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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56073 ***
+
+                             CAPTAIN SALT
+                                 IN OZ
+
+                                 _By_
+
+                         RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON
+            Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories
+
+                                 _By_
+                             L. FRANK BAUM
+                        "Royal Historian of Oz"
+
+                           _Illustrated by_
+                             JOHN R. NEILL
+
+                         The Reilly & Lee Co.
+                                CHICAGO
+
+                            Copyright, 1936
+                                  by
+                         THE REILLY & LEE CO.
+                          All rights reserved
+
+                         Printed in the U.S.A.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dear Boys and Girls:
+
+    Another year--
+    Another book,
+    And this time a voyage
+    That Sam Salt took
+    In that good old Ship,
+    The _Crescent Moon_--
+    Steering by compass,
+    By star and moon,
+    To discover new countries
+    For OZ. Hear! Hear!
+    He's discovered a whole
+    New Hemisphere!
+    Three cheers for Sam,
+    And his jolly crew,
+    And three for OZ
+    And three for YOU,
+    And three for me,
+    Though I don't need cheer
+    'Cause the letters you write
+    Keep me gay ALL year!
+
+So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will you? And remember
+to put your full name and complete address on the letter. Righto!
+
+And Best till I hear from you!
+
+RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                        THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
+                    WITH MY BEST BOW AND TOP WISHES
+                           TO MY PUBLISHER.
+
+                       --_Ruth Plumly Thompson_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+                           LIST OF CHAPTERS
+
+       1 SAIL HO!
+
+       2 ANCHORS AWEIGH
+
+       3 THE FIRE BABY
+
+       4 SAMUEL'S FIRST SPECIMEN
+
+       5 PATRIPPANY ISLAND
+
+       6 A LITTLE WILD MAN
+
+       7 STRANGE SPECIMENS FOR SAMUEL SALT
+
+       8 MAXIMS FOR MONARCHS
+
+       9 SEA LEGS FOR TANDY
+
+      10 THE CITY OF BRIDGES
+
+      11 THE PRINCE OF THE PEAKS
+
+      12 FOG
+
+      13 THE SEA FOREST
+
+      14 THE SEA UNICORN!
+
+      15 THE COLLECTOR IS COLLECTED
+
+      16 THE STORM!
+
+      17 THE OLD MAN OF THE JUNGLE!
+
+      18 A NEW COUNTRY
+
+      19 BOGLODORE'S REVENGE
+
+      20 KING TANDY
+
+      21 A VOYAGE RESUMED
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 1
+
+Sail Ho!
+
+
+Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King
+Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is
+nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms
+that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And
+Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with
+a kind word for everyone.
+
+In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort
+and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.
+For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing
+eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing
+hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his
+eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms
+holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the
+names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on
+the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he
+is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and
+colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into
+an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle
+is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only
+reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is
+decidedly luxurious and lazy.
+
+Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,
+attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have
+little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred
+and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving
+any trouble.
+
+Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but
+Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who
+landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out
+after them, using the pirate's stout ship the _Crescent Moon_, for the
+purpose.
+
+By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and
+sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out
+and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the _Crescent
+Moon_ reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here
+they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had
+been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to
+conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a
+poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You
+have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising
+experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon
+Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and
+country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious
+to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just
+to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.
+
+To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman
+on the _Crescent Moon_, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to
+a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and
+carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an
+interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his
+Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the
+Island--the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm
+trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the
+Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to
+a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and
+gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,
+but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast
+sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.
+
+"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,
+as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is
+the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of
+the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us
+and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."
+
+"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head
+positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he
+made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."
+
+"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's
+promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from
+pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering
+and forgotten us altogether!"
+
+"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with
+great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.
+"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King
+earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and
+burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him
+Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly
+well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and
+treasure."
+
+"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"
+observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the
+poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six
+feet in his socks."
+
+"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in
+his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and
+handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,
+and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And
+a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the
+Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,
+too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"
+
+"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed
+the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was
+to sail into our Harbor. Well, King--it's been six times six months,
+and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."
+
+"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.
+
+"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and
+twelve hours, to be exact!"
+
+"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured
+Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never
+believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"
+
+"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open
+his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon
+it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so
+you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something
+else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"
+finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a
+goat.
+
+"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a
+notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!
+Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of
+biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss
+out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I--I, why, I'm
+surprised at you, Roger!"
+
+Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at
+himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man
+with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever
+since his voyage on the _Crescent Moon_, cooking had been Ato's chief
+pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved
+of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so
+finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his
+delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.
+
+Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to
+frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger
+started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read
+on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a
+page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.
+
+"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,
+Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into
+the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.
+
+Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his
+eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific
+thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the
+hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously
+around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with
+insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts
+and what not.
+
+Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and
+finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the
+King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.
+For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the _Crescent Moon_
+herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of
+the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast
+today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and
+white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of
+the most famous Fairyland in History.
+
+"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.
+"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the
+Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his
+wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.
+
+"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I
+ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already
+reached the _Crescent Moon_ and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was
+chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his
+steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had
+half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted
+vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet
+planks of the royal dock.
+
+"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it
+really my old cook and shipmate?"
+
+"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.
+"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and
+scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look
+natural or seaman-like at all."
+
+"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered
+hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for
+impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this
+voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set
+the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage
+tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we
+must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"
+
+"Yes--I sup-pose--so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up
+with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to
+be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace
+collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"
+
+"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail
+feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we
+please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."
+
+"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old
+pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.
+
+"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your
+galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below
+to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,
+Lubber!"
+
+"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke
+in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know
+it."
+
+"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself
+a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,
+Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."
+
+"So--oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into
+the Captain's face,
+
+    "Ho pass the salt and ring the bell
+    And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"
+
+"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on
+the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.
+"Sir Samuel!"
+
+"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come
+on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave
+your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"
+
+"Keep _you_ waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet
+and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've
+been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,
+twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son
+of a sea-robber?"
+
+"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and
+dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely
+had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last
+voyage, and to fit out the _Crescent Moon_ for the next."
+
+"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.
+
+"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"
+muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.
+
+"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King
+accusingly. "And what would the _Crescent Moon_ be needing? I thought
+she was about perfect as she was."
+
+"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up
+immediately at mention of his ship. "The _Crescent Moon_, besides a
+new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering
+control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn
+paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical
+contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no
+crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"
+
+"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger
+jealously.
+
+"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.
+
+"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my
+place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging
+uneasily at the cord round his waist.
+
+"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!
+Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley
+to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"
+
+"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down
+on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd
+never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without
+us!"
+
+"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at
+the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"
+
+"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on
+ahead.
+
+"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the
+steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a
+chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"
+
+"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding
+exuberantly after the King.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 2
+
+Anchors Aweigh!
+
+
+With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,
+Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest
+or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the _Crescent Moon_.
+There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most
+of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook
+books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg
+beaters, and rolling pins.
+
+"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as
+he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my
+topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato
+we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer
+needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"
+
+Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded
+determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,
+ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long
+following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly
+tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel
+had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but
+a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the
+crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the
+east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the
+booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from
+there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.
+
+This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and
+treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were
+the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and
+extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were
+numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.
+
+"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to
+bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at
+the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,
+there and everywhere as we sail onward!"
+
+"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag
+planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully
+fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you
+don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"
+
+"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the
+scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad
+and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.
+But look, Ato, my lad--these will interest you." Turning from the
+chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of
+the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger
+and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping
+the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the
+jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable
+pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the
+first island we come to. Eh, boys?"
+
+"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long
+disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash
+yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY
+advice!"
+
+"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a
+resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show
+you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside
+for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious
+mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."
+
+Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned
+his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,
+swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down
+to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge
+aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried
+moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.
+
+"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching
+the side of an enormous aquarium.
+
+"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did
+not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll--I'll have
+no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning
+things topsy turvy."
+
+"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about
+shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and
+the best way to begin a voyage is to start."
+
+"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden
+ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off
+the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a
+pig's jiffy."
+
+"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's
+octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.
+"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep
+the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."
+
+"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up
+on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to
+your Highness!"
+
+"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a
+megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight
+months from yesterday."
+
+"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to
+wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer--and a bold bad
+seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles
+for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never
+see a castle again."
+
+"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.
+"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."
+
+"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel
+with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East
+by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North
+Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers
+of some deep and mysterious jungle!"
+
+"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the
+wheel.
+
+"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this
+like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his
+hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the
+wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.
+
+"M--mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.
+
+"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,
+shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?
+That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no
+getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up
+another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the
+voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim
+and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel
+for any course and just let her ride."
+
+"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But
+since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about
+dinner."
+
+"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"
+exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."
+
+"Ho--I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.
+"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain--a fried
+sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"
+
+"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath
+in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the
+foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's
+mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran
+smoothly before the wind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 3
+
+The Fire Baby
+
+
+Morning found the _Crescent Moon_ forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a
+choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.
+
+"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his
+legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to
+the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best
+sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove
+over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed
+his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.
+
+"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and
+discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having
+finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of
+potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion
+when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the
+crown of Oz?"
+
+"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and
+blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite
+and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma
+particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its
+will."
+
+"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to
+pare a fat potato. "What then?"
+
+"Well, then--er then--" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try
+persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under
+the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to
+get them, don't you think?"
+
+"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato
+dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and
+persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs
+and poison arrows?"
+
+"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing
+soberly at the compass, "and in that case----"
+
+"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"
+Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,
+Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed
+as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be
+sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered
+hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger
+carry the books ashore too."
+
+"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_, giving his knee
+a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,
+Mates, remember?"
+
+"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good
+many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What
+makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like
+yourself."
+
+"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny
+arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate--it
+rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But
+don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.
+But avast there--it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.
+Had you noticed?"
+
+"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island
+astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was
+supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after
+snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,
+taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,
+who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to
+report a new island to the Captain.
+
+"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and
+waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first
+discovery."
+
+"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying
+to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to
+take to reach the island at all.
+
+It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,
+with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the
+_Crescent Moon_ drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the
+air sulphurous and hot.
+
+"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,
+peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far
+as I can see--but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."
+
+"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the
+wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open
+sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like
+this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to
+anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone
+clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from
+the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.
+
+"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.
+"Stand by to man the guns!"
+
+But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff
+the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that
+case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted
+to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living
+creatures in the center."
+
+"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white
+apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that
+fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but
+we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that
+who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors
+aweigh!"
+
+While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began
+frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out
+of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the
+_Crescent Moon_. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,
+and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical
+devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,
+tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,
+till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the
+hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.
+
+"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two
+buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?
+Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in
+a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the
+center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner
+of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and
+flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.
+
+"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and
+declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma
+of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.
+
+"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel
+Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who
+remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even
+a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.
+Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of
+smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.
+
+"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting
+down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he
+is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.
+Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks
+were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned
+red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great
+sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking
+and hissing into the sea.
+
+"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel
+as the _Crescent Moon_ plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder
+what started that?"
+
+"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke
+for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool
+bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."
+
+Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed
+forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but
+surely through the deck.
+
+"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail
+unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow
+Poke!"
+
+"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the
+glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.
+It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on
+a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for
+proof."
+
+"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in
+his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold
+on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a
+hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it
+out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"
+
+"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato
+raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a
+rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A
+shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."
+
+"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying
+down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a
+ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back
+with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often
+used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby
+and started on a run for the galley.
+
+"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate
+collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were
+its own mother. "Aye, aye--it's going out!"
+
+"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in
+tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"
+
+Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two
+buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for
+the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range
+and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the
+squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once
+and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.
+
+"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel
+from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever
+made you think of that?"
+
+"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper
+place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that
+a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the
+nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was
+regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel
+picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do
+fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that
+volcanos are inhabited."
+
+"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist
+down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the
+Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that
+fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with
+the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not
+falling into the soup when my back is turned?"
+
+"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,
+and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as
+groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.
+
+"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,
+pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.
+Ho--this WILL be interesting!"
+
+"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"
+suggested Ato bitterly.
+
+Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's
+sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just
+showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row
+of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent
+rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that
+coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they
+were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats
+and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced
+and screamed louder than all the rest put together.
+
+"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,
+undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and
+save his ship from possible destruction.
+
+"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings
+triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.
+You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See
+that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?
+Well, look--she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She
+wants her baby back."
+
+"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the
+frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal
+people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to
+buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."
+
+"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was
+unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.
+
+"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it
+back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the
+terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."
+
+"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our
+lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"
+
+"Er--er--let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for
+clams," proposed the cook eagerly.
+
+"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would
+grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we
+could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing
+things."
+
+"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated
+Islanders.
+
+"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port
+cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if
+you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my
+wings and be done with it."
+
+"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch
+it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out
+of range."
+
+"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_, shifting his feet uncomfortably.
+
+"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little
+rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."
+
+By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that
+even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat
+mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the
+port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident
+from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire
+tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little
+fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.
+
+The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying
+instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged
+on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations
+and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The
+terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost
+afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.
+
+"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching
+the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot
+you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon
+ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava
+Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,
+the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her
+thanks across the tumbling waters.
+
+"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward
+and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.
+"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."
+
+"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly
+depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.
+
+"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the
+Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let
+me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time
+they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is
+Ozma's."
+
+"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my
+duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our
+kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."
+
+The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of
+iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long
+enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting
+the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily
+back to the Island.
+
+"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands
+together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy
+deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."
+
+This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet
+interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their
+hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,
+swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner
+between two smoking boulders soared aloft.
+
+"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now
+under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,
+you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one
+another!"
+
+His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing
+triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the _Crescent
+Moon_.
+
+"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their
+heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 4
+
+Samuel's First Specimen
+
+
+"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped
+breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.
+Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal
+Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call
+booming back across the water.
+
+An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,
+a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs
+were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do
+any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough
+for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller
+as the _Crescent Moon_ sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,
+jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude
+as he ran along.
+
+"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who
+had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering
+over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on
+the sulphurous surface of the rock.
+
+"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was
+perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a
+golden frog or a lizard."
+
+"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.
+
+"Why, this--this--" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and
+disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster
+as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,
+straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and
+Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point
+just as well."
+
+"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the
+Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of
+the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.
+
+"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but
+don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all
+you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."
+
+"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."
+Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down
+hard on his shiny bald head.
+
+"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger
+practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in
+captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal--this way, my little crater critter."
+Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find
+the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid
+adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly
+righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a
+satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"
+
+"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.
+"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At
+least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW--" Ato waved
+his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and
+time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.
+I've meat to broil!"
+
+"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"
+exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake
+turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?
+An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric
+monster."
+
+"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's
+shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,
+Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps
+on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had
+just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the
+galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.
+
+"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging
+jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed
+cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen
+of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking
+meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read
+Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the
+tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.
+
+The main cabin of the _Crescent Moon_, with its red leather couches
+under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to
+keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,
+was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a
+huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall
+was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and
+rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel
+and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his
+upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that
+all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the
+sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind
+creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a
+seaman could wish for.
+
+"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud
+of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the
+long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail
+on."
+
+"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and
+settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our
+volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island
+must have a name you know."
+
+"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his
+throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it
+Salamander Island after Sally."
+
+"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"
+warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his
+head in time to the music.
+
+"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map
+of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.
+
+"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout
+here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."
+
+As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_ drew with red chalk a small but effective picture
+of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland
+Islanders grouped around the crater's top.
+
+"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed
+Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.
+
+"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw
+argumentatively.
+
+"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain
+stepping back to admire his drawing.
+
+"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands
+for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully
+at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once
+ourselves."
+
+"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk
+back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries
+that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz
+is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since
+Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and
+prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"
+
+"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small
+wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting
+and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms
+in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire
+of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western
+domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The
+Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all
+these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but
+all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small
+but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is
+surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent
+Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the
+Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These
+countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies
+the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one
+knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in
+Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,
+towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there
+was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on
+every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more
+territory.
+
+"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these
+new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after
+staring at the map for some moments in silence.
+
+"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of
+his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of
+airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark
+and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or
+less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma
+will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as
+some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few
+islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his
+arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.
+
+"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's
+enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off
+on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"
+
+"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I
+can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all
+the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,
+and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in--we've had a hard day
+and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have
+middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."
+
+"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up
+plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"
+
+"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's
+plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."
+
+"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily
+through an open port.
+
+"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the
+Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you
+great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"
+Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched
+back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.
+"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted
+indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and
+seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,
+relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,
+"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on
+the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of
+soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,
+"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young
+sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've
+ever gazed on."
+
+Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook
+padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with
+loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over
+the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and
+shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping
+soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.
+
+First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer
+and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the
+cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols
+had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of
+Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.
+Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on
+a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.
+Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box
+with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing
+salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny
+flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming
+pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the
+box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole
+contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to
+fetch the fire lizard.
+
+The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and
+giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished
+to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering
+she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to
+figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,
+carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had
+already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red
+hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new
+quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily
+in her swimming pool.
+
+"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and
+gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going
+to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the
+lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her
+tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange
+behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.
+Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself
+upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where
+she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.
+
+"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly
+cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably
+in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,
+and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb
+cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away
+delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,
+the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she
+peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on
+the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the
+rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going
+out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder
+and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight
+when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only
+then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when
+morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was
+cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the
+cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the
+foremast.
+
+"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 5
+
+Patrippany Island
+
+
+"All hands on deck! Come on! Come _on_!" yelled Samuel Salt running
+past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island
+tuluward, you lubber."
+
+"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out
+the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No
+cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"
+But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved
+all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich
+and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on
+the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and
+whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."
+
+"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore
+Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."
+
+Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself
+into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting
+through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so
+dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but
+after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain
+decided to take a chance, and sail through.
+
+"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook
+lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on
+an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let
+us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and
+decorum."
+
+"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye
+does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you
+have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on
+our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."
+
+So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in
+the foremast, Samuel swung the _Crescent Moon_ in toward the island.
+Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea
+and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle
+stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and
+monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A
+flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they
+penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if
+they were entering some dim green land of goblins.
+
+"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned
+Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley
+with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"
+
+"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute
+now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer
+a fried mackerel in my stomach."
+
+"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,
+"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."
+
+"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the
+buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.
+"Never say die--say dee--dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.
+Dee-scovery with a _hi de di dide di dough_!" sang Samuel vociferously
+to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream
+the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and
+their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the
+noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river
+creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by
+the islanders.
+
+"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of
+coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only
+Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear
+away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of
+the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit
+when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and
+three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by
+the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife
+and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.
+
+"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding
+whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as
+stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing
+angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No
+need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this
+time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy
+as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."
+
+Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow
+Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over
+the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his
+feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and
+down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato
+handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his
+stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied
+that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.
+
+"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and
+start coming."
+
+"Chee tree--tee--hee--!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung
+precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with
+the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed
+to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long
+quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another
+step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple
+over backwards.
+
+"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.
+"Watch out for those 'gators."
+
+"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly
+all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.
+
+"Not _his_ gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed
+Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."
+
+Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the
+river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and
+come savagely toward them.
+
+"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching
+Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to
+move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so
+violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He
+could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a
+loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.
+Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a
+heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.
+
+"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul
+who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping
+the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his
+Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would
+have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed
+where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss
+to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and
+right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked
+futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,
+after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in
+and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the
+water.
+
+"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't
+had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what
+can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for
+where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming
+up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.
+For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had
+been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even
+imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.
+But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose
+higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled
+figure sprawled across its slippery back.
+
+"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is
+it really you? Are you safe, then?"
+
+"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon
+Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a
+boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt
+safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"
+
+"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her
+shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come
+rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with
+you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers
+are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."
+For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his
+gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the
+opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you
+ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her
+mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.
+
+"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold
+on the monster's slippery neck.
+
+"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"
+snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.
+
+"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my
+father and mother and maiden aunts!"
+
+"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered
+fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any
+further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster
+carries off my poor Master?"
+
+"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do
+not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems
+uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me--" the Royal Explorer
+looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to
+find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in
+Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.
+And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply
+splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the
+last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped
+up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned
+a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as
+Ato had done.
+
+"Ugh--gr--ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did
+that happen?"
+
+"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with
+Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.
+And a fine Discoverer you look now."
+
+Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then
+shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam
+thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the
+bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree
+snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree
+top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking
+merriment.
+
+"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the
+hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice
+mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato
+felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then
+hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at
+the Leader of the Expedition.
+
+"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting
+down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank
+interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."
+
+"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick
+green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.
+"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and--"
+
+"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,
+as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.
+"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to
+his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging
+hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."
+
+"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his
+hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that
+animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's
+the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel
+turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.
+
+"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What
+may that mean?"
+
+"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,
+grinning in spite of himself.
+
+"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how
+beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward
+and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.
+"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a
+gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to
+Patrippany Island."
+
+"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!
+Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip
+in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"
+
+"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly
+massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak
+our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean
+that monkey chatter above."
+
+"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"
+answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till
+five moons ago last Herb Day."
+
+"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed
+Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his
+river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep
+away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"
+
+"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.
+"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that
+is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and--"
+
+"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that
+makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little
+excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and
+if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."
+
+"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did
+not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.
+"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?
+What made you do that?"
+
+"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.
+
+"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled
+out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a
+native boy?" he asked eagerly.
+
+"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very
+idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language
+I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to
+them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks
+and spears and--"
+
+"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a
+tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.
+Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by
+Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the
+ship."
+
+"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she
+gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little
+Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you
+wish to go."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 6
+
+A Little Wild Man
+
+
+"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt
+to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't
+go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our
+language."
+
+"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at
+Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly
+up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with
+a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the
+_Crescent Moon_, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard
+Men. Mind, now!"
+
+"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and
+smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato
+and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier
+from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.
+
+"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to
+fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former
+Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the
+tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.
+
+"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward
+the river bank.
+
+"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with
+horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging
+at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my
+buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."
+
+"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the
+hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand
+where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.
+
+"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of
+the _Crescent Moon_ mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his
+cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have
+been an achievement worth the whole voyage."
+
+"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more
+comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would
+rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how
+many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!
+Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.
+
+"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped
+his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then
+Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."
+
+"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its
+sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.
+"Fly ahead, my Hearty."
+
+"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and
+mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for
+Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were
+they little or big, black or brown?"
+
+"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown
+spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and
+rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed
+like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.
+They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day
+every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and
+paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward--" Nikobo's eyes grew round and
+shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose
+and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,
+saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated
+back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."
+
+"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.
+
+"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"
+the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much
+better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've
+been feeding him myself."
+
+"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in
+bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.
+
+"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a
+hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"
+
+"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I
+collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."
+
+"Roots, herbs--grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,
+herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous
+in your life?"
+
+"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here--"
+The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small
+boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and
+where is he now?"
+
+"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you
+shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and
+biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly
+riding behind.
+
+On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through
+the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their
+branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip
+the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a
+huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.
+Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled
+the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes
+left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that
+might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard
+Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and
+without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a
+small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.
+
+Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars
+constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass
+in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy
+clothed in a single leopard skin.
+
+"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by
+the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea
+sailor!"
+
+"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you
+see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?
+He's not like the Leopard Men at all."
+
+"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing
+here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the
+bars of the strange prison.
+
+"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,
+rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he
+looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"
+he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"
+
+"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the
+hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought
+they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log
+seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In
+this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own
+people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"
+explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so
+deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed
+too hard."
+
+"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.
+"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,
+little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"
+
+"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the
+bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my
+teeth for every day I have been here."
+
+"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook
+with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib
+showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots
+in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and
+sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,
+nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman
+to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the
+hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars
+of his cage.
+
+"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild
+and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least
+I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and
+hardships I should suffer at sea?"
+
+"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and
+forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you
+could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had
+forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing
+still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues
+and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and
+discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.
+
+"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?
+Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a
+little wild man already."
+
+"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call
+Tandy a wild man."
+
+"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet
+dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I
+am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."
+
+"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands
+sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal
+company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,
+Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present
+a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as
+Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are
+a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."
+Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the
+little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in
+return you must believe _us_, and stop all this hoity toity talk and
+clishmaclatter."
+
+"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the
+bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly
+person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go
+with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."
+
+"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,
+relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.
+
+"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo
+lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far
+corner of his cage.
+
+"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as
+Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his
+own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with
+deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So
+you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato
+folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the
+leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do
+they call you at home?"
+
+"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the
+land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long
+continent of Tarara is my home."
+
+"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So
+there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one
+would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is
+twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat
+impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the
+little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those
+creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"
+Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young
+King's face.
+
+"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,
+returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that
+a ship has never touched our shores?"
+
+"Then the _Crescent Moon_ shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,
+snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the
+most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen
+to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately
+afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"
+
+"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before
+he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the
+White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The
+Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered
+on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots
+of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they
+mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one
+to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and
+try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed
+me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door
+in the bars and stuck both hands through.
+
+"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze
+up into Nikobo's huge face.
+
+"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to
+say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was
+talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my
+own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and
+pleasure."
+
+"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.
+"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you
+happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these
+hardships and unpleasant experiences."
+
+"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away
+from the outstretched arms of Ato.
+
+"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk
+of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.
+None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to
+do--whoo--Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began
+to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel
+Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the
+gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.
+
+"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.
+Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed
+two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the
+vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,
+Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed
+to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax
+she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,
+demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and
+without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized
+the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the
+hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of
+the _Crescent Moon_ sternly led the way to the edge of the island.
+Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys
+and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal
+Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander
+Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY--ay--ayyyy!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 7
+
+Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt
+
+
+With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the
+little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps
+because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he
+was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.
+Not even the _Crescent Moon_, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed
+to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.
+
+"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight
+of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the
+boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of
+being crocked for the rest of my life."
+
+"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless
+greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily
+about in the muddy river water.
+
+"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,
+Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,
+Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and
+I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens
+to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at
+Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping
+joyously behind him.
+
+"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.
+"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat
+around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange
+grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me
+gather a few."
+
+"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's
+bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.
+
+"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.
+"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the
+misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then
+I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for
+him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."
+
+"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato
+disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is
+himself a King."
+
+"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning
+wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."
+With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking
+it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly
+creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.
+Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed
+the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly
+asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an
+hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack
+and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.
+
+"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the
+ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back
+cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"
+
+"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so
+small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has
+been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with
+only a miserable hippopotamus for company."
+
+"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very
+superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with
+you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying
+bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,
+the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.
+"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as
+Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make
+allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his
+own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say
+he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.
+Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz
+looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung
+from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with
+spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea
+shells tied up in his shore-going coat.
+
+"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger
+helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.
+
+"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato
+and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.
+
+"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout
+warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,
+too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them
+Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they
+would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling
+about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even
+stand up."
+
+"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these
+might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a
+few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this
+voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting
+plants, too?"
+
+"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep
+rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying
+him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"
+explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had
+with one of these vines in my early youth."
+
+"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's
+collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right
+have such things on a ship?"
+
+"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel
+easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming
+country."
+
+"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to
+Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,
+Master Salt."
+
+"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful
+so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing
+contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.
+
+"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!
+Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the
+crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you
+planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about
+their new sovereign?"
+
+Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the
+tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.
+I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear
+'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape
+of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors
+from Oz."
+
+"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps
+and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate
+as Nikobo here."
+
+"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,
+luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.
+"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son
+of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a
+couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some
+time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he
+calmly spoke his mind.
+
+"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here
+with Kobo till my own people come for me."
+
+"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny
+youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to
+leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's
+back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.
+Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather
+sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.
+
+"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the
+sand. "And no one can make me."
+
+"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought
+of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to
+further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and
+began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference
+Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had
+finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.
+
+"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken
+voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"
+
+"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand
+to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking
+wildly from the hippopotamus to the _Crescent Moon_, Samuel had a
+dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his
+cherished vessel.
+
+"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than
+polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,
+she'll sink the ship."
+
+"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a
+meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."
+
+"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a
+great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind
+motherly creature that she is!"
+
+"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and--" Then
+suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.
+
+"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his
+oranges from one shoulder to the other.
+
+"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly
+delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen
+back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.
+We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and
+meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in
+the hold."
+
+"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of
+life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge
+champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."
+
+"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato
+in Samuel's ear.
+
+"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a
+taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last
+swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and
+wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails
+Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their
+new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from
+sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the
+evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all
+the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,
+Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a
+strange procession started out for the _Crescent Moon_. Ahead with the
+keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a
+small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty
+young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in
+his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he
+meant to fasten it to the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so
+Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to
+the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the
+ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of
+the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no
+trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could
+raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt
+the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and
+seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly
+pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious
+specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,
+the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_ weighed anchor and dropped with
+the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the
+automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,
+adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode
+happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed
+her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary
+explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a
+shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.
+
+"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.
+
+"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,
+waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you
+and Ato would want him in here."
+
+"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small
+berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never
+be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out
+of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his
+spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel
+hurried out on deck.
+
+Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding
+himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had
+taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old
+pirate suits.
+
+"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring
+sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the
+suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young
+monarch.
+
+"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he
+repeated dismally.
+
+"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking
+at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the
+hatches with lubbers!"
+
+Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,
+though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what
+Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and
+pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.
+Gulls flew in excited circles all round the _Crescent Moon_, calling
+out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning
+on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz
+flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive
+appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he
+had done a good day's discovering.
+
+"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at
+Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.
+
+"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.
+
+"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo
+remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of
+you yet, my lass!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 8
+
+Maxims for Monarchs
+
+
+When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden
+spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a
+rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.
+
+"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call
+the young voyager, came flying back to the table.
+
+"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,
+popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.
+
+"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down
+with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"
+
+"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots
+and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with
+meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these
+seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."
+
+"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,
+pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little
+pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"
+
+"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato
+handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"
+
+"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and
+able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at
+Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good
+example?"
+
+Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and
+kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his
+bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little
+fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.
+
+"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.
+"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every
+scrap."
+
+"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder
+of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.
+But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants
+from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail
+conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's
+cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted
+that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the
+young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his
+bunk.
+
+"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea
+chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the
+crew?"
+
+"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his
+inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.
+
+"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions
+and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any
+chance referring to me?"
+
+"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated
+Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another
+screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a
+long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both
+calm and reasonable.
+
+"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its
+King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger
+firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the
+Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw
+at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the
+shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,
+but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and
+opened his volume.
+
+"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird
+impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely
+a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by
+sheer worth and ability alone."
+
+"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden
+interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and
+the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,
+his royal instructor at home.
+
+"I am reading _Maxims for Monarchs_," answered Roger calmly, "a book of
+great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz
+and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and
+important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he
+continued severely.
+
+"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,
+looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no _Maxims for Monarchs_
+in Ozamaland."
+
+"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of
+his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably
+know nothing about such matters."
+
+"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this
+two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.
+
+"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has
+been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,
+acting in this small up-country fashion--what CAN a fellow think?
+Here--" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the
+Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy
+reread the passage Roger had just quoted.
+
+"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither
+is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former
+arrogance.
+
+"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his
+claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,
+a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times
+as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the _Crescent
+Moon_, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to
+govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there
+wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for
+me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can
+live my own life and go and come as I please."
+
+"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy
+wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little
+boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.
+
+"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"
+sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways
+down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is
+useful or interesting?"
+
+"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why--er--why, I can draw
+pictures and ride an elephant."
+
+"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his
+best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much
+call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water
+to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the
+crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever
+blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person
+than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a
+ship!"
+
+"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"
+
+"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled
+off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell
+me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and
+happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"
+
+"It is not seemly--" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is--"
+
+"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped
+Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before
+you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"
+
+Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands
+nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,
+"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.
+In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and
+mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being
+prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years
+of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked
+away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."
+
+"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words
+since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"
+
+"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for
+there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening
+I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look
+down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out
+and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed
+eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.
+
+"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.
+
+"The word was _play_," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom
+did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"
+
+Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never
+heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say
+is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you
+a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found
+you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be
+different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.
+You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person
+and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun
+or break a wing in the attempt."
+
+"But would a King--"
+
+"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,
+sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out
+again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please
+so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And
+tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded
+almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,
+Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed
+Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you
+want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully
+over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed
+through the port.
+
+For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last
+injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he
+really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly
+he knew. Why, of course--he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain
+WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it
+into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only
+a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling
+in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant
+wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his
+breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.
+
+"Kobo--Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.
+
+"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her
+vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.
+"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.
+
+"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced
+over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him
+enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.
+Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide
+and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake
+into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her
+lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to
+think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll
+throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,
+Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."
+
+Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost
+cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy
+quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?
+There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.
+He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea
+chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet
+of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself
+cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles
+and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and
+Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.
+
+When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's
+light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new
+pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk
+was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's
+inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read
+Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or
+undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went
+quietly from the cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 9
+
+Sea Legs for Tandy
+
+
+"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a
+pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their
+breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,
+the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright
+sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong
+to the pig family when you come to think of it."
+
+"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,
+swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take
+her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's
+son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we
+reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.
+Hoh!"
+
+"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to
+fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will
+bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten
+years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to
+have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the
+jungle I can't get through my head at all."
+
+"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump
+shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it
+is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"
+
+"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.
+Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.
+"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,
+in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to
+bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and
+anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride
+to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the
+evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,
+"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and
+creeping birds, eh, Mates?"
+
+"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and
+be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the
+way, how's Sally this morning?'
+
+"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water
+and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her
+round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"
+
+"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted
+Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings
+from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and
+beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."
+
+"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head
+in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't
+you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of
+sea soup sprinkled with faggots."
+
+"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee
+pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.
+
+The day was bright and breezy and the _Crescent Moon_ going free,
+breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a
+morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an
+uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up
+smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.
+
+"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,
+hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to
+the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with
+the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,
+and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and
+came striding aft.
+
+"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.
+Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.
+
+"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the
+foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with
+deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger
+was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,
+Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made
+a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your
+feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as
+flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!
+Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up--up and up the narrow rope
+ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar
+and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.
+"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,
+winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy
+was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set
+himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.
+Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,
+the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the
+foremast.
+
+"The _Crescent Moon_," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,
+"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take
+from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring
+her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we
+three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy
+hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the
+foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the
+ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water
+birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the
+sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the
+bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal
+and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.
+"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is
+attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant
+sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on
+the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."
+
+"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on
+the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he
+tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.
+
+"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is
+bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer
+the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the
+_Crescent Moon_, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was
+simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"
+he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic
+circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?
+A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging
+so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"
+
+Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship
+on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City--Patrippany Island--all
+his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped
+in his heart of hearts the _Crescent Moon_ would not reach his native
+shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person _was_ fun.
+
+"M--mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells
+like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."
+
+"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.
+"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a
+large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and
+shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.
+
+"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's
+something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"
+
+"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he
+repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few
+inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun--that's
+a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!
+Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles
+but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers
+and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All
+hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the
+hatches!"
+
+Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,
+descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out
+with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife
+in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to
+his largest spyglass.
+
+"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,
+this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine
+ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"
+
+"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are
+you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your
+ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with
+the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"
+Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that
+there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and
+with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the
+ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable
+head came curling far over the bow of the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,
+dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his
+wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.
+
+Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell
+flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making
+a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was
+leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant
+with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was
+the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his
+ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin
+brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they
+screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next
+forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among
+them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel
+fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen
+guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.
+
+With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of
+still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming
+with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,
+and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into
+the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn
+and setting the _Crescent Moon_ to dancing like a cocklebur. But the
+taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,
+and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea
+monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing
+away toward the skyline.
+
+"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap
+to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain
+touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."
+
+"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed
+Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely
+specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets
+rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."
+
+"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking
+rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell
+Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to
+his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably
+frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked
+up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he
+panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a
+picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.
+Here it is--tail, teeth and everything!"
+
+"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to
+perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in
+action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young
+lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,
+I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra
+rations and pay."
+
+"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings
+gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from
+King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry
+rations and pay!"
+
+Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,
+and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,
+Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger
+had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and
+Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm
+at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and
+strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy
+so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm
+and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained
+his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy
+was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and
+wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.
+
+"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the
+shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all
+help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping
+time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:
+
+    "Blow high--blow low--
+      'Tis a salt sea life for me--
+    With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue
+      With a good ship going free--eeeh--eeeh!
+    With a good ship going free!"
+
+Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 10
+
+The City of Bridges
+
+
+The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had
+known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,
+pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,
+the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of
+the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had
+besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble
+aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the
+rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special
+rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on
+Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful
+hippopotamus.
+
+Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved
+the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often
+floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the
+ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged
+on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all
+crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the
+hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and
+with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious
+vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she
+had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking
+cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,
+giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking
+nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to
+the fullest extent.
+
+On calm mornings, with the _Crescent Moon_ hove to, all hands would go
+swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty
+porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy
+had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain
+could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had
+made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched
+upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,
+but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and
+Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy
+diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream
+with envy and approval.
+
+Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not
+really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on
+Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to
+his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus
+made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who
+did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for
+hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness
+to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted
+was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and
+join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain
+(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire
+listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been
+a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and
+treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of
+these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire
+lizard.
+
+Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.
+They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,
+for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she
+touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had
+only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a
+cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally
+took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs
+or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she
+spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to
+Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear
+her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.
+
+Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,
+Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants
+from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of
+lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after
+the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.
+The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the
+Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung
+above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a
+scientific laboratory every day.
+
+"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those
+big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink
+label on a fluted conch shell.
+
+"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling
+what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on
+a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,
+Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've
+had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to
+happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn
+in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."
+
+"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly
+clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and
+terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"
+
+"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back
+on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's
+foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just
+get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,
+why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we
+landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how
+big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg
+and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to
+nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to
+see, eh, Kinglet?"
+
+"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I
+don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."
+
+"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy
+suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son
+of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the
+_Crescent Moon's_ afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with
+you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel
+tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main
+and mizzen topsails.
+
+Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,
+Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had
+happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife
+still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft
+the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses
+Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit
+of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a
+piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,
+needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way
+of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color
+of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look
+at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they
+sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges
+ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all
+the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted
+cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on
+either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering
+poles and spears and halberds.
+
+"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared
+Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be
+pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a
+boulder?"
+
+"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting
+curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting
+on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.
+
+"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.
+Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."
+
+"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking
+Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the
+bridges, a three-master, larger than the _Crescent Moon_."
+
+"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.
+"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates
+sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the
+buttons on his sail controls.
+
+"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest
+bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all
+the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of
+yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her
+head in her drinking tub.
+
+"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port
+gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a
+rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not
+help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry
+from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung
+down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously
+aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping
+toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and
+then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the
+descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships
+would surely be demolished.
+
+"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,
+gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I
+can bear anything."
+
+"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the
+shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers--it will shiver all of our
+timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order
+to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh--hh!"
+But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.
+
+"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"
+bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.
+As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen
+and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole
+length of the _Crescent Moon_. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change
+in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of
+canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect
+air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish
+catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the _Crescent Moon_ rose
+buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly
+beneath her bow.
+
+"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.
+"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm
+no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder
+Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply
+and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the
+deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.
+
+"Wha--wha--where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings
+in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us
+you had balloon sails, Master Salt."
+
+"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp
+below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,
+mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."
+
+"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.
+"It all looks sharp to me."
+
+"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks
+and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and
+belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The
+altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.
+How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky
+island? How could we even take half of them?"
+
+"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by
+surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz
+flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."
+
+"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his
+way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his
+arms full of Oz flags, the _Crescent Moon_ hung directly over the
+glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up
+hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the
+sparkling blue lake between the peaks.
+
+Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon
+sails so skillfully the _Crescent Moon_ came down lightly as a swan in
+the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides
+hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned
+silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its
+curious crew.
+
+"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing
+voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as
+before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an
+island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of
+her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"
+
+"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid
+of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span
+connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 11
+
+The Prince of the Peaks
+
+
+The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little
+gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their
+pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.
+
+"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest
+Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU--you who come in
+this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"
+
+"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain
+of the _Crescent Moon_ and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King
+of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any
+of the others had time to speak for themselves.
+
+The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and
+breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and
+rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone
+aboard the _Crescent Moon_, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's
+boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his
+royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.
+
+"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de
+Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.
+"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,
+Bird and Conquerors?"
+
+"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.
+"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the
+rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to
+this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."
+
+"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower
+bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again
+eeeeee-yen!"
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word
+as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the _Crescent
+Moon_."
+
+The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his
+long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the
+bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself
+gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a
+swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the
+Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable
+refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced
+him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the
+lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with
+suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their
+own.
+
+"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato
+in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?
+And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put
+on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and
+Doughnuts."
+
+"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know
+it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out
+the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my
+famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket
+before you can say Oz Robinson!"
+
+When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found
+the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck
+in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and
+handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything
+from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the
+crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table
+with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew
+friendlier and more confidential still.
+
+"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a
+puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."
+
+"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest
+wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the _Crescent Moon_,
+your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put
+about."
+
+"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed
+Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the _Mountain Lass_, would have been
+destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what
+we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the
+torrent."
+
+"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the
+Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I
+reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be
+delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily
+as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."
+
+"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,
+who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But
+tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is
+required of us?"
+
+"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This
+island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so
+just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact
+with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are
+ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In
+time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and
+in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing
+these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to
+come and live as your loyal subjects here."
+
+"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the
+prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could
+easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all
+of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a
+pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"
+Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated
+the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no
+intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange
+conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.
+
+"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've
+pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a
+hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me--"
+
+The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,
+Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.
+
+"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill
+tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the
+deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's
+Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the
+_Crescent Moon_, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and
+swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the
+shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering
+castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.
+With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and
+Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little
+exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was
+much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the
+yodelers.
+
+Ato, watching from the deck of the _Crescent Moon_, presently saw the
+flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with
+a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles
+and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on
+all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's
+city.
+
+From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of
+his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent
+on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,
+explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old
+customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders
+could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when
+they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,
+but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family
+could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window
+box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had
+perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,
+potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following
+corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after
+the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top
+every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh
+vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every
+known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines
+and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of
+a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy
+peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea
+food the Islanders fared splendidly.
+
+The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women
+alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried
+pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while
+delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as
+steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver
+and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of
+which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.
+
+"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to
+Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.
+
+"It _is_ magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little
+nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow
+old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light
+hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."
+
+"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er--and hear," he added quickly as the
+wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the
+palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report
+Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of
+the voyage."
+
+"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI
+dee Aye de OH--hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks
+kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told
+them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to
+take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as
+Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light
+and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to
+walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and
+uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's
+arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a
+sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals
+and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung
+swiftly down to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_. Roger, flying under
+his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.
+
+With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out
+rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and
+the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and
+then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The _Mountain
+Lass_ in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there
+she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift
+her back to the Lake among the peaks.
+
+Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of
+relief as she spied the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the
+hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly
+off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of
+salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the
+barnacles off my hide."
+
+"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the
+taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh
+vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"
+
+"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away
+from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from
+wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"
+he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts
+on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the _Crescent Moon_, with a
+spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern
+skyline.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 12
+
+Fog
+
+
+The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old
+tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the
+main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed
+his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside
+the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's
+island.
+
+"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the
+cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy
+came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand
+with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the
+City of Bridges."
+
+"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his
+fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we
+learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and
+peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."
+
+"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his
+magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery
+on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down
+Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz
+and as an especially good place for poets."
+
+"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,
+"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so
+fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."
+
+"Yes, that _is_ one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing
+approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,
+we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've
+brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap
+of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those
+fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."
+
+"They're a great comfort to _me_, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding
+up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now
+I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her
+raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would
+like to take the other two home with him?"
+
+"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh--we're not near
+Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel
+Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.
+
+"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach
+Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that
+country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a
+creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"
+
+"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is
+farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have
+conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."
+
+"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that
+has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he
+loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never
+told us anything about this."
+
+"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a
+small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know
+that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long
+countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West
+Coast."
+
+"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to
+pull his journal toward him.
+
+"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and
+jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous
+White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are
+fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in
+huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who
+live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live
+under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and
+never allowed out of the capital."
+
+"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in
+a heap around his feet.
+
+"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine
+Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain
+in the White City."
+
+"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling
+out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it
+for him.
+
+"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known
+as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long
+ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their
+swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my
+countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and
+camels, have all they can do to hold their own."
+
+"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his
+eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's
+disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added
+quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the
+Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."
+
+"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,
+I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they
+are so unfriendly."
+
+"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd
+do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull
+at his pipe.
+
+"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,
+shaking his head.
+
+"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said
+Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you
+carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"
+
+"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.
+"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy
+of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,
+they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in
+the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly
+into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel
+abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.
+
+"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed
+impatiently.
+
+"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his
+head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt
+had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you
+so far and so fast."
+
+"Well, whoever it was did _us_ a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,
+twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no
+better aboard a ship--eh, Mate?"
+
+"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his
+feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like
+an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their
+turbans, too."
+
+"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost
+fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the
+Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.
+
+"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port
+and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,
+boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm
+moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot
+chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master
+Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."
+
+"We'll _all_ have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to
+see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping
+Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy
+life aboard the _Crescent Moon_ with his dull and lonely existence in
+the Royal City of his Fathers.
+
+"I wish the Greys _would_ capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,
+as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to
+leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot
+chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout
+into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss
+Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.
+
+"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to
+join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on
+morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All
+through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous
+voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to
+relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.
+
+"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more
+hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy
+buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.
+
+"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered
+cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape
+our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,
+being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose
+warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take
+our chance--eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out
+anything astern, will you, Tandy?"
+
+Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had
+to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was
+the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved
+cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing
+an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,
+they might just as well not have been there.
+
+"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,
+but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly
+comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy
+lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,
+followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.
+Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered
+lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.
+
+"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've
+rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why
+didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made
+no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after
+Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit
+them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on
+wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came
+out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle
+of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the
+_Crescent Moon_ alone. There _was_ a ship beyond them in the fog,
+but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly
+Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the
+maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now
+came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.
+
+"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to
+grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening
+his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible
+foe.
+
+"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to
+Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once
+been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."
+
+"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who
+found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.
+
+"No, it is not for _us_ to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But
+hah! Just let _them_ start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick
+about it, too!"
+
+"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he
+had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those
+things again--they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take
+another chance?"
+
+"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty
+as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger
+returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving
+silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole
+experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel
+himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and
+immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel
+returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four
+shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap
+aboard.
+
+"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"
+breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the
+long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second
+seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the
+choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately
+drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen
+asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read
+Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.
+
+"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,
+but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam
+lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts
+of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their
+leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods
+the _Crescent Moon_ had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the
+sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an
+unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,
+was gazing dreamily in the same direction.
+
+"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"
+exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and
+the Captain.
+
+"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over
+to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And
+isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight
+on the rail.
+
+"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he
+leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's
+better than pirates."
+
+"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing
+up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for
+breakfast, Cook dear?"
+
+"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I
+thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a
+little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"
+And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod
+reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for
+his paints.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 13
+
+The Sea Forest
+
+
+Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and
+when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the
+sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.
+
+"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his
+journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and
+baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and--"
+
+"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"
+inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might
+add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"
+Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish
+before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept
+winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like
+the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette
+and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed
+and indifference.
+
+"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin
+boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab
+nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of
+baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case
+Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring
+fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now
+snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching
+contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.
+
+"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,
+speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that
+scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now
+would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,
+little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything
+grows."
+
+"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little
+sigh on Nikobo's broad back.
+
+"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,
+fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was
+coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on
+this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a
+rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and
+much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the
+fare--why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans--"
+
+"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,
+remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!
+Listen! Here they come!"
+
+"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from
+above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"
+
+"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the
+rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook
+and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and
+crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when
+she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across
+her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the
+aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,
+nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.
+
+"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin
+box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it
+dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and
+admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride
+along."
+
+"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on
+Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be
+any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"
+
+"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo
+paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest
+itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was
+the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.
+The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.
+Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going
+down, down, down as far as he could see.
+
+"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one
+lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!
+Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."
+
+"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're
+going to grow our own masts."
+
+Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young
+shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.
+Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like
+bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and
+silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.
+
+"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely
+between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick
+me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began
+vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored
+fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the
+water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting
+anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's
+cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.
+The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible
+variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber
+by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off
+several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his
+album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after
+a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to
+overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there
+are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,
+but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where
+most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,
+somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in
+the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could
+swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively
+sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would
+never succeed in catching one.
+
+All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel
+making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled
+nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the
+small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark
+of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees
+pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of
+the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were
+not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and
+tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front
+legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet
+were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more
+frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from
+a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they
+retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance
+as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch
+of the whole group.
+
+"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing
+his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the
+snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,
+Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of
+our feelings or safety."
+
+"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"
+sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then--" he
+grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."
+
+The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.
+Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this
+small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning
+itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it
+proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious
+little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no
+serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her
+long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made
+ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.
+
+Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing
+enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the
+aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have
+both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed
+the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.
+
+"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read
+Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,
+it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask
+me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish _was_ even uglier than a
+goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant
+goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.
+
+"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But
+let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."
+
+"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder
+what it eats?"
+
+"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at
+Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"
+
+"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.
+
+"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as
+this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he
+wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a
+monkey fish."
+
+"Well, don't forget the bananas--for remember it's a monkey, too,"
+chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had
+written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the
+exploring party returned to the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his
+aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making
+copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did
+not get his ship under way till late afternoon.
+
+Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done
+little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his
+anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy
+painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for
+Mo-fi's fish food, the _Crescent Moon_ again dipped adventurously into
+the southeast swell.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 14
+
+The Sea Unicorn!
+
+
+"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,
+swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the
+binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.
+
+"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the
+skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.
+
+"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm
+admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and
+I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If
+anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor
+and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or
+obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of
+an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not
+need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing
+wink.
+
+"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up
+at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."
+With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy
+taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went
+on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting
+him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying
+nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?
+Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"
+
+Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,
+stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told
+Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,
+Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I
+gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be
+riding around on your shoulder."
+
+"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the
+Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey
+fish, Roger."
+
+"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has
+me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a
+little pet if I want one?"
+
+The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could
+hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,
+he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new
+discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.
+"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"
+
+"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head
+with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything
+as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that
+just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the
+main truck and have a look around."
+
+"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the
+parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,
+Roger."
+
+"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an
+affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went
+joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted
+on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and
+printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of
+complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly
+remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog
+trotted contentedly down to the hold.
+
+The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had
+to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,
+snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a
+branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their
+covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the
+vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the
+galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to
+care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when
+a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.
+Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.
+
+"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the
+hold faster than he had ever done before.
+
+"Su--su--SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he
+could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific
+knock from below made the _Crescent Moon_ shiver from end to end.
+Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly
+they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech
+and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through
+the decks.
+
+"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting
+crazily down to the deck. "Wha--what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,
+pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main
+and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that
+instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up
+and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy
+blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the _Crescent Moon_ to fly
+asunder.
+
+"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the
+wheel. "Horn like a--uni--corn--branch of the Odontocetes and--"
+
+"Oh--you--don't say--it--is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his
+stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the
+monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us--is that a horn or a ship's mast?
+Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"
+
+Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to
+hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and
+plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,
+diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low
+hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant
+beneath the ship.
+
+"Su--suppose it su--submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to
+seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously
+up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my
+beams and--" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that
+moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the
+sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim
+and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had
+clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of
+danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm
+and purposeful. This vine--well, why would this powerful vine from
+Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances
+were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a
+quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of
+the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began
+to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,
+it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable
+cradle of leafy wood.
+
+Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think
+he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.
+Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling
+anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,
+Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.
+
+Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,
+almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger
+was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having
+wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to
+his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now
+all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back
+over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had
+seen him go overboard.
+
+"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt
+rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?
+Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking
+menace?"
+
+"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping
+happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a
+lobster pot and can't move at all."
+
+"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.
+
+"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless
+sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into
+the sea.
+
+"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at
+Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my
+life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all
+we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea
+and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,
+blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie
+River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can
+you dive with me beneath this ship?"
+
+"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,
+shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the
+Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't
+I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was
+well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way
+in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.
+
+"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and
+powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to
+rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel
+in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber
+up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the
+surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat
+they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.
+Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's
+head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's
+saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of
+ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with
+material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the
+Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was
+not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and
+Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation
+was accomplished.
+
+Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with
+her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and
+Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated
+fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go
+floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view
+of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the
+_Crescent Moon_.
+
+"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"
+sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly
+over the rail. "Some fishin'--eh, Mates?"
+
+"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo
+and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.
+
+"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises
+sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale
+of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 15
+
+The Collector Is Collected
+
+
+"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as
+he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column
+between the main and mizzenmasts.
+
+"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin
+reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough
+to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's
+given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed
+on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that
+we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his
+glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.
+
+"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway
+it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to
+swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"
+
+"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing
+on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just
+talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in
+Lavaland, Mate."
+
+"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling
+over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.
+"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."
+
+"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft
+to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage
+is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."
+The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the _Crescent Moon_
+was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put
+ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous
+voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to
+consider.
+
+"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed
+into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong
+and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted
+by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant
+mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy
+squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill
+squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.
+
+"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes
+with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."
+
+"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened
+gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely
+knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then
+he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.
+
+"Why--it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the
+glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.
+
+"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A
+hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just
+plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted
+his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!
+Danger on the bow!"
+
+Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom
+he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a
+moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense
+and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,
+tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum
+of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in
+complete wonder and mystification.
+
+"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,
+breaking the silence at last.
+
+"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he
+raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go
+a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage
+done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll
+knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron
+belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing
+to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed
+Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted
+the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here
+this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown
+after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred
+and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel
+on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over
+his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had
+attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.
+
+"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that
+cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down
+sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"
+
+"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into
+the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't
+he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore
+out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.
+Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and
+with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as
+close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified
+fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue
+depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the
+Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear
+altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel
+was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still
+there.
+
+"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite
+of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the _Crescent Moon_, the Read
+Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense
+air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming
+frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing
+blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.
+Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the
+suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to
+join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear
+and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped
+mournfully into view.
+
+"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you
+find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,
+limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said
+nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he
+began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's
+collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him
+shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a
+bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and
+crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even
+make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole
+to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they
+open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the
+vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break
+a hole in that lid the Captain's done for--done for, do you hear?"
+
+"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,
+"Who do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish
+and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of
+stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside
+of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"
+
+"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!
+Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"
+
+"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.
+
+"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.
+
+"No, _I'll_ climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest
+and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with
+him."
+
+Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning
+in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had
+meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being
+so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the
+ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.
+
+Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast
+of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been
+quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the
+saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way
+to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like
+slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the
+strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees
+with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully
+through the glassy substance.
+
+For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the
+figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl
+became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by
+loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him
+to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.
+Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the
+round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.
+Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,
+the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones
+and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so
+worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than
+sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the
+Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos
+and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as
+it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_ from his curious prison.
+
+"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.
+Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell
+on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:
+
+    COME SEE THE CURIOUS HIGH AIR MANSTER.
+    ADMISSION, 1 PEARL, 5 CORALS AND A CLAM!
+
+The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's
+air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly
+together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his
+might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted
+Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling
+out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and
+being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before
+the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,
+too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away
+with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked
+without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.
+Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like
+a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to
+Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,
+Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as
+it flashed up and down above his head.
+
+"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll
+never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,
+they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"
+
+"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty
+air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,
+increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,
+increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished
+ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of
+her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus
+jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a
+quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had
+happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to
+the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed--broke through
+the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through
+the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for
+an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.
+Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,
+for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had
+made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously
+along.
+
+Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,
+completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to
+her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too
+shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down
+like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet
+and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he
+had swallowed, started dizzily back to the _Crescent Moon_. Nikobo had
+several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at
+Tandy.
+
+"I--I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself
+wearily up on her back.
+
+"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"
+puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the
+hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a
+jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his
+danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.
+
+"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his
+net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the
+sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and
+transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as
+Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 16
+
+The Storm!
+
+
+Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of
+the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on
+deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of
+the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling
+through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.
+Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it
+took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful
+hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he
+spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering
+darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates
+collected.
+
+"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"
+scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was
+cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "_You_ know _I_ know nothing
+about navigation nor one sail from t'other."
+
+"Ah--but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his
+eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its
+stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left
+a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie
+yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his
+boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped
+down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large
+aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly
+enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like
+a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage
+opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he
+had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles
+and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,
+and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving
+him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above
+to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was
+pitching.
+
+In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed
+the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown
+dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded
+along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing
+little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like
+a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and
+bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one
+side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's
+help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel
+to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her
+to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it
+all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be
+with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,
+tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.
+
+The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in
+all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel
+prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and
+helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails
+of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to
+closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose
+gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the
+door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and
+with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched
+the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into
+the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,
+Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better
+judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo
+and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,
+fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy
+afloat and take care of him besides.
+
+Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut
+themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers
+and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do
+to hang on to their chairs as the _Crescent Moon_ pitched headlong into
+the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the
+great running seas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 17
+
+The Old Man of the Jungle!
+
+
+In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of
+Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.
+
+"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges
+of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be
+accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,
+neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and
+for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the
+natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,
+hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a
+clever and useful idea--eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a
+little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried
+off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and
+all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous
+crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the
+eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied
+agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us--the Nine Faithful Servants
+of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting
+his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making
+plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for
+himself.
+
+"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"
+questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.
+
+"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old
+Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our
+wish that you appear before us."
+
+At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the
+curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only
+in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of
+Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,
+dismal, droning voice:
+
+"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the
+Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying
+umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down
+after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy
+with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men
+known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and
+two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island
+where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you
+that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages
+or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or
+remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished
+this shameful recital.
+
+"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts
+and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide
+up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with
+his long skinny fingers.
+
+"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this
+cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I
+am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.
+Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly
+toward the long table.
+
+"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his
+papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care
+what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff
+with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If
+you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the
+feet of the royal elephants!"
+
+"Ah--hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a
+poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I
+will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"
+Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old
+man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished
+into the garden.
+
+"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of
+the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous
+and may do us a world of harm."
+
+"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a
+hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King
+was carried off."
+
+"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not
+another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the
+meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go
+now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King
+has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority
+and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful
+Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star
+and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."
+
+"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring
+fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door
+with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.
+
+"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly
+waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship--there is a ship
+with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full
+sail is riding into our harbor."
+
+"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly
+by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship
+flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"
+
+"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never
+happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long
+windows.
+
+"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters
+turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.
+Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive
+now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and
+the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the
+chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the
+six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If
+these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled
+upon, trampled upon--do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel
+determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about
+carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest
+tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner
+of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his
+well-laid plans.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 18
+
+A New Country
+
+
+Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the
+_Crescent Moon_ rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into
+quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed
+a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and
+relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.
+This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in
+their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole
+band of music beneath the mizzenmast.
+
+Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first
+to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as
+the _Crescent Moon_ tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang
+eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried
+them.
+
+The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of
+a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of
+chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a
+great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had
+run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he
+crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly
+behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,
+the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel
+and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the
+cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in
+the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came
+winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his
+lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling
+through the port-hole, he did not even look up.
+
+"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the
+foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole
+long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no
+time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"
+As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears
+splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the
+ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.
+
+"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is
+most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one
+side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.
+
+"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I
+should say, being a good person is most important."
+
+"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the
+middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason
+may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"
+
+"What's that? What's this? Humph! _Maxims for Monarchs._ Well, what in
+topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious
+shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat
+volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst
+out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we
+can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good
+King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the
+word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship
+can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without
+waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged
+over to the Captain.
+
+"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and
+crew of the _Crescent Moon_ were now engaged in earnest conversation.
+"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying
+reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,
+waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go
+ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began
+unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned
+a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"
+
+"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.
+"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig
+pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely
+nothing!"
+
+But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist
+and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If
+you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you
+back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any
+more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll
+not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to
+that!"
+
+"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to
+Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this
+ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and
+Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"
+
+"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.
+"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming
+aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."
+Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as
+deeply, smiled back.
+
+"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow
+lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,
+he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all
+pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the
+long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his
+ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for
+him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to
+the latest possible moment.
+
+But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs
+and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to
+carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a
+fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,
+thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running
+down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the
+jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having
+brought nothing aboard the _Crescent Moon_, he insisted on leaving in
+the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and
+Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had
+worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The
+Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their
+finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,
+and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused
+to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all
+climbed aboard the hippopotamus.
+
+Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help
+comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful
+boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself
+with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the
+great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their
+families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense
+turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to
+see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of
+Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of
+white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.
+
+"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily
+to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to
+the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the
+hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and
+suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and
+curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally
+made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling
+multitude.
+
+"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract
+their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.
+"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander
+Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."
+
+"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?
+Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and
+her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"
+
+"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son
+and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my
+Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these
+words.
+
+"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to
+another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he
+waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he
+called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small
+Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to
+lay waste our realm."
+
+"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably
+between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal
+Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle--"
+
+"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round
+the head of the speaker.
+
+"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried
+Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.
+
+"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,
+Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the
+salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,
+not to recognize and welcome your young King. _I'm_ for you, young
+one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the
+nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass
+through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine
+square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,
+thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering
+his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,
+recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,
+was the first to speak.
+
+"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily
+chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these
+strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,
+most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly
+but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly
+thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you
+are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in
+the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"
+Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy
+dismount.
+
+"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief
+Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so
+kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."
+
+"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his
+lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old
+Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot
+along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he
+gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the
+evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand
+for silence.
+
+"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard
+the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated
+Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of
+age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,
+guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at
+Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your
+ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply
+indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says
+that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without
+delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you
+to leave. Come, Tazander!"
+
+While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin
+was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till
+he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But
+surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and
+explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel
+mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just
+might happen to tread on you."
+
+"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very
+thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,
+paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the
+ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers
+gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying
+off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.
+
+"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats
+forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged
+a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood
+uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine
+judges, began to laugh and cheer.
+
+"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman
+vociferously.
+
+But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.
+"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this
+poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all
+lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize
+the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 19
+
+Boglodore's Revenge
+
+
+The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,
+and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and
+camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the
+ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously
+back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely
+biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left
+the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.
+
+The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the
+heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,
+Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The
+tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,
+caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their
+heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,
+and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives
+and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for
+the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his
+breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.
+Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and
+groveled together in the deep sand.
+
+"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the
+suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those
+plants along?"
+
+"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered
+Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.
+Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"
+
+Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at
+each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal
+Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the
+securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who
+had first cheered Tandy remained.
+
+"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man
+stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the
+tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."
+
+"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for
+them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave
+young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great
+liberty-loving land."
+
+"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,
+beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled
+Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and
+will stand no nonsense!"
+
+"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside
+Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each
+other well enough for all that."
+
+To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White
+City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its
+flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and
+castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.
+
+Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to
+welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come
+with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the
+natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed
+marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way
+through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.
+Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried
+away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid
+feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.
+
+Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and
+enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to
+live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for
+his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really
+happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on
+the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh
+of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.
+
+Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying
+at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for
+events to shape themselves.
+
+"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a
+small stool beside Samuel Salt.
+
+"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and
+lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.
+
+"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful
+idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of
+which, _more_ anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,
+stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more
+satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help
+Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman
+how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As
+he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.
+
+"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that
+the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more
+and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was
+but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe
+that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as
+they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in
+the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,
+how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that
+long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,
+tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.
+
+"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN--HAH!" Samuel
+expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his
+feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place
+for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the
+shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended
+to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered
+to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his
+thoughts still far away on the _Crescent Moon_, and considering the
+work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him
+behind.
+
+With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the
+cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the
+guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants
+of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in
+their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,
+in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's
+back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,
+startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one
+horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.
+
+"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,
+but it is!"
+
+"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from
+under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,
+and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so
+strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing
+the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main
+force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on
+the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the
+nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and
+soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of
+the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.
+
+"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.
+"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and
+Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story
+of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,
+my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.
+For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins
+themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!
+What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore
+again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What
+happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to
+keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"
+Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,
+the Old Man continued his story.
+
+"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended
+to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only
+the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the
+jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,
+giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect
+this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and
+could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found
+and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to
+do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant
+to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and
+ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."
+
+"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the
+umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up
+Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But
+Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.
+
+"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The
+vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will
+sink--not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but
+to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and
+sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so
+dishonorably served and betrayed!"
+
+Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the
+umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into
+the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own
+tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to
+navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old
+Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the
+umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open
+sea.
+
+"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's
+edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only
+umbrellaphant in captivity?"
+
+"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel
+back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy
+after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master
+Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"
+
+"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,
+staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the
+most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and
+now--now--I've lost it--" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides
+and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward
+Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.
+Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given
+her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,
+and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking
+rapidly to herself.
+
+"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with
+the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this
+clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried
+Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle
+and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's
+frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has
+befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King
+to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost
+elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."
+
+"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming
+completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and
+I'll carry the good news to the castle."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 20
+
+King Tandy
+
+
+When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small
+cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of
+one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the
+covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost
+inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better
+of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the
+Ozamandarins.
+
+"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at
+the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom
+of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you
+say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,
+dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker
+than soup!"
+
+"Well, how do you suppose _I_ feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his
+hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,
+I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"
+
+"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead
+of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin
+down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.
+
+"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,
+pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.
+
+"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious
+than interested.
+
+"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and
+pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and
+I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"
+Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy
+flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of
+him. "I'm going straight back on the _Crescent Moon_, and I'm not
+coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow
+Island and everywhere!"
+
+"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great
+difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are
+you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be
+true!"
+
+"But it _is_ true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and
+illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.
+
+"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.
+
+"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the
+plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing
+Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as
+Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now
+there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild
+elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he
+starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink
+gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education
+on our ship, that is his own affair."
+
+"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and
+roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of
+reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can
+enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,
+Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"
+
+"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.
+
+"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and
+luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 21
+
+A Voyage Resumed
+
+
+Anxious as Tandy was to return to the _Crescent Moon_ and continue the
+voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,
+true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the
+capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and
+their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,
+addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider
+Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his
+education in foreign parts and aboard the _Crescent Moon_, during which
+time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare
+always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province
+and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers
+from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new
+cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the
+dangerous invasions of the Greys.
+
+Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace
+along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long
+desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up
+by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the
+country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be
+enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long
+and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning
+in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and
+ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and
+vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and
+enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the
+castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak
+highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and
+the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore
+Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed
+hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.
+
+"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon
+as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed
+the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of
+elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just
+as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man
+in a Million."
+
+"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high
+holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.
+
+Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle
+so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and
+flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,
+had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with
+feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,
+returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and
+precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he
+went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds
+creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit
+and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had
+outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green
+and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious
+to continue the voyage. Aboard the _Crescent Moon_ one of the Guards
+had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend
+to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright
+morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal
+Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.
+
+Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling
+with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were
+lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding
+Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel
+corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's
+edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to
+Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt
+and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the
+small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large
+cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.
+
+"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely
+made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the
+sea.
+
+"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but
+I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."
+
+"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave
+to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt
+a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never
+fear!"
+
+"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away
+voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his
+stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun--the moon--the stars I
+commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule
+over Ozamaland."
+
+"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted
+Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from
+Oz!"
+
+"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even
+the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as
+Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel
+over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,
+climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the
+hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.
+
+"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy
+stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!
+Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take
+the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under
+the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby
+camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,
+and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time
+they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed
+thankfully back on her raft.
+
+"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping
+cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,
+boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"
+
+"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to
+the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from
+the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"
+
+"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we
+go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A
+roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."
+
+"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up
+and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from
+the cliffs.
+
+"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon
+the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,
+Roger?"
+
+"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.
+"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"
+
+And when the _Crescent Moon_ flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie
+River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious
+continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I
+for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?
+
+                                THE END
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                      _A Word about the Oz Books_
+
+
+Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,
+THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who
+inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated
+the imagination of millions of young readers.
+
+These are stories which are genuine fantasy--creative, funny, tender,
+exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd
+creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has
+been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they
+are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at
+all.
+
+When, in a recent survey, _The New York Times_ polled a group of
+teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz
+books topped the list.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                          Captain Salt In Oz
+
+
+A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling
+than that? We--many of us--have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic
+or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and
+swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had
+our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we
+come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a
+charming talking hippopotamus?
+
+Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and
+now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their
+hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart
+crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically
+by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the
+Expedition.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                             The Oz Books
+
+        Wizard of Oz
+        Visitors from Oz
+     1. The Land of Oz
+     2. Ozma of Oz
+     3. Dorothy and the Wizard
+     4. The Road to Oz
+     5. The Emerald City of Oz
+     6. The Patchwork Girl of Oz
+     7. Tik-Tok of Oz
+     8. The Scarecrow of Oz
+     9. Rinkitink in Oz
+    10. The Lost Princess of Oz
+    11. The Tin Woodman of Oz
+    12. The Magic of Oz
+    13. Glinda of Oz
+    14. The Royal Book of Oz
+    15. Kabumpo in Oz
+    16. The Cowardly Lion of Oz
+    17. Grandpa in Oz
+    18. The Lost King of Oz
+    19. The Hungry Tiger of Oz
+    20. The Gnome King of Oz
+    21. The Giant Horse of Oz
+    22. Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz
+    23. The Yellow Knight of Oz
+    24. Pirates in Oz
+    25. The Purple Prince of Oz
+    26. Ojo in Oz
+    27. Speedy in Oz
+    28. The Wishing Horse of Oz
+    29. Captain Salt in Oz
+    30. Handy Mandy in Oz
+    31. The Silver Princess in Oz
+    32. Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
+    33. Wonder City of Oz
+    34. Scalawagons of Oz
+    35. Lucky Bucky in Oz
+    36. Magical Mimics in Oz
+    37. The Shaggy Man of Oz
+    38. The Hidden Valley of Oz
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 
+Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56073 ***
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-

-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 

-Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most

-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions

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-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have

-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.

-

-

-

-Title: Captain Salt in Oz

-

-Author: Ruth Plumly Thompson

-        L. Frank Baum

-

-Illustrator: John R. Neil

-             Dick Martin

-

-Release Date: November 28, 2017 [EBook #56073]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ASCII

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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***

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-</pre>

-

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="235" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="500" height="258" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/tp.jpg" width="244" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<div class="titlepage">

-

-<h1>CAPTAIN SALT

-IN OZ</h1>

-

-<p><i>By</i><br />

-RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON<br />

-Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories</p>

-

-<p><i>By</i><br />

-L. FRANK BAUM<br />

-"Royal Historian of Oz"</p>

-

-<p><i>Illustrated by</i><br />

-JOHN R. NEILL</p>

-

-<p>The Reilly &amp; Lee Co.<br />

-CHICAGO</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p>Copyright, 1936<br />

-by<br />

-THE REILLY &amp; LEE CO.<br />

-All rights reserved</p>

-

-<p>Printed in the U.S.A.</p>

-

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p>Dear Boys and Girls:</p>

-

-

-<div class="poetry">

-  <div class="stanza">

-    <div class="verse">Another year&mdash;</div>

-    <div class="verse">Another book,</div>

-    <div class="verse">And this time a voyage</div>

-    <div class="verse">That Sam Salt took</div>

-    <div class="verse">In that good old Ship,</div>

-    <div class="verse">The <i>Crescent Moon</i>&mdash;</div>

-    <div class="verse">Steering by compass,</div>

-    <div class="verse">By star and moon,</div>

-    <div class="verse">To discover new countries</div>

-    <div class="verse">For OZ. Hear! Hear!</div>

-    <div class="verse">He's discovered a whole</div>

-    <div class="verse">New Hemisphere!</div>

-    <div class="verse">Three cheers for Sam,</div>

-    <div class="verse">And his jolly crew,</div>

-    <div class="verse">And three for OZ</div>

-    <div class="verse">And three for YOU,</div>

-    <div class="verse">And three for me,</div>

-    <div class="verse">Though I don't need cheer</div>

-    <div class="verse">'Cause the letters you write</div>

-    <div class="verse">Keep me gay ALL year!</div>

-</div></div>

-

-<p>So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will

-you? And remember to put your full name and complete

-address on the letter. Righto!</p>

-

-<p>And Best till I hear from you!</p>

-

-<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="237" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">This book is dedicated<br />

-With my best bow and TOP wishes<br />

-to my Publisher.</span></p>

-

-<p class="ph4">&mdash;<i>Ruth Plumly Thompson</i></p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="485" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>LIST OF CHAPTERS</h2>

-

-<table>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_1">CHAPTER 1</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sail Ho!</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_2">CHAPTER 2</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Anchors Aweigh</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_3">CHAPTER 3</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Fire Baby</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_4">CHAPTER 4</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Samuel's First Specimen</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_5">CHAPTER 5</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Patrippany Island</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_6">CHAPTER 6</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Little Wild Man</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_7">CHAPTER 7</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_8">CHAPTER 8</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Maxims for Monarchs</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_9">CHAPTER 9</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sea Legs for Tandy</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_10">CHAPTER 10</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The City of Bridges</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_11">CHAPTER 11</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Prince of the Peaks</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_12">CHAPTER 12</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Fog</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_13">CHAPTER 13</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Forest</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_14">CHAPTER 14</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Unicorn!</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_15">CHAPTER 15</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Collector Is Collected</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_16">CHAPTER 16</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Storm!</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_17">CHAPTER 17</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Old Man of the Jungle!</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_18">CHAPTER 18</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A New Country</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_19">CHAPTER 19</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Boglodore's Revenge</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_20">CHAPTER 20</a></td><td><span class="smcap">King Tandy</span></td></tr>

-

-<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_21">CHAPTER 21</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Voyage Resumed</span></td></tr>

-

-</table>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_1" id="CHAPTER_1"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="473" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 1<br />

-<small>Sail Ho!</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King

-Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is

-nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms

-that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And

-Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with

-a kind word for everyone.</p>

-

-<p>In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort

-and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.

-For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing

-eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing

-hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his

-eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms

-holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the

-names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on

-the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he

-is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and

-colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into

-an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle

-is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only

-reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is

-decidedly luxurious and lazy.</p>

-

-<p>Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,

-attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have

-little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred

-and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving

-any trouble.</p>

-

-<p>Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but

-Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who

-landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out

-after them, using the pirate's stout ship the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, for the

-purpose.</p>

-

-<p>By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and

-sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out

-and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the <i>Crescent

-Moon</i> reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here

-they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had

-been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to

-conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a

-poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You

-have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising

-experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon

-Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and

-country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious

-to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just

-to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman

-on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to

-a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and

-carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an

-interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his

-Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the

-Island&mdash;the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm

-trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the

-Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to

-a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and

-gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,

-but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast

-sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,

-as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is

-the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of

-the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us

-and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."</p>

-

-<p>"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head

-positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he

-made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."</p>

-

-<p>"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's

-promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from

-pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering

-and forgotten us altogether!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="476" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with

-great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.

-"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King

-earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and

-burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him

-Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly

-well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and

-treasure."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"

-observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the

-poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six

-feet in his socks."</p>

-

-<p>"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in

-his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and

-handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,

-and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And

-a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the

-Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,

-too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed

-the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was

-to sail into our Harbor. Well, King&mdash;it's been six times six months,

-and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."</p>

-

-<p>"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.</p>

-

-<p>"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and

-twelve hours, to be exact!"</p>

-

-<p>"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured

-Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never

-believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open

-his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon

-it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so

-you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something

-else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"

-finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a

-goat.</p>

-

-<p>"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a

-notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!

-Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of

-biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss

-out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I&mdash;I, why, I'm

-surprised at you, Roger!"</p>

-

-<p>Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at

-himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man

-with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever

-since his voyage on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, cooking had been Ato's chief

-pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved

-of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so

-finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his

-delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="451" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to

-frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger

-started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read

-on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a

-page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.</p>

-

-<p>"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,

-Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into

-the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.</p>

-

-<p>Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his

-eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific

-thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the

-hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously

-around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with

-insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts

-and what not.</p>

-

-<p>Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and

-finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the

-King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.

-For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the <i>Crescent Moon</i>

-herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of

-the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast

-today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and

-white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of

-the most famous Fairyland in History.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.

-"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the

-Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his

-wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.</p>

-

-<p>"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I

-ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already

-reached the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was

-chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his

-steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had

-half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted

-vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet

-planks of the royal dock.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it

-really my old cook and shipmate?"</p>

-

-<p>"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.

-"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and

-scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look

-natural or seaman-like at all."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered

-hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for

-impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this

-voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set

-the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage

-tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we

-must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="500" height="345" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Yes&mdash;I sup-pose&mdash;so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up

-with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to

-be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace

-collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"</p>

-

-<p>"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail

-feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we

-please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old

-pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.</p>

-

-<p>"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your

-galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below

-to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,

-Lubber!"</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke

-in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know

-it."</p>

-

-<p>"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself

-a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,

-Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."</p>

-

-<p>"So&mdash;oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into

-the Captain's face,</p>

-

-<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">

-    <div class="verse">"Ho pass the salt and ring the bell</div>

-    <div class="verse">And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"</div>

-</div></div>

-

-<p>"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on

-the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.

-"Sir Samuel!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come

-on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave

-your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"</p>

-

-<p>"Keep <i>you</i> waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet

-and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've

-been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,

-twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son

-of a sea-robber?"</p>

-

-<p>"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and

-dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely

-had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last

-voyage, and to fit out the <i>Crescent Moon</i> for the next."</p>

-

-<p>"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"

-muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.</p>

-

-<p>"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King

-accusingly. "And what would the <i>Crescent Moon</i> be needing? I thought

-she was about perfect as she was."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up

-immediately at mention of his ship. "The <i>Crescent Moon</i>, besides a

-new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering

-control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn

-paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical

-contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no

-crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger

-jealously.</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.</p>

-

-<p>"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my

-place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging

-uneasily at the cord round his waist.</p>

-

-<p>"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!

-Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley

-to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"</p>

-

-<p>"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down

-on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd

-never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without

-us!"</p>

-

-<p>"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at

-the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on

-ahead.</p>

-

-<p>"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the

-steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a

-chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"</p>

-

-<p>"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding

-exuberantly after the King.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_2" id="CHAPTER_2"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 2<br />

-

-<small>Anchors Aweigh!</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,

-Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest

-or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.

-There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most

-of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook

-books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg

-beaters, and rolling pins.</p>

-

-<p>"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as

-he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my

-topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato

-we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer

-needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"</p>

-

-<p>Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded

-determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,

-ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long

-following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly

-tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel

-had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but

-a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the

-crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the

-east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the

-booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from

-there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.</p>

-

-<p>This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and

-treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were

-the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and

-extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were

-numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to

-bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at

-the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,

-there and everywhere as we sail onward!"</p>

-

-<p>"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag

-planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully

-fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you

-don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the

-scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad

-and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.

-But look, Ato, my lad&mdash;these will interest you." Turning from the

-chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of

-the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger

-and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping

-the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the

-jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable

-pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the

-first island we come to. Eh, boys?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long

-disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash

-yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY

-advice!"</p>

-

-<p>"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a

-resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show

-you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside

-for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious

-mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."</p>

-

-<p>Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned

-his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,

-swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down

-to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge

-aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried

-moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.</p>

-

-<p>"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching

-the side of an enormous aquarium.</p>

-

-<p>"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did

-not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll&mdash;I'll have

-no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning

-things topsy turvy."</p>

-

-<p>"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about

-shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and

-the best way to begin a voyage is to start."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden

-ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off

-the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a

-pig's jiffy."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="406" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's

-octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.

-"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep

-the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."</p>

-

-<p>"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up

-on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to

-your Highness!"</p>

-

-<p>"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a

-megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight

-months from yesterday."</p>

-

-<p>"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to

-wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer&mdash;and a bold bad

-seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles

-for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never

-see a castle again."</p>

-

-<p>"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.

-"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."</p>

-

-<p>"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel

-with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East

-by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North

-Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers

-of some deep and mysterious jungle!"</p>

-

-<p>"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the

-wheel.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this

-like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his

-hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the

-wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.</p>

-

-<p>"M&mdash;mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,

-shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?

-That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no

-getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up

-another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the

-voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim

-and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel

-for any course and just let her ride."</p>

-

-<p>"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But

-since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about

-dinner."</p>

-

-<p>"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"

-exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."</p>

-

-<p>"Ho&mdash;I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.

-"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain&mdash;a fried

-sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"</p>

-

-<p>"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath

-in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the

-foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's

-mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran

-smoothly before the wind.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_3" id="CHAPTER_3"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 3<br />

-

-<small>The Fire Baby</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Morning found the <i>Crescent Moon</i> forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a

-choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his

-legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to

-the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best

-sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove

-over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed

-his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.</p>

-

-<p>"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and

-discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having

-finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of

-potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion

-when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the

-crown of Oz?"</p>

-

-<p>"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and

-blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite

-and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma

-particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its

-will."</p>

-

-<p>"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to

-pare a fat potato. "What then?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, then&mdash;er then&mdash;" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try

-persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under

-the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to

-get them, don't you think?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato

-dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and

-persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs

-and poison arrows?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing

-soberly at the compass, "and in that case&mdash;&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"

-Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,

-Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed

-as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be

-sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered

-hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger

-carry the books ashore too."</p>

-

-<p>"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, giving his knee

-a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,

-Mates, remember?"</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good

-many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What

-makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like

-yourself."</p>

-

-<p>"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny

-arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate&mdash;it

-rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But

-don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.

-But avast there&mdash;it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.

-Had you noticed?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus17.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island

-astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was

-supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after

-snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,

-taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,

-who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to

-report a new island to the Captain.</p>

-

-<p>"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and

-waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first

-discovery."</p>

-

-<p>"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying

-to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to

-take to reach the island at all.</p>

-

-<p>It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,

-with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the

-air sulphurous and hot.</p>

-

-<p>"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,

-peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far

-as I can see&mdash;but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the

-wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open

-sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like

-this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to

-anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone

-clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from

-the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.</p>

-

-<p>"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.

-"Stand by to man the guns!"</p>

-

-<p>But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff

-the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that

-case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted

-to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living

-creatures in the center."</p>

-

-<p>"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white

-apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that

-fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but

-we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that

-who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors

-aweigh!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus18.jpg" width="270" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began

-frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out

-of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,

-and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical

-devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,

-tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,

-till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the

-hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.</p>

-

-<p>"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two

-buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?

-Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in

-a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the

-center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner

-of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and

-flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.</p>

-

-<p>"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and

-declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma

-of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel

-Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who

-remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even

-a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.

-Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of

-smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus19.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting

-down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he

-is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.

-Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks

-were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned

-red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great

-sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking

-and hissing into the sea.</p>

-

-<p>"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel

-as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder

-what started that?"</p>

-

-<p>"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke

-for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool

-bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."</p>

-

-<p>Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed

-forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but

-surely through the deck.</p>

-

-<p>"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail

-unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow

-Poke!"</p>

-

-<p>"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the

-glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.

-It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on

-a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for

-proof."</p>

-

-<p>"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in

-his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold

-on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a

-hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it

-out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"</p>

-

-<p>"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato

-raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a

-rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A

-shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."</p>

-

-<p>"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying

-down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a

-ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back

-with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often

-used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby

-and started on a run for the galley.</p>

-

-<p>"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate

-collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were

-its own mother. "Aye, aye&mdash;it's going out!"</p>

-

-<p>"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in

-tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"</p>

-

-<p>Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two

-buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for

-the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range

-and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the

-squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once

-and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel

-from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever

-made you think of that?"</p>

-

-<p>"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper

-place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that

-a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the

-nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was

-regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel

-picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do

-fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that

-volcanos are inhabited."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus20.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist

-down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the

-Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that

-fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with

-the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not

-falling into the soup when my back is turned?"</p>

-

-<p>"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,

-and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as

-groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,

-pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.

-Ho&mdash;this WILL be interesting!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"

-suggested Ato bitterly.</p>

-

-<p>Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's

-sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just

-showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row

-of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent

-rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that

-coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they

-were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats

-and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced

-and screamed louder than all the rest put together.</p>

-

-<p>"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,

-undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and

-save his ship from possible destruction.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus21.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings

-triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.

-You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See

-that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?

-Well, look&mdash;she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She

-wants her baby back."</p>

-

-<p>"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the

-frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal

-people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to

-buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."</p>

-

-<p>"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was

-unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.</p>

-

-<p>"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it

-back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the

-terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."</p>

-

-<p>"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our

-lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"</p>

-

-<p>"Er&mdash;er&mdash;let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for

-clams," proposed the cook eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would

-grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we

-could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing

-things."</p>

-

-<p>"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated

-Islanders.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port

-cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if

-you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my

-wings and be done with it."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch

-it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out

-of range."</p>

-

-<p>"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>, shifting his feet uncomfortably.</p>

-

-<p>"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little

-rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."</p>

-

-<p>By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that

-even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat

-mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the

-port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident

-from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire

-tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little

-fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus22.jpg" width="463" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying

-instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged

-on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations

-and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The

-terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost

-afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus23.jpg" width="466" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching

-the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot

-you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon

-ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava

-Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,

-the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her

-thanks across the tumbling waters.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward

-and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.

-"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly

-depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.</p>

-

-<p>"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the

-Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let

-me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time

-they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is

-Ozma's."</p>

-

-<p>"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my

-duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our

-kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."</p>

-

-<p>The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of

-iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long

-enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting

-the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily

-back to the Island.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus24.jpg" width="301" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands

-together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy

-deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."</p>

-

-<p>This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet

-interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their

-hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,

-swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner

-between two smoking boulders soared aloft.</p>

-

-<p>"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now

-under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,

-you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one

-another!"</p>

-

-<p>His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing

-triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the <i>Crescent

-Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their

-heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_4" id="CHAPTER_4"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus25.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 4<br />

-

-<small>Samuel's First Specimen</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped

-breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.

-Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal

-Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call

-booming back across the water.</p>

-

-<p>An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,

-a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs

-were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do

-any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough

-for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller

-as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,

-jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude

-as he ran along.</p>

-

-<p>"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who

-had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering

-over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on

-the sulphurous surface of the rock.</p>

-

-<p>"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was

-perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a

-golden frog or a lizard."</p>

-

-<p>"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, this&mdash;this&mdash;" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and

-disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster

-as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,

-straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and

-Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point

-just as well."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus26.jpg" width="253" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the

-Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of

-the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.</p>

-

-<p>"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but

-don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all

-you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."</p>

-

-<p>"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."

-Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down

-hard on his shiny bald head.</p>

-

-<p>"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger

-practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in

-captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal&mdash;this way, my little crater critter."

-Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find

-the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid

-adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly

-righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a

-satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.

-"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At

-least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW&mdash;" Ato waved

-his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and

-time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.

-I've meat to broil!"</p>

-

-<p>"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"

-exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake

-turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?

-An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric

-monster."</p>

-

-<p>"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's

-shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,

-Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps

-on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had

-just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the

-galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.</p>

-

-<p>"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging

-jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed

-cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen

-of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking

-meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read

-Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the

-tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus27.jpg" width="483" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>The main cabin of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with its red leather couches

-under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to

-keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,

-was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a

-huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall

-was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and

-rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel

-and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his

-upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that

-all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the

-sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind

-creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a

-seaman could wish for.</p>

-

-<p>"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud

-of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the

-long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail

-on."</p>

-

-<p>"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and

-settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our

-volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island

-must have a name you know."</p>

-

-<p>"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his

-throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it

-Salamander Island after Sally."</p>

-

-<p>"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"

-warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his

-head in time to the music.</p>

-

-<p>"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map

-of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.</p>

-

-<p>"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout

-here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."</p>

-

-<p>As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew with red chalk a small but effective picture

-of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland

-Islanders grouped around the crater's top.</p>

-

-<p>"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed

-Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw

-argumentatively.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain

-stepping back to admire his drawing.</p>

-

-<p>"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands

-for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully

-at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once

-ourselves."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus28.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk

-back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries

-that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz

-is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since

-Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and

-prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"</p>

-

-<p>"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small

-wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting

-and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms

-in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire

-of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western

-domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The

-Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all

-these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but

-all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small

-but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is

-surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent

-Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the

-Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These

-countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies

-the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one

-knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in

-Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,

-towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there

-was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on

-every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more

-territory.</p>

-

-<p>"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these

-new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after

-staring at the map for some moments in silence.</p>

-

-<p>"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of

-his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of

-airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark

-and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or

-less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma

-will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as

-some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few

-islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his

-arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.</p>

-

-<p>"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's

-enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off

-on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I

-can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all

-the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,

-and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in&mdash;we've had a hard day

-and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have

-middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."</p>

-

-<p>"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up

-plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's

-plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."</p>

-

-<p>"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily

-through an open port.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus29.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the

-Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you

-great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"

-Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched

-back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.

-"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted

-indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and

-seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,

-relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,

-"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on

-the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of

-soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,

-"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young

-sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've

-ever gazed on."</p>

-

-<p>Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook

-padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with

-loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over

-the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and

-shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping

-soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.</p>

-

-<p>First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer

-and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the

-cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols

-had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of

-Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.

-Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on

-a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.

-Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box

-with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing

-salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny

-flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming

-pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the

-box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole

-contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to

-fetch the fire lizard.</p>

-

-<p>The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and

-giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished

-to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering

-she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to

-figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,

-carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had

-already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red

-hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new

-quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily

-in her swimming pool.</p>

-

-<p>"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and

-gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going

-to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the

-lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her

-tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange

-behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.

-Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself

-upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where

-she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus30.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly

-cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably

-in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,

-and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb

-cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away

-delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,

-the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she

-peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on

-the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the

-rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going

-out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder

-and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight

-when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only

-then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when

-morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was

-cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the

-cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the

-foremast.</p>

-

-<p>"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_5" id="CHAPTER_5"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus31.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 5<br />

-

-<small>Patrippany Island</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"All hands on deck! Come on! Come <i>on</i>!" yelled Samuel Salt running

-past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island

-tuluward, you lubber."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out

-the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No

-cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"

-But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved

-all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich

-and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on

-the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and

-whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."</p>

-

-<p>"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore

-Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."</p>

-

-<p>Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself

-into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting

-through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so

-dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but

-after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain

-decided to take a chance, and sail through.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook

-lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on

-an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let

-us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and

-decorum."</p>

-

-<p>"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye

-does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you

-have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on

-our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."</p>

-

-<p>So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in

-the foremast, Samuel swung the <i>Crescent Moon</i> in toward the island.

-Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea

-and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle

-stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and

-monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A

-flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they

-penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if

-they were entering some dim green land of goblins.</p>

-

-<p>"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned

-Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley

-with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute

-now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer

-a fried mackerel in my stomach."</p>

-

-<p>"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,

-"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."</p>

-

-<p>"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the

-buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.

-"Never say die&mdash;say dee&mdash;dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.

-Dee-scovery with a <i>hi de di dide di dough</i>!" sang Samuel vociferously

-to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream

-the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and

-their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the

-noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river

-creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by

-the islanders.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus32.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of

-coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only

-Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear

-away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of

-the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit

-when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and

-three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by

-the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife

-and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.</p>

-

-<p>"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding

-whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as

-stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing

-angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No

-need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this

-time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy

-as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."</p>

-

-<p>Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow

-Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over

-the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his

-feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and

-down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato

-handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his

-stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied

-that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.</p>

-

-<p>"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and

-start coming."</p>

-

-<p>"Chee tree&mdash;tee&mdash;hee&mdash;!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung

-precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with

-the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed

-to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long

-quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another

-step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple

-over backwards.</p>

-

-<p>"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.

-"Watch out for those 'gators."</p>

-

-<p>"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly

-all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.</p>

-

-<p>"Not <i>his</i> gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed

-Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."</p>

-

-<p>Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the

-river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and

-come savagely toward them.</p>

-

-<p>"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching

-Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to

-move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so

-violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He

-could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a

-loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.

-Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a

-heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus33.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul

-who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping

-the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his

-Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would

-have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed

-where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss

-to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and

-right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked

-futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,

-after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in

-and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the

-water.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus34.jpg" width="500" height="294" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't

-had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what

-can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for

-where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming

-up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.

-For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had

-been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even

-imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.

-But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose

-higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled

-figure sprawled across its slippery back.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is

-it really you? Are you safe, then?"</p>

-

-<p>"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon

-Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a

-boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt

-safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"</p>

-

-<p>"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her

-shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come

-rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with

-you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers

-are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."

-For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his

-gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the

-opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you

-ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her

-mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold

-on the monster's slippery neck.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"

-snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my

-father and mother and maiden aunts!"</p>

-

-<p>"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered

-fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any

-further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster

-carries off my poor Master?"</p>

-

-<p>"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do

-not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems

-uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me&mdash;" the Royal Explorer

-looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to

-find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in

-Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.

-And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply

-splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the

-last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped

-up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned

-a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as

-Ato had done.</p>

-

-<p>"Ugh&mdash;gr&mdash;ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did

-that happen?"</p>

-

-<p>"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with

-Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.

-And a fine Discoverer you look now."</p>

-

-<p>Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then

-shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam

-thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the

-bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree

-snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree

-top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking

-merriment.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the

-hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice

-mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato

-felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then

-hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at

-the Leader of the Expedition.</p>

-

-<p>"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting

-down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank

-interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."</p>

-

-<p>"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick

-green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.

-"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,

-as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.

-"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to

-his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging

-hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his

-hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that

-animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's

-the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel

-turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.</p>

-

-<p>"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What

-may that mean?"</p>

-

-<p>"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,

-grinning in spite of himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how

-beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward

-and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.

-"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a

-gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,

-Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to

-Patrippany Island."</p>

-

-<p>"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!

-Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip

-in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"</p>

-

-<p>"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly

-massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak

-our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean

-that monkey chatter above."</p>

-

-<p>"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"

-answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till

-five moons ago last Herb Day."</p>

-

-<p>"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed

-Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his

-river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep

-away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.

-"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that

-is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that

-makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little

-excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and

-if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."</p>

-

-<p>"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did

-not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.

-"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?

-What made you do that?"</p>

-

-<p>"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled

-out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a

-native boy?" he asked eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very

-idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language

-I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to

-them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks

-and spears and&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a

-tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.

-Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by

-Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the

-ship."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus35.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she

-gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little

-Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you

-wish to go."</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_6" id="CHAPTER_6"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus36.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 6<br />

-

-<small>A Little Wild Man</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt

-to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't

-go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our

-language."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at

-Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly

-up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with

-a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard

-Men. Mind, now!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and

-smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato

-and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier

-from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.</p>

-

-<p>"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to

-fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former

-Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the

-tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.</p>

-

-<p>"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward

-the river bank.</p>

-

-<p>"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with

-horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging

-at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my

-buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the

-hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand

-where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.</p>

-

-<p>"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of

-the <i>Crescent Moon</i> mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his

-cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have

-been an achievement worth the whole voyage."</p>

-

-<p>"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more

-comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would

-rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how

-many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!

-Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.</p>

-

-<p>"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped

-his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then

-Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."</p>

-

-<p>"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its

-sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.

-"Fly ahead, my Hearty."</p>

-

-<p>"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and

-mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for

-Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were

-they little or big, black or brown?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus37.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown

-spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and

-rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed

-like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.

-They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day

-every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and

-paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward&mdash;" Nikobo's eyes grew round and

-shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose

-and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,

-saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated

-back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."</p>

-

-<p>"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.</p>

-

-<p>"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"

-the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much

-better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've

-been feeding him myself."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in

-bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.</p>

-

-<p>"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a

-hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"</p>

-

-<p>"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I

-collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."</p>

-

-<p>"Roots, herbs&mdash;grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,

-herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous

-in your life?"</p>

-

-<p>"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here&mdash;"

-The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small

-boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and

-where is he now?"</p>

-

-<p>"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you

-shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and

-biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly

-riding behind.</p>

-

-<p>On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through

-the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their

-branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip

-the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a

-huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.

-Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled

-the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes

-left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that

-might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard

-Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and

-without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a

-small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.</p>

-

-<p>Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars

-constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass

-in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy

-clothed in a single leopard skin.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by

-the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea

-sailor!"</p>

-

-<p>"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you

-see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?

-He's not like the Leopard Men at all."</p>

-

-<p>"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing

-here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the

-bars of the strange prison.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus38.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,

-rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he

-looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"

-he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"</p>

-

-<p>"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the

-hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought

-they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log

-seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In

-this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own

-people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"

-explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so

-deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed

-too hard."</p>

-

-<p>"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.

-"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,

-little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"</p>

-

-<p>"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the

-bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my

-teeth for every day I have been here."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook

-with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib

-showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots

-in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and

-sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,

-nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman

-to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the

-hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars

-of his cage.</p>

-

-<p>"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild

-and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least

-I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and

-hardships I should suffer at sea?"</p>

-

-<p>"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and

-forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you

-could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had

-forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing

-still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues

-and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and

-discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.</p>

-

-<p>"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?

-Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a

-little wild man already."</p>

-

-<p>"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call

-Tandy a wild man."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus39.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet

-dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I

-am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands

-sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal

-company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,

-Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present

-a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as

-Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are

-a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."

-Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the

-little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in

-return you must believe <i>us</i>, and stop all this hoity toity talk and

-clishmaclatter."</p>

-

-<p>"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the

-bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly

-person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go

-with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."</p>

-

-<p>"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,

-relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.</p>

-

-<p>"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo

-lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far

-corner of his cage.</p>

-

-<p>"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as

-Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his

-own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with

-deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So

-you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato

-folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the

-leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do

-they call you at home?"</p>

-

-<p>"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the

-land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long

-continent of Tarara is my home."</p>

-

-<p>"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So

-there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one

-would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is

-twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat

-impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the

-little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those

-creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"

-Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young

-King's face.</p>

-

-<p>"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,

-returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that

-a ship has never touched our shores?"</p>

-

-<p>"Then the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,

-snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the

-most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen

-to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately

-afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"</p>

-

-<p>"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before

-he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the

-White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The

-Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered

-on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots

-of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they

-mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one

-to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and

-try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed

-me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door

-in the bars and stuck both hands through.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus40.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze

-up into Nikobo's huge face.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to

-say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was

-talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my

-own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and

-pleasure."</p>

-

-<p>"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.

-"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you

-happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these

-hardships and unpleasant experiences."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away

-from the outstretched arms of Ato.</p>

-

-<p>"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk

-of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.

-None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to

-do&mdash;whoo&mdash;Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began

-to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel

-Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the

-gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus41.jpg" width="445" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.

-Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed

-two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the

-vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,

-Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed

-to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax

-she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,

-demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and

-without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized

-the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the

-hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of

-the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sternly led the way to the edge of the island.

-Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys

-and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal

-Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,

-Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander

-Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY&mdash;ay&mdash;ayyyy!"</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_7" id="CHAPTER_7"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus42.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 7<br />

-

-<small>Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the

-little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps

-because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he

-was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.

-Not even the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed

-to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight

-of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the

-boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of

-being crocked for the rest of my life."</p>

-

-<p>"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless

-greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily

-about in the muddy river water.</p>

-

-<p>"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,

-Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,

-Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and

-I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens

-to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at

-Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping

-joyously behind him.</p>

-

-<p>"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.

-"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat

-around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange

-grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me

-gather a few."</p>

-

-<p>"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's

-bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.</p>

-

-<p>"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.

-"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the

-misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then

-I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for

-him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."</p>

-

-<p>"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato

-disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is

-himself a King."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning

-wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."

-With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking

-it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly

-creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.

-Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed

-the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly

-asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an

-hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack

-and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus43.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the

-ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back

-cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"</p>

-

-<p>"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so

-small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has

-been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with

-only a miserable hippopotamus for company."</p>

-

-<p>"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very

-superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with

-you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying

-bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,

-the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.

-"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as

-Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make

-allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his

-own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say

-he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.

-Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz

-looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung

-from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with

-spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea

-shells tied up in his shore-going coat.</p>

-

-<p>"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger

-helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.</p>

-

-<p>"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato

-and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.</p>

-

-<p>"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout

-warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,

-too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them

-Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they

-would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling

-about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even

-stand up."</p>

-

-<p>"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these

-might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a

-few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this

-voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting

-plants, too?"</p>

-

-<p>"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep

-rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying

-him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"

-explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had

-with one of these vines in my early youth."</p>

-

-<p>"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's

-collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right

-have such things on a ship?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel

-easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming

-country."</p>

-

-<p>"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to

-Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,

-Master Salt."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful

-so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing

-contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.</p>

-

-<p>"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!

-Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the

-crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you

-planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about

-their new sovereign?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus44.jpg" width="439" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the

-tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.

-I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear

-'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape

-of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors

-from Oz."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps

-and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate

-as Nikobo here."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,

-luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.

-"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son

-of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a

-couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some

-time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he

-calmly spoke his mind.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here

-with Kobo till my own people come for me."</p>

-

-<p>"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny

-youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to

-leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's

-back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.

-Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather

-sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the

-sand. "And no one can make me."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought

-of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to

-further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and

-began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference

-Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had

-finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.</p>

-

-<p>"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken

-voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"</p>

-

-<p>"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand

-to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking

-wildly from the hippopotamus to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Samuel had a

-dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his

-cherished vessel.</p>

-

-<p>"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than

-polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,

-she'll sink the ship."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a

-meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus45.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a

-great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind

-motherly creature that she is!"</p>

-

-<p>"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and&mdash;" Then

-suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.</p>

-

-<p>"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his

-oranges from one shoulder to the other.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly

-delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen

-back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.

-We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and

-meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in

-the hold."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of

-life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge

-champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."</p>

-

-<p>"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato

-in Samuel's ear.</p>

-

-<p>"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a

-taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last

-swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and

-wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails

-Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their

-new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from

-sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the

-evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all

-the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,

-Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a

-strange procession started out for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Ahead with the

-keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a

-small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty

-young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in

-his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he

-meant to fasten it to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so

-Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to

-the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the

-ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of

-the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no

-trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could

-raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt

-the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and

-seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly

-pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious

-specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,

-the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> weighed anchor and dropped with

-the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the

-automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,

-adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode

-happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed

-her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary

-explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a

-shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.</p>

-

-<p>"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,

-waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you

-and Ato would want him in here."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus46.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small

-berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never

-be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out

-of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his

-spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel

-hurried out on deck.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus47.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding

-himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had

-taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old

-pirate suits.</p>

-

-<p>"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring

-sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the

-suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young

-monarch.</p>

-

-<p>"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he

-repeated dismally.</p>

-

-<p>"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking

-at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the

-hatches with lubbers!"</p>

-

-<p>Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,

-though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what

-Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and

-pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.

-Gulls flew in excited circles all round the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, calling

-out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning

-on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz

-flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive

-appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he

-had done a good day's discovering.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at

-Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.</p>

-

-<p>"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.</p>

-

-<p>"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo

-remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of

-you yet, my lass!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus48.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_8" id="CHAPTER_8"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus49.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 8<br />

-

-<small>Maxims for Monarchs</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden

-spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a

-rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.</p>

-

-<p>"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call

-the young voyager, came flying back to the table.</p>

-

-<p>"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,

-popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down

-with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"</p>

-

-<p>"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots

-and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with

-meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these

-seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."</p>

-

-<p>"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,

-pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little

-pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"</p>

-

-<p>"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato

-handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"</p>

-

-<p>"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and

-able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at

-Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good

-example?"</p>

-

-<p>Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and

-kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his

-bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little

-fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.</p>

-

-<p>"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.

-"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every

-scrap."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus50.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder

-of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.

-But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants

-from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail

-conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's

-cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted

-that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the

-young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his

-bunk.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea

-chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the

-crew?"</p>

-

-<p>"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his

-inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.</p>

-

-<p>"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions

-and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any

-chance referring to me?"</p>

-

-<p>"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated

-Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another

-screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a

-long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both

-calm and reasonable.</p>

-

-<p>"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its

-King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger

-firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the

-Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw

-at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the

-shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,

-but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and

-opened his volume.</p>

-

-<p>"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird

-impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely

-a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by

-sheer worth and ability alone."</p>

-

-<p>"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden

-interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and

-the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,

-his royal instructor at home.</p>

-

-<p>"I am reading <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>," answered Roger calmly, "a book of

-great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz

-and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and

-important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he

-continued severely.</p>

-

-<p>"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,

-looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>

-in Ozamaland."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus51.jpg" width="436" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of

-his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably

-know nothing about such matters."</p>

-

-<p>"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this

-two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.</p>

-

-<p>"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has

-been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,

-acting in this small up-country fashion&mdash;what CAN a fellow think?

-Here&mdash;" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the

-Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy

-reread the passage Roger had just quoted.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither

-is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former

-arrogance.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his

-claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,

-a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times

-as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the <i>Crescent

-Moon</i>, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to

-govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there

-wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for

-me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can

-live my own life and go and come as I please."</p>

-

-<p>"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy

-wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little

-boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"

-sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways

-down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is

-useful or interesting?"</p>

-

-<p>"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why&mdash;er&mdash;why, I can draw

-pictures and ride an elephant."</p>

-

-<p>"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his

-best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much

-call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water

-to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the

-crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever

-blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person

-than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a

-ship!"</p>

-

-<p>"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"</p>

-

-<p>"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled

-off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell

-me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and

-happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"</p>

-

-<p>"It is not seemly&mdash;" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped

-Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before

-you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus52.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands

-nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,

-"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.

-In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and

-mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being

-prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years

-of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked

-away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."</p>

-

-<p>"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words

-since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"</p>

-

-<p>"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for

-there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening

-I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look

-down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out

-and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."</p>

-

-<p>"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed

-eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.</p>

-

-<p>"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus53.jpg" width="269" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"The word was <i>play</i>," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom

-did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"</p>

-

-<p>Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never

-heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say

-is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you

-a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found

-you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be

-different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.

-You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person

-and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun

-or break a wing in the attempt."</p>

-

-<p>"But would a King&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,

-sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out

-again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please

-so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And

-tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded

-almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,

-Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed

-Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you

-want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully

-over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed

-through the port.</p>

-

-<p>For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last

-injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he

-really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly

-he knew. Why, of course&mdash;he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain

-WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it

-into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only

-a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling

-in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant

-wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his

-breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.</p>

-

-<p>"Kobo&mdash;Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.</p>

-

-<p>"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her

-vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.

-"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced

-over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him

-enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.

-Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide

-and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake

-into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her

-lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to

-think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll

-throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,

-Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus54.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost

-cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy

-quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?

-There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.

-He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea

-chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet

-of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself

-cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles

-and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and

-Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.</p>

-

-<p>When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's

-light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new

-pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk

-was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's

-inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read

-Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or

-undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went

-quietly from the cabin.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_9" id="CHAPTER_9"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus55.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 9<br />

-

-<small>Sea Legs for Tandy</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a

-pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their

-breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,

-the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright

-sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong

-to the pig family when you come to think of it."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,

-swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take

-her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's

-son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we

-reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.

-Hoh!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to

-fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will

-bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten

-years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to

-have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the

-jungle I can't get through my head at all."</p>

-

-<p>"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump

-shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it

-is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.

-Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.

-"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,

-in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to

-bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and

-anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride

-to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the

-evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,

-"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and

-creeping birds, eh, Mates?"</p>

-

-<p>"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and

-be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the

-way, how's Sally this morning?'</p>

-

-<p>"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water

-and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her

-round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted

-Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings

-from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and

-beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."</p>

-

-<p>"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head

-in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't

-you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of

-sea soup sprinkled with faggots."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee

-pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.</p>

-

-<p>The day was bright and breezy and the <i>Crescent Moon</i> going free,

-breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a

-morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an

-uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up

-smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.</p>

-

-<p>"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,

-hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to

-the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with

-the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,

-and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and

-came striding aft.</p>

-

-<p>"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.

-Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus56.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the

-foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with

-deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger

-was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,

-Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made

-a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your

-feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as

-flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!

-Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up&mdash;up and up the narrow rope

-ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar

-and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.

-"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,

-winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy

-was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set

-himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.

-Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,

-the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the

-foremast.</p>

-

-<p>"The <i>Crescent Moon</i>," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,

-"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take

-from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring

-her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we

-three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy

-hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the

-foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the

-ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water

-birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the

-sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the

-bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal

-and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.

-"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is

-attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant

-sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on

-the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."</p>

-

-<p>"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on

-the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he

-tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.</p>

-

-<p>"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is

-bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer

-the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was

-simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"

-he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic

-circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?

-A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging

-so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"</p>

-

-<p>Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship

-on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City&mdash;Patrippany Island&mdash;all

-his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped

-in his heart of hearts the <i>Crescent Moon</i> would not reach his native

-shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person <i>was</i> fun.</p>

-

-<p>"M&mdash;mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells

-like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."</p>

-

-<p>"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.

-"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a

-large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and

-shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's

-something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"</p>

-

-<p>"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he

-repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few

-inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun&mdash;that's

-a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!

-Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles

-but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers

-and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All

-hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the

-hatches!"</p>

-

-<p>Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,

-descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out

-with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife

-in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to

-his largest spyglass.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,

-this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine

-ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus57.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are

-you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your

-ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with

-the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"

-Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that

-there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and

-with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the

-ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable

-head came curling far over the bow of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,

-dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his

-wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.</p>

-

-<p>Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell

-flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making

-a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was

-leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant

-with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was

-the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his

-ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin

-brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they

-screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next

-forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among

-them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel

-fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen

-guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus58.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of

-still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming

-with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,

-and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into

-the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn

-and setting the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to dancing like a cocklebur. But the

-taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,

-and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea

-monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing

-away toward the skyline.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap

-to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain

-touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."</p>

-

-<p>"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed

-Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely

-specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets

-rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking

-rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell

-Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to

-his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably

-frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked

-up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he

-panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a

-picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.

-Here it is&mdash;tail, teeth and everything!"</p>

-

-<p>"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to

-perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in

-action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young

-lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,

-I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra

-rations and pay."</p>

-

-<p>"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings

-gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from

-King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry

-rations and pay!"</p>

-

-<p>Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,

-and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,

-Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger

-had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and

-Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm

-at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and

-strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy

-so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm

-and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained

-his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy

-was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and

-wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus59.jpg" width="374" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the

-shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all

-help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping

-time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:</p>

-

-<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">

-    <div class="verse">"Blow high&mdash;blow low&mdash;</div>

-<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Tis a salt sea life for me&mdash;</div>

-    <div class="verse">With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue</div>

-<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;With a good ship going free&mdash;eeeh&mdash;eeeh!</div>

-    <div class="verse">With a good ship going free!"</div>

-</div></div>

-

-<p>Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_10" id="CHAPTER_10"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus60.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 10<br />

-

-<small>The City of Bridges</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had

-known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,

-pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,

-the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of

-the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had

-besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble

-aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the

-rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special

-rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on

-Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful

-hippopotamus.</p>

-

-<p>Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved

-the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often

-floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the

-ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged

-on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all

-crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the

-hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and

-with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious

-vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she

-had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking

-cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,

-giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking

-nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to

-the fullest extent.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus61.jpg" width="418" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>On calm mornings, with the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hove to, all hands would go

-swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty

-porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy

-had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain

-could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had

-made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched

-upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,

-but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and

-Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy

-diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream

-with envy and approval.</p>

-

-<p>Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not

-really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on

-Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to

-his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus

-made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who

-did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for

-hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness

-to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted

-was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and

-join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain

-(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire

-listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been

-a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and

-treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of

-these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire

-lizard.</p>

-

-<p>Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.

-They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,

-for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she

-touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had

-only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a

-cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally

-took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs

-or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she

-spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to

-Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear

-her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.</p>

-

-<p>Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,

-Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants

-from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of

-lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after

-the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.

-The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the

-Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung

-above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a

-scientific laboratory every day.</p>

-

-<p>"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those

-big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink

-label on a fluted conch shell.</p>

-

-<p>"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling

-what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on

-a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,

-Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've

-had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to

-happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn

-in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly

-clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and

-terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"</p>

-

-<p>"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back

-on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's

-foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just

-get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,

-why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we

-landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how

-big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg

-and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to

-nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to

-see, eh, Kinglet?"</p>

-

-<p>"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I

-don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."</p>

-

-<p>"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy

-suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son

-of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the

-<i>Crescent Moon's</i> afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with

-you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel

-tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main

-and mizzen topsails.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus62.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,

-Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had

-happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife

-still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft

-the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses

-Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit

-of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a

-piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,

-needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way

-of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color

-of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look

-at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they

-sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges

-ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all

-the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted

-cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on

-either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering

-poles and spears and halberds.</p>

-

-<p>"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared

-Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be

-pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a

-boulder?"</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting

-curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting

-on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.</p>

-

-<p>"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.

-Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking

-Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the

-bridges, a three-master, larger than the <i>Crescent Moon</i>."</p>

-

-<p>"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.

-"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates

-sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the

-buttons on his sail controls.</p>

-

-<p>"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest

-bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all

-the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of

-yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her

-head in her drinking tub.</p>

-

-<p>"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port

-gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a

-rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not

-help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry

-from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung

-down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously

-aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping

-toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and

-then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the

-descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships

-would surely be demolished.</p>

-

-<p>"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,

-gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I

-can bear anything."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus63.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the

-shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers&mdash;it will shiver all of our

-timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order

-to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh&mdash;hh!"

-But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.</p>

-

-<p>"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"

-bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.

-As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen

-and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole

-length of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change

-in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of

-canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect

-air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish

-catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> rose

-buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly

-beneath her bow.</p>

-

-<p>"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.

-"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm

-no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder

-Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply

-and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the

-deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus64.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Wha&mdash;wha&mdash;where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings

-in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us

-you had balloon sails, Master Salt."</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp

-below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,

-mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.

-"It all looks sharp to me."</p>

-

-<p>"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks

-and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and

-belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The

-altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.

-How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky

-island? How could we even take half of them?"</p>

-

-<p>"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by

-surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz

-flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."</p>

-

-<p>"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his

-way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his

-arms full of Oz flags, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hung directly over the

-glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up

-hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the

-sparkling blue lake between the peaks.</p>

-

-<p>Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon

-sails so skillfully the <i>Crescent Moon</i> came down lightly as a swan in

-the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides

-hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned

-silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its

-curious crew.</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing

-voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as

-before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an

-island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of

-her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"</p>

-

-<p>"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid

-of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span

-connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_11" id="CHAPTER_11"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus65.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 11<br />

-

-<small>The Prince of the Peaks</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little

-gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their

-pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.</p>

-

-<p>"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest

-Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU&mdash;you who come in

-this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"</p>

-

-<p>"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain

-of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King

-of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any

-of the others had time to speak for themselves.</p>

-

-<p>The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and

-breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and

-rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone

-aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's

-boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his

-royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.</p>

-

-<p>"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de

-Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.

-"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,

-Bird and Conquerors?"</p>

-

-<p>"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.

-"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the

-rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to

-this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."</p>

-

-<p>"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower

-bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again

-eeeeee-yen!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word

-as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the <i>Crescent

-Moon</i>."</p>

-

-<p>The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his

-long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the

-bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself

-gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a

-swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the

-Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable

-refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced

-him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the

-lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with

-suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their

-own.</p>

-

-<p>"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato

-in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?

-And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put

-on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and

-Doughnuts."</p>

-

-<p>"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know

-it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out

-the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my

-famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket

-before you can say Oz Robinson!"</p>

-

-<p>When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found

-the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck

-in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and

-handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything

-from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the

-crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table

-with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew

-friendlier and more confidential still.</p>

-

-<p>"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a

-puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus66.jpg" width="246" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest

-wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,

-your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put

-about."</p>

-

-<p>"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed

-Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the <i>Mountain Lass</i>, would have been

-destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what

-we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the

-torrent."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the

-Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I

-reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be

-delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily

-as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."</p>

-

-<p>"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,

-who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But

-tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is

-required of us?"</p>

-

-<p>"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This

-island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so

-just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact

-with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are

-ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In

-time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and

-in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing

-these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to

-come and live as your loyal subjects here."</p>

-

-<p>"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the

-prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could

-easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all

-of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a

-pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"

-Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated

-the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no

-intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange

-conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've

-pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a

-hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,

-Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus67.jpg" width="460" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill

-tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the

-deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's

-Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and

-swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the

-shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering

-castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.

-With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and

-Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little

-exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was

-much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the

-yodelers.</p>

-

-<p>Ato, watching from the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, presently saw the

-flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with

-a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles

-and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on

-all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's

-city.</p>

-

-<p>From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of

-his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent

-on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,

-explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old

-customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders

-could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when

-they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,

-but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family

-could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window

-box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had

-perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,

-potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following

-corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after

-the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top

-every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh

-vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every

-known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines

-and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of

-a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy

-peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea

-food the Islanders fared splendidly.</p>

-

-<p>The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women

-alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried

-pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while

-delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as

-steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver

-and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of

-which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.</p>

-

-<p>"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to

-Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.</p>

-

-<p>"It <i>is</i> magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little

-nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow

-old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light

-hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."</p>

-

-<p>"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er&mdash;and hear," he added quickly as the

-wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the

-palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report

-Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of

-the voyage."</p>

-

-<p>"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI

-dee Aye de OH&mdash;hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks

-kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told

-them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to

-take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as

-Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light

-and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to

-walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and

-uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's

-arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a

-sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals

-and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung

-swiftly down to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Roger, flying under

-his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus68.jpg" width="428" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out

-rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and

-the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and

-then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The <i>Mountain

-Lass</i> in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there

-she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift

-her back to the Lake among the peaks.</p>

-

-<p>Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of

-relief as she spied the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the

-hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly

-off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of

-salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the

-barnacles off my hide."</p>

-

-<p>"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the

-taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh

-vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"</p>

-

-<p>"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away

-from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from

-wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"

-he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts

-on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with a

-spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern

-skyline.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_12" id="CHAPTER_12"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus69.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 12<br />

-

-<small>Fog</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old

-tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the

-main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed

-his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside

-the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's

-island.</p>

-

-<p>"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the

-cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy

-came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand

-with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the

-City of Bridges."</p>

-

-<p>"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his

-fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we

-learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and

-peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."</p>

-

-<p>"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his

-magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery

-on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down

-Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz

-and as an especially good place for poets."</p>

-

-<p>"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,

-"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so

-fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, that <i>is</i> one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing

-approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,

-we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've

-brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap

-of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those

-fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."</p>

-

-<p>"They're a great comfort to <i>me</i>, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding

-up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now

-I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her

-raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would

-like to take the other two home with him?"</p>

-

-<p>"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh&mdash;we're not near

-Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel

-Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.</p>

-

-<p>"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach

-Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that

-country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a

-creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"</p>

-

-<p>"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is

-farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have

-conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus70.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that

-has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he

-loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never

-told us anything about this."</p>

-

-<p>"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a

-small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know

-that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long

-countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West

-Coast."</p>

-

-<p>"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to

-pull his journal toward him.</p>

-

-<p>"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and

-jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous

-White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are

-fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in

-huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who

-live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live

-under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and

-never allowed out of the capital."</p>

-

-<p>"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in

-a heap around his feet.</p>

-

-<p>"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine

-Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain

-in the White City."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling

-out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it

-for him.</p>

-

-<p>"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known

-as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long

-ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their

-swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my

-countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and

-camels, have all they can do to hold their own."</p>

-

-<p>"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his

-eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's

-disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added

-quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the

-Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,

-I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they

-are so unfriendly."</p>

-

-<p>"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd

-do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull

-at his pipe.</p>

-

-<p>"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,

-shaking his head.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said

-Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you

-carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"</p>

-

-<p>"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.

-"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy

-of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,

-they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in

-the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly

-into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel

-abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.</p>

-

-<p>"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed

-impatiently.</p>

-

-<p>"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his

-head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt

-had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you

-so far and so fast."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, whoever it was did <i>us</i> a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,

-twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no

-better aboard a ship&mdash;eh, Mate?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus71.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his

-feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like

-an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their

-turbans, too."</p>

-

-<p>"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost

-fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the

-Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.</p>

-

-<p>"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port

-and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,

-boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm

-moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot

-chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master

-Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."</p>

-

-<p>"We'll <i>all</i> have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to

-see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping

-Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy

-life aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> with his dull and lonely existence in

-the Royal City of his Fathers.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish the Greys <i>would</i> capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,

-as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to

-leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot

-chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout

-into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss

-Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.</p>

-

-<p>"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to

-join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on

-morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All

-through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous

-voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to

-relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus72.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more

-hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy

-buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.</p>

-

-<p>"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered

-cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape

-our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,

-being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose

-warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take

-our chance&mdash;eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out

-anything astern, will you, Tandy?"</p>

-

-<p>Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had

-to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was

-the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved

-cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing

-an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,

-they might just as well not have been there.</p>

-

-<p>"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,

-but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly

-comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy

-lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,

-followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.

-Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered

-lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.</p>

-

-<p>"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've

-rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why

-didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made

-no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after

-Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit

-them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on

-wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came

-out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle

-of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i> alone. There <i>was</i> a ship beyond them in the fog,

-but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly

-Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the

-maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now

-came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.</p>

-

-<p>"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to

-grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening

-his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible

-foe.</p>

-

-<p>"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to

-Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once

-been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."</p>

-

-<p>"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who

-found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.</p>

-

-<p>"No, it is not for <i>us</i> to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But

-hah! Just let <i>them</i> start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick

-about it, too!"</p>

-

-<p>"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he

-had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those

-things again&mdash;they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take

-another chance?"</p>

-

-<p>"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty

-as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger

-returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving

-silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole

-experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel

-himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and

-immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel

-returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four

-shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap

-aboard.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus73.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"

-breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the

-long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second

-seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the

-choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately

-drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen

-asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read

-Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.</p>

-

-<p>"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,

-but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam

-lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts

-of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their

-leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods

-the <i>Crescent Moon</i> had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the

-sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an

-unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,

-was gazing dreamily in the same direction.</p>

-

-<p>"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"

-exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and

-the Captain.</p>

-

-<p>"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over

-to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And

-isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight

-on the rail.</p>

-

-<p>"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he

-leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's

-better than pirates."</p>

-

-<p>"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing

-up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for

-breakfast, Cook dear?"</p>

-

-<p>"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I

-thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a

-little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"

-And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod

-reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for

-his paints.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_13" id="CHAPTER_13"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus74.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 13<br />

-

-<small>The Sea Forest</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and

-when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the

-sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.</p>

-

-<p>"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his

-journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and

-baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"

-inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might

-add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"

-Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish

-before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept

-winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like

-the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette

-and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed

-and indifference.</p>

-

-<p>"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin

-boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab

-nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of

-baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case

-Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring

-fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now

-snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching

-contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.</p>

-

-<p>"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,

-speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that

-scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now

-would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,

-little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything

-grows."</p>

-

-<p>"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little

-sigh on Nikobo's broad back.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus75.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,

-fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was

-coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on

-this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a

-rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and

-much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the

-fare&mdash;why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,

-remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!

-Listen! Here they come!"</p>

-

-<p>"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from

-above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"</p>

-

-<p>"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the

-rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook

-and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and

-crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when

-she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across

-her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the

-aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,

-nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.</p>

-

-<p>"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin

-box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it

-dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and

-admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride

-along."</p>

-

-<p>"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on

-Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be

-any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"</p>

-

-<p>"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo

-paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest

-itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was

-the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.

-The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.

-Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going

-down, down, down as far as he could see.</p>

-

-<p>"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one

-lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!

-Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."</p>

-

-<p>"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're

-going to grow our own masts."</p>

-

-<p>Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young

-shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.

-Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like

-bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and

-silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.</p>

-

-<p>"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely

-between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick

-me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began

-vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored

-fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the

-water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting

-anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's

-cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.

-The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible

-variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber

-by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off

-several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his

-album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after

-a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to

-overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there

-are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,

-but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where

-most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,

-somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in

-the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could

-swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively

-sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would

-never succeed in catching one.</p>

-

-<p>All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel

-making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled

-nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the

-small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark

-of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees

-pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of

-the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were

-not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and

-tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front

-legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet

-were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more

-frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from

-a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they

-retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance

-as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch

-of the whole group.</p>

-

-<p>"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing

-his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the

-snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,

-Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of

-our feelings or safety."</p>

-

-<p>"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"

-sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then&mdash;" he

-grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."</p>

-

-<p>The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.

-Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this

-small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning

-itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it

-proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious

-little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no

-serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her

-long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made

-ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus76.jpg" width="489" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing

-enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the

-aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have

-both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed

-the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read

-Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,

-it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask

-me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish <i>was</i> even uglier than a

-goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant

-goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.</p>

-

-<p>"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But

-let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."</p>

-

-<p>"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder

-what it eats?"</p>

-

-<p>"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at

-Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.</p>

-

-<p>"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as

-this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he

-wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a

-monkey fish."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, don't forget the bananas&mdash;for remember it's a monkey, too,"

-chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had

-written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the

-exploring party returned to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his

-aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making

-copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did

-not get his ship under way till late afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done

-little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his

-anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy

-painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for

-Mo-fi's fish food, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> again dipped adventurously into

-the southeast swell.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_14" id="CHAPTER_14"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus77.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 14<br />

-

-<small>The Sea Unicorn!</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,

-swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the

-binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.</p>

-

-<p>"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the

-skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.</p>

-

-<p>"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm

-admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and

-I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If

-anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor

-and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or

-obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of

-an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not

-need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing

-wink.</p>

-

-<p>"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up

-at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."

-With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy

-taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went

-on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting

-him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying

-nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?

-Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"</p>

-

-<p>Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,

-stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told

-Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,

-Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I

-gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be

-riding around on your shoulder."</p>

-

-<p>"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the

-Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey

-fish, Roger."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has

-me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a

-little pet if I want one?"</p>

-

-<p>The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could

-hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,

-he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new

-discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.

-"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head

-with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything

-as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that

-just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the

-main truck and have a look around."</p>

-

-<p>"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the

-parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,

-Roger."</p>

-

-<p>"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an

-affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went

-joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted

-on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and

-printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of

-complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly

-remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog

-trotted contentedly down to the hold.</p>

-

-<p>The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had

-to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,

-snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a

-branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their

-covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the

-vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the

-galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to

-care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when

-a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.

-Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.</p>

-

-<p>"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the

-hold faster than he had ever done before.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus78.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Su&mdash;su&mdash;SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he

-could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific

-knock from below made the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shiver from end to end.

-Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly

-they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech

-and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through

-the decks.</p>

-

-<p>"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting

-crazily down to the deck. "Wha&mdash;what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,

-pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main

-and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that

-instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up

-and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy

-blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to fly

-asunder.</p>

-

-<p>"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the

-wheel. "Horn like a&mdash;uni&mdash;corn&mdash;branch of the Odontocetes and&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh&mdash;you&mdash;don't say&mdash;it&mdash;is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his

-stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the

-monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us&mdash;is that a horn or a ship's mast?

-Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"</p>

-

-<p>Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to

-hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and

-plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,

-diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low

-hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant

-beneath the ship.</p>

-

-<p>"Su&mdash;suppose it su&mdash;submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to

-seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously

-up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my

-beams and&mdash;" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that

-moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the

-sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim

-and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had

-clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of

-danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm

-and purposeful. This vine&mdash;well, why would this powerful vine from

-Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances

-were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a

-quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of

-the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began

-to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,

-it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable

-cradle of leafy wood.</p>

-

-<p>Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think

-he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.

-Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling

-anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,

-Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.</p>

-

-<p>Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,

-almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger

-was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having

-wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to

-his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now

-all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back

-over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had

-seen him go overboard.</p>

-

-<p>"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt

-rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?

-Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking

-menace?"</p>

-

-<p>"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping

-happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a

-lobster pot and can't move at all."</p>

-

-<p>"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.</p>

-

-<p>"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless

-sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into

-the sea.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at

-Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my

-life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all

-we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea

-and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,

-blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie

-River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can

-you dive with me beneath this ship?"</p>

-

-<p>"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,

-shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the

-Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't

-I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was

-well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way

-in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.</p>

-

-<p>"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and

-powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to

-rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel

-in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber

-up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the

-surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat

-they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.

-Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's

-head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's

-saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of

-ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with

-material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the

-Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was

-not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and

-Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation

-was accomplished.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus79.jpg" width="467" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with

-her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and

-Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated

-fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go

-floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view

-of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"

-sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly

-over the rail. "Some fishin'&mdash;eh, Mates?"</p>

-

-<p>"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo

-and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.</p>

-

-<p>"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises

-sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale

-of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_15" id="CHAPTER_15"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus80.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 15<br />

-

-<small>The Collector Is Collected</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as

-he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column

-between the main and mizzenmasts.</p>

-

-<p>"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin

-reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough

-to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's

-given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed

-on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that

-we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his

-glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.</p>

-

-<p>"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway

-it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to

-swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"</p>

-

-<p>"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing

-on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just

-talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in

-Lavaland, Mate."</p>

-

-<p>"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling

-over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.

-"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus81.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft

-to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage

-is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."

-The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>

-was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put

-ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous

-voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to

-consider.</p>

-

-<p>"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed

-into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong

-and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted

-by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant

-mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy

-squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill

-squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.</p>

-

-<p>"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes

-with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."</p>

-

-<p>"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened

-gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely

-knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then

-he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.</p>

-

-<p>"Why&mdash;it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the

-glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.</p>

-

-<p>"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A

-hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just

-plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted

-his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!

-Danger on the bow!"</p>

-

-<p>Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom

-he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a

-moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense

-and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,

-tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum

-of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in

-complete wonder and mystification.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,

-breaking the silence at last.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he

-raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go

-a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage

-done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll

-knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron

-belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing

-to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed

-Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted

-the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here

-this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown

-after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred

-and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel

-on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over

-his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had

-attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that

-cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down

-sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into

-the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't

-he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore

-out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.

-Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and

-with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as

-close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified

-fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue

-depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the

-Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear

-altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel

-was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still

-there.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus82.jpg" width="455" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite

-of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, the Read

-Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense

-air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming

-frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing

-blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.

-Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the

-suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to

-join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear

-and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped

-mournfully into view.</p>

-

-<p>"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you

-find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,

-limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said

-nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he

-began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's

-collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him

-shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a

-bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and

-crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even

-make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole

-to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they

-open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the

-vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break

-a hole in that lid the Captain's done for&mdash;done for, do you hear?"</p>

-

-<p>"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,

-"Who do you mean?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish

-and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of

-stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside

-of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"</p>

-

-<p>"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!

-Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"</p>

-

-<p>"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.</p>

-

-<p>"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"No, <i>I'll</i> climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest

-and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with

-him."</p>

-

-<p>Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning

-in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had

-meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being

-so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the

-ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.</p>

-

-<p>Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast

-of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been

-quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the

-saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way

-to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like

-slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the

-strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees

-with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully

-through the glassy substance.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus83.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the

-figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl

-became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by

-loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him

-to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.

-Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the

-round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.

-Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,

-the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones

-and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so

-worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than

-sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the

-Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos

-and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as

-it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i> from his curious prison.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus84.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.

-Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell

-on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:</p>

-

-<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">

-    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Come see the curious high air manster.</span></div>

-    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Admission, 1 pearl, 5 corals and a clam!</span></div>

-</div></div>

-

-<p>The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's

-air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly

-together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his

-might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted

-Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling

-out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and

-being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before

-the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,

-too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away

-with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked

-without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.

-Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like

-a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to

-Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,

-Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as

-it flashed up and down above his head.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll

-never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,

-they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"</p>

-

-<p>"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty

-air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,

-increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,

-increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished

-ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of

-her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus

-jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a

-quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had

-happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to

-the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed&mdash;broke through

-the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through

-the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for

-an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.

-Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,

-for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had

-made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously

-along.</p>

-

-<p>Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,

-completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to

-her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too

-shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down

-like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet

-and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he

-had swallowed, started dizzily back to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Nikobo had

-several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at

-Tandy.</p>

-

-<p>"I&mdash;I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself

-wearily up on her back.</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"

-puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the

-hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a

-jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his

-danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his

-net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the

-sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and

-transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as

-Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_16" id="CHAPTER_16"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus85.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 16<br />

-

-<small>The Storm!</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of

-the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on

-deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of

-the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling

-through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.

-Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it

-took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful

-hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he

-spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering

-darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates

-collected.</p>

-

-<p>"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"

-scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was

-cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "<i>You</i> know <i>I</i> know nothing

-about navigation nor one sail from t'other."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah&mdash;but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his

-eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its

-stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left

-a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie

-yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his

-boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped

-down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large

-aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly

-enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like

-a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage

-opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he

-had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles

-and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,

-and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving

-him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above

-to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was

-pitching.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus86.jpg" width="435" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed

-the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown

-dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded

-along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing

-little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like

-a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and

-bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one

-side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's

-help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel

-to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her

-to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it

-all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be

-with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,

-tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.</p>

-

-<p>The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in

-all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel

-prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and

-helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails

-of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to

-closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose

-gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the

-door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and

-with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched

-the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into

-the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,

-Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better

-judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo

-and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,

-fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy

-afloat and take care of him besides.</p>

-

-<p>Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut

-themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers

-and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do

-to hang on to their chairs as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> pitched headlong into

-the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the

-great running seas.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_17" id="CHAPTER_17"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus87.jpg" width="488" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 17<br />

-

-<small>The Old Man of the Jungle!</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of

-Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.</p>

-

-<p>"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges

-of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be

-accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,

-neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and

-for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the

-natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,

-hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a

-clever and useful idea&mdash;eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a

-little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried

-off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and

-all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous

-crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the

-eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied

-agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us&mdash;the Nine Faithful Servants

-of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting

-his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making

-plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for

-himself.</p>

-

-<p>"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"

-questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.</p>

-

-<p>"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old

-Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our

-wish that you appear before us."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus88.jpg" width="263" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the

-curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only

-in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of

-Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,

-dismal, droning voice:</p>

-

-<p>"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the

-Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying

-umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down

-after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy

-with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men

-known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and

-two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island

-where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you

-that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages

-or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or

-remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished

-this shameful recital.</p>

-

-<p>"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts

-and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide

-up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with

-his long skinny fingers.</p>

-

-<p>"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this

-cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I

-am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.

-Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly

-toward the long table.</p>

-

-<p>"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his

-papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care

-what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff

-with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If

-you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the

-feet of the royal elephants!"</p>

-

-<p>"Ah&mdash;hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a

-poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I

-will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"

-Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old

-man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished

-into the garden.</p>

-

-<p>"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of

-the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous

-and may do us a world of harm."</p>

-

-<p>"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a

-hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King

-was carried off."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not

-another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the

-meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go

-now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King

-has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority

-and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful

-Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star

-and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring

-fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door

-with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.</p>

-

-<p>"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly

-waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship&mdash;there is a ship

-with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full

-sail is riding into our harbor."</p>

-

-<p>"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly

-by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship

-flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus89.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never

-happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long

-windows.</p>

-

-<p>"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters

-turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.

-Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive

-now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and

-the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the

-chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the

-six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If

-these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled

-upon, trampled upon&mdash;do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel

-determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about

-carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest

-tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner

-of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his

-well-laid plans.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_18" id="CHAPTER_18"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus90.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 18<br />

-

-<small>A New Country</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i> rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into

-quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed

-a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and

-relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.

-This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in

-their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole

-band of music beneath the mizzenmast.</p>

-

-<p>Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first

-to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as

-the <i>Crescent Moon</i> tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang

-eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried

-them.</p>

-

-<p>The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of

-a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of

-chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a

-great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had

-run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he

-crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly

-behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,

-the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel

-and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the

-cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in

-the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came

-winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his

-lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling

-through the port-hole, he did not even look up.</p>

-

-<p>"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the

-foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole

-long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no

-time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"

-As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears

-splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the

-ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.</p>

-

-<p>"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is

-most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one

-side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I

-should say, being a good person is most important."</p>

-

-<p>"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the

-middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason

-may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"</p>

-

-<p>"What's that? What's this? Humph! <i>Maxims for Monarchs.</i> Well, what in

-topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious

-shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat

-volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst

-out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we

-can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good

-King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the

-word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship

-can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without

-waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged

-over to the Captain.</p>

-

-<p>"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and

-crew of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> were now engaged in earnest conversation.

-"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying

-reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,

-waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go

-ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began

-unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned

-a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus91.jpg" width="260" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.

-"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig

-pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely

-nothing!"</p>

-

-<p>But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist

-and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If

-you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you

-back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any

-more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll

-not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to

-that!"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to

-Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this

-ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and

-Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"</p>

-

-<p>"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.

-"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming

-aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."

-Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as

-deeply, smiled back.</p>

-

-<p>"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow

-lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,

-he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all

-pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the

-long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his

-ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for

-him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to

-the latest possible moment.</p>

-

-<p>But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs

-and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to

-carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a

-fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,

-thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running

-down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the

-jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having

-brought nothing aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, he insisted on leaving in

-the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and

-Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had

-worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The

-Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their

-finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,

-and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused

-to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all

-climbed aboard the hippopotamus.</p>

-

-<p>Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help

-comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful

-boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself

-with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the

-great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their

-families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense

-turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to

-see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of

-Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of

-white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.</p>

-

-<p>"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily

-to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to

-the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the

-hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and

-suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and

-curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally

-made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling

-multitude.</p>

-

-<p>"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract

-their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.

-"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander

-Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."</p>

-

-<p>"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?

-Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and

-her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son

-and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my

-Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these

-words.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus92.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to

-another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he

-waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he

-called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small

-Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to

-lay waste our realm."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably

-between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal

-Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round

-the head of the speaker.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried

-Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.</p>

-

-<p>"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,

-Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the

-salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,

-not to recognize and welcome your young King. <i>I'm</i> for you, young

-one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the

-nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass

-through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine

-square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,

-thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering

-his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,

-recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,

-was the first to speak.</p>

-

-<p>"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily

-chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these

-strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,

-most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly

-but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly

-thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you

-are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in

-the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"

-Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy

-dismount.</p>

-

-<p>"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief

-Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so

-kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus93.jpg" width="256" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his

-lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old

-Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot

-along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he

-gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the

-evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand

-for silence.</p>

-

-<p>"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard

-the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated

-Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of

-age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,

-guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at

-Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your

-ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply

-indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says

-that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without

-delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you

-to leave. Come, Tazander!"</p>

-

-<p>While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin

-was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till

-he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But

-surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and

-explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel

-mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just

-might happen to tread on you."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very

-thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,

-paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the

-ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers

-gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying

-off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.</p>

-

-<p>"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats

-forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged

-a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood

-uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine

-judges, began to laugh and cheer.</p>

-

-<p>"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman

-vociferously.</p>

-

-<p>But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.

-"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this

-poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all

-lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize

-the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_19" id="CHAPTER_19"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus94.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 19<br />

-

-<small>Boglodore's Revenge</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,

-and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and

-camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the

-ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously

-back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely

-biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left

-the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.</p>

-

-<p>The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the

-heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,

-Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The

-tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,

-caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their

-heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,

-and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives

-and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for

-the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his

-breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.

-Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and

-groveled together in the deep sand.</p>

-

-<p>"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the

-suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those

-plants along?"</p>

-

-<p>"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered

-Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.

-Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"</p>

-

-<p>Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at

-each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal

-Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the

-securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who

-had first cheered Tandy remained.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man

-stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the

-tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."</p>

-

-<p>"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for

-them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave

-young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great

-liberty-loving land."</p>

-

-<p>"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,

-beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled

-Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and

-will stand no nonsense!"</p>

-

-<p>"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside

-Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each

-other well enough for all that."</p>

-

-<p>To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White

-City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its

-flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and

-castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.</p>

-

-<p>Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to

-welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come

-with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the

-natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed

-marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way

-through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.

-Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried

-away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid

-feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.</p>

-

-<p>Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and

-enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to

-live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for

-his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really

-happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on

-the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh

-of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.</p>

-

-<p>Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying

-at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for

-events to shape themselves.</p>

-

-<p>"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a

-small stool beside Samuel Salt.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and

-lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.</p>

-

-<p>"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful

-idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of

-which, <i>more</i> anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,

-stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more

-satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help

-Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman

-how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As

-he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus95.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that

-the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more

-and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was

-but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe

-that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as

-they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in

-the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,

-how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that

-long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,

-tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.</p>

-

-<p>"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN&mdash;HAH!" Samuel

-expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his

-feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place

-for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the

-shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended

-to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered

-to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his

-thoughts still far away on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and considering the

-work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him

-behind.</p>

-

-<p>With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the

-cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the

-guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants

-of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in

-their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,

-in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's

-back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,

-startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one

-horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus96.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,

-but it is!"</p>

-

-<p>"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from

-under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,

-and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so

-strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing

-the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main

-force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on

-the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the

-nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and

-soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of

-the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.</p>

-

-<p>"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.

-"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and

-Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story

-of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,

-my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.

-For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins

-themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!

-What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore

-again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What

-happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to

-keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"

-Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,

-the Old Man continued his story.</p>

-

-<p>"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended

-to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only

-the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the

-jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,

-giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect

-this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and

-could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found

-and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to

-do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant

-to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and

-ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."</p>

-

-<p>"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the

-umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up

-Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But

-Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.</p>

-

-<p>"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The

-vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will

-sink&mdash;not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but

-to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and

-sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so

-dishonorably served and betrayed!"</p>

-

-<p>Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the

-umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into

-the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the

-<i>Crescent Moon</i>. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own

-tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to

-navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old

-Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the

-umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open

-sea.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus97.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's

-edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only

-umbrellaphant in captivity?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel

-back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy

-after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master

-Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,

-staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the

-most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and

-now&mdash;now&mdash;I've lost it&mdash;" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides

-and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward

-Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.

-Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given

-her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,

-and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking

-rapidly to herself.</p>

-

-<p>"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with

-the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this

-clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried

-Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle

-and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's

-frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has

-befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King

-to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost

-elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."</p>

-

-<p>"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming

-completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and

-I'll carry the good news to the castle."</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_20" id="CHAPTER_20"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus98.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 20<br />

-

-<small>King Tandy</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small

-cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of

-one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the

-covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost

-inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better

-of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the

-Ozamandarins.</p>

-

-<p>"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at

-the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom

-of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you

-say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,

-dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker

-than soup!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, how do you suppose <i>I</i> feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his

-hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,

-I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"</p>

-

-<p>"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead

-of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin

-down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,

-pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.</p>

-

-<p>"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious

-than interested.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and

-pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and

-I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"

-Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy

-flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of

-him. "I'm going straight back on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and I'm not

-coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow

-Island and everywhere!"</p>

-

-<p>"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great

-difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are

-you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be

-true!"</p>

-

-<p>"But it <i>is</i> true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and

-illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the

-plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing

-Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as

-Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now

-there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild

-elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he

-starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink

-gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education

-on our ship, that is his own affair."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and

-roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of

-reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can

-enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,

-Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"</p>

-

-<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.</p>

-

-<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and

-luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><a name="CHAPTER_21" id="CHAPTER_21"></a></p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus99.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<h2>CHAPTER 21<br />

-

-<small>A Voyage Resumed</small></h2>

-

-

-<p>Anxious as Tandy was to return to the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and continue the

-voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,

-true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the

-capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and

-their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,

-addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider

-Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his

-education in foreign parts and aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, during which

-time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare

-always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province

-and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers

-from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new

-cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the

-dangerous invasions of the Greys.</p>

-

-<p>Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace

-along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long

-desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up

-by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the

-country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be

-enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long

-and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning

-in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and

-ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and

-vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and

-enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the

-castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak

-highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and

-the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore

-Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed

-hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.</p>

-

-<p>"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon

-as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed

-the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of

-elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just

-as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man

-in a Million."</p>

-

-<p>"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high

-holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus100.jpg" width="469" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle

-so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and

-flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,

-had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with

-feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,

-returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and

-precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he

-went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds

-creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit

-and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had

-outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green

-and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious

-to continue the voyage. Aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> one of the Guards

-had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend

-to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright

-morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal

-Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.</p>

-

-<p>Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling

-with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were

-lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding

-Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel

-corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's

-edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to

-Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt

-and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the

-small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large

-cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely

-made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the

-sea.</p>

-

-<p>"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but

-I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."</p>

-

-<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave

-to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt

-a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never

-fear!"</p>

-

-<p>"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away

-voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his

-stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun&mdash;the moon&mdash;the stars I

-commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule

-over Ozamaland."</p>

-

-<p>"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted

-Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from

-Oz!"</p>

-

-<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even

-the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as

-Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel

-over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,

-climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the

-hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.</p>

-

-<p>"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy

-stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!

-Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take

-the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under

-the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby

-camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,

-and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time

-they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed

-thankfully back on her raft.</p>

-

-<p>"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping

-cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,

-boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"</p>

-

-<p>"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to

-the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from

-the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"</p>

-

-<p>"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we

-go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A

-roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus101.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up

-and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from

-the cliffs.</p>

-

-<p>"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon

-the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,

-Roger?"</p>

-

-<p>"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.

-"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"</p>

-

-<p>And when the <i>Crescent Moon</i> flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie

-River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious

-continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I

-for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?</p>

-

-<div class="image-center">

-  <img src="images/illus102.jpg" width="325" height="350" alt=""/>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-

-<p class="ph4"><i>A Word about the Oz Books</i></p>

-

-

-<p>Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,

-THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who

-inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated

-the imagination of millions of young readers.</p>

-

-<p>These are stories which are genuine fantasy&mdash;creative, funny, tender,

-exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd

-creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has

-been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they

-are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at

-all.</p>

-

-<p>When, in a recent survey, <i>The New York Times</i> polled a group of

-teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz

-books topped the list.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-<p class="ph4">Captain Salt In Oz</p>

-

-

-<p>A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling

-than that? We&mdash;many of us&mdash;have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic

-or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and

-swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had

-our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we

-come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a

-charming talking hippopotamus?</p>

-

-<p>Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and

-now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their

-hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart

-crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically

-by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the

-Expedition.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-

-<p class="ph4">The Oz Books</p>

-

-<table>

-<tr><td></td><td>Wizard of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td></td><td>Visitors from Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>1. </td><td>The Land of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>2. </td><td>Ozma of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>3. </td><td>Dorothy and the Wizard</td></tr>

-<tr><td>4. </td><td>The Road to Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>5. </td><td>The Emerald City of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>6. </td><td>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>7. </td><td>Tik-Tok of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>8. </td><td>The Scarecrow of Oz</td></tr>

-<tr><td>9. </td><td>Rinkitink in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>10. </td><td>The Lost Princess of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>11. </td><td>The Tin Woodman of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>12. </td><td>The Magic of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>13. </td><td>Glinda of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>14. </td><td>The Royal Book of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>15. </td><td>Kabumpo in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>16. </td><td>The Cowardly Lion of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>17. </td><td>Grandpa in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>18. </td><td>The Lost King of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>19. </td><td>The Hungry Tiger of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>20. </td><td>The Gnome King of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>21. </td><td>The Giant Horse of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>22. </td><td>Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>23. </td><td>The Yellow Knight of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>24. </td><td>Pirates in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>25. </td><td>The Purple Prince of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>26. </td><td>Ojo in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>27. </td><td>Speedy in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>28. </td><td>The Wishing Horse of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>29. </td><td>Captain Salt in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>30. </td><td>Handy Mandy in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>31. </td><td>The Silver Princess in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>32. </td><td>Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>33. </td><td>Wonder City of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>34. </td><td>Scalawagons of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>35. </td><td>Lucky Bucky in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>36. </td><td>Magical Mimics in Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>37. </td><td>The Shaggy Man of Oz</td></tr>

-    <tr><td>38. </td><td>The Hidden Valley of Oz</td></tr>

-</table>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<pre>

-

-

-

-

-

-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 

-Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum

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-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***

