So it was decided to go to the North Pole, "For," said Kernel Cob, "I don't think it makes any difference after all. The Magician didn't say which pole it was, so maybe it's just as well." "I say let's go to the North Pole," said Jackie Tar, "and, if we don't find them there, we can very easily try the South Pole next." "Yes," said Kernel Cob, "let's go to all the Poles there are until we find the right one." So they got upon the pigeons' backs, just as a little boy or girl gets on a pony, and one of the pigeons, the one that Sweetclover was on, said to the others: "Let's make a race of it for the first mile." "Good!" squeaked the others, and off they flew at their top speed. [Illustration] CHAPTER XVIII It was a most exciting race, for they were pretty evenly matched in strength and speed, but one of them did win the race, and you will be very glad to know that it was the one on which Sweetclover was riding. "Hurrah!" shouted the Villain, for he was better pleased that she had won than if he had won himself. And they flew all day over Italy and, looking down, they saw people working in the fields and the vineyards, growing rice and grapes and all the fruits that come from Italy, and always they heard the people singing beautiful songs of gladness. "I wonder what makes them so happy?" said the Villain. "It's because it's such a beautiful country, I guess," said Sweetclover. And they flew over the lakes which lie between Italy and Switzerland, and on all sides were mountains, the tops of which are always covered with snow. Soon they came to Switzerland, which is away up in the mountains and very beautiful. People travel from all parts of the world to climb these mountains and to see the wonderful scenery. "Maybe it's here we are to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather," said the Villain, "and not at the North Pole at all." "Oh, I hope so," said Sweetclover. It was getting very cold now, for you know that the higher you go up in the air, the colder it gets. That's why there's snow on the mountain tops. And it began to storm; at first tiny flakes of snow fell, and then faster and thicker till it was snowing very hard, and the pigeons could scarcely see where they were flying. "It seems to me," said the Villain, "that every time I get upon a boat or a bird or anything, it begins to storm." By this time it was really a blizzard and one by one the poor pigeons' wings became so covered with snow they could not fly and fell to the ground and lay on the snow. Of course they fell in different places, and Kernel Cob and Jackie Tar and Sweetclover and the Villain were separated. Each one looked about for the others as best he could and, after much searching about, the Villain found Sweetclover huddled in the snow and very cold indeed. So he pulled off his coat and wrapped it about her shoulders, although she tried her best to prevent him from making such a sacrifice, but he said: