Now it seems that when Queen Cor fled from her islandto Regos, she had wit enough, although greatly frightened,to make a stop at the royal dairy, which was nearto the bridge, and to drag poor Queen Garee from thebutter-house and across to Regos with her. The warriorsof King Gos had never before seen the terrible QueenCor frightened, and therefore when she came runningacross the bridge of boats, dragging the Queen ofPingaree after her by one arm, the woman's great frighthad the effect of terrifying the waiting warriors.

"Quick!" cried Cor. "Destroy the bridge, or we arelost."

While the men were tearing away the bridge of boatsthe Queen ran up to the palace of Gos, where she mether husband.

"That boy is a wizard!" she gasped. "There is nostanding against him."

"Oh, have you discovered his magic at last?" repliedGos, laughing in her face. "Who, now, is the coward?"

"Don't laugh!" cried Queen Cor. "It is no laughingmatter. Both our islands are as good as conquered, thisvery minute. What shall we do, Gos?"

"Come in," he said, growing serious, "and let us talkit over."

So they went into a room of the palace and talkedlong and earnestly.

"The boy intends to liberate his father and mother,and all the people of Pingaree, and to take them backto their island," said Cor. "He may also destroy ourpalaces and make us his slaves. I can see but one way,Gos, to prevent him from doing all this, and whateverelse he pleases to do."

"What way is that?" asked King Gos.

"We must take the boy's parents away from here asquickly as possible. I have with me the Queen ofPingaree, and you can run up to the mines and get theKing. Then we will carry them away in a boat and hidethem where the boy cannot find them, with all hismagic. We will use the King and Queen of Pingaree ashostages, and send word to the boy wizard that if hedoes not go away from our islands and allow us to rulethem undisturbed, in our own way, we will put hisfather and mother to death. Also we will say that aslong as we are let alone his parents will be safe,although still safely hidden. I believe, Gos, that inthis way we can compel Prince Ingato obey us, for heseems very fond of his parents."

"It isn't a bad idea," said Gos, reflectively; "butwhere can we hide the King and Queen, so that the boycannot find them?"

"In the country of the Nome King, on the mainlandaway at the south," she replied. "The nomes are ourfriends, and they possess magic powers that will enablethem to protect the prisoners from discovery. If we canmanage to get the King and Queen of Pingaree to theNome Kingdom before the boy knows what we are doing, Iam sure our plot will succeed."

Gos gave the plan considerable thought in the nextfive minutes, and the more he thought about it the moreclever and reasonable it seemed. So he agreed to do asQueen Cor suggested and at once hurried away to themines, where he arrived before Prince Inga did. Thenext morning he carried King Kitticut back to Regos.

While Gos was gone, Queen Cor busied herself inpreparing a large and swift boat for the journey. Sheplaced in it several bags of gold and jewels with whichto bribe the nomes, and selected forty of the strongestoarsmen in Regos to row the boat. The instant King Gosreturned with his royal prisoner all was ready fordeparture. They quickly entered the boat with their twoimportant captives and without a word of explanation toany of their people they commanded the oarsmen tostart, and were soon out of sight upon the broadexpanse of the Nonestic Ocean.

Inga arrived at the city some hours later and wasmuch distressed when he learned that his father andmother had been spirited away from the islands.

"I shall follow them, of course," said the boy toRinkitink, "and if I cannot overtake them on the oceanI will search the world over until I find them. Butbefore I leave here I must arrange to send our peopleback to Pingaree."