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-

-</pre>

-

-</body>

-</html>

+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Captain Salt In Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
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+
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+.ph3 { text-align: right; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; }
+.ph3 { font-size: medium; margin: 0.83em auto; }
+.ph4 { font-size: large; margin: 1.12em auto; }
+
+hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%; }
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
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+
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+
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+  font-weight: bold;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  margin-top: 1em;
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+
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+.blockquot {
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+
+/* Images */
+
+.image-center
+{
+  text-align: center;
+  margin: 1em auto;
+}
+
+
+/* Poetry */
+
+.poetry .stanza
+{
+  margin: 1em auto;
+}
+
+.poetry .verse
+{
+  padding-left: 3em;
+}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56073 ***</div>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="235" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="500" height="258" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/tp.jpg" width="244" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+
+<h1>CAPTAIN SALT
+IN OZ</h1>
+
+<p><i>By</i><br />
+RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON<br />
+Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories</p>
+
+<p><i>By</i><br />
+L. FRANK BAUM<br />
+"Royal Historian of Oz"</p>
+
+<p><i>Illustrated by</i><br />
+JOHN R. NEILL</p>
+
+<p>The Reilly &amp; Lee Co.<br />
+CHICAGO</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p>Copyright, 1936<br />
+by<br />
+THE REILLY &amp; LEE CO.<br />
+All rights reserved</p>
+
+<p>Printed in the U.S.A.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p>Dear Boys and Girls:</p>
+
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">Another year&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">Another book,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And this time a voyage</div>
+    <div class="verse">That Sam Salt took</div>
+    <div class="verse">In that good old Ship,</div>
+    <div class="verse">The <i>Crescent Moon</i>&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">Steering by compass,</div>
+    <div class="verse">By star and moon,</div>
+    <div class="verse">To discover new countries</div>
+    <div class="verse">For OZ. Hear! Hear!</div>
+    <div class="verse">He's discovered a whole</div>
+    <div class="verse">New Hemisphere!</div>
+    <div class="verse">Three cheers for Sam,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And his jolly crew,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for OZ</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for YOU,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for me,</div>
+    <div class="verse">Though I don't need cheer</div>
+    <div class="verse">'Cause the letters you write</div>
+    <div class="verse">Keep me gay ALL year!</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will
+you? And remember to put your full name and complete
+address on the letter. Righto!</p>
+
+<p>And Best till I hear from you!</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="237" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">This book is dedicated<br />
+With my best bow and TOP wishes<br />
+to my Publisher.</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph4">&mdash;<i>Ruth Plumly Thompson</i></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="485" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>LIST OF CHAPTERS</h2>
+
+<table>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_1">CHAPTER 1</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sail Ho!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_2">CHAPTER 2</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Anchors Aweigh</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_3">CHAPTER 3</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Fire Baby</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_4">CHAPTER 4</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Samuel's First Specimen</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_5">CHAPTER 5</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Patrippany Island</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_6">CHAPTER 6</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Little Wild Man</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_7">CHAPTER 7</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_8">CHAPTER 8</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Maxims for Monarchs</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_9">CHAPTER 9</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sea Legs for Tandy</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_10">CHAPTER 10</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The City of Bridges</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_11">CHAPTER 11</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Prince of the Peaks</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_12">CHAPTER 12</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Fog</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_13">CHAPTER 13</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Forest</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_14">CHAPTER 14</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Unicorn!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_15">CHAPTER 15</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Collector Is Collected</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_16">CHAPTER 16</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Storm!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_17">CHAPTER 17</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Old Man of the Jungle!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_18">CHAPTER 18</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A New Country</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_19">CHAPTER 19</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Boglodore's Revenge</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_20">CHAPTER 20</a></td><td><span class="smcap">King Tandy</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_21">CHAPTER 21</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Voyage Resumed</span></td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_1" id="CHAPTER_1"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="473" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 1<br />
+<small>Sail Ho!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King
+Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is
+nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms
+that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And
+Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with
+a kind word for everyone.</p>
+
+<p>In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort
+and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.
+For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing
+eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing
+hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his
+eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms
+holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the
+names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on
+the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he
+is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and
+colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into
+an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle
+is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only
+reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is
+decidedly luxurious and lazy.</p>
+
+<p>Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,
+attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have
+little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred
+and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving
+any trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but
+Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who
+landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out
+after them, using the pirate's stout ship the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, for the
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and
+sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out
+and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i> reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here
+they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had
+been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to
+conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a
+poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You
+have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising
+experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon
+Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and
+country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious
+to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just
+to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman
+on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to
+a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and
+carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an
+interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his
+Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the
+Island&mdash;the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm
+trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the
+Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to
+a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and
+gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,
+but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast
+sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,
+as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is
+the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of
+the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us
+and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."</p>
+
+<p>"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head
+positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he
+made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's
+promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from
+pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering
+and forgotten us altogether!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="476" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with
+great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.
+"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King
+earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and
+burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him
+Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly
+well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and
+treasure."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"
+observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the
+poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six
+feet in his socks."</p>
+
+<p>"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in
+his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and
+handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,
+and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And
+a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the
+Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,
+too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed
+the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was
+to sail into our Harbor. Well, King&mdash;it's been six times six months,
+and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."</p>
+
+<p>"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.</p>
+
+<p>"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and
+twelve hours, to be exact!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured
+Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never
+believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open
+his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon
+it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so
+you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something
+else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"
+finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a
+goat.</p>
+
+<p>"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a
+notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!
+Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of
+biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss
+out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I&mdash;I, why, I'm
+surprised at you, Roger!"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at
+himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man
+with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever
+since his voyage on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, cooking had been Ato's chief
+pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved
+of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so
+finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his
+delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="451" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to
+frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger
+started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read
+on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a
+page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,
+Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into
+the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.</p>
+
+<p>Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his
+eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific
+thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the
+hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously
+around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with
+insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts
+and what not.</p>
+
+<p>Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and
+finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the
+King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.
+For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the <i>Crescent Moon</i>
+herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of
+the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast
+today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and
+white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of
+the most famous Fairyland in History.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.
+"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the
+Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his
+wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I
+ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already
+reached the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was
+chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his
+steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had
+half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted
+vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet
+planks of the royal dock.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it
+really my old cook and shipmate?"</p>
+
+<p>"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.
+"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and
+scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look
+natural or seaman-like at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered
+hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for
+impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this
+voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set
+the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage
+tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we
+must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="500" height="345" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;I sup-pose&mdash;so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up
+with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to
+be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace
+collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail
+feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we
+please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old
+pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your
+galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below
+to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,
+Lubber!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke
+in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself
+a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,
+Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"So&mdash;oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into
+the Captain's face,</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">"Ho pass the salt and ring the bell</div>
+    <div class="verse">And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on
+the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.
+"Sir Samuel!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come
+on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave
+your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"</p>
+
+<p>"Keep <i>you</i> waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet
+and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've
+been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,
+twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son
+of a sea-robber?"</p>
+
+<p>"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and
+dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely
+had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last
+voyage, and to fit out the <i>Crescent Moon</i> for the next."</p>
+
+<p>"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"
+muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.</p>
+
+<p>"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King
+accusingly. "And what would the <i>Crescent Moon</i> be needing? I thought
+she was about perfect as she was."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up
+immediately at mention of his ship. "The <i>Crescent Moon</i>, besides a
+new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering
+control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn
+paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical
+contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no
+crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger
+jealously.</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my
+place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging
+uneasily at the cord round his waist.</p>
+
+<p>"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!
+Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley
+to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down
+on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd
+never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without
+us!"</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at
+the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on
+ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the
+steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a
+chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"</p>
+
+<p>"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding
+exuberantly after the King.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_2" id="CHAPTER_2"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 2<br />
+
+<small>Anchors Aweigh!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,
+Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest
+or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.
+There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most
+of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook
+books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg
+beaters, and rolling pins.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as
+he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my
+topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato
+we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer
+needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"</p>
+
+<p>Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded
+determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,
+ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long
+following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly
+tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel
+had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but
+a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the
+crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the
+east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the
+booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from
+there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.</p>
+
+<p>This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and
+treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were
+the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and
+extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were
+numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to
+bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at
+the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,
+there and everywhere as we sail onward!"</p>
+
+<p>"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag
+planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully
+fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you
+don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the
+scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad
+and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.
+But look, Ato, my lad&mdash;these will interest you." Turning from the
+chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of
+the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger
+and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping
+the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the
+jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable
+pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the
+first island we come to. Eh, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long
+disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash
+yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY
+advice!"</p>
+
+<p>"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a
+resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show
+you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside
+for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious
+mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned
+his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,
+swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down
+to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge
+aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried
+moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.</p>
+
+<p>"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching
+the side of an enormous aquarium.</p>
+
+<p>"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did
+not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll&mdash;I'll have
+no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning
+things topsy turvy."</p>
+
+<p>"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about
+shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and
+the best way to begin a voyage is to start."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden
+ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off
+the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a
+pig's jiffy."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="406" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's
+octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.
+"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep
+the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."</p>
+
+<p>"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up
+on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to
+your Highness!"</p>
+
+<p>"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a
+megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight
+months from yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to
+wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer&mdash;and a bold bad
+seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles
+for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never
+see a castle again."</p>
+
+<p>"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.
+"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."</p>
+
+<p>"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel
+with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East
+by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North
+Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers
+of some deep and mysterious jungle!"</p>
+
+<p>"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the
+wheel.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this
+like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his
+hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the
+wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.</p>
+
+<p>"M&mdash;mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,
+shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?
+That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no
+getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up
+another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the
+voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim
+and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel
+for any course and just let her ride."</p>
+
+<p>"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But
+since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about
+dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"
+exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho&mdash;I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.
+"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain&mdash;a fried
+sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"</p>
+
+<p>"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath
+in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the
+foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's
+mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran
+smoothly before the wind.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_3" id="CHAPTER_3"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 3<br />
+
+<small>The Fire Baby</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Morning found the <i>Crescent Moon</i> forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a
+choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his
+legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to
+the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best
+sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove
+over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed
+his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and
+discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having
+finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of
+potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion
+when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the
+crown of Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and
+blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite
+and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma
+particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its
+will."</p>
+
+<p>"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to
+pare a fat potato. "What then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then&mdash;er then&mdash;" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try
+persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under
+the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to
+get them, don't you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato
+dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and
+persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs
+and poison arrows?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing
+soberly at the compass, "and in that case&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"
+Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,
+Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed
+as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be
+sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered
+hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger
+carry the books ashore too."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, giving his knee
+a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,
+Mates, remember?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good
+many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What
+makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny
+arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate&mdash;it
+rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But
+don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.
+But avast there&mdash;it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.
+Had you noticed?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus17.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island
+astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was
+supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after
+snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,
+taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,
+who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to
+report a new island to the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and
+waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first
+discovery."</p>
+
+<p>"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying
+to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to
+take to reach the island at all.</p>
+
+<p>It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,
+with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the
+air sulphurous and hot.</p>
+
+<p>"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,
+peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far
+as I can see&mdash;but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the
+wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open
+sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like
+this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to
+anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone
+clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from
+the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.
+"Stand by to man the guns!"</p>
+
+<p>But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff
+the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that
+case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted
+to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living
+creatures in the center."</p>
+
+<p>"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white
+apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that
+fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but
+we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that
+who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors
+aweigh!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus18.jpg" width="270" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began
+frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out
+of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,
+and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical
+devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,
+tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,
+till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the
+hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two
+buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?
+Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in
+a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the
+center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner
+of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and
+flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.</p>
+
+<p>"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and
+declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma
+of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel
+Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who
+remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even
+a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.
+Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of
+smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus19.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting
+down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he
+is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.
+Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks
+were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned
+red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great
+sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking
+and hissing into the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel
+as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder
+what started that?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke
+for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool
+bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."</p>
+
+<p>Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed
+forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but
+surely through the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail
+unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow
+Poke!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the
+glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.
+It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on
+a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for
+proof."</p>
+
+<p>"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in
+his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold
+on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a
+hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it
+out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato
+raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a
+rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A
+shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying
+down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a
+ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back
+with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often
+used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby
+and started on a run for the galley.</p>
+
+<p>"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate
+collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were
+its own mother. "Aye, aye&mdash;it's going out!"</p>
+
+<p>"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in
+tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two
+buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for
+the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range
+and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the
+squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once
+and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel
+from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever
+made you think of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper
+place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that
+a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the
+nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was
+regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel
+picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do
+fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that
+volcanos are inhabited."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus20.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist
+down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the
+Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that
+fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with
+the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not
+falling into the soup when my back is turned?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,
+and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as
+groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,
+pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.
+Ho&mdash;this WILL be interesting!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"
+suggested Ato bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's
+sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just
+showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row
+of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent
+rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that
+coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they
+were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats
+and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced
+and screamed louder than all the rest put together.</p>
+
+<p>"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,
+undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and
+save his ship from possible destruction.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus21.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings
+triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.
+You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See
+that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?
+Well, look&mdash;she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She
+wants her baby back."</p>
+
+<p>"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the
+frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal
+people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to
+buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."</p>
+
+<p>"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was
+unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.</p>
+
+<p>"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it
+back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the
+terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."</p>
+
+<p>"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our
+lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"</p>
+
+<p>"Er&mdash;er&mdash;let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for
+clams," proposed the cook eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would
+grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we
+could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated
+Islanders.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port
+cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if
+you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my
+wings and be done with it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch
+it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out
+of range."</p>
+
+<p>"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, shifting his feet uncomfortably.</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little
+rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."</p>
+
+<p>By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that
+even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat
+mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the
+port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident
+from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire
+tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little
+fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus22.jpg" width="463" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying
+instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged
+on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations
+and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The
+terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost
+afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus23.jpg" width="466" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching
+the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot
+you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon
+ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava
+Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,
+the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her
+thanks across the tumbling waters.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward
+and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.
+"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly
+depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.</p>
+
+<p>"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the
+Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let
+me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time
+they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is
+Ozma's."</p>
+
+<p>"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my
+duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our
+kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."</p>
+
+<p>The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of
+iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long
+enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting
+the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily
+back to the Island.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus24.jpg" width="301" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands
+together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy
+deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."</p>
+
+<p>This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet
+interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their
+hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,
+swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner
+between two smoking boulders soared aloft.</p>
+
+<p>"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now
+under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,
+you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one
+another!"</p>
+
+<p>His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing
+triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their
+heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_4" id="CHAPTER_4"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus25.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 4<br />
+
+<small>Samuel's First Specimen</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped
+breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.
+Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal
+Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call
+booming back across the water.</p>
+
+<p>An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,
+a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs
+were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do
+any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough
+for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller
+as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,
+jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude
+as he ran along.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who
+had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering
+over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on
+the sulphurous surface of the rock.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was
+perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a
+golden frog or a lizard."</p>
+
+<p>"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, this&mdash;this&mdash;" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and
+disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster
+as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,
+straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and
+Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point
+just as well."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus26.jpg" width="253" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the
+Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of
+the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.</p>
+
+<p>"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but
+don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all
+you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."</p>
+
+<p>"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."
+Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down
+hard on his shiny bald head.</p>
+
+<p>"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger
+practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in
+captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal&mdash;this way, my little crater critter."
+Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find
+the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid
+adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly
+righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a
+satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.
+"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At
+least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW&mdash;" Ato waved
+his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and
+time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.
+I've meat to broil!"</p>
+
+<p>"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"
+exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake
+turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?
+An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric
+monster."</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's
+shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,
+Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps
+on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had
+just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the
+galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.</p>
+
+<p>"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging
+jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed
+cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen
+of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking
+meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read
+Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the
+tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus27.jpg" width="483" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>The main cabin of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with its red leather couches
+under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to
+keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,
+was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a
+huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall
+was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and
+rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel
+and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his
+upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that
+all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the
+sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind
+creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a
+seaman could wish for.</p>
+
+<p>"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud
+of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the
+long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and
+settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our
+volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island
+must have a name you know."</p>
+
+<p>"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his
+throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it
+Salamander Island after Sally."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"
+warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his
+head in time to the music.</p>
+
+<p>"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map
+of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.</p>
+
+<p>"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout
+here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."</p>
+
+<p>As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew with red chalk a small but effective picture
+of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland
+Islanders grouped around the crater's top.</p>
+
+<p>"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed
+Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw
+argumentatively.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain
+stepping back to admire his drawing.</p>
+
+<p>"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands
+for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully
+at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once
+ourselves."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus28.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk
+back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries
+that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz
+is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since
+Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and
+prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small
+wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting
+and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms
+in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire
+of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western
+domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The
+Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all
+these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but
+all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small
+but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is
+surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent
+Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the
+Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These
+countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies
+the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one
+knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in
+Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,
+towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there
+was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on
+every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more
+territory.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these
+new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after
+staring at the map for some moments in silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of
+his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of
+airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark
+and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or
+less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma
+will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as
+some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few
+islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his
+arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.</p>
+
+<p>"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's
+enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off
+on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I
+can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all
+the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,
+and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in&mdash;we've had a hard day
+and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have
+middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up
+plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's
+plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily
+through an open port.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus29.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the
+Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you
+great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"
+Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched
+back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.
+"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted
+indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and
+seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,
+relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,
+"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on
+the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of
+soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,
+"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young
+sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've
+ever gazed on."</p>
+
+<p>Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook
+padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with
+loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over
+the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and
+shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping
+soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.</p>
+
+<p>First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer
+and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the
+cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols
+had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of
+Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.
+Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on
+a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.
+Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box
+with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing
+salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny
+flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming
+pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the
+box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole
+contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to
+fetch the fire lizard.</p>
+
+<p>The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and
+giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished
+to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering
+she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to
+figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,
+carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had
+already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red
+hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new
+quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily
+in her swimming pool.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and
+gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going
+to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the
+lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her
+tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange
+behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.
+Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself
+upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where
+she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus30.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly
+cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably
+in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,
+and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb
+cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away
+delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,
+the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she
+peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on
+the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the
+rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going
+out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder
+and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight
+when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only
+then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when
+morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was
+cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the
+cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the
+foremast.</p>
+
+<p>"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_5" id="CHAPTER_5"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus31.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 5<br />
+
+<small>Patrippany Island</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"All hands on deck! Come on! Come <i>on</i>!" yelled Samuel Salt running
+past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island
+tuluward, you lubber."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out
+the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No
+cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"
+But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved
+all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich
+and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on
+the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and
+whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."</p>
+
+<p>"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore
+Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."</p>
+
+<p>Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself
+into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting
+through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so
+dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but
+after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain
+decided to take a chance, and sail through.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook
+lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on
+an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let
+us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and
+decorum."</p>
+
+<p>"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye
+does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you
+have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on
+our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."</p>
+
+<p>So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in
+the foremast, Samuel swung the <i>Crescent Moon</i> in toward the island.
+Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea
+and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle
+stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and
+monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A
+flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they
+penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if
+they were entering some dim green land of goblins.</p>
+
+<p>"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned
+Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley
+with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute
+now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer
+a fried mackerel in my stomach."</p>
+
+<p>"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,
+"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."</p>
+
+<p>"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the
+buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.
+"Never say die&mdash;say dee&mdash;dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.
+Dee-scovery with a <i>hi de di dide di dough</i>!" sang Samuel vociferously
+to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream
+the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and
+their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the
+noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river
+creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by
+the islanders.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus32.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of
+coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only
+Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear
+away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of
+the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit
+when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and
+three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by
+the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife
+and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding
+whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as
+stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing
+angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No
+need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this
+time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy
+as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow
+Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over
+the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his
+feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and
+down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato
+handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his
+stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied
+that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and
+start coming."</p>
+
+<p>"Chee tree&mdash;tee&mdash;hee&mdash;!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung
+precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with
+the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed
+to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long
+quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another
+step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple
+over backwards.</p>
+
+<p>"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.
+"Watch out for those 'gators."</p>
+
+<p>"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly
+all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.</p>
+
+<p>"Not <i>his</i> gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed
+Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the
+river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and
+come savagely toward them.</p>
+
+<p>"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching
+Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to
+move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so
+violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He
+could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a
+loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.
+Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a
+heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus33.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul
+who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping
+the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his
+Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would
+have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed
+where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss
+to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and
+right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked
+futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,
+after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in
+and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the
+water.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus34.jpg" width="500" height="294" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't
+had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what
+can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for
+where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming
+up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.
+For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had
+been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even
+imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.
+But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose
+higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled
+figure sprawled across its slippery back.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is
+it really you? Are you safe, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon
+Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a
+boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt
+safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"</p>
+
+<p>"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her
+shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come
+rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with
+you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers
+are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."
+For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his
+gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the
+opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you
+ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her
+mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold
+on the monster's slippery neck.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"
+snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my
+father and mother and maiden aunts!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered
+fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any
+further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster
+carries off my poor Master?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do
+not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems
+uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me&mdash;" the Royal Explorer
+looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to
+find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in
+Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.
+And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply
+splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the
+last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped
+up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned
+a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as
+Ato had done.</p>
+
+<p>"Ugh&mdash;gr&mdash;ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did
+that happen?"</p>
+
+<p>"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with
+Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.
+And a fine Discoverer you look now."</p>
+
+<p>Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then
+shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam
+thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the
+bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree
+snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree
+top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking
+merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the
+hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice
+mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato
+felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then
+hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at
+the Leader of the Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting
+down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank
+interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."</p>
+
+<p>"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick
+green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.
+"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,
+as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.
+"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to
+his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging
+hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his
+hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that
+animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's
+the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel
+turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.</p>
+
+<p>"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What
+may that mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,
+grinning in spite of himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how
+beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward
+and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.
+"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a
+gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to
+Patrippany Island."</p>
+
+<p>"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!
+Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip
+in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"</p>
+
+<p>"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly
+massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak
+our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean
+that monkey chatter above."</p>
+
+<p>"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"
+answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till
+five moons ago last Herb Day."</p>
+
+<p>"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed
+Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his
+river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep
+away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.
+"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that
+is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that
+makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little
+excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and
+if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."</p>
+
+<p>"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did
+not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.
+"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?
+What made you do that?"</p>
+
+<p>"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled
+out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a
+native boy?" he asked eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very
+idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language
+I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to
+them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks
+and spears and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a
+tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.
+Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by
+Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the
+ship."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus35.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she
+gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little
+Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you
+wish to go."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_6" id="CHAPTER_6"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus36.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 6<br />
+
+<small>A Little Wild Man</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt
+to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't
+go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our
+language."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at
+Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly
+up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with
+a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard
+Men. Mind, now!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and
+smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato
+and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier
+from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.</p>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to
+fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former
+Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the
+tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.</p>
+
+<p>"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward
+the river bank.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with
+horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging
+at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my
+buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the
+hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand
+where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his
+cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have
+been an achievement worth the whole voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more
+comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would
+rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how
+many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!
+Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped
+his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then
+Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its
+sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.
+"Fly ahead, my Hearty."</p>
+
+<p>"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and
+mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for
+Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were
+they little or big, black or brown?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus37.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown
+spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and
+rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed
+like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.
+They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day
+every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and
+paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward&mdash;" Nikobo's eyes grew round and
+shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose
+and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,
+saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated
+back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."</p>
+
+<p>"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"
+the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much
+better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've
+been feeding him myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in
+bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.</p>
+
+<p>"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a
+hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I
+collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Roots, herbs&mdash;grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,
+herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous
+in your life?"</p>
+
+<p>"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here&mdash;"
+The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small
+boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and
+where is he now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you
+shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and
+biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly
+riding behind.</p>
+
+<p>On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through
+the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their
+branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip
+the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a
+huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.
+Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled
+the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes
+left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that
+might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard
+Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and
+without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a
+small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.</p>
+
+<p>Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars
+constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass
+in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy
+clothed in a single leopard skin.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by
+the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea
+sailor!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you
+see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?
+He's not like the Leopard Men at all."</p>
+
+<p>"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing
+here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the
+bars of the strange prison.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus38.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,
+rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he
+looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"
+he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the
+hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought
+they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log
+seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In
+this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own
+people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"
+explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so
+deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed
+too hard."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.
+"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,
+little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"</p>
+
+<p>"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the
+bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my
+teeth for every day I have been here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook
+with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib
+showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots
+in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and
+sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,
+nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman
+to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the
+hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars
+of his cage.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild
+and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least
+I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and
+hardships I should suffer at sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and
+forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you
+could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had
+forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing
+still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues
+and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and
+discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.</p>
+
+<p>"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?
+Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a
+little wild man already."</p>
+
+<p>"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call
+Tandy a wild man."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus39.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet
+dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I
+am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands
+sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal
+company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present
+a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as
+Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are
+a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."
+Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the
+little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in
+return you must believe <i>us</i>, and stop all this hoity toity talk and
+clishmaclatter."</p>
+
+<p>"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the
+bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly
+person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go
+with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."</p>
+
+<p>"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,
+relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo
+lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far
+corner of his cage.</p>
+
+<p>"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as
+Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his
+own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with
+deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So
+you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato
+folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the
+leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do
+they call you at home?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the
+land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long
+continent of Tarara is my home."</p>
+
+<p>"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So
+there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one
+would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is
+twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat
+impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the
+little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those
+creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"
+Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young
+King's face.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,
+returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that
+a ship has never touched our shores?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,
+snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the
+most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen
+to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately
+afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before
+he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the
+White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The
+Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered
+on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots
+of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they
+mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one
+to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and
+try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed
+me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door
+in the bars and stuck both hands through.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus40.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze
+up into Nikobo's huge face.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to
+say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was
+talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my
+own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.
+"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you
+happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these
+hardships and unpleasant experiences."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away
+from the outstretched arms of Ato.</p>
+
+<p>"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk
+of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.
+None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to
+do&mdash;whoo&mdash;Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began
+to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel
+Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the
+gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus41.jpg" width="445" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.
+Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed
+two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the
+vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,
+Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed
+to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax
+she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,
+demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and
+without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized
+the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the
+hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sternly led the way to the edge of the island.
+Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys
+and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal
+Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander
+Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY&mdash;ay&mdash;ayyyy!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_7" id="CHAPTER_7"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus42.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 7<br />
+
+<small>Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the
+little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps
+because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he
+was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.
+Not even the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed
+to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight
+of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the
+boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of
+being crocked for the rest of my life."</p>
+
+<p>"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless
+greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily
+about in the muddy river water.</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,
+Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,
+Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and
+I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens
+to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at
+Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping
+joyously behind him.</p>
+
+<p>"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.
+"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat
+around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange
+grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me
+gather a few."</p>
+
+<p>"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's
+bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.
+"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the
+misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then
+I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for
+him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."</p>
+
+<p>"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato
+disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is
+himself a King."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning
+wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."
+With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking
+it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly
+creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.
+Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed
+the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly
+asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an
+hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack
+and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus43.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the
+ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back
+cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"</p>
+
+<p>"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so
+small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has
+been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with
+only a miserable hippopotamus for company."</p>
+
+<p>"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very
+superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with
+you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying
+bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,
+the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.
+"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as
+Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make
+allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his
+own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say
+he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.
+Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz
+looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung
+from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with
+spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea
+shells tied up in his shore-going coat.</p>
+
+<p>"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger
+helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato
+and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.</p>
+
+<p>"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout
+warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,
+too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them
+Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they
+would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling
+about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even
+stand up."</p>
+
+<p>"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these
+might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a
+few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this
+voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting
+plants, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep
+rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying
+him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"
+explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had
+with one of these vines in my early youth."</p>
+
+<p>"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's
+collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right
+have such things on a ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel
+easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming
+country."</p>
+
+<p>"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to
+Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,
+Master Salt."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful
+so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing
+contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.</p>
+
+<p>"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!
+Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the
+crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you
+planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about
+their new sovereign?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus44.jpg" width="439" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the
+tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.
+I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear
+'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape
+of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors
+from Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps
+and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate
+as Nikobo here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,
+luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.
+"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son
+of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a
+couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some
+time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he
+calmly spoke his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here
+with Kobo till my own people come for me."</p>
+
+<p>"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny
+youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to
+leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's
+back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.
+Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather
+sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the
+sand. "And no one can make me."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought
+of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to
+further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and
+began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference
+Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had
+finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.</p>
+
+<p>"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken
+voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"</p>
+
+<p>"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand
+to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking
+wildly from the hippopotamus to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Samuel had a
+dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his
+cherished vessel.</p>
+
+<p>"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than
+polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,
+she'll sink the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a
+meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus45.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a
+great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind
+motherly creature that she is!"</p>
+
+<p>"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and&mdash;" Then
+suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his
+oranges from one shoulder to the other.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly
+delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen
+back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.
+We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and
+meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in
+the hold."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of
+life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge
+champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato
+in Samuel's ear.</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a
+taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last
+swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and
+wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails
+Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their
+new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from
+sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the
+evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all
+the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,
+Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a
+strange procession started out for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Ahead with the
+keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a
+small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty
+young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in
+his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he
+meant to fasten it to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so
+Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to
+the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the
+ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of
+the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no
+trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could
+raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt
+the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and
+seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly
+pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious
+specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,
+the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> weighed anchor and dropped with
+the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the
+automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,
+adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode
+happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed
+her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary
+explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a
+shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,
+waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you
+and Ato would want him in here."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus46.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small
+berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never
+be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out
+of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his
+spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel
+hurried out on deck.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus47.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding
+himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had
+taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old
+pirate suits.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring
+sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the
+suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young
+monarch.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he
+repeated dismally.</p>
+
+<p>"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking
+at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the
+hatches with lubbers!"</p>
+
+<p>Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,
+though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what
+Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and
+pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.
+Gulls flew in excited circles all round the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, calling
+out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning
+on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz
+flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive
+appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he
+had done a good day's discovering.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at
+Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.</p>
+
+<p>"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo
+remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of
+you yet, my lass!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus48.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_8" id="CHAPTER_8"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus49.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 8<br />
+
+<small>Maxims for Monarchs</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden
+spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a
+rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.</p>
+
+<p>"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call
+the young voyager, came flying back to the table.</p>
+
+<p>"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,
+popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down
+with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"</p>
+
+<p>"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots
+and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with
+meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these
+seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."</p>
+
+<p>"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little
+pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"</p>
+
+<p>"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato
+handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and
+able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at
+Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good
+example?"</p>
+
+<p>Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and
+kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his
+bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little
+fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.
+"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every
+scrap."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus50.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder
+of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.
+But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants
+from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail
+conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's
+cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted
+that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the
+young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his
+bunk.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea
+chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the
+crew?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his
+inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions
+and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any
+chance referring to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated
+Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another
+screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a
+long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both
+calm and reasonable.</p>
+
+<p>"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its
+King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger
+firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the
+Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw
+at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the
+shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,
+but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and
+opened his volume.</p>
+
+<p>"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird
+impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely
+a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by
+sheer worth and ability alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden
+interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and
+the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,
+his royal instructor at home.</p>
+
+<p>"I am reading <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>," answered Roger calmly, "a book of
+great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz
+and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and
+important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he
+continued severely.</p>
+
+<p>"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,
+looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>
+in Ozamaland."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus51.jpg" width="436" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of
+his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably
+know nothing about such matters."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this
+two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has
+been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,
+acting in this small up-country fashion&mdash;what CAN a fellow think?
+Here&mdash;" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the
+Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy
+reread the passage Roger had just quoted.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither
+is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former
+arrogance.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his
+claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,
+a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times
+as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to
+govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there
+wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for
+me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can
+live my own life and go and come as I please."</p>
+
+<p>"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy
+wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little
+boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"
+sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways
+down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is
+useful or interesting?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why&mdash;er&mdash;why, I can draw
+pictures and ride an elephant."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his
+best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much
+call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water
+to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the
+crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever
+blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person
+than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a
+ship!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled
+off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell
+me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and
+happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not seemly&mdash;" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped
+Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before
+you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus52.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands
+nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,
+"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.
+In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and
+mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being
+prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years
+of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked
+away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words
+since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"</p>
+
+<p>"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for
+there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening
+I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look
+down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out
+and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed
+eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus53.jpg" width="269" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The word was <i>play</i>," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom
+did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"</p>
+
+<p>Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never
+heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say
+is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you
+a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found
+you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be
+different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.
+You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person
+and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun
+or break a wing in the attempt."</p>
+
+<p>"But would a King&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,
+sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out
+again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please
+so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And
+tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded
+almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,
+Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed
+Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you
+want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully
+over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed
+through the port.</p>
+
+<p>For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last
+injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he
+really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly
+he knew. Why, of course&mdash;he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain
+WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it
+into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only
+a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling
+in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant
+wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his
+breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo&mdash;Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her
+vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.
+"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced
+over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him
+enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.
+Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide
+and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake
+into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her
+lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to
+think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll
+throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,
+Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus54.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost
+cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy
+quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?
+There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.
+He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea
+chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet
+of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself
+cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles
+and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and
+Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.</p>
+
+<p>When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's
+light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new
+pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk
+was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's
+inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read
+Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or
+undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went
+quietly from the cabin.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_9" id="CHAPTER_9"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus55.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 9<br />
+
+<small>Sea Legs for Tandy</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a
+pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their
+breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,
+the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright
+sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong
+to the pig family when you come to think of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,
+swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take
+her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's
+son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we
+reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.
+Hoh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to
+fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will
+bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten
+years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to
+have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the
+jungle I can't get through my head at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump
+shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it
+is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.
+Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.
+"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,
+in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to
+bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and
+anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride
+to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the
+evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,
+"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and
+creeping birds, eh, Mates?"</p>
+
+<p>"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and
+be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the
+way, how's Sally this morning?'</p>
+
+<p>"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water
+and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her
+round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted
+Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings
+from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and
+beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."</p>
+
+<p>"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head
+in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't
+you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of
+sea soup sprinkled with faggots."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee
+pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.</p>
+
+<p>The day was bright and breezy and the <i>Crescent Moon</i> going free,
+breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a
+morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an
+uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up
+smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,
+hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to
+the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with
+the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,
+and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and
+came striding aft.</p>
+
+<p>"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.
+Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus56.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the
+foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with
+deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger
+was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,
+Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made
+a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your
+feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as
+flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!
+Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up&mdash;up and up the narrow rope
+ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar
+and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.
+"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,
+winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy
+was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set
+himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.
+Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,
+the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the
+foremast.</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Crescent Moon</i>," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,
+"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take
+from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring
+her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we
+three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy
+hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the
+foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the
+ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water
+birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the
+sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the
+bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal
+and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.
+"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is
+attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant
+sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on
+the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."</p>
+
+<p>"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on
+the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he
+tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is
+bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer
+the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was
+simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"
+he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic
+circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?
+A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging
+so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship
+on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City&mdash;Patrippany Island&mdash;all
+his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped
+in his heart of hearts the <i>Crescent Moon</i> would not reach his native
+shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person <i>was</i> fun.</p>
+
+<p>"M&mdash;mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells
+like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."</p>
+
+<p>"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.
+"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a
+large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and
+shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's
+something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he
+repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few
+inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun&mdash;that's
+a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!
+Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles
+but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers
+and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All
+hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the
+hatches!"</p>
+
+<p>Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,
+descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out
+with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife
+in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to
+his largest spyglass.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,
+this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine
+ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus57.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are
+you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your
+ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with
+the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"
+Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that
+there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and
+with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the
+ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable
+head came curling far over the bow of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,
+dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his
+wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell
+flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making
+a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was
+leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant
+with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was
+the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his
+ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin
+brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they
+screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next
+forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among
+them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel
+fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen
+guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus58.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of
+still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming
+with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,
+and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into
+the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn
+and setting the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to dancing like a cocklebur. But the
+taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,
+and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea
+monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing
+away toward the skyline.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap
+to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain
+touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."</p>
+
+<p>"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed
+Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely
+specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets
+rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking
+rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell
+Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to
+his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably
+frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked
+up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he
+panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a
+picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.
+Here it is&mdash;tail, teeth and everything!"</p>
+
+<p>"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to
+perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in
+action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young
+lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,
+I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra
+rations and pay."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings
+gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from
+King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry
+rations and pay!"</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,
+and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,
+Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger
+had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and
+Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm
+at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and
+strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy
+so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm
+and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained
+his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy
+was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and
+wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus59.jpg" width="374" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the
+shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all
+help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping
+time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">"Blow high&mdash;blow low&mdash;</div>
+<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Tis a salt sea life for me&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue</div>
+<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;With a good ship going free&mdash;eeeh&mdash;eeeh!</div>
+    <div class="verse">With a good ship going free!"</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_10" id="CHAPTER_10"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus60.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 10<br />
+
+<small>The City of Bridges</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had
+known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,
+pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,
+the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of
+the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had
+besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble
+aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the
+rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special
+rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on
+Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful
+hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved
+the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often
+floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the
+ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged
+on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all
+crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the
+hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and
+with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious
+vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she
+had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking
+cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,
+giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking
+nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to
+the fullest extent.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus61.jpg" width="418" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>On calm mornings, with the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hove to, all hands would go
+swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty
+porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy
+had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain
+could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had
+made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched
+upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,
+but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and
+Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy
+diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream
+with envy and approval.</p>
+
+<p>Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not
+really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on
+Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to
+his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus
+made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who
+did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for
+hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness
+to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted
+was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and
+join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain
+(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire
+listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been
+a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and
+treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of
+these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire
+lizard.</p>
+
+<p>Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.
+They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,
+for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she
+touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had
+only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a
+cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally
+took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs
+or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she
+spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to
+Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear
+her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,
+Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants
+from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of
+lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after
+the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.
+The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the
+Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung
+above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a
+scientific laboratory every day.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those
+big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink
+label on a fluted conch shell.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling
+what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on
+a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,
+Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've
+had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to
+happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn
+in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly
+clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and
+terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back
+on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's
+foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just
+get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,
+why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we
+landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how
+big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg
+and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to
+nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to
+see, eh, Kinglet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I
+don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy
+suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son
+of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the
+<i>Crescent Moon's</i> afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with
+you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel
+tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main
+and mizzen topsails.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus62.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,
+Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had
+happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife
+still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft
+the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses
+Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit
+of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a
+piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,
+needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way
+of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color
+of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look
+at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they
+sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges
+ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all
+the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted
+cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on
+either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering
+poles and spears and halberds.</p>
+
+<p>"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared
+Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be
+pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a
+boulder?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting
+curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting
+on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.</p>
+
+<p>"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.
+Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking
+Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the
+bridges, a three-master, larger than the <i>Crescent Moon</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.
+"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates
+sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the
+buttons on his sail controls.</p>
+
+<p>"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest
+bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all
+the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of
+yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her
+head in her drinking tub.</p>
+
+<p>"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port
+gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a
+rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not
+help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry
+from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung
+down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously
+aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping
+toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and
+then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the
+descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships
+would surely be demolished.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,
+gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I
+can bear anything."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus63.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the
+shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers&mdash;it will shiver all of our
+timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order
+to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh&mdash;hh!"
+But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.</p>
+
+<p>"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"
+bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.
+As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen
+and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole
+length of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change
+in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of
+canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect
+air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish
+catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> rose
+buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly
+beneath her bow.</p>
+
+<p>"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.
+"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm
+no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder
+Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply
+and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the
+deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus64.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Wha&mdash;wha&mdash;where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings
+in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us
+you had balloon sails, Master Salt."</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp
+below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,
+mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.
+"It all looks sharp to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks
+and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and
+belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The
+altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.
+How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky
+island? How could we even take half of them?"</p>
+
+<p>"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by
+surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz
+flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."</p>
+
+<p>"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his
+way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his
+arms full of Oz flags, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hung directly over the
+glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up
+hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the
+sparkling blue lake between the peaks.</p>
+
+<p>Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon
+sails so skillfully the <i>Crescent Moon</i> came down lightly as a swan in
+the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides
+hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned
+silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its
+curious crew.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing
+voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as
+before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an
+island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of
+her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"</p>
+
+<p>"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid
+of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span
+connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_11" id="CHAPTER_11"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus65.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 11<br />
+
+<small>The Prince of the Peaks</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little
+gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their
+pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.</p>
+
+<p>"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest
+Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU&mdash;you who come in
+this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain
+of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King
+of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any
+of the others had time to speak for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and
+breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and
+rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone
+aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's
+boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his
+royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.</p>
+
+<p>"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de
+Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.
+"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,
+Bird and Conquerors?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.
+"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the
+rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to
+this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."</p>
+
+<p>"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower
+bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again
+eeeeee-yen!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word
+as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his
+long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the
+bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself
+gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a
+swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the
+Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable
+refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced
+him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the
+lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with
+suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their
+own.</p>
+
+<p>"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato
+in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?
+And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put
+on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and
+Doughnuts."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know
+it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out
+the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my
+famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket
+before you can say Oz Robinson!"</p>
+
+<p>When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found
+the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck
+in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and
+handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything
+from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the
+crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table
+with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew
+friendlier and more confidential still.</p>
+
+<p>"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a
+puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus66.jpg" width="246" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest
+wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put
+about."</p>
+
+<p>"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed
+Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the <i>Mountain Lass</i>, would have been
+destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what
+we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the
+torrent."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the
+Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I
+reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be
+delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily
+as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."</p>
+
+<p>"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,
+who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But
+tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is
+required of us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This
+island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so
+just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact
+with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are
+ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In
+time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and
+in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing
+these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to
+come and live as your loyal subjects here."</p>
+
+<p>"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the
+prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could
+easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all
+of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a
+pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"
+Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated
+the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no
+intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange
+conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've
+pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a
+hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,
+Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus67.jpg" width="460" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill
+tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the
+deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's
+Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and
+swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the
+shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering
+castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.
+With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and
+Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little
+exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was
+much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the
+yodelers.</p>
+
+<p>Ato, watching from the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, presently saw the
+flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with
+a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles
+and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on
+all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's
+city.</p>
+
+<p>From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of
+his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent
+on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,
+explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old
+customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders
+could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when
+they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,
+but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family
+could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window
+box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had
+perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,
+potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following
+corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after
+the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top
+every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh
+vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every
+known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines
+and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of
+a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy
+peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea
+food the Islanders fared splendidly.</p>
+
+<p>The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women
+alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried
+pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while
+delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as
+steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver
+and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of
+which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to
+Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little
+nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow
+old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light
+hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."</p>
+
+<p>"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er&mdash;and hear," he added quickly as the
+wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the
+palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report
+Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of
+the voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI
+dee Aye de OH&mdash;hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks
+kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told
+them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to
+take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as
+Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light
+and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to
+walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and
+uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's
+arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a
+sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals
+and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung
+swiftly down to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Roger, flying under
+his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus68.jpg" width="428" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out
+rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and
+the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and
+then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The <i>Mountain
+Lass</i> in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there
+she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift
+her back to the Lake among the peaks.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of
+relief as she spied the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the
+hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly
+off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of
+salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the
+barnacles off my hide."</p>
+
+<p>"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the
+taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh
+vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away
+from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from
+wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"
+he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts
+on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with a
+spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern
+skyline.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_12" id="CHAPTER_12"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus69.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 12<br />
+
+<small>Fog</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old
+tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the
+main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed
+his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside
+the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's
+island.</p>
+
+<p>"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the
+cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy
+came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand
+with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the
+City of Bridges."</p>
+
+<p>"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his
+fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we
+learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and
+peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."</p>
+
+<p>"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his
+magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery
+on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down
+Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz
+and as an especially good place for poets."</p>
+
+<p>"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,
+"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so
+fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that <i>is</i> one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing
+approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,
+we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've
+brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap
+of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those
+fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"They're a great comfort to <i>me</i>, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding
+up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now
+I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her
+raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would
+like to take the other two home with him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh&mdash;we're not near
+Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel
+Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach
+Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that
+country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a
+creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"</p>
+
+<p>"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is
+farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have
+conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus70.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that
+has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he
+loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never
+told us anything about this."</p>
+
+<p>"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a
+small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know
+that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long
+countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West
+Coast."</p>
+
+<p>"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to
+pull his journal toward him.</p>
+
+<p>"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and
+jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous
+White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are
+fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in
+huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who
+live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live
+under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and
+never allowed out of the capital."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in
+a heap around his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine
+Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain
+in the White City."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling
+out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known
+as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long
+ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their
+swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my
+countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and
+camels, have all they can do to hold their own."</p>
+
+<p>"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his
+eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's
+disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added
+quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the
+Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,
+I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they
+are so unfriendly."</p>
+
+<p>"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd
+do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull
+at his pipe.</p>
+
+<p>"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,
+shaking his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said
+Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you
+carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"</p>
+
+<p>"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.
+"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy
+of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,
+they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in
+the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly
+into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel
+abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed
+impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his
+head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt
+had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you
+so far and so fast."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, whoever it was did <i>us</i> a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,
+twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no
+better aboard a ship&mdash;eh, Mate?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus71.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his
+feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like
+an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their
+turbans, too."</p>
+
+<p>"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost
+fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the
+Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port
+and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,
+boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm
+moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot
+chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master
+Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll <i>all</i> have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to
+see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping
+Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy
+life aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> with his dull and lonely existence in
+the Royal City of his Fathers.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish the Greys <i>would</i> capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,
+as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to
+leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot
+chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout
+into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss
+Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.</p>
+
+<p>"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to
+join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on
+morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All
+through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous
+voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to
+relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus72.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more
+hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy
+buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered
+cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape
+our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,
+being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose
+warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take
+our chance&mdash;eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out
+anything astern, will you, Tandy?"</p>
+
+<p>Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had
+to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was
+the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved
+cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing
+an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,
+they might just as well not have been there.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,
+but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly
+comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy
+lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,
+followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.
+Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered
+lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've
+rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why
+didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made
+no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after
+Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit
+them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on
+wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came
+out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle
+of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> alone. There <i>was</i> a ship beyond them in the fog,
+but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly
+Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the
+maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now
+came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to
+grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening
+his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible
+foe.</p>
+
+<p>"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to
+Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once
+been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."</p>
+
+<p>"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who
+found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.</p>
+
+<p>"No, it is not for <i>us</i> to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But
+hah! Just let <i>them</i> start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick
+about it, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he
+had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those
+things again&mdash;they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take
+another chance?"</p>
+
+<p>"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty
+as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger
+returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving
+silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole
+experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel
+himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and
+immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel
+returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four
+shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap
+aboard.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus73.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"
+breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the
+long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second
+seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the
+choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately
+drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen
+asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read
+Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.</p>
+
+<p>"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,
+but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam
+lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts
+of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their
+leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the
+sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an
+unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,
+was gazing dreamily in the same direction.</p>
+
+<p>"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"
+exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and
+the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over
+to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And
+isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight
+on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he
+leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's
+better than pirates."</p>
+
+<p>"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing
+up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for
+breakfast, Cook dear?"</p>
+
+<p>"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I
+thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a
+little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"
+And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod
+reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for
+his paints.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_13" id="CHAPTER_13"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus74.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 13<br />
+
+<small>The Sea Forest</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and
+when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the
+sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his
+journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and
+baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"
+inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might
+add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"
+Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish
+before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept
+winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like
+the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette
+and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed
+and indifference.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin
+boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab
+nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of
+baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case
+Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring
+fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now
+snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching
+contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,
+speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that
+scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now
+would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,
+little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything
+grows."</p>
+
+<p>"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little
+sigh on Nikobo's broad back.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus75.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,
+fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was
+coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on
+this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a
+rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and
+much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the
+fare&mdash;why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,
+remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!
+Listen! Here they come!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from
+above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the
+rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook
+and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and
+crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when
+she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across
+her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the
+aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,
+nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.</p>
+
+<p>"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin
+box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it
+dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and
+admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride
+along."</p>
+
+<p>"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on
+Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be
+any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo
+paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest
+itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was
+the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.
+The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.
+Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going
+down, down, down as far as he could see.</p>
+
+<p>"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one
+lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!
+Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're
+going to grow our own masts."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young
+shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.
+Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like
+bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and
+silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.</p>
+
+<p>"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely
+between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick
+me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began
+vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored
+fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the
+water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting
+anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's
+cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.
+The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible
+variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber
+by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off
+several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his
+album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after
+a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to
+overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there
+are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,
+but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where
+most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,
+somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in
+the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could
+swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively
+sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would
+never succeed in catching one.</p>
+
+<p>All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel
+making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled
+nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the
+small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark
+of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees
+pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of
+the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were
+not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and
+tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front
+legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet
+were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more
+frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from
+a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they
+retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance
+as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch
+of the whole group.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing
+his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the
+snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,
+Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of
+our feelings or safety."</p>
+
+<p>"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"
+sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then&mdash;" he
+grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."</p>
+
+<p>The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.
+Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this
+small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning
+itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it
+proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious
+little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no
+serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her
+long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made
+ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus76.jpg" width="489" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing
+enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the
+aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have
+both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed
+the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read
+Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,
+it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask
+me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish <i>was</i> even uglier than a
+goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant
+goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But
+let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."</p>
+
+<p>"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder
+what it eats?"</p>
+
+<p>"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at
+Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as
+this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he
+wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a
+monkey fish."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't forget the bananas&mdash;for remember it's a monkey, too,"
+chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had
+written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the
+exploring party returned to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his
+aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making
+copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did
+not get his ship under way till late afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done
+little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his
+anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy
+painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for
+Mo-fi's fish food, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> again dipped adventurously into
+the southeast swell.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_14" id="CHAPTER_14"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus77.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 14<br />
+
+<small>The Sea Unicorn!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,
+swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the
+binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.</p>
+
+<p>"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the
+skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.</p>
+
+<p>"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm
+admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and
+I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If
+anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor
+and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or
+obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of
+an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not
+need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing
+wink.</p>
+
+<p>"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up
+at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."
+With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy
+taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went
+on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting
+him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying
+nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?
+Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,
+stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told
+Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,
+Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I
+gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be
+riding around on your shoulder."</p>
+
+<p>"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the
+Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey
+fish, Roger."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has
+me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a
+little pet if I want one?"</p>
+
+<p>The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could
+hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,
+he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new
+discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.
+"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head
+with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything
+as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that
+just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the
+main truck and have a look around."</p>
+
+<p>"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the
+parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,
+Roger."</p>
+
+<p>"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an
+affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went
+joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted
+on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and
+printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of
+complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly
+remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog
+trotted contentedly down to the hold.</p>
+
+<p>The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had
+to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,
+snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a
+branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their
+covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the
+vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the
+galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to
+care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when
+a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.
+Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the
+hold faster than he had ever done before.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus78.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Su&mdash;su&mdash;SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he
+could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific
+knock from below made the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shiver from end to end.
+Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly
+they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech
+and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through
+the decks.</p>
+
+<p>"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting
+crazily down to the deck. "Wha&mdash;what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,
+pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main
+and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that
+instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up
+and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy
+blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to fly
+asunder.</p>
+
+<p>"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the
+wheel. "Horn like a&mdash;uni&mdash;corn&mdash;branch of the Odontocetes and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh&mdash;you&mdash;don't say&mdash;it&mdash;is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his
+stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the
+monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us&mdash;is that a horn or a ship's mast?
+Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"</p>
+
+<p>Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to
+hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and
+plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,
+diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low
+hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant
+beneath the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Su&mdash;suppose it su&mdash;submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to
+seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously
+up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my
+beams and&mdash;" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that
+moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the
+sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim
+and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had
+clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of
+danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm
+and purposeful. This vine&mdash;well, why would this powerful vine from
+Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances
+were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a
+quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of
+the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began
+to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,
+it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable
+cradle of leafy wood.</p>
+
+<p>Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think
+he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.
+Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling
+anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,
+Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.</p>
+
+<p>Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,
+almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger
+was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having
+wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to
+his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now
+all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back
+over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had
+seen him go overboard.</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt
+rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?
+Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking
+menace?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping
+happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a
+lobster pot and can't move at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless
+sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into
+the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at
+Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my
+life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all
+we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea
+and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,
+blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie
+River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can
+you dive with me beneath this ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,
+shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the
+Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't
+I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was
+well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way
+in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.</p>
+
+<p>"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and
+powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to
+rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel
+in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber
+up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the
+surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat
+they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.
+Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's
+head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's
+saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of
+ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with
+material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the
+Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was
+not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and
+Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation
+was accomplished.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus79.jpg" width="467" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with
+her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and
+Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated
+fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go
+floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view
+of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"
+sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly
+over the rail. "Some fishin'&mdash;eh, Mates?"</p>
+
+<p>"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo
+and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises
+sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale
+of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_15" id="CHAPTER_15"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus80.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 15<br />
+
+<small>The Collector Is Collected</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as
+he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column
+between the main and mizzenmasts.</p>
+
+<p>"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin
+reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough
+to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's
+given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed
+on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that
+we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his
+glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway
+it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to
+swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"</p>
+
+<p>"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing
+on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just
+talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in
+Lavaland, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling
+over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.
+"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus81.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft
+to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage
+is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."
+The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>
+was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put
+ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous
+voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to
+consider.</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed
+into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong
+and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted
+by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant
+mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy
+squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill
+squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes
+with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened
+gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely
+knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then
+he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the
+glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A
+hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just
+plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted
+his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!
+Danger on the bow!"</p>
+
+<p>Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom
+he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a
+moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense
+and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,
+tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum
+of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in
+complete wonder and mystification.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,
+breaking the silence at last.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he
+raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go
+a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage
+done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll
+knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron
+belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing
+to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed
+Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted
+the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here
+this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown
+after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred
+and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel
+on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over
+his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had
+attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that
+cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down
+sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into
+the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't
+he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore
+out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.
+Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and
+with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as
+close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified
+fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue
+depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the
+Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear
+altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel
+was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still
+there.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus82.jpg" width="455" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite
+of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, the Read
+Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense
+air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming
+frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing
+blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.
+Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the
+suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to
+join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear
+and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped
+mournfully into view.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you
+find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,
+limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said
+nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he
+began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's
+collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him
+shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a
+bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and
+crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even
+make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole
+to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they
+open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the
+vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break
+a hole in that lid the Captain's done for&mdash;done for, do you hear?"</p>
+
+<p>"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,
+"Who do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish
+and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of
+stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside
+of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!
+Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.</p>
+
+<p>"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, <i>I'll</i> climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest
+and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with
+him."</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning
+in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had
+meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being
+so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the
+ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast
+of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been
+quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the
+saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way
+to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like
+slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the
+strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees
+with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully
+through the glassy substance.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus83.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the
+figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl
+became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by
+loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him
+to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.
+Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the
+round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.
+Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,
+the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones
+and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so
+worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than
+sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the
+Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos
+and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as
+it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> from his curious prison.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus84.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.
+Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell
+on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Come see the curious high air manster.</span></div>
+    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Admission, 1 pearl, 5 corals and a clam!</span></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's
+air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly
+together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his
+might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted
+Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling
+out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and
+being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before
+the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,
+too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away
+with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked
+without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.
+Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like
+a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to
+Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,
+Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as
+it flashed up and down above his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll
+never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,
+they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty
+air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,
+increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,
+increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished
+ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of
+her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus
+jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a
+quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had
+happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to
+the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed&mdash;broke through
+the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through
+the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for
+an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.
+Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,
+for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had
+made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously
+along.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,
+completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to
+her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too
+shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down
+like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet
+and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he
+had swallowed, started dizzily back to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Nikobo had
+several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at
+Tandy.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself
+wearily up on her back.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"
+puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the
+hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a
+jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his
+danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his
+net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the
+sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and
+transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as
+Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_16" id="CHAPTER_16"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus85.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 16<br />
+
+<small>The Storm!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of
+the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on
+deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of
+the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling
+through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.
+Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it
+took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful
+hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he
+spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering
+darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates
+collected.</p>
+
+<p>"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"
+scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was
+cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "<i>You</i> know <i>I</i> know nothing
+about navigation nor one sail from t'other."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah&mdash;but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his
+eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its
+stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left
+a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie
+yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his
+boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped
+down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large
+aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly
+enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like
+a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage
+opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he
+had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles
+and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,
+and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving
+him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above
+to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was
+pitching.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus86.jpg" width="435" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed
+the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown
+dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded
+along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing
+little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like
+a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and
+bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one
+side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's
+help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel
+to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her
+to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it
+all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be
+with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,
+tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.</p>
+
+<p>The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in
+all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel
+prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and
+helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails
+of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to
+closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose
+gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the
+door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and
+with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched
+the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into
+the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,
+Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better
+judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo
+and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,
+fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy
+afloat and take care of him besides.</p>
+
+<p>Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut
+themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers
+and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do
+to hang on to their chairs as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> pitched headlong into
+the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the
+great running seas.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_17" id="CHAPTER_17"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus87.jpg" width="488" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 17<br />
+
+<small>The Old Man of the Jungle!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of
+Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.</p>
+
+<p>"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges
+of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be
+accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,
+neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and
+for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the
+natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,
+hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a
+clever and useful idea&mdash;eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a
+little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried
+off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and
+all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous
+crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the
+eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied
+agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us&mdash;the Nine Faithful Servants
+of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting
+his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making
+plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"
+questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old
+Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our
+wish that you appear before us."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus88.jpg" width="263" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the
+curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only
+in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of
+Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,
+dismal, droning voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the
+Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying
+umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down
+after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy
+with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men
+known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and
+two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island
+where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you
+that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages
+or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or
+remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished
+this shameful recital.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts
+and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide
+up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with
+his long skinny fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this
+cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I
+am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.
+Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly
+toward the long table.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his
+papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care
+what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff
+with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If
+you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the
+feet of the royal elephants!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah&mdash;hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a
+poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I
+will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"
+Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old
+man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished
+into the garden.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of
+the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous
+and may do us a world of harm."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a
+hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King
+was carried off."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not
+another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the
+meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go
+now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King
+has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority
+and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful
+Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star
+and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring
+fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door
+with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.</p>
+
+<p>"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly
+waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship&mdash;there is a ship
+with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full
+sail is riding into our harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly
+by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship
+flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus89.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never
+happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long
+windows.</p>
+
+<p>"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters
+turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.
+Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive
+now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and
+the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the
+chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the
+six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If
+these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled
+upon, trampled upon&mdash;do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel
+determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about
+carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest
+tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner
+of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his
+well-laid plans.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_18" id="CHAPTER_18"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus90.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 18<br />
+
+<small>A New Country</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into
+quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed
+a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and
+relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.
+This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in
+their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole
+band of music beneath the mizzenmast.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first
+to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang
+eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of
+a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of
+chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a
+great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had
+run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he
+crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly
+behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,
+the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel
+and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the
+cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in
+the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came
+winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his
+lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling
+through the port-hole, he did not even look up.</p>
+
+<p>"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the
+foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole
+long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no
+time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"
+As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears
+splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the
+ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.</p>
+
+<p>"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is
+most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one
+side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I
+should say, being a good person is most important."</p>
+
+<p>"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the
+middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason
+may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? What's this? Humph! <i>Maxims for Monarchs.</i> Well, what in
+topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious
+shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat
+volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst
+out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we
+can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good
+King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the
+word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship
+can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without
+waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged
+over to the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and
+crew of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> were now engaged in earnest conversation.
+"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying
+reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,
+waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go
+ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began
+unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned
+a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus91.jpg" width="260" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.
+"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig
+pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely
+nothing!"</p>
+
+<p>But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist
+and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If
+you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you
+back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any
+more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll
+not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to
+that!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to
+Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this
+ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and
+Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"</p>
+
+<p>"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.
+"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming
+aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."
+Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as
+deeply, smiled back.</p>
+
+<p>"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow
+lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,
+he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all
+pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the
+long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his
+ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for
+him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to
+the latest possible moment.</p>
+
+<p>But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs
+and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to
+carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a
+fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,
+thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running
+down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the
+jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having
+brought nothing aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, he insisted on leaving in
+the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and
+Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had
+worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The
+Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their
+finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,
+and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused
+to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all
+climbed aboard the hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help
+comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful
+boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself
+with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the
+great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their
+families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense
+turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to
+see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of
+Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of
+white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily
+to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to
+the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the
+hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and
+suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and
+curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally
+made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling
+multitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract
+their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.
+"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander
+Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."</p>
+
+<p>"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?
+Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and
+her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son
+and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my
+Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these
+words.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus92.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to
+another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he
+waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he
+called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small
+Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to
+lay waste our realm."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably
+between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal
+Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round
+the head of the speaker.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried
+Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,
+Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the
+salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,
+not to recognize and welcome your young King. <i>I'm</i> for you, young
+one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the
+nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass
+through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine
+square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,
+thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering
+his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,
+recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,
+was the first to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily
+chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these
+strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,
+most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly
+but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly
+thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you
+are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in
+the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"
+Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy
+dismount.</p>
+
+<p>"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief
+Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so
+kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus93.jpg" width="256" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his
+lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old
+Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot
+along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he
+gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the
+evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand
+for silence.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard
+the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated
+Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of
+age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,
+guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at
+Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your
+ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply
+indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says
+that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without
+delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you
+to leave. Come, Tazander!"</p>
+
+<p>While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin
+was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till
+he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But
+surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and
+explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel
+mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just
+might happen to tread on you."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very
+thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,
+paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the
+ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers
+gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying
+off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats
+forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged
+a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood
+uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine
+judges, began to laugh and cheer.</p>
+
+<p>"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman
+vociferously.</p>
+
+<p>But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.
+"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this
+poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all
+lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize
+the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_19" id="CHAPTER_19"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus94.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 19<br />
+
+<small>Boglodore's Revenge</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,
+and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and
+camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the
+ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously
+back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely
+biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left
+the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.</p>
+
+<p>The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the
+heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,
+Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The
+tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,
+caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their
+heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,
+and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives
+and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for
+the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his
+breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.
+Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and
+groveled together in the deep sand.</p>
+
+<p>"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the
+suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those
+plants along?"</p>
+
+<p>"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered
+Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.
+Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"</p>
+
+<p>Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at
+each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal
+Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the
+securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who
+had first cheered Tandy remained.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man
+stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the
+tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for
+them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave
+young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great
+liberty-loving land."</p>
+
+<p>"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,
+beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled
+Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and
+will stand no nonsense!"</p>
+
+<p>"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside
+Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each
+other well enough for all that."</p>
+
+<p>To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White
+City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its
+flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and
+castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.</p>
+
+<p>Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to
+welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come
+with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the
+natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed
+marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way
+through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.
+Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried
+away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid
+feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and
+enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to
+live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for
+his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really
+happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on
+the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh
+of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying
+at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for
+events to shape themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a
+small stool beside Samuel Salt.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and
+lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.</p>
+
+<p>"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful
+idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of
+which, <i>more</i> anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,
+stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more
+satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help
+Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman
+how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As
+he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus95.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that
+the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more
+and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was
+but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe
+that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as
+they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in
+the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,
+how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that
+long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,
+tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN&mdash;HAH!" Samuel
+expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his
+feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place
+for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the
+shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended
+to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered
+to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his
+thoughts still far away on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and considering the
+work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him
+behind.</p>
+
+<p>With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the
+cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the
+guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants
+of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in
+their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,
+in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's
+back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,
+startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one
+horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus96.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,
+but it is!"</p>
+
+<p>"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from
+under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,
+and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so
+strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing
+the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main
+force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on
+the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the
+nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and
+soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of
+the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.</p>
+
+<p>"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.
+"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and
+Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story
+of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,
+my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.
+For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins
+themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!
+What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore
+again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What
+happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to
+keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"
+Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,
+the Old Man continued his story.</p>
+
+<p>"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended
+to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only
+the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the
+jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,
+giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect
+this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and
+could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found
+and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to
+do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant
+to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and
+ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."</p>
+
+<p>"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the
+umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up
+Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But
+Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.</p>
+
+<p>"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The
+vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will
+sink&mdash;not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but
+to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and
+sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so
+dishonorably served and betrayed!"</p>
+
+<p>Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the
+umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into
+the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own
+tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to
+navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old
+Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the
+umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open
+sea.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus97.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's
+edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only
+umbrellaphant in captivity?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel
+back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy
+after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master
+Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,
+staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the
+most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and
+now&mdash;now&mdash;I've lost it&mdash;" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides
+and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward
+Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.
+Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given
+her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,
+and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking
+rapidly to herself.</p>
+
+<p>"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with
+the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this
+clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried
+Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle
+and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's
+frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has
+befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King
+to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost
+elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."</p>
+
+<p>"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming
+completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and
+I'll carry the good news to the castle."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_20" id="CHAPTER_20"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus98.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 20<br />
+
+<small>King Tandy</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small
+cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of
+one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the
+covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost
+inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better
+of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the
+Ozamandarins.</p>
+
+<p>"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at
+the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom
+of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you
+say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,
+dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker
+than soup!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how do you suppose <i>I</i> feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his
+hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,
+I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"</p>
+
+<p>"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead
+of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin
+down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,
+pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.</p>
+
+<p>"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious
+than interested.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and
+pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and
+I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"
+Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy
+flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of
+him. "I'm going straight back on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and I'm not
+coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow
+Island and everywhere!"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great
+difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are
+you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be
+true!"</p>
+
+<p>"But it <i>is</i> true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and
+illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the
+plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing
+Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as
+Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now
+there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild
+elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he
+starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink
+gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education
+on our ship, that is his own affair."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and
+roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of
+reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can
+enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,
+Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and
+luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_21" id="CHAPTER_21"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus99.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 21<br />
+
+<small>A Voyage Resumed</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Anxious as Tandy was to return to the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and continue the
+voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,
+true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the
+capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and
+their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,
+addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider
+Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his
+education in foreign parts and aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, during which
+time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare
+always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province
+and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers
+from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new
+cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the
+dangerous invasions of the Greys.</p>
+
+<p>Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace
+along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long
+desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up
+by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the
+country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be
+enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long
+and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning
+in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and
+ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and
+vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and
+enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the
+castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak
+highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and
+the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore
+Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed
+hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon
+as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed
+the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of
+elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just
+as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man
+in a Million."</p>
+
+<p>"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high
+holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus100.jpg" width="469" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle
+so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and
+flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,
+had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with
+feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,
+returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and
+precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he
+went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds
+creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit
+and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had
+outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green
+and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious
+to continue the voyage. Aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> one of the Guards
+had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend
+to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright
+morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal
+Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.</p>
+
+<p>Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling
+with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were
+lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding
+Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel
+corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's
+edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to
+Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt
+and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the
+small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large
+cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely
+made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but
+I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave
+to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt
+a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never
+fear!"</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away
+voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his
+stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun&mdash;the moon&mdash;the stars I
+commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule
+over Ozamaland."</p>
+
+<p>"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted
+Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from
+Oz!"</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even
+the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as
+Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel
+over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,
+climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the
+hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy
+stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!
+Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take
+the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under
+the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby
+camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,
+and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time
+they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed
+thankfully back on her raft.</p>
+
+<p>"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping
+cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,
+boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to
+the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from
+the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we
+go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A
+roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus101.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up
+and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from
+the cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon
+the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,
+Roger?"</p>
+
+<p>"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.
+"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"</p>
+
+<p>And when the <i>Crescent Moon</i> flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie
+River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious
+continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I
+for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus102.jpg" width="325" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+
+<p class="ph4"><i>A Word about the Oz Books</i></p>
+
+
+<p>Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,
+THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who
+inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated
+the imagination of millions of young readers.</p>
+
+<p>These are stories which are genuine fantasy&mdash;creative, funny, tender,
+exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd
+creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has
+been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they
+are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at
+all.</p>
+
+<p>When, in a recent survey, <i>The New York Times</i> polled a group of
+teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz
+books topped the list.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="ph4">Captain Salt In Oz</p>
+
+
+<p>A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling
+than that? We&mdash;many of us&mdash;have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic
+or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and
+swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had
+our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we
+come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a
+charming talking hippopotamus?</p>
+
+<p>Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and
+now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their
+hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart
+crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically
+by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the
+Expedition.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+
+<p class="ph4">The Oz Books</p>
+
+<table>
+<tr><td></td><td>Wizard of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td></td><td>Visitors from Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>1. </td><td>The Land of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>2. </td><td>Ozma of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>3. </td><td>Dorothy and the Wizard</td></tr>
+<tr><td>4. </td><td>The Road to Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>5. </td><td>The Emerald City of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>6. </td><td>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>7. </td><td>Tik-Tok of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>8. </td><td>The Scarecrow of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>9. </td><td>Rinkitink in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>10. </td><td>The Lost Princess of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>11. </td><td>The Tin Woodman of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>12. </td><td>The Magic of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>13. </td><td>Glinda of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>14. </td><td>The Royal Book of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>15. </td><td>Kabumpo in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>16. </td><td>The Cowardly Lion of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>17. </td><td>Grandpa in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>18. </td><td>The Lost King of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>19. </td><td>The Hungry Tiger of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>20. </td><td>The Gnome King of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>21. </td><td>The Giant Horse of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>22. </td><td>Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>23. </td><td>The Yellow Knight of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>24. </td><td>Pirates in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>25. </td><td>The Purple Prince of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>26. </td><td>Ojo in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>27. </td><td>Speedy in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>28. </td><td>The Wishing Horse of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>29. </td><td>Captain Salt in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>30. </td><td>Handy Mandy in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>31. </td><td>The Silver Princess in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>32. </td><td>Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>33. </td><td>Wonder City of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>34. </td><td>Scalawagons of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>35. </td><td>Lucky Bucky in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>36. </td><td>Magical Mimics in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>37. </td><td>The Shaggy Man of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>38. </td><td>The Hidden Valley of Oz</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56073 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Captain Salt In Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 
+Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+
+
+Title: Captain Salt in Oz
+
+Author: Ruth Plumly Thompson
+        L. Frank Baum
+
+Illustrator: John R. Neil
+             Dick Martin
+
+Release Date: November 28, 2017 [EBook #56073]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="235" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="500" height="258" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/tp.jpg" width="244" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+
+<h1>CAPTAIN SALT
+IN OZ</h1>
+
+<p><i>By</i><br />
+RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON<br />
+Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories</p>
+
+<p><i>By</i><br />
+L. FRANK BAUM<br />
+"Royal Historian of Oz"</p>
+
+<p><i>Illustrated by</i><br />
+JOHN R. NEILL</p>
+
+<p>The Reilly &amp; Lee Co.<br />
+CHICAGO</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p>Copyright, 1936<br />
+by<br />
+THE REILLY &amp; LEE CO.<br />
+All rights reserved</p>
+
+<p>Printed in the U.S.A.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p>Dear Boys and Girls:</p>
+
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">Another year&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">Another book,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And this time a voyage</div>
+    <div class="verse">That Sam Salt took</div>
+    <div class="verse">In that good old Ship,</div>
+    <div class="verse">The <i>Crescent Moon</i>&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">Steering by compass,</div>
+    <div class="verse">By star and moon,</div>
+    <div class="verse">To discover new countries</div>
+    <div class="verse">For OZ. Hear! Hear!</div>
+    <div class="verse">He's discovered a whole</div>
+    <div class="verse">New Hemisphere!</div>
+    <div class="verse">Three cheers for Sam,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And his jolly crew,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for OZ</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for YOU,</div>
+    <div class="verse">And three for me,</div>
+    <div class="verse">Though I don't need cheer</div>
+    <div class="verse">'Cause the letters you write</div>
+    <div class="verse">Keep me gay ALL year!</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will
+you? And remember to put your full name and complete
+address on the letter. Righto!</p>
+
+<p>And Best till I hear from you!</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="237" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">This book is dedicated<br />
+With my best bow and TOP wishes<br />
+to my Publisher.</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph4">&mdash;<i>Ruth Plumly Thompson</i></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="485" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>LIST OF CHAPTERS</h2>
+
+<table>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_1">CHAPTER 1</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sail Ho!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_2">CHAPTER 2</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Anchors Aweigh</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_3">CHAPTER 3</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Fire Baby</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_4">CHAPTER 4</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Samuel's First Specimen</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_5">CHAPTER 5</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Patrippany Island</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_6">CHAPTER 6</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Little Wild Man</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_7">CHAPTER 7</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_8">CHAPTER 8</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Maxims for Monarchs</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_9">CHAPTER 9</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sea Legs for Tandy</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_10">CHAPTER 10</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The City of Bridges</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_11">CHAPTER 11</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Prince of the Peaks</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_12">CHAPTER 12</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Fog</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_13">CHAPTER 13</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Forest</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_14">CHAPTER 14</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Sea Unicorn!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_15">CHAPTER 15</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Collector Is Collected</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_16">CHAPTER 16</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Storm!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_17">CHAPTER 17</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Old Man of the Jungle!</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_18">CHAPTER 18</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A New Country</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_19">CHAPTER 19</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Boglodore's Revenge</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_20">CHAPTER 20</a></td><td><span class="smcap">King Tandy</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_21">CHAPTER 21</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Voyage Resumed</span></td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_1" id="CHAPTER_1"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="473" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 1<br />
+<small>Sail Ho!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King
+Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is
+nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms
+that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And
+Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with
+a kind word for everyone.</p>
+
+<p>In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort
+and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.
+For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing
+eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing
+hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his
+eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms
+holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the
+names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on
+the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he
+is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and
+colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into
+an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle
+is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only
+reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is
+decidedly luxurious and lazy.</p>
+
+<p>Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,
+attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have
+little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred
+and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving
+any trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but
+Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who
+landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out
+after them, using the pirate's stout ship the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, for the
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and
+sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out
+and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i> reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here
+they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had
+been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to
+conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a
+poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You
+have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising
+experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon
+Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and
+country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious
+to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just
+to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman
+on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to
+a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and
+carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an
+interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his
+Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the
+Island&mdash;the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm
+trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the
+Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to
+a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and
+gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,
+but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast
+sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,
+as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is
+the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of
+the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us
+and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."</p>
+
+<p>"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head
+positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he
+made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's
+promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from
+pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering
+and forgotten us altogether!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="476" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with
+great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.
+"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King
+earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and
+burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him
+Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly
+well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and
+treasure."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"
+observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the
+poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six
+feet in his socks."</p>
+
+<p>"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in
+his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and
+handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,
+and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And
+a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the
+Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,
+too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed
+the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was
+to sail into our Harbor. Well, King&mdash;it's been six times six months,
+and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."</p>
+
+<p>"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.</p>
+
+<p>"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and
+twelve hours, to be exact!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured
+Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never
+believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open
+his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon
+it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so
+you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something
+else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"
+finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a
+goat.</p>
+
+<p>"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a
+notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!
+Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of
+biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss
+out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I&mdash;I, why, I'm
+surprised at you, Roger!"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at
+himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man
+with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever
+since his voyage on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, cooking had been Ato's chief
+pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved
+of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so
+finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his
+delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="451" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to
+frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger
+started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read
+on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a
+page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,
+Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into
+the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.</p>
+
+<p>Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his
+eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific
+thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the
+hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously
+around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with
+insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts
+and what not.</p>
+
+<p>Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and
+finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the
+King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.
+For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the <i>Crescent Moon</i>
+herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of
+the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast
+today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and
+white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of
+the most famous Fairyland in History.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.
+"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the
+Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his
+wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I
+ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already
+reached the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was
+chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his
+steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had
+half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted
+vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet
+planks of the royal dock.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it
+really my old cook and shipmate?"</p>
+
+<p>"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.
+"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and
+scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look
+natural or seaman-like at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered
+hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for
+impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this
+voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set
+the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage
+tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we
+must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="500" height="345" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;I sup-pose&mdash;so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up
+with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to
+be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace
+collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail
+feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we
+please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old
+pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your
+galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below
+to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,
+Lubber!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke
+in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself
+a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,
+Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"So&mdash;oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into
+the Captain's face,</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">"Ho pass the salt and ring the bell</div>
+    <div class="verse">And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on
+the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.
+"Sir Samuel!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come
+on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave
+your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"</p>
+
+<p>"Keep <i>you</i> waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet
+and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've
+been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,
+twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son
+of a sea-robber?"</p>
+
+<p>"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and
+dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely
+had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last
+voyage, and to fit out the <i>Crescent Moon</i> for the next."</p>
+
+<p>"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"
+muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.</p>
+
+<p>"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King
+accusingly. "And what would the <i>Crescent Moon</i> be needing? I thought
+she was about perfect as she was."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up
+immediately at mention of his ship. "The <i>Crescent Moon</i>, besides a
+new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering
+control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn
+paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical
+contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no
+crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger
+jealously.</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my
+place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging
+uneasily at the cord round his waist.</p>
+
+<p>"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!
+Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley
+to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down
+on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd
+never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without
+us!"</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at
+the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on
+ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the
+steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a
+chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"</p>
+
+<p>"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding
+exuberantly after the King.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_2" id="CHAPTER_2"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 2<br />
+
+<small>Anchors Aweigh!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,
+Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest
+or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.
+There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most
+of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook
+books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg
+beaters, and rolling pins.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as
+he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my
+topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato
+we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer
+needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"</p>
+
+<p>Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded
+determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,
+ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long
+following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly
+tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel
+had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but
+a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the
+crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the
+east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the
+booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from
+there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.</p>
+
+<p>This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and
+treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were
+the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and
+extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were
+numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to
+bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at
+the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,
+there and everywhere as we sail onward!"</p>
+
+<p>"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag
+planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully
+fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you
+don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the
+scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad
+and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.
+But look, Ato, my lad&mdash;these will interest you." Turning from the
+chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of
+the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger
+and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping
+the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the
+jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable
+pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the
+first island we come to. Eh, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long
+disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash
+yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY
+advice!"</p>
+
+<p>"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a
+resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show
+you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside
+for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious
+mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned
+his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,
+swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down
+to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge
+aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried
+moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.</p>
+
+<p>"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching
+the side of an enormous aquarium.</p>
+
+<p>"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did
+not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll&mdash;I'll have
+no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning
+things topsy turvy."</p>
+
+<p>"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about
+shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and
+the best way to begin a voyage is to start."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden
+ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off
+the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a
+pig's jiffy."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="406" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's
+octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.
+"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep
+the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."</p>
+
+<p>"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up
+on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to
+your Highness!"</p>
+
+<p>"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a
+megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight
+months from yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to
+wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer&mdash;and a bold bad
+seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles
+for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never
+see a castle again."</p>
+
+<p>"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.
+"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."</p>
+
+<p>"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel
+with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East
+by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North
+Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers
+of some deep and mysterious jungle!"</p>
+
+<p>"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the
+wheel.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this
+like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his
+hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the
+wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.</p>
+
+<p>"M&mdash;mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,
+shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?
+That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no
+getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up
+another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the
+voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim
+and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel
+for any course and just let her ride."</p>
+
+<p>"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But
+since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about
+dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"
+exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho&mdash;I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.
+"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain&mdash;a fried
+sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"</p>
+
+<p>"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath
+in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the
+foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's
+mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran
+smoothly before the wind.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_3" id="CHAPTER_3"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 3<br />
+
+<small>The Fire Baby</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Morning found the <i>Crescent Moon</i> forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a
+choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his
+legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to
+the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best
+sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove
+over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed
+his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and
+discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having
+finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of
+potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion
+when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the
+crown of Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and
+blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite
+and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma
+particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its
+will."</p>
+
+<p>"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to
+pare a fat potato. "What then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then&mdash;er then&mdash;" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try
+persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under
+the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to
+get them, don't you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato
+dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and
+persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs
+and poison arrows?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing
+soberly at the compass, "and in that case&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"
+Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,
+Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed
+as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be
+sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered
+hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger
+carry the books ashore too."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, giving his knee
+a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,
+Mates, remember?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good
+many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What
+makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny
+arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate&mdash;it
+rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But
+don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.
+But avast there&mdash;it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.
+Had you noticed?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus17.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island
+astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was
+supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after
+snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,
+taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,
+who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to
+report a new island to the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and
+waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first
+discovery."</p>
+
+<p>"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying
+to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to
+take to reach the island at all.</p>
+
+<p>It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,
+with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the
+air sulphurous and hot.</p>
+
+<p>"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,
+peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far
+as I can see&mdash;but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the
+wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open
+sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like
+this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to
+anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone
+clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from
+the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.
+"Stand by to man the guns!"</p>
+
+<p>But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff
+the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that
+case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted
+to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living
+creatures in the center."</p>
+
+<p>"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white
+apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that
+fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but
+we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that
+who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors
+aweigh!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus18.jpg" width="270" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began
+frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out
+of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,
+and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical
+devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,
+tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,
+till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the
+hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two
+buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?
+Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in
+a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the
+center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner
+of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and
+flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.</p>
+
+<p>"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and
+declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma
+of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel
+Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who
+remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even
+a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.
+Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of
+smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus19.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting
+down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he
+is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.
+Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks
+were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned
+red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great
+sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking
+and hissing into the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel
+as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder
+what started that?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke
+for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool
+bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."</p>
+
+<p>Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed
+forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but
+surely through the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail
+unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow
+Poke!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the
+glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.
+It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on
+a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for
+proof."</p>
+
+<p>"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in
+his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold
+on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a
+hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it
+out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato
+raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a
+rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A
+shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying
+down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a
+ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back
+with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often
+used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby
+and started on a run for the galley.</p>
+
+<p>"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate
+collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were
+its own mother. "Aye, aye&mdash;it's going out!"</p>
+
+<p>"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in
+tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two
+buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for
+the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range
+and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the
+squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once
+and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel
+from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever
+made you think of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper
+place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that
+a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the
+nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was
+regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel
+picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do
+fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that
+volcanos are inhabited."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus20.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist
+down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the
+Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that
+fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with
+the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not
+falling into the soup when my back is turned?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,
+and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as
+groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,
+pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.
+Ho&mdash;this WILL be interesting!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"
+suggested Ato bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's
+sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just
+showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row
+of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent
+rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that
+coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they
+were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats
+and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced
+and screamed louder than all the rest put together.</p>
+
+<p>"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,
+undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and
+save his ship from possible destruction.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus21.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings
+triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.
+You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See
+that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?
+Well, look&mdash;she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She
+wants her baby back."</p>
+
+<p>"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the
+frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal
+people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to
+buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."</p>
+
+<p>"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was
+unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.</p>
+
+<p>"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it
+back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the
+terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."</p>
+
+<p>"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our
+lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"</p>
+
+<p>"Er&mdash;er&mdash;let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for
+clams," proposed the cook eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would
+grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we
+could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated
+Islanders.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port
+cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if
+you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my
+wings and be done with it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch
+it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out
+of range."</p>
+
+<p>"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, shifting his feet uncomfortably.</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little
+rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."</p>
+
+<p>By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that
+even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat
+mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the
+port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident
+from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire
+tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little
+fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus22.jpg" width="463" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying
+instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged
+on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations
+and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The
+terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost
+afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus23.jpg" width="466" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching
+the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot
+you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon
+ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava
+Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,
+the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her
+thanks across the tumbling waters.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward
+and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.
+"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly
+depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.</p>
+
+<p>"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the
+Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let
+me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time
+they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is
+Ozma's."</p>
+
+<p>"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my
+duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our
+kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."</p>
+
+<p>The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of
+iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long
+enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting
+the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily
+back to the Island.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus24.jpg" width="301" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands
+together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy
+deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."</p>
+
+<p>This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet
+interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their
+hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,
+swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner
+between two smoking boulders soared aloft.</p>
+
+<p>"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now
+under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,
+you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one
+another!"</p>
+
+<p>His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing
+triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their
+heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_4" id="CHAPTER_4"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus25.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 4<br />
+
+<small>Samuel's First Specimen</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped
+breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.
+Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal
+Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call
+booming back across the water.</p>
+
+<p>An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,
+a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs
+were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do
+any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough
+for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller
+as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,
+jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude
+as he ran along.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who
+had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering
+over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on
+the sulphurous surface of the rock.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was
+perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a
+golden frog or a lizard."</p>
+
+<p>"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, this&mdash;this&mdash;" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and
+disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster
+as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,
+straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and
+Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point
+just as well."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus26.jpg" width="253" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the
+Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of
+the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.</p>
+
+<p>"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but
+don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all
+you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."</p>
+
+<p>"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."
+Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down
+hard on his shiny bald head.</p>
+
+<p>"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger
+practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in
+captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal&mdash;this way, my little crater critter."
+Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find
+the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid
+adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly
+righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a
+satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.
+"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At
+least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW&mdash;" Ato waved
+his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and
+time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.
+I've meat to broil!"</p>
+
+<p>"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"
+exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake
+turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?
+An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric
+monster."</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's
+shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,
+Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps
+on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had
+just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the
+galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.</p>
+
+<p>"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging
+jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed
+cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen
+of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking
+meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read
+Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the
+tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus27.jpg" width="483" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>The main cabin of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with its red leather couches
+under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to
+keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,
+was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a
+huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall
+was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and
+rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel
+and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his
+upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that
+all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the
+sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind
+creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a
+seaman could wish for.</p>
+
+<p>"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud
+of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the
+long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and
+settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our
+volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island
+must have a name you know."</p>
+
+<p>"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his
+throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it
+Salamander Island after Sally."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"
+warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his
+head in time to the music.</p>
+
+<p>"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map
+of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.</p>
+
+<p>"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout
+here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."</p>
+
+<p>As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> drew with red chalk a small but effective picture
+of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland
+Islanders grouped around the crater's top.</p>
+
+<p>"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed
+Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw
+argumentatively.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain
+stepping back to admire his drawing.</p>
+
+<p>"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands
+for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully
+at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once
+ourselves."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus28.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk
+back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries
+that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz
+is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since
+Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and
+prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small
+wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting
+and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms
+in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire
+of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western
+domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The
+Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all
+these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but
+all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small
+but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is
+surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent
+Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the
+Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These
+countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies
+the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one
+knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in
+Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,
+towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there
+was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on
+every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more
+territory.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these
+new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after
+staring at the map for some moments in silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of
+his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of
+airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark
+and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or
+less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma
+will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as
+some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few
+islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his
+arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.</p>
+
+<p>"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's
+enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off
+on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I
+can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all
+the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,
+and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in&mdash;we've had a hard day
+and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have
+middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up
+plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's
+plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily
+through an open port.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus29.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the
+Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you
+great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"
+Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched
+back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.
+"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted
+indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and
+seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,
+relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,
+"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on
+the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of
+soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,
+"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young
+sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've
+ever gazed on."</p>
+
+<p>Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook
+padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with
+loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over
+the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and
+shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping
+soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.</p>
+
+<p>First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer
+and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the
+cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols
+had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of
+Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.
+Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on
+a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.
+Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box
+with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing
+salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny
+flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming
+pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the
+box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole
+contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to
+fetch the fire lizard.</p>
+
+<p>The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and
+giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished
+to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering
+she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to
+figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,
+carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had
+already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red
+hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new
+quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily
+in her swimming pool.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and
+gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going
+to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the
+lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her
+tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange
+behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.
+Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself
+upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where
+she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus30.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly
+cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably
+in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,
+and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb
+cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away
+delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,
+the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she
+peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on
+the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the
+rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going
+out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder
+and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight
+when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only
+then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when
+morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was
+cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the
+cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the
+foremast.</p>
+
+<p>"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_5" id="CHAPTER_5"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus31.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 5<br />
+
+<small>Patrippany Island</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"All hands on deck! Come on! Come <i>on</i>!" yelled Samuel Salt running
+past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island
+tuluward, you lubber."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out
+the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No
+cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"
+But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved
+all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich
+and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on
+the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and
+whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."</p>
+
+<p>"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore
+Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."</p>
+
+<p>Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself
+into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting
+through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so
+dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but
+after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain
+decided to take a chance, and sail through.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook
+lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on
+an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let
+us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and
+decorum."</p>
+
+<p>"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye
+does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you
+have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on
+our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."</p>
+
+<p>So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in
+the foremast, Samuel swung the <i>Crescent Moon</i> in toward the island.
+Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea
+and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle
+stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and
+monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A
+flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they
+penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if
+they were entering some dim green land of goblins.</p>
+
+<p>"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned
+Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley
+with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute
+now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer
+a fried mackerel in my stomach."</p>
+
+<p>"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,
+"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."</p>
+
+<p>"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the
+buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.
+"Never say die&mdash;say dee&mdash;dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.
+Dee-scovery with a <i>hi de di dide di dough</i>!" sang Samuel vociferously
+to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream
+the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and
+their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the
+noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river
+creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by
+the islanders.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus32.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of
+coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only
+Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear
+away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of
+the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit
+when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and
+three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by
+the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife
+and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding
+whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as
+stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing
+angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No
+need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this
+time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy
+as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow
+Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over
+the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his
+feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and
+down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato
+handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his
+stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied
+that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and
+start coming."</p>
+
+<p>"Chee tree&mdash;tee&mdash;hee&mdash;!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung
+precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with
+the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed
+to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long
+quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another
+step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple
+over backwards.</p>
+
+<p>"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.
+"Watch out for those 'gators."</p>
+
+<p>"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly
+all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.</p>
+
+<p>"Not <i>his</i> gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed
+Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the
+river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and
+come savagely toward them.</p>
+
+<p>"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching
+Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to
+move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so
+violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He
+could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a
+loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.
+Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a
+heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus33.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul
+who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping
+the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his
+Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would
+have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed
+where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss
+to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and
+right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked
+futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,
+after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in
+and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the
+water.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus34.jpg" width="500" height="294" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't
+had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what
+can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for
+where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming
+up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.
+For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had
+been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even
+imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.
+But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose
+higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled
+figure sprawled across its slippery back.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is
+it really you? Are you safe, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon
+Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a
+boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt
+safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"</p>
+
+<p>"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her
+shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come
+rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with
+you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers
+are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."
+For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his
+gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the
+opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you
+ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her
+mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold
+on the monster's slippery neck.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"
+snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my
+father and mother and maiden aunts!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered
+fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any
+further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster
+carries off my poor Master?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do
+not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems
+uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me&mdash;" the Royal Explorer
+looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to
+find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in
+Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.
+And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply
+splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the
+last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped
+up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned
+a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as
+Ato had done.</p>
+
+<p>"Ugh&mdash;gr&mdash;ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did
+that happen?"</p>
+
+<p>"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with
+Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.
+And a fine Discoverer you look now."</p>
+
+<p>Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then
+shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam
+thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the
+bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree
+snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree
+top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking
+merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the
+hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice
+mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato
+felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then
+hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at
+the Leader of the Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting
+down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank
+interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."</p>
+
+<p>"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick
+green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.
+"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,
+as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.
+"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to
+his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging
+hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his
+hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that
+animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's
+the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel
+turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.</p>
+
+<p>"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What
+may that mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,
+grinning in spite of himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how
+beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward
+and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.
+"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a
+gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to
+Patrippany Island."</p>
+
+<p>"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!
+Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip
+in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"</p>
+
+<p>"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly
+massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak
+our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean
+that monkey chatter above."</p>
+
+<p>"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"
+answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till
+five moons ago last Herb Day."</p>
+
+<p>"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed
+Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his
+river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep
+away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.
+"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that
+is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that
+makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little
+excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and
+if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."</p>
+
+<p>"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did
+not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.
+"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?
+What made you do that?"</p>
+
+<p>"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled
+out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a
+native boy?" he asked eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very
+idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language
+I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to
+them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks
+and spears and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a
+tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.
+Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by
+Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the
+ship."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus35.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she
+gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little
+Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you
+wish to go."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_6" id="CHAPTER_6"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus36.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 6<br />
+
+<small>A Little Wild Man</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt
+to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't
+go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our
+language."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at
+Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly
+up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with
+a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard
+Men. Mind, now!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and
+smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato
+and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier
+from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.</p>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to
+fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former
+Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the
+tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.</p>
+
+<p>"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward
+the river bank.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with
+horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging
+at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my
+buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the
+hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand
+where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his
+cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have
+been an achievement worth the whole voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more
+comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would
+rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how
+many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!
+Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped
+his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then
+Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its
+sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.
+"Fly ahead, my Hearty."</p>
+
+<p>"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and
+mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for
+Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were
+they little or big, black or brown?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus37.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown
+spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and
+rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed
+like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.
+They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day
+every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and
+paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward&mdash;" Nikobo's eyes grew round and
+shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose
+and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,
+saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated
+back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."</p>
+
+<p>"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"
+the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much
+better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've
+been feeding him myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in
+bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.</p>
+
+<p>"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a
+hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I
+collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Roots, herbs&mdash;grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,
+herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous
+in your life?"</p>
+
+<p>"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here&mdash;"
+The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small
+boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and
+where is he now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you
+shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and
+biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly
+riding behind.</p>
+
+<p>On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through
+the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their
+branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip
+the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a
+huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.
+Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled
+the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes
+left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that
+might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard
+Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and
+without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a
+small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.</p>
+
+<p>Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars
+constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass
+in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy
+clothed in a single leopard skin.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by
+the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea
+sailor!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you
+see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?
+He's not like the Leopard Men at all."</p>
+
+<p>"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing
+here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the
+bars of the strange prison.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus38.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,
+rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he
+looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"
+he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the
+hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought
+they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log
+seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In
+this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own
+people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"
+explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so
+deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed
+too hard."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.
+"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,
+little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"</p>
+
+<p>"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the
+bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my
+teeth for every day I have been here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook
+with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib
+showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots
+in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and
+sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,
+nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman
+to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the
+hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars
+of his cage.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild
+and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least
+I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and
+hardships I should suffer at sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and
+forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you
+could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had
+forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing
+still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues
+and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and
+discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.</p>
+
+<p>"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?
+Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a
+little wild man already."</p>
+
+<p>"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call
+Tandy a wild man."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus39.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet
+dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I
+am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands
+sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal
+company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present
+a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as
+Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are
+a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."
+Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the
+little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in
+return you must believe <i>us</i>, and stop all this hoity toity talk and
+clishmaclatter."</p>
+
+<p>"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the
+bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly
+person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go
+with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."</p>
+
+<p>"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,
+relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo
+lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far
+corner of his cage.</p>
+
+<p>"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as
+Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his
+own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with
+deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So
+you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato
+folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the
+leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do
+they call you at home?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the
+land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long
+continent of Tarara is my home."</p>
+
+<p>"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So
+there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one
+would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is
+twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat
+impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the
+little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those
+creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"
+Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young
+King's face.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,
+returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that
+a ship has never touched our shores?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,
+snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the
+most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen
+to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately
+afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before
+he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the
+White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The
+Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered
+on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots
+of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they
+mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one
+to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and
+try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed
+me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door
+in the bars and stuck both hands through.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus40.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze
+up into Nikobo's huge face.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to
+say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was
+talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my
+own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.
+"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you
+happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these
+hardships and unpleasant experiences."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away
+from the outstretched arms of Ato.</p>
+
+<p>"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk
+of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.
+None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to
+do&mdash;whoo&mdash;Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began
+to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel
+Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the
+gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus41.jpg" width="445" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.
+Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed
+two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the
+vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,
+Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed
+to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax
+she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,
+demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and
+without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized
+the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the
+hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> sternly led the way to the edge of the island.
+Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys
+and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal
+Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander
+Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY&mdash;ay&mdash;ayyyy!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_7" id="CHAPTER_7"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus42.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 7<br />
+
+<small>Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the
+little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps
+because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he
+was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.
+Not even the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed
+to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight
+of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the
+boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of
+being crocked for the rest of my life."</p>
+
+<p>"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless
+greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily
+about in the muddy river water.</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,
+Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,
+Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and
+I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens
+to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at
+Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping
+joyously behind him.</p>
+
+<p>"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.
+"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat
+around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange
+grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me
+gather a few."</p>
+
+<p>"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's
+bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.
+"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the
+misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then
+I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for
+him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."</p>
+
+<p>"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato
+disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is
+himself a King."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning
+wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."
+With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking
+it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly
+creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.
+Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed
+the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly
+asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an
+hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack
+and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus43.jpg" width="249" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the
+ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back
+cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"</p>
+
+<p>"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so
+small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has
+been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with
+only a miserable hippopotamus for company."</p>
+
+<p>"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very
+superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with
+you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying
+bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,
+the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.
+"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as
+Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make
+allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his
+own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say
+he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.
+Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz
+looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung
+from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with
+spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea
+shells tied up in his shore-going coat.</p>
+
+<p>"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger
+helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato
+and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.</p>
+
+<p>"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout
+warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,
+too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them
+Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they
+would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling
+about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even
+stand up."</p>
+
+<p>"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these
+might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a
+few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this
+voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting
+plants, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep
+rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying
+him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"
+explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had
+with one of these vines in my early youth."</p>
+
+<p>"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's
+collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right
+have such things on a ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel
+easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming
+country."</p>
+
+<p>"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to
+Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,
+Master Salt."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful
+so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing
+contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.</p>
+
+<p>"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!
+Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the
+crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you
+planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about
+their new sovereign?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus44.jpg" width="439" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the
+tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.
+I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear
+'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape
+of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors
+from Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps
+and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate
+as Nikobo here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,
+luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.
+"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son
+of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a
+couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some
+time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he
+calmly spoke his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here
+with Kobo till my own people come for me."</p>
+
+<p>"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny
+youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to
+leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's
+back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.
+Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather
+sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the
+sand. "And no one can make me."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought
+of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to
+further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and
+began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference
+Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had
+finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.</p>
+
+<p>"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken
+voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"</p>
+
+<p>"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand
+to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking
+wildly from the hippopotamus to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Samuel had a
+dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his
+cherished vessel.</p>
+
+<p>"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than
+polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,
+she'll sink the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a
+meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus45.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a
+great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind
+motherly creature that she is!"</p>
+
+<p>"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and&mdash;" Then
+suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his
+oranges from one shoulder to the other.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly
+delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen
+back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.
+We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and
+meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in
+the hold."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of
+life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge
+champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato
+in Samuel's ear.</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a
+taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last
+swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and
+wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails
+Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their
+new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from
+sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the
+evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all
+the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,
+Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a
+strange procession started out for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Ahead with the
+keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a
+small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty
+young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in
+his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he
+meant to fasten it to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so
+Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to
+the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the
+ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of
+the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no
+trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could
+raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt
+the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and
+seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly
+pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious
+specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,
+the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> weighed anchor and dropped with
+the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the
+automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,
+adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode
+happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed
+her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary
+explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a
+shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,
+waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you
+and Ato would want him in here."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus46.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small
+berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never
+be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out
+of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his
+spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel
+hurried out on deck.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus47.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding
+himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had
+taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old
+pirate suits.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring
+sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the
+suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young
+monarch.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he
+repeated dismally.</p>
+
+<p>"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking
+at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the
+hatches with lubbers!"</p>
+
+<p>Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,
+though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what
+Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and
+pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.
+Gulls flew in excited circles all round the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, calling
+out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning
+on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz
+flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive
+appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he
+had done a good day's discovering.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at
+Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.</p>
+
+<p>"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo
+remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of
+you yet, my lass!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus48.jpg" width="465" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_8" id="CHAPTER_8"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus49.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 8<br />
+
+<small>Maxims for Monarchs</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden
+spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a
+rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.</p>
+
+<p>"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call
+the young voyager, came flying back to the table.</p>
+
+<p>"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,
+popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down
+with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"</p>
+
+<p>"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots
+and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with
+meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these
+seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."</p>
+
+<p>"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little
+pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"</p>
+
+<p>"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato
+handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and
+able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at
+Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good
+example?"</p>
+
+<p>Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and
+kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his
+bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little
+fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.
+"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every
+scrap."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus50.jpg" width="449" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder
+of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.
+But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants
+from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail
+conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's
+cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted
+that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the
+young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his
+bunk.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea
+chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the
+crew?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his
+inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions
+and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any
+chance referring to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated
+Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another
+screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a
+long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both
+calm and reasonable.</p>
+
+<p>"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its
+King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger
+firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the
+Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw
+at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the
+shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,
+but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and
+opened his volume.</p>
+
+<p>"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird
+impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely
+a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by
+sheer worth and ability alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden
+interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and
+the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,
+his royal instructor at home.</p>
+
+<p>"I am reading <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>," answered Roger calmly, "a book of
+great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz
+and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and
+important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he
+continued severely.</p>
+
+<p>"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,
+looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no <i>Maxims for Monarchs</i>
+in Ozamaland."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus51.jpg" width="436" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of
+his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably
+know nothing about such matters."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this
+two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has
+been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,
+acting in this small up-country fashion&mdash;what CAN a fellow think?
+Here&mdash;" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the
+Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy
+reread the passage Roger had just quoted.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither
+is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former
+arrogance.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his
+claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,
+a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times
+as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to
+govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there
+wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for
+me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can
+live my own life and go and come as I please."</p>
+
+<p>"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy
+wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little
+boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"
+sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways
+down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is
+useful or interesting?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why&mdash;er&mdash;why, I can draw
+pictures and ride an elephant."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his
+best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much
+call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water
+to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the
+crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever
+blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person
+than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a
+ship!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled
+off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell
+me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and
+happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not seemly&mdash;" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped
+Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before
+you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus52.jpg" width="419" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands
+nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,
+"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.
+In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and
+mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being
+prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years
+of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked
+away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words
+since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"</p>
+
+<p>"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for
+there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening
+I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look
+down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out
+and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed
+eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus53.jpg" width="269" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The word was <i>play</i>," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom
+did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"</p>
+
+<p>Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never
+heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say
+is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you
+a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found
+you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be
+different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.
+You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person
+and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun
+or break a wing in the attempt."</p>
+
+<p>"But would a King&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,
+sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out
+again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please
+so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And
+tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded
+almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,
+Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed
+Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you
+want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully
+over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed
+through the port.</p>
+
+<p>For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last
+injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he
+really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly
+he knew. Why, of course&mdash;he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain
+WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it
+into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only
+a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling
+in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant
+wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his
+breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo&mdash;Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her
+vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.
+"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced
+over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him
+enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.
+Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide
+and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake
+into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her
+lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to
+think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll
+throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,
+Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus54.jpg" width="462" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost
+cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy
+quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?
+There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.
+He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea
+chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet
+of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself
+cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles
+and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and
+Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.</p>
+
+<p>When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's
+light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new
+pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk
+was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's
+inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read
+Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or
+undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went
+quietly from the cabin.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_9" id="CHAPTER_9"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus55.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 9<br />
+
+<small>Sea Legs for Tandy</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a
+pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their
+breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,
+the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright
+sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong
+to the pig family when you come to think of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,
+swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take
+her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's
+son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we
+reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.
+Hoh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to
+fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will
+bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten
+years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to
+have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the
+jungle I can't get through my head at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump
+shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it
+is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.
+Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.
+"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,
+in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to
+bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and
+anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride
+to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the
+evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,
+"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and
+creeping birds, eh, Mates?"</p>
+
+<p>"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and
+be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the
+way, how's Sally this morning?'</p>
+
+<p>"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water
+and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her
+round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted
+Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings
+from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and
+beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."</p>
+
+<p>"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head
+in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't
+you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of
+sea soup sprinkled with faggots."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee
+pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.</p>
+
+<p>The day was bright and breezy and the <i>Crescent Moon</i> going free,
+breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a
+morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an
+uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up
+smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,
+hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to
+the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with
+the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,
+and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and
+came striding aft.</p>
+
+<p>"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.
+Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus56.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the
+foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with
+deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger
+was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,
+Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made
+a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your
+feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as
+flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!
+Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up&mdash;up and up the narrow rope
+ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar
+and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.
+"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,
+winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy
+was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set
+himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.
+Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,
+the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the
+foremast.</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Crescent Moon</i>," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,
+"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take
+from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring
+her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we
+three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy
+hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the
+foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the
+ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water
+birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the
+sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the
+bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal
+and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.
+"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is
+attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant
+sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on
+the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."</p>
+
+<p>"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on
+the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he
+tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is
+bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer
+the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was
+simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"
+he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic
+circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?
+A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging
+so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship
+on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City&mdash;Patrippany Island&mdash;all
+his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped
+in his heart of hearts the <i>Crescent Moon</i> would not reach his native
+shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person <i>was</i> fun.</p>
+
+<p>"M&mdash;mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells
+like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."</p>
+
+<p>"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.
+"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a
+large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and
+shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's
+something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he
+repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few
+inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun&mdash;that's
+a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!
+Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles
+but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers
+and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All
+hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the
+hatches!"</p>
+
+<p>Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,
+descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out
+with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife
+in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to
+his largest spyglass.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,
+this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine
+ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus57.jpg" width="267" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are
+you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your
+ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with
+the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"
+Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that
+there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and
+with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the
+ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable
+head came curling far over the bow of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,
+dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his
+wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell
+flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making
+a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was
+leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant
+with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was
+the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his
+ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin
+brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they
+screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next
+forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among
+them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel
+fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen
+guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus58.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of
+still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming
+with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,
+and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into
+the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn
+and setting the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to dancing like a cocklebur. But the
+taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,
+and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea
+monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing
+away toward the skyline.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap
+to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain
+touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."</p>
+
+<p>"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed
+Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely
+specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets
+rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking
+rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell
+Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to
+his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably
+frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked
+up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he
+panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a
+picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.
+Here it is&mdash;tail, teeth and everything!"</p>
+
+<p>"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to
+perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in
+action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young
+lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,
+I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra
+rations and pay."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings
+gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from
+King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry
+rations and pay!"</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,
+and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,
+Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger
+had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and
+Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm
+at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and
+strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy
+so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm
+and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained
+his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy
+was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and
+wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus59.jpg" width="374" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the
+shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all
+help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping
+time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse">"Blow high&mdash;blow low&mdash;</div>
+<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Tis a salt sea life for me&mdash;</div>
+    <div class="verse">With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue</div>
+<div class="verse">&nbsp;&nbsp;With a good ship going free&mdash;eeeh&mdash;eeeh!</div>
+    <div class="verse">With a good ship going free!"</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_10" id="CHAPTER_10"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus60.jpg" width="461" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 10<br />
+
+<small>The City of Bridges</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had
+known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,
+pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,
+the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of
+the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had
+besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble
+aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the
+rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special
+rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on
+Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful
+hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved
+the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often
+floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the
+ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged
+on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all
+crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the
+hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and
+with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious
+vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she
+had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking
+cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,
+giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking
+nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to
+the fullest extent.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus61.jpg" width="418" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>On calm mornings, with the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hove to, all hands would go
+swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty
+porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy
+had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain
+could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had
+made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched
+upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,
+but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and
+Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy
+diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream
+with envy and approval.</p>
+
+<p>Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not
+really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on
+Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to
+his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus
+made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who
+did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for
+hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness
+to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted
+was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and
+join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain
+(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire
+listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been
+a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and
+treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of
+these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire
+lizard.</p>
+
+<p>Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.
+They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,
+for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she
+touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had
+only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a
+cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally
+took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs
+or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she
+spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to
+Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear
+her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,
+Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants
+from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of
+lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after
+the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.
+The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the
+Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung
+above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a
+scientific laboratory every day.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those
+big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink
+label on a fluted conch shell.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling
+what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on
+a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,
+Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've
+had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to
+happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn
+in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly
+clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and
+terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back
+on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's
+foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just
+get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,
+why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we
+landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how
+big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg
+and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to
+nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to
+see, eh, Kinglet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I
+don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy
+suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son
+of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the
+<i>Crescent Moon's</i> afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with
+you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel
+tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main
+and mizzen topsails.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus62.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,
+Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had
+happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife
+still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft
+the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses
+Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit
+of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a
+piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,
+needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way
+of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color
+of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look
+at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they
+sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges
+ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all
+the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted
+cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on
+either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering
+poles and spears and halberds.</p>
+
+<p>"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared
+Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be
+pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a
+boulder?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting
+curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting
+on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.</p>
+
+<p>"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.
+Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking
+Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the
+bridges, a three-master, larger than the <i>Crescent Moon</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.
+"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates
+sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the
+buttons on his sail controls.</p>
+
+<p>"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest
+bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all
+the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of
+yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her
+head in her drinking tub.</p>
+
+<p>"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port
+gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a
+rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not
+help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry
+from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung
+down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously
+aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping
+toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and
+then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the
+descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships
+would surely be demolished.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,
+gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I
+can bear anything."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus63.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the
+shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers&mdash;it will shiver all of our
+timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order
+to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh&mdash;hh!"
+But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.</p>
+
+<p>"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"
+bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.
+As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen
+and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole
+length of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change
+in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of
+canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect
+air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish
+catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> rose
+buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly
+beneath her bow.</p>
+
+<p>"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.
+"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm
+no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder
+Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply
+and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the
+deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus64.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Wha&mdash;wha&mdash;where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings
+in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us
+you had balloon sails, Master Salt."</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp
+below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,
+mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.
+"It all looks sharp to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks
+and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and
+belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The
+altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.
+How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky
+island? How could we even take half of them?"</p>
+
+<p>"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by
+surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz
+flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."</p>
+
+<p>"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his
+way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his
+arms full of Oz flags, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> hung directly over the
+glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up
+hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the
+sparkling blue lake between the peaks.</p>
+
+<p>Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon
+sails so skillfully the <i>Crescent Moon</i> came down lightly as a swan in
+the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides
+hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned
+silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its
+curious crew.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing
+voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as
+before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an
+island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of
+her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"</p>
+
+<p>"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid
+of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span
+connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_11" id="CHAPTER_11"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus65.jpg" width="479" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 11<br />
+
+<small>The Prince of the Peaks</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little
+gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their
+pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.</p>
+
+<p>"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest
+Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU&mdash;you who come in
+this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain
+of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King
+of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any
+of the others had time to speak for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and
+breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and
+rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone
+aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's
+boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his
+royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.</p>
+
+<p>"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de
+Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.
+"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,
+Bird and Conquerors?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.
+"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the
+rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to
+this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."</p>
+
+<p>"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower
+bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again
+eeeeee-yen!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word
+as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the <i>Crescent
+Moon</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his
+long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the
+bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself
+gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a
+swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the
+Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable
+refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced
+him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the
+lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with
+suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their
+own.</p>
+
+<p>"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato
+in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?
+And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put
+on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and
+Doughnuts."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know
+it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out
+the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my
+famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket
+before you can say Oz Robinson!"</p>
+
+<p>When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found
+the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck
+in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and
+handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything
+from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the
+crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table
+with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew
+friendlier and more confidential still.</p>
+
+<p>"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a
+puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus66.jpg" width="246" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest
+wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>,
+your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put
+about."</p>
+
+<p>"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed
+Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the <i>Mountain Lass</i>, would have been
+destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what
+we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the
+torrent."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the
+Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I
+reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be
+delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily
+as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."</p>
+
+<p>"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,
+who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But
+tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is
+required of us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This
+island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so
+just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact
+with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are
+ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In
+time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and
+in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing
+these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to
+come and live as your loyal subjects here."</p>
+
+<p>"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the
+prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could
+easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all
+of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a
+pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"
+Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated
+the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no
+intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange
+conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've
+pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a
+hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,
+Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus67.jpg" width="460" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill
+tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the
+deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's
+Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and
+swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the
+shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering
+castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.
+With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and
+Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little
+exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was
+much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the
+yodelers.</p>
+
+<p>Ato, watching from the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, presently saw the
+flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with
+a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles
+and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on
+all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's
+city.</p>
+
+<p>From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of
+his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent
+on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,
+explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old
+customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders
+could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when
+they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,
+but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family
+could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window
+box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had
+perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,
+potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following
+corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after
+the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top
+every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh
+vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every
+known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines
+and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of
+a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy
+peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea
+food the Islanders fared splendidly.</p>
+
+<p>The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women
+alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried
+pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while
+delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as
+steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver
+and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of
+which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to
+Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little
+nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow
+old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light
+hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."</p>
+
+<p>"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er&mdash;and hear," he added quickly as the
+wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the
+palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report
+Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of
+the voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI
+dee Aye de OH&mdash;hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks
+kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told
+them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to
+take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as
+Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light
+and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to
+walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and
+uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's
+arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a
+sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals
+and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung
+swiftly down to the deck of the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Roger, flying under
+his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus68.jpg" width="428" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out
+rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and
+the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and
+then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The <i>Mountain
+Lass</i> in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there
+she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift
+her back to the Lake among the peaks.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of
+relief as she spied the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the
+hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly
+off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of
+salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the
+barnacles off my hide."</p>
+
+<p>"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the
+taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh
+vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away
+from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from
+wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"
+he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts
+on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, with a
+spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern
+skyline.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_12" id="CHAPTER_12"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus69.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 12<br />
+
+<small>Fog</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old
+tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the
+main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed
+his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside
+the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's
+island.</p>
+
+<p>"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the
+cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy
+came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand
+with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the
+City of Bridges."</p>
+
+<p>"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his
+fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we
+learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and
+peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."</p>
+
+<p>"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his
+magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery
+on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down
+Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz
+and as an especially good place for poets."</p>
+
+<p>"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,
+"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so
+fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that <i>is</i> one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing
+approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,
+we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've
+brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap
+of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those
+fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"They're a great comfort to <i>me</i>, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding
+up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now
+I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her
+raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would
+like to take the other two home with him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh&mdash;we're not near
+Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel
+Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach
+Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that
+country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a
+creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"</p>
+
+<p>"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is
+farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have
+conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus70.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that
+has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he
+loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never
+told us anything about this."</p>
+
+<p>"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a
+small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know
+that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long
+countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West
+Coast."</p>
+
+<p>"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to
+pull his journal toward him.</p>
+
+<p>"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and
+jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous
+White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are
+fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in
+huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who
+live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live
+under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and
+never allowed out of the capital."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in
+a heap around his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine
+Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain
+in the White City."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling
+out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known
+as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long
+ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their
+swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my
+countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and
+camels, have all they can do to hold their own."</p>
+
+<p>"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his
+eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's
+disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added
+quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the
+Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,
+I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they
+are so unfriendly."</p>
+
+<p>"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd
+do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull
+at his pipe.</p>
+
+<p>"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,
+shaking his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said
+Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you
+carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"</p>
+
+<p>"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.
+"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy
+of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,
+they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in
+the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly
+into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel
+abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed
+impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his
+head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt
+had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you
+so far and so fast."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, whoever it was did <i>us</i> a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,
+twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no
+better aboard a ship&mdash;eh, Mate?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus71.jpg" width="453" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his
+feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like
+an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their
+turbans, too."</p>
+
+<p>"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost
+fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the
+Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port
+and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,
+boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm
+moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot
+chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master
+Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll <i>all</i> have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to
+see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping
+Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy
+life aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> with his dull and lonely existence in
+the Royal City of his Fathers.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish the Greys <i>would</i> capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,
+as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to
+leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot
+chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout
+into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss
+Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.</p>
+
+<p>"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to
+join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on
+morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All
+through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous
+voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to
+relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus72.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more
+hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy
+buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered
+cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape
+our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,
+being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose
+warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take
+our chance&mdash;eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out
+anything astern, will you, Tandy?"</p>
+
+<p>Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had
+to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was
+the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved
+cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing
+an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,
+they might just as well not have been there.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,
+but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly
+comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy
+lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,
+followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.
+Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered
+lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've
+rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why
+didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made
+no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after
+Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit
+them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on
+wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came
+out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle
+of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> alone. There <i>was</i> a ship beyond them in the fog,
+but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly
+Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the
+maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now
+came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to
+grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening
+his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible
+foe.</p>
+
+<p>"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to
+Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once
+been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."</p>
+
+<p>"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who
+found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.</p>
+
+<p>"No, it is not for <i>us</i> to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But
+hah! Just let <i>them</i> start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick
+about it, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he
+had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those
+things again&mdash;they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take
+another chance?"</p>
+
+<p>"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty
+as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger
+returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving
+silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole
+experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel
+himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and
+immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel
+returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four
+shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap
+aboard.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus73.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"
+breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the
+long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second
+seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the
+choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately
+drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen
+asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read
+Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.</p>
+
+<p>"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,
+but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam
+lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts
+of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their
+leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the
+sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an
+unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,
+was gazing dreamily in the same direction.</p>
+
+<p>"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"
+exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and
+the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over
+to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And
+isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight
+on the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he
+leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's
+better than pirates."</p>
+
+<p>"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing
+up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for
+breakfast, Cook dear?"</p>
+
+<p>"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I
+thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a
+little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"
+And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod
+reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for
+his paints.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_13" id="CHAPTER_13"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus74.jpg" width="475" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 13<br />
+
+<small>The Sea Forest</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and
+when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the
+sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his
+journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and
+baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"
+inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might
+add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"
+Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish
+before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept
+winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like
+the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette
+and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed
+and indifference.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin
+boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab
+nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of
+baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case
+Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring
+fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now
+snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching
+contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,
+speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that
+scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now
+would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,
+little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything
+grows."</p>
+
+<p>"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little
+sigh on Nikobo's broad back.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus75.jpg" width="464" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,
+fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was
+coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on
+this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a
+rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and
+much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the
+fare&mdash;why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,
+remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!
+Listen! Here they come!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from
+above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the
+rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook
+and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and
+crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when
+she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across
+her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the
+aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,
+nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.</p>
+
+<p>"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin
+box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it
+dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and
+admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride
+along."</p>
+
+<p>"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on
+Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be
+any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo
+paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest
+itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was
+the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.
+The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.
+Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going
+down, down, down as far as he could see.</p>
+
+<p>"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one
+lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!
+Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're
+going to grow our own masts."</p>
+
+<p>Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young
+shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.
+Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like
+bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and
+silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.</p>
+
+<p>"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely
+between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick
+me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began
+vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored
+fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the
+water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting
+anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's
+cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.
+The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible
+variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber
+by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off
+several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his
+album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after
+a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to
+overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there
+are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,
+but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where
+most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,
+somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in
+the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could
+swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively
+sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would
+never succeed in catching one.</p>
+
+<p>All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel
+making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled
+nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the
+small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark
+of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees
+pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of
+the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were
+not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and
+tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front
+legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet
+were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more
+frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from
+a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they
+retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance
+as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch
+of the whole group.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing
+his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the
+snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,
+Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of
+our feelings or safety."</p>
+
+<p>"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"
+sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then&mdash;" he
+grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."</p>
+
+<p>The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.
+Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this
+small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning
+itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it
+proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious
+little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no
+serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her
+long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made
+ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus76.jpg" width="489" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing
+enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the
+aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have
+both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed
+the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read
+Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,
+it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask
+me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish <i>was</i> even uglier than a
+goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant
+goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But
+let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."</p>
+
+<p>"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder
+what it eats?"</p>
+
+<p>"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at
+Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as
+this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he
+wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a
+monkey fish."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't forget the bananas&mdash;for remember it's a monkey, too,"
+chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had
+written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the
+exploring party returned to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his
+aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making
+copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did
+not get his ship under way till late afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done
+little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his
+anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy
+painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for
+Mo-fi's fish food, the <i>Crescent Moon</i> again dipped adventurously into
+the southeast swell.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_14" id="CHAPTER_14"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus77.jpg" width="459" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 14<br />
+
+<small>The Sea Unicorn!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,
+swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the
+binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.</p>
+
+<p>"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the
+skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.</p>
+
+<p>"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm
+admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and
+I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If
+anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor
+and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or
+obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of
+an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not
+need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing
+wink.</p>
+
+<p>"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up
+at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."
+With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy
+taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went
+on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting
+him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying
+nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?
+Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"</p>
+
+<p>Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,
+stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told
+Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,
+Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I
+gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be
+riding around on your shoulder."</p>
+
+<p>"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the
+Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey
+fish, Roger."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has
+me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a
+little pet if I want one?"</p>
+
+<p>The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could
+hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,
+he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new
+discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.
+"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head
+with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything
+as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that
+just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the
+main truck and have a look around."</p>
+
+<p>"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the
+parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,
+Roger."</p>
+
+<p>"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an
+affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went
+joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted
+on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and
+printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of
+complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly
+remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog
+trotted contentedly down to the hold.</p>
+
+<p>The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had
+to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,
+snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a
+branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their
+covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the
+vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the
+galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to
+care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when
+a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.
+Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the
+hold faster than he had ever done before.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus78.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Su&mdash;su&mdash;SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he
+could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific
+knock from below made the <i>Crescent Moon</i> shiver from end to end.
+Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly
+they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech
+and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through
+the decks.</p>
+
+<p>"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting
+crazily down to the deck. "Wha&mdash;what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,
+pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main
+and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that
+instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up
+and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy
+blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the <i>Crescent Moon</i> to fly
+asunder.</p>
+
+<p>"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the
+wheel. "Horn like a&mdash;uni&mdash;corn&mdash;branch of the Odontocetes and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh&mdash;you&mdash;don't say&mdash;it&mdash;is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his
+stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the
+monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us&mdash;is that a horn or a ship's mast?
+Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"</p>
+
+<p>Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to
+hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and
+plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,
+diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low
+hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant
+beneath the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Su&mdash;suppose it su&mdash;submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to
+seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously
+up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my
+beams and&mdash;" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that
+moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the
+sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim
+and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had
+clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of
+danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm
+and purposeful. This vine&mdash;well, why would this powerful vine from
+Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances
+were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a
+quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of
+the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began
+to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,
+it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable
+cradle of leafy wood.</p>
+
+<p>Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think
+he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.
+Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling
+anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,
+Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.</p>
+
+<p>Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,
+almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger
+was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having
+wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to
+his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now
+all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back
+over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had
+seen him go overboard.</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt
+rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?
+Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking
+menace?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping
+happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a
+lobster pot and can't move at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.</p>
+
+<p>"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless
+sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into
+the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at
+Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my
+life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all
+we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea
+and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,
+blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie
+River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can
+you dive with me beneath this ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,
+shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the
+Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't
+I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was
+well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way
+in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.</p>
+
+<p>"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and
+powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to
+rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel
+in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber
+up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the
+surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat
+they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.
+Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's
+head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's
+saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of
+ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with
+material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the
+Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was
+not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and
+Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation
+was accomplished.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus79.jpg" width="467" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with
+her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and
+Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated
+fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go
+floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view
+of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"
+sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly
+over the rail. "Some fishin'&mdash;eh, Mates?"</p>
+
+<p>"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo
+and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises
+sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale
+of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_15" id="CHAPTER_15"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus80.jpg" width="468" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 15<br />
+
+<small>The Collector Is Collected</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as
+he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column
+between the main and mizzenmasts.</p>
+
+<p>"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin
+reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough
+to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's
+given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed
+on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that
+we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his
+glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.</p>
+
+<p>"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway
+it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to
+swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"</p>
+
+<p>"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing
+on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just
+talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in
+Lavaland, Mate."</p>
+
+<p>"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling
+over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.
+"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus81.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft
+to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage
+is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."
+The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the <i>Crescent Moon</i>
+was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put
+ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous
+voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to
+consider.</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed
+into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong
+and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted
+by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant
+mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy
+squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill
+squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes
+with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened
+gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely
+knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then
+he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the
+glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A
+hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just
+plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted
+his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!
+Danger on the bow!"</p>
+
+<p>Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom
+he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a
+moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense
+and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,
+tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum
+of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in
+complete wonder and mystification.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,
+breaking the silence at last.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he
+raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go
+a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage
+done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll
+knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron
+belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing
+to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed
+Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted
+the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here
+this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown
+after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred
+and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel
+on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over
+his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had
+attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that
+cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down
+sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into
+the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't
+he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore
+out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.
+Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and
+with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as
+close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified
+fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue
+depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the
+Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear
+altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel
+was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still
+there.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus82.jpg" width="455" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite
+of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, the Read
+Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense
+air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming
+frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing
+blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.
+Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the
+suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to
+join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear
+and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped
+mournfully into view.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you
+find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,
+limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said
+nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he
+began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's
+collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him
+shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a
+bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and
+crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even
+make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole
+to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they
+open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the
+vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break
+a hole in that lid the Captain's done for&mdash;done for, do you hear?"</p>
+
+<p>"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,
+"Who do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish
+and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of
+stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside
+of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!
+Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.</p>
+
+<p>"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, <i>I'll</i> climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest
+and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with
+him."</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning
+in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had
+meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being
+so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the
+ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast
+of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been
+quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the
+saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way
+to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like
+slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the
+strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees
+with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully
+through the glassy substance.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus83.jpg" width="470" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the
+figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl
+became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by
+loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him
+to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.
+Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the
+round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.
+Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,
+the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones
+and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so
+worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than
+sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the
+Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos
+and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as
+it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> from his curious prison.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus84.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.
+Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell
+on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Come see the curious high air manster.</span></div>
+    <div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Admission, 1 pearl, 5 corals and a clam!</span></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's
+air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly
+together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his
+might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted
+Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling
+out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and
+being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before
+the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,
+too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away
+with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked
+without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.
+Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like
+a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to
+Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,
+Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as
+it flashed up and down above his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll
+never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,
+they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty
+air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,
+increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,
+increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished
+ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of
+her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus
+jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a
+quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had
+happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to
+the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed&mdash;broke through
+the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through
+the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for
+an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.
+Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,
+for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had
+made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously
+along.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,
+completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to
+her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too
+shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down
+like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet
+and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he
+had swallowed, started dizzily back to the <i>Crescent Moon</i>. Nikobo had
+several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at
+Tandy.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself
+wearily up on her back.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"
+puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the
+hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a
+jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his
+danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his
+net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the
+sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and
+transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as
+Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_16" id="CHAPTER_16"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus85.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 16<br />
+
+<small>The Storm!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of
+the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on
+deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of
+the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling
+through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.
+Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it
+took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful
+hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he
+spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering
+darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates
+collected.</p>
+
+<p>"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"
+scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was
+cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "<i>You</i> know <i>I</i> know nothing
+about navigation nor one sail from t'other."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah&mdash;but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his
+eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its
+stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left
+a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie
+yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his
+boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped
+down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large
+aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly
+enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like
+a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage
+opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he
+had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles
+and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,
+and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving
+him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above
+to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was
+pitching.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus86.jpg" width="435" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed
+the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown
+dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded
+along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing
+little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like
+a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and
+bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one
+side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's
+help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel
+to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her
+to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it
+all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be
+with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,
+tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.</p>
+
+<p>The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in
+all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel
+prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and
+helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails
+of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to
+closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose
+gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the
+door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and
+with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched
+the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into
+the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,
+Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better
+judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo
+and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,
+fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy
+afloat and take care of him besides.</p>
+
+<p>Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut
+themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers
+and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do
+to hang on to their chairs as the <i>Crescent Moon</i> pitched headlong into
+the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the
+great running seas.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_17" id="CHAPTER_17"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus87.jpg" width="488" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 17<br />
+
+<small>The Old Man of the Jungle!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of
+Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.</p>
+
+<p>"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges
+of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be
+accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,
+neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and
+for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the
+natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,
+hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a
+clever and useful idea&mdash;eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a
+little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried
+off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and
+all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous
+crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the
+eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied
+agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us&mdash;the Nine Faithful Servants
+of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting
+his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making
+plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"
+questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old
+Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our
+wish that you appear before us."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus88.jpg" width="263" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the
+curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only
+in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of
+Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,
+dismal, droning voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the
+Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying
+umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down
+after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy
+with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men
+known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and
+two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island
+where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you
+that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages
+or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or
+remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished
+this shameful recital.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts
+and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide
+up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with
+his long skinny fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this
+cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I
+am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.
+Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly
+toward the long table.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his
+papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care
+what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff
+with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If
+you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the
+feet of the royal elephants!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah&mdash;hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a
+poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I
+will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"
+Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old
+man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished
+into the garden.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of
+the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous
+and may do us a world of harm."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a
+hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King
+was carried off."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not
+another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the
+meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go
+now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King
+has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority
+and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful
+Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star
+and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring
+fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door
+with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.</p>
+
+<p>"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly
+waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship&mdash;there is a ship
+with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full
+sail is riding into our harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly
+by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship
+flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus89.jpg" width="448" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never
+happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long
+windows.</p>
+
+<p>"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters
+turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.
+Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive
+now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and
+the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the
+chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the
+six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If
+these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled
+upon, trampled upon&mdash;do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel
+determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about
+carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest
+tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner
+of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his
+well-laid plans.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_18" id="CHAPTER_18"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus90.jpg" width="487" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 18<br />
+
+<small>A New Country</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i> rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into
+quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed
+a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and
+relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.
+This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in
+their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole
+band of music beneath the mizzenmast.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first
+to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as
+the <i>Crescent Moon</i> tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang
+eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of
+a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of
+chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a
+great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had
+run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he
+crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly
+behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,
+the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel
+and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the
+cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in
+the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came
+winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his
+lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling
+through the port-hole, he did not even look up.</p>
+
+<p>"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the
+foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole
+long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no
+time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"
+As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears
+splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the
+ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.</p>
+
+<p>"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is
+most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one
+side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I
+should say, being a good person is most important."</p>
+
+<p>"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the
+middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason
+may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? What's this? Humph! <i>Maxims for Monarchs.</i> Well, what in
+topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious
+shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat
+volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst
+out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we
+can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good
+King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the
+word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship
+can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without
+waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged
+over to the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and
+crew of the <i>Crescent Moon</i> were now engaged in earnest conversation.
+"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying
+reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,
+waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go
+ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began
+unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned
+a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus91.jpg" width="260" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.
+"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig
+pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely
+nothing!"</p>
+
+<p>But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist
+and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If
+you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you
+back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any
+more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll
+not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to
+that!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to
+Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this
+ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and
+Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"</p>
+
+<p>"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.
+"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming
+aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."
+Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as
+deeply, smiled back.</p>
+
+<p>"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow
+lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,
+he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all
+pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the
+long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his
+ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for
+him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to
+the latest possible moment.</p>
+
+<p>But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs
+and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to
+carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a
+fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,
+thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running
+down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the
+jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having
+brought nothing aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, he insisted on leaving in
+the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and
+Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had
+worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The
+Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their
+finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,
+and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused
+to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all
+climbed aboard the hippopotamus.</p>
+
+<p>Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help
+comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful
+boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself
+with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the
+great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their
+families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense
+turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to
+see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of
+Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of
+white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily
+to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to
+the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the
+hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and
+suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and
+curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally
+made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling
+multitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract
+their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.
+"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander
+Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."</p>
+
+<p>"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?
+Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and
+her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son
+and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my
+Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these
+words.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus92.jpg" width="265" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to
+another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he
+waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he
+called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small
+Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to
+lay waste our realm."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably
+between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal
+Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round
+the head of the speaker.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried
+Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,
+Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the
+salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,
+not to recognize and welcome your young King. <i>I'm</i> for you, young
+one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the
+nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass
+through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine
+square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,
+thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering
+his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,
+recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,
+was the first to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily
+chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these
+strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,
+most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly
+but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly
+thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you
+are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in
+the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"
+Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy
+dismount.</p>
+
+<p>"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief
+Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so
+kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus93.jpg" width="256" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his
+lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old
+Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot
+along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he
+gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the
+evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand
+for silence.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard
+the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated
+Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of
+age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,
+guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at
+Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your
+ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply
+indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says
+that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without
+delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you
+to leave. Come, Tazander!"</p>
+
+<p>While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin
+was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till
+he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But
+surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and
+explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel
+mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just
+might happen to tread on you."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very
+thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,
+paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the
+ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers
+gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying
+off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats
+forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged
+a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood
+uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine
+judges, began to laugh and cheer.</p>
+
+<p>"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman
+vociferously.</p>
+
+<p>But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.
+"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this
+poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all
+lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize
+the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_19" id="CHAPTER_19"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus94.jpg" width="471" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 19<br />
+
+<small>Boglodore's Revenge</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,
+and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and
+camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the
+ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously
+back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely
+biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left
+the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.</p>
+
+<p>The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the
+heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,
+Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The
+tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,
+caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their
+heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,
+and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives
+and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for
+the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his
+breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.
+Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and
+groveled together in the deep sand.</p>
+
+<p>"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the
+suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those
+plants along?"</p>
+
+<p>"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered
+Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.
+Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"</p>
+
+<p>Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at
+each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal
+Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the
+securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who
+had first cheered Tandy remained.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man
+stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the
+tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for
+them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave
+young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great
+liberty-loving land."</p>
+
+<p>"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,
+beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled
+Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and
+will stand no nonsense!"</p>
+
+<p>"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside
+Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each
+other well enough for all that."</p>
+
+<p>To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White
+City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its
+flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and
+castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.</p>
+
+<p>Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to
+welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come
+with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the
+natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed
+marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way
+through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.
+Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried
+away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid
+feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.</p>
+
+<p>Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and
+enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to
+live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for
+his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really
+happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on
+the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh
+of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.</p>
+
+<p>Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying
+at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for
+events to shape themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a
+small stool beside Samuel Salt.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and
+lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.</p>
+
+<p>"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful
+idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of
+which, <i>more</i> anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,
+stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more
+satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help
+Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman
+how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As
+he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus95.jpg" width="264" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that
+the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more
+and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was
+but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe
+that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as
+they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in
+the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,
+how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that
+long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,
+tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN&mdash;HAH!" Samuel
+expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his
+feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place
+for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the
+shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended
+to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered
+to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his
+thoughts still far away on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and considering the
+work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him
+behind.</p>
+
+<p>With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the
+cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the
+guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants
+of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in
+their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,
+in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's
+back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,
+startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one
+horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus96.jpg" width="457" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,
+but it is!"</p>
+
+<p>"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from
+under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,
+and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so
+strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing
+the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main
+force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on
+the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the
+nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and
+soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of
+the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.</p>
+
+<p>"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.
+"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and
+Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story
+of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,
+my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.
+For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins
+themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!
+What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore
+again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What
+happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to
+keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"
+Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,
+the Old Man continued his story.</p>
+
+<p>"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended
+to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only
+the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the
+jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,
+giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect
+this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and
+could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found
+and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to
+do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant
+to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and
+ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."</p>
+
+<p>"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the
+umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up
+Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But
+Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.</p>
+
+<p>"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The
+vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will
+sink&mdash;not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but
+to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and
+sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so
+dishonorably served and betrayed!"</p>
+
+<p>Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the
+umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into
+the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the
+<i>Crescent Moon</i>. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own
+tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to
+navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old
+Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the
+umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open
+sea.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus97.jpg" width="261" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's
+edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only
+umbrellaphant in captivity?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel
+back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy
+after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master
+Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,
+staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the
+most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and
+now&mdash;now&mdash;I've lost it&mdash;" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides
+and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward
+Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.
+Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given
+her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,
+and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking
+rapidly to herself.</p>
+
+<p>"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with
+the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this
+clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried
+Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle
+and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's
+frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has
+befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King
+to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost
+elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."</p>
+
+<p>"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming
+completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and
+I'll carry the good news to the castle."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_20" id="CHAPTER_20"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus98.jpg" width="474" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 20<br />
+
+<small>King Tandy</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small
+cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of
+one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the
+covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost
+inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better
+of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the
+Ozamandarins.</p>
+
+<p>"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at
+the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom
+of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you
+say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,
+dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker
+than soup!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how do you suppose <i>I</i> feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his
+hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,
+I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"</p>
+
+<p>"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead
+of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin
+down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,
+pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.</p>
+
+<p>"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious
+than interested.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and
+pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and
+I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"
+Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy
+flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of
+him. "I'm going straight back on the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, and I'm not
+coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow
+Island and everywhere!"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great
+difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are
+you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be
+true!"</p>
+
+<p>"But it <i>is</i> true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and
+illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the
+plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing
+Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as
+Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now
+there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild
+elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he
+starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink
+gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education
+on our ship, that is his own affair."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and
+roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of
+reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can
+enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,
+Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.</p>
+
+<p>"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and
+luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><a name="CHAPTER_21" id="CHAPTER_21"></a></p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus99.jpg" width="472" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER 21<br />
+
+<small>A Voyage Resumed</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Anxious as Tandy was to return to the <i>Crescent Moon</i> and continue the
+voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,
+true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the
+capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and
+their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,
+addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider
+Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his
+education in foreign parts and aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i>, during which
+time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare
+always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province
+and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers
+from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new
+cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the
+dangerous invasions of the Greys.</p>
+
+<p>Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace
+along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long
+desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up
+by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the
+country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be
+enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long
+and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning
+in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and
+ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and
+vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and
+enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the
+castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak
+highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and
+the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore
+Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed
+hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon
+as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed
+the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of
+elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just
+as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man
+in a Million."</p>
+
+<p>"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high
+holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus100.jpg" width="469" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle
+so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and
+flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,
+had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with
+feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,
+returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and
+precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he
+went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds
+creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit
+and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had
+outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green
+and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious
+to continue the voyage. Aboard the <i>Crescent Moon</i> one of the Guards
+had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend
+to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright
+morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal
+Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.</p>
+
+<p>Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling
+with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were
+lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding
+Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel
+corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's
+edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to
+Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt
+and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the
+small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large
+cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely
+made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but
+I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave
+to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt
+a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never
+fear!"</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away
+voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his
+stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun&mdash;the moon&mdash;the stars I
+commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule
+over Ozamaland."</p>
+
+<p>"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted
+Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from
+Oz!"</p>
+
+<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even
+the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as
+Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the <i>Crescent Moon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel
+over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,
+climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the
+hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy
+stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!
+Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take
+the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under
+the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby
+camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,
+and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time
+they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed
+thankfully back on her raft.</p>
+
+<p>"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping
+cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,
+boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to
+the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from
+the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we
+go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A
+roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus101.jpg" width="266" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up
+and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from
+the cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon
+the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,
+Roger?"</p>
+
+<p>"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.
+"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"</p>
+
+<p>And when the <i>Crescent Moon</i> flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie
+River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious
+continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I
+for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?</p>
+
+<div class="image-center">
+  <img src="images/illus102.jpg" width="325" height="350" alt=""/>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+
+<p class="ph4"><i>A Word about the Oz Books</i></p>
+
+
+<p>Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,
+THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who
+inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated
+the imagination of millions of young readers.</p>
+
+<p>These are stories which are genuine fantasy&mdash;creative, funny, tender,
+exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd
+creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has
+been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they
+are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at
+all.</p>
+
+<p>When, in a recent survey, <i>The New York Times</i> polled a group of
+teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz
+books topped the list.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="ph4">Captain Salt In Oz</p>
+
+
+<p>A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling
+than that? We&mdash;many of us&mdash;have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic
+or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and
+swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had
+our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we
+come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a
+charming talking hippopotamus?</p>
+
+<p>Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and
+now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their
+hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart
+crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically
+by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the
+Expedition.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+
+<p class="ph4">The Oz Books</p>
+
+<table>
+<tr><td></td><td>Wizard of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td></td><td>Visitors from Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>1. </td><td>The Land of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>2. </td><td>Ozma of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>3. </td><td>Dorothy and the Wizard</td></tr>
+<tr><td>4. </td><td>The Road to Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>5. </td><td>The Emerald City of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>6. </td><td>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>7. </td><td>Tik-Tok of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>8. </td><td>The Scarecrow of Oz</td></tr>
+<tr><td>9. </td><td>Rinkitink in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>10. </td><td>The Lost Princess of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>11. </td><td>The Tin Woodman of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>12. </td><td>The Magic of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>13. </td><td>Glinda of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>14. </td><td>The Royal Book of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>15. </td><td>Kabumpo in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>16. </td><td>The Cowardly Lion of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>17. </td><td>Grandpa in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>18. </td><td>The Lost King of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>19. </td><td>The Hungry Tiger of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>20. </td><td>The Gnome King of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>21. </td><td>The Giant Horse of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>22. </td><td>Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>23. </td><td>The Yellow Knight of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>24. </td><td>Pirates in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>25. </td><td>The Purple Prince of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>26. </td><td>Ojo in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>27. </td><td>Speedy in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>28. </td><td>The Wishing Horse of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>29. </td><td>Captain Salt in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>30. </td><td>Handy Mandy in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>31. </td><td>The Silver Princess in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>32. </td><td>Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>33. </td><td>Wonder City of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>34. </td><td>Scalawagons of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>35. </td><td>Lucky Bucky in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>36. </td><td>Magical Mimics in Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>37. </td><td>The Shaggy Man of Oz</td></tr>
+    <tr><td>38. </td><td>The Hidden Valley of Oz</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 
+Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum
+
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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--- a/56073.txt
+++ b/old/56073.txt
@@ -1,5602 +1,5602 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 

-Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum

-

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-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions

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-

-

-Title: Captain Salt in Oz

-

-Author: Ruth Plumly Thompson

-        L. Frank Baum

-

-Illustrator: John R. Neil

-             Dick Martin

-

-Release Date: November 28, 2017 [EBook #56073]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ASCII

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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***

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-Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online

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-

-                             CAPTAIN SALT

-                                 IN OZ

-

-                                 _By_

-

-                         RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON

-            Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories

-

-                                 _By_

-                             L. FRANK BAUM

-                        "Royal Historian of Oz"

-

-                           _Illustrated by_

-                             JOHN R. NEILL

-

-                         The Reilly & Lee Co.

-                                CHICAGO

-

-                            Copyright, 1936

-                                  by

-                         THE REILLY & LEE CO.

-                          All rights reserved

-

-                         Printed in the U.S.A.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Dear Boys and Girls:

-

-    Another year--

-    Another book,

-    And this time a voyage

-    That Sam Salt took

-    In that good old Ship,

-    The _Crescent Moon_--

-    Steering by compass,

-    By star and moon,

-    To discover new countries

-    For OZ. Hear! Hear!

-    He's discovered a whole

-    New Hemisphere!

-    Three cheers for Sam,

-    And his jolly crew,

-    And three for OZ

-    And three for YOU,

-    And three for me,

-    Though I don't need cheer

-    'Cause the letters you write

-    Keep me gay ALL year!

-

-So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will you? And remember

-to put your full name and complete address on the letter. Righto!

-

-And Best till I hear from you!

-

-RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-                        THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED

-                    WITH MY BEST BOW AND TOP WISHES

-                           TO MY PUBLISHER.

-

-                       --_Ruth Plumly Thompson_

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-

-

-

-                           LIST OF CHAPTERS

-

-       1 SAIL HO!

-

-       2 ANCHORS AWEIGH

-

-       3 THE FIRE BABY

-

-       4 SAMUEL'S FIRST SPECIMEN

-

-       5 PATRIPPANY ISLAND

-

-       6 A LITTLE WILD MAN

-

-       7 STRANGE SPECIMENS FOR SAMUEL SALT

-

-       8 MAXIMS FOR MONARCHS

-

-       9 SEA LEGS FOR TANDY

-

-      10 THE CITY OF BRIDGES

-

-      11 THE PRINCE OF THE PEAKS

-

-      12 FOG

-

-      13 THE SEA FOREST

-

-      14 THE SEA UNICORN!

-

-      15 THE COLLECTOR IS COLLECTED

-

-      16 THE STORM!

-

-      17 THE OLD MAN OF THE JUNGLE!

-

-      18 A NEW COUNTRY

-

-      19 BOGLODORE'S REVENGE

-

-      20 KING TANDY

-

-      21 A VOYAGE RESUMED

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 1

-

-Sail Ho!

-

-

-Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King

-Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is

-nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms

-that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And

-Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with

-a kind word for everyone.

-

-In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort

-and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.

-For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing

-eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing

-hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his

-eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms

-holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the

-names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on

-the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he

-is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and

-colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into

-an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle

-is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only

-reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is

-decidedly luxurious and lazy.

-

-Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,

-attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have

-little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred

-and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving

-any trouble.

-

-Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but

-Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who

-landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out

-after them, using the pirate's stout ship the _Crescent Moon_, for the

-purpose.

-

-By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and

-sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out

-and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the _Crescent

-Moon_ reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here

-they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had

-been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to

-conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a

-poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You

-have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising

-experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon

-Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and

-country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious

-to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just

-to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.

-

-To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman

-on the _Crescent Moon_, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to

-a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and

-carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an

-interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his

-Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the

-Island--the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm

-trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the

-Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to

-a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and

-gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,

-but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast

-sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.

-

-"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,

-as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is

-the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of

-the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us

-and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."

-

-"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head

-positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he

-made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."

-

-"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's

-promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from

-pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering

-and forgotten us altogether!"

-

-"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with

-great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.

-"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King

-earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and

-burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him

-Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly

-well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and

-treasure."

-

-"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"

-observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the

-poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six

-feet in his socks."

-

-"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in

-his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and

-handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,

-and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And

-a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the

-Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,

-too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"

-

-"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed

-the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was

-to sail into our Harbor. Well, King--it's been six times six months,

-and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."

-

-"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.

-

-"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and

-twelve hours, to be exact!"

-

-"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured

-Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never

-believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"

-

-"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open

-his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon

-it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so

-you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something

-else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"

-finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a

-goat.

-

-"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a

-notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!

-Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of

-biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss

-out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I--I, why, I'm

-surprised at you, Roger!"

-

-Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at

-himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man

-with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever

-since his voyage on the _Crescent Moon_, cooking had been Ato's chief

-pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved

-of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so

-finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his

-delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.

-

-Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to

-frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger

-started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read

-on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a

-page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.

-

-"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,

-Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into

-the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.

-

-Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his

-eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific

-thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the

-hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously

-around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with

-insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts

-and what not.

-

-Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and

-finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the

-King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.

-For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the _Crescent Moon_

-herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of

-the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast

-today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and

-white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of

-the most famous Fairyland in History.

-

-"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.

-"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the

-Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his

-wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.

-

-"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I

-ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already

-reached the _Crescent Moon_ and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was

-chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his

-steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had

-half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted

-vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet

-planks of the royal dock.

-

-"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it

-really my old cook and shipmate?"

-

-"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.

-"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and

-scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look

-natural or seaman-like at all."

-

-"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered

-hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for

-impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this

-voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set

-the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage

-tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we

-must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"

-

-"Yes--I sup-pose--so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up

-with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to

-be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace

-collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"

-

-"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail

-feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we

-please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."

-

-"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old

-pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.

-

-"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your

-galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below

-to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,

-Lubber!"

-

-"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke

-in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know

-it."

-

-"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself

-a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,

-Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."

-

-"So--oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into

-the Captain's face,

-

-    "Ho pass the salt and ring the bell

-    And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"

-

-"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on

-the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.

-"Sir Samuel!"

-

-"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come

-on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave

-your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"

-

-"Keep _you_ waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet

-and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've

-been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,

-twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son

-of a sea-robber?"

-

-"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and

-dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely

-had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last

-voyage, and to fit out the _Crescent Moon_ for the next."

-

-"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.

-

-"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"

-muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.

-

-"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King

-accusingly. "And what would the _Crescent Moon_ be needing? I thought

-she was about perfect as she was."

-

-"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up

-immediately at mention of his ship. "The _Crescent Moon_, besides a

-new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering

-control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn

-paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical

-contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no

-crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"

-

-"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger

-jealously.

-

-"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.

-

-"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my

-place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging

-uneasily at the cord round his waist.

-

-"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!

-Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley

-to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"

-

-"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down

-on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd

-never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without

-us!"

-

-"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at

-the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"

-

-"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on

-ahead.

-

-"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the

-steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a

-chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"

-

-"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding

-exuberantly after the King.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 2

-

-Anchors Aweigh!

-

-

-With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,

-Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest

-or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the _Crescent Moon_.

-There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most

-of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook

-books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg

-beaters, and rolling pins.

-

-"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as

-he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my

-topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato

-we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer

-needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"

-

-Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded

-determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,

-ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long

-following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly

-tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel

-had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but

-a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the

-crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the

-east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the

-booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from

-there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.

-

-This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and

-treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were

-the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and

-extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were

-numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.

-

-"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to

-bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at

-the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,

-there and everywhere as we sail onward!"

-

-"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag

-planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully

-fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you

-don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"

-

-"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the

-scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad

-and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.

-But look, Ato, my lad--these will interest you." Turning from the

-chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of

-the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger

-and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping

-the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the

-jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable

-pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the

-first island we come to. Eh, boys?"

-

-"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long

-disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash

-yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY

-advice!"

-

-"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a

-resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show

-you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside

-for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious

-mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."

-

-Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned

-his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,

-swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down

-to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge

-aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried

-moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.

-

-"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching

-the side of an enormous aquarium.

-

-"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did

-not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll--I'll have

-no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning

-things topsy turvy."

-

-"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about

-shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and

-the best way to begin a voyage is to start."

-

-"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden

-ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off

-the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a

-pig's jiffy."

-

-"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's

-octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.

-"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep

-the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."

-

-"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up

-on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to

-your Highness!"

-

-"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a

-megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight

-months from yesterday."

-

-"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to

-wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer--and a bold bad

-seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles

-for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never

-see a castle again."

-

-"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.

-"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."

-

-"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel

-with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East

-by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North

-Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers

-of some deep and mysterious jungle!"

-

-"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the

-wheel.

-

-"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this

-like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his

-hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the

-wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.

-

-"M--mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.

-

-"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,

-shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?

-That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no

-getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up

-another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the

-voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim

-and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel

-for any course and just let her ride."

-

-"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But

-since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about

-dinner."

-

-"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"

-exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."

-

-"Ho--I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.

-"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain--a fried

-sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"

-

-"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath

-in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the

-foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's

-mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran

-smoothly before the wind.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 3

-

-The Fire Baby

-

-

-Morning found the _Crescent Moon_ forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a

-choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.

-

-"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his

-legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to

-the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best

-sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove

-over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed

-his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.

-

-"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and

-discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having

-finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of

-potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion

-when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the

-crown of Oz?"

-

-"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and

-blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite

-and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma

-particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its

-will."

-

-"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to

-pare a fat potato. "What then?"

-

-"Well, then--er then--" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try

-persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under

-the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to

-get them, don't you think?"

-

-"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato

-dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and

-persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs

-and poison arrows?"

-

-"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing

-soberly at the compass, "and in that case----"

-

-"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"

-Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,

-Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed

-as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be

-sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered

-hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger

-carry the books ashore too."

-

-"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_, giving his knee

-a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,

-Mates, remember?"

-

-"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good

-many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What

-makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like

-yourself."

-

-"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny

-arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate--it

-rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But

-don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.

-But avast there--it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.

-Had you noticed?"

-

-"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island

-astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was

-supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after

-snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,

-taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,

-who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to

-report a new island to the Captain.

-

-"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and

-waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first

-discovery."

-

-"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying

-to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to

-take to reach the island at all.

-

-It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,

-with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the

-_Crescent Moon_ drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the

-air sulphurous and hot.

-

-"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,

-peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far

-as I can see--but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."

-

-"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the

-wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open

-sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like

-this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to

-anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone

-clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from

-the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.

-

-"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.

-"Stand by to man the guns!"

-

-But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff

-the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that

-case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted

-to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living

-creatures in the center."

-

-"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white

-apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that

-fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but

-we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that

-who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors

-aweigh!"

-

-While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began

-frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out

-of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the

-_Crescent Moon_. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,

-and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical

-devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,

-tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,

-till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the

-hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.

-

-"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two

-buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?

-Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in

-a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the

-center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner

-of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and

-flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.

-

-"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and

-declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma

-of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.

-

-"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel

-Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who

-remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even

-a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.

-Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of

-smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.

-

-"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting

-down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he

-is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.

-Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks

-were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned

-red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great

-sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking

-and hissing into the sea.

-

-"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel

-as the _Crescent Moon_ plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder

-what started that?"

-

-"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke

-for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool

-bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."

-

-Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed

-forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but

-surely through the deck.

-

-"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail

-unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow

-Poke!"

-

-"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the

-glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.

-It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on

-a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for

-proof."

-

-"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in

-his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold

-on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a

-hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it

-out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"

-

-"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato

-raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a

-rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A

-shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."

-

-"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying

-down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a

-ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back

-with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often

-used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby

-and started on a run for the galley.

-

-"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate

-collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were

-its own mother. "Aye, aye--it's going out!"

-

-"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in

-tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"

-

-Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two

-buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for

-the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range

-and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the

-squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once

-and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.

-

-"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel

-from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever

-made you think of that?"

-

-"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper

-place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that

-a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the

-nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was

-regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel

-picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do

-fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that

-volcanos are inhabited."

-

-"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist

-down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the

-Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that

-fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with

-the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not

-falling into the soup when my back is turned?"

-

-"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,

-and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as

-groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.

-

-"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,

-pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.

-Ho--this WILL be interesting!"

-

-"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"

-suggested Ato bitterly.

-

-Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's

-sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just

-showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row

-of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent

-rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that

-coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they

-were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats

-and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced

-and screamed louder than all the rest put together.

-

-"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,

-undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and

-save his ship from possible destruction.

-

-"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings

-triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.

-You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See

-that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?

-Well, look--she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She

-wants her baby back."

-

-"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the

-frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal

-people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to

-buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."

-

-"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was

-unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.

-

-"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it

-back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the

-terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."

-

-"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our

-lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"

-

-"Er--er--let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for

-clams," proposed the cook eagerly.

-

-"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would

-grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we

-could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing

-things."

-

-"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated

-Islanders.

-

-"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port

-cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if

-you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my

-wings and be done with it."

-

-"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch

-it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out

-of range."

-

-"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the

-_Crescent Moon_, shifting his feet uncomfortably.

-

-"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little

-rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."

-

-By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that

-even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat

-mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the

-port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident

-from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire

-tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little

-fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.

-

-The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying

-instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged

-on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations

-and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The

-terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost

-afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.

-

-"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching

-the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot

-you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon

-ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava

-Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,

-the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her

-thanks across the tumbling waters.

-

-"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward

-and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.

-"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."

-

-"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly

-depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.

-

-"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the

-Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let

-me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time

-they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is

-Ozma's."

-

-"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my

-duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our

-kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."

-

-The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of

-iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long

-enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting

-the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily

-back to the Island.

-

-"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands

-together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy

-deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."

-

-This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet

-interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their

-hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,

-swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner

-between two smoking boulders soared aloft.

-

-"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now

-under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,

-you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one

-another!"

-

-His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing

-triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the _Crescent

-Moon_.

-

-"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their

-heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 4

-

-Samuel's First Specimen

-

-

-"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped

-breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.

-Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal

-Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call

-booming back across the water.

-

-An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,

-a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs

-were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do

-any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough

-for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller

-as the _Crescent Moon_ sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,

-jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude

-as he ran along.

-

-"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who

-had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering

-over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on

-the sulphurous surface of the rock.

-

-"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was

-perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a

-golden frog or a lizard."

-

-"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.

-

-"Why, this--this--" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and

-disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster

-as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,

-straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and

-Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point

-just as well."

-

-"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the

-Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of

-the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.

-

-"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but

-don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all

-you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."

-

-"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."

-Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down

-hard on his shiny bald head.

-

-"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger

-practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in

-captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal--this way, my little crater critter."

-Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find

-the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid

-adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly

-righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a

-satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"

-

-"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.

-"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At

-least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW--" Ato waved

-his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and

-time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.

-I've meat to broil!"

-

-"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"

-exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake

-turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?

-An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric

-monster."

-

-"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's

-shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,

-Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps

-on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had

-just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the

-galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.

-

-"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging

-jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed

-cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen

-of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking

-meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read

-Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the

-tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.

-

-The main cabin of the _Crescent Moon_, with its red leather couches

-under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to

-keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,

-was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a

-huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall

-was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and

-rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel

-and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his

-upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that

-all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the

-sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind

-creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a

-seaman could wish for.

-

-"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud

-of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the

-long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail

-on."

-

-"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and

-settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our

-volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island

-must have a name you know."

-

-"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his

-throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it

-Salamander Island after Sally."

-

-"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"

-warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his

-head in time to the music.

-

-"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map

-of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.

-

-"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout

-here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."

-

-As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the

-_Crescent Moon_ drew with red chalk a small but effective picture

-of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland

-Islanders grouped around the crater's top.

-

-"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed

-Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.

-

-"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw

-argumentatively.

-

-"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain

-stepping back to admire his drawing.

-

-"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands

-for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully

-at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once

-ourselves."

-

-"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk

-back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries

-that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz

-is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since

-Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and

-prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"

-

-"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small

-wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting

-and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms

-in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire

-of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western

-domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The

-Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all

-these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but

-all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small

-but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is

-surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent

-Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the

-Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These

-countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies

-the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one

-knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in

-Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,

-towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there

-was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on

-every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more

-territory.

-

-"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these

-new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after

-staring at the map for some moments in silence.

-

-"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of

-his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of

-airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark

-and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or

-less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma

-will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as

-some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few

-islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his

-arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.

-

-"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's

-enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off

-on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"

-

-"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I

-can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all

-the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,

-and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in--we've had a hard day

-and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have

-middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."

-

-"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up

-plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"

-

-"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's

-plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."

-

-"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily

-through an open port.

-

-"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the

-Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you

-great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"

-Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched

-back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.

-"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted

-indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and

-seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,

-relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,

-"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on

-the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of

-soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,

-"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young

-sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've

-ever gazed on."

-

-Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook

-padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with

-loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over

-the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and

-shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping

-soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.

-

-First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer

-and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the

-cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols

-had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of

-Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.

-Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on

-a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.

-Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box

-with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing

-salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny

-flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming

-pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the

-box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole

-contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to

-fetch the fire lizard.

-

-The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and

-giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished

-to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering

-she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to

-figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,

-carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had

-already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red

-hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new

-quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily

-in her swimming pool.

-

-"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and

-gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going

-to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the

-lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her

-tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange

-behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.

-Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself

-upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where

-she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.

-

-"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly

-cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably

-in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,

-and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb

-cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away

-delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,

-the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she

-peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on

-the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the

-rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going

-out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder

-and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight

-when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only

-then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when

-morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was

-cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the

-cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the

-foremast.

-

-"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 5

-

-Patrippany Island

-

-

-"All hands on deck! Come on! Come _on_!" yelled Samuel Salt running

-past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island

-tuluward, you lubber."

-

-"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out

-the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No

-cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"

-But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved

-all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich

-and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on

-the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and

-whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."

-

-"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore

-Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."

-

-Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself

-into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting

-through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so

-dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but

-after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain

-decided to take a chance, and sail through.

-

-"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook

-lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on

-an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let

-us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and

-decorum."

-

-"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye

-does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you

-have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on

-our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."

-

-So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in

-the foremast, Samuel swung the _Crescent Moon_ in toward the island.

-Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea

-and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle

-stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and

-monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A

-flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they

-penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if

-they were entering some dim green land of goblins.

-

-"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned

-Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley

-with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"

-

-"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute

-now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer

-a fried mackerel in my stomach."

-

-"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,

-"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."

-

-"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the

-buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.

-"Never say die--say dee--dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.

-Dee-scovery with a _hi de di dide di dough_!" sang Samuel vociferously

-to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream

-the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and

-their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the

-noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river

-creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by

-the islanders.

-

-"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of

-coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only

-Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear

-away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of

-the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit

-when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and

-three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by

-the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife

-and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.

-

-"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding

-whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as

-stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing

-angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No

-need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this

-time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy

-as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."

-

-Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow

-Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over

-the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his

-feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and

-down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato

-handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his

-stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied

-that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.

-

-"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and

-start coming."

-

-"Chee tree--tee--hee--!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung

-precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with

-the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed

-to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long

-quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another

-step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple

-over backwards.

-

-"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.

-"Watch out for those 'gators."

-

-"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly

-all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.

-

-"Not _his_ gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed

-Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."

-

-Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the

-river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and

-come savagely toward them.

-

-"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching

-Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to

-move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so

-violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He

-could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a

-loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.

-Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a

-heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.

-

-"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul

-who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping

-the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his

-Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would

-have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed

-where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss

-to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and

-right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked

-futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,

-after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in

-and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the

-water.

-

-"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't

-had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what

-can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for

-where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming

-up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.

-For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had

-been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even

-imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.

-But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose

-higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled

-figure sprawled across its slippery back.

-

-"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is

-it really you? Are you safe, then?"

-

-"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon

-Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a

-boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt

-safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"

-

-"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her

-shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come

-rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with

-you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers

-are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."

-For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his

-gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the

-opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you

-ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her

-mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.

-

-"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold

-on the monster's slippery neck.

-

-"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"

-snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.

-

-"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my

-father and mother and maiden aunts!"

-

-"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered

-fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any

-further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster

-carries off my poor Master?"

-

-"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do

-not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems

-uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me--" the Royal Explorer

-looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to

-find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in

-Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.

-And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply

-splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the

-last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped

-up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned

-a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as

-Ato had done.

-

-"Ugh--gr--ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did

-that happen?"

-

-"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with

-Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.

-And a fine Discoverer you look now."

-

-Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then

-shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam

-thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the

-bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree

-snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree

-top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking

-merriment.

-

-"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the

-hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice

-mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato

-felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then

-hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at

-the Leader of the Expedition.

-

-"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting

-down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank

-interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."

-

-"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick

-green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.

-"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and--"

-

-"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,

-as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.

-"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to

-his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging

-hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."

-

-"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his

-hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that

-animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's

-the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel

-turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.

-

-"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What

-may that mean?"

-

-"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,

-grinning in spite of himself.

-

-"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how

-beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward

-and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.

-"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a

-gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,

-Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to

-Patrippany Island."

-

-"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!

-Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip

-in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"

-

-"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly

-massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak

-our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean

-that monkey chatter above."

-

-"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"

-answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till

-five moons ago last Herb Day."

-

-"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed

-Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his

-river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep

-away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"

-

-"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.

-"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that

-is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and--"

-

-"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that

-makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little

-excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and

-if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."

-

-"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did

-not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.

-"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?

-What made you do that?"

-

-"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.

-

-"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled

-out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a

-native boy?" he asked eagerly.

-

-"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very

-idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language

-I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to

-them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks

-and spears and--"

-

-"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a

-tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.

-Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by

-Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the

-ship."

-

-"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she

-gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little

-Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you

-wish to go."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 6

-

-A Little Wild Man

-

-

-"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt

-to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't

-go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our

-language."

-

-"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at

-Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly

-up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with

-a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the

-_Crescent Moon_, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard

-Men. Mind, now!"

-

-"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and

-smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato

-and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier

-from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.

-

-"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to

-fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former

-Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the

-tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.

-

-"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward

-the river bank.

-

-"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with

-horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging

-at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my

-buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."

-

-"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the

-hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand

-where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.

-

-"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of

-the _Crescent Moon_ mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his

-cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have

-been an achievement worth the whole voyage."

-

-"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more

-comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would

-rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how

-many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!

-Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.

-

-"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped

-his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then

-Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."

-

-"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its

-sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.

-"Fly ahead, my Hearty."

-

-"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and

-mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for

-Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were

-they little or big, black or brown?"

-

-"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown

-spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and

-rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed

-like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.

-They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day

-every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and

-paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward--" Nikobo's eyes grew round and

-shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose

-and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,

-saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated

-back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."

-

-"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.

-

-"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"

-the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much

-better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've

-been feeding him myself."

-

-"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in

-bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.

-

-"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a

-hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"

-

-"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I

-collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."

-

-"Roots, herbs--grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,

-herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous

-in your life?"

-

-"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here--"

-The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small

-boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and

-where is he now?"

-

-"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you

-shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and

-biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly

-riding behind.

-

-On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through

-the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their

-branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip

-the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a

-huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.

-Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled

-the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes

-left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that

-might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard

-Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and

-without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a

-small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.

-

-Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars

-constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass

-in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy

-clothed in a single leopard skin.

-

-"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by

-the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea

-sailor!"

-

-"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you

-see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?

-He's not like the Leopard Men at all."

-

-"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing

-here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the

-bars of the strange prison.

-

-"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,

-rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he

-looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"

-he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"

-

-"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the

-hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought

-they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log

-seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In

-this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own

-people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"

-explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so

-deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed

-too hard."

-

-"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.

-"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,

-little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"

-

-"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the

-bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my

-teeth for every day I have been here."

-

-"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook

-with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib

-showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots

-in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and

-sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,

-nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman

-to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the

-hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars

-of his cage.

-

-"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild

-and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least

-I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and

-hardships I should suffer at sea?"

-

-"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and

-forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you

-could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had

-forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing

-still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues

-and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and

-discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.

-

-"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?

-Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a

-little wild man already."

-

-"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call

-Tandy a wild man."

-

-"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet

-dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I

-am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."

-

-"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands

-sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal

-company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,

-Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present

-a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as

-Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are

-a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."

-Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the

-little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in

-return you must believe _us_, and stop all this hoity toity talk and

-clishmaclatter."

-

-"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the

-bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly

-person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go

-with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."

-

-"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,

-relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.

-

-"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo

-lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far

-corner of his cage.

-

-"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as

-Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his

-own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with

-deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So

-you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato

-folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the

-leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do

-they call you at home?"

-

-"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the

-land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long

-continent of Tarara is my home."

-

-"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So

-there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one

-would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is

-twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat

-impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the

-little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those

-creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"

-Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young

-King's face.

-

-"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,

-returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that

-a ship has never touched our shores?"

-

-"Then the _Crescent Moon_ shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,

-snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the

-most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen

-to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately

-afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"

-

-"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before

-he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the

-White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The

-Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered

-on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots

-of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they

-mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one

-to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and

-try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed

-me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door

-in the bars and stuck both hands through.

-

-"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze

-up into Nikobo's huge face.

-

-"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to

-say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was

-talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my

-own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and

-pleasure."

-

-"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.

-"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you

-happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these

-hardships and unpleasant experiences."

-

-"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away

-from the outstretched arms of Ato.

-

-"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk

-of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.

-None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to

-do--whoo--Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began

-to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel

-Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the

-gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.

-

-"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.

-Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed

-two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the

-vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,

-Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed

-to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax

-she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,

-demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and

-without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized

-the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the

-hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of

-the _Crescent Moon_ sternly led the way to the edge of the island.

-Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys

-and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal

-Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,

-Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander

-Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY--ay--ayyyy!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 7

-

-Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt

-

-

-With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the

-little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps

-because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he

-was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.

-Not even the _Crescent Moon_, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed

-to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.

-

-"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight

-of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the

-boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of

-being crocked for the rest of my life."

-

-"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless

-greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily

-about in the muddy river water.

-

-"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,

-Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,

-Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and

-I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens

-to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at

-Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping

-joyously behind him.

-

-"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.

-"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat

-around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange

-grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me

-gather a few."

-

-"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's

-bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.

-

-"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.

-"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the

-misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then

-I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for

-him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."

-

-"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato

-disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is

-himself a King."

-

-"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning

-wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."

-With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking

-it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly

-creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.

-Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed

-the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly

-asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an

-hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack

-and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.

-

-"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the

-ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back

-cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"

-

-"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so

-small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has

-been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with

-only a miserable hippopotamus for company."

-

-"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very

-superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with

-you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying

-bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,

-the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.

-"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as

-Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make

-allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his

-own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say

-he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.

-Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz

-looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung

-from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with

-spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea

-shells tied up in his shore-going coat.

-

-"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger

-helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.

-

-"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato

-and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.

-

-"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout

-warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,

-too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them

-Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they

-would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling

-about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even

-stand up."

-

-"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these

-might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a

-few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this

-voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting

-plants, too?"

-

-"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep

-rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying

-him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"

-explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had

-with one of these vines in my early youth."

-

-"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's

-collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right

-have such things on a ship?"

-

-"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel

-easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming

-country."

-

-"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to

-Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,

-Master Salt."

-

-"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful

-so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing

-contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.

-

-"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!

-Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the

-crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you

-planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about

-their new sovereign?"

-

-Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the

-tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.

-I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear

-'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape

-of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors

-from Oz."

-

-"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps

-and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate

-as Nikobo here."

-

-"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,

-luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.

-"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son

-of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a

-couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some

-time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he

-calmly spoke his mind.

-

-"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here

-with Kobo till my own people come for me."

-

-"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny

-youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to

-leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's

-back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.

-Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather

-sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.

-

-"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the

-sand. "And no one can make me."

-

-"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought

-of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to

-further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and

-began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference

-Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had

-finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.

-

-"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken

-voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"

-

-"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand

-to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking

-wildly from the hippopotamus to the _Crescent Moon_, Samuel had a

-dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his

-cherished vessel.

-

-"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than

-polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,

-she'll sink the ship."

-

-"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a

-meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."

-

-"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a

-great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind

-motherly creature that she is!"

-

-"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and--" Then

-suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.

-

-"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his

-oranges from one shoulder to the other.

-

-"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly

-delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen

-back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.

-We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and

-meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in

-the hold."

-

-"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of

-life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge

-champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."

-

-"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato

-in Samuel's ear.

-

-"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a

-taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last

-swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and

-wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails

-Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their

-new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from

-sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the

-evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all

-the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,

-Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a

-strange procession started out for the _Crescent Moon_. Ahead with the

-keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a

-small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty

-young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in

-his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he

-meant to fasten it to the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so

-Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to

-the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the

-ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of

-the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no

-trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could

-raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt

-the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and

-seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly

-pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious

-specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,

-the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_ weighed anchor and dropped with

-the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the

-automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,

-adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode

-happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed

-her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary

-explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a

-shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.

-

-"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.

-

-"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,

-waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you

-and Ato would want him in here."

-

-"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small

-berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never

-be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out

-of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his

-spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel

-hurried out on deck.

-

-Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding

-himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had

-taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old

-pirate suits.

-

-"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring

-sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the

-suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young

-monarch.

-

-"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he

-repeated dismally.

-

-"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking

-at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the

-hatches with lubbers!"

-

-Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,

-though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what

-Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and

-pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.

-Gulls flew in excited circles all round the _Crescent Moon_, calling

-out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning

-on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz

-flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive

-appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he

-had done a good day's discovering.

-

-"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at

-Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.

-

-"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.

-

-"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo

-remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of

-you yet, my lass!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 8

-

-Maxims for Monarchs

-

-

-When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden

-spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a

-rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.

-

-"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call

-the young voyager, came flying back to the table.

-

-"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,

-popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.

-

-"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down

-with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"

-

-"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots

-and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with

-meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these

-seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."

-

-"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,

-pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little

-pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"

-

-"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato

-handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"

-

-"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and

-able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at

-Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good

-example?"

-

-Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and

-kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his

-bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little

-fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.

-

-"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.

-"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every

-scrap."

-

-"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder

-of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.

-But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants

-from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail

-conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's

-cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted

-that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the

-young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his

-bunk.

-

-"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea

-chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the

-crew?"

-

-"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his

-inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.

-

-"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions

-and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any

-chance referring to me?"

-

-"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated

-Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another

-screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a

-long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both

-calm and reasonable.

-

-"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its

-King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger

-firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the

-Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw

-at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the

-shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,

-but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and

-opened his volume.

-

-"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird

-impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely

-a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by

-sheer worth and ability alone."

-

-"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden

-interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and

-the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,

-his royal instructor at home.

-

-"I am reading _Maxims for Monarchs_," answered Roger calmly, "a book of

-great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz

-and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and

-important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he

-continued severely.

-

-"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,

-looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no _Maxims for Monarchs_

-in Ozamaland."

-

-"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of

-his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably

-know nothing about such matters."

-

-"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this

-two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.

-

-"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has

-been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,

-acting in this small up-country fashion--what CAN a fellow think?

-Here--" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the

-Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy

-reread the passage Roger had just quoted.

-

-"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither

-is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former

-arrogance.

-

-"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his

-claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,

-a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times

-as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the _Crescent

-Moon_, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to

-govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there

-wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for

-me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can

-live my own life and go and come as I please."

-

-"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy

-wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little

-boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.

-

-"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"

-sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways

-down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is

-useful or interesting?"

-

-"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why--er--why, I can draw

-pictures and ride an elephant."

-

-"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his

-best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much

-call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water

-to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the

-crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever

-blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person

-than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a

-ship!"

-

-"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"

-

-"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled

-off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell

-me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and

-happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"

-

-"It is not seemly--" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is--"

-

-"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped

-Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before

-you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"

-

-Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands

-nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,

-"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.

-In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and

-mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being

-prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years

-of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked

-away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."

-

-"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words

-since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"

-

-"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for

-there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening

-I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look

-down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out

-and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."

-

-"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed

-eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.

-

-"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.

-

-"The word was _play_," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom

-did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"

-

-Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never

-heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say

-is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you

-a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found

-you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be

-different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.

-You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person

-and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun

-or break a wing in the attempt."

-

-"But would a King--"

-

-"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,

-sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out

-again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please

-so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And

-tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded

-almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,

-Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed

-Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you

-want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully

-over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed

-through the port.

-

-For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last

-injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he

-really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly

-he knew. Why, of course--he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain

-WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it

-into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only

-a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling

-in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant

-wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his

-breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.

-

-"Kobo--Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.

-

-"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her

-vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.

-"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.

-

-"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced

-over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him

-enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.

-Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide

-and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake

-into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her

-lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to

-think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll

-throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,

-Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."

-

-Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost

-cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy

-quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?

-There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.

-He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea

-chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet

-of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself

-cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles

-and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and

-Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.

-

-When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's

-light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new

-pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk

-was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's

-inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read

-Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or

-undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went

-quietly from the cabin.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 9

-

-Sea Legs for Tandy

-

-

-"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a

-pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their

-breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,

-the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright

-sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong

-to the pig family when you come to think of it."

-

-"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,

-swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take

-her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's

-son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we

-reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.

-Hoh!"

-

-"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to

-fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will

-bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten

-years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to

-have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the

-jungle I can't get through my head at all."

-

-"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump

-shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it

-is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"

-

-"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.

-Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.

-"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,

-in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to

-bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and

-anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride

-to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the

-evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,

-"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and

-creeping birds, eh, Mates?"

-

-"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and

-be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the

-way, how's Sally this morning?'

-

-"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water

-and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her

-round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"

-

-"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted

-Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings

-from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and

-beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."

-

-"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head

-in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't

-you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of

-sea soup sprinkled with faggots."

-

-"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee

-pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.

-

-The day was bright and breezy and the _Crescent Moon_ going free,

-breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a

-morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an

-uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up

-smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.

-

-"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,

-hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to

-the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with

-the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,

-and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and

-came striding aft.

-

-"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.

-Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.

-

-"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the

-foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with

-deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger

-was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,

-Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made

-a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your

-feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as

-flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!

-Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up--up and up the narrow rope

-ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar

-and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.

-"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,

-winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy

-was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set

-himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.

-Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,

-the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the

-foremast.

-

-"The _Crescent Moon_," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,

-"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take

-from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring

-her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we

-three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy

-hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the

-foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the

-ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water

-birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the

-sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the

-bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal

-and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.

-"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is

-attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant

-sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on

-the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."

-

-"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on

-the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he

-tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.

-

-"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is

-bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer

-the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the

-_Crescent Moon_, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was

-simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"

-he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic

-circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?

-A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging

-so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"

-

-Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship

-on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City--Patrippany Island--all

-his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped

-in his heart of hearts the _Crescent Moon_ would not reach his native

-shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person _was_ fun.

-

-"M--mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells

-like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."

-

-"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.

-"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a

-large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and

-shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.

-

-"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's

-something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"

-

-"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he

-repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few

-inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun--that's

-a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!

-Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles

-but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers

-and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All

-hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the

-hatches!"

-

-Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,

-descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out

-with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife

-in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to

-his largest spyglass.

-

-"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,

-this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine

-ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"

-

-"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are

-you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your

-ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with

-the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"

-Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that

-there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and

-with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the

-ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable

-head came curling far over the bow of the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,

-dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his

-wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.

-

-Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell

-flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making

-a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was

-leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant

-with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was

-the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his

-ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin

-brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they

-screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next

-forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among

-them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel

-fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen

-guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.

-

-With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of

-still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming

-with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,

-and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into

-the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn

-and setting the _Crescent Moon_ to dancing like a cocklebur. But the

-taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,

-and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea

-monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing

-away toward the skyline.

-

-"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap

-to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain

-touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."

-

-"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed

-Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely

-specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets

-rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."

-

-"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking

-rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell

-Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to

-his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably

-frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked

-up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he

-panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a

-picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.

-Here it is--tail, teeth and everything!"

-

-"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to

-perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in

-action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young

-lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,

-I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra

-rations and pay."

-

-"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings

-gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from

-King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry

-rations and pay!"

-

-Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,

-and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,

-Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger

-had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and

-Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm

-at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and

-strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy

-so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm

-and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained

-his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy

-was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and

-wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.

-

-"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the

-shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all

-help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping

-time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:

-

-    "Blow high--blow low--

-      'Tis a salt sea life for me--

-    With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue

-      With a good ship going free--eeeh--eeeh!

-    With a good ship going free!"

-

-Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 10

-

-The City of Bridges

-

-

-The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had

-known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,

-pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,

-the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of

-the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had

-besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble

-aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the

-rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special

-rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on

-Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful

-hippopotamus.

-

-Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved

-the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often

-floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the

-ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged

-on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all

-crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the

-hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and

-with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious

-vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she

-had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking

-cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,

-giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking

-nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to

-the fullest extent.

-

-On calm mornings, with the _Crescent Moon_ hove to, all hands would go

-swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty

-porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy

-had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain

-could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had

-made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched

-upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,

-but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and

-Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy

-diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream

-with envy and approval.

-

-Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not

-really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on

-Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to

-his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus

-made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who

-did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for

-hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness

-to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted

-was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and

-join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain

-(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire

-listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been

-a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and

-treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of

-these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire

-lizard.

-

-Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.

-They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,

-for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she

-touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had

-only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a

-cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally

-took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs

-or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she

-spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to

-Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear

-her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.

-

-Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,

-Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants

-from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of

-lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after

-the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.

-The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the

-Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung

-above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a

-scientific laboratory every day.

-

-"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those

-big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink

-label on a fluted conch shell.

-

-"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling

-what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on

-a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,

-Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've

-had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to

-happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn

-in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."

-

-"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly

-clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and

-terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"

-

-"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back

-on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's

-foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just

-get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,

-why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we

-landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how

-big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg

-and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to

-nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to

-see, eh, Kinglet?"

-

-"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I

-don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."

-

-"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy

-suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son

-of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the

-_Crescent Moon's_ afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with

-you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel

-tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main

-and mizzen topsails.

-

-Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,

-Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had

-happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife

-still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft

-the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses

-Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit

-of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a

-piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,

-needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way

-of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color

-of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look

-at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they

-sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges

-ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all

-the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted

-cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on

-either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering

-poles and spears and halberds.

-

-"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared

-Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be

-pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a

-boulder?"

-

-"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting

-curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting

-on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.

-

-"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.

-Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."

-

-"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking

-Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the

-bridges, a three-master, larger than the _Crescent Moon_."

-

-"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.

-"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates

-sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the

-buttons on his sail controls.

-

-"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest

-bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all

-the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of

-yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her

-head in her drinking tub.

-

-"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port

-gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a

-rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not

-help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry

-from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung

-down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously

-aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping

-toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and

-then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the

-descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships

-would surely be demolished.

-

-"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,

-gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I

-can bear anything."

-

-"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the

-shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers--it will shiver all of our

-timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order

-to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh--hh!"

-But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.

-

-"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"

-bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.

-As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen

-and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole

-length of the _Crescent Moon_. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change

-in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of

-canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect

-air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish

-catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the _Crescent Moon_ rose

-buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly

-beneath her bow.

-

-"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.

-"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm

-no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder

-Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply

-and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the

-deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.

-

-"Wha--wha--where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings

-in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us

-you had balloon sails, Master Salt."

-

-"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp

-below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,

-mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."

-

-"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.

-"It all looks sharp to me."

-

-"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks

-and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and

-belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The

-altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.

-How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky

-island? How could we even take half of them?"

-

-"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by

-surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz

-flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."

-

-"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his

-way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his

-arms full of Oz flags, the _Crescent Moon_ hung directly over the

-glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up

-hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the

-sparkling blue lake between the peaks.

-

-Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon

-sails so skillfully the _Crescent Moon_ came down lightly as a swan in

-the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides

-hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned

-silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its

-curious crew.

-

-"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing

-voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as

-before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an

-island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of

-her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"

-

-"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid

-of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span

-connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 11

-

-The Prince of the Peaks

-

-

-The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little

-gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their

-pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.

-

-"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest

-Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU--you who come in

-this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"

-

-"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain

-of the _Crescent Moon_ and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King

-of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any

-of the others had time to speak for themselves.

-

-The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and

-breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and

-rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone

-aboard the _Crescent Moon_, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's

-boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his

-royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.

-

-"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de

-Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.

-"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,

-Bird and Conquerors?"

-

-"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.

-"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the

-rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to

-this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."

-

-"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower

-bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again

-eeeeee-yen!"

-

-"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word

-as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the _Crescent

-Moon_."

-

-The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his

-long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the

-bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself

-gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a

-swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the

-Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable

-refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced

-him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the

-lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with

-suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their

-own.

-

-"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato

-in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?

-And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put

-on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and

-Doughnuts."

-

-"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know

-it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out

-the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my

-famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket

-before you can say Oz Robinson!"

-

-When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found

-the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck

-in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and

-handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything

-from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the

-crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table

-with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew

-friendlier and more confidential still.

-

-"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a

-puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."

-

-"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest

-wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the _Crescent Moon_,

-your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put

-about."

-

-"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed

-Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the _Mountain Lass_, would have been

-destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what

-we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the

-torrent."

-

-"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the

-Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I

-reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be

-delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily

-as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."

-

-"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,

-who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But

-tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is

-required of us?"

-

-"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This

-island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so

-just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact

-with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are

-ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In

-time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and

-in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing

-these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to

-come and live as your loyal subjects here."

-

-"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the

-prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could

-easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all

-of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a

-pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"

-Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated

-the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no

-intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange

-conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.

-

-"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've

-pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a

-hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me--"

-

-The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,

-Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.

-

-"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill

-tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the

-deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's

-Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the

-_Crescent Moon_, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and

-swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the

-shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering

-castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.

-With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and

-Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little

-exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was

-much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the

-yodelers.

-

-Ato, watching from the deck of the _Crescent Moon_, presently saw the

-flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with

-a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles

-and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on

-all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's

-city.

-

-From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of

-his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent

-on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,

-explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old

-customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders

-could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when

-they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,

-but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family

-could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window

-box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had

-perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,

-potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following

-corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after

-the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top

-every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh

-vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every

-known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines

-and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of

-a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy

-peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea

-food the Islanders fared splendidly.

-

-The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women

-alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried

-pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while

-delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as

-steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver

-and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of

-which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.

-

-"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to

-Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.

-

-"It _is_ magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little

-nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow

-old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light

-hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."

-

-"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er--and hear," he added quickly as the

-wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the

-palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report

-Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of

-the voyage."

-

-"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI

-dee Aye de OH--hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks

-kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told

-them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to

-take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as

-Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light

-and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to

-walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and

-uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's

-arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a

-sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals

-and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung

-swiftly down to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_. Roger, flying under

-his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.

-

-With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out

-rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and

-the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and

-then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The _Mountain

-Lass_ in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there

-she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift

-her back to the Lake among the peaks.

-

-Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of

-relief as she spied the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the

-hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly

-off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of

-salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the

-barnacles off my hide."

-

-"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the

-taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh

-vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"

-

-"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away

-from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from

-wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"

-he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts

-on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the _Crescent Moon_, with a

-spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern

-skyline.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 12

-

-Fog

-

-

-The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old

-tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the

-main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed

-his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside

-the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's

-island.

-

-"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the

-cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy

-came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand

-with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the

-City of Bridges."

-

-"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his

-fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we

-learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and

-peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."

-

-"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his

-magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery

-on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down

-Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz

-and as an especially good place for poets."

-

-"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,

-"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so

-fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."

-

-"Yes, that _is_ one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing

-approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,

-we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've

-brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap

-of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those

-fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."

-

-"They're a great comfort to _me_, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding

-up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now

-I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her

-raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would

-like to take the other two home with him?"

-

-"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh--we're not near

-Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel

-Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.

-

-"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach

-Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that

-country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a

-creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"

-

-"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is

-farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have

-conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."

-

-"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that

-has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he

-loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never

-told us anything about this."

-

-"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a

-small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know

-that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long

-countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West

-Coast."

-

-"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to

-pull his journal toward him.

-

-"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and

-jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous

-White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are

-fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in

-huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who

-live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live

-under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and

-never allowed out of the capital."

-

-"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in

-a heap around his feet.

-

-"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine

-Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain

-in the White City."

-

-"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling

-out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it

-for him.

-

-"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known

-as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long

-ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their

-swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my

-countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and

-camels, have all they can do to hold their own."

-

-"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his

-eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's

-disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added

-quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the

-Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."

-

-"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,

-I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they

-are so unfriendly."

-

-"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd

-do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull

-at his pipe.

-

-"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,

-shaking his head.

-

-"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said

-Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you

-carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"

-

-"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.

-"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy

-of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,

-they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in

-the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly

-into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel

-abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.

-

-"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed

-impatiently.

-

-"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his

-head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt

-had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you

-so far and so fast."

-

-"Well, whoever it was did _us_ a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,

-twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no

-better aboard a ship--eh, Mate?"

-

-"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his

-feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like

-an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their

-turbans, too."

-

-"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost

-fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the

-Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.

-

-"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port

-and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,

-boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm

-moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot

-chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master

-Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."

-

-"We'll _all_ have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to

-see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping

-Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy

-life aboard the _Crescent Moon_ with his dull and lonely existence in

-the Royal City of his Fathers.

-

-"I wish the Greys _would_ capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,

-as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to

-leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot

-chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout

-into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss

-Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.

-

-"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to

-join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on

-morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All

-through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous

-voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to

-relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.

-

-"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more

-hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy

-buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.

-

-"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered

-cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape

-our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,

-being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose

-warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take

-our chance--eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out

-anything astern, will you, Tandy?"

-

-Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had

-to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was

-the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved

-cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing

-an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,

-they might just as well not have been there.

-

-"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,

-but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly

-comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy

-lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,

-followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.

-Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered

-lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.

-

-"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've

-rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why

-didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made

-no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after

-Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit

-them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on

-wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came

-out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle

-of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the

-_Crescent Moon_ alone. There _was_ a ship beyond them in the fog,

-but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly

-Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the

-maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now

-came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.

-

-"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to

-grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening

-his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible

-foe.

-

-"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to

-Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once

-been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."

-

-"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who

-found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.

-

-"No, it is not for _us_ to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But

-hah! Just let _them_ start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick

-about it, too!"

-

-"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he

-had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those

-things again--they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take

-another chance?"

-

-"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty

-as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger

-returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving

-silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole

-experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel

-himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and

-immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel

-returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four

-shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap

-aboard.

-

-"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"

-breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the

-long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second

-seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the

-choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately

-drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen

-asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read

-Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.

-

-"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,

-but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam

-lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts

-of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their

-leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods

-the _Crescent Moon_ had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the

-sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an

-unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,

-was gazing dreamily in the same direction.

-

-"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"

-exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and

-the Captain.

-

-"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over

-to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And

-isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight

-on the rail.

-

-"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he

-leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's

-better than pirates."

-

-"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing

-up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for

-breakfast, Cook dear?"

-

-"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I

-thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a

-little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"

-And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod

-reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for

-his paints.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 13

-

-The Sea Forest

-

-

-Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and

-when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the

-sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.

-

-"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his

-journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and

-baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and--"

-

-"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"

-inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might

-add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"

-Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish

-before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept

-winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like

-the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette

-and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed

-and indifference.

-

-"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin

-boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab

-nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of

-baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case

-Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring

-fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now

-snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching

-contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.

-

-"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,

-speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that

-scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now

-would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,

-little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything

-grows."

-

-"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little

-sigh on Nikobo's broad back.

-

-"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,

-fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was

-coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on

-this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a

-rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and

-much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the

-fare--why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans--"

-

-"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,

-remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!

-Listen! Here they come!"

-

-"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from

-above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"

-

-"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the

-rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook

-and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and

-crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when

-she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across

-her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the

-aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,

-nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.

-

-"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin

-box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it

-dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and

-admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride

-along."

-

-"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on

-Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be

-any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"

-

-"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo

-paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest

-itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was

-the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.

-The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.

-Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going

-down, down, down as far as he could see.

-

-"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one

-lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!

-Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."

-

-"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're

-going to grow our own masts."

-

-Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young

-shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.

-Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like

-bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and

-silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.

-

-"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely

-between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick

-me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began

-vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored

-fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the

-water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting

-anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's

-cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.

-The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible

-variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber

-by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off

-several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his

-album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after

-a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to

-overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there

-are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,

-but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where

-most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,

-somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in

-the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could

-swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively

-sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would

-never succeed in catching one.

-

-All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel

-making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled

-nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the

-small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark

-of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees

-pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of

-the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were

-not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and

-tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front

-legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet

-were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more

-frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from

-a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they

-retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance

-as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch

-of the whole group.

-

-"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing

-his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the

-snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,

-Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of

-our feelings or safety."

-

-"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"

-sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then--" he

-grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."

-

-The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.

-Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this

-small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning

-itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it

-proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious

-little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no

-serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her

-long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made

-ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.

-

-Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing

-enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the

-aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have

-both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed

-the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.

-

-"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read

-Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,

-it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask

-me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish _was_ even uglier than a

-goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant

-goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.

-

-"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But

-let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."

-

-"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder

-what it eats?"

-

-"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at

-Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"

-

-"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.

-

-"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as

-this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he

-wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a

-monkey fish."

-

-"Well, don't forget the bananas--for remember it's a monkey, too,"

-chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had

-written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the

-exploring party returned to the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his

-aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making

-copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did

-not get his ship under way till late afternoon.

-

-Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done

-little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his

-anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy

-painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for

-Mo-fi's fish food, the _Crescent Moon_ again dipped adventurously into

-the southeast swell.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 14

-

-The Sea Unicorn!

-

-

-"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,

-swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the

-binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.

-

-"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the

-skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.

-

-"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm

-admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and

-I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If

-anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor

-and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or

-obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of

-an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not

-need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing

-wink.

-

-"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up

-at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."

-With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy

-taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went

-on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting

-him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying

-nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?

-Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"

-

-Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,

-stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told

-Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,

-Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I

-gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be

-riding around on your shoulder."

-

-"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the

-Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey

-fish, Roger."

-

-"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has

-me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a

-little pet if I want one?"

-

-The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could

-hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,

-he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new

-discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.

-"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"

-

-"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head

-with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything

-as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that

-just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the

-main truck and have a look around."

-

-"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the

-parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,

-Roger."

-

-"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an

-affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went

-joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted

-on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and

-printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of

-complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly

-remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog

-trotted contentedly down to the hold.

-

-The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had

-to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,

-snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a

-branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their

-covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the

-vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the

-galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to

-care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when

-a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.

-Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.

-

-"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the

-hold faster than he had ever done before.

-

-"Su--su--SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he

-could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific

-knock from below made the _Crescent Moon_ shiver from end to end.

-Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly

-they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech

-and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through

-the decks.

-

-"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting

-crazily down to the deck. "Wha--what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,

-pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main

-and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that

-instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up

-and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy

-blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the _Crescent Moon_ to fly

-asunder.

-

-"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the

-wheel. "Horn like a--uni--corn--branch of the Odontocetes and--"

-

-"Oh--you--don't say--it--is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his

-stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the

-monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us--is that a horn or a ship's mast?

-Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"

-

-Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to

-hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and

-plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,

-diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low

-hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant

-beneath the ship.

-

-"Su--suppose it su--submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to

-seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously

-up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my

-beams and--" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that

-moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the

-sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim

-and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had

-clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of

-danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm

-and purposeful. This vine--well, why would this powerful vine from

-Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances

-were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a

-quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of

-the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began

-to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,

-it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable

-cradle of leafy wood.

-

-Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think

-he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.

-Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling

-anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,

-Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.

-

-Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,

-almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger

-was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having

-wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to

-his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now

-all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back

-over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had

-seen him go overboard.

-

-"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt

-rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?

-Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking

-menace?"

-

-"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping

-happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a

-lobster pot and can't move at all."

-

-"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.

-

-"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless

-sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into

-the sea.

-

-"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at

-Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my

-life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all

-we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea

-and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,

-blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie

-River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can

-you dive with me beneath this ship?"

-

-"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,

-shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the

-Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't

-I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was

-well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way

-in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.

-

-"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and

-powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to

-rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel

-in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber

-up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the

-surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat

-they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.

-Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's

-head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's

-saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of

-ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with

-material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the

-Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was

-not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and

-Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation

-was accomplished.

-

-Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with

-her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and

-Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated

-fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go

-floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view

-of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the

-_Crescent Moon_.

-

-"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"

-sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly

-over the rail. "Some fishin'--eh, Mates?"

-

-"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo

-and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.

-

-"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises

-sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale

-of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 15

-

-The Collector Is Collected

-

-

-"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as

-he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column

-between the main and mizzenmasts.

-

-"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin

-reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough

-to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's

-given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed

-on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that

-we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his

-glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.

-

-"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway

-it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to

-swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"

-

-"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing

-on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just

-talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in

-Lavaland, Mate."

-

-"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling

-over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.

-"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."

-

-"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft

-to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage

-is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."

-The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the _Crescent Moon_

-was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put

-ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous

-voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to

-consider.

-

-"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed

-into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong

-and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted

-by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant

-mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy

-squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill

-squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.

-

-"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes

-with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."

-

-"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened

-gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely

-knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then

-he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.

-

-"Why--it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the

-glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.

-

-"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A

-hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just

-plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted

-his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!

-Danger on the bow!"

-

-Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom

-he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a

-moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense

-and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,

-tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum

-of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in

-complete wonder and mystification.

-

-"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,

-breaking the silence at last.

-

-"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he

-raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go

-a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage

-done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll

-knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron

-belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing

-to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed

-Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted

-the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here

-this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown

-after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred

-and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel

-on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over

-his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had

-attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.

-

-"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that

-cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down

-sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"

-

-"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into

-the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't

-he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore

-out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.

-Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and

-with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as

-close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified

-fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue

-depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the

-Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear

-altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel

-was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still

-there.

-

-"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite

-of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the _Crescent Moon_, the Read

-Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense

-air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming

-frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing

-blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.

-Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the

-suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to

-join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear

-and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped

-mournfully into view.

-

-"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you

-find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,

-limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said

-nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he

-began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's

-collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him

-shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a

-bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and

-crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even

-make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole

-to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they

-open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the

-vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break

-a hole in that lid the Captain's done for--done for, do you hear?"

-

-"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,

-"Who do you mean?"

-

-"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish

-and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of

-stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside

-of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"

-

-"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!

-Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"

-

-"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.

-

-"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.

-

-"No, _I'll_ climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest

-and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with

-him."

-

-Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning

-in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had

-meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being

-so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the

-ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.

-

-Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast

-of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been

-quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the

-saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way

-to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like

-slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the

-strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees

-with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully

-through the glassy substance.

-

-For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the

-figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl

-became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by

-loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him

-to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.

-Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the

-round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.

-Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,

-the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones

-and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so

-worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than

-sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the

-Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos

-and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as

-it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the

-_Crescent Moon_ from his curious prison.

-

-"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.

-Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell

-on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:

-

-    COME SEE THE CURIOUS HIGH AIR MANSTER.

-    ADMISSION, 1 PEARL, 5 CORALS AND A CLAM!

-

-The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's

-air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly

-together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his

-might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted

-Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling

-out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and

-being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before

-the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,

-too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away

-with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked

-without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.

-Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like

-a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to

-Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,

-Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as

-it flashed up and down above his head.

-

-"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll

-never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,

-they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"

-

-"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty

-air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,

-increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,

-increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished

-ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of

-her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus

-jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a

-quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had

-happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to

-the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed--broke through

-the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through

-the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for

-an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.

-Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,

-for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had

-made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously

-along.

-

-Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,

-completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to

-her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too

-shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down

-like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet

-and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he

-had swallowed, started dizzily back to the _Crescent Moon_. Nikobo had

-several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at

-Tandy.

-

-"I--I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself

-wearily up on her back.

-

-"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"

-puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the

-hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a

-jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his

-danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.

-

-"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his

-net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the

-sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and

-transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as

-Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 16

-

-The Storm!

-

-

-Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of

-the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on

-deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of

-the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling

-through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.

-Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it

-took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful

-hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he

-spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering

-darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates

-collected.

-

-"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"

-scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was

-cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "_You_ know _I_ know nothing

-about navigation nor one sail from t'other."

-

-"Ah--but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his

-eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its

-stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left

-a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie

-yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his

-boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped

-down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large

-aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly

-enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like

-a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage

-opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he

-had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles

-and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,

-and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving

-him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above

-to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was

-pitching.

-

-In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed

-the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown

-dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded

-along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing

-little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like

-a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and

-bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one

-side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's

-help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel

-to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her

-to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it

-all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be

-with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,

-tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.

-

-The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in

-all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel

-prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and

-helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails

-of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to

-closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose

-gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the

-door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and

-with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched

-the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into

-the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,

-Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better

-judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo

-and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,

-fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy

-afloat and take care of him besides.

-

-Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut

-themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers

-and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do

-to hang on to their chairs as the _Crescent Moon_ pitched headlong into

-the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the

-great running seas.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 17

-

-The Old Man of the Jungle!

-

-

-In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of

-Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.

-

-"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges

-of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be

-accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,

-neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and

-for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the

-natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,

-hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a

-clever and useful idea--eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a

-little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried

-off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and

-all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous

-crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the

-eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied

-agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us--the Nine Faithful Servants

-of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting

-his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making

-plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for

-himself.

-

-"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"

-questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.

-

-"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old

-Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our

-wish that you appear before us."

-

-At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the

-curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only

-in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of

-Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,

-dismal, droning voice:

-

-"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the

-Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying

-umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down

-after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy

-with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men

-known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and

-two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island

-where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you

-that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages

-or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or

-remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished

-this shameful recital.

-

-"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts

-and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide

-up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with

-his long skinny fingers.

-

-"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this

-cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I

-am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.

-Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly

-toward the long table.

-

-"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his

-papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care

-what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff

-with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If

-you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the

-feet of the royal elephants!"

-

-"Ah--hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a

-poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I

-will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"

-Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old

-man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished

-into the garden.

-

-"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of

-the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous

-and may do us a world of harm."

-

-"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a

-hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King

-was carried off."

-

-"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not

-another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the

-meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go

-now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King

-has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority

-and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful

-Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star

-and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."

-

-"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring

-fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door

-with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.

-

-"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly

-waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship--there is a ship

-with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full

-sail is riding into our harbor."

-

-"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly

-by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship

-flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"

-

-"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never

-happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long

-windows.

-

-"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters

-turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.

-Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive

-now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and

-the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the

-chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the

-six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If

-these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled

-upon, trampled upon--do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel

-determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about

-carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest

-tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner

-of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his

-well-laid plans.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 18

-

-A New Country

-

-

-Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the

-_Crescent Moon_ rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into

-quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed

-a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and

-relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.

-This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in

-their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole

-band of music beneath the mizzenmast.

-

-Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first

-to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as

-the _Crescent Moon_ tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang

-eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried

-them.

-

-The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of

-a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of

-chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a

-great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had

-run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he

-crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly

-behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,

-the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel

-and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the

-cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in

-the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came

-winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his

-lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling

-through the port-hole, he did not even look up.

-

-"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the

-foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole

-long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no

-time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"

-As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears

-splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the

-ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.

-

-"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is

-most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one

-side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.

-

-"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I

-should say, being a good person is most important."

-

-"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the

-middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason

-may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"

-

-"What's that? What's this? Humph! _Maxims for Monarchs._ Well, what in

-topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious

-shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat

-volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst

-out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we

-can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good

-King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the

-word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship

-can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without

-waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged

-over to the Captain.

-

-"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and

-crew of the _Crescent Moon_ were now engaged in earnest conversation.

-"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying

-reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,

-waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go

-ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began

-unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned

-a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"

-

-"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.

-"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig

-pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely

-nothing!"

-

-But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist

-and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If

-you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you

-back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any

-more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll

-not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to

-that!"

-

-"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to

-Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this

-ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and

-Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"

-

-"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.

-"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming

-aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."

-Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as

-deeply, smiled back.

-

-"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow

-lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,

-he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all

-pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the

-long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his

-ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for

-him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to

-the latest possible moment.

-

-But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs

-and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to

-carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a

-fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,

-thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running

-down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the

-jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having

-brought nothing aboard the _Crescent Moon_, he insisted on leaving in

-the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and

-Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had

-worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The

-Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their

-finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,

-and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused

-to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all

-climbed aboard the hippopotamus.

-

-Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help

-comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful

-boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself

-with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the

-great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their

-families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense

-turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to

-see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of

-Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of

-white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.

-

-"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily

-to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to

-the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the

-hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and

-suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and

-curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally

-made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling

-multitude.

-

-"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract

-their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.

-"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander

-Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."

-

-"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?

-Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and

-her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"

-

-"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son

-and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my

-Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these

-words.

-

-"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to

-another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he

-waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he

-called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small

-Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to

-lay waste our realm."

-

-"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably

-between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal

-Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle--"

-

-"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round

-the head of the speaker.

-

-"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried

-Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.

-

-"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,

-Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the

-salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,

-not to recognize and welcome your young King. _I'm_ for you, young

-one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the

-nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass

-through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine

-square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,

-thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering

-his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,

-recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,

-was the first to speak.

-

-"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily

-chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these

-strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,

-most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly

-but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly

-thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you

-are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in

-the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"

-Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy

-dismount.

-

-"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief

-Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so

-kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."

-

-"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his

-lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old

-Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot

-along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he

-gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the

-evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand

-for silence.

-

-"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard

-the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated

-Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of

-age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,

-guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at

-Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your

-ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply

-indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says

-that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without

-delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you

-to leave. Come, Tazander!"

-

-While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin

-was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till

-he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But

-surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and

-explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel

-mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just

-might happen to tread on you."

-

-"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very

-thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,

-paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the

-ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers

-gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying

-off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.

-

-"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats

-forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged

-a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood

-uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine

-judges, began to laugh and cheer.

-

-"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman

-vociferously.

-

-But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.

-"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this

-poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all

-lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize

-the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 19

-

-Boglodore's Revenge

-

-

-The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,

-and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and

-camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the

-ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously

-back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely

-biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left

-the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.

-

-The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the

-heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,

-Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The

-tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,

-caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their

-heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,

-and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives

-and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for

-the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his

-breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.

-Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and

-groveled together in the deep sand.

-

-"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the

-suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those

-plants along?"

-

-"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered

-Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.

-Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"

-

-Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at

-each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal

-Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the

-securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who

-had first cheered Tandy remained.

-

-"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man

-stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the

-tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."

-

-"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for

-them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave

-young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great

-liberty-loving land."

-

-"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,

-beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled

-Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and

-will stand no nonsense!"

-

-"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside

-Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each

-other well enough for all that."

-

-To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White

-City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its

-flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and

-castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.

-

-Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to

-welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come

-with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the

-natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed

-marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way

-through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.

-Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried

-away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid

-feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.

-

-Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and

-enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to

-live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for

-his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really

-happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on

-the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh

-of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.

-

-Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying

-at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for

-events to shape themselves.

-

-"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a

-small stool beside Samuel Salt.

-

-"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and

-lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.

-

-"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful

-idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of

-which, _more_ anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,

-stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more

-satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help

-Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman

-how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As

-he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.

-

-"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that

-the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more

-and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was

-but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe

-that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as

-they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in

-the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,

-how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that

-long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,

-tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.

-

-"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN--HAH!" Samuel

-expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his

-feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place

-for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the

-shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended

-to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered

-to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his

-thoughts still far away on the _Crescent Moon_, and considering the

-work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him

-behind.

-

-With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the

-cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the

-guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants

-of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in

-their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,

-in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's

-back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,

-startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one

-horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.

-

-"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,

-but it is!"

-

-"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from

-under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,

-and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so

-strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing

-the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main

-force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on

-the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the

-nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and

-soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of

-the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.

-

-"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.

-"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and

-Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story

-of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,

-my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.

-For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins

-themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!

-What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore

-again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What

-happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to

-keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"

-Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,

-the Old Man continued his story.

-

-"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended

-to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only

-the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the

-jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,

-giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect

-this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and

-could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found

-and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to

-do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant

-to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and

-ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."

-

-"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the

-umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up

-Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But

-Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.

-

-"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The

-vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will

-sink--not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but

-to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and

-sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so

-dishonorably served and betrayed!"

-

-Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the

-umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into

-the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the

-_Crescent Moon_. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own

-tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to

-navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old

-Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the

-umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open

-sea.

-

-"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's

-edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only

-umbrellaphant in captivity?"

-

-"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel

-back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy

-after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master

-Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"

-

-"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,

-staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the

-most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and

-now--now--I've lost it--" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides

-and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward

-Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.

-Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given

-her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,

-and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking

-rapidly to herself.

-

-"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with

-the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this

-clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried

-Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle

-and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's

-frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has

-befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King

-to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost

-elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."

-

-"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming

-completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and

-I'll carry the good news to the castle."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 20

-

-King Tandy

-

-

-When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small

-cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of

-one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the

-covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost

-inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better

-of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the

-Ozamandarins.

-

-"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at

-the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom

-of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you

-say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,

-dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker

-than soup!"

-

-"Well, how do you suppose _I_ feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his

-hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,

-I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"

-

-"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead

-of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin

-down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.

-

-"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,

-pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.

-

-"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious

-than interested.

-

-"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and

-pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and

-I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"

-Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy

-flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of

-him. "I'm going straight back on the _Crescent Moon_, and I'm not

-coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow

-Island and everywhere!"

-

-"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great

-difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are

-you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be

-true!"

-

-"But it _is_ true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and

-illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.

-

-"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.

-

-"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the

-plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing

-Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as

-Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now

-there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild

-elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he

-starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink

-gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education

-on our ship, that is his own affair."

-

-"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and

-roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of

-reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can

-enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,

-Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"

-

-"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.

-

-"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and

-luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER 21

-

-A Voyage Resumed

-

-

-Anxious as Tandy was to return to the _Crescent Moon_ and continue the

-voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,

-true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the

-capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and

-their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,

-addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider

-Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his

-education in foreign parts and aboard the _Crescent Moon_, during which

-time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare

-always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province

-and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers

-from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new

-cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the

-dangerous invasions of the Greys.

-

-Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace

-along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long

-desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up

-by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the

-country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be

-enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long

-and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning

-in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and

-ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and

-vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and

-enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the

-castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak

-highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and

-the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore

-Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed

-hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.

-

-"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon

-as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed

-the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of

-elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just

-as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man

-in a Million."

-

-"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high

-holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.

-

-Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle

-so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and

-flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,

-had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with

-feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,

-returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and

-precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he

-went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds

-creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit

-and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had

-outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green

-and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious

-to continue the voyage. Aboard the _Crescent Moon_ one of the Guards

-had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend

-to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright

-morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal

-Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.

-

-Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling

-with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were

-lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding

-Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel

-corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's

-edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to

-Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt

-and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the

-small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large

-cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.

-

-"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely

-made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the

-sea.

-

-"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but

-I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."

-

-"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave

-to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt

-a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never

-fear!"

-

-"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away

-voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his

-stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun--the moon--the stars I

-commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule

-over Ozamaland."

-

-"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted

-Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from

-Oz!"

-

-"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even

-the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as

-Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the _Crescent Moon_.

-

-The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel

-over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,

-climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the

-hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.

-

-"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy

-stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!

-Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take

-the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under

-the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby

-camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,

-and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time

-they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed

-thankfully back on her raft.

-

-"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping

-cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,

-boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"

-

-"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to

-the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from

-the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"

-

-"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we

-go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A

-roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."

-

-"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up

-and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from

-the cliffs.

-

-"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon

-the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,

-Roger?"

-

-"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.

-"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"

-

-And when the _Crescent Moon_ flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie

-River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious

-continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I

-for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?

-

-                                THE END

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-

-                      _A Word about the Oz Books_

-

-

-Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,

-THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who

-inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated

-the imagination of millions of young readers.

-

-These are stories which are genuine fantasy--creative, funny, tender,

-exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd

-creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has

-been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they

-are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at

-all.

-

-When, in a recent survey, _The New York Times_ polled a group of

-teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz

-books topped the list.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-                          Captain Salt In Oz

-

-

-A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling

-than that? We--many of us--have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic

-or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and

-swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had

-our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we

-come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a

-charming talking hippopotamus?

