the boy proceeded to make a loop in one end of therope, for the King to put his arms through, and theother end he placed over the drum of the windlass. Henow aroused Bilbil and fastened the rope firmly aroundthe goat's shoulders.

"Are you ready?" asked the boy, leaning over thewell.

"I am," replied the King.

"And I am not," growled the goat, "for I have not yethad my nap out. Old Rinki will be safe enough in thewell until I've slept an hour or two longer."

"But it is damp in the well," protested the boy, "andKing Rinkitink may catch the rheumatism, so that hewill have to ride upon your back wherever he goes."

Hearing this, Bilbil jumped up at once.

"Let's get him out," he said earnestly.

"Hold fast!" shouted Inga to the King. Then he seizedthe rope and helped Bilbil to pull. They soon found thetask more difficult than they had supposed. Once ortwice the King's weight threatened to drag both the boyand the goat into the well, to keep Rinkitink company.But they pulled sturdily, being aware of this danger,and at last the King popped out of the hole and fellsprawling full length upon the ground.

For a time he lay panting and breathing hard to gethis breath back, while Inga and Bilbil were likewiseworn out from their long strain at the rope; so thethree rested quietly upon the grass and looked at oneanother in silence.

Finally Bilbil said to the King: "I'm surprised atyou. Why were you so foolish as to fall down that well?Don't you know it's a dangerous thing to do? You mighthave broken your neck in the fall, or been drowned inthe water."

"Bilbil," replied the King solemnly, "you're a goat.Do you imagine I fell down the well on purpose?"

"I imagine nothing," retorted Bilbil. "I only knowyou were there."

"There? Heh-heh-heek-keek-eek! To be sure I wasthere," laughed Rinkitink. "There in a dark hole, wherethere was no light; there in a watery well, where thewetness soaked me through and through -- keek-eek-eek-eek! -- through and through!"

"How did it happen?" inquired Inga.

"I was running away from the enemy," explained theKing, "and I was carelessly looking over my shoulder atthe same time, to see if they were chasing me. So I didnot see the well, but stepped into it and found myselftumbling down to the bottom. I struck the water veryneatly and began struggling to keep myself fromdrowning, but presently I found that when I stood uponmy feet on the bottom of the well, that my chin wasjust above the water. So I stood still and yelled forhelp; but no one heard me."

"If the warriors had heard you," said Bilbil, "theywould have pulled you out and carried you away to be aslave. Then you would have been obliged to work for aliving, and that would be a new experience."

"Work!" exclaimed Rinkitink. "Me work? Hoo, hoo,heek-keek-eek! How absurd! I'm so stout -- not to saychubby -- not to say fat -- that I can hardly walk, andI couldn't earn my salt at hard work. So I'm glad theenemy did not find me, Bilbil. How many othersescaped?"

"That I do not know," replied the boy, "for Ihave not yet had time to visit the other parts ofthe island. When you have rested and satisfiedyour royal hunger, it might be well for us tolook around and see what the thieving warriorsof Regos and Coregos have left us."

"An excellent idea," declared Rinkitink. "I amsomewhat feeble from my long confinement in the well,but I can ride upon Bilbil's back and we may as wellstart at once."

Hearing this, Bilbil cast a surly glance at hismaster but said nothing, since it was really the goat'sbusiness to carry King Rinkitink wherever he desired togo.

They first searched the ruins of the palace, andwhere the kitchen had once been they found a smallquantity of food that had been half hidden by a blockof marble. This they carefully placed in a sack topreserve it for future use, the little fat King havingfirst eaten as much as he cared for. This consumed sometime, for Rinkitink had been exceedingly hungry andliked to eat in a leisurely manner. When he hadfinished the meal he straddled Bilbil's back and setout to explore the island, Prince Inga walking by hisside.

They found on every hand ruin and desolation. Thehouses of the people had been pilfered of all valuablesand then torn down or burned. Not a boat had been leftupon the shore, nor was there a single person, man orwoman or child, remaining upon the island, savethemselves. The only inhabitants of Pingaree nowconsisted of a fat little King, a boy and a goat.

Even Rinkitink, merry hearted as he was, found ithard to laugh in the face of this mighty disaster. Eventhe goat, contrary to its usual habit, refrained fromsaying anything disagreeable. As for the poor boy whosehome was now a wilderness, the tears came often to hiseyes as he marked the ruin of his dearly loved island.

When, at nightfall, they reached the lower end ofPingaree and found it swept as bare as the rest, Inga'sgrief was almost more than he could bear. Everythinghad been swept from him -- parents, home and country --in so brief a time that his bewilderment was equal tohis sorrow.

Since no house remained standing, in which they mightsleep, the three wanderers crept beneath theoverhanging branches of a cassa tree and curledthemselves up as comfortably as possible. So tired andexhausted were they by the day's anxieties and griefsthat their troubles soon faded into the mists ofdreamland. Beast and King and boy slumbered peacefullytogether until wakened by the singing of the birdswhich greeted the dawn of a new day.