Chapter iwenty-Tw

on the right track again, and there is nothing more to worry about."
"It 's a foolish thing to take chances in a strange country," observed the Shaggy Man. "Had we kept to the roads we
never v/ould have been lost. Roads always leads to some place, else they would n't be roads."
"This road," added the Wizard, "leads to Rigmarole Town. I 'm sure of that because I enchanted the wagon wheels."
Sure enough, after riding along the road for an hour or two they entered a pretty valley where a village was nestled
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among the hills. The houses were Munchkin shaped, for they were all domes, with windows wider than they were high, and pretty balconies over the front doors.
Aunt Em was greatly relieved to find this town "neither paper nor patch-work," and the only surprising thing about it was that it was so far distant from all other towns.
As the Sawhorse drew the wagon into the main street the travelers noticed that the place was filled with people, stand- ing in groups and seeming to be engaged in earnest conversa- tion. So occupied with themselves were the inhabitants that they scarcely noticed the strangers at all. So the Wizard stopped a boy and asked:
"Is this Rigmarole Town?"
"Sir," replied the boy, "if you nave traveled very much you will have noticed that every town differs from every other town in one way or another and so by observing the methods of the people and the way they live as well as the style of their dwelling places it ought not to be a difficult thing to make up your mind without the trouble of asking questions whether the town bears the appearance of the one you intended to visit or whether perhaps having taken a dif- ferent road from the one you should have taken you have made an error in your way and arrived at some point where — "
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Chapter Twenty-Two
"Land sakesi" cried Aunt Em, impatiently; "what 's all this rigmarole about?"
"That 's it!" said the Wizard, laughing merrily. "It 's a rigmarole because the boy is a Rigmarole and we 've come to Rigmarole Town."
"Do they all talk like that?" asked Dorothy, wonderingly.
"He might have said yes' or 'no' and settled the ques- tion," observed Uncle Henry.
"Not here," said Omby Amby. "I don't believe the Rig- maroles know what 'yes' or 'no' means."
While the boy had been talking several other people had approached the wagon and listened intently to his speech. Then they began talking to one another in long, de- liberate speeches, where many words were used but little was said. But when the strangers criticised them so frankly one of the women, who had no one else to talk to, began an address to them, saying :
"It is the easiest thing in the world for a person to say *yes' or 'no' vv^hen a question that is asked for the purpose of gaining information or satisfying the curiosity of the one who has given expression to the inquiry has attracted the attention of an individual who may be competent either from personal experience or the experience of others to answer it with more or less correctness or at least an attempt to satisfy the desire
The Emerald City of Oz
for information on the part of the one who has made the in- quiry by — "
"Dear me I" exclaimed Dorothy, interrupting the speech. "I 've lost all track of what you are saying."
"Don't let her begin over again, for goodness sake I" cried Aunt Em.
But the woman did not begin again. She did not even stop talking, but went right on as she had begun, the words flowing from her mouth in a stream.
"I 'm quite sure that if we waited long enough and lis- tened carefully, some of these people might be able to tell us something, in time," said the Wizard.
"Don't let 's wait," returned Dorothy. "I 've heard of the Rigmaroles, and wondered what they were like ; but now I know, and I 'm ready to move on."
"So arn I," declared Uncle Henry; "we 're wasting time here."
"Why, we 're all ready to go," added the Shaggy Man, putting his fingers to his ears to shut out the monotonous babble of those around the wagon.
So the Wizard spoke to the Sawhorse, who trotted nimbly through the village and soon gained the open country on the other side of it. Dorothy looked back, as they rode away, and noticed that the woman had not yet finished her speech
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but was talking as glibly as ever, although no one was near to hear her.
"If those people wrote books," Omby Amby remarked with a smile, "it would take a whole library to say the cow jumped over the moon."
'Perhaps some Ox em do write books," asserted the little Wizard. "I 've read a few rigmaroles that might have come from this very town."
"Some of the college lecturers and ministers are certainly related to these people," observed the Shaggy Man; "and it seems to me the Land of Oz is a little ahead of the United
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States in some of its laws. For here, if one can't talk clearly, and straight to the point, they send him to Rigmarole Town; while Uncle Sam lets him roam around wild and free, to tor- ture innocent people."
Dorothy was thoughtful. The Rigmaroles had made a strong impression upon her. She decided that whenever she spoke, after this, she would use only enough words to ex- press what she wanted to say.
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c^2^ TlDf EiminilEi "^ -HE Mil
THEY were soon among the pretty hills and valleys again, and the Sawhorse sped up hill and down at a fast and easy pace, the roads being hard and smooth. Mile after mile was speedily covered, and before the ride had grown at all tire- some they sighted another village. The place seemed even larger than Rigmarole Town, but was not so attractive in ap- pearance.
"This must be Flutterbudget Center," declared the Wiz- ard. "You see, it 's no trouble at all to find places if you keep to the right road."
"What are the Flutterbudgets like'?" inquired Dorothy.
"I do not know, my dear. But Ozma has given them a town all their own, and I 've heard that whenever one of the people becomes a Flutterbudget he is sent to this place to live.
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"That is true," Omby Amby added; 'Tlutterbudget Cen- ter and Rigmarole Town are called 'the Defensive Settle- ments of Oz.' "
The village they now approached was not built in a val- ley, but on top of a hill, and the road they followed wound around the hill like a corkscrew, ascending the hill easily until it came to the town.
"Look out I" screamed a voice. "Look out, or you '11 run over my child!"
They gazed around and saw a woman standing upon the sidewalk nervously wringing her hands as she gazed at them appealingly.
"Where is your child'?" asked the Sawhorse.
"In the house," said the woman, bursting into tears; "but if it should happen to be in the road, and you ran over it, those great wheels would crush my darling to jelly. Oh, dear! oh dear! Think of my darling child being crushed to jelly by those great wheels !"
"Gid-dap!" said the Wizard, sharply, and the Sawhorse started on.
They had not gone far before a man ran out of a house shouting wildly : "Help! Help!"
The Sawhorse stopped short and the Wizard and Uncle Henry and the Shaggy Man and Omby Amby jumped out of
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the wagon and ran to the poor man's assistance. Dorothy followed them as quickly as she could.
"What 's the matter?" asked the Wizard.
"Help I help !" screamed the man; "my wife has cut her fin- ger off and she 's bleeding to death!"
Then he turned and rushed back to the house, and all the party went with him. They found a woman in the front dooryard moaning and groaning as if in great pain.
"Be brave, madam I" said the Wizard, consolingly. "You won't die just because you have cut off a finger, you may be sure."
"But I have n't cut off a finger!" she sobbed.
"Then what has happened?" asked Dorothy.
"I — I pricked my finger with a needle while I was sewing, and — and the blood came !" she replied. "And now I '11 have blood-poisoning, and the doctors will cut off my finger, and that will give me a fever and I shall die!"
"Pshaw!" said Dorothy; "I 've pricked my finger many a time, and nothing happened."
"Really?" asked the woman, brightening and wiping her eyes upon her apron.
"Why, it 's nothing at all," declared the girl. "You 're more scared than hurt."
"Ah, that 's because she 's a Flutterbudget," said the
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The Emerald City of Oz
Wizard, nodding wisely. "I think I know now what these people are like."
"So do I," announced Dorothy.
"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!" sobbed the woman, giving way to a fresh burst of grief.
"What 's wrong now'?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Oh, suppose I had pricked my foot !" she wailed. "Then the doctors would have cut my foot off, and I 'd be lamed for life I"
"Surely, ma'am," replied the Wizard, "and if you 'd pricked your nose they might cut your head off. But you see you did n't."
"But I might have I" she exclaimed, and began to cry again. So they left her and drove away in their wagon. And her husband came out and began calling "Help I" as he had before; but no one seemed to pay any attention to him.
As the travelers turned into another street they found a man walking excitedly up and down the pavement. He ap- peared to be in a very nervous condition and the Wizard stopped him to ask:
"Is anything wrong, sirT'
"Everything is wrong," answered the man, dismally. "I can't sleep."
"Why not?" inquird Omby Amby.
"If I go to sleep I '11 have to shut my eyes," he explained;
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''and if I shut my eyes they may grow together, and then I 'd be blind for life!"
"Did you ever hear of any one's eyes growing together?" asked Dorothy.
"No," said the man, "I never did. But it would be a dreadful thing, would n't it? And the thought of it makes me so nervous I 'm afraid to go to sleep."
"There 's no help for this case," declared the Wizard; and they went on.
At the next street corner a woman rushed up to them cry- ing:
"Save my baby! Oh, good, kind people, save my baby!"
"Is it in danger?" asked Dorothy, noticing that the child was clasped in her arms and seemed sleeping peacefully.
"Yes, indeed," said the woman, nervously. "If I should go into the house and throw my child out of the window, it would roll way down to the bottom of the hill; and then if there were a lot of tigers and bears down there, they would tear my darling babe to pieces and eat it up!"
"Are there any tigers and bears in this neighborhood?'* the Wizard asked.
"I 've never heard of any," admitted the woman; "but if there were — "
"Have you any idea of throwing your baby out of the window?" questioned the little man.
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''None at all," she said; "but if — "
"All your troubles are due to those 'ifs','' declared the Wizard. "If you were not a Flutterbudget you would n't worry."
"There 's another 'if'," replied the woman. "Are you a Flutterbudget, too^"
"I will be, if I stay here long," exclaimed the Wizard, nervously.
"Another 'if I" cried the woman.
But the Wizard did not stop to argue with her. He made the Sawhorse canter all the way down the hill, and only breathed easily when they were miles away from the village.
After they had ridden in silence for a while Dorothy ':urned to the little man and asked :
"Do 'ifs' really make Flutterbudgets?'
"I think the 'ifs' help," he answered seriously . "Foolish fears, and worries over nothing, with a mixture of nerves and ifs, will soon make a Flutterbudget of any one."
Then there was another long silence, for all the travelers were thinking over this statement, and nearly all decided it must be true.
The country they were now passing through was every- where tinted purple, the prevailing color of the Gillikin Country; but as the Sawhorse ascended a hill they found that upon the other side everything was of a rich yellow hue.
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"Aha I" cried the Captain General; "here is the Country of the Winkies. We are just crossing the boundary line."
"Then we may be able to lunch with the Tin Woodman," announced the Wizard, joyfully.
"Must we lunch on tin?" asked Aunt Em.
"Oh, no;" replied Dorothy. "Nick Chopper knows how to feed meat people, and he will give us plenty of good things to eat, never fear. I 've been to his castle before."
"Is Nick Chopper the Tin Woodman's name'?" asked Uncle Henry.
"Yes; that 's one of his names," answered the little girl; "and another of his names is 'Emp'ror of the Winkies.' He 's the King of this country, you know, but Ozma rules over all the countries of Oz."
"Does the Tin Woodman keep any Flutterbudgets or Rigmaroles at his castle*?" inquired Aunt Em, uneasily.
"No, indeed," said Dorothy, positively. "He lives in a new tin castle, all full of lovely things."
"I should think it would rust," said Uncle Henry.
"He has thousands of Winkies to keep it polished for him," explained the Wizard. "His people love to do any- thing in their power for their beloved Emperor, so there is n't a particle of rust on all the big castle."
"I suppose they polish their Emperor, too," said Aunt Em.
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"Why, some time ago he had himself nickel-plated," the Wizard answered; "so he only needs rubbing up once in a while. He 's the brightest man in all the world, is dear Nick Chopper; and the kindest-hearted."
"I helped find him," said Dorothy, reflectively. "Once the Scarecrow and I found the Tin Woodman in the woods, and he was just rusted still, that time, an' no mistake. But we oiled his joints, an' got 'em good and slippery, and after that he went with us to visit the Wizard at the Em' raid City."
^Was that the time the Wizard scared you^" asked Aunt Em.
"He did n't treat us well, at first," acknowledged Doro- thy; "for he made us go away and destroy the Wicked Witch. But after we found out he was only a humbug wizard we were not afraid of him."
The Wizard sighed and looked a little ashamed.
"When we try to deceive people we always make mis- takes," he said. "But I 'm getting to be a real wizard now, and Glinda the Good's magic, that I am trying to practice, can never harm any one."
"You were always a good man," declared Dorothy, "even when you were a bad wizard."
"He 's a good wizard now," asserted Aunt Em, looking at the little man admiringly. "The way he made those tents
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Chapter Twenty-Three
grow out of handkerchiefs was just wonderful I And did n't he enchant the wagon wheels so they 'd find the road*?"
"All the people of Oz," said the Captain General, "are very proud of their Wizard. He once made some soap-bub- bles that astonished the world."
The Wizard blushed at this praise, yet it pleased him. He no longer looked sad, but seemed to have recovered his usual good humor.
The country through which they now rode was thickly dotted with farmhouses, and yellow grain waved in all the fields. Many of the Winkies could be seen working on their
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farms and the wild and unsettled parts of Oz were by this time left far behind.
These Winkies appeared to be happy, light-hearted folk, and all removed their caps and bowed low when the red wagon with its load of travelers passed by.
It was not long before they saw something glittering in the sunshine far ahead.
*'See I" cried Dorothy; "that 's the Tin Castle, Aunt Em I"
And the Sawhorse, knowing his passengers were eager to arrive, broke into a swift trot that soon brought them to their destination.
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THE Tin Woodman received Princess Dorothy's party with much grace and cordiality, yet the little girl decided that something must be worrying her old friend, because he was not so merry as usual.
But at first she said nothing about this, for Uncle Henry and Aunt Em were fairly bubbling over with admiration for the beautiful tin castle and its polished tin owner. So her suspicion that something unpleasant had happened was for a time forgotten.
"Where is the Scarecrow"?" she asked, when they had all been ushered into the big tin drawing-room of the castle, the Sawhorse being led around to the tin stable in the rear.
"Why, our old friend has just moved into his new man- sion," explained the Tin Woodman. "It has been a long time in building, although my Winkies and many other peo-
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The Emerald City of Oz
pie from all parts of the country have been busily working upon it. At last, however, it is completed, and the Scare- crow took possession of his new home just two days ago."
"I had n't heard that he wanted a home of his own," said Dorothy. "Why does n't he live with Ozma in the Emerald City? He used to, you know; and I thought he was happy there."