-

-Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and

-now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their

-hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart

-crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically

-by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the

-Expedition.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-

-                             The Oz Books

-

-        Wizard of Oz

-        Visitors from Oz

-     1. The Land of Oz

-     2. Ozma of Oz

-     3. Dorothy and the Wizard

-     4. The Road to Oz

-     5. The Emerald City of Oz

-     6. The Patchwork Girl of Oz

-     7. Tik-Tok of Oz

-     8. The Scarecrow of Oz

-     9. Rinkitink in Oz

-    10. The Lost Princess of Oz

-    11. The Tin Woodman of Oz

-    12. The Magic of Oz

-    13. Glinda of Oz

-    14. The Royal Book of Oz

-    15. Kabumpo in Oz

-    16. The Cowardly Lion of Oz

-    17. Grandpa in Oz

-    18. The Lost King of Oz

-    19. The Hungry Tiger of Oz

-    20. The Gnome King of Oz

-    21. The Giant Horse of Oz

-    22. Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz

-    23. The Yellow Knight of Oz

-    24. Pirates in Oz

-    25. The Purple Prince of Oz

-    26. Ojo in Oz

-    27. Speedy in Oz

-    28. The Wishing Horse of Oz

-    29. Captain Salt in Oz

-    30. Handy Mandy in Oz

-    31. The Silver Princess in Oz

-    32. Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz

-    33. Wonder City of Oz

-    34. Scalawagons of Oz

-    35. Lucky Bucky in Oz

-    36. Magical Mimics in Oz

-    37. The Shaggy Man of Oz

-    38. The Hidden Valley of Oz

-

-

-

-

-

-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 

-Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum

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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 
+Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+
+
+Title: Captain Salt in Oz
+
+Author: Ruth Plumly Thompson
+        L. Frank Baum
+
+Illustrator: John R. Neil
+             Dick Martin
+
+Release Date: November 28, 2017 [EBook #56073]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             CAPTAIN SALT
+                                 IN OZ
+
+                                 _By_
+
+                         RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON
+            Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories
+
+                                 _By_
+                             L. FRANK BAUM
+                        "Royal Historian of Oz"
+
+                           _Illustrated by_
+                             JOHN R. NEILL
+
+                         The Reilly & Lee Co.
+                                CHICAGO
+
+                            Copyright, 1936
+                                  by
+                         THE REILLY & LEE CO.
+                          All rights reserved
+
+                         Printed in the U.S.A.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dear Boys and Girls:
+
+    Another year--
+    Another book,
+    And this time a voyage
+    That Sam Salt took
+    In that good old Ship,
+    The _Crescent Moon_--
+    Steering by compass,
+    By star and moon,
+    To discover new countries
+    For OZ. Hear! Hear!
+    He's discovered a whole
+    New Hemisphere!
+    Three cheers for Sam,
+    And his jolly crew,
+    And three for OZ
+    And three for YOU,
+    And three for me,
+    Though I don't need cheer
+    'Cause the letters you write
+    Keep me gay ALL year!
+
+So keep writing to me about Oz and everything, will you? And remember
+to put your full name and complete address on the letter. Righto!
+
+And Best till I hear from you!
+
+RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                        THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
+                    WITH MY BEST BOW AND TOP WISHES
+                           TO MY PUBLISHER.
+
+                       --_Ruth Plumly Thompson_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+                           LIST OF CHAPTERS
+
+       1 SAIL HO!
+
+       2 ANCHORS AWEIGH
+
+       3 THE FIRE BABY
+
+       4 SAMUEL'S FIRST SPECIMEN
+
+       5 PATRIPPANY ISLAND
+
+       6 A LITTLE WILD MAN
+
+       7 STRANGE SPECIMENS FOR SAMUEL SALT
+
+       8 MAXIMS FOR MONARCHS
+
+       9 SEA LEGS FOR TANDY
+
+      10 THE CITY OF BRIDGES
+
+      11 THE PRINCE OF THE PEAKS
+
+      12 FOG
+
+      13 THE SEA FOREST
+
+      14 THE SEA UNICORN!
+
+      15 THE COLLECTOR IS COLLECTED
+
+      16 THE STORM!
+
+      17 THE OLD MAN OF THE JUNGLE!
+
+      18 A NEW COUNTRY
+
+      19 BOGLODORE'S REVENGE
+
+      20 KING TANDY
+
+      21 A VOYAGE RESUMED
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 1
+
+Sail Ho!
+
+
+Eight miles east of Pingaree lies the eight-sided island of King
+Ato the Eighth. While not so large as Pingaree, the Octagon Isle is
+nevertheless one of the tidiest and most pleasing of the sea realms
+that dot the great green rolling expanses of the Nonestic Ocean. And
+Ato himself is as pleasing as his island, enormously fat and jolly with
+a kind word for everyone.
+
+In his eight-sided castle, he has every modern convenience and comfort
+and some of which even an up-to-date country like our own cannot boast.
+For instance, take Roger, his Royal Read Bird. Roger, besides knowing
+eight languages, can read aloud for hours at a time without growing
+hoarse or weary. So Ato never has to strain his eyes poring over his
+eight hundred huge volumes of adventure and history, nor his arms
+holding a newspaper or court document, nor his jaw pronouncing the
+names of kings and countries in Ev and Oz and other curious places on
+the mainland west of his own island. And Roger is as handsome as he
+is handy, his head and bill rather like a duck's, his body shaped and
+colored like a parrot, but much larger, while his tail opens out into
+an enormous fan. This is extremely fortunate, for the Octagon Isle
+is semi-tropical in climate, and on warm sultry days, Roger not only
+reads to his Majesty, but fans him as well. All in all, Ato's life is
+decidedly luxurious and lazy.
+
+Sixentwo, Chief Chancellor of the realm, and Four'nfour, its treasurer,
+attend to all the business of governing, so that Ato and Roger have
+little to do but enjoy themselves. The Octagon Islanders, one hundred
+and eighty in number, are a sober and industrious lot, rarely giving
+any trouble.
+
+Once, it is true, they sailed off and deserted the King entirely, but
+Ato, with Peter, a Philadelphia boy, and Samuel Salt, a pirate, who
+landed on the Island at just the right moment, immediately set out
+after them, using the pirate's stout ship the _Crescent Moon_, for the
+purpose.
+
+By a strange coincidence, Samuel Salt's men had also mutinied and
+sailed away, so that there were two sets of deserters to seek out
+and discover. After a dangerous and lively voyage, the _Crescent
+Moon_ reached the rocky shores of Menankypoo on the Mainland. Here
+they learned that the Octagon Islanders and Samuel Salt's men had
+been enslaved by Ruggedo, the former Gnome King, and marched off to
+conquer the Emerald City of Oz. How Peter and the Pirate, Ato and a
+poetical Pig outwitted the Gnome King is a long and other story. You
+have probably read it yourself. But ever since their hair-raising
+experiences with Ruggedo, and their rescue by Ato, the Octagon
+Islanders have been perfectly satisfied with their own ruler and
+country. In fact, they were so docile and devoted, so fearfully anxious
+to please, Ato often wished they would revolt or sass him a little just
+to relieve the monotony and make life more interesting.
+
+To tell the truth, after serving as cook, mate and able-bodied seaman
+on the _Crescent Moon_, Ato found it quite boring to settle down to
+a humdrum life of a monarch ashore. Roger, too, missed the gay and
+carefree life he had led as a pirate and could not even pretend an
+interest in the books of adventure he still dutifully read to his
+Master. He and Ato now spent most of their time on the edge of the
+Island--the King in a comfortable hammock swung between two palm
+trees, Roger on a tall golden perch set close beside him. Whenever the
+Read Bird paused to yawn or turn a page, Ato would pull himself up to
+a sitting position, raise the telescope he always had with him and
+gaze long and wistfully out to sea. Many ships passed Ato's Island,
+but never a one in the least resembling the splendid three-masted fast
+sailing ship belonging to the Pirate.
+
+"You'll give yourself a fine squint there," warned Roger one morning,
+as Ato for about the hundredth time raised his spy glass. "And what is
+the use of it, pray?" inquired Roger grumpily, ruffling the pages of
+the Book of Barons. "Samuel Salt has probably forgotten all about us
+and gone off by himself on a voyage of discovery."
+
+"No! No! Sammy wouldn't do that," said the King, shaking his head
+positively. "He promised to stop by for us on the very first voyage he
+made as Royal Discoverer of Oz."
+
+"Ho, one of those seafaring promises!" muttered Roger. "A pirate's
+promise. Humph! His new honors have gone to his head. Quite a jump from
+pirating to exploring. I'll wager a wing he's gone back to buccaneering
+and forgotten us altogether!"
+
+"Now, Roger, how can you say that?" Heaving up his huge bulk with
+great difficulty, Ato looked reproachfully at his Royal Read Bird.
+"Sammy never cared for pirating in the first place," wheezed the King
+earnestly, "and he was so soft-hearted about planking the captives and
+burning the ships, his band sailed off and left him. They only made him
+Captain because he was clever at navigating, and you know perfectly
+well he spent more time looking for flora and fauna than for ships and
+treasure."
+
+"Ah, then I suppose some wild Flora or Fauna has him in its clutches,"
+observed Roger sarcastically, "and a likely thing that is, seeing the
+poor Captain weighs but two hundred and twenty pounds and stands six
+feet in his socks."
+
+"What a tremendous fellow he was," sighed Ato, sinking dreamily back in
+his hammock and half closing his eyes. "I'll never forget how high and
+handsome he looked when Queen Ozma asked him to give up buccaneering,
+and serve her instead as Royal Discoverer and Explorer for Oz! And
+a fitting reward it was, too, for capturing Ruggedo and saving the
+Kingdom. Aha, my lad, THAT was a day! And we had our share of glory,
+too! Remember how they cheered us in the Emerald City of Oz?"
+
+"Aye, I remember THAT day and a good many other days since," sniffed
+the Read Bird disagreeably. "Six months from that day Samuel Salt was
+to sail into our Harbor. Well, King--it's been six times six months,
+and nary a sail nor a sign of him have we seen."
+
+"That long?" said Ato, blinking unhappily.
+
+"That long and longer. Three years, eleven months, twenty-six days and
+twelve hours, to be exact!"
+
+"Dear, dear and dear! Then something's happened to him," murmured
+Ato. "He's either been shipwrecked, captured or enchanted! I'll never
+believe Sammy would forget us or break his promise. Never!"
+
+"Well, whatever you believe, the results are the same." Flapping open
+his book, Roger prepared to go on with his reading. "And depend upon
+it," he insisted stubbornly, "we'll never see Samuel Salt again, so
+you may as well put up your telescope and put your mind on something
+else for a change. Maybe it's your cooking that's keeping him away,"
+finished the Read Bird, who felt cross and fractious and contrary as a
+goat.
+
+"My cooking?" roared Ato, roused to honest anger at last. "I've a
+notion to have you plucked and roasted for that. My cooking, indeed!
+Show me the fellow who can beat up an omelette, a cake, a batch of
+biscuits, faster than I; who can brown a fowl, broil a steak or toss
+out a pan of fried potatoes to compare with mine. I--I, why, I'm
+surprised at you, Roger!"
+
+Roger, ruffling his feathers uncomfortably, was rather surprised at
+himself, for the King was speaking the exact truth; a more skillful man
+with a skillet it would be impossible to find in any kingdom. Ever
+since his voyage on the _Crescent Moon_, cooking had been Ato's chief
+pleasure and pastime. The castle chef, though he heartily disapproved
+of a King in the kitchen, could do nothing to discourage him, so
+finally stood by in grudging envy and admiration as Ato turned out his
+delectable puddings, pies, roasts and sauces.
+
+Muttering with hurt pride and indignation, his Majesty continued to
+frown at the Read Bird, and realizing he had gone too far, Roger
+started to read as fast as he could from the Book of Barons. As he read
+on, he could see the King growing calmer and finally, pausing to turn a
+page, he let his gaze rove idly over the harbor.
+
+"Anchors and animal crackers! What was that?" Stretching up his neck,
+Roger took another look, then, flinging the Book of Barons high into
+the air, he spread his wings and started out to sea.
+
+Soothed by the droning voice of the Read Bird, Ato had closed his
+eyes and the first warning he had of Roger's departure was a terrific
+thump as the Book of Barons landed on his stomach. Leaping out of the
+hammock as if he had been shot, the outraged Monarch looked furiously
+around for his Read Bird. This really was too much. Not satisfied with
+insulting him, Roger must now be bombarding him with books, cocoanuts
+and what not.
+
+Shading his eyes with his hand, Ato glared up and down the beach and
+finally out over the rippling blue ocean. At what he saw there, the
+King forgot his anger as completely as Roger had forgotten his manners.
+For, swinging jauntily into the Octagon Harbor was the _Crescent Moon_
+herself! No mistaking the high-prowed, deep-waisted, powerful craft of
+the Pirate. But a new and gayer pennant fluttered from the mizzenmast
+today. Instead of the skull and bones, Samuel was flying the green and
+white banner of Oz, as befitted the Royal Discoverer and Explorer of
+the most famous Fairyland in History.
+
+"He's here! He's come!" shouted Ato, running wildly up and down.
+"Samuel! SAM-U-EL!" In his delight and excitement the King forgot the
+Royal dock and began wading out into the bay. Peering around his
+wheel, Sammy saw him coming and broke into a loud cheerful greeting.
+
+"Hi, King! Ho, King! How are you, you son of a Lubber! Wait till I
+ease her in and I'll be ashore quicker than quick." Roger had already
+reached the _Crescent Moon_ and, perched on the Captain's shoulder, was
+chattering away at such a rate Samuel could hardly keep his mind on his
+steering. But he was an old hand at such matters, and before Ato had
+half recovered from the shock of seeing him, the shining three-masted
+vessel was made fast, and its Master striding exuberantly up the wet
+planks of the royal dock.
+
+"Ahoy! Ahoy!" he boomed boisterously. "What a day for a voyage! Is it
+really my old cook and shipmate?"
+
+"None other!" puffed Ato, seizing both of the former pirate's hands.
+"But what have you done to yourself, Sam-u-el? Where's your sash and
+scimiter? And what's that on your head, may I ask? You don't look
+natural or seaman-like at all."
+
+"Oh, don't mind these," grinned the Pirate, touching his three-cornered
+hat and satin coat apologetically. "These are my shore togs for
+impressing the natives. Can't look like pirates when we go ashore this
+voyage, Mates. We're explorers and fine gentlemen now, and when we set
+the flag of Oz on lofty mountains and rocky isles, when we bring savage
+tribes and strange races under the beneficent rule of Ozma of Oz, we
+must look like Conquerors. Eh, my lads?"
+
+"Yes--I sup-pose--so!" puffed the King, skipping clumsily to keep up
+with the long strides of Captain Salt. "But I'm sorry this is going to
+be a dressy affair, Sammy. How'm I to cook in a cocked hat and lace
+collar and swab down the deck in velvet pants?"
+
+"Ho, ho! You'll not have to," exploded the Pirate, giving the tail
+feathers of the Read Bird a sly tweak. "On shipboard we'll dress as we
+please, for the sea is MY country and free as the wind and sun."
+
+"Well, well, I'm glad to hear you say that. Have you still got my old
+pirate suit and blunderbuss aboard?" inquired the King anxiously.
+
+"Certain for sure, and a couple of new ones, and WAIT till you see your
+galley all fitted out with copper pots, and provisions enough below
+to carry us anywhere and back. Wait till you cast your eyes on 'em,
+Lubber!"
+
+"Don't you call ME a Lubber!" chuckled Ato, giving Samuel a hearty poke
+in the ribs. "I'm as able-bodied a seaman as you, Sammy, and you know
+it."
+
+"SIR Samuel, if you please!" roared the former Pirate, striking himself
+a great blow on the chest with his clenched fist. "Sir Samuel Salt,
+Explorer and Discoverer Extraordinary to the Crown of Oz."
+
+"So--oooh! You've been knighted?" breathed Roger, peering round into
+the Captain's face,
+
+    "Ho pass the salt and ring the bell
+    And bend the knee to Sir Sam-u-el!"
+
+"Sir Samuel Salt! Well, I'll be peppered!" gasped Ato, sinking down on
+the lower step of the palace which they had reached by this time.
+"Sir Samuel!"
+
+"Yes, SIR!" boasted the Pirate, rubbing his hands together, "but come
+on, step lively, boys; how long'll it take you to pack up and heave
+your dunnage aboard? Mustn't keep a Knight of Oz waiting, you know!"
+
+"Keep _you_ waiting?" Suddenly and determinedly, Ato rose to his feet
+and shook his finger under Sammy's nose. "Keep YOU waiting? Why, we've
+been ready and waiting for this voyage three years, eleven months,
+twenty-six days and twelve hours. Where've you been, you great lazy son
+of a sea-robber?"
+
+"Four years?" choked the Pirate, falling back in real consternation and
+dismay. "Never! It's never been four years, Mates. Why, I've scarcely
+had time to sort out the shells and specimens we picked up on the last
+voyage, and to fit out the _Crescent Moon_ for the next."
+
+"Where have you been?" repeated Ato, wagging his finger sternly.
+
+"Why, home on Elbow Island, of course. Where else should I have been?"
+muttered Samuel, looking distinctly worried and crestfallen.
+
+"Then have you no clocks or calendars in your cave?" demanded the King
+accusingly. "And what would the _Crescent Moon_ be needing? I thought
+she was about perfect as she was."
+
+"Ah, but wait till you see her now!" exclaimed Samuel, cheering up
+immediately at mention of his ship. "The _Crescent Moon_, besides a
+new coat of paint, has self-hoisting sails and a mechanical steering
+control in case we wish to take it easy occasionally. The Red Jinn
+paid me a visit and presented us with these and several other magical
+contrivances and improvements. I'm minded to make this voyage with no
+crew but ourselves. It's cozier so, don't you think?"
+
+"Yes, but am I still on bird watch and lookout duty?" demanded Roger
+jealously.
+
+"Aye, aye!" Samuel Salt assured him heartily.
+
+"I suppose the Red Jinn has supplied you with a mechanical cook in my
+place as well as a mechanical steering wheel," murmured Ato, tugging
+uneasily at the cord round his waist.
+
+"In your place!" thundered the Pirate. "Why, shiver my timbers, Mate!
+Only over my prone and prostrate body shall another man enter my galley
+to shuffle my rations, sugar my duff or salt my prog!"
+
+"Hooray, then let's get going!" squealed Roger, bouncing up and down
+on Sammy's shoulder. "I was only saying this very morning that you'd
+never forget your old friends and shipmates or go on a voyage without
+us!"
+
+"Huh! So THAT'S what you were saying!" grunted Ato, looking fixedly at
+the Read Bird. "Well, well, let it go. Come along then!"
+
+"Yes, yes, and hurry," screamed Roger, spreading his wings to fly on
+ahead.
+
+"Sixentwo! Sevenanone! Where are you?" panted the King, plunging up the
+steps after Roger two at a time. "Where is everybody? Pack a bag, a
+chest, a couple of trunks. I'm going on a voyage of discovery!"
+
+"And don't forget the cook book!" bawled Samuel Salt, bounding
+exuberantly after the King.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 2
+
+Anchors Aweigh!
+
+
+With the help of eighteen serving men, eight courtiers, Sixentwo,
+Sevenanone, and Samuel Salt, who was not above carrying a sea chest
+or hamper, Ato began stowing his belongings on the _Crescent Moon_.
+There was little court apparel or finery in the King's boxes. Most
+of it consisted of bottles of flavoring extract, spiced sauces, cook
+books, minced meats, fruits in jars for pies, numerous frying pans, egg
+beaters, and rolling pins.
+
+"Are we gypsies, pan handlers, peddlers or what?" panted Samuel Salt as
+he dumped the last load breathlessly on the main deck. "Goosewing my
+topsails, Mate, many's the fish we cleaned with a jackknife, and potato
+we pared with a dagger on the last voyage. Mean to say an explorer
+needs to use all these weapons on his pork and beans?"
+
+Checking off a list as his stuff was placed in the galley, Ato nodded
+determinedly, then winking good-humoredly at the perspiring Captain,
+ducked into the cabin to don his old sea clothes. Samuel was not long
+following suit and soon, in short red pants, open shirts and carelessly
+tied head kerchiefs, the two went below to inspect the stores Samuel
+had laid in for the voyage. Roger, having nothing to bring aboard but
+a few books and a bottle of feather oil, was already perched in the
+crosstrees of the fore topgallant mast looking longingly toward the
+east and waiting impatiently for the ship to get under way. But the
+booming voice of the Pirate soon drew him to the lower deck and from
+there he swooped down an open hatchway to the hold.
+
+This huge space, usually reserved by the pirates for captives and
+treasure, had been neatly divided into two sections. In one were
+the tinned, dried and salted meats, the groceries, vegetables and
+extra supplies of rope, tar and sail. In the other section there were
+numerous shelves, many iron cages, aquariums and sea chests.
+
+"For any strange animals or wild natives we may encounter and wish to
+bring home with us," explained Samuel Salt as Roger looked curiously at
+the cages. "In those chests are the flags of Oz we shall plant here,
+there and everywhere as we sail onward!"
+
+"And to think a new and mighty Empire may grow from this flag
+planting," mused Ato, opening one of the sea chests and thoughtfully
+fingering one of Ozma's green and white silken banners. "But surely you
+don't expect to plant all these, Samuel?"
+
+"Why not?" demanded the Royal Discoverer of Oz with a wave of the
+scimiter he had resumed with his old pirate pants. "The sea is broad
+and wide and no one's to tell us when we may start or sail home again.
+But look, Ato, my lad--these will interest you." Turning from the
+chests, Samuel pointed to a stack of long poles lashed to the side of
+the ship with leather thongs. "Stilts!" grinned the Pirate as Roger
+and Ato stared at them in complete mystification. "Fine for keeping
+the shins dry when we wade ashore and don't feel like lowering the
+jolly boat. All my own idea." Samuel cleared his throat with pardonable
+pride. "Of course, it takes a bit of practice, but we'll try 'em on the
+first island we come to. Eh, boys?"
+
+"Well, thank my lucky stars for wings!" breathed Roger after a long
+disapproving look at Samuel's stilts. "Two steps and you'll smash
+yourself to a jellyfish, Ato. Stick to the boats, men. That's MY
+advice!"
+
+"Too bad he has no confidence in us!" roared Samuel, giving Ato a
+resounding slap on the back. "Just wait, my saucy bird, and we'll show
+you how stilting is done. And now, gaze upon this corner I've set aside
+for my specimens; for rare marine growths, for seaweed, for curious
+mollusks and other crustacean denizens of the darkest deep."
+
+Samuel coughed apologetically as he always did when he mentioned
+his collecting mania, and Roger and Ato, exchanging an amused grin,
+swung about to examine the long shelves with iron boxes clamped down
+to prevent them from shifting with the motion of the vessel, huge
+aquariums fitted into brass holders, and large trays bedded with dried
+moss and sand for Samuel's collection of shells.
+
+"You might even bring home a mermaid in this," murmured Ato, touching
+the side of an enormous aquarium.
+
+"No women!" snapped Samuel Salt, growing red in the face, for he did
+not like to be teased about his specimen collecting. "I'll--I'll have
+no women or mermaids switching their tails around my ship and turning
+things topsy turvy."
+
+"Right," agreed Ato, giving his belt a vigorous tug. "Then how about
+shoving off, Sammy? Everything's shipshape, there's a good wind and
+the best way to begin a voyage is to start."
+
+"I'm for it!" roared the Captain, swinging hand over hand up the wooden
+ladder. "All hands on deck! Up with your Master's flag, Roger. Cast off
+the mooring lines, Ato, while I make sail and we'll be out of here in a
+pig's jiffy."
+
+"Aye! Aye!" croaked Roger, seizing the cord that would send Ato's
+octagon banner flying to the masthead, directly under the flag of Oz.
+"Goodbye, all you lubbers ashore! Goodbye Sevenanone. Mind you keep
+the King's Crown polished and don't forget to feed the silver fish."
+
+"GOODBYE!" called the one hundred and eighty Octagon Islanders drawn up
+on the beach and dock to see his Majesty sail away. "A fine voyage to
+your Highness!"
+
+"And neglect not to return!" shouted Sixentwo, using his hands as a
+megaphone. "You know there is a Crown Council eight days and eight
+months from yesterday."
+
+"Crown Council be jigged!" sniffed Ato, leaning far over the rail to
+wave to his cheering subjects. "I'm a cook, an explorer--and a bold bad
+seafaring man out to collect islands and jungles and jillycome-wiggles
+for Samuel's shell box. Crown Council, indeed! Don't care if I never
+see a castle again."
+
+"Me neither!" squalled Roger, flying up to his post in the foremast.
+"Seven bells and all's well! Buoy off the beam and no land in sight."
+
+"Unless you look behind you," laughed Samuel, grabbing the wheel
+with a practiced hand and squinting cheerfully up at the sun. "East
+by southeast it'll be this voyage, Mates. There's ice in the North
+Nonestic and I've a craving for tropical isles and the hidden rivers
+of some deep and mysterious jungle!"
+
+"Remember Snow Island?" smiled Ato, coming over to stand beside the
+wheel.
+
+"Shiver my shins! DO I? No more of that, me lads! But Ho! Isn't this
+like old times?" Stretching up his arms exultingly, Samuel Salt let his
+hands fall heavily on the wheel, and the great ship lifting with the
+wind plunged her nose eagerly into the southeast swell.
+
+"M--mmm! Like old times, except for the boy," agreed Ato slowly.
+
+"Aye, and we'll surely miss Peter on this trip," sighed the Captain,
+shaking his head regretfully. "Wonder where the little lubber is now?
+That's the trouble with these real countries and peoples, there's no
+getting at them when you need them most. Well, maybe we'll pick up
+another hand somewhere to serve as cabin boy and keep us lively on the
+voyage. But take a look at my sail controls, Ato. We can hoist, trim
+and furl by just touching different buttons, nowadays; set this wheel
+for any course and just let her ride."
+
+"Splendid!" grunted Ato, rising reluctantly from a coil of rope. "But
+since there are no buttons on my stove, I'd best be thinking about
+dinner."
+
+"Tar and tarpaulin, why didn't I have the Red Jinn fix you some?"
+exclaimed the Pirate regretfully. "I'm sorry as a goat, Mate."
+
+"Ho--I'm not," laughed Ato, waddling happily off toward his galley.
+"That would have spoiled everything. What'll it be, Captain--a fried
+sole, a broiled steak, or a roaring huge hot peppery meat pasty?"
+
+"All of 'em!" yelled the Royal Explorer of Oz, exhaling his breath
+in a mighty blast of anticipation. It seemed to Roger, high in the
+foremast, that the ship gave an extra little skip at its Captain's
+mighty roar, then settling easily into her usual graceful pace she ran
+smoothly before the wind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 3
+
+The Fire Baby
+
+
+Morning found the _Crescent Moon_ forging ahead with a stiff breeze, a
+choppy sea and the last known island far behind her.
+
+"Ahoy, and this is the life, Mates!" bellowed Samuel Salt, bracing his
+legs against the pitch and roll of the vessel, and waving largely to
+the ship's cook who sat on an overturned bucket mending his second best
+sea shirt. "Anything can happen now!" Lovingly Samuel let his gaze rove
+over the sparkling Nonestic, and Ato, squinting painfully as he pushed
+his long needle in and out, nodded portentously.
+
+"By the way, Sammy, what are your plans for this flag planting and
+discovery business?" inquired the portly cook somewhat later. Having
+finished his mending, he had dragged a canvas chair and a pot of
+potatoes aft by the wheel. "Do you look for resistance and rebellion
+when we start taking possession of this land and that land for the
+crown of Oz?"
+
+"No, no, nothing like that," mused Samuel, removing his pipe and
+blowing a cloud of smoke into the rigging. "Everything's to be polite
+and peaceable this voyage. No guns, knives or scimiters. Queen Ozma
+particularly does not want any country taken by force or against its
+will."
+
+"And suppose they object to being taken at all?" said Ato, beginning to
+pare a fat potato. "What then?"
+
+"Well, then--er then--" Samuel rubbed his chin reflectively, "we'll try
+persuasion, my lad. We'll explain all the advantages of coming under
+the flag and protection of a powerful country like Oz. That ought to
+get them, don't you think?"
+
+"Yes, if they don't get us first," observed Ato, popping a potato
+dubiously into the pot. "Suppose while we stand there waving flags and
+persuading, some of these wild fellows have at us with spears, clubs
+and poison arrows?"
+
+"Well, that would be extremely unfortunate," admitted Samuel, glancing
+soberly at the compass, "and in that case----"
+
+"I hope you will remember you were once a pirate and act accordingly,"
+Ato blew out his cheeks sternly as he spoke. "The one trouble with you,
+Sammy, is that you take too long to get mad. So I shall go ashore armed
+as usual with my kitchen knife and blunderbuss. I don't intend to be
+sliced into sandwiches while you're talking through your three-cornered
+hat, and waving flags at a lot of ignorant savages. And I'll have Roger
+carry the books ashore too."
+
+"Ho, ho!" roared the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_, giving his knee
+a great slap. "Just like old times, Ato. Rough, bluff and relentless,
+Mates, remember?"
+
+"Aye, and I should say I do. And I remember Roger had to drop a good
+many books on your head before you got mad enough to fight. What
+makes you so calm and peaceable, Sammy? A big born fighting man like
+yourself."
+
+"Sea life, I reckon," answered the former Pirate, extending his brawny
+arms in a huge yawn. "The sea's so much bigger than a man, Mate--it
+rather makes him realize how small and unimportant he really is. But
+don't fret, Cook dear, no one shall tread on your toes, this voyage.
+But avast there--it grows warmer and the air smells a bit thunderish.
+Had you noticed?"
+
+"'Hoy, 'hoy! Deck ahoy!" bawled a shrill voice from above. "Island
+astern." Both Samuel and Ato stared up in amazement, for Roger was
+supposed to be resting in the cabin. But the Read Bird, after
+snatching an hour's nap, had slipped out an open port and, unnoticed,
+taken his position in the foremast. The Read Bird did not trust Ato,
+who was supposed to be on watch. Besides, he wanted to be the first to
+report a new island to the Captain.
+
+"Looks like a mountain," mumbled Ato, setting down his potatoes and
+waddling over to the rail. "Heave to, Skipper, here's our first
+discovery."
+
+"Now how in sixes did that get by me?" muttered Samuel Salt, hurrying
+to shorten sail for the zigzag course, back and in, he would have to
+take to reach the island at all.
+
+It showed plainly enough now, a rugged gray and purple mass of rock,
+with apparently no vegetation or dwellings of any kind. As the
+_Crescent Moon_ drew nearer, the sea became smooth and oily, and the
+air sulphurous and hot.
+
+"Think likely this is an island we might well pass by," murmured Ato,
+peering critically through his telescope. "Positively deserted so far
+as I can see--but there might be valuable minerals in those rocks."
+
+"Don't doubt it!" Samuel Salt curved himself all the way round the
+wheel in his interest. Mechanical devices were well enough for the open
+sea, but Samuel preferred to handle his own ship on occasions like
+this. As there was no harbor or safe place to put in, he decided to
+anchor off shore and land in the jolly boat. The anchor had just gone
+clanking and rattling over the side when a horrid hiss and boom from
+the center of the island made all hands look up in alarm.
+
+"K-kkk cannons!" quavered Ato, dropping his bread knife with a clatter.
+"Stand by to man the guns!"
+
+But Samuel Salt, instead of heeding the cook's warning, began to sniff
+the air. "Volcano, Mates," announced the Captain calmly. "And in that
+case we may be a bit close for comfort. Still, I've always wanted
+to observe a volcano in action. I've a theory there may be living
+creatures in the center."
+
+"Living creatures in the center!" raged Ato, tearing off his white
+apron and dashing it on the deck. "How long will we be living if that
+fire pot starts boiling? We mayn't be killed, being of magic birth, but
+we can be jolly well singed, fried, boiled and melted. And after that
+who'd care to be alive? Quick, Roger, heave in on that chain! Anchors
+aweigh!"
+
+While Samuel stood in rapt contemplation of the volcano, and Ato began
+frantically winding up the anchor, a long tongue of flame leaped out
+of the crater and a great jet of bubbling lava shot clear over the
+_Crescent Moon_. This occurrence soon brought Samuel out of his revery,
+and snapping into action and forgetting all about his mechanical
+devices, he began working like a mad man to get the ship in motion,
+tugging at the sheets, throwing his whole weight against the halyards,
+till the ship with quivering sail sped away like a frightened bird, the
+hot winds from the volcano whistling and rattling through her rigging.
+
+"Where's Roger?" yelled Ato, staggering across the deck with two
+buckets of water. "Oh, woe! Is he a Read Bird or a just plain Goose?
+Look yonder, Sammy, he's flown ashore." Outlined against the sky in
+a sudden flare from the volcano they could see Roger poised over the
+center of the smoking island. In his claw was a large rippling banner
+of Oz and as they looked he lifted the banner high above his head and
+flung it straight into the center of the boiling crater.
+
+"We hereby take complete and absolute possession of this island and
+declare all its inhabitants lawful subjects of her Majesty, Queen Ozma
+of Oz!" screamed Roger hysterically.
+
+"Well, hurray, and three cheers for a real Explorer!" shouted Samuel
+Salt. "He's done it all by himself, the only man among us who
+remembered his duty under fire. There's a bird for you, Mates. Not even
+a volcano can turn him from his duty. All we thought of was safety.
+Poh!" Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, which were full of
+smoke, Samuel looked glumly across at his cook.
+
+"Now, now, don't be too hard on yourself," puffed the King, setting
+down the fire buckets. "A Captain must think of his ship, even if he
+is an Explorer. Besides, having wings gives Roger an advantage of us.
+Still and all, it was a brave and timely act." Ato's further remarks
+were drowned out in a second tremendous explosion. Sky and sea turned
+red, whole flaming boulders shot above the ship's spars, while great
+sullen waves of lava boiled over the crater's edge and rolled smoking
+and hissing into the sea.
+
+"Missed us again," panted Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to his wheel
+as the _Crescent Moon_ plunged and pitched in the angry seas. "Wonder
+what started that?"
+
+"The Oz flag, probably," gasped Ato, feeling around in the dense smoke
+for his fire buckets. "Hope Roger got off safely. Where is that fool
+bird? Ho, Sammy! Hi, Sammy! Quick, they've hit us amidships."
+
+Hastily setting his mechanical steering gear, the former Pirate rushed
+forward to where a glowing lump of lava was burning its way slowly but
+surely through the deck.
+
+"Fire! Fire!" shrilled Roger, who had dropped down on the rail
+unnoticed in the smoke and confusion. "Water, Ato! Water, you old Slow
+Poke!"
+
+"Avast!" puffed Samuel Salt, staring down in astonishment at the
+glowing lump at his feet. "It's alive, Mates, and lively as a grig.
+It's a FIRE baby, that's what! HAH! Didn't I just say there was life on
+a volcano? Well, this proves it and I'm taking this young one along for
+proof."
+
+"Now stop talking like a book and act like a seaman," choked Ato, in
+his agitation tripping over a rope but still managing to keep his hold
+on the water buckets. "Fire baby or not, can't you see it's burning a
+hole in the deck, you seventh son of a sea-going Jackass? Here, put it
+out! Dash this water over it before it burns up the whole ship!"
+
+"Avast! Avast and belay!" roared Samuel Salt in a terrible voice as Ato
+raised his bucket. "I'm still Captain here. Do you wish to destroy a
+rare specimen of volcanic life? Fetch a shovel from the hold, Roger. A
+shovel, I said, and don't stand there dithering."
+
+"Aye aye, sir!" sputtered the Read Bird, half falling and half flying
+down the companionway. Now a bird is a quick and handy fellow about a
+ship and in half the time it would have taken a seaman, Roger was back
+with a long handled shovel. Snatching the shovel, which he had often
+used on former treasure hunts, Samuel scooped up the bawling fire baby
+and started on a run for the galley.
+
+"It's turning black, it's turning black," wailed the disconsolate
+collector, crooning to the ugly infant as he ran along as if he were
+its own mother. "Aye, aye--it's going out!"
+
+"And a good thing, too," panted Ato, who was close behind him. "What in
+tarry barrels are you fixing to do with it, Sammy?"
+
+Roger, sensible bird that he was, stayed long enough to douse the two
+buckets of water on the smoking deck, then he, too, made a bee line for
+the galley. He was just in time to see Samuel lift the lid of the range
+and slide the baby down on top of the hot coals. No sooner had the
+squat infant touched the glowing fire than it stopped yelling at once
+and began to purr and sing like a teakettle set on to boil.
+
+"Well, I'll be swizzled!" gulped Ato, and snatching a wet dish towel
+from the rack, he wound it round and round his aching head. "Whatever
+made you think of that?"
+
+"It's my scientific mind," the Pirate told them blandly. "The proper
+place for any infant that size is bed and I naturally figured that
+a fire baby belonged in a fire bed, and a bed of hot coals was the
+nearest to it, so here it is!" Winking solemnly at Roger, who was
+regarding the little Lavaland Islander with fear and loathing, Samuel
+picked up the poker and gave the baby an affectionate poke. "It'll do
+fine here," he predicted happily, "and prove beyond a quibble that
+volcanos are inhabited."
+
+"It'll do nothing of the sort!" exploded Ato, bringing his fat fist
+down with a resounding thump on the drain board. "You may be the
+Captain of the ship, Sammy, but I'm the boss of this galley, and that
+fire baby will have to go. GO! Do you understand? How'm I to cook with
+the ugly little monster lolling all over the fire bed and like as not
+falling into the soup when my back is turned?"
+
+"Hark!" interrupted Roger. "More trouble! Something's up, Master Salt,
+and it's not an eruption either." And Samuel had to agree with him as
+groans, moans, shrieks and hisses came whistling after the flying ship.
+
+"Ah, that'll be the rest of them!" exulted the Royal Discoverer,
+pounding out on deck. "Hah! It's the Lavaland Islanders themselves.
+Ho--this WILL be interesting!"
+
+"Well, just invite them over and we'll all burn up happily together,"
+suggested Ato bitterly.
+
+Hanging over the taffrail, Samuel paid no attention to the King's
+sarcastic suggestion. Indeed, he was much too interested, for just
+showing above the flaming circle of the volcano's crater was a row
+of immense and thunderous looking natives. They were of transparent
+rock-like structure and burned and glowed from the molten lava that
+coursed through their veins. With upraised arms and furious faces they
+were yelling over and over some strange and indistinguishable threats
+and phrases. One, shaking the blackened stick of the Oz flag, danced
+and screamed louder than all the rest put together.
+
+"They do not wish to become subjects of Oz, I take it," sighed Samuel,
+undecided whether to sail back and argue the matter, or sail away and
+save his ship from possible destruction.
+
+"That's not it! That's not it!" cried Roger, flapping his wings
+triumphantly. "I know what's the matter. They want that baby back.
+You're probably making off with the Crown Prince of the Volcano. See
+that woman yelling louder than the others and holding out both arms?
+Well, look--she has a crown on her head and is likely the Queen. She
+wants her baby back."
+
+"And she should have it, too," stated Ato, blinking his eyes at the
+frightful racket the Lavaland Islanders were making. "You can't steal
+people's children like this, Sammy, unless you're going back to
+buccaneering. It's just plain piracy."
+
+"She threw it at us, didn't she?" muttered the Captain, who was
+unwilling to part with so valuable a specimen.
+
+"It probably blew out of its cradle when the volcano erupted. Give it
+back to her, Sammy," begged Ato, who was determined to get rid of the
+terrible infant at any cost. "After all, she's its mother."
+
+"But do you expect me to sail back there and endanger all of our
+lives?" Samuel jerked his head angrily. "And how else can it be done?"
+
+"Er--er--let Roger carry it back in that old wire basket we use for
+clams," proposed the cook eagerly.
+
+"Not on your life," protested Roger in a sulky voice. "The basket would
+grow red hot and burn my bill. Besides, I'm no stork. Tell you what we
+could do, though, and we'd better be quick before they start throwing
+things."
+
+"What?" inquired the Captain, gazing uneasily at the infuriated
+Islanders.
+
+"Why, simply shoot it back," Roger said calmly. "Stuff it in the port
+cannon and blaze away. You never miss your mark, Master Salt, and if
+you can't shoot that baby back into its mother's arms, I'll walk on my
+wings and be done with it."
+
+"Why, Roger, how clever! The very thing!" rejoiced Ato. "I'll go fetch
+it with the fire tongs and you'll have to hurry, Sammy, or we'll be out
+of range."
+
+"But it might injure the young one," objected the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_, shifting his feet uncomfortably.
+
+"Nonsense, it'll be just like a ride in a baby carriage for that little
+rascal. Prime your gun, Sammy, while I get the child."
+
+By this time the clamor from the Island had become so alarming that
+even Samuel realized something would have to be decided. So, somewhat
+mollified by Roger's compliment on his aim, he made ready to fire the
+port cannon. The baby, hissing lustily, was brought without accident
+from the galley. Ato held it gingerly before him, using the fire
+tongs, Roger following along to hold a lighted candle under the little
+fellow to keep him from going out before he was shot.
+
+The baby fitted nicely into the cannon's mouth and stopped crying
+instantly. At the last moment Samuel almost lost his courage, but urged
+on to action by both Ato and Roger, he carefully made his calculations
+and then shutting both eyes pulled the cord that set off the gun. The
+terrible explosion shocked the Lavalanders into silence, and almost
+afraid to look, Samuel opened his eyes.
+
+"Yo, ho, ho! Three cheers for the Skipper!" squealed Ato, snatching
+the towel from his head and waving it like a banner. "The neatest shot
+you ever made, Mate, and a lucky shot, too." The baby and the cannon
+ball which would have shattered a less durable lady had struck the Lava
+Queen amidships. Dropping the cannon ball carelessly into the crater,
+the giantess clasped her child in her arms, smiling and screaming her
+thanks across the tumbling waters.
+
+"Well, was I right, or was I right?" chuckled Roger, teetering backward
+and forward on the rail and preening his feathers self-consciously.
+"And I've another idea just as good in case you should be interested."
+
+"Oh, keep it till tomorrow," grumbled Samuel Salt, who felt terribly
+depressed at the loss of his rare specimen.
+
+"But tomorrow will be too late," persisted Roger, settling on the
+Captain's shoulder. "Now, while these savages are in a good humor, let
+me fly over and drop another Oz flag on the Island. Maybe this time
+they'll let it stand and once it flies over the crater the Island is
+Ozma's."
+
+"By the tooth of a harpooned whale, you're right! I'm forgetting my
+duty to Oz," breathed Samuel, straightening up purposefully. "But our
+kind of flag won't stand the climate yonder."
+
+The Read Bird, however, had thought even of that. Taking a sheet of
+iron from the hold, the resourceful fellow stopped in the galley long
+enough to burn in the word OZ with the red hot poker. Then, thrusting
+the poker itself through two slits in his iron banner, he flew jauntily
+back to the Island.
+
+"Ahoy, and there's a standard bearer for you!" Rubbing his hands
+together, Samuel strode to the rail. "Bless my buttons, the boy
+deserves a medal for this, and shall have one, too."
+
+This time the Lavaland Islanders watched Roger's approach with quiet
+interest and as he hovered uncertainly over their heads held up their
+hands for the iron flag. But Roger, made daring by their friendliness,
+swooped down suddenly to the crater's edge, and jamming his banner
+between two smoking boulders soared aloft.
+
+"Lavaland Islanders!" screamed the Read Bird hoarsely. "You are now
+under the protection and rule of Queen Ozma of Oz. Lavaland Islanders,
+you are hereby adjured to keep the peace and the law and LAV one
+another!"
+
+His voice cracked from fright and excitement, but finishing
+triumphantly, he spread his wings and skimmed back to the _Crescent
+Moon_.
+
+"Hung wung wah HEEE!" yelled the Islanders all together, nodding their
+heads and waving their arms cheerfully. "Hung wung wah HEEE!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 4
+
+Samuel's First Specimen
+
+
+"What do you make of that?" puffed Samuel Salt as Roger dropped
+breathlessly down on his shoulder. "Well, 'Hung wung wah HEEE!' it is.
+Let's give them a cheer for luck." Lifting his great voice, the Royal
+Discoverer for Oz, helped out by his two shipmates, sent the weird call
+booming back across the water.
+
+An answering call came from the Island, and then, with a hiss and thud,
+a small glowing object fell on the deck. Fortunately the fire tongs
+were still handy and picking up the offending object before it could do
+any damage, Ato marched sternly off to the galley. Stopping long enough
+for another wave to the Island, which was growing smaller and smaller
+as the _Crescent Moon_ sped away, Samuel hastened after his cook,
+jotting down hurried notes in his journal as to latitude and longitude
+as he ran along.
+
+"There's something written on this piece of lava," announced Ato, who
+had dropped the smoking souvenir from Lavaland on the stove. Peering
+over his shoulder, Samuel could see queer raised symbols and signs on
+the sulphurous surface of the rock.
+
+"There's something crawling on it, too," volunteered Roger, who was
+perched on the towel rack above the stove, and had a better view, "a
+golden frog or a lizard."
+
+"Merciful mustard! What next?" groaned Ato.
+
+"Why, this--this--" Samuel's voice quivered with excitement and
+disbelief, "this, Mates, is as fine a specimen of a Preoztoric Monster
+as a scientist could hope for; a real live salamander, a fire lizard,
+straight from the burning depths of yonder crater. Stars! Tar and
+Tarrybarrels! This is even better than the baby and will prove my point
+just as well."
+
+"Does it have to live on my stove?" asked Ato ominously, as the
+Salamander slid merrily backward and forward over the red hot plates of
+the range. "Home on the range!" snickered Roger, winking at the Pirate.
+
+"Just till I can fix up a hot box for it," apologized Samuel, "but
+don't fret, old Toff, it doesn't bite and if it falls on the floor, all
+you have to do is scoop it up and put it back before it goes out."
+
+"Not only cook, mate and swab, but now I'm nursemaid to a fire lizard."
+Ato shuddered, and reaching for his tall cook's cap, jammed it down
+hard on his shiny bald head.
+
+"You can keep it in an iron pot while you cook," suggested Roger
+practically, "and after all, King dear, it's the only Salamander in
+captivity. Here, Sally, here Sal--this way, my little crater critter."
+Tilting the pot on the back of the stove, Roger was delighted to find
+the Salamander quite willing to answer to her new name. As she slid
+adventurously into the small cooking vessel, the Read Bird quickly
+righted the pot and clapped on the cover. "There," he exclaimed with a
+satisfied nod at his Master, "how's that?"
+
+"Well, I suppose I'll have to put up with it," sighed Ato resignedly.
+"But in some ways pirating was easier than discovering, Sammy. At
+least, we never kept the captives on the stove. And NOW--" Ato waved
+his arms determinedly. "Clear out, both of you. It's three bells and
+time to stir up the food. And just take that pesky rock along with you.
+I've meat to broil!"
+
+"When this cools, maybe I'll be able to figure out the language,"
+exulted Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake
+turner. "All in all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh, Roger?
+An island, a visit from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric
+monster."
+
+"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's
+shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool,
+Samuel strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps
+on the port and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had
+just hung a white light in the rigging when a lusty call from the
+galley sent him flying off to help Ato serve the dinner.
+
+"What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he reflected, winging
+jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast potatoes. Ato puffed
+cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a steaming tureen
+of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and two of smoking
+meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later when the Read
+Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was the
+tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.
+
+The main cabin of the _Crescent Moon_, with its red leather couches
+under the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to
+keep them from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns,
+was a cheery place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a
+huge fireplace for foggy evenings and every visible space on the wall
+was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels and
+rough maps and charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel
+and Ato sat at their ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his
+upon the wing, darting in and out between bites to assure himself that
+all was well on deck. There was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the
+sky, and the slap of waves against the side of the ship and the wind
+creaking in the cordage made as pleasant a tune as the heart of a
+seaman could wish for.
+
+"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt exhaling a cloud
+of smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the
+long table. "A tidy ship, a good wind and the whole wide sea to sail
+on."
+
+"Suits me!" grinned Ato scraping up the last of the hard sauce and
+settling back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our
+volcano on the chart Sammy, and what are we calling it Mates? An island
+must have a name you know."
+
+"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his
+throat. "If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it
+Salamander Island after Sally."
+
+"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"
+warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his
+head in time to the music.
+
+"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel striding over to the map
+of Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.
+
+"I AM a bird," screamed Roger fluttering up to his shoulder. "'Bout
+here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."
+
+As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_ drew with red chalk a small but effective picture
+of Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland
+Islanders grouped around the crater's top.
+
+"Taken this day without a shot or the loss of a single man," printed
+Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.
+
+"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger raising a claw
+argumentatively.
+
+"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain
+stepping back to admire his drawing.
+
+"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands
+for a country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully
+at the map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once
+ourselves."
+
+"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said putting the red chalk
+back in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries
+that have never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz
+is overpopulated and needs new territories and sea ports. And since
+Ozma is so clever at governing, and her subjects all so happy and
+prosperous, the more people who come under her rule the better!"
+
+"Aye! Aye!" agreed Roger, peering with deep interest at the map. Small
+wonder the Read Bird was interested, for Oz is one of the most exciting
+and enchanting countries ever discovered. There are four large Kingdoms
+in Ozma's realm, the Northern Land of the Gillikens, the Eastern Empire
+of the Winkies, the Southern Country of the Quadlings and the Western
+domain of the Munchkins. Each forms a triangle in the oblong of Oz. The
+Emerald City which is the capital, is in the exact center where all
+these triangles meet. Each of these Kingdoms has its own ruler, but
+all four are under the sovereign rule and control of Ozma, the small
+but powerful fairy who lives in the Emerald City. On all sides, Oz is
+surrounded by a deadly desert and beyond the desert lie the independent
+Kingdoms of No-Land, Low Land, Ix, Play, Ev, the Dominions of the
+Gnome King, and many other strange and important Principalities. These
+countries form a narrow rim around the desert, and beyond this rim lies
+the Nonestic Ocean itself, stretching in all directions and to no one
+knows what far and undiscovered shores. Each of the four Kingdoms in
+Oz shown on Samuel's map was so dotted with smaller Kingdoms, cities,
+towns, villages and the holdings of ancient Knights and Barons, there
+was scarcely room for another castle. With young Princes growing up on
+every hand, Roger could well sympathize with the need of Ozma for more
+territory.
+
+"Won't the Ozians have too long a way to come before they reach these
+new islands and countries we discover?" inquired the Read Bird, after
+staring at the map for some moments in silence.
+
+"Not a bit of it!" Samuel dismissed Roger's objection with a snap of
+his fingers. "I hear the Wizard of Oz is working on a new fleet of
+airships, that will make crossing the desert and Nonestic a real lark
+and enable new settlers to reach these outlying islands in a day or
+less. So all we have to do is to proceed with our discovering. Ozma
+will attend to the rest. This volcanic island may not be as useful as
+some of the others, but one can never tell. How about picking up a few
+islands for you, Ato, as we ride along?" The former pirate dropped his
+arm affectionately round the shoulders of his Royal Cook.
+
+"No, thanks," grunted Ato, rolling cheerfully to his feet. "One's
+enough. What would I want with any more islands? Why I'd never get off
+on a voyage. But pick yourself a couple, Sammy, why don't you?"
+
+"Who, ME?" Samuel Salt shook his head emphatically. "A ship's all I
+can handle and I wouldn't trade you two buckets of sea water for all
+the islands in the Nonestic. One ship and one crew's enough for me,
+and since you're my crew, you'd better turn in--we've had a hard day
+and another one coming. I'll take first watch, Cooky, here, shall have
+middle, and you Roger can be the early bird on morning watch."
+
+"Ho hum! I'm right sleepy at that," admitted Ato, starting to heap up
+plates. "Give me a lift with the dishes, Roger, will you?"
+
+"Oh, throw 'em overboard," directed Samuel Salt recklessly. "There's
+plenty more in the hold and I'm agin all extry labor."
+
+"Hurray!" screamed Roger seizing the coffee pot and winging merrily
+through an open port.
+
+"Avast! Avast there! Not my coffee pot!" pleaded Ato, making after the
+Read Bird with surprising speed considering his tonnage. "Stop you
+great Gossoon! How many times must I tell you I'm boss of the galley?"
+Catching Roger by the leg just as he reached the rail, Ato snatched
+back his precious coffee pot and hugged it protectively to his bosom.
+"Why I've just got this contraption broken in proper," he panted
+indignantly. "A coffee pot's like a pipe, it's got to be sweetened and
+seasoned. Heave over the plates and cups if you like," he went on,
+relenting a bit as he noted the keen disappointment on Roger's face,
+"but save the soup tureen. I'll wager there's not another that size on
+the ship and the Captain must have his soup. What a splendid pot of
+soup THIS would make," murmured Ato looking dreamily down at the sea,
+"a bit salty, perhaps, but full of snapper and porgy and tender young
+sea shoots. Why that foam's as near to whipping cream as anything I've
+ever gazed on."
+
+Tearing himself reluctantly from the appetizing sight, the Royal Cook
+padded off to put the galley in order for the night, while Roger with
+loud squalls of glee dropped the plates and saucers one by one over
+the side. In this way the dishes were soon done, the cabin tidy and
+shipshape, and by eight bells the King and the Read Bird were sleeping
+soundly and Samuel Salt had the ship to himself.
+
+First, he made a complete round of all decks, glanced at the barometer
+and compass, and furled the fore and mizzen topsails. Then he took the
+cooled piece of lava down to the hold. The strange signs and symbols
+had hardened, and labeling it carefully with the date and name of
+Salamander Island, Samuel placed it on his shelves for further study.
+Then returning to the main deck he set a portable ship's lantern on
+a coil of rope and settled down to fix a hot box for the Salamander.
+Selecting from the material he had brought from the hold an iron box
+with a glass lid, he covered the bottom with sand and pebbles. Knowing
+salamanders require hot water as well as hot air, he placed a tiny
+flat pan of water in the corner of the box to serve as a swimming
+pool. A burning glass in the day time and an alcohol lamp under the
+box at night would supply the necessary heat, and setting the whole
+contrivance on an iron tray in the cabin, Samuel went joyfully off to
+fetch the fire lizard.
+
+The Salamander was still in the pot on the back of the stove, and
+giving her an experimental poke with his finger, Samuel was astonished
+to find her quite cool to the touch. This was surprising considering
+she could only live in the most intense heat. But without stopping to
+figure it out, the Captain picked her up between thumb and forefinger,
+carried her to the cabin and popped her into the iron box. He had
+already lighted the lamp under the box so that everything was red
+hot and cozy for her. The small captive seemed to appreciate her new
+quarters, wriggling over the hot pebbles and sand, then splashing gaily
+in her swimming pool.
+
+"Quite a girl!" sighed the pirate, resting his elbows on the table and
+gazing happily down at the first prize of the voyage. "You're going
+to be great company for me, Sally." As if she really understood, the
+lizard gave a squeak and tapped loudly on the glass lid with her
+tail. The pipe almost dropped from Samuel's mouth at Sally's strange
+behavior, and lifting the lid he peered inquisitively down at her.
+Before he had a chance to clap it shut, the Salamander hurled herself
+upward, landing smartly on the bridge of the Pirate's nose, from where
+she slid cleverly into the pipe itself.
+
+"Well I'll be scuppered!" gasped the Royal Explorer looking slightly
+cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose as Sally coiled up comfortably
+in the bowl of the pipe. "The little rascal wants to keep me company,
+and so she shall, bless my boots, so she shall! Why this is plumb
+cute and cozy and something to write in my journal." Puffing away
+delightedly Samuel stepped out of the cabin and all during his watch,
+the little Salamander rested contentedly in his pipe. Sometimes she
+peered up inquisitively over the edge, but mostly she lay quietly on
+the smoking tobacco, looking with calm interest at the sky and the
+rippling sails over her head. Not only did she keep his pipe from going
+out, but never had it drawn so well. So, filled with a vast wonder
+and content, Samuel strode up and down the deck. Not till midnight
+when he roused Ato could he bear to put Sally back in her box and only
+then, after he had promised her another ride in the morning. But when
+morning came, Samuel had no time to keep his promise, for while Ato was
+cooking breakfast and the Captain himself catching forty winks in the
+cabin, the raucous voice of the Read Bird came whistling down from the
+foremast.
+
+"Land Ho! Land! More Land. Island tuluward, Captain!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 5
+
+Patrippany Island
+
+
+"All hands on deck! Come on! Come _on_!" yelled Samuel Salt running
+past Ato's galley dragging on his clothes as he ran. "There's an island
+tuluward, you lubber."
+
+"Well, 'tain't a flying island is it?" Ato stuck a very red face out
+the door. "I guess it'll stay there till I turn the bacon, won't it? No
+cause to burn the biscuits just 'cause an island's sighted is there?"
+But in spite of his pretended indifference, the ship's cook shoved
+all his pans on the back of the stove and hurried out on deck. "Rich
+and jungly, this one," he observed, resting his arms comfortably on
+the rail, "and from what I can see a good place to grow bananas and
+whiskers. Look, Sammy, even the trees have beards."
+
+"Moss," muttered Samuel Salt striding over to the wheel. "Fly ashore
+Roger and see whether there's a good place to put in."
+
+Twittering with importance and curiosity, the Read Bird flung himself
+into the air. In ten minutes he was back to report a wide river cutting
+through the center of the island from end to end. The foliage was so
+dense, Roger had not been able to discover any signs of habitation, but
+after viewing the mouth of the river through his glasses, the Captain
+decided to take a chance, and sail through.
+
+"Now, Sammy, let's not do anything hasty," begged the ship's cook
+lifting his floury hands in warning, "nor try to conquer a country on
+an empty stomach. This may be an important island, so after we eat, let
+us put on our proper clothes and plant the Oz flags with dignity and
+decorum."
+
+"Spoken like a King and a seaman," approved Samuel Salt, "and if my eye
+does not deceive me, I'll have the ship in the river as soon as you
+have the coffee in the pot. Then we'll ride in with the tide, put on
+our discovering togs and proceed with the business of the day."
+
+So while Ato returned to his galley and the Read Bird to his post in
+the foremast, Samuel swung the _Crescent Moon_ in toward the island.
+Each felt a slight twinge of uneasiness as the ship left the open sea
+and began to slip rapidly up the broad new and unnavigated jungle
+stream. Vine covered trees pressed close to the banks, and birds and
+monkeys in the branches kept up an incessant screech and chattering. A
+flock of greedy pelicans flopped comically after the ship and as they
+penetrated deeper and deeper into the jungle it almost seemed as if
+they were entering some dim green land of goblins.
+
+"A fine target we make for anyone who cares to shoot at us," moaned
+Ato, as he waddled backward and forward between the cabin and galley
+with cups and covered dishes. "Ugh!"
+
+"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised to feel an arrow in my back any minute
+now," assented Samuel Salt brightly, "though I must say I'd much prefer
+a fried mackerel in my stomach."
+
+"Come on then," shuddered Ato, in no wise cheered by Samuel's remarks,
+"breakfast's ready and we may as well eat before we die."
+
+"Now never say die!" roared the Royal Explorer of Oz, touching the
+buttons to furl sail and yelling to Roger to let go the anchor.
+"Never say die--say dee--dee-scovery is our aim and purpose, Mates.
+Dee-scovery with a _hi de di dide di dough_!" sang Samuel vociferously
+to keep up his own spirits. Finally with the ship motionless amidstream
+the three shipmates sat down to breakfast. Their nerves were tense and
+their ears cocked for signs of approaching natives, but except for the
+noise of the birds and monkeys and the occasional splash of some river
+creature, there was no sound to indicate the ship had been sighted by
+the islanders.
+
+"Nobody's home," concluded Samuel, finishing off his third cup of
+coffee at one toss and hurrying off to his cabin. Roger, having only
+Oz flags and no shore togs to bother him, generously offered to clear
+away the dishes and amused himself by throwing scraps and the rest of
+the biscuits to the pelicans. He had just tossed over the last biscuit
+when Ato appeared in a grand satin coat and breeches, long cape and
+three-cornered hat. The elegance of his apparel was somewhat marred by
+the bread board he had belted round his middle and the bread knife
+and blunderbuss he had stuck through his sash.
+
+"Ha, hah!" roared Samuel Salt, giving the bread board a resounding
+whack. "Something to stay your stomach, EH?" Samuel himself was as
+stylishly attired as the King, his three-cornered hat at a dashing
+angle. Under his arm he had two pairs of tremendously long stilts. "No
+need for us to get all grubby lowering the boat. We'll wade ashore this
+time," explained Samuel as Ato's eyes grew round and questioning. "Easy
+as walking on crutches; just watch me, Mate."
+
+Now Samuel, it must be confessed, had been practicing stilting on Elbow
+Island, so naturally it came easy to him. First he put his stilts over
+the side, then vaulting the rail, he seized the tops and settled his
+feet in the cross pieces at one jump and started walking calmly up and
+down gleefully calling for Ato to follow. It all looked so simple, Ato
+handed the basket of lunch he had packed to Roger, and seizing his
+stilts began anxiously feeling around for the river bottom. Satisfied
+that it was solid, he climbed boldly up on the rail.
+
+"That's it! That's it!" applauded Samuel. "Now grab the tops, Mate, and
+start coming."
+
+"Chee tree--tee--hee--!" screeched the monkeys derisively as Ato clung
+precariously to the rail with one hand and maneuvered his stilts with
+the other. By some miracle of balance the fat King actually managed
+to mount and hold on to his perilous walking sticks. Then with a long
+quivering breath he heaved one forward. He was about to take another
+step when a desperate scream from Roger almost caused him to topple
+over backwards.
+
+"'Gators!" croaked the Read Bird, beating his wings together violently.
+"Watch out for those 'gators."
+
+"Why bother him with gaiters at a time like this? They look perfectly
+all right to me." Samuel Salt frowned up at Roger.
+
+"Not _his_ gaiters, river 'gators, alligators, CROCODILES!" wailed
+Roger, beginning to fly in agonized circles. "Crocodiles and WORSE."
+
+Samuel, eyeing what he had supposed to be a pile of rotten logs on the
+river bank, saw dozens of the slimy saurians slide into the water and
+come savagely toward them.
+
+"Back to the ship! Back to the ship!" babbled the Read Bird, clutching
+Ato's collar with a frantic claw. But the King was too frightened to
+move. The sight of the bleary-eyed river monsters made him tremble so
+violently his stilts twittered and swayed like trees in a hurricane. He
+could not for the life of him take a step in either direction. With a
+loud cry Samuel started to help him, but a crocodile reached Ato first.
+Its jaws closed with a vicious snap on the King's left stilt and with a
+heart-rending shriek Ato plunged into the slimy river.
+
+"There, there! Now you've done it!" sobbed Roger. "Fed the kindest soul
+who ever served a ship's company to a parcel of crocodiles!" Dropping
+the Oz flags and lunch basket, he made an unsuccessful grab for his
+Master's arm. But even if he had caught it, Ato's great weight would
+have pulled them both under, and now only a circle of bubbles showed
+where the luckless explorer had disappeared. Firing his blunderbuss
+to frighten off the rest of the crocodiles, Samuel, striking left and
+right with his stilts, propelled himself forward, while Roger pecked
+futilely at the monster that had felled his Master. But just as Samuel,
+after boldly driving off the dragon-like creature, prepared to dive in
+and save Ato or perish with him, a dripping head appeared above the
+water.
+
+"Thank you. Thank you very much!" murmured a mild voice. "I haven't
+had as nice a present as this since I was an itty bitty baby. Now what
+can I do for YOU?" Neither Samuel nor Roger could speak a word, for
+where the King had gone down, a tremendous hippopotamus was coming
+up, the lunch basket hanging carelessly out of a corner of its mouth.
+For a wild moment Samuel thought his enormous friend and shipmate had
+been transformed by some witchcraft into this ponderous beast. He even
+imagined he caught an expression of Ato's in the monster's moist eye.
+But this gloomy idea was soon dispelled, for, as the creature rose
+higher out of the water, they could see a desperate and bedraggled
+figure sprawled across its slippery back.
+
+"Ahoy, Mate!" choked Samuel, his heart thumping like a trip hammer. "Is
+it really you? Are you safe, then?"
+
+"Safe!" quavered the half-drowned and mud-covered King of the Octagon
+Isle. "SAFE?" He peered dizzily at the churning crocodiles just a
+boat's length away, and his voice cracked and broke. "I never felt
+safer in my life. What am I riding, a whale or an elephant?"
+
+"A river horse," explained the hippopotamus, looking kindly over her
+shoulder. Then, as the crocodiles began to hiss and roar and come
+rolling toward them, she gave a ferocious bellow and snort. "Away with
+you! Be off, you river scum!" she squealed viciously. "These travelers
+are MINE. Shoot your fire stick, Master Long Legs. That will fix them."
+For a moment the crocodiles held their post, then, as Samuel fired his
+gun repeatedly, they began to slide sullenly across the river to the
+opposite bank. "Hold fast, Master Short Legs, and I'll soon have you
+ashore," wheezed the hippopotamus, speaking out of the corner of her
+mouth so as not to drop the picnic basket.
+
+"Yes, yes, but what then?" shuddered Ato, trying to get a finger hold
+on the monster's slippery neck.
+
+"Why, then, we'll both tell our stories, and after that I'll eat,"
+snorted the river horse, paddling joyously toward the bank.
+
+"You'll EAT!" groaned Ato, ready to roll back into the river. "Oh, my
+father and mother and maiden aunts!"
+
+"Did you hear that?" Dropping to Samuel's shoulder, Roger whispered
+fiercely. "Quick now, a shot behind the ear, before it gets any
+further. Are you going to do nothing while this ravenous monster
+carries off my poor Master?"
+
+"Sh-hh!" warned Samuel, holding up his finger. "These creatures do
+not eat meat or men. They're herbivorous, my lad, and this one seems
+uncommonly kind and friendly. But what puzzles me--" the Royal Explorer
+looked intently into the face of the Read Bird. "What puzzles me is to
+find this one talking our language. To my knowledge, only animals in
+Oz, a few in Ev and you on the Octagon Isle have the gift of speech.
+And I tell you, Mate, this is a valuable discovery, and a simply
+splendid specimen of a pachydermatous talking aquatic." Whether the
+last few words in this sentence or a stone in the river bottom tripped
+up the Captain, Roger never knew, but without any warning Samuel turned
+a sudden back somersault into the river, going under as completely as
+Ato had done.
+
+"Ugh--gr--ugh!" he gurgled, coming up full of mud and disgust. "How did
+that happen?"
+
+"Stilts!" sniffed Roger, whose wings had saved him from going down with
+Samuel. "A splendid way to get ashore, Master Salt, so neat and tidy.
+And a fine Discoverer you look now."
+
+Sighing deeply, Samuel watched his stilts floating out of reach, then
+shaking his head violently to get the water out of his eyes, he swam
+thoughtfully after the hippopotamus. As he dragged himself up on the
+bank, a monkey swinging by its tail from the lower branches of a tree
+snatched his three-cornered hat and scittered all the way to the tree
+top, at which all the other monkeys let out shrill hoots of mocking
+merriment.
+
+"Ah! The welcome committee!" sniffled Ato, rolling off the
+hippopotamus. "Well, Sammy, wherever it is, here we are and a nice
+mess you've made of the landing. Clothes ruined, weapons gone," (Ato
+felt his middle dejectedly for his bread knife and blunderbuss), then
+hitching up the bread board at his waist looked long and accusingly at
+the Leader of the Expedition.
+
+"Now you mustn't mind a little mud," said the hippopotamus, setting
+down the picnic basket and gazing from one to the other with frank
+interest and curiosity. "Mud is beautiful and SO healthy."
+
+"Not for me," frowned Samuel Salt, endeavoring to remove the thick
+green slime from his hair and ears with his damp silk handkerchief.
+"But I suppose we'll dry off in time and--"
+
+"Proceed with the business of the day," finished Ato sarcastically,
+as he squeezed the water out of his silk pantaloons and coat tails.
+"But I hope you don't mind my saying that a seaman should stick to
+his boats, Samuel. If I had not fallen in with this kind and obliging
+hippopotamus, I'd have been a crocodile's lunch by this time."
+
+"Oh, I'd have got you out somehow," muttered Samuel, smoothing back his
+hair sulkily. "And those stilts really saved your life. Suppose that
+animal had bitten your leg instead of your stilt? By the way, what's
+the name of this island, Mate?" Anxious to change the subject, Samuel
+turned to Ato's tremendous rescueress.
+
+"Mate?" repeated the hippopotamus, wiggling her ears inquiringly, "What
+may that mean?"
+
+"It is what a seaman calls his crew and his friends," explained Samuel,
+grinning in spite of himself.
+
+"Seaman? Mate?" mused the hippopotamus in a rapt voice. "How cozy, how
+beautiful!" Overcome with emotion, the mighty monster leaned forward
+and lapped up the picnic basket, Oz flags, lunch and everything.
+"I shall remember this as long as I live," she assured them with a
+gulp as one of the flags went sideways down her throat. "Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, bids you welcome to
+Patrippany Island."
+
+"Little daughter!" exclaimed Ato in a smothered voice. "Ha, ha!
+Patrippany Island. Ho, ho! This is interesting. I knew there was a trip
+in it somewhere, a wet trip for us, eh, Samuel?"
+
+"But what I don't understand," said the Royal Explorer of Oz, briskly
+massaging his beard with his handkerchief, "is how you happen to speak
+our language. Do all the creatures on this Island talk? I don't mean
+that monkey chatter above."
+
+"No, none of the other creatures here speak the language of man,"
+answered Nikobo solemnly. "I never knew I could speak it myself till
+five moons ago last Herb Day."
+
+"Herb Day? Dear, dear and dear! How confusing it all grows," sighed
+Ato, emptying the water out of his hat which had somehow survived his
+river ducking. "Do you suppose she means Thursday? Roger! ROGER! Keep
+away from those monkeys. Do you wish to lose all your tail feathers?"
+
+"Oh, it's all very simple," Nikobo rolled her eyes from side to side.
+"One day I eat herbs and that is Herb Day. One day I eat twigs and that
+is Twig Day, and one day I eat grass and that is Grass Day, and--"
+
+"And one day you eat lunch baskets and Oz flags, and I suppose that
+makes it Flag Day," chuckled Roger, coming down from a little
+excursion in the tree tops. "She's swallowed the Oz flags, Skipper, and
+if that doesn't make her a citizen of Oz, I'll eat my feathers."
+
+"Go ahead, if it will keep you any quieter," said Samuel Salt, who did
+not want this interesting conversation interrupted by Roger's nonsense.
+"So you only began to speak our language five moons ago last Herb Day?
+What made you do that?"
+
+"A boy," confided Nikobo with a ponderous wag of her head.
+
+"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Feeling in his pocket, Samuel pulled
+out a small note book and pencil, still damp but usable. "Was it a
+native boy?" he asked eagerly.
+
+"No, no, certainly NOT." The hippopotamus panted a little at the very
+idea of such a thing. "The Leopard Men speak a strange roaring language
+I have never been able to make head or tail of. Besides, to speak to
+them would not be safe nor desirable. The Leopard Men have long tusks
+and spears and--"
+
+"Leopard Men!" yelled Ato, flinging both arms round the trunk of a
+tree. "Oh! Oh! and OH! I wish we were safely back at pirating, Sammy.
+Here we are marooned on this miserable monkey island, inhabited by
+Leopard Men, surrounded by crocodiles and no way of getting back to the
+ship."
+
+"You forget me," murmured the hippopotamus. Lumbering over to Ato, she
+gave him a gentle nudge with her moist pink snout. "Nikobo, Little
+Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People, will carry you anywhere you
+wish to go."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 6
+
+A Little Wild Man
+
+
+"Not yet, not yet," protested Samuel Salt as Ato made a clumsy attempt
+to mount the hippopotamus. "Why, we've only just come, Mate. We can't
+go without seeing these Leopard Men and this strange boy who speaks our
+language."
+
+"Oh, CAN'T we?" Drawing in his breath, Ato made a flying leap at
+Nikobo, and this time managing an ear hold, pulled himself determinedly
+up on her moist, slippery back. "Goodbye, Samuel," said the King with
+a firm wave of his hand. "If you bring any Leopard Men back to the
+_Crescent Moon_, you can discover yourself another cook. No Leopard
+Men. Mind, now!"
+
+"Oh, you needn't worry about that." The hippopotamus closed one eye and
+smiled knowingly to herself. Thoroughly annoyed by the desertion of Ato
+and the superior grin of the river horse, Samuel snatched a long rapier
+from his belt and glowered belligerently around him.
+
+"Shiver my timbers! You think I'm not strong enough nor smart enough to
+fight these savages? HUWHERE are these Leopard Men?" roared the former
+Pirate in such a reverberating voice the monkeys fled silently to the
+tree tops, and even Roger put his head under his wing.
+
+"Gone, all gone!" explained Nikobo as she started calmly down toward
+the river bank.
+
+"You mean there are no Leopard Men on this Island now?" Looking with
+horror and aversion at the crocodile-infested river, Ato began tugging
+at Nikobo's ear. "Not so fast, my good creature! Wait a moment, my
+buxom lass! Perhaps I'll stay with Sammy after all."
+
+"Well, just as you say." With scarcely a pause in her stride, the
+hippopotamus turned round and waddled amiably back to the strip of sand
+where Samuel Salt stood staring sternly into the jungle beyond.
+
+"This is a great disappointment to me, Mates," sighed the Captain of
+the _Crescent Moon_ mournfully wringing out the lace ruffles of his
+cuffs. "To have taken a Leopard Man back to the Court of Oz would have
+been an achievement worth the whole voyage."
+
+"Now there's where we're different," murmured Ato, settling into a more
+comfortable position on the back of the river horse. "I myself would
+rather be disappointed than speared by a savage, and I don't care how
+many Leopard Men I miss seeing. Rather be spared than speared, ha, ha!
+Tee, HEE, HEE!" Ato chuckled from sheer relief.
+
+"Shall I fly back to the ship for some more Oz flags?" Roger flapped
+his wings inquiringly. "If the Leopard Men are really gone, then
+Patrippany Island is ours without a spear thrown."
+
+"That's so," mused Samuel Salt, thrusting his rapier back into its
+sheath and beginning to show a little interest in the island itself.
+"Fly ahead, my Hearty."
+
+"And bring back some ship's biscuit," called Ato. "All this diving and
+mud turtling has left me weak as a fish. And while we're waiting for
+Roger, perhaps Nikobo will tell us a little about these Islanders. Were
+they little or big, black or brown?"
+
+"Yellow," answered the hippopotamus gravely. "Big and yellow with brown
+spots all over their hides. They had brown hair, mane and eyes, and
+rough snarling voices. They used neither huts nor shelter, but roamed
+like the animals through the jungle, hunting, fishing and fighting.
+They had hollowed out logs for use in the water and last Twig Day
+every Leopard man, woman and child climbed into the long boats and
+paddled out to sea. Shortly afterward--" Nikobo's eyes grew round and
+shiny at the mere memory, "shortly afterward a great hurricane arose
+and my family and I, watching from the mouth of the Biggenlittle River,
+saw the boats and men swept under the waves. Some of the logs floated
+back to the islands, but the Leopard Men and women we never saw again."
+
+"Not even ONE?" exclaimed Samuel peevishly.
+
+"Not even one," Nikobo assured him solemnly. "And to tell the truth,"
+the hippopotamus flashed a sudden and expansive sigh, "it is much
+better and safer without them. The one problem is the boy, and I've
+been feeding him myself."
+
+"Oh, yes, the boy who speaks our language," mused Samuel, still lost in
+bitter reflections of the Leopard Men he should never see face to face.
+
+"What've you been feeding him?" asked Ato, suspiciously. "How would a
+hippopotamus know what to feed a boy?"
+
+"I do the best I can," said Nikobo in a hurt voice. "Every day I
+collect fresh roots, herbs and grasses for him."
+
+"Roots, herbs--grasses! Merciful Mustard! A boy's being fed on roots,
+herbs and grasses, Sammy. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous
+in your life?"
+
+"No worse than spinach," mumbled Samuel Salt. "But SAY, look here--"
+The Royal Explorer of Oz raised his arm imperiously. "What is a small
+boy doing on this island? How'd he get here in the first place, and
+where is he now?"
+
+"Follow me," directed Nikobo in a dignified voice. "Follow me and you
+shall know all." As Roger appeared at that moment with the Oz flags and
+biscuits, the little procession immediately got under way, Ato calmly
+riding behind.
+
+On her many visits to the strange boy, Nikobo had worn a path through
+the tangled growth of vines and bush. Tenuous trees dropped their
+branches over this path and stretched out their gnarled roots to trip
+the unwary traveler. Several times Roger let out hoarse squeals as a
+huge snake coiled along the limb of a tree, thrust out its ugly head.
+Gaudy flowers from the vines that closely entwined every tree, filled
+the air with a damp sleepy fragrance, and Samuel Salt, darting his eyes
+left and right, held his blunderbuss ready for any savage beast that
+might spring upon them. But the jungle creatures, thinking the Leopard
+Men had returned, slunk further and further into the green shadows and
+without any mishaps or encounters, Nikobo brought the explorers to a
+small clearing in the whispering tangle of green.
+
+Here they were suddenly confronted by a stoutly built cage, its bars
+constructed of saplings set scarcely an inch apart. On a heap of grass
+in a corner of the cage crouched the lonely figure of a little boy
+clothed in a single leopard skin.
+
+"Well, goosewing my topsails!" panted Samuel Salt, deceived at first by
+the leopard skin. "A little wild man, a Leopard boy, as I'm a salt sea
+sailor!"
+
+"It's nothing of the kind," Nikobo contradicted him sharply. "Can't you
+see he is white and has teeth as straight as your own instead of tusks?
+He's not like the Leopard Men at all."
+
+"But who put him in this cage? What's he done, and what's he doing
+here?" Slipping off Nikobo's back, Ato pressed his face close to the
+bars of the strange prison.
+
+"I am waiting for my people to come and rescue me," stated the boy,
+rising with great dignity from his bed of grass. Folding his arms, he
+looked haughtily out at the explorers. "Who are these men, Nikobo?"
+he inquired sternly. "Why have you brought them here?"
+
+"Because they seemed friendly and speak your language," puffed the
+hippopotamus, beaming lovingly at her small charge. "Because I thought
+they might break these bars and set you free. They have a hollow log
+seventy times as large as the hollowed logs of the Leopard Men. In
+this they could easily carry you over the waters and back to your own
+people. I've tried to break this miserable hutch dozens of times,"
+explained Nikobo, turning to Samuel Salt. "But the saplings are sunk so
+deep, I've been afraid I'd crush Tandy as well as the cage if I pushed
+too hard."
+
+"Quite likely," said Samuel Salt, rapping the bars with his knuckles.
+"We'll have to fetch an ax from the ship. But who shut you up here,
+little Lubber, and how long have you been prisoner on this island?"
+
+"Five months and a half," answered the boy after consulting one of the
+bars in the corner of his cage. "I've made a nick in this bar with my
+teeth for every day I have been here."
+
+"Well, that's all over now, you poor child, you!" Ato's voice shook
+with indignation as he looked in at the little boy whose every rib
+showed plainly under the skin. In fact, a heap of grass and dried roots
+in the cage made the kind-hearted monarch shudder with distaste and
+sympathy. "You shall come with us and eat like a King," he promised,
+nodding his head cheerfully, "and learn to be an able-bodied seaman
+to boot." Instead of looking grateful or pleased, the boy whom the
+hippopotamus had called "Tandy" merely stood looking between the bars
+of his cage.
+
+"Why should I go with you?" he said finally and wearily. "You look wild
+and dangerous to me, and far worse than the Leopard Men. Here, at least
+I have Kobo to take care of me, and who knows what further perils and
+hardships I should suffer at sea?"
+
+"Ho! HO! And how do you like that, my lads?" Roger rocked backward and
+forward on Samuel Salt's shoulder. "The young one speaks truly. If you
+could but see yourselves, my Hearties." Now both Ato and Samuel had
+forgotten their plunge in the river, but with their hair and clothing
+still covered with mud and slime they looked the veriest rogues
+and rascals. And while Ato regarded himself with embarrassment and
+discomfiture, Samuel took a quick step forward.
+
+"SO!" roared the great seaman angrily. "So, you don't trust us, eh?
+Well, stay here if you wish and grow up like a monkey. You look like a
+little wild man already."
+
+"STOP!" Nikobo quivered all over with resentment. "You must not call
+Tandy a wild man."
+
+"Don't mind." The boy drew the leopard skin around him with quiet
+dignity. "I can bear it. I have borne far worse. I can bear anything. I
+am a KING and the son of a King's son! Tell them to go away, Kobo."
+
+"Now, Now, NOW! This is nothing but nonsense." Ato clapped his hands
+sharply. "However we look, my young squab, you are in good and royal
+company. My mate here, Captain Salt, is Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,
+Royal Explorer of Oz, and a Knight, besides. I, though at present
+a ship's cook, am King of the Octagon Isle, and Roger, here, is as
+Royal a Read Bird as ever wagged a bill and wing. If you say you are
+a King, we will have to believe you, though 'tis hardly credible."
+Ato stared with round eyes at the matted hair and dirty body of the
+little prisoner. "If you say you are a King we must believe you, but in
+return you must believe _us_, and stop all this hoity toity talk and
+clishmaclatter."
+
+"He speaks the plain truth." Nikobo pressed her huge snout close to the
+bars. "Even I can detect the signs of royalty in this fat and goodly
+person whom I just this morning helped out of the river. You must go
+with them, Tandy, and they will carry you back to your own Kingdom."
+
+"But I tell you, I'd rather stay here with YOU," wailed the little boy,
+relaxing a moment from his kingly and overbearing attitude.
+
+"Roger, fetch the AX." Samuel Salt spoke so loud and sternly Nikobo
+lapsed into a shocked silence and Tandy hastily drew back into a far
+corner of his cage.
+
+"Never argue with a sea-going man," whispered Ato, winking solemnly as
+Roger flew off to obey Samuel's order. Having settled the matter in his
+own mind, Samuel turned his back on Tandy and began to examine with
+deep interest the fungus growth on one of the gnarled old trees. "So
+you really are a King?" Leaning against the huge body of Nikobo, Ato
+folded his hands comfortably on his stomach and regarded the boy in the
+leopard skin earnestly. "Now what country do you hail from and what do
+they call you at home?"
+
+"I am Tazander Tazah of Ozamaland," announced the boy proudly, "the
+land of the creeping bird and flying reptile. Ozamaland on the long
+continent of Tarara is my home."
+
+"OZAMALAND!" shouted Samuel Salt, swinging round like a teetotum. "So
+there really IS such a place. I have always said so, Ato, but no one
+would believe me. Lies to the east of here, doesn't it, sonny, and is
+twice as large as any known land bordering on the Nonestic?" Somewhat
+impressed to find that Samuel Salt knew something of his homeland, the
+little boy nodded. "And do you suppose we could snare one of those
+creeping birds and flying reptiles if we managed to reach Ozamaland?"
+Grasping the bars of the cage, Samuel peered anxiously into the young
+King's face.
+
+"Do you suppose you ever could reach Ozamaland?" sighed Tazander,
+returning Samuel's eager look with gloomy aloofness. "Do you know that
+a ship has never touched our shores?"
+
+"Then the _Crescent Moon_ shall be the first!" cried Samuel Salt,
+snapping his fingers joyfully. "Why, this will be tremendous and the
+most momentous discovery in a thousand years! But how do you happen
+to be so far from Ozamaland yourself?" asked Samuel Salt immediately
+afterward. "Did you come by air or sea?"
+
+"That I cannot tell." Tazander seated himself soberly on a log before
+he continued. "One night I was sleeping soundly in my tower in the
+White City, next thing I remember I was here in this jungle. The
+Leopard Men, wild and savage as they were, fed me when they remembered
+on raw fish and chunks of hard, bitter bread they made from the roots
+of the Brima Tree. But I could not understand their talk, nor they
+mine, and till Kobo found me a month after my imprisonment I had no one
+to talk to at all. But she has come every day to keep me company and
+try to set me free, and since the Leopard Men were drowned she has fed
+me, too. See, through this little door." Tazander opened a small door
+in the bars and stuck both hands through.
+
+"But how did you learn the language?" asked Ato, turning round to gaze
+up into Nikobo's huge face.
+
+"I don't know," said Nikobo with an excited gulp. "I just started to
+say 'Hello!' and instead of saying it in hippopotamy, there I was
+talking a strange language which I could understand as well as my
+own. And in this language Tandy answered me, much to my delight and
+pleasure."
+
+"Strange, very strange." Ato shook his head in a puzzled manner.
+"Well, all I say is, it was lucky for this small fellow that you
+happened along, and once we have him aboard he'll soon forget all these
+hardships and unpleasant experiences."
+
+"I'll never forget Kobo," said the young King, backing stiffly away
+from the outstretched arms of Ato.
+
+"And Kobo'll never forget YOU," sniffed the hippopotamus. "The talk
+of the river people seems dull and stupid since I've talked to Tandy.
+None of the herd really need me and I don't know what I'm going to
+do--whoo--Hoo HOO WHOOO!" Rocking from side to side, Nikobo began
+to sob as if her heart would break, so violently in fact, Samuel
+Salt covered both ears and Ato, alarmed at the enormous grief of the
+gigantic beast, tried to put his arms around her.
+
+"Here, here!" begged the ship's cook, thumping her hard upon the back.
+Opening the bag of biscuits Roger had brought from the ship, Ato handed
+two to Tandy and began shoving the rest as fast as he could down the
+vast throat of the grief-stricken hippopotamus. After each biscuit,
+Nikobo choked and sobbed to herself, but on the whole, they seemed
+to comfort her, and when the Read Bird finally returned with the ax
+she watched almost cheerfully as Samuel Salt, with well-aimed blows,
+demolished Tandy's jungle cage. As the last side crashed down and
+without giving Tandy time to argue any further, Samuel Salt seized
+the boy firmly in both arms and set him down on the back of the
+hippopotamus. Then, giving Ato a hand up behind him, the Captain of
+the _Crescent Moon_ sternly led the way to the edge of the island.
+Roger, waving an Oz flag, flew ahead screaming defiantly to the monkeys
+and parrots that infested the island, "WAY, WAY! Way for the Royal
+Discoverer of Oz! Way for the King of the Octagon Isle! Way for Nikobo,
+Little Daughter of the Biggenlittle River People. Way for Tazander
+Tazah, King and son of a King's son! WAY--ay--ayyyy!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 7
+
+Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt
+
+
+With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the
+little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps
+because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he
+was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.
+Not even the _Crescent Moon_, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed
+to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.
+
+"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight
+of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the
+boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of
+being crocked for the rest of my life."
+
+"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless
+greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily
+about in the muddy river water.
+
+"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,
+Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,
+Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and
+I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens
+to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at
+Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping
+joyously behind him.
+
+"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.
+"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat
+around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange
+grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me
+gather a few."
+
+"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's
+bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.
+
+"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.
+"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the
+misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then
+I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for
+him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."
+
+"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato
+disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is
+himself a King."
+
+"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning
+wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."
+With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking
+it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly
+creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.
+Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed
+the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly
+asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an
+hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack
+and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.
+
+"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the
+ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back
+cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"
+
+"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so
+small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has
+been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with
+only a miserable hippopotamus for company."
+
+"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very
+superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with
+you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying
+bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,
+the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.
+"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as
+Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make
+allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his
+own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say
+he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.
+Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz
+looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung
+from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with
+spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea
+shells tied up in his shore-going coat.
+
+"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger
+helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.
+
+"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato
+and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.
+
+"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout
+warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,
+too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them
+Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they
+would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling
+about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even
+stand up."
+
+"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these
+might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a
+few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this
+voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting
+plants, too?"
+
+"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep
+rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying
+him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"
+explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had
+with one of these vines in my early youth."
+
+"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's
+collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right
+have such things on a ship?"
+
+"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel
+easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming
+country."
+
+"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to
+Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,
+Master Salt."
+
+"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful
+so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing
+contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.
+
+"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!
+Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the
+crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you
+planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about
+their new sovereign?"
+
+Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the
+tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.
+I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear
+'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape
+of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors
+from Oz."
+
+"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps
+and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate
+as Nikobo here."
+
+"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,
+luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.
+"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son
+of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a
+couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some
+time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he
+calmly spoke his mind.
+
+"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here
+with Kobo till my own people come for me."
+
+"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny
+youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to
+leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's
+back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.
+Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather
+sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.
+
+"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the
+sand. "And no one can make me."
+
+"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought
+of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to
+further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and
+began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference
+Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had
+finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.
+
+"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken
+voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"
+
+"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand
+to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking
+wildly from the hippopotamus to the _Crescent Moon_, Samuel had a
+dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his
+cherished vessel.
+
+"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than
+polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,
+she'll sink the ship."
+
+"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a
+meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."
+
+"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a
+great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind
+motherly creature that she is!"
+
+"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and--" Then
+suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.
+
+"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his
+oranges from one shoulder to the other.
+
+"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly
+delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen
+back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.
+We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and
+meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in
+the hold."
+
+"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of
+life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge
+champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."
+
+"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato
+in Samuel's ear.
+
+"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a
+taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last
+swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and
+wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails
+Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their
+new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from
+sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the
+evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all
+the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,
+Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a
+strange procession started out for the _Crescent Moon_. Ahead with the
+keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a
+small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty
+young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in
+his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he
+meant to fasten it to the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so
+Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to
+the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the
+ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of
+the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no
+trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could
+raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt
+the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and
+seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly
+pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious
+specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,
+the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_ weighed anchor and dropped with
+the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the
+automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,
+adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode
+happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed
+her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary
+explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a
+shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.
+
+"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.
+
+"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,
+waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you
+and Ato would want him in here."
+
+"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small
+berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never
+be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out
+of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his
+spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel
+hurried out on deck.
+
+Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding
+himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had
+taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old
+pirate suits.
+
+"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring
+sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the
+suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young
+monarch.
+
+"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he
+repeated dismally.
+
+"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking
+at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the
+hatches with lubbers!"
+
+Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,
+though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what
+Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and
+pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.
+Gulls flew in excited circles all round the _Crescent Moon_, calling
+out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning
+on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz
+flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive
+appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he
+had done a good day's discovering.
+
+"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at
+Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.
+
+"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.
+
+"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo
+remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of
+you yet, my lass!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 8
+
+Maxims for Monarchs
+
+
+When Ato, banging boisterously on an iron frying pan with a wooden
+spoon, summoned all hands to dinner, Samuel and Roger responded with a
+rush. But Tandy remained sitting gloomily on his bunk.
+
+"Now what's the matter?" demanded Samuel Salt as Roger, sent to call
+the young voyager, came flying back to the table.
+
+"He says I may serve his dinner in the cabin," snickered Roger,
+popping a biscuit into his mouth and swallowing it whole.
+
+"Well, don't you do it!" roared the Captain, bringing his fist down
+with an angry thump. "No use to start such nonsense!"
+
+"But he's so thin and feeble. The poor child's just full of raw roots
+and jungle grass," murmured Ato, beginning to heap a platter with
+meat and vegetables. "Wait till he folds himself round some of these
+seafarin' rations. He'll be a different person."
+
+"And he'd better be!" rumbled the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_,
+pulling in his chair. "And if you and Roger want to spoil the little
+pest, go ahead, but he'd better keep out of MY way. HAH!"
+
+"I could drop the dinner on his head," suggested Roger helpfully as Ato
+handed him an appetizing tray for Tandy. "How would that be?"
+
+"Utterly reprehensible, and conduct unbecoming in a Royal Read Bird and
+able-bodied seaman," chuckled the ship's cook, shaking his finger at
+Roger. "Why don't you try to help the little beggar and set him a good
+example?"
+
+Now Roger, in spite of his sharp tongue, was really a sociable and
+kind-hearted bird and the sight of Tandy sitting so forlornly on his
+bunk made him regret his teasing speeches. After all, the little
+fellow was far from home and had had a hard time in the jungle.
+
+"Here!" he puffed, setting down the tray and lighting the lantern.
+"This'll put feathers on your chest, young one, and mind you eat every
+scrap."
+
+"Thank you," answered Tandy, so drearily that Roger with a shudder
+of distaste fled back to the cheerful company of Samuel and Ato.
+But later, when Samuel had gone below to pot the precious plants
+from Patrippany Island and the ship's cook was leaning over the rail
+conversing cozily with the hippopotamus, Roger flew back to Tandy's
+cabin resolved to help him if he could. With calm satisfaction he noted
+that Tandy had eaten everything on the tray. Lying on his back, the
+young King of Ozamaland was staring solemnly up at the beams over his
+bunk.
+
+"Ahoy! And what goes on here?" cried Roger, setting down on the old sea
+chest. "How about a turn on deck, my lad, and a bit of chatter with the
+crew?"
+
+"It is not seemly for a King and son of a King's son to talk with his
+inferiors," observed Tandy coldly.
+
+"In-feer-iors!" screamed Roger, forgetting all his good intentions
+and mad enough to nip the youngster's nose right off. "Are you by any
+chance referring to me?"
+
+"Ozamaland is a great and powerful country and I am its King," stated
+Tandy, turning his back on the Read Bird. At this Roger let out another
+screech, and then suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, took a
+long breath to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was both
+calm and reasonable.
+
+"Ozamaland may be a great and powerful country and you may also be its
+King, but remember you are no longer in Ozamaland," explained Roger
+firmly. "You are on this ship by the express wish and kindness of the
+Captain and in the company of Kings and BETTER. WAIT!" Shaking a claw
+at Tandy's back, Roger flew off to fetch one of Ato's books from the
+shelf above the stove. Tandy was in the same position when he returned,
+but paying him no further attention, Roger pulled the lamp nearer and
+opened his volume.
+
+"When a King is in the company of Kings," began the Read Bird
+impressively, "he is no longer a special or royal being, but merely
+a man among men, and as such must maintain his honor and standing by
+sheer worth and ability alone."
+
+"Who says that? What are you reading?" Tandy sat up with sudden
+interest, for his whole life had been spent in study and reflection and
+the voice of the Read Bird was not unlike the voice of Woodjabegoodja,
+his royal instructor at home.
+
+"I am reading _Maxims for Monarchs_," answered Roger calmly, "a book of
+great authority and antiquity that has been used by the Rulers of Oz
+and Ev and the Nonestic Islands these many thousand years. No great and
+important country would think of being without a copy of this book," he
+continued severely.
+
+"Strange, then, that I should not have heard of it," mused Tandy,
+looking not quite so sure of himself. "We have no _Maxims for Monarchs_
+in Ozamaland."
+
+"Pooh, Ozamaland!" Roger dismissed the whole country with a shrug of
+his wing. "A country as young and unimportant as that would probably
+know nothing about such matters."
+
+"You mean my country is not so old nor important as Oz and this
+two-penny island of your fat Master?" shouted Tandy angrily.
+
+"Of course not. Why, it's not even been discovered, and whoever has
+been there?" demanded Roger disdainfully. "Take you, as its King,
+acting in this small up-country fashion--what CAN a fellow think?
+Here--" Shoving the book toward the disagreeable young monarch, the
+Read Bird urged him to look for himself. With a puzzled frown Tandy
+reread the passage Roger had just quoted.
+
+"Well, even though your Master is a King, you're not a King and neither
+is Samuel Salt," said Tandy, looking at Roger with some of his former
+arrogance.
+
+"Oh, isn't he? Well, just lay to this, young fellow," Roger shook his
+claw under Tandy's upturned nose. "Samuel Salt is Captain of this ship,
+a Knight and the Royal Discoverer of Oz, which makes him seventy times
+as important as you, King Pins. He not only is boss of the _Crescent
+Moon_, but he rules the sea, discovering countries for other Kings to
+govern, and if it were not for Samuel Salt and people like him, there
+wouldn't be any Kingdoms nor people like you to run them. See? As for
+me, I'm a Royal Read Bird and wouldn't be a King for a minute. I can
+live my own life and go and come as I please."
+
+"Then while I'm on this ship I'm not a King at all," said Tandy
+wonderingly. "Then what am I? What am I supposed to do?" The little
+boy looked puzzled and positively frightened.
+
+"Why, you're supposed to act like a person, that is, if possible,"
+sniffed Roger, reaching over for his book and looking at Tandy sideways
+down his bill. "What are you besides a King? What can you do that is
+useful or interesting?"
+
+"Do, DO?" Tandy's voice rose shrilly. "Why--er--why, I can draw
+pictures and ride an elephant."
+
+"Good!" Roger put up his claw to hide the grin that, in spite of his
+best efforts, began to spread round his bill. "Well, there isn't much
+call for drawing or elephant riding on a ship, but you can draw water
+to swab the decks and I'll teach you to ride the yards and follow the
+crosstrees to the main topgallant mast in the blowingest blow that ever
+blowed. And depend upon it, young one, you'll have more fun as a person
+than you ever had as a King. There's no place for having fun like a
+ship!"
+
+"Fun!" said Tandy flatly and inquiringly. "What's that?"
+
+"Tar and tobaccy jack! What are you tellin' me?" Roger almost toppled
+off the sea chest. "Do you mean to sit there like a dumb image and tell
+me you've never had any fun? Never felt so bursting full of ginger and
+happiness you could sing or do a sailor's horn pipe?"
+
+"It is not seemly--" began the boy in a staid voice. "It is--"
+
+"Seemly! Great goosefeathers, are you alive or aren't you?" gasped
+Roger. "What in paint did you do in that cussed country of yours before
+you got carried off and penned up like a pig in the jungle?"
+
+Considering Roger's question, Tandy clasped and unclasped his hands
+nervously. "Well, you must know," he began in a very grown-up voice,
+"the King of Ozamaland is not allowed to mingle with the common people.
+In all things he is alone and set apart. So it was with my father and
+mother before they disappeared. So it is with me. Furthermore, it being
+prophesied that I would be carried off by an aunt in the middle years
+of my youth, it was deemed expedient and necessary to keep me locked
+away from danger in the White Tower of the Wise Men."
+
+"Hurumph!" grunted the Read Bird, who had not heard so many long words
+since the voyage began. "And what did you do in this precious tower?"
+
+"I studied," sighed Tandy, reclining wearily back on his pillows, "for
+there are many things a King must learn. But one hour of every evening
+I was permitted to walk about the garden on top of the tower and look
+down upon my Kingdom. On very great occasions I was allowed to come out
+and ride the white elephant in the grand processions of state."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Roger again, looking at Tandy with round dismayed
+eyes. "And with whom did you play?" he asked after a little silence.
+
+"Play?" Again Tandy's voice was politely inquiring.
+
+"The word was _play_," insisted the Read Bird doggedly. "With whom
+did you run about, play tag, checkers, pirates or go fishing?"
+
+Tandy looked confused and Roger shook his head sorrowfully. "Never
+heard of such things!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Well, all I can say
+is, whoever carried you off and shut you up in that jungle cage did you
+a real service. If you had not been there we never would have found
+you and I'm here to tell you that from now on things are going to be
+different. You're discovered now and aboard the grandest ship afloat.
+You can forget all about being a King and start right in being a person
+and an able-bodied seaman. I for my part mean to see you have some fun
+or break a wing in the attempt."
+
+"But would a King--"
+
+"King! Never let me hear that terrible word again," shuddered Roger,
+sticking his head under his wing and then popping it comically out
+again. "From now on, you're plain Tandy and can do as you plain please
+so long as it does no harm to yourself or the ship. Understand? And
+tomorrow we'll start having fun, so be ready." Roger's promise sounded
+almost like a threat, but there was such a merry twinkle in his eye,
+Tandy began to feel interested. "You might even begin tonight," sniffed
+Roger, taking up the tray. "Just begin by thinking of something you
+want to do. Think about it hard and then DO it." Winking cheerfully
+over the empty plates, the Read Bird spread his wings and sailed
+through the port.
+
+For several minutes Tandy lay where he was, turning Roger's last
+injunction over and over in his stiff, precise little mind. What DID he
+really want to do? At first he could think of nothing. Then suddenly
+he knew. Why, of course--he wanted to talk to Kobo and he just plain
+WOULD. There was a frosted cake left from his supper, and slipping it
+into his blouse, Tandy stepped quietly out on deck. The ship, with only
+a slight roll, was moving briskly through the water, white foam falling
+in lacy spray from her sides, the moon-white sails spread like giant
+wings above his head. There was no one in sight, and almost holding his
+breath, Tandy tiptoed aft and leaned adventurously over the taffrail.
+
+"Kobo--Yo KOBO!" he called huskily.
+
+"Hello! I thought you'd be out soon." Swinging round and turning her
+vast smile upward, the hippopotamus gazed fondly at her young charge.
+"Are you comfortable? Did you have a good dinner?" she asked anxiously.
+
+"Yes, and look what I saved for you!" As he spoke, Tandy glanced
+over his shoulder as if he were almost afraid to have anyone see him
+enjoying himself. "Open your mouth, Kobo!" he whispered eagerly.
+Without hesitation or question the hippopotamus stretched her jaws wide
+and Tandy with the first real thrill of his life flung the frosted cake
+into that immense pink cavern. As Kobo neatly caught and snapped her
+lips on the tempting morsel Tandy let out a faint cheer and began to
+think there might be something in Roger's suggestions after all. "I'll
+throw you lots of things tomorrow," he promised gaily. "Good night,
+Kobo. Good night, Kobo dear."
+
+Humming a tuneless little song, the young King hurried almost
+cheerfully back to his cabin. Pausing in the doorway of his tidy
+quarters, he looked about complacently. What did he want to do next?
+There was no one to tell him to go to bed, so he just plain wouldn't.
+He'd sit up as late as he plain pleased. Rummaging through Peter's sea
+chest, which Ato had placed near his bunk, Tandy found a large tablet
+of stiff paper, a box of paints and some crayons. Settling himself
+cross-legged on his bunk, he began drawing, not pictures of the castles
+and courtiers of Ozamaland, but pictures of the queer jungle beasts and
+Leopard Men he had seen on Patrippany Island.
+
+When Roger, on first watch, called out eight bells, he saw Tandy's
+light still burning, and flying down to investigate, found his new
+pupil fast asleep in the middle of his masterpieces. The whole bunk
+was covered with bright drawings and pictures and even to Roger's
+inexperienced eye they seemed excellently done. So, carefully the Read
+Bird stowed them in the sea chest, then, without bothering to waken or
+undress the little King, he covered him with a light blanket and went
+quietly from the cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 9
+
+Sea Legs for Tandy
+
+
+"If what Roger tells us is so, little Sauce Box yonder has had a
+pretty dull life," said Ato as he and the Captain sat finishing their
+breakfast next morning. "Lucky for him we happened along and anyway,
+the hippopotamus will be good company, eh, Samuel? She seems downright
+sensible and jolly. Reminds me of Pigasus and I suppose she does belong
+to the pig family when you come to think of it."
+
+"Well, she's a pretty big pig if she does," laughed Samuel Salt,
+swallowing his coffee with gusty relish. "Pretty big any way you take
+her. Personally, I like the animal, but the King and son of a King's
+son! PAH! Reminds me of Peter, he's so different, and the sooner we
+reach Ozamaland and set him ashore, the better. Meals in his own cabin.
+Hoh!"
+
+"Oh, give him time," drawled Ato, helping himself a second time to
+fried potatoes. "If there's any good in the lad, a sea voyage will
+bring it out, and what chance has he had shut up in a tower for ten
+years and in a cage for five months? Though how an aunt managed to
+have him carried so far and why she left him with those savages in the
+jungle I can't get through my head at all."
+
+"Maybe it was a gi-ant," whistled Roger, swooping down on Ato's plump
+shoulder and flapping his wings cheerfully. "How far do you figure it
+is to Ozamaland, Master Salt?"
+
+"Well, that I couldn't just say," answered Samuel in a milder voice.
+Pushing back his chair, he stepped over to the map on the west wall.
+"Maybe a thousand leagues or so from Patrippany Island, maybe more,
+in a line east by sou'east from Ev. If that is so, we're bound to
+bump into it sometime, as I've set my course east by sou'east, and
+anyway it's all in the year's sailing." Samuel bent over with pride
+to examine the newest island discovery he had marked on the chart the
+evening before. "And when we do come to it," he announced firmly,
+"we'll trade this useless young one for some of those flying snakes and
+creeping birds, eh, Mates?"
+
+"If we bring any more animals aboard we might as well set up an ark and
+be done with it," warned Ato, shaking his fork at the Captain. "By the
+way, how's Sally this morning?'
+
+"Tiptopsails!" grinned Samuel. "She eats nothing but hot air and water
+and is no more trouble than a hair in a flea's whisker. I can carry her
+round in my pipe when I want company. Now there's a lass for you!"
+
+"Well, I'll just see to Nikobo, for she's the girl for me," retorted
+Ato, rolling briskly out of his seat. "I saved all the potato peelings
+from last night, and that, with a dozen cans of peas, corn, carrots and
+beets, should stay her appetite till lunch time."
+
+"Forty cans at one swallow," groaned Roger, clapping a claw to his head
+in mock dismay. "She'll eat us out of ship and home at this rate. Can't
+you think of something else, King dear? A nice wind pudding or a tub of
+sea soup sprinkled with faggots."
+
+"Oh, go along with you," roared Ato, and picking up his precious coffee
+pot, he waddled cheerfully off to his storeroom.
+
+The day was bright and breezy and the _Crescent Moon_ going free,
+breasted the waves like a white-winged sea witch. It was SUCH a
+morning that even Tandy, peering inquiringly from his cabin, felt an
+uncontrollable impulse to slide down the deck. So he did, coming up
+smartly by Roger, who was perched on the rail.
+
+"That's it! That's it! Now you're catching on," approved the Read Bird,
+hopping cheerfully from one foot to the other. "Now match your step to
+the sea's roll, sonny, get into her rhythm. You've got to breathe with
+the ship to carry your rations on a voyage. Watch the Captain, there,
+and do as he does," finished Roger as Samuel Salt left his cabin and
+came striding aft.
+
+"Rather watch you!" exclaimed Tandy, who sensed the Captain's dislike.
+Uneasily he moved a little nearer the Read Bird.
+
+"All right, come on then!" shouted Roger, heading recklessly for the
+foremast. "Ever climb a tree?" Tandy shook his head, looking with
+deep misgiving into the maze of sail and rigging above. But Roger
+was already aloft and beckoning for him to follow. "Not that way,
+Brainless!" scolded Roger anxiously as Tandy, gritting his teeth, made
+a desperate leap upward. "See those rope ladders by the rail? Put your
+feet in the ratlins, boy, and come along hand over hand. It's easy as
+flying once you get the swing of it. There, that's better! Come on!
+Come on! Don't stop! Don't look down." So up--up and up the narrow rope
+ladders toiled Tandy, till Roger, growing impatient, seized his collar
+and helped him straddle the crosstree of the fore t'gallant mast.
+"Ahoy! And isn't this better than riding an elephant?" beamed Roger,
+winking a knowing eye. "Ahoy, this is fun and NO fooling." Seeing Tandy
+was too dizzy and breathless to talk for a moment, Roger cheerfully set
+himself to teach the young Ozamander a bit about ships and sailing.
+Soon Tandy was so interested he forgot the leap and plunge of the ship,
+the rattle and creak of the cordage and his own precarious perch in the
+foremast.
+
+"The _Crescent Moon_," began Roger with an impressive jerk of his head,
+"is a square rigged three-masted sailing vessel. Normally 'twould take
+from sixty to eighty men in a crew to set and make sail and bring
+her about in a blow. But Samuel Salt has magic sail controls, so we
+three manage quite easily, and now that YOU are here and the handy
+hippopotamus below 'twill be easier still. The mast we're riding is the
+foremast. The mast second from the bow, as we call the front of the
+ship, is the mainmast, and the mast at the back or, as we salt water
+birds say, the stern of the boat, is the mizzenmast. And now for the
+sails." Roger took a deep breath. "Those below, beginning from the
+bottom up, are the course, the topsail, the topgallant sail, the royal
+and the sky sail. And don't forget!" Roger wagged his claw sternly.
+"Before each sail you must put the name of the mast to which it is
+attached. As, for instance, this ahead of us is the fore-topgallant
+sail. SEE? And everything to the left of the ship's center we say is on
+the port side and anything to the right is on the starboard."
+
+"Then tell me why is the water on the port side bluer than the water on
+the starboard?" asked Tandy, who had been listening very solemnly as he
+tried to fix all of these strange sea terms in his head.
+
+"Bravo!" cried Roger. "Right the first time, Mate. And the water is
+bluer on the port side of the vessel because it is saltier. The bluer
+the saltier," declared Roger, who, besides his first voyage with the
+_Crescent Moon_, had read all the sea books in Ato's library and was
+simply crammed with deep sea facts and information. "And what is more,"
+he continued, pursing his bill mysteriously, "we're sailing in a magic
+circle never knowing what may pop up over the edge. A ship? An island?
+A hurricane? Or even a fabulous monster! That's what makes sea voyaging
+so glorious, and sailing so much fun!"
+
+Tandy, staring at the empty circle of blue falling away from the ship
+on all sides, nodded dreamily. The White City--Patrippany Island--all
+his former life and existence seemed unreal and far away and he hoped
+in his heart of hearts the _Crescent Moon_ would not reach his native
+shores for many a long gay day. As Roger said, being a person _was_ fun.
+
+"M--mm!" Roger sniffed suddenly. "Wonder what Ato's cooking? Smells
+like taffy. I'll bet a ship's biscuit we're going to have a candy pull."
+
+"A candy pull!" exclaimed Tandy, taking a furious sniff himself.
+"What is that?" As Roger started in to explain about candy pulls, a
+large green column shot up on the skyline, a column so surprising and
+shocking in appearance Tandy felt positively stunned.
+
+"Oh, look! LOOK!" he screamed, grabbing Roger's wing. "There's
+something now. Oh, Roger, what fun! What terrible fun!"
+
+"Fun?" Roger spun round like a weather cock in a gale. "Fun?" he
+repeated, stretching out his neck as far as it would go and a few
+inches besides. "Oh, my best bill and feathers. That's not fun--that's
+a SEA-Serpent. Help! Help! Deck ahoy! 'Hoy! 'Hoy! Below! King! Captain!
+Ato! SAMMY! SAMU-EL!" As if calling them not only by their titles
+but by their names would increase the number of the ship's officers
+and crew, Roger tugged wildly at Tandy's arm. "Below! Below! All
+hands below," shrilled the Read Bird. "Cover all ports and batten the
+hatches!"
+
+Urged on by Roger, Tandy, still more interested than frightened,
+descended rapidly to the main deck. At Roger's cries, Ato had run out
+with a pan of bubbling molasses in one hand and his trusty bread knife
+in the other. Right behind him stood Samuel Salt, his eye pressed to
+his largest spyglass.
+
+"Well, tar and tarry barrels!" exclaimed the Captain exultantly. "Why,
+this is a sea serpent second to none, the finest example of a marine
+ophidian I've ever met in all my voyages!"
+
+"Oh, fiddlesticks!" blustered Ato, shaking him angrily by the arm. "Are
+you a Captain or a Collector? Quick, now, make up your mind before your
+ship is crunched down like a cracker and we're all swallowed up with
+the crumbs. Quick, Sammy! For the love of salt mackerel, DO something!"
+Squeezing himself between the cook and the Captain, Tandy saw that
+there were now three immense shiny curves showing above the water, and
+with scarcely a splash the tremendous monster was moving toward the
+ship. Then suddenly it was upon them, and its huge horrid unbelievable
+head came curling far over the bow of the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+"Avast and belay! Avast and belay, you villain!" yelled Samuel Salt,
+dropping his spyglass and grasping his blunderbuss while Roger beat his
+wings together like castanets and screamed like a fire siren.
+
+Tandy, rather frightened himself, and not knowing what else to do, fell
+flat on his stomach and pulling a pad from his blouse, began making
+a quick and frantic sketch of the dreadful sea beast. Its body was
+leagues long and yards through, the head was large as a whole elephant
+with a long curling silver tongue and darting green fangs. But it was
+the teeth that made even the stout heart of Ato hammer against his
+ribs. Each tooth of this singular sea serpent was a live white goblin
+brandishing a long spear. Leaning far out of the yawning mouth, they
+screamed, hissed and yelled at the defenseless company below. The next
+forward thrust of the monster brought its head curling right down among
+them. This so startled Tandy he could neither move nor scream. Samuel
+fired his blunderbuss so fast and furiously it sounded like a dozen
+guns, but it was Ato who really saved the day and his shipmates.
+
+With calm and deadly precision, the ship's cook flung the pan of
+still bubbling molasses straight into the cavernous mouth. Screaming
+with surprise, pain and fury, the monster clamped its jaws together,
+and finding them stuck fast on the taffy, fell writhing back into
+the sea, dashing and slashing its head under water to ease the burn
+and setting the _Crescent Moon_ to dancing like a cocklebur. But the
+taffy, hardened by contact with the cold water, stuck faster than ever,
+and unable to bite and scarcely able to breathe, the discomfited sea
+monster backed away from the ship and went slithering and thrashing
+away toward the skyline.
+
+"Well, there goes our candy pull!" sighed Roger, falling in a limp heap
+to Ato's shoulder. "Nice work! Nice work, King dear. There's a certain
+touch about your fighting that is well nigh irresistible."
+
+"Mains'ls and tops'ls! You certainly pulled a trick THAT time!" puffed
+Samuel Salt, picking up his spyglass to have a last look at his lovely
+specimen. "You saved us and the ship, that time, Mate. My bullets
+rattled off its hide like hailstones off a roof."
+
+"Pooh! Just happened to have the taffy handy," answered Ato, looking
+rather regretfully into the empty pot. "Here, child, run back and tell
+Kobo everything's all right." The ship's cook pulled Tandy quickly to
+his feet. "Just listen to her squealing. The poor lass is probably
+frightened out of her skin." As Tandy started aft on a run, Ato picked
+up the sketch he had made of the monster. "Ahoy and what's this?" he
+panted. "What did I tell you, Sammy? Look, the boy's drawn as lively a
+picture of that varmint as you'd ever hope to paste in a scrap book.
+Here it is--tail, teeth and everything!"
+
+"Mean to say he drew that while we were all standing here ready to
+perish and go down with the ship? Hah! That's what I call bravery in
+action!" exclaimed Samuel. "And goosewing my topsails! If the young
+lubber can draw like this he'll be a monstrous help to us, Mates. Why,
+I'll make him cabin boy and Royal Artist of the Expedition with extra
+rations and pay."
+
+"Hurray! And I'll tell him," puffed Roger, spreading his wings
+gleefully. "Hi, King! Hi, Tandy! Ho, Tandy! You've been promoted from
+King to cabin boy and Royal Drawer of Animals and Islands and extry
+rations and pay!"
+
+Nikobo was as pleased as Tandy at her little charge's rise to favor,
+and after they had both listened in rapt silence to Roger's news,
+Tandy told her how Ato had routed the sea serpent. Meanwhile, Roger
+had carried all the sketches Tandy had made of the Leopard Men and
+Patrippany Island to the main cabin. Samuel's delight and enthusiasm
+at having such spirited and authentic records of the lost tribe and
+strange animals on Patrippany Island knew no bounds. He beamed on Tandy
+so kindly and approvingly next time they met, the little boy felt warm
+and jolly all the way down to his heels. Roger had already explained
+his new duties to him and when Ato sounded the gong for dinner Tandy
+was the first to answer. But when he started to pass the vegetables and
+wait on the table, the Captain gruffly pushed him into a chair.
+
+"All equals here," roared Samuel, slapping him affectionately on the
+shoulder. "You've earned your place and your salt, sonny, and we'll all
+help ourselves and each other." Tilting back his chair and keeping
+time with his teacup, Samuel began to sing lustily:
+
+    "Blow high--blow low--
+      'Tis a salt sea life for me--
+    With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue
+      With a good ship going free--eeeh--eeeh!
+    With a good ship going free!"
+
+Almost before he knew it, Tandy was singing, too.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 10
+
+The City of Bridges
+
+
+The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had
+known. He wondered now how he had ever endured his long, tedious,
+pent-up life in Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship,
+the hours were not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of
+the crew, he took his turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had
+besides other duties on deck. After a bit of practice he could scramble
+aloft like a monkey and liked nothing so much as perching in the
+rigging looking far out to sea. The Read Bird had fastened a special
+rope to the mizzenmast so that Tandy could swing out and drop down on
+Nikobo's raft, and much of his free time was spent with the faithful
+hippopotamus.
+
+Sea life agreed enormously with Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved
+the largest item of her diet. Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often
+floating by on the surface of the sea, the clever cook let down the
+ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp, tender and green, was dragged
+on deck where Roger and Tandy went carefully through it, removing all
+crabs, small fish and sea shells which seriously disagreed with the
+hippopotamus. A huge hamper full was lowered to her every evening and
+with this plentiful supply of green food, with the bread and delicious
+vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table, Nikobo fared better than she
+had on the Island. The largest tub on the boat served as a drinking
+cup and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the deck,
+giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So, lacking
+nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely and to
+the fullest extent.
+
+On calm mornings, with the _Crescent Moon_ hove to, all hands would go
+swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty
+porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy
+had given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain
+could not do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had
+made a rope harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched
+upon her slippery back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo,
+but after several days he was splashing recklessly with the others and
+Samuel had taught him all the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy
+diving over and under the hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream
+with envy and approval.
+
+Swimming was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not
+really enjoy, but he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on
+Nikobo's head so long as she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to
+his wings when she mischievously tried to dunk him. The hippopotamus
+made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming, and Ato, who
+did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy, fished for
+hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her harness
+to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy regretted
+was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard ship and
+join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and Ato and the Captain
+(Roger preferring to take first watch) would sit cozily round the fire
+listening to the stories Samuel told them of the days when he had been
+a pirate and roamed up and down the Nonestic, capturing the ships and
+treasure of all the powerful island monarchs. Tandy never tired of
+these thrilling sea battles nor of watching Samuel Salt's pet fire
+lizard.
+
+Sally was now so tame she would allow any one of them to pick her up.
+They had to be careful not to hold her against their clothing, however,
+for though Sally did not burn the fingers, she set fire to whatever she
+touched. Indeed, whenever they wanted a fire in the grate, they had
+only to place the Salamander on the kindlings beneath the logs and a
+cheery flame would blaze up instantly. It was in the fireplace Sally
+took most of her exercise, racing and scittering over the glowing logs
+or rolling happily in the red hot embers. But most of her time she
+spent curled up in Samuel Salt's pipe, and it was always a surprise to
+Tandy to see her comical head pop up over the edge of the bowl or hear
+her chirping and purring to herself from her cozy bed of tobacco leaves.
+
+Some evenings, when Ato was trying out new recipes in the galley,
+Tandy and Samuel would descend to the hold to look over the plants
+from Patrippany Island, try to figure out the script on the piece of
+lava, and sort and arrange Samuel's shell collection. Every day after
+the nets were drawn up there were new specimens to classify and label.
+The drawing Tandy had made of the Sea Lion and all the pictures of the
+Leopard Men and beasts on Patrippany Island, Samuel had framed and hung
+above his shelves so that the hold was looking more and more like a
+scientific laboratory every day.
+
+"Do you suppose we'll ever find anything large enough to put in those
+big cages and aquariums?" asked Tandy one night as he pasted a pink
+label on a fluted conch shell.
+
+"Sure's eight bells!" murmured Samuel Salt comfortably. "No telling
+what'll turn up on a voyage like this. Personally I've set my heart on
+a roc's egg, but setting the heart on a roc's egg won't hatch one out,
+Ho, Ho! No, No! But, on the other hand, one never can tell and we've
+had a week of such fine and pleasant days, I look for something to
+happen any moment now, so you'd better put up your paste pot and turn
+in, my lad, so we'll all be ready for the morning."
+
+"Well, what would you do with a roc's egg?" inquired Tandy, reluctantly
+clapping the top on his bottle of glue. "Aren't they terribly big and
+terribly scarce, Captain Salt?"
+
+"Terribly!" admitted Samuel Salt, placing his tray of lamp shells back
+on their stand. "But a newly laid roc's egg is as rare as a mermaid's
+foot, and no larger than one small tar barrel. Now if we could just
+get a newly laid roc's egg aboard and find some way to preserve it,
+why, well and good, if we didn't find a way and it hatched before we
+landed, it could easily fly off with us and the ship, for THAT'S how
+big a bird a roc is. But I'll take a chance if I ever find a roc's egg
+and there's an island somewhere in these waters where rocs are known to
+nest. Rock Island it's called, and a roc's nest would be something to
+see, eh, Kinglet?"
+
+"Please don't call me that," begged Tandy earnestly. "Roger says I
+don't have to be a King on this ship and I like not being a King."
+
+"Ha! Ha! And I like you that way myself," roared Samuel, tossing Tandy
+suddenly to his shoulder. "Why, since you've stopped this King and son
+of a Kinging, you're a seaman after my own heart, and so long as the
+_Crescent Moon's_ afloat you've a berth on her! Up with you! Up with
+you! Tomorrow's another day." Swinging gaily to the main deck, Samuel
+tumbled Tandy into his bunk and went striding aft to take in his main
+and mizzen topsails.
+
+Next morning, while he and Ato were cutting up potatoes for Nikobo,
+Tandy was not surprised to hear a loud hail from above. Something had
+happened just as Samuel had predicted. Running out with a paring knife
+still in his hand, he saw a strange glittering mountainous island abaft
+the beam. It was still a goodish sea mile away, but with the glasses
+Ato generously pressed upon him Tandy made out the most curious bit
+of geography the eyes of a voyager had yet gazed on. There was not a
+piece of level ground on the island anywhere. Its high, glittering,
+needle-like peaks rose straight out of the sea with apparently no way
+of ascending or descending. Of clear crystal, reflecting every color
+of the rainbow, the beautiful island was almost too dazzling to look
+at as it lay shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunshine. As they
+sailed nearer, Tandy saw that a perfect maze of high and airy bridges
+ran like a gigantic spider web between the peaks. On these bridges all
+the island's life and activities seemed to take place. Quaint fluted
+cottages were built in the center, and along the perilous catwalks on
+either side raced the Mountaineers themselves, brandishing glittering
+poles and spears and halberds.
+
+"Pikes on the peak! Pikes on the peak! Port your helm, Sammy," roared
+Ato. "Not too close! Not too near, Sam-u-el. How'd you like to be
+pinned to the mast with a spear or flattened on the deck with a
+boulder?"
+
+"Ah, now, they're just excited!" answered Samuel Salt, squinting
+curiously up at the Bridgemen, but Nikobo, with her short legs resting
+on the top rail of her raft, squealed out a dolorous warning.
+
+"Fighters! Fighters! These Pikers look savager than the Leopard Men.
+Best back away, Master Captain, while there's still time."
+
+"Oh, look! LOOK! There's a ship on the mountain," cried Tandy, jerking
+Samuel's sleeve, "right there where that torrent comes down between the
+bridges, a three-master, larger than the _Crescent Moon_."
+
+"Then it's a battle!" boomed Samuel, bringing his helm hard around.
+"Stand by to man the guns. 'Hoy, all hands, 'hoy!" While his shipmates
+sprang to attention, Samuel darted from mast to mast, touching the
+buttons on his sail controls.
+
+"AYE DE AYE OH LAY!" The shrill unexpected cry came from the highest
+bridge on the island, and was immediately taken up and repeated by all
+the Pikemen on the lower bridges. It resulted in such a mad medley of
+yodels that Ato clapped both hands to his ears and Nikobo plunged her
+head in her drinking tub.
+
+"Not only fighters, but singers!" grunted Ato, swinging the port
+gun into an upright position. "Beef, beans and barley bread! What a
+rumpus!" Tandy, who with Roger had charge of the other gun, could not
+help but admire the calm way Samuel Salt ignored the dreadful outcry
+from the bridges. Whether the pikes of the islanders could be flung
+down upon them was still a question, but as Tandy looked anxiously
+aloft, he saw the great white-sailed ship of the Mountain Men sweeping
+toward the torrent. It paused for a breathless instant on the top and
+then came rushing down upon them. They were right in the path of the
+descending vessel which would strike them with such force both ships
+would surely be demolished.
+
+"I am a King's son and the son of a King's son," shuddered Tandy,
+gritting his teeth and waiting desperately for the order to fire. "I
+can bear anything."
+
+"Not this! Not this!" chattered Roger, sliding wildly up and down the
+shiny cannon. "It will shiver your timbers--it will shiver all of our
+timbers. What in salt ails the Captain? Why doesn't he give the order
+to fire and pepper these rascals before they reach us? Oh, oh! Oh--hh!"
+But the only orders that came from the Captain were for Nikobo.
+
+"Overboard, Lassie! Dive off! Quick, now, and swim for your life,"
+bawled Samuel Salt, waving both arms frantically at the hippopotamus.
+As Nikobo with a frightened squeal let down the back rail of her pen
+and slid into the sea, Tandy felt a quiver and jerk through the whole
+length of the _Crescent Moon_. Glancing aloft, he saw a strange change
+in the sails. Where before they had been sturdy single stretches of
+canvas, they were now great swelling balloon sails, each a perfect
+air-filled sphere. As the ship from the mountain with an angry swish
+catapulted down from the torrent into the sea, the _Crescent Moon_ rose
+buoyantly into the air, allowing the enemy craft to shoot harmlessly
+beneath her bow.
+
+"What in Monday!" gasped Ato, flinging both arms round the cannon.
+"What in Monday are you up to now? How'd we do this? Stop! Stop! I'm
+no flier. No higher! No higher! Do you intend to impale us on yonder
+Peaks?" Samuel Salt, hanging desperately to the wheel, made no reply
+and as the ship, dipping and swaying, soared higher and higher the
+deafening yodels of the Bridgemen ceased abruptly.
+
+"Wha--wha--where are you heading?" demanded Roger, spreading his wings
+in order to keep his balance on the sloping deck. "You never told us
+you had balloon sails, Master Salt."
+
+"Ahoy, but we never needed them before!" panted Samuel. "Look sharp
+below, Roger. Tell me whether I'm over that lake or basin. Look sharp,
+mind you, or we'll come to grief yet."
+
+"Aye, aye!" quavered the Read Bird, dropping obediently over the side.
+"It all looks sharp to me."
+
+"Mean to say you're coming down in the middle of these pikes, peaks
+and bridges?" moaned Ato, holding his head with both hands. "Avast and
+belay, Mate, I signed up for a sea voyage and not a balloon ride. The
+altitude's got you, Sammy, that's what. You've air holes in your head.
+How do you expect the four of us to conquer this whole pesky peaky
+island? How could we even take half of them?"
+
+"By surprise," announced Samuel Salt grimly. "We'll take them by
+surprise. Look, they're too surprised to even yodel. Fetch up the Oz
+flags, Tandy, and all hands aft for further orders."
+
+"Aft and daft!" choked Ato, hanging on to the rail as he made his
+way toward the wheel. When Tandy came hurrying up from the hold, his
+arms full of Oz flags, the _Crescent Moon_ hung directly over the
+glittering Island. Roger fluttered anxiously just below calling up
+hoarse information as to the size, possible depth and shape of the
+sparkling blue lake between the peaks.
+
+Listening carefully to Roger's directions, Samuel deflated his balloon
+sails so skillfully the _Crescent Moon_ came down lightly as a swan in
+the exact center of the Lake. Above and around the ship on all sides
+hung the glittering spans of a beautiful Bridge City, and in stunned
+silence and dismay the Bridgemen looked down on the flying ship and its
+curious crew.
+
+"Ahoy and hail, Men of the Mountain!" challenged Samuel in a ringing
+voice. "You are now part and parcel of the great Kingdom of Oz, free as
+before to govern yourselves, but from this day and henceforth on, an
+island possession and colony under the protection and puissant rule of
+her Majesty Queen Ozma of Oz!"
+
+"OZ! Ozay Oz Oh Lay?" The cry came from the tallest and most splendid
+of the Islanders, who was standing with folded arms on the lacy span
+connecting the two highest peaks on the Mountain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 11
+
+The Prince of the Peaks
+
+
+The cry, though loud, was no longer defiant, and Tandy with a little
+gasp of relief saw the Mountaineers on all the bridges bring their
+pikes to rest beside them and gaze aloft for further orders.
+
+"I am Alberif, Prince of the Peaks," stated the Man on the Highest
+Bridge, looking coolly down at Samuel Salt. "But YOU--you who come in
+this flying ship to conquer the Island of Peakenspire, who are YOU?"
+
+"Ato, the Eighth, King of the Octagon Isles, Sir Samuel Salt, Captain
+of the _Crescent Moon_ and Royal Explorer of Oz, Tazander Tazah, King
+of Ozamaland, and myself a Royal Read Bird," shouted Roger before any
+of the others had time to speak for themselves.
+
+The Prince of the Peaks, tall and splendid in his shining coat and
+breeches of silver cloth, his broad-brimmed hat with its quill and
+rosette of wild flowers, looked so much more impressive than anyone
+aboard the _Crescent Moon_, Tandy half expected him to laugh at Roger's
+boastful announcements. But instead, Alberif, leaning far out over his
+royal bridge, looked down at them long and seriously.
+
+"Two Kings, a Royal Discoverer, a Flying Ship and a Read Bird! Hi de
+Aye de Oh!" whistled the handsome monarch, shaking his head ruefully.
+"No wonder we were captured. What then are your terms, Kings, Captain,
+Bird and Conquerors?"
+
+"Not conquerors, COMRADES," called up Samuel Salt in his hearty voice.
+"Only by your own wish, agreement and consent shall ye come under the
+rule of Oz. If your Highness could but descend from yon Royal Bridge to
+this ship, everything can be arranged both peaceably and pleasantly."
+
+"'Ware, Alberif! 'Ware, Alberif!" yodeled the Pikemen on the lower
+bridges. "Once aboard that ship eeee-ip! We may never see you again
+eeeeee-yen!"
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" blustered Samuel Salt impatiently. "I give you my word
+as a Pirate and a seaman no harm shall come to you on the _Crescent
+Moon_."
+
+The Prince stood lost in thought for a moment, then tapping his
+long alpenstock sharply he issued a high yodeled command. From the
+bridgehead an immense basket swooped down. The Prince seated himself
+gravely in the basket and with three men manipulating the ropes made a
+swift and dizzy descent to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+While Samuel and Roger welcomed the tall and lordly Ruler of the
+Mountain Isle, Ato hurried off to the galley to prepare some suitable
+refreshments for his entertainment. Tandy, after Samuel had introduced
+him, began making careful sketches of the handsome Prince, of the
+lovely city of bridges and of the Pikemen, who still looked with
+suspicion and distrust upon the ship that had taken the place of their
+own.
+
+"How about that basket?" whispered Roger, who had come out to help Ato
+in the galley. "How'd you like to be hoisted and lowered like a sail?
+And for salt's sake, King dear, dust the flour off your nose and put
+on your crown, or this fellow will think you're King of the Cookies and
+Doughnuts."
+
+"Ha, ha! When he's tasted my plum cake he'll not think it, he'll know
+it!" puffed Ato, bustling happily from cupboard to cupboard. "Bring out
+the best tumblers and silver plates, fetch up a dozen bottles of my
+famous Sea-pop from the hold and we'll have this island in our pocket
+before you can say Oz Robinson!"
+
+When Ato with one tray and Roger with another came out, they found
+the Captain and the Prince of the Peaks striding up and down the deck
+in the friendliest conversation imaginable. Matched in height and
+handsomeness, the two were discussing with lively interest everything
+from ships and governments to the strange limestone that formed the
+crystalline rocks of Alberif's island. Later, seated around the table
+with Tandy and Roger passing plum cake and Sea-pop, the Prince grew
+friendlier and more confidential still.
+
+"We've never been conquered before," admitted his Majesty with a
+puzzled smile, "but really I find it both interesting and enjoyable."
+
+"Just a matter of chance and luck," said Samuel Salt with a modest
+wave of his hand. "Had I not had balloon sails on the _Crescent Moon_,
+your ship would have cut us clean in two before we had time to put
+about."
+
+"That is what I always planned would happen to an enemy craft," sighed
+Alberif. "Naturally our own ship, the _Mountain Lass_, would have been
+destroyed too, but we could easily have built another. That is what
+we'll have to do anyway, as we'll never be able to haul her up the
+torrent."
+
+"Don't you do it," begged Samuel Salt, looking earnestly at the
+Mountain Monarch. "I'll send you a set of balloon sails as soon as I
+reach Elbow Island. The Red Jinn presented me with two sets and I'll be
+delighted to send you one. Once they're set, you can fly up as easily
+as we did and be ready for all and sundry, even US if we come again."
+
+"Come and welcome!" beamed Alberif, looking in some surprise at Sally,
+who had just lifted her head above the rim of Samuel's pipe bowl. "But
+tell me, what am I to do now that I am conquered? Surely something is
+required of us?"
+
+"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Samuel spoke earnestly and admiringly. "This
+island and your men are in fine shape and a great credit to you, so
+just go on as you are, but from this time forth you'll be in contact
+with the famous and most modern Fairyland in History, and if you are
+ever beset by enemies, you can call upon Oz for assistance or help. In
+time, fruit, foodstuffs, books and merchandise will arrive from Oz, and
+in return you may send back some of the sparkling crystals composing
+these mountains. You might even invite a band of settlers from Oz to
+come and live as your loyal subjects here."
+
+"Gladly! Gladly!" agreed the Prince, his eyes sparkling at the
+prospect. "We have many uninhabited peaks and spires and could
+easily accommodate a thousand new bridge builders. Come with me, all
+of you, to Skytop Tower and we'll run up the flag of Oz and sign a
+pledge of allegiance to her Majesty Queen Ozma. AYE DE AYE OH LAY!"
+Running out on deck, Alberif joyously beckoned to the men who operated
+the traveling basket, inviting them all to enter. Ato, who had no
+intention of trusting his two hundred and fifty pounds to this strange
+conveyance, shook the Prince regretfully by the hand.
+
+"I'll just watch it all from here," said the ship's cook firmly. "I've
+pie to cook, potatoes to peel and dinner to stir up for all hands and a
+hippopotamus, so, if you'll kindly excuse me--"
+
+The Prince looked a little disappointed, but cheered up as Samuel,
+Roger and Tandy followed him into the basket.
+
+"Haul away!" yelled Samuel Salt, winking at Ato, and to the shrill
+tune of a ringing round of yodels their curious elevator rose from the
+deck, spun merrily up to the Twin Peaks and highest bridge of Alberif's
+Mountain. Used as he was to the tall masts and lofty rigging of the
+_Crescent Moon_, Tandy felt sick and giddy as the basket swooped and
+swung upward. But it came down safely at last and at sight of the
+shining spans of the lacy city spread out below, and the glittering
+castle rising from the royal bridge, Tandy forgot all his uneasiness.
+With a little whistle of surprise and interest he followed Samuel and
+Alberif into the royal dwelling, while Roger flew off on a little
+exploring expedition of his own. Roger knew all about castles and was
+much more interested in the many windowed, fluted cottages of the
+yodelers.
+
+Ato, watching from the deck of the _Crescent Moon_, presently saw the
+flag of Oz fluttering from the top turret of the Castle Tower and with
+a little sigh of relief and pride he gathered up the empty pop bottles
+and padded off to his galley. Soon Oz flags floated from the posts on
+all the bridgeheads, adding much to the gaiety and beauty of Alberif's
+city.
+
+From the Royal Bridge Tandy and Samuel had a splendid view, and of
+his many experiences Tandy always remembered best the afternoon spent
+on Peakenspire. Alberif was a merry as well as an interesting host,
+explaining everything from the strange traveling baskets to the age-old
+customs and treasures of the Islanders. In the baskets the Islanders
+could travel from bridge to bridge and down to the sea itself when
+they wished to go fishing. There was little soil between the rocks,
+but such soil as there was, was so amazingly fertile, each family
+could raise all the fruit and vegetables required in one small window
+box. After long experimentation and culture, Alberif's ancestors had
+perfected two curious vines. On one vegetables grew in rapid rotation,
+potatoes following peas, corn following potatoes, carrots following
+corn, beets following carrots, cabbages, lima beans and spinach after
+the beets. The vine never withered or died and by cutting off the top
+every day the Islanders were assured of a continuous supply of fresh
+vegetables. The fruit vine was of the same variety, furnishing every
+known berry, fruit and melon. Each family was given two of these vines
+and thus had very little worry about food supplies. Birds, something of
+a cross between wild ducks and chickens, made their nests in the craggy
+peaks, and with their eggs and a plentiful supply of fish and other sea
+food the Islanders fared splendidly.
+
+The Bridgemen were tall, blue eyed, handsome and happy. Men and women
+alike wore short trousers and blouses of silver cloth and carried
+pikes that served both as weapons and alpenstocks. The bridges, while
+delicate as fine lace in construction, were supple and strong as
+steel. The material mined from the mountains themselves was like silver
+and crystal combined, a new strong and glittering metal, samples of
+which Samuel happily thrust into his pocket.
+
+"Sounds like magic," said Tandy, who had been listening closely to
+Alberif's description of life on Peakenspire.
+
+"It _is_ magic of a kind," answered the Prince with a pleased little
+nod. "And the air here is so light and sparkling we never tire, grow
+old or have illness of any kind, so that my people are always light
+hearted and happy, spending most of their time in dancing and singing."
+
+"I see," murmured Samuel Salt, "er--and hear," he added quickly as the
+wild, joyous cries of Alberif's yodelers made every window in the
+palace rattle. "I'll certainly make a note of all this and report
+Peakenspire Island to Queen Ozma as the most interesting discovery of
+the voyage."
+
+"I am highly honored!" Alberif bowed stiffly. "Highly honored! HI
+dee Aye de OH--hhhhh!" Jumping into the air, the Prince of the Peaks
+kicked his heels together from sheer exuberance. "Wait," he told
+them cheerfully, "and I'll get you some fruit and vegetable vines to
+take back with you." Tandy and Samuel could not help grinning as
+Alberif rushed off. To tell the truth, there was something so light
+and exhilarating about the mountain air they found it difficult to
+walk calmly themselves. As the Prince returned Samuel felt a loud and
+uncontrollable yodel rising in his own throat, and seizing Tandy's
+arm, he bade Alberif a hasty and hearty adieu. Bidding him keep a
+sharp lookout for the airships from Oz, and loaded down with crystals
+and vines, the two explorers climbed into the basket and were swung
+swiftly down to the deck of the _Crescent Moon_. Roger, flying under
+his own power and yodeling like a native, arrived soon after.
+
+With Oz flags flying from all bridges and the Mountaineers calling out
+rousing and melodious farewells, Samuel inflated his balloon sails and
+the ship soared gracefully aloft, circled the island three times and
+then dropped lightly down upon the surface of the sea. The _Mountain
+Lass_ in charge of Alberif's husky crew lay just off shore and there
+she would have to stay till Samuel sent a set of balloon sails to lift
+her back to the Lake among the peaks.
+
+Nikobo, who'd been swimming anxiously round and round, gave a bellow of
+relief as she spied the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+"I thought you'd been captured and destroyed!" wheezed the
+hippopotamus, scrambling hastily aboard her raft. "Next time you fly
+off, take me aboard or give me a balloon sail too. I'm so full of
+salt water I'm perfectly pickled and somebody'll have to scrape the
+barnacles off my hide."
+
+"But we've brought you a present," called Tandy, leaning far over the
+taffrail, "a vegetable vine that will keep you supplied with fresh
+vegetables as long as we're at sea. SEE! DEEEE Aye DEE OH!"
+
+"Avast and balaydeeaye!" barked Samuel Salt grimly. "Let's get away
+from here. This is no way for able-bodied seamen to talk." Rushing from
+wheel to mast, he quickly set his sail. "Ahoy! Ahoy Dee Oy Dee OH!"
+he yodelled, then, very red in the face, he blew three shrill blasts
+on his fog horn, swung his ship about and the _Crescent Moon_, with a
+spanking breeze on her quarter, went skimming away toward the southern
+skyline.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 12
+
+Fog
+
+
+The evening had blown up raw and cold, and after carrying an old
+tarpaulin down to cover Nikobo, Tandy had come shivering back to the
+main cabin. Samuel Salt had close reefed his topsails and double reefed
+his courses, adjusted his mechanical steering gear, and now sat beside
+the fire examining a heap of the glittering crystals from Alberif's
+island.
+
+"Just sketch Peakenspire Island on the chart, there where I've made the
+cross," he directed, looking up with an absent smile as the little boy
+came over to warm himself at the cheerful blaze. "You're such a hand
+with a brush, even in so small a place you can give a good idea of the
+City of Bridges."
+
+"And a good idea they are," murmured Ato, who was busy mending his
+fishing nets on the other side of the fireplace. "In every port we
+learn something new, eh, Mate? All mountains, no matter how high and
+peaked, could be lived on if they were properly bridged."
+
+"True, quite true," agreed Samuel, squinting contentedly through his
+magnifying glass, while Tandy began sketching in the latest discovery
+on the sea chart. "I've written it all up in my journal and put down
+Peakenspire Island as able to accommodate a thousand settlers from Oz
+and as an especially good place for poets."
+
+"Provided they are deaf," put in Ato, looking comically over his specs,
+"AYE DEE AYE DEE OH! While you fellows were aloft I got to yodeling so
+fast and furious I blew all the sauce pans off their hooks."
+
+"Yes, that _is_ one disadvantage," admitted Samuel, glancing
+approvingly at Tandy's picture of Alberif's Island, "but never mind,
+we don't have to live there, and think of the splendid specimens we've
+brought away, Mates!" Samuel ran his fingers lovingly through the heap
+of crystals and strands of metal Alberif had given him. "And those
+fruit and vegetable vines will provision us for the whole voyage."
+
+"They're a great comfort to _me_, I assure you," muttered Ato, holding
+up his net to the light to see whether there were any more holes. "Now
+I know Kobo will never starve. I put a vegetable vine in a box on her
+raft and that leaves two for us, two for Ozma, and maybe Tandy would
+like to take the other two home with him?"
+
+"Home?" Tandy swung round in positive dismay. "Oh--we're not near
+Ozamaland yet, are we, Captain?" His voice sounded so dismal Samuel
+Salt threw down his magnifying glass with a roar of merriment.
+
+"Shiver my timbers, lad, one would think you did not wish to reach
+Ozamaland at all," he blustered teasingly. "What's the matter with that
+country of yours? You wouldn't keep an honest explorer from adding a
+creeping bird and a flying reptile to his collection, now would ye?"
+
+"No! No! Of course not," answered Tandy quickly. "But perhaps it is
+farther away than you think, Master Salt, and perhaps the Greys have
+conquered the Whites and then I won't be King any more."
+
+"What's this? What's this?" Ato lifted his nose like an old hound that
+has just scented a fox, for he loved a good story even better than he
+loved a good meal. "Who are the Greys and Whites, my lad? You never
+told us anything about this."
+
+"There's really not much to tell," sighed Tandy, seating himself on a
+small stool before the fire. "In the first place, I suppose you know
+that the great continent of Tarara is divided into two large long
+countries? Ozamaland is on the East Coast and Amaland on the West
+Coast."
+
+"Now I'll just make a note of that," said Samuel Salt, leaning over to
+pull his journal toward him.
+
+"My country," went on Tandy slowly, "is made up largely of desert and
+jungle, best known for its white elephants and camels and the famous
+White City of Om, first King and ruler of the Kingdom. The Zamas are
+fierce and still wild tribesmen living in tents on the desert and in
+huts in the jungle. Only the thousand Nobles and their families who
+live in the White City have been taught to read and write and live
+under roofs. That is why the Kings of Ozamaland are so well guarded and
+never allowed out of the capital."
+
+"Then I'd rather be a tribesman," sniffed Ato, letting his nets drop in
+a heap around his feet.
+
+"But there's no choice," said Tandy thoughtfully. "The nine
+Ozamandarins who make the laws have decreed that the King shall remain
+in the White City."
+
+"Well, what about these Whites and Greys?" asked Samuel Salt, pulling
+out his pipe and leaning down close to the fire so Sally could light it
+for him.
+
+"My people, because they dress in white robes and turbans, are known
+as the Whites, and the Amas, the rough plainsmen who rove the long
+ranges of Amaland, are the Greys. The Amas care for nothing but their
+swift grey horses and often charge over the border to make war on my
+countrymen. Then the Whites, mounted on their white elephants and
+camels, have all they can do to hold their own."
+
+"Aha, that's what I'd call a REAL battle!" exclaimed Ato, his
+eyes snapping with enthusiasm and interest. Then, noting Samuel's
+disapproving frown, he pursed up his lips, shook his head and added
+quickly, "All very wild and disorderly, Tandy, my lad. Seems as if the
+Whites and Greys should manage their affairs more peaceably."
+
+"Yes," said Tandy solemnly, "and I've often thought when I was grown,
+I'd ride over on my white elephant to visit the Greys and see why they
+are so unfriendly."
+
+"A good idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait till I was grown. I'd
+do it as soon as I got back," advised Samuel Salt, taking a long pull
+at his pipe.
+
+"And very probably get himself cut up and captured," shuddered Ato,
+shaking his head.
+
+"Well, he's been both shut up and captured anyway, hasn't he?" said
+Samuel mildly. "Now which one of your aunts do you think had you
+carried off, Matey, and how many aunts do you have anyway?"
+
+"Three," Tandy answered, counting them off solemnly on his fingers.
+"And they were all pretty and pleasant enough; but after the prophecy
+of the Old Man of the Jungle that I would be carried off by an aunt,
+they were all locked up in the castle dungeon and I was locked up in
+the Tower." And, resting his elbows on his knees, Tandy gazed soberly
+into the fire as if he might discover there the reason for his cruel
+abduction and imprisonment in the jungle.
+
+"If I'd only been awake when I was carried away," he exclaimed
+impatiently.
+
+"They probably gave you a sleeping potion," decided Ato, nodding his
+head portentously, "but it's such a longish distance, unless this aunt
+had wings or a flying eagle I'll never understand how she shipped you
+so far and so fast."
+
+"Well, whoever it was did _us_ a real service!" boomed Samuel Salt,
+twinkling his blue eyes affectionately at Tandy. "Even Peter was no
+better aboard a ship--eh, Mate?"
+
+"A real artist and a seaman," agreed Ato, rolling cheerfully to his
+feet, "and when we reach Ozamaland I'll talk to these aunts like
+an Octagon uncle, and the Ozamandarins had better hold on to their
+turbans, too."
+
+"But they wear square hats!" roared Tandy, laughing so hard he almost
+fell off the stool, for he just could not picture the fat King of the
+Octagon Isle berating the haughty judges of Ozamaland.
+
+"What's the joke?" demanded Roger, flying in through the open port
+and making a straight line for the fire. "Brrr-rah! Wet weather,
+boys! Wet weather! Oh, what a coldth and dampth and gloomth. Why, I'm
+moister than an oyster and clammier than a clam. How about a cup of hot
+chocolate for the Watch, Cook dear? Better see to your sail, Master
+Salt. Fog's thicker than bean soup out there."
+
+"We'll _all_ have some chocolate," said Ato as Samuel hurried out to
+see how dense the fog really was. Later, sitting by the stove sipping
+Ato's delicious hot chocolate, Tandy could not help comparing this cozy
+life aboard the _Crescent Moon_ with his dull and lonely existence in
+the Royal City of his Fathers.
+
+"I wish the Greys _would_ capture the Whites," he thought vindictively,
+as he followed Roger across the slippery deck. "Then I'd never have to
+leave this ship." The kind-hearted Read Bird was carrying a pail of hot
+chocolate down to Nikobo on the raft. She could not get her great snout
+into the bucket, but she opened her enormous mouth and with one toss
+Roger poured the whole pail down her throat.
+
+"That'll keep her warm till morning," chuckled Roger, flying back to
+join Tandy, "and now you'd better turn in, little fellow, for you're on
+morning watch and eight bells will be sounding before you know it!" All
+through his dreams about the Whites and Greys Tandy heard the raucous
+voice of the fog horn, and when he rolled sleepily out of his bunk to
+relieve Ato, the ship seemed to be hardly moving at all.
+
+"Ahoy, Captain! Isn't a fog dangerous?" Tandy's voice seemed more
+hopeful than worried, and Samuel Salt, peering down at the little boy
+buttoned to his chin in Peter's old sou'easter, grinned approvingly.
+
+"Just about as dangerous as a man-eating tiger," he answered
+cheerfully. "We're liable to ram a ship, run on the rocks, or scrape
+our bottom on a hidden reef or sand bar. These waters, as you know,
+being all unnavigated. But I've brought Sally along to keep my nose
+warm and throw a bit more light on the subject and we'll have to take
+our chance--eh, Matey? Just step aft and see if you can make out
+anything astern, will you, Tandy?"
+
+Four o'clock, or rather eight bells, was always pretty dark and one had
+to depend more or less on the ship's lanterns, but this morning was
+the darkest Tandy had ever experienced. Clinging to the rail, he moved
+cautiously to the stern and gazed intently down into the gloom. Nothing
+an inch beyond his nose was visible and as for the raft and Nikobo,
+they might just as well not have been there.
+
+"Kobo, Kobo, are you all right?" There was no answer to Tandy's call,
+but presently a huge and resounding snore rolled upward and, greatly
+comforted, Tandy hurried back to the Captain. Samuel Salt was busy
+lighting extra lanterns and as he straightened up, a hollow boom,
+followed by a splintering crash, sent them both sprawling to the deck.
+Leaping to his feet and unmindful of the glass from the shattered
+lanterns, Samuel seized an unbroken one and ran furiously to the rail.
+
+"Ship ahoy! Heave to! you blasted son of a cuttle-fish lubber! You've
+rammed us amidships, you blasted Billygoat. Where are your lights? Why
+didn't ye sound the horn?" His lantern, held far over the rail, made
+no impression at all on the choking fog. Jumping up and running after
+Samuel, Tandy strained his eyes for a glimpse of the ship that had hit
+them, for unmistakably to his ears came the scrape and rasp of wood on
+wood. Yes, surely it was a ship. But no answer to Samuel's hail came
+out of the fog, only the swish and murmur of the sea and the rattle
+of wind in the rigging. But all this creaking could not come from the
+_Crescent Moon_ alone. There _was_ a ship beyond them in the fog,
+but where, as Samuel had demanded, were her lights and crew? Wildly
+Tandy, hardly knowing what to think or do, continued to blink into the
+maddening darkness. Ato and Roger, wakened by the horrible jolt, now
+came hurrying out, each waving a lantern.
+
+"Let go the anchor, Mates," ordered Samuel in a stern voice, "we're to
+grips with an enemy ship, so stand by for trouble. Further shortening
+his sail, Samuel waited tensely for the first move from their invisible
+foe.
+
+"Might be pirates," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to
+Tandy, who stood close beside him grasping the scimiter that had once
+been Peter's. "Jump the first man aboard."
+
+"How about a long shot in their general direction?" wheezed Ato, who
+found the silence and suspense well nigh unbearable.
+
+"No, it is not for _us_ to start a fight," stated Samuel grimly. "But
+hah! Just let _them_ start one! Fetch me my stilts, Roger, and be quick
+about it, too!"
+
+"Stilts?" choked the Read Bird, dropping the blunderbuss with which he
+had armed, or rather winged, himself. "You'll never be trying those
+things again--they nearly shivered our timbers last time. Why take
+another chance?"
+
+"My stilts!" repeated Samuel savagely, and Roger, who knew his duty
+as a sailor, flew without further argument to the hold. When Roger
+returned with a stilt in each claw, the Captain grasped one and moving
+silently as a cat over to the port rail, he thrust the long pole
+experimentally out into the fog. There was an instant thud, and Samuel
+himself got a severe jolt as the stilt struck against some firm and
+immovable object beyond. Convinced that it was an enemy ship, Samuel
+returned to the others and, drawn up in an anxious row, the four
+shipmates waited for the fog to lift or the first enemy seaman to leap
+aboard.
+
+"I'll wager it's a derelict, or an abandoned vessel with no crew,"
+breathed Ato, seating himself on a fire bucket to somewhat ease the
+long wait. The first hour Tandy stood fairly well, but the second
+seemed interminable. The flickering lanterns, the tense quiet, the
+choking fog and gentle roll of the ship all made him desperately
+drowsy, and, much to his later disgust, he must have finally fallen
+asleep. The next thing he remembered was the shrill squall of the Read
+Bird and the pleasant feel of the sun on his eyelids.
+
+"The ship! The pirates! The fog!" thought Tandy, springing up wildly,
+but neither ship nor pirates met his astonished gaze. Abaft the beam
+lay a great whispering deep sea forest, its trees higher than the masts
+of the ship, springing directly out of the water and stretching their
+leafy branches to the sky. It was into one of these giant greenwoods
+the _Crescent Moon_ had crashed in the fog. Samuel was staring at the
+sea forest with the rapt look of a scientist who has just made an
+unbelievable discovery, and Ato, with his elbows resting on the rail,
+was gazing dreamily in the same direction.
+
+"'Hoy! Ahoy! Why, I never knew there were forests in the sea,"
+exclaimed Tandy, running over to insinuate himself between the cook and
+the Captain.
+
+"There aren't! It's just plain impossible!" breathed Ato, moving over
+to make room for Tandy. "But, impossible or not, there she lies. And
+isn't it pretty?" he mused, resting more than half of his great weight
+on the rail.
+
+"I suppose Sammy'll want to dig up a sea tree and bring it along," he
+leaned over to whisper mischievously in Tandy's ear. "And anyway, it's
+better than pirates."
+
+"Look, look, there's fish in those trees," screamed Roger, bouncing
+up and down on Ato's plump shoulder. "How about some flying fish for
+breakfast, Cook dear?"
+
+"Breakfast? Breakfast? Can it really be time for breakfast? Ho, hum! I
+thought I was still asleep and dreaming," grunted Ato, giving himself a
+little shake. "Well, forests or no forests, a man must eat, I suppose!"
+And still gazing delightedly over his shoulder, the ship's cook trod
+reluctantly toward the galley, while Tandy hurried into the cabin for
+his paints.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 13
+
+The Sea Forest
+
+
+Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and
+when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the
+sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.
+
+"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his
+journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and
+baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and--"
+
+"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"
+inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might
+add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"
+Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish
+before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept
+winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like
+the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette
+and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed
+and indifference.
+
+"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin
+boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab
+nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of
+baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case
+Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring
+fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now
+snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching
+contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.
+
+"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,
+speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that
+scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now
+would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,
+little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything
+grows."
+
+"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little
+sigh on Nikobo's broad back.
+
+"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,
+fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was
+coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on
+this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a
+rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and
+much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the
+fare--why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans--"
+
+"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,
+remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!
+Listen! Here they come!"
+
+"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from
+above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"
+
+"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the
+rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook
+and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and
+crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when
+she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across
+her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the
+aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,
+nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.
+
+"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin
+box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it
+dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and
+admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride
+along."
+
+"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on
+Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be
+any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"
+
+"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo
+paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest
+itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was
+the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.
+The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.
+Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going
+down, down, down as far as he could see.
+
+"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one
+lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!
+Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."
+
+"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're
+going to grow our own masts."
+
+Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young
+shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.
+Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like
+bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and
+silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.
+
+"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely
+between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick
+me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began
+vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored
+fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the
+water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting
+anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's
+cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.
+The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible
+variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber
+by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off
+several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his
+album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after
+a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to
+overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there
+are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,
+but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where
+most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,
+somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in
+the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could
+swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively
+sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would
+never succeed in catching one.
+
+All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel
+making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled
+nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the
+small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark
+of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees
+pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of
+the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were
+not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and
+tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front
+legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet
+were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more
+frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from
+a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they
+retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance
+as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch
+of the whole group.
+
+"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing
+his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the
+snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,
+Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of
+our feelings or safety."
+
+"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"
+sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then--" he
+grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."
+
+The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.
+Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this
+small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning
+itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it
+proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious
+little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no
+serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her
+long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made
+ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.
+
+Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing
+enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the
+aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have
+both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed
+the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.
+
+"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read
+Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,
+it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask
+me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish _was_ even uglier than a
+goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant
+goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.
+
+"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But
+let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."
+
+"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder
+what it eats?"
+
+"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at
+Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"
+
+"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.
+
+"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as
+this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he
+wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a
+monkey fish."
+
+"Well, don't forget the bananas--for remember it's a monkey, too,"
+chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had
+written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the
+exploring party returned to the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his
+aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making
+copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did
+not get his ship under way till late afternoon.
+
+Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done
+little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his
+anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy
+painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for
+Mo-fi's fish food, the _Crescent Moon_ again dipped adventurously into
+the southeast swell.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 14
+
+The Sea Unicorn!
+
+
+"Ahoy! and how goes it with the able-bodied seaman?" called Roger,
+swooping down from the foremast. Tandy, polishing the brass trim on the
+binnacle, looked up with a welcoming grin.
+
+"Tip topsails!" he answered, pausing a minute to stare off toward the
+skyline to see whether any islands or sea serpents were visible.
+
+"And look at that muscle, now," marveled Roger, touching Tandy's arm
+admiringly with his claw. "You're twice the lad you were, Mate, and
+I'll wager my last feather you can lay any lubber by the heels. If
+anyone gets fresh-water ashore, remember you're a salt sea-going sailor
+and you just take a poke at him. That's my advice without any charge or
+obligation. But then again, a chap that's a King, the Royal Artist of
+an exploring expedition, with a sea forest named after him, might not
+need to take any advice at all," added Roger with a long and knowing
+wink.
+
+"But I like you to tell me things," said Tandy, looking earnestly up
+at the Read Bird. "You make everything seem so interesting and jolly."
+With a secret smile, for Tandy was thinking how much he would enjoy
+taking a poke at Didjabo, the Chief Ozamandarin, the little boy went
+on with his polishing. If Didjabo said anything further about shutting
+him up in the Tower, he just plain would take a poke at him. But saying
+nothing of all this to Roger, he called up cheerfully, "How's Mo-fi?
+Has he stopped scolding and begun to eat?"
+
+Roger, who was running races with himself up and down the taffrail,
+stopped short and held up his claw. "Everything I give him," he told
+Tandy solemnly. "And I declare to badness he's getting to know me,
+Mate. He only pulled out three feathers instead of a fistful when I
+gave him breakfast just now. Before long he'll be so tame he'll be
+riding around on your shoulder."
+
+"Not MY shoulder," laughed Tandy, waving his bottle of polish at the
+Read Bird. "Goodness, I believe you're growing fond of that monkey
+fish, Roger."
+
+"Well, why not?" retorted the Read Bird, puffing up his chest. "Ato has
+me, the Captain has Sally, you have Kobo, so why shouldn't I have a
+little pet if I want one?"
+
+The monkey fish seemed such a strange prickly sort of pet, Tandy could
+hardly keep his face straight, but seeing Roger was quite in earnest,
+he tactfully changed the subject. "Do you suppose we'll make any new
+discoveries today?" he asked, screwing the cap on the bottle of polish.
+"Any as important as the sea forest, I mean?"
+
+"Why not call it by its proper name?" teased Roger, scratching his head
+with his left claw. "And I think it most unlikely we'll strike anything
+as curious and important as Tazander Forest. Two discoveries like that
+just couldn't happen two days running. Still, I'll just fly up to the
+main truck and have a look around."
+
+"Main truck?" Tandy wrinkled up his brows. "I thought I knew all the
+parts of this ship by now. You never told me about the main truck,
+Roger."
+
+"Just the top of the main mast, Brainless." Giving Tandy an
+affectionate little shove, Roger soared into the rigging and Tandy went
+joyfully off to have another look at the forest Samuel had insisted
+on naming after him. He had taken great pains with the painting and
+printing when he sketched it on the map, and now with a sigh of
+complete satisfaction he stood regarding the sea chart. Then, suddenly
+remembering he had promised to water Samuel Salt's plants, he jog
+trotted contentedly down to the hold.
+
+The tumbleweeds in their small red pots grew so rapidly Samuel had
+to cut them back every day. These Tandy watered very sparingly,
+snapping his fingers at Mo-fi, who was gravely chinning himself on a
+branch of his artificial tree. The slips of the sea trees in their
+covered aquarium required no attention at all. Ato had planted all the
+vegetable and fruit vines from Peakenspire on the rail outside the
+galley, so that left only the creeping vines from Patrippany Island to
+care for. He had just picked up one of the small potted creepers when
+a sharp rap tap under his toes made Tandy leap straight up in the air.
+Someone was knocking on the bottom of the boat.
+
+"Ato! Captain! ROGER!" shrilled the little boy, scurrying up from the
+hold faster than he had ever done before.
+
+"Su--su--SOMEBODY'S knocking on the bottom of the boat." Before he
+could explain, or tell them anything further, a perfectly terrific
+knock from below made the _Crescent Moon_ shiver from end to end.
+Samuel and Ato, leaning over the port rail, turned round so suddenly
+they bumped their heads smartly together. Next with a scrape, screech
+and splintering of timber, a giant white horn came tearing up through
+the decks.
+
+"Whale! Whale!" croaked Roger, falling off the main truck and coasting
+crazily down to the deck. "Wha--what ever'n ever's that?" he quavered,
+pointing a trembling claw at the rigid white column between the main
+and mizzenmasts. Samuel did not even try to explain, for at that
+instant the ship began to rise, to fall, to lash and plunge both up
+and down and east and west. Hooking his arms through the rail, Tandy
+blinked, gasped and shudderingly waited for the _Crescent Moon_ to fly
+asunder.
+
+"Narwhal, Mates!" panted Samuel Salt, throwing himself bodily upon the
+wheel. "Horn like a--uni--corn--branch of the Odontocetes and--"
+
+"Oh--you--don't say--it--is!" chattered Ato, who was lying on his
+stomach bouncing up and down like a ball at each frightful lunge of the
+monstrous fish. "Well, it's spiked us--is that a horn or a ship's mast?
+Oh woe, oh! What'n salt'll we do now?"
+
+Samuel had not the heart to answer, for he had all he could do to
+hang on to the wheel as the ship, like a wounded animal, reared and
+plunged, thrashing the sea to a fury of foam and spray. Nikobo,
+diving precipitously off her raft, began to squeal in high and low
+hippopotamy, making brave but ineffective lunges at the lashing giant
+beneath the ship.
+
+"Su--suppose it su--submerges?" wailed Ato, who had managed at last to
+seize a rope from the end of which he banged and slammed continuously
+up and down against the deck. "Oh, my stars! Oh, my spars! Oh, my
+beams and--" Tandy never heard Ato's last anguished cry, for at that
+moment a savage shake of the Narwhal's head sent him flying into the
+sea. Coming up coughing and choking, Tandy instinctively began to swim
+and for the first time became aware of the creeping vine he still had
+clutched tightly in one hand. And in that instant and in that whirl of
+danger, disaster and destruction, the little boy suddenly grew calm
+and purposeful. This vine--well, why would this powerful vine from
+Patrippany Island not work as well under water as on land? The chances
+were that it would. Swimming boldly back to the ship, Tandy took a
+quick dive, hurling the vine pot and all in the general direction of
+the Narwhal. No sooner had the vine touched the water than it began
+to open, creep and grow and, spraying out a hundred strong tentacles,
+it seized and bound the plunging monster in a secure and inescapable
+cradle of leafy wood.
+
+Gasping and sputtering, but with his heart pounding with joy to think
+he had really saved Samuel's beautiful ship, Tandy rose to the surface.
+Nikobo, letting off shrill blasts of anger and fright, came paddling
+anxiously toward him. But giving the hippopotamus a reassuring wave,
+Tandy seized the end of a rope ladder and pulled himself up to the deck.
+
+Samuel, though battered and bruised, still clung to the wheel, and Ato,
+almost pounded to a jelly, had rolled into the scuppers where Roger
+was fanning him vigorously with a butter paddle. The Read Bird, having
+wings, could have left the ship at any time, but had clung bravely to
+his post, preferring to go down with the ship and his shipmates. Now
+all three of them stared in dazed silence at Tandy as he climbed back
+over the rail, for in the terrible confusion and excitement no one had
+seen him go overboard.
+
+"Tandy! Tandy! Where've you been?" With outstretched arms Samuel Salt
+rushed groggily forward. "Shiver my liver! Why's everything so quiet?
+Could it be that you single-handed have destroyed that ship-shaking
+menace?"
+
+"I don't think he's destroyed, Master Salt," answered Tandy, limping
+happily to meet the Captain, "but he's caught fast as a lobster in a
+lobster pot and can't move at all."
+
+"Caught?" rasped Samuel, running across the deck to peer over the rail.
+
+"By the creeping vine," explained Tandy, and in short, breathless
+sentences he told them all that had happened after he was flung into
+the sea.
+
+"Well, bagpipe my mizzenmain sails!" gasped Samuel Salt, staring at
+Tandy with round eyes. "This is the strangest and happiest day of my
+life. You've saved the ship and the whole expedition, my boy, and all
+we have to do now is cut loose from this cavorting unicorn of the sea
+and sail off with the largest ivory horn in captivity. An ivory mast,
+blast my buckles! Wait till the Ozites see us sailing up the Winkie
+River with four masts instead of three! Ahoy, below! Ahoy, Kobo! Can
+you dive with me beneath this ship?"
+
+"Dive and stay under as long as you can," vowed the hippopotamus,
+shaking the water out of her eyes and looking cheerily up at the
+Captain. "You see, I was right about those creeping vines, now wasn't
+I?" Nikobo, having done a little investigating on her own account, was
+well nigh ready to burst with pride at Tandy's quick action and the way
+in which the vines had overcome their gigantic foe.
+
+"RIGHT!" boomed Samuel Salt, hurrying off for his oxygen helmet and
+powerful diamond toothed saw. Ato was too bruised and exhausted to
+rise, but Tandy and Roger, perching on the ship's rail, watched Samuel
+in his queer diver's helmet climb down the rope ladder and clamber
+up on the hippopotamus. Next minute Nikobo had disappeared under the
+surface and presently from the slight shiver and shake of the boat
+they knew that Samuel was determinedly at work cutting them loose.
+Fortunately there was room between the ship's bottom and the whale's
+head for Nikobo to swim about, and so splintering sharp was Samuel's
+saw that in less than five minutes he had cut off the great column of
+ivory level with the ship's bottom, carefully calking the edges with
+material he had brought down. In its tight and live wood crate the
+Narwhal could not stir an inch, and, while the cutting of its horn was
+not painful, it blubbered and spouted so terrifically that Samuel and
+Nikobo heaved tremendous sighs of relief when the dangerous operation
+was accomplished.
+
+Backing off a few paces, Nikobo began butting the crated sea beast with
+her head till she had driven it out from beneath the boat. Roger and
+Tandy, with little shrieks of wonder and excitement, saw the crated
+fish like some queer and monstrous mummy rise to the surface and go
+floating sullenly away toward the east. Now that they had a full view
+of the Narwhal they saw that it was three times the length of the
+_Crescent Moon_.
+
+"A great wonder Sammy didn't tie it to the ship and tow it along,"
+sighed Ato, who had at last got to his feet and draped himself weakly
+over the rail. "Some fishin'--eh, Mates?"
+
+"But look at the beautiful mast we have!" cried Tandy, waving to Nikobo
+and the Captain as they came cheerfully alongside.
+
+"Huh! you're as bad as Sammy," grunted Ato, rubbing his bruises
+sorrowfully. "And of course a mast was just what we were needing! Whale
+of a mast! Mast of a whale! HUH!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 15
+
+The Collector Is Collected
+
+
+"What are you going to call this one?" inquired Tandy next morning as
+he and Samuel squinted thoughtfully up at the gleaming ivory column
+between the main and mizzenmasts.
+
+"Might call it the whalemast," said Samuel, rubbing his chin
+reflectively. "And it's a lucky thing for us the point was sharp enough
+to cut through the decks without damaging the ship. At any rate, it's
+given us the biggest fish story a voyager ever had to relate. Tossed
+on the horn of a Narwhal! And the best part of the whole story is that
+we have the proof right along with us. Hah! Right here!" Samuel in his
+glee and exuberance gave the whalemast a hearty slap.
+
+"Kobo says that vine won't unwind for a couple of days, but anyway
+it'll be a fine rest for the whale floating around without having to
+swim. And I expect it can grow another horn?"
+
+"I expect so," agreed Samuel, winking down at Sally, who was standing
+on her head in the bowl of his pipe. "If this little Lady would just
+talk, she could give us a heap of valuable information about life in
+Lavaland, Mate."
+
+"Roger's taught Mo-fi to say 'Ship ahoy!'" observed Tandy, strolling
+over to the rail to watch the white foam sweep past the ship's side.
+"And your sea tree sprays have grown an inch since yesterday, Captain."
+
+"They have?" Samuel blew three rings from his pipe, then walked aft
+to glance at the compass. "Well, my boy, if the rest of the voyage
+is as good as the beginning, we'll sail home loaded to the gun'ls."
+The mention of home always made Tandy wince, for the _Crescent Moon_
+was the first real home he had known. To think that he would be put
+ashore in Ozamaland while Samuel's ship would continue its adventurous
+voyage of discovery without him, was a fact almost too terrible to
+consider.
+
+"Maybe we'll never come to Ozamaland at all," mused Tandy as he climbed
+into the rigging to join Roger. "Maybe the Captain's reckoning is wrong
+and Ozamaland is to the north instead of the south." Vastly comforted
+by this idea, Tandy swung nimbly to the crosstree on the fore t'gallant
+mast. Roger was staring intently through Ato's telescope and as Tandy
+squirmed along to a position beside him, the Read Bird let out a shrill
+squall, all his head feathers standing straight on end.
+
+"What do you see? What is it?" cried the little King, shading his eyes
+with his hands and staring in all directions. "I can't see a thing."
+
+"Take the glasses," urged Roger, handing them over with a frightened
+gulp. "Take the glasses and then tell me it isn't so." Tandy, scarcely
+knowing what to expect, screwed his eye close to the telescope, then
+he, too, gave a shriek of consternation.
+
+"Why--it's a big HOLE, a HOLE in the sea!" he stuttered, lowering the
+glasses and staring at the Read Bird in blank dismay.
+
+"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A
+hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just
+plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted
+his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to!
+Danger on the bow!"
+
+Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom
+he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a
+moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense
+and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed,
+tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum
+of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in
+complete wonder and mystification.
+
+"Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel,
+breaking the silence at last.
+
+"Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he
+raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go
+a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage
+done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll
+knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron
+belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing
+to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed
+Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted
+the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here
+this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown
+after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred
+and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel
+on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over
+his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had
+attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side.
+
+"Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that
+cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down
+sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!"
+
+"Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into
+the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't
+he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore
+out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea.
+Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and
+with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as
+close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified
+fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue
+depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the
+Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear
+altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel
+was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still
+there.
+
+"I'll just fly down and see what's up," quavered Roger, and in spite
+of the loud shouts and threats of Ato on the _Crescent Moon_, the Read
+Bird spread his wings and coasted slowly and bravely into the immense
+air shaft. Nikobo, now as alarmed as the ship's cook, began swimming
+frantically round the edge of the misty chasm, letting out piercing
+blasts that sounded like nothing so much as a ferry boat whistle.
+Tandy himself felt uneasy and frightened and Ato, unable to bear the
+suspense any longer, climbed over the side and came swimming out to
+join them. After an endless fifteen minutes, during which dreadful fear
+and premonition gripped the watchers, the head of the Read Bird popped
+mournfully into view.
+
+"Is he all right? Where's Sammy? What in soup's he doing? What'd you
+find out?" gasped Ato, reaching out to clutch Roger by the wing. Roger,
+limp and bedraggled, with all the stiffness out of his feathers, said
+nothing for a whole minute. Then, beating his wings together, he
+began to scream out hoarsely, "The Captain's caught! The Collector's
+collected. They have Master Salt forty fathom below. They've got him
+shut up, I mean down at the bottom of the sea like a gold fish in a
+bowl, only he's in a big bowl of air. They're poking little fish and
+crabs through a trap door in the air shaft and I cannot break or even
+make a dent in the transparent slide they've shot across the air hole
+to shut him off from us. And oh, my bill and feathers! Every time they
+open the trap door to shove things in to him, water rushes into the
+vacuum. He's standing in water to his knees now and unless we can break
+a hole in that lid the Captain's done for--done for, do you hear?"
+
+"They?" asked Tandy while Nikobo's eyes almost popped out of her head,
+"Who do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, oh, don't ASK me!" choked the poor Read Bird. "They're not fish
+and they're not men. They're about the size of Tandy, here, sort of
+stiff and jellied and perfectly transparent. On a shell hanging outside
+of one of their caves it said 'Seeweegia.'"
+
+"Seeweegia!" moaned Ato, clutching his head in both hands. "Let me see!
+Let me see! What's to be done, boys? Now quick! What's to be done?"
+
+"Have Roger fetch the saw we used on the whale's horn," gurgled Nikobo.
+
+"And I'll climb down and saw a hole in that slide," cried Tandy eagerly.
+
+"No, _I'll_ climb down," said Ato firmly. "I've known Sammy the longest
+and if he's going to come to a watery end I might as well end with
+him."
+
+Leaving the two arguing, Roger flashed back to the ship, returning
+in almost no time with the scintillating and powerful saw. Tandy had
+meanwhile convinced Ato that he could climb down the rope faster, being
+so much lighter, and now, with tears in their eyes, Nikobo and the
+ship's cook saw Tandy and Roger disappear into the air shaft.
+
+Tandy let himself down carefully hand over hand, Roger keeping abreast
+of him with the saw. To slide rapidly to the bottom would have been
+quicker, but the resulting blisters would make it difficult to use the
+saw. Forty fathoms, nearly two hundred and forty feet, is a long way
+to go hand over hand on a rope, and before he reached the glass-like
+slide, Tandy's palms stung and his shoulders ached and burned from the
+strain. But at last he was down, and dropping to his hands and knees
+with Roger mourning and muttering beside him, Tandy peered fearfully
+through the glassy substance.
+
+For a moment everything was a green and misty blur, but gradually the
+figure of Samuel Salt standing sturdily in the middle of the air bowl
+became visible. Although waist high in sea water, and surrounded by
+loathsome sea creatures and crabs the Seeweegians had tossed in for him
+to eat, Samuel was making slow and interested entries in his journal.
+Pressed against the sides of his strange aquarium, Tandy could see the
+round, square and triangular faces of the jellyfish men and women.
+Brilliantly colored vines and seaweed waved and tossed in the current,
+the floor of the ocean was covered with bright shells, polished stones
+and all manner of sparkling deep sea jewels. Had Tandy not been so
+worried about Samuel Salt he would have liked nothing better than
+sketching this strange and beautiful under sea Kingdom with the
+Seeweegians flopping and swimming busily in and out of their grottos
+and caves, or disporting themselves in the sea weed forests. But as
+it was, his only thought was of quickly freeing the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_ from his curious prison.
+
+"Look, they've put up a sign," hissed Roger, handing over the saw.
+Looking in the direction indicated by Roger, Tandy saw an immense shell
+on which long wisps of sea weed had been arranged to form the words:
+
+    COME SEE THE CURIOUS HIGH AIR MANSTER.
+    ADMISSION, 1 PEARL, 5 CORALS AND A CLAM!
+
+The sight of this sign swinging from a small sea tree close to Samuel's
+air bowl sent a wave of rage up Tandy's back. Rubbing his palms briskly
+together, the little boy seized the saw and struck it with all his
+might against the unyielding surface of the slide. The noise attracted
+Samuel's attention, and looking up he began waving his arms, yelling
+out wild orders and commands. Not being able to hear any of them and
+being quite sure Samuel was telling them to leave the air shaft before
+the Seeweegians shot another slide above their heads and caught them,
+too, Tandy proceeded grimly with his task. Roger helped, scraping away
+with both claws and bill. For five desperate minutes they worked
+without success, then a tiny crack split the slide from edge to edge.
+Wedging the saw into the narrow opening, Tandy began sawing away like
+a little wild man, for a fresh batch of snails and crabs tossed in to
+Samuel had let in another rush of sea water. Immersed to his chin,
+Samuel started to swim round and round, dodging the end of the saw as
+it flashed up and down above his head.
+
+"Oh!" gasped Tandy, stopping a moment to blow on his fingers. "I'll
+never be able to make this opening large enough. Look, look, Roger,
+they're opening that trap door again. Oh, Oh! I can't bear it!"
+
+"Help! Help!" yelled the Read Bird, looking despairingly up the empty
+air shaft. "Help, for the love of sea salt and sailor men!" His cry,
+increased by the curious nature of the compressed air in the air shaft,
+increased a hundredfold and fell with a hideous roar upon the anguished
+ears of Ato and Nikobo. Almost instinctively and without thought of
+her own safety, or Ato's, or the dire consequences, the hippopotamus
+jumped bodily into the sea hole. Roger, still glaring upward, had a
+quick flash of an immense falling object. Realizing at once what had
+happened, the Read Bird had just time to snatch Tandy and drag him to
+the opposite side of the slide before Nikobo landed--broke through
+the thick glass, plunged into Samuel's aquarium and shot out through
+the side into a group of horrified Seeweegians. Now do not suppose for
+an instant that Tandy, Roger or Samuel himself saw all this happen.
+Indeed, after Nikobo struck the slide, none of them remembered a thing,
+for the ocean, rushing in through the puncture the hippopotamus had
+made in the vacuum, rose like a tidal wave, carrying them tumultuously
+along.
+
+Nikobo came up at a little distance from the others, with Ato,
+completely wrapped and entangled in seaweed, clinging tenaciously to
+her harness and looking like some queer marine specimen himself. Too
+shocked and stunned to swim, the five shipmates bobbed up and down
+like corks on the surface of the sea. Then Roger, spreading his wet
+and bedraggled wings and coughing violently from all the salt water he
+had swallowed, started dizzily back to the _Crescent Moon_. Nikobo had
+several long gashes in her tough hide, but still managed to grin at
+Tandy.
+
+"I--I must have lost the saw," panted the little boy, pulling himself
+wearily up on her back.
+
+"Never mind the saw. I still have my journal, and look what I caught!"
+puffed Samuel Salt, dragging himself up on the other side of the
+hippopotamus. "Ship ahoy, Mates, a live and perfect specimen of a
+jellyfish boy." Holding up his prize, Samuel smiled blandly, all his
+danger and discomfort apparently forgotten.
+
+"Oh, my eyes, ears and whiskers!" quavered Ato, peering out of his
+net of seaweed. "Is it for this we've been scraping our noses on the
+sea bottom?" Nodding cheerfully, Samuel plunged the squirming and
+transparent little water boy under the surface, holding him there, as
+Nikobo swam slowly and painfully back to the ship.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 16
+
+The Storm!
+
+
+Tandy was so exhausted from his dreadful experiences at the bottom of
+the sea hole he spent the rest of the morning flat on his stomach on
+deck making lively sketches from memory of the City of Seeweegia. Of
+the sea hole itself not a sign nor vestige remained. The sea, tumbling
+through the breach made by Nikobo, had closed it up forever and ever.
+Ato had Roger fetch bandages and witch hazel down to the raft and it
+took him two hours to bind up the cuts and hurts of the faithful
+hippopotamus. Then climbing wearily up the rope ladder to the deck, he
+spent another hour rubbing himself with oil and liniment, muttering
+darkly about reckless collectors who got themselves and their shipmates
+collected.
+
+"What would WE have done if you'd never got out of that air bowl?"
+scolded Ato, waving the bottle of liniment at the Captain, who was
+cheerfully changing into dry clothes. "_You_ know _I_ know nothing
+about navigation nor one sail from t'other."
+
+"Ah--but what you know about sauces!" retorted Samuel, rolling his
+eyes rapturously. "Of course, I'll grant a ship cannot sail on its
+stomach, but if the worst had come to the worst, you could have left
+a note for the sails on the binnacle. 'If it comes up a blow, tie
+yourselves up.' Ha, ha! Tie yourselves UP!" Jamming his feet into his
+boots, Samuel blew a kiss to his still muttering shipmate and tramped
+down to the hold to settle his jellyfish boy in one of the large
+aquariums. The water boy, about half the size of Tandy, was a jolly
+enough looking specimen, but kept opening and shutting his mouth like
+a fish and staring anxiously from his captor to Mo-fi in the cage
+opposite. Whistling happily and unmindful of the cuts and bruises he
+had suffered, Samuel filled the bottom of the aquarium with pebbles
+and shells, put in several seaweed plants he'd fished up in the nets,
+and soon had the little stranger as happy and cozy as a clam. Giving
+him and Mo-fi a wafer of fish food, the Royal Explorer of Oz went above
+to have a look at the weather, for he did not like the way the ship was
+pitching.
+
+In spite of the desperately fatiguing morning they had had, it seemed
+the voyagers were in for some further excitement. The sky had grown
+dark and threatening. Dark clouds in ever-increasing numbers scudded
+along from the east; the sea, rough and angry, was full of racing
+little whitecaps. Nikobo's raft plunged and rocketed up and down like
+a bucking bronco, flinging the hippopotamus from side to side and
+bringing her with squealing protests up against the rail first on one
+side and then on the other. Fearing for her safety, Samuel with Tandy's
+help rigged a temporary derrick to the mizzenmast, hove his vessel
+to, and bidding Nikobo swim round to the side, cleverly hoisted her
+to the main deck by a hook caught through her harness. Nikobo took it
+all quite calmly, coming down with a thankful little grunt, glad to be
+with her shipmates in the gale that was lashing the sea into a rolling,
+tossing fury of mounting gray water and foam.
+
+The wind had risen now almost to hurricane proportions, and taking in
+all sail and with only a tarpaulin lashed in the main rigging, Samuel
+prepared with bared poles to ride out the storm. Ato, always ready and
+helpful in a crisis, trudged up and down the heaving decks with pails
+of hot soup and coffee, and after a hasty lunch, all hands fell to
+closing ports, battening hatches and removing from the decks all loose
+gear and equipment. As it was impossible to shove Nikobo through the
+door of the main cabin, Samuel lashed her tightly to the mizzenmast and
+with an old sail round her shoulders the hippopotamus anxiously watched
+the mountainous waves breaking over the bow and running down into
+the scuppers. It was all so wild and new, so dangerous and exciting,
+Tandy begged Samuel to let him stay on deck. Much against his better
+judgment, Samuel finally gave his consent, tying Tandy fast to Nikobo
+and the mizzenmast. If anything happened to the ship, reflected Samuel,
+fighting his way back to the wheel, the hippopotamus could keep Tandy
+afloat and take care of him besides.
+
+Ato and Roger, not being needed on deck and not caring for storms, shut
+themselves up in the main cabin for a game of checkers. But checkers
+and board soon flew through the air, and the two had all they could do
+to hang on to their chairs as the _Crescent Moon_ pitched headlong into
+the cavernous hollows and struggled up the mountainous ridges of the
+great running seas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 17
+
+The Old Man of the Jungle!
+
+
+In the splendid white marble Palace in the splendid White City of
+Ozamaland the nine Ozamandarins sat in solemn conference.
+
+"This time we have succeeded," stated Didjabo, chief of the nine Judges
+of the realm, "this time we have succeeded and our plans may now be
+accomplished. Last time, we merely destroyed the King and Queen,
+neglecting to do away with the Royal Off-spring, Tazander Tazah, and
+for that reason we failed utterly. So long as this boy survived, the
+natives insisted on considering him their rightful King and Ruler. But,
+hah! that prophecy we invented about an aunt carrying him off was a
+clever and useful idea--eh, my fellow Zamians? Now as the child, with a
+little help on our part it must be confessed, has really been carried
+off and destroyed, we can blame these same silly females, and they and
+all the royal family can be tossed into the sea to pay for this heinous
+crime. Ha, ha! Quite an idea, a famous idea!" murmured Didjabo, and the
+eight Ozamandarins nodded their narrow heads in complete and satisfied
+agreement. "Leaving the throne clear for us--the Nine Faithful Servants
+of the People!" Again the Ozamandarins nodded, but Didjabo, slanting
+his cruel little eyes up and down the long table, was already making
+plans to destroy the lot of them and have the whole great country for
+himself.
+
+"But how can we be sure the boy is destroyed and out of the way?"
+questioned Lotho, the second Ozamandarin in point of rank and power.
+
+"Because," Didjabo curled up his lips in a hard little smile, "the Old
+Man of the Jungle has brought us proof. Boglodore! BOGLODORE! It is our
+wish that you appear before us."
+
+At Didjabo's call there was a slight rustle and stir behind the
+curtains in the doorway, and an immense wrinkled old native clad only
+in a turban and loin cloth stepped noiselessly into the Chamber of
+Justice. Without waiting for further orders, Boglodore began in a high,
+dismal, droning voice:
+
+"Following the commands of the highest among you, I, Boglodore the
+Magician, did carry off on my famous, never known or seen flying
+umbrellaphant the heir and small King of this country, coming down
+after two days, on Patrippany Island. Not wishing to destroy the boy
+with my own hands, I left him to the wild beasts and savage Leopard Men
+known to inhabit this island. That, as you know, was five months and
+two weeks ago. Having just returned from a second flight to the Island
+where I found no trace or sign of the boy, I can safely assure you
+that he is no more, that he has undoubtedly been killed by the savages
+or the wild beasts of the jungle." There was not a trace of pity or
+remorse on the cruel flat faces of his listeners as Boglodore finished
+this shameful recital.
+
+"In that case there is nothing left to do but punish the royal aunts
+and family, issue a proclamation of our accession to power, and divide
+up the Kingdom," mused Lotho, drumming thoughtfully on the table with
+his long skinny fingers.
+
+"But do not forget my reward," wheezed Boglodore firmly. "For this
+cruel and infamous deed I was promised one tenth of Ozamaland and I
+am here to claim as my share the entire jungle reach of this country.
+Extending his arms, the old man of the jungle advanced threateningly
+toward the long table.
+
+"Ha, ha! Just listen to him now," sneered Didjabo, gathering up his
+papers and looking insolently across at the angry native. "Have a care
+what you say, fellow. Too much of this and you'll go over the cliff
+with the royal relatives. Now, then, clear out! Your work is done! If
+you ever set foot in this city again, you shall be trampled beneath the
+feet of the royal elephants!"
+
+"Ah--hhh!" Boglodore recoiled as if he had been confronted by a
+poisonous reptile. "So that's to be the way of it? Aha! Very good! I
+will go. But do not think this is the end! It is but the beginning!"
+Snapping his fingers under the long noses of the Ozamandarins, the old
+man, not bothering with the door, leapt out the window and vanished
+into the garden.
+
+"Do you think that was quite wise?" questioned Teebo, third in rank of
+the Ozamandarins. "This fellow and his flying elephant are dangerous
+and may do us a world of harm."
+
+"Do not forget, anything he says will involve himself, and he'll have a
+hard time proving to the people that it was on my orders the young King
+was carried off."
+
+"Oh, hush!" warned Lotho, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Not
+another word!" Shrugging his shoulders and rising to indicate that the
+meeting was over, Didjabo started pompously for the door. "I will go
+now to prepare a Royal Proclamation explaining that as the young King
+has not after exhaustive search been found or located, the authority
+and governing power of the state shall pass to us, the Nine Faithful
+Ozamandarins of the Realm! We can then meet again and here in this star
+and barred Chamber of Justice divide the Kingdom among us."
+
+"Very well, but see that you remember it is to be divided!" Staring
+fixedly at Didjabo, Lotho strode away, colliding violently at the door
+with a small breathless page who was entering on a veritable gallop.
+
+"Your Honors! Your Ozamandarin Majesties!" shrilled the boy, wildly
+waving his trumpet instead of blowing upon it. "A ship--there is a ship
+with four masts beneath the chalk cliffs, a strange ship with full
+sail is riding into our harbor."
+
+"There, there, don't shout!" snapped Didjabo, seizing the boy roughly
+by the shoulders. "Go back at once and discover what flag this ship
+flies from her masthead. Quickly now. RUN!"
+
+"What could it mean? Where could it be from? Such a thing has never
+happened before!" muttered the others, hastening over to the long
+windows.
+
+"Confoundation!" raged Didjabo as the page with frightened stutters
+turned and ran out of the Hall of Justice. "This ruins everything.
+Who are these meddling foreigners? And why do they have to arrive
+now of all times? NOW! Lotho! Teebo! Call out the camel corps and
+the white elephant guard. Have them drawn up in war formation on the
+chalk cliffs. You others!" impatiently Didjabo waved his arms at the
+six remaining Ozamandarins, "See to the defense of the palace! If
+these meddlers set foot upon our territory they are to be trampled
+upon, trampled upon--do you understand?" Nodding with fierce and cruel
+determination, the eight tall Keepers of the White City set about
+carrying out Didjabo's orders. Didjabo, hurrying up to the highest
+tower in the castle, looked through his telescope to see what manner
+of ship had come sailing out of the west to spoil or postpone his
+well-laid plans.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 18
+
+A New Country
+
+
+Driven by the pitiless wind, pounded by the merciless sea, the
+_Crescent Moon_ rode before the gale, coming, toward morning, into
+quiet waters at last. The sky, now pale grey instead of black, showed
+a small single star in the east, and with a huge sigh of weariness and
+relief Samuel let go the anchor and bade his crew turn in all standing.
+This they were only too glad to do, sleeping heavily and thankfully in
+their clothes, Nikobo still wrapped in her sail snoring like a whole
+band of music beneath the mizzenmast.
+
+Tandy, to whom the storm had been a thrilling adventure, was the first
+to waken. Still stiff and bruised from the pounding he had taken as
+the _Crescent Moon_ tossed and pitched in the terrible seas, he sprang
+eagerly out of his bunk, curious to know where the storm had carried
+them.
+
+The morning mists, lifting like a shimmering veil or the curtain of
+a stage on some new and strange scene, showed a long white line of
+chalk cliffs to the east, and beyond the cliffs the dim outline of a
+great and splendid city. With joy and lively expectations Tandy had
+run out on deck, but now, after a long look over the port rail, he
+crept silently and soberly back to his cabin, closing the door softly
+behind him. Later, as the sun rose higher, and his shipmates awoke,
+the excited screams of Nikobo and Roger and the eager voices of Samuel
+and Ato told him that they too had seen the bright land beyond the
+cliffs. Already Samuel was clewing up his sail and above the rattle in
+the rigging Tandy could hear the rasp of the anchor cable as it came
+winding over the side. But he only bent lower over the fat book in his
+lap, and when the Read Bird, loudly calling his name, came hurtling
+through the port-hole, he did not even look up.
+
+"Land! Land and MORELAND!" croaked Roger, dancing up and down on the
+foot of the bunk. "None of your pesky islands this time, but a whole
+long new continent. What in salt's the matter, youngster, this is no
+time to be a-reading! Come on, come on, the Captain's looking for you!"
+As Roger peered sharply down at the book in Tandy's lap two tears
+splashed on the open page. Quickly brushing two more off his nose, the
+ship's cabin boy unwillingly met the puzzled gaze of the Read Bird.
+
+"Roger," demanded Tandy in a smothered and unsteady voice, "which is
+most important, being a King or being a person?" Roger, his head on one
+side, considered this for a moment and then spoke quickly.
+
+"Well, you can't be a good King without being a good person, so I
+should say, being a good person is most important."
+
+"But it says here," with a furious sniff Tandy put his finger on the
+middle paragraph of the page, "'In no circumstances and for no reason
+may a King forsake his country nor desert his countrymen.'"
+
+"What's that? What's this? Humph! _Maxims for Monarchs._ Well, what in
+topsails do we care for that musty volume?" Giving the book a vicious
+shove, Roger, forgetting how much he had formerly praised Ato's fat
+volume, fluttered down on Tandy's shoulder. "So THAT'S it!" he burst
+out explosively. "This pernicious country yonder is Ozamaland. Well, we
+can't spare you and that's final. They didn't know how to treat a good
+King when they had one, now let 'em practice on somebody else. Say the
+word, m'lad, and we'll put about and sail away as fast as a good ship
+can take us! CAPTAIN! Master Salt! Deck ahoy! All hands 'HOY!" Without
+waiting for Tandy's answer, Roger skimmed through the port and winged
+over to the Captain.
+
+"Wait! Wait!" sputtered Tandy, hurrying aft where the officers and
+crew of the _Crescent Moon_ were now engaged in earnest conversation.
+"Don't you remember you wanted some of those creeping birds and flying
+reptiles, Captain? Well, this is the place!" puffed the little boy,
+waving his arm toward the cliffs. "This is Ozamaland and I've got to go
+ashore. It's really all right," he continued earnestly as Samuel began
+unhappily rubbing his chin, "it's been a grand voyage and I've learned
+a lot, but a King has to stick to his post, hasn't he?"
+
+"Not all the time," snapped Ato, giving his belt an indignant jerk.
+"You stuck to your post and they stuck you in a tower and then in a pig
+pen in the jungle. So what do you owe them? Nothing, say I, absolutely
+nothing!"
+
+But Samuel Salt, regretful as he was to lose this handy young artist
+and cabin boy, felt that Tandy must decide the matter for himself. "If
+you're as good a King as you are a seaman, I'm not the one to hold you
+back," he sighed sorrowfully. "But just let these lubbers start any
+more nonsense and I'll give them a taste of the rope. HAH! And we'll
+not be leaving you till everything's shipshape, and you can lay to
+that!"
+
+"I'm not leaving you at all," snorted Nikobo, lumbering hugely over to
+Tandy and almost flattening him against the port rail. "I'll miss this
+ship worse'n the river, and Ato's cooking and the Captain's stories and
+Roger's jokes, but wherever Tandy goes I go, and that's flat!"
+
+"Just plain noddling nonsense, putting him ashore," fumed Ato angrily.
+"He's not old enough to manage these wild tribesmen and scheming
+aristocrats. Besides, we need him on this expedition, and you know it."
+Samuel, sighing deeply, smiled at Tandy and Tandy, sighing just as
+deeply, smiled back.
+
+"Never you mind," promised the former Pirate with a wink that somehow
+lacked conviction, "there'll be other voyages!" And seizing the wheel,
+he began tacking in toward Tandy's homeland. But he had lost all
+pleasure and interest in charting for the first time on any map the
+long continent of Tarara and adding strange animals and plants to his
+ever-growing collection. Losing Tandy spoiled the whole expedition for
+him, and by taking longer and wider tacks he delayed their landing to
+the latest possible moment.
+
+But at last there they were in the very shadow of the chalk cliffs
+and with no further excuse for not going ashore. Nikobo had agreed to
+carry them and had abruptly heaved herself overboard, sending up a
+fountain of spray as high as the ship itself when she struck the water,
+thus astonishing no end the watchers on the bank. Tandy, after running
+down to the hold to say goodbye to Mo-fi and have a last look at the
+jellyfish boy, regretfully joined the others at the port rail. Having
+brought nothing aboard the _Crescent Moon_, he insisted on leaving in
+the same way, soberly waving aside all the gifts and presents Ato and
+Samuel sought to press upon him. Clad only in the leopard skin he had
+worn on Patrippany Island, he swung nimbly down the rope ladder. The
+Captain and the cook, in honor of Tandy's homecoming, had donned their
+finest shore-going togs, and Samuel, with a scimiter in his teeth,
+and Ato, armed as usual with his bread knife and a package he refused
+to explain, followed him more slowly down the ladder. Then they all
+climbed aboard the hippopotamus.
+
+Roger, flying ahead with some Oz flags just for luck, could not help
+comparing the brown, hard-muscled young seaman with the skinny, fretful
+boy they had taken on at Patrippany Island. Trying to comfort himself
+with Tandy's improved health and spirits, he looked curiously at the
+great company assembled on the cliffs. All of the Nobles and their
+families in flowing white robes were present and many of the immense
+turbanned tribesmen who happened to be in the capital had gathered to
+see for themselves the first ship that had ever touched the shore of
+Ozamaland. Beyond the Nobles and natives Roger could see row on row of
+white guards mounted on enormous white elephants and snow-white camels.
+
+"Trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble!" mourned the Read Bird drearily
+to himself. Tandy, familiar with the whole coast, guided Nikobo to
+the only possible spot for landing and, grunting and mumbling, the
+hippopotamus hauled herself up on the rocks, glancing sharply and
+suspiciously at the little boy's subjects. A narrow path wound and
+curved up through the cliffs and, puffing and panting, Nikobo finally
+made her way to the top, where she stood uncertainly facing the milling
+multitude.
+
+"Hail and greetings!" called Samuel Salt, raising his arm to attract
+their attention, for the crowd looked both dangerous and unfriendly.
+"We are here to return to you safe and sound your lost King, Tazander
+Tazah, rescued by us from the wild jungle of Patrippany Island."
+
+"King? King?" shrilled a dozen shrill and unbelieving voices. "Where?
+Where?" and everyone craned his neck to get a better view of Nikobo and
+her three curious riders. "Is it really our lost and stolen Kinglet?"
+
+"Yes!" cried Tandy, springing erect. "I am Tazander Tazah, King's son
+and son of a King's son. You are my lawful subjects and Ozamaland is my
+Kingdom!" A little shiver of excitement ran through the crowd at these
+words.
+
+"He does in truth resemble our young ruler," murmured one Noble to
+another, "though much stronger and more bold." Drawing a long sword, he
+waved it imperiously above his head. "Summon the Ozamandarins," he
+called loudly. "They will decide whether this be our King or some small
+Impostor, and DEATH to all strangers and enemies who come in ships to
+lay waste our realm."
+
+"Oh, hold your tongue!" advised Ato, settling himself more comfortably
+between Nikobo's shoulders. "Who are you to challenge the Royal
+Explorer of Oz, the King of the Octagon Isle--"
+
+"And his Royal Read Bird," piped Roger, flying savagely round and round
+the head of the speaker.
+
+"Yes, who are you to challenge the rightful ruler of Ozamaland?" cried
+Tandy, folding his arms and gazing calmly out over the curious throng.
+
+"Hi, is this the young slip they kept locked in the tower? Hoo,
+Hoo!" yelled an old tribesman, brandishing his long lance. "He's the
+salt of the sea and the sand of the desert. Shame on you, Zamen,
+not to recognize and welcome your young King. _I'm_ for you, young
+one, down to my last breath!" In spite of these brave words, the
+nobles, natives and guards made no move or motion to let Nikobo pass
+through. Then suddenly there was a break in the crowd and the nine
+square-hatted Ozamandarins stepped rigidly forward. And nine taller,
+thinner, meaner-visaged rogues, decided Samuel, lovingly fingering
+his scimiter, it had never been his misfortune to encounter. Didjabo,
+recognizing Tandy at once in spite of his new and seaman-like bearing,
+was the first to speak.
+
+"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily
+chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these
+strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome,
+most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly
+but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly
+thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you
+are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in
+the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!"
+Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy
+dismount.
+
+"But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief
+Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so
+kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates."
+
+"Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his
+lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old
+Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot
+along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he
+gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the
+evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand
+for silence.
+
+"It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard
+the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated
+Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of
+age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward,
+guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at
+Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your
+ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply
+indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says
+that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without
+delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you
+to leave. Come, Tazander!"
+
+While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin
+was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till
+he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But
+surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and
+explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel
+mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just
+might happen to tread on you."
+
+"Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very
+thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo,
+paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the
+ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers
+gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying
+off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.
+
+"Hurray, Hurray! Avast and belay! And down with old Square-Hats
+forever!" shrilled the Read Bird, while Ato and Samuel exchanged
+a proud and pleased glance. While the other Ozamandarins stood
+uncertainly, the crowd, long weary of the rigid rule of the nine
+judges, began to laugh and cheer.
+
+"The King is King! Long live the King!" shouted the old tribesman
+vociferously.
+
+But Didjabo pulling himself furiously to his feet, flung up his arm.
+"Guards! Guards!" he screeched venomously, "Do your work! Save this
+poor, misguided child from these unspeakable foreigners or we are all
+lost. Can you not see they are savages, sorcerers and enemies? Seize
+the King and over the cliff with these hippopotamic invaders!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 19
+
+Boglodore's Revenge
+
+
+The word "hippopotamic" seemed to rouse the undecided guards to action,
+and Samuel, as the crowd moved uneasily aside to let the elephant and
+camel mounted guardsmen through, heartily wished himself back on the
+ship. Nikobo, squealing with rage and defiance, began moving cautiously
+back toward the path down the cliffs, but Ato, who had been merely
+biding his time, tore open his package and began tossing right and left
+the tumbleweeds and creeping vines which fortunately it had contained.
+
+The first creeper caught Didjabo, bound him up and laid him by the
+heels before he could issue another order. Taking careful aim,
+Ato threw a creeping vine at each of the other Ozamandarins. The
+tumbleweeds, whirling beneath the feet of the elephants and camels,
+caused them to fall to their knees, tossing their riders over their
+heads, and between the yells of the guards, the squeals of the camels,
+and trumpeting of the elephants, confusion was terrific. The natives
+and Nobles and all who could still move or run set off at top speed for
+the city without once looking behind them. Muttering angrily under his
+breath, Ato continued to hurl vines and tumbleweeds till none was left.
+Unable to advance an inch, the white guard and their mounts rolled and
+groveled together in the deep sand.
+
+"Now we can go on to the palace!" cried Tandy, a bit breathless by the
+suddenness of it all. "Oh, Ato, how did you ever happen to bring those
+plants along?"
+
+"I suspected some of these subjects of yours were villains," answered
+Ato grimly, "and the only way to meet villains is with villainy.
+Forward march, my Lass! On to the King's castle!"
+
+Picking her way around the fallen men and beasts, Nikobo, snorting at
+each step to show her superiority and contempt, set out for the Royal
+Palace. Of all the people who had run out on the cliffs, besides the
+securely bound Ozamandarins and the guard, only the old tribesman who
+had first cheered Tandy remained.
+
+"Oh, please do come with us," invited Tandy earnestly as the old man
+stepped smilingly out of Nikobo's way. "You could tell me all about the
+tent dwellers and help me so much if you would."
+
+"I am Chunum, the Sheik, head of a thousand tribes and speaking for
+them, I can say they all will proudly and gladly serve your brave
+young Majesty. Too long have the city dwellers ruled this great
+liberty-loving land."
+
+"Then over the side and under the hatches with 'em," cried Roger,
+beside himself with joy and exuberance at the neat way Ato had handled
+Tandy's subjects. "This boy's an able-bodied seaman and explorer and
+will stand no nonsense!"
+
+"My sea is the desert," said Chunum, striding jauntily along beside
+Nikobo, "and my ship is a camel, but I'll wager we'll understand each
+other well enough for all that."
+
+To Tandy, conversing eagerly with Chunum, the splendor of the White
+City of Om was an old story, but to the others it seemed, with its
+flashing marble walks, great waving palms and towering dwellings and
+castle, one of the loveliest capitals they had yet visited.
+
+Word of the happenings on the cliff had traveled fast. Longing to
+welcome the young King, but fearing the strange magicians who had come
+with him, the Nobles had barred themselves in their fine houses and the
+natives had fled to the hills beyond the city gates. The many-domed
+marble palace was absolutely deserted when Nikobo pushed her way
+through the wide doors. Not a footman, page or courtier was in sight.
+Seeing no attention or service was to be had for some time, Ato hurried
+away to the kitchens and was soon happily at work preparing a splendid
+feast to celebrate Tandy's homecoming.
+
+Tandy himself felt quiet and sad, examining with scant interest and
+enthusiasm the splendid rooms which he had never yet been allowed to
+live in. To tell the truth, he would have traded the whole castle for
+his small cabin aboard Samuel's ship. Samuel himself, never really
+happy or comfortable ashore, wandered about aimlessly, opening books on
+the long tables, peering out windows, and finally settling with a sigh
+of resignation in a huge chair beside the throne.
+
+Nikobo had found a long pool and fountain in the same room and, lying
+at full length in this luxuriant marble bath, tranquilly waited for
+events to shape themselves.
+
+"Why not sit on your throne?" asked Roger as Tandy seated himself on a
+small stool beside Samuel Salt.
+
+"Oh, it's much too big for me," sighed Tandy, thinking how very big and
+lonely the palace would seem when all his shipmates had gone.
+
+"Aho, and methinks you are right! Ahoy, the beginning of a beautiful
+idea doth at this moment start to seep through the head feathers, of
+which, _more_ anon!" Chunum, who had never before heard a bird talk,
+stared at Roger in amazed interest and surprise, but giving him no more
+satisfaction than a mischievous wink, the Read Bird flew off to help
+Ato with the dinner. And now Samuel proceeded to tell the old tribesman
+how he had found Tandy in the jungle imprisoned in the wooden cage. As
+he finished, Chunum shook his head in stern displeasure.
+
+"It has long been my conviction and belief," he stated solemnly, "that