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Chapter One - The Great Whirlpool

Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, as he sat beside Trot under the big acacia tree,

looking out over the blue ocean, "seems to me, Trot, as how the more we

know, the more we find we don't know."

I can't quite make that out, Cap'n Bill," answered the little girl in a serious

voice, after a moment's thought, during which her eyes followed those of the

old sailor-man across the glassy surface of the sea. "Seems to me that all we

learn is jus' so much gained."

I know; it looks that way at first sight," said the sailor, nodding his head; "but

those as knows the least have a habit of thinkin' they know all there is to

know, while them as knows the most admits what a turr'ble big world this is.

It's the knowing ones that realize one lifetime ain't long enough to git more'n a

few dips o' the oars of knowledge."

Trot didn't answer. She was a very little girl, with big, solemn eyes and an

earnest, simple manner. Cap'n Bill had been her faithful companion for years

and had taught her almost everything she knew.

He was a wonderful man, this Cap'n Bill. Not so very old, although his hair

was grizzled--what there was of it. Most of his head was bald as an egg and as

shiny as oilcloth, and this made his big ears stick out in a funny way. His eyes

had a gentle look and were pale blue in color, and his round face was rugged

and bronzed. Cap'n Bill's left leg was missing, from the knee down, and that

was why the sailor no longer sailed the seas. The wooden leg he wore was good

enough to stump around with on land, or even to take Trot out for a row or a

sail on the ocean, but when it came to "runnin' up aloft" or performing active

duties on shipboard, the old sailor was not equal to the task. The loss of his

leg had ruined his career and the old sailor found comfort in devoting himself

to the education and companionship of the little girl.

The accident to Cap'n Bill's leg bad happened at about the time Trot was born,

and ever since that he had lived with Trot's mother as "a star boarder," having

enough money saved up to pay for his weekly "keep." He loved the baby and

often held her on his lap; her first ride was on Cap'n Bill's shoulders, for she

had no baby-carriage; and when she began to toddle around, the child and the

sailor became close comrades and enjoyed many strange adventures together.

It is said the fairies had been present at Trot's birth and had marked her

The Scarecrow of Oz