I must now tell you what happened to Ervic and thethree other Skeezers who were left floating in the ironboat after Queen Coo-ee-oh had been transformed into aDiamond Swan by the magic of the Flathead Su-dic.

The four Skeezers were all young men and their leaderwas Ervic. Coo-ee-oh had taken them with her in theboat to assist her if she captured the Flathead chief,as she hoped to do by means of her silver rope. Theyknew nothing about the witchcraft that moved thesubmarine and so, when left floating upon the lake,were at a loss what to do. The submarine could not besubmerged by them or made to return to the sunkenisland. There were neither oars nor sails in the boat,which was not anchored but drifted quietly upon thesurface of the lake.

The Diamond Swan had no further thought or care forher people. She had sailed over to the other side ofthe lake and all the calls and pleadings of Ervic andhis companions were unheeded by the vain bird. As therewas nothing else for them to do, they sat quietly intheir boat and waited as patiently as they could forsomeone to come to their aid.

The Flatheads had refused to help them and had goneback to their mountain. All the Skeezers wereimprisoned in the Great Dome and could not help eventhemselves. When evening came, they saw the DiamondSwan, still keeping to the opposite shore of the lake,walk out of the water to the sands, shake her diamond-sprinkled feathers, and then disappear among the bushesto seek a resting place for the night.

"I'm hungry," said Ervic.

"I'm cold," said another Skeezer.

"I'm tired," said a third.

"I'm afraid," said the last one of them.

But it did them no good to complain. Night fell andthe moon rose and cast a silvery sheen over the surfaceof the water.

"Go to sleep," said Ervic to his companions. "I'llstay awake and watch, for we may be rescued in someunexpected way.

So the other three laid themselves down in the bottomof the boat and were soon fast asleep.

Ervic watched. He rested himself by leaning over thebow of the boat, his face near to the moonlit water,and thought dreamily of the day's surprising events andwondered what would happen to the prisoners in theGreat Dome.

Suddenly a tiny goldfish popped its head above thesurface of the lake, not more than a foot from hiseyes. A silverfish then raised its head beside that ofthe goldfish, and a moment later a bronzefish liftedits head beside the others. The three fish, all in arow, looked earnestly with their round, bright eyesinto the astonished eyes of Ervic the Skeezer.

"We are the three Adepts whom Queen Coo-ee-ohbetrayed and wickedly transformed," said the goldfish,its voice low and soft but distinctly heard in thestillness of the night.

"I know of our Queen's treacherous deed," repliedErvic, "and I am sorry for your misfortune. Have youbeen in the lake ever since?"

"Yes," was the reply.

"I -- I hope you are well -- and comfortable,"stammered Ervic, not knowing what else to say.

"We knew that some day Ooo-ee-oh would meet with thefate she so richly deserves," declared the bronzefish."We have waited and watched for this time. Now if youwill promise to help us and will be faithful and true,you can aid us in regaining our natural forms, and saveyourself and all your people from the dangers that nowthreaten you."

"Well," said Ervic, "you can depend on my doing thebest I can. But I'm no witch, nor magician, you mustknow."

"All we ask is that you obey our instructions,"returned the silverfish. "We know that you are honestand that you served Coo-ee-oh only because you wereobliged to in order to escape her anger. Do as wecommand and all will be well."

"I promise!" exclaimed the young man. "Tell me what Iam to do first."

"You will find in the bottom of your boat the silvercord which dropped from Coo-ee-oh's hand when she wastransformed," said the goldfish. "Tie one end of thatcord to the bow of your boat and drop the other end tous in the water. Together we will pull your boat to theshore."

Ervic much doubted that the three small fishes couldmove so heavy a boat, but he did as he was told and thefishes all seized their end of the silver cord in theirmouths and headed toward the nearest shore, which wasthe very place where the Flatheads had stood when theyconquered Queen Coo-ee-oh.

At first the boat did not move at all, although thefishes pulled with all their strength. But presentlythe strain began to tell. Very slowly the boat crepttoward the shore, gaining more speed at every moment. Acouple of yards away from the sandy beach the fishesdropped the cord from their mouths and swam to oneside, while the iron boat, being now under way,continued to move until its prow grated upon the sands.

Ervic leaned over the side and said to the fishes:"What next?"

"You will find upon the sand," said the silverfish,"a copper kettle, which the Su-dic forgot when he wentaway. Cleanse it thoroughly in the water of the lake,for it has had poison in it. When it is cleaned, fillit with fresh water and hold it over the side of theboat, so that we three may swim into the kettle. Wewill then instruct you further."

"Do you wish me to catch you, then?" asked Ervic insurprise.

"Yes," was the reply.

So Ervic jumped out of the boat and found the copperkettle. Carrying it a little way down the beach, hewashed it well, scrubbing away every drop of the poisonit had contained with sand from the shore

Then he went back to the boat.

Ervic's comrades were still sound asleep and knewnothing of the three fishes or what strange happeningswere taking place about them. Ervic dipped the kettlein the lake, holding fast to the handle until it wasunder water. The gold and silver and bronze fishespromptly swam into the kettle. The young Skeezer thenlifted it, poured out a little of the water so it wouldnot spill over the edge, and said to the fishes: "Whatnext?"

"Carry the kettle to the shore. Take one hundredsteps to the east, along the edge of the lake, and thenyou will see a path leading through the meadows, uphill and down dale. Follow the path until you come to acottage which is painted a purple color with whitetrimmings. When you stop at the gate of this cottage wewill tell you what to do next. Be careful, above all,not to stumble and spill the water from the kettle, oryou would destroy us and all you have done would be invain."

The goldfish issued these commands and Ervic promisedto be careful and started to obey. He left his sleepingcomrades in the boat, stepping cautiously over theirbodies, and on reaching the shore took exactly onehundred steps to the east. Then he looked for the pathand the moonlight was so bright that he easilydiscovered it, although it was hidden from view by tallweeds until one came full upon it. This path was verynarrow and did not seem to be much used, but it wasquite distinct and Ervic had no difficulty in followingit. He walked through a broad meadow, covered with tallgrass and weeds, up a hill and down into a valley andthen up another hill and down again.

It seemed to Ervic that he had walked miles andmiles. Indeed the moon sank low and day was beginningto dawn when finally he discovered by the roadside apretty little cottage, painted purple with whitetrimmings. It was a lonely place -- no other buildingswere anywhere about and the ground was not tilled atall. No farmer lived here, that was certain. Who wouldcare to dwell in such an isolated place?

But Ervic did not bother his head long with suchquestions. He went up to the gate that led to thecottage, set the copper kettle carefully down andbending over it asked:

"What next?"