"It seems," said the Tin Woodman, "that our dear Scare- crow cannot be contented with city life, however beautiful his surroundings might be. Originally he was a farmer, for he passed his early life in a cornfield, where he was supposed to frighten away the crows."
"I know," said Dorothy, nodding. "I found him, and lifted him down from his pole."
"So now, after a long residence in the Emerald City, his tastes have turned to farm life again," continued the Tin Man. "He feels that he cannot be happy without a farm of his ov/n, so Ozma gave him some land and every one helped him build his mansion, and now he is settled there for good."
"Who designed his house'?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"I believe it was Jack Pumpkinhead, who is also a far- mer," was the reply.
They were now invited to enter the tin dining room, where luncheon was served.
Aunt Em found, to her satisfaction, that Dorothy's prom-
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ise was more than fulfilled ; for, although the Tin Woodman had no appetite of his own, he respected the appetites of his guests and saw that they were bountifully fed.
They passed the afternoon in wandering through the beautiful gardens and grounds of the palace. The walks were all paved with sheets of tin, brightly polished, and there were tin fountains and tin statues here and there among the trees. The flowers were mostly natural flowers and grew in the regular way; but their host showed them one flower bed which was his especial pride.
''You see, all common flowers fade and die in time," he explained, "and so there are seasons when the pretty blooms are scarce. Therefore I decided to make one tin flower bed all of tin flowers, and my workmen have created them with rare skill. Here you see tin camelias, tin marigolds, tin carnations, tin poppies and tin hollyhocks growing as naturally as if they were real."
Indeed, they were a pretty sight, and glistened under the sunlight like spun silver.
"Is n't this tin hollyhock going to seed'?" asked the Wiz- ard, bending over the flowers.
"Why, I believe it is!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman, as if surprised. "I had n't noticed that before. But I shall plant the tin seeds and raise another bed of tin hollyhocks."
In one corner of the gardens Nick Chopper had established
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a fish-pond, in which they saw swimming and disporting themselves many pretty tin fishes.
"Would they bite on hooks ^" asked Aunt Em, curiously.
The Tin Woodman seemed hurt at this question.
*'Madam," said he, "do you suppose I would allow any- one to catch my beautiful fishes, even if they were foolish enough to bite on hooks'? No, indeed I Every created thing- is safe from harm in my domain, and I would as soon think of killing my little friend Dorothy as killing one of my tin fishes."
"The Emperor is very kind-hearted, ma'am," explained the Wizard. "If a fly happens to light upon his tin body he does n't rudely brush it off, as some people might do; he asks it politely to find some other resting place."
"What does the fly do then'?" enquired Aunt Em.
"Usually it begs his pardon and goes away," said the Wizard, gravely. "Flies like to be treated politely as well as other creatures, and here in Oz they understand what we say to them, and behave very nicely."
"Well," said Aunt Em, "the flies in Kansas, where I came from, don't understand anything but a swat. You have to smash 'em to make 'em behave; and it 's the same way with 'skeeters. Do you have 'skeeters in Oz'?"
"We have some very large mosquitoes here, which sing as beautifully as song birds," replied the Tin Woodman.
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"But they never bite or annoy our people, because they are well fed and taken care of. The reason they bite people in your country is because they are hungry — poor things I"
*'Yes," agreed Aunt Em; "they 're hungry, all right. An' they ain't very particular who they feed on. I 'm glad you 've got the 'skeeters educated in Oz."
That evening after dinner they were entertained by the Emperor's Tin Cornet Band, which played for them several sweet melodies. Also the Wizard did a few sleight-of-hand tricks to amuse the company; after which they all retired to their cosy tin bedrooms and slept soundly until morning.
After breakfast Dorothy said to the Tin Woodman :
"If you '11 tell us which way to go we '11 visit the Scare- crow on our way home."
"I will go with you, and show you the way," replied the Emperor; "for I must journey to-day to the Emerald City."
He looked so anxious, as he said this, that the little girl asked :
"There is n*t anything wrong with Ozma, is there"?"
He shook his tin head.
"Not yet," said he; "but I 'm afraid the time has come when I must tell you some very bad news, little friend."
"Oh, what is it*?" cried Dorothy.
"Do you remember the Nome Xing'?" asked the Tin Woodman.
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"I remember him very well," she replied.
"The Nome King has not a kind heart," said the Em- peror, sadly, "and he has been harboring wicked thoughts of revenge, because we once defeated him and liberated his slaves and you took away his Magic Belt. So he has or- dered his Nomes to dig a long tunnel underneath the deadly desert, so that he may march his hosts right into the Emerald City. When he gets there he intends to destroy our beauti- ful country."
Dorothy was much surprised to hear this.
"How did Ozma find out about the tunnel?" she asked.
"She saw it in her Magic Picture."
"Of course," said Dorothy; "I might have known that. And what is she going to do?"
"I cannot tell," was the reply.
"Pooh!" cried the Yellow Hen. "We 're not afraid of the Nomes. If we roll a few of our eggs down the tunnel they '11 run away back home as fast as they can go."
"Why, that 's true enough I" exclaimed Dorothy. "The Scarecrow once conquered all the Nome King's army with some of Billina's eggs."
"But you do not understand all of the dreadful plot," continued the Tin Woodman. "The Nome King is clever, and he knows his Nomes would run from eggs ; so he has bar- gained with many terrible creatures to help him. These evil
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spirits are not afraid of eggs or anything else, and they are very powerful. So the Nome King will send them through the tunnel first, to conquer and destroy, and then the Nomes will follow after to get their share of the plunder and slaves."
They were all startled to hear this, and every face wore a troubled look.
"Is the tunnel all ready ^" asked Dorothy.
"Ozma sent me word yesterday that the tunnel was all completed except for a thin crust of earth at the end. When our enemies break through this crust they will be in the gar- dens of the royal palace, in the heart of the Emerald City. I offered to arm all my Winkles and march to Ozma's assist- ance; but she said no."
"I wonder why'?" asked Dorothy.
"She answered that all the inhabitants of Oz, gathered together, were not powerful enough to fight and overcome the evil forces of the Nome King. Therefore she refuses to fight at all."
"But they will capture and enslave us, and plunder and ruin all our lovely land I" exclaimed the Wizard, greatly dis- turbed by this statement.
"I fear they will," said the Tin Woodman, sorrowfully. "And I also fear that those who are not fairies, such as the Wizard, and Dorothy, and her uncle and aunt, as well as
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The Emerald City of Oz
Toto and Billina, will be speedily put to death by the con- querors."
"What can be done*?" asked Dorothy, shuddering a lit- tle at the prospect of this awful fate.
^'Nothing can be done!" gloomily replied the Emperor of the Winkies. ''But since Ozma refuses my army I will go myself to the Emerald City. The least I may do is to perish beside my beloved Ruler."
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THIS amazing news had saddened every heart and all were now anxious to return to the Emerald City and share Ozma's fate. So they started without loss of time, and as the road led past the Scarecrow's new mansion they determined to make a brief halt there and confer with him.
"The Scarecrow is probably the wisest man in all Oz," remarked the Tin Woodman, when they had started upon their journey. "His brains are plentiful and of excellent quality, and often he has told me things I might never have thought of myself. I must say I rely a good deal upon the Scarecrow's brains in this emergency."
The Tin Woodman rode on the front seat of the wagon, where Dorothy sat between him and the Wizard.
"Has the Scarecrow heard of Ozma's trouble?" asked the Captain General.
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"I do not know, sir," was the reply.
"When I was a private," said Omby Amby, "I was an ex- cellent army, as I fully proved in our war against the Nomes. But now there is not a single private left in our army, since Ozma made me the Captain General, so there is no one to fight and defend our lovely Ruler."
"True," said the Wizard. "The present army is com- posed only of officers, and the business of an officer is to order his men to fight. Since there are no men there can be no fighting."
"Poor Ozma!" whispered Dorothy, with tears in her sweet eyes. "It 's dreadful to think of all her lovely fairy country being destroyed. I wonder if we could n't manage to es- cape and get back to Kansas by means of the Magic Belt? And we might take Ozma with us and all work hard to get money for her, so she would n't be so very lonely and un- happy about the loss of her fairyland."
"Do you think there would be any work for me in Kan- sas?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"If you are hollow, they might use you in a canning fac- tory," suggested Uncle Henry. "But I can't see the use of your working for a living. You never eat or sleep or need a new suit of clothes."
"I was not thinking of myself," replied the Emperor, with
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dignity. "I merely wondered if I could not help to support Dorothy and Ozma."
As they indulged in these sad plans for the future they journeyed in sight of the Scarecrow's new mansion, and even though filled with care and worry over the impending fate of Oz, Dorothy could not help a feeling of wonder at the sight she saw.
The Scarecrow's new house was shaped like an immense ear of corn. The rows of kernels were made of solid gold, and the green upon which the ear stood upright was a mass of sparkling emeralds. Upon the very top of the structure was perched a figure representing the Scarecrow himself, and upon his extended arms, as well as upon his head, were sev- eral crows carved out of ebony and having ruby eyes. You may imagine how big this ear of corn was when I tell you that a single gold kernal formed a window, swinging outward upon hinges, while a row of four kernals opened to make the front entrance. Inside there were five stories, each story be- ing a single room.
The gardens around the mansion consisted of cornfields, and Dorothy acknowledged that the place was in all respects a very appropriate home for her good friend the Scarecrow. "He would have been very happy here, I 'm sure," she said, ''if only the Nome King had left us alone. But if Oz is destroyed of course this place will be destroyed too."
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*'Yes," replied the Tin Woodman, "and also my beautiful tin castle, that has been my joy and pride."
"Jack Pumpkinhead's house will go too," remarked the Wizard, "as well as Professor Wogglebug's Athletic College, and Ozma's royal palace, and all our other handsome build- ings."
"Yes, Oz will indeed become a desert when the Nome King gets through with it," sighed Omby Amby.
The Scarecrow came out to meet them and gave them all a hearty welcome.
"I hear you have decided always to live in the Land of Oz, after this," he said to Dorothy; "and that will delight my heart, for I have greatly disliked our frequent partings. But why are you all so downcast?"
"Have you heard the news?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"No news to make me sad," replied the Scarecrow.
Then Nick Chopper told his friend of the Nome King's tunnel, and how the evil creatures of the North had allied themselves with the underground monarch for the purpose of conquering and destroying Oz. "Well," said the Scare- crow, "it certainly looks bad for Ozma, and all of us. But I believe it is wrong to worry over anything before it happens. It is surely time enough to be sad when our country is de-
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spoiled and our people made slaves. So let us not deprive ourselves of the few happy hours remaining to us."
"Ah I that is real wisdom," declared the Shaggy Man, ap- provingly. * 'After we become really unhappy we shall re- gret these few hours that are left to us, unless we enjoy them to the utmost."
"Nevertheless," said the Scarecrow, "I shall go with you to the Emerald City and offer Ozma my services."
"She says we can do nothing to oppose our enemies," an- nounced the Tin Woodman.
"And doubtless she is right, sir," answered the Scare- crow. "Still, she will appreciate our sympathy, and it is the duty of Ozma's friends to stand by her side when the final disaster occurs."
He then led them into his queer mansion and showed them the beautiful rooms in all the five stories. The lower room was a grand reception hall, with a hand-organ in one corner. This instrument the Scarecrow, when alone, could turn to amuse himself, as he was very fond of music. The walls were hung with white silk, upon which flocks of black crows were embroidered in black diamonds. Some of the chairs were made in the shape of big crows and upholstered (vith cushions of corn-colored silk.
The second story contained a fine banquet room, where the Scarecrow might entertain his guests, and the three sto-
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ries above that were bed-chambers exquisitely furnished and decorated.
"From these rooms," said the Scarecrow, proudly, "one may obtain fine views of the surrounding cornfields. The corn I grow is always husky, and I call the ears my regiments, because they have so many kernels. Of course I cannot ride my cobs, but I really don't care shucks about that. Taken altogether, my farm will stack up with any in the neighbor- hood."
The visitors partook of some light refreshment and then hurried away to resume the road to the Emerald City. The Scarecrow found a seat in the wagon between Omby Amby and the Shaggy Man, and his weight did not add much to the load because he was stuffed with straw.
"You will notice I have one oat-field on my property," he remarked, as they drove away. "Oat-straw is, I have found, the best of all straws to re-stuff myself with when my interior gets musty or out of shape."
"Are you able to re-stuff youreslf without help*?" asked Aunt Em. "I should think that after the straw was taken out of you there would n't be anything left but your clothes."
"You are almost correct, madam," he answered. "My servants do the stuffing, under my direction. For my head, in which are my excellent brains, is a bag tied at the bottom. My face is neatly painted upon one side of the bag, as you
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may see. My head does not need re-stuffing, as my body does, for all that it requires is to have the face touched up with fresh paint occasionally."
It was not far from the Scarecrow's mansion to the farm of Jack Pumpkinhead, and when they arived there both Un- cle Henry and Aunt Em were much impressed. The farm was one vast pumpkin field, and some of the pumpkins were of
enormous size. In one of them, which had been neatly hol- lowed out, Jack himself lived, and he declared that it was a very comfortable residence. The reason he grew so many pumpkins was in order that he might change his head as often as it became wrinkled or threatened to spoil.
The pumpkin-headed man welcomed his visitors joyfully and offered them several delicious pumpkin pies to eat.
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"I don't indulge in pumpkin pies myself, for two rea- sons," he said. "One reason is that were I to eat pumpkins I would become a cannibal, and the other reason is that I never eat, not being hollow inside."
"Very good reasons," agreed the Scarecrow.
They told Jack Pumpkinhead the dreadful news about the Nome King, and he decided to go with them to the Emerald City and help comfort Ozma.
"I had expected to live here in ease and comfort for many centuries," said Jack, dolefully; "but of course if the Nome King destroys everything in Oz I shall be destroyed too. Really, it seems too bad, does n't it?'
They were soon on their journey again, and so swiftly did the Sawhorse draw the wagon over the smooth roads that before twilight fell that had reached the royal palace in the Emerald City, and were at their journey's end.
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TFSK
OZMA was in her rose garden picking a bouquet when the party arrived, and she greeted all her old and new friends as smilingly and sweetly as ever.
Dorothy's eyes were full of tears as she kissed the lovely Ruler of Oz, and she whispered to her:
"Oh, Ozma, Ozmal I 'm so sorry!"
Ozma seemed surprised.
"Sorry for what, Dorothy T' she asked.
"For all your trouble about the Nome King," was the reply.
Ozma laughed with genuine amusement.
"Why, that has not troubled me a bit, dear Princess," she replied. Then, looking around at the sad faces of her friends, she added : "Have you all been worrying about this tunnel?"
"We have!" they exclaimed in a chorus.
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"Well, perhaps it is more serious than I imagined," ad- mitted the fair Ruler; "but I have n't given the matter much thought. After dinner we will all meet together and talk it over."
So they went to their rooms and prepared for dinner, and Dorothy dressed herself in her prettiest gown and put on her coronet, for she thought that this might be the last time she would ever appear as a Princess of Oz.
The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Jack Pumpkin- head all sat at the dinner table, although none of them was made so he could eat. Usually they served to enliven the meal with their merry talk, but to-night all seemed strangely silent and uneasy.
As soon as the dinner was finished Ozma led the com- pany to her own private room in which hung the Magic Pic- ture. When they had seated themselves the Scarecrow was the first to speak.
"Is the Nome King's tunnel finished, Ozma?" he asked.
"It was completed to-day," she replied. "They have built it right under my palace grounds, and it ends in front of the Forbidden Fountain. Nothing but a crust of earth re- mains to separate our enemies from us, and when they march here they will easily break through this crust and rush upon us."
"Who will assist the Nome King?" inquired the Scare- crow.
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''The Whimsies, the Growleywogs and the Phanfasms," she replied. ''I watched to-day in my Magic Picture the mes- sengers whom the Nome King sent to all these people to sum- mon them to assemble in his great caverns."
"Let us see what they are doing now," suggested the Tin Woodman.
So Ozma wished to see the Nome King's cavern, and at once the landscape faded from the Magic Picture and was replaced by the scene then being enacted in the jeweled cav- ern of King Roquat.
A wild and startling scene it was which the Oz people be- held.
Before the Nome King stood the Chief of the Whimsies and the Grand Gallipoot of the Groweywogs, surrounded by their most skillful generals. Very fierce and powerful they looked, so that even the Nome King and General Guph, who stood beside his master, seemed a bit fearful in the presence of their allies.
Now a still more formidable creature entered the cavern. It was the First and Foremost of the Phanfasms and he proudly sat down in King Roquat's own throne and de- manded the right to lead his forces through the tunnel in ad- vance of all the others. The First and Foremost now ap- peared to all eyes in his hairy skin and the bear's head. What his real form was even Roquat did not know.
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Through the arches leading into the vast series of cav- erns that lay beyond the throne room of King Roquat, could be seen ranks upon ranks of the invaders — thousands of Phanfasms, Growleywogs and Whimsies standing in serried lines, while behind them were massed the thousands upon thousands of General Guph's own army of Nomes.
"Listen I" whispered Ozma. "I think we can hear what they are saying."
So they kept still and listened.
"Is all ready?" demanded the First and Foremost, haughtily.
"The tunnel is finally completed," replied General Guph.
"How long will it take us to march to the Emerald City'?" asked the Grand Gallipoot of the Growleywogs.
"If we start at midnight," replied the Nome King, "we shall arrive at the Emerald City by daybreak. Then, while all the Oz people are sleeping, we will capture them and make them our slaves. After that we will destroy the city itself and march through the Land of Oz, burning and de- vastating as we go."
"Good!" cried the First and Foremost. "When we get through with Oz it will be a desert wilderness. Ozma shall be my slave."
"She shall be iny slave I" shouted the Grand Gallipoot, angrily.
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*'We '11 decide that by and by," said King Roquat, hast- ily. "Don't let us quarrel now, friends. First let us conquer ,Oz, and then we will divide the spoils of war in a satisfac- tory manner."
The First and Foremost smiled wickedly; but he only said:
"I and my Phanfasms go first, for nothing on earth can oppose our power."
They all agreed to that, knowing the Phanfasms to be the mightiest of the combined forces. King Roquat now in- vited them to attend a banquet he had prepared, where they might occupy themselves in eating and drinking until mid- night arrived.
As they had now seen and heard all of the plot against them that they cared to, Ozma allowed her Magic Picture to fade away. Then she turned to her friends and said :
''Our enemies will be here sooner than I expected. What do you advise me to do?"
"It is now too late to assemble our people," said the Tin Woodman, despondently. "If you had allowed me to arm and drill my Winkies we might have put up a good fight and destroyed many of our enemies before we were con- quered."
"The Munchkins are good fighters, too," said Omby Amby; "and so are the Gillikins."
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"But I do not wish to fight," declared Ozma, firmly. ''No one has the right to destroy any living creatures, however evil they may be, or to hurt them or make them unhappy. I will not fight — even to save my kingdom."
"The Nome King is not so particular," remarked the Scarecrow. "He intends to destroy us all and ruin our beau- tiful country."
"Because the Nome King intends to do evil is no excuse for my doing the same," replied Ozma.
"Self-preservation is the first law of nature," quoted the Shaggy Man.
"True," she said, readily. "I would like to discover a plan to save ourselves without fighting."
That seemed a hopeless task to them, but realizing that Ozma was determined not to fight, they tried to think of some means that might promise escape.
"Could n't we bribe our enemies, by giving them a lot of emeralds and gold'?" asked Jack Pumpkinhead.
"No, because they believe they are able to take every- thing we have," replied the Ruler.
"I have thought of something," said Dorothy.
"What is it, dear'?" asked Ozma.
"Let us use the Magic Belt to wish all of us in Kansas. We will put some emeralds in our pockets, and can sell them
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in Topeka for enough to pay off the mortgage on Uncle Hen- ry's farm. Then we can all live together and be happy."
"A clever ideal" exclaimed the Scarecrow.
"Kansas is a very good country. I 've been there," said the Shaggy Man.
'That seems to me an excellent plan," approved the Tin Woodman.
"No!" said Ozma, decidedly. "Never will I desert my people and leave them to so cruel a fate. I will use the Magic Belt to send the rest of you to Kansas, if you wish, but if my beloved country must be destroyed and my people enslaved I will remain and share their fate."
"Quite right," asserted the Scarecrow, sighing. "I will remain with you."
"And so will I," declared the Tin Woodman and the Shaggy Man and Jack Pumpkinhead, in turn. Tiktok, the machine man, also said he intended to stand by Ozma. "For," said he, "I should be of no use at all in Kansas."
"For my part," announced Dorothy, gravely, "if the Ruler of Oz must not desert her people, a Princess of Oz has no right to run away, either. I 'm willing to become a slave with the rest of you ; so all we can do with the Magic Belt is to use it to send Uncle Henry and Aunt Em back to Kan- sas."
"I 've been a slave all my life," Aunt Em replied, with
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considerable cheerfulness, "and so has Henry. I guess we won't go back to Kansas, anyway. I 'd rather take my chances with the rest of you."
Ozma smiled upon them all gratefully.
"There is no need to despair just yet," she said. "I '11 get up early to-morrow morning and be at the Forbidden Foun- tain when the fierce warriors break through the crust of earth. I will speak to them pleasantly and perhaps they won't be so very bad, after all."
"Why do they call it the Forbidden Fountain'?" asked Dorothy, thoughtfully.
"Don't you know, dear?" returned Ozma, surprised.
"No," said Dorothy. "Of course I 've seen the foun- tain in the palace grounds, ever since I first came to Oz; and I 've read the sign which says : 'All Persons are Forbidden to Drink at this Fountain.' But I never knew why they were forbidden. The water seems clear and sparkling and it bub- bles up in a golden basin all the time."
"That water," declared Ozma, gravely, "is the most dan- gerous thing in all the Land of Oz. It is the Water of Ob- ivion.
"What does that mean?" asked Dorothy.
"Whoever drinks at the Forbidden Fountain at once for- gets everything he has ever known," Ozma asserted.
"It would n't be a bad way to forget our troubles," sug- gested Uncle Henry.
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"That is true; but you would forget everything else, and become as ignorant as a baby," returned Ozma.
"Does it make one crazy*?" asked Dorothy.
*'No; it only makes one forget," replied the girl Ruler. "It is said that once — long, long ago — a wicked King ruled
Oz, and made himself and all his people very miserable and unhappy. So Glinda, the Good Sorceress, placed this foun- tain here, and the King drank of its water and forgot all his wickedness. His mind became innocent and vacant, and when he learned the things of life again they were all good things. But the people remembered how wicked their King
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had been, and were still afraid of him. Therefore he made them all drink of the Water of Oblivion and forget every- thing they had known, so that they became as simple and in- nocent as their King. After that they all grew wise together, and their wisdom was good, so that peace and happiness reigned in the land. But for fear some one might drink of the water again, and in an instant forget all he had learned, the King put that sign upon the fountain, where it has re- mained for many centuries up to this very day."
They had all listened intently to Ozma's story, and when she finished speaking there was a long period of silence while all thought upon the curious magical power of the Water of Oblivion.
Finally the Scarecrow's painted face took on a broad smile that stretched the cloth as far as it would go.
"How thankful I am," he said, "that I have such an ex- cellent assortment of brains!"
"I gave you the best brains I ever mixed," declared the Wizard, with an air of pride.
"You did, indeed!" agreed the Scarecrow, "and they work so splendidly that they have found a way to save Oz — to save us all!"
"I 'm glad to hear that," said the Wizard. "We never needed saving more than we do just now."
"Do you mean to say you can save us from those awful
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Phanfasms, and Growleywogs and Whimsies?" asked Dor- othy eagerly.
"I 'm sure of it, my dear," asserted the Scarecrow, still smiling genially.
"Tell us howl" cried the Tin Woodman.
"Not now," said the Scarecrow. "You may all go to bed, and I advise you to forget your worries just as completely as if you had drunk of the Water of Oblivion in the Forbidden Fountain. I 'm going to stay here and tell my plan to Ozma alone, but if you will all be at the Forbidden Fountain at daybreak, you '11 see how easily we will save the kmgdom
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when our enemies break through the crust of earth and come from the tunnel."
So they went away and left the Scarecrow and Ozma alone; but Dorothy could not sleep a wink all night.
*'He is only a Scarecrow," she said to herself, "and I 'm not sure that his mixed brains are as clever as he thinks they are."
But she knew that if the Scarecrow's plan failed they were all lost; so she tried to have faith in him.
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THE Nome King and his terrible allies sat at the banquet table until midnight. There was much quarreling between the Growleywogs and Phanfasms, and one of the wee-headed Whimsies got angry at General Guph and choked him until he nearly stopped breathing. Yet no one was seriously hurt, and the Nome King felt much relieved when the clock struck twelve and they all sprang up and seized their weapons.
"Aha!" shouted the First and Foremost. "Now to con- quer the Land of Oz!"
He marshaled his Phanfasms in battle array and at his word of command they marched into the tunnel and began the long journey through it to the Emerald City. The First and Foremost intended to take all the treasures in Oz for himself; to kill all who could be killed and enslave the rest; to destroy and lay waste the whole country, and afterward
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to conquer and enslave the Nomes, the Growleywogs and the Whimsies. And he knew his power was sufficient to enable him to do all these things easily.
Next marched into the tunnel the army of gigantic Grow- leywogs, with their Grand Gallipoot at their head. They were dreadful beings, indeed, and longed to get to Oz that they might begin to pilfer and destroy. The Grand Galli- poot was a little afraid of the First and Foremost, but had a cunning plan to murder or destroy that powerful being and secure the wealth of Oz for himself. Mighty little of the plunder would the Nome King get, thought the Grand Gallipoot.
The Chief of the Whimsies now marched his false-headed forces into the tunnel. In his wicked little head was a plot to destroy both the First and Foremost and the Grand Galli- poot. He intended to let them conquer Oz, since they in- sisted on going first; but he would afterward treacherously destroy them, as well as King Roquat, and keep all the slaves and treasure of Ozma's kingdom for himself.
After all his dangerous allies had marched into the tunnel the Nome King and General Guph started to follow them, at the head of fifty thousand Nomes, all fully armed.
"Guph," said the King, "those creatures ahead of us mean mischief. They intend to get everything for themselves and leave us nothing."
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"I know," replied the General; "but they are not as clever as they think they are. When you get the Magic Belt you must at once wish the Whimsies and Growleywogs and Phan- fasms all back into their own countries — and the Belt will surely take them there."
"Good!" cried the King. "An excellent plan, Guph. I '11 do it. While they are conquering Oz I '11 get the Magic Belt, and then only the Nomes will remain to ravage the country."
So you see there was only one thing that all were agreed upon — that Oz should be destroyed.
On, on, on the vast ranks of invaders marched, filling the
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tunnel from side to side. With a steady tramp, tramp, they advanced, every step taking them nearer to the beautiful Emerald City.
"Nothing can save the Land of Oz!" thought the First and Foremost, scowling until his bear face was as black as the tunnel.
"The Emerald City is as good as destroyed already!" muttered the Grand Gallipoot, shaking his war club fiercely.
"In a few hours Oz will be a desert!" said the Chief of the Whimsies, with an evil laugh.
"My dear Guph," remarked the Nome King to his Gen- eral, "at last my vengeance upon Ozma of Oz and her peo- ple is about to be accomplished."
"You are right!" declared the General. "Ozma is surely lost."
And now the First and Foremost, who was in advance and nearing the Emerald City, began to cough and to sneeze.
"This tunnel is terribly dusty," he growled, angrily. "I '11 punish that Nome King for not having it swept clean. My throat and eyes are getting full of dust and I 'm as thirsty as a fish!"
The Grand Gallipoot was coughing too, and his throat was parched and dry.
"What a dusty place!" he cried. "I '11 be glad when we reach Oz, where we can get a drink."
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"Who has any water?" asked the Whimsie Chief, gasping and choking. But none of his followers carried a drop of water, so he hastened on to get through the dusty tunnel to the Land of Oz.
"Where did all this dust come from'?" demanded General Guph, trying hard to swallow but finding his throat so dry he could n't.
"I don't know," answered the Nome King. "I 've been in the tunnel every day while it was being built, but I never noticed any dust before."
"Let 's hurry!" cried the General. "I 'd give half the gold in Oz for a drink of water."
The dust grew thicker and thicker, and the throats and eyes and noses of the invaders were filled with it. But not one halted or turned back. They hurried forward more fierce and vengeful than ever.
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THE Scarecrow had no need to sleep; neither had the Tin Woodman or Tiktok or Jack Pumpkinhead. So they all wandered out into the palace grounds and stood beside the sparkling water of the Forbidden Fountain until daybreak. During this time they indulged in occasional conversation.
"Nothing could make me forget what I know," remarked the Scarecrow, gazing into the fountain, "for I cannot drink the Water of Oblivion or water of any kind. And I am glad that this is so, for I consider my wisdom unexcelled."
"You are cer-tain-ly- ve-ry wise," agreed Tiktok. "For my part, I can on-ly think by ma-chin-er-y, so I do not pre- tend to know as much as you do."
"My tin brains are very bright, but that is all I claim for them," §aid Nick Chopper, modestly, ^'Yet I do not aspire
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
to being very wise, for I have noticed that the happiest peo- ple are those who do not let their brains oppress them."
"Mine never worry me," Jack Pumpkinhead acknowl- edged. "There are many seeds of thought in my head, but they do not sprout easily. I am glad that it is so, for if I oc- cupied my days in thinking I should have no time for any- thing else."
In this cheery mood they passed the hours until the first golden streaks of dawn appeared in the sky. Then Ozma joined them, as fresh and lovely as ever and robed in one of her prettiest gowns.
"Our enemies have not yet arrived," said the Scarecrow, after greeting affectionately the sweet and girlish Ruler.
"They will soon be here," she said, "for I have just glanced at my Magic Picture, and have seen them coughing and choking with the dust in the tunnel."
"Oh, is there dust in the tunnel?' asked the Tin Wood- man.
"Yes; Ozma placed it there by means of the Magic Belt," explained the Scarecrow, with one of his broad smiles.
Then Dorothy came to them. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em following close after her- The little girl's eyes were heavy because she had had a sleepless and anxious night. Toto walked by her side, but the little dog's spirits were very much subdued. Billina, who was always up by daybreak, was not long in joining the group by the fountain.
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The Wizard and the Shaggy Man next arrived, and soon after appeared Omby Amby, dressed in his best uniform.
"There lies the tunnel," said Ozma, pointing to a part of the ground just before the Forbidden Fountain, "and in a few moments the dreadful invaders will break through the earth and swarm over the land. Let us all stand on the other side of the Fountain and watch to see what happens."
At once they followed her suggestion and moved around " the fountain of the Water of Oblivion. There they stood silent and expectant until the earth beyond gave way with a sudden crash and up leaped the powerful form of the First and Foremost, followed by all his grim warriors.
As the leader sprang forward his gleaming eyes caught the play of the fountain and he rushed toward it and drank eagerly of the sparkling water. Many of the other Phan- fasms drank, too, in order to clear their dry and dusty throats. Then they stood around and looked at one another with sim- ple, wondering smiles.
The First and Foremost saw Ozma and her companions beyond the fountain, but instead of making an effort to cap- ture her he merely stared at her in pleased admiration of her beauty — for he had forgotten where he was and why he had come there.
But now the Grand Gallipoot arrived, rushing from the
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tunnel with a hoarse cry of mingled rage and thirst. He too saw the fountain and hastened to drink of its forbidden waters. The other Growleywogs were not slow to follow suit, and even before they had finished drinking the Chief of the Whimsies and his people came to push them away, while they one and all cast off their false heads that they might slake their thirst at the fountain.
When the Nome King and General Guph arrived they both made a dash to drink, but the General was so mad with thirst that he knocked his King over, and while Roquat lay sprawling upon the ground the General drank heartily of the Water of Oblivion.
This rude act of his General made the Nome King so angry that for a moment he forgot he was thirsty and rose to his feet to glare upon the group of terrible warriors he had brought here to assist him. He saw Ozma and her people, too, and yelled out :
"Why don't you capture them*? Why don't you conquer Oz, you idiots'? Why do you stand there like a lot of dummies'?"
But the great warriors had become like little children. They had forgotten all their enmity against Ozma and against Oz. They had even forgotten who they themselves were, or why they were in this strange and beautiful coun-
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try. As for the Nome King, they did not recognize him, and wondered who he was.
The sun came up and sent its flood of silver rays to light the faces of the invaders. The frowns and scowls and evil looks were all gone. Even the most monstrous of the crea- tures there assembled smiled innocently and seemed light- hearted and content merely to be alive.
Not so with Roquat, the Nome King. He had not drunk from the Forbidden Fountain and all his former rage against Ozma and Dorothy now inflamed him as fiercely as ever. The sight of General Guph babbling like a happy child and play- ing with his hands in the cool waters of the fountain aston- ished and maddened Red Roquat. Seeing that his terrible allies and his own General refused to act, the Nome King turned to order his great army of Nomes to advance from the tunnel and seize the helpless Oz people.
But the Scarecrow suspected what was in the King's mind and spoke a word to the Tin Woodman. Together they ran at Roquat and grabbing him up tossed him into the great basin of the fountain.
The Nome King's body was round as a ball, and it bobbed up and down in the Water of Oblivion while he spluttered and screamed with fear lest he should drown. And when he cried out his mouth filled with water, which ran down his
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throat, so that straightway he forgot all he had formerly known just as completely as had all the other invaders.
Ozma and Dorothy could not refrain from laughing to see their dreaded enemies become as harmless as babes. There was no danger now that Oz would be destroyed. The only question remaining to solve was how to get rid of this horde of intruders.
The Shaggy Man kindly pulled the Nome King out of the fountain and set him upon his thin legs. Roquat was dripping wet, but he chattered and laughed and wanted to drink more of the water. No thought of injuring any per- son was now in his mind.
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Before he left the tunnel he had commanded his fifty thousand Nomes to remain there until he ordered them to advance, as he wished to give his allies time to conquer Oz before he appeared with his own army. Ozma did not wish all these Nomes to overrun her land, so she advanced to King Roquat and taking his hand in her own said gently:
"Who are you*? What is your name*?"
"I don't know," he replied, smiling at her. "Who are you, my dear*?"
"My name is Ozma," she said; "and your name is Roquat."
"Oh, is it?" he replied, seeming pleased.
"Yes; you are King of the Nomes," she said.
"Ah; I wonder what the Nomes are!" returned the King, as if puzzled.
"They are underground elves, and that tunnel over there is full of them," she answered. "You have a beautiful cavern at the other end of the tunnel, so you must go to your Nomes and say: 'March home I' Then follow after them and in time you will reach the pretty cavern where you live."
The Nome King was much pleased to learn this, for he had forgotten he had a cavern. So he went to the tunnel and said to his army: "March home!" At once the Nomes turned and marched back through the tunnel, and the King fol- lowed after them, laughing with delight to find his orders so readily obeyed.
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The Wizard went to General Guph, who was trying to count his fingers, and told him to follow the Nome King, who was his master. Guph meekly obeyed, and so all the Nomes quitted the Land of Oz forever.
But there were still the Phanfasms and Whimsies and
Growleywogs standing around in groups, and they were so many that they filled the gardens and trampled upon the flowers and grass because they did not know that the tender plants would be injured by their clumsy feet. But in all other respects they were perfectly harmless and played to-
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gether like children or gazed with pleasure upon the pretty sights of the royal gardens.
After counseling with the Scarecrow Ozma sent Omby Amby to the palace for the Magic Belt, and when the Cap- tain General returned with it the Ruler of Oz at once clasped the precious Belt around her waist.
"I wish all these strange people — the Whimsies and the Growleywogs and the Phanfasms — safe back in their own homes!" she said.
It all happened in a twinkling, for of course the wish was no sooner spoken than it was granted.
All the hosts of the invaders were gone, and only the trampled grass showed that they had ever been in the Land of Oz.
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"THAT was better than fighting," said Ozma, when all our friends were assembled in the palace after the exciting events of the morning; and each and every one agreed with her.
"No one was hurt," said the Wizard, delightedly.
"And no one hurt us," added Aunt Em.
"But, best of all," said Dorothy, "the wicked people have all forgotten their wickedness, and will not wish to hurt any one after this.'*
"True, Princess," declared the Shaggy Man. "It seems to me that to have reformed all those evil characters is more important than to have saved Oz."
"Nevertheless," remarked the Scarecrow, "I am glad Oz is saved. I can now go back to my new mansion and live happily."
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"And I am glad and grateful that my pumpkin farm is saved," said Jack.
"For my part," added the Tin Woodman, "I cannot ex- press my joy that my lovely tin castle is not to be demolished by wicked enemies."
"Still," »aid Tiktok, "o-ther en-e-mies may come to Oz some day."
"Why do you allow your clock-work brains to interrupt our joy?" asked Omby Amby, frowning at the machine man.
"I say what I am wound up to say," answered Tiktok.
"And you are right," declared Ozma. "I myself have been thinking of this very idea, and it seems to me there are entirely too many ways for people to get to the Land of Oz. We used to think the deadly desert that surrounds us was enough protection; but that is no longer the case. The Wiz- ard and Dorothy have both come here through the air, and I am told the earth people have invented airships that can fly anywhere they wish them to go."
"Why, sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't," as- serted Dorothy.
"But in time the airships may cause us trouble," contin- ued Ozma, "for if the earth folk learn how to manage them we would be overrun with visitors who would ruin our lovely, secluded fairyland,'*
**That U txm enough,** agreed the Wmtd.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
"Also the desert fails to protect us in other ways," Ozma went on, thoughtfully. "Johnny Dooit once made a sand- boat that sailed across it, and the Nome King made a tunnel under it. So I believe something ought to be done to cut us off from the rest of the world entirely, so that no one in the future will ever be able to intrude upon us."
"How will you do that?" a^ked the Scarecrow.
"I do not know; but in some way I am sure it can be ac- complished. To-morrow I will make a journey to the castle of Glinda the Good, and ask her advice."
"May I go with you*?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.
"Of course, my dear Princess; and also I invite any of our friends here who would like to undertake the journey."
They all declared they wished to accompany their girl Ruler, for this was indeed an imporftant mission, since the future of the Land of Oz to a great extent depended upon it. So Ozma gave orders to her servants to prepare for the jour- ney on the morrow.
That day she watched her Magic Picture, and when it showed her that all the Nomes had returned through the tunnel to their underground caverns, Ozma us«d the Magic Belt to close up the tunnel, so that the earth underneath the desert sands became as solid as it was before the Nomes be- gan to dig.
Early the following morning a gay cavalcade set out to
291
The Emerald City of Oz
visit the famous !:>orceress, Glinda the Good. Ozma and Dorothy rode in a chariot drawn by the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, while the Sawhorse drew the red wagon in which rode the rest of the party.
With hearts light and free from care they traveled mer- rily along through the lovely and fascinating Land of Oz, and in good season reached the stately castle in which re- sided the Sorceress.
Glinda knew ^at they were coming.
'1 have been reading about you in my Magic Book," she said, as she greeted them in her gracious way.
"What is your Magic Book like?" inquired Aunt Em, curiously.
"It is a record of everything that happens," replied the Sorceress. "As soon as an event takes place, ajnywhere in the world, it is immediately found printed in my Magic Book. So when I read its pages I am well informed."
"Did it tell how our enemies drank the Water of 'Bliv- ion'?" asked Dorothy.
"Yes, my dear; it told all about it. And also it told me you were all coming to my castle, and why."
"Then," said Ozma, "I suppose you know what is in my mind, and that I am seeking a way to prevent any one in the future from discovering the Land of Oz."
"Yes; I know that. And while you were on your jour-
292
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
ney I have thought of a way to accomplish your desire. For it seems to me unwise to allow too many outside people to come here. Dorothy, with her uncle and aunt, has now re- turned to Oz to live always, and there is no reason why we should leave any way open for others to travel uninvited to our fairyland. Let us make it impossible for any one ever to communicate with us in any way, after this. Then we may live peacefully and contentedly."
"Your advice is wise," returned Ozma. "1 thank you, Glinda, for your promise to assist me."
"But how can you do it?" asked Dorothy. "How can you keep every one from ever finding Oz*?"
"By making our country invisible to all eyes but our own," replied the Sorceress, smiling. "I have a magic charm powerful enough to accomplish that wonderful feat, and now that we have been warned of our danger by the Nome King's invasion, I believe we must not hesitate to separate ourselves forever from all the rest of the world."
"I agree with you," said the Ruler of Oz.
"Won't it make any difference to us*?" asked Dorothy, doubtfully.
"No, my dear," Glinda answered, assuringly. "We shall still be able to see each other and everything in the Land of Oz. It won't affect us at all; but those who fly through the air over our country will look down and see nothing at all.
293
The Emerald City of Oz
Those who come to the edge of the desert, or try to cross it, will catch no glimpse of Oz, or know in what direction it lies. No one will try to tunnel to us again because we cannot be seen and therefore cannot be found. In other words, the Land of Oz will entirely disappear from the knowledge of the rest of the world."
"That 's all right," said Dorothy, cheerfully. "You may make Oz invis'ble as soon as you please, for all I care."
"It is already invisible," Glinda stated. "I knew Ozma's wishes, and performed the Magic Spell before you arrived."
Ozma seized the hand of the Sorceress and pressed it gratefully.
"Thank you!" she said.
294
aMFTERTlEri
THE writer of these Oz stones has received a little note from Princess Dorothy of Oz which, for a time, has made him feel rather discontented. The note was written on a broad white feather from a stork's wing, and it said:
''Tou will never hear anything more about Oz, because we are now cut off forever from all the rest of the world. But 'Toto and I will always love you and all the other children who love us.
"Dorothy Gale."
This seemed to me too bad, at first, for Oz is a very in- teresting fairyland. Still, we have no right to feel grieved, for we have had enough of the history of the Land of Oz to
The Emerald City of Oz
fill six story books, and from its quaint people and their strange adventures we have been able to learn many useful and amusing things.
So good luck to little Dorothy and her companions. May they live long in their invisible country and be very happy!
THL LND
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