Betsy laughed and pulled the watering pot off
from Hank's head. The little mule was angry at the
treatment he had received and backed toward the
Gardener threateningly.
"Look out for his heels!" called Betsy warningly
and the Gardener scrambled to his feet and hastily
hid behind the Roses.
"You are breaking the Law!" he shouted, sticking
out his head to glare at the girl and the mule.
"What Law?" asked Betsy.
"The Law of the Rose Kingdom. No strangers
are allowed in these domains."
"Not when they're shipwrecked?" she inquired.
"The Law doesn't except shipwrecks," replied
the Royal Gardener, and he was about to say
more when suddenly there was a crash of glass
and a man came tumbling through the roof of
the greenhouse and fell plump to the ground.
Chapter Six
Shaggy Seeks his Stray Brother
This sudden arrival was a queer looking man,
dressed all in garments so shaggy that Betsy at
first thought he must be some animal. But the
stranger ended his fall in a sitting position and
then the girl saw it was really a man. He held an
apple in his hand, which he had evidently been
eating when he fell, and so little was he jarred
or flustered by the accident that he continued to
munch this apple as he calmly looked around him.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Betsy, approaching
him. "Who are you, and where did you come from?"
"Me? Oh, I'm Shaggy Man," said he, taking
another bite of the apple. "Just dropped in for a
short call.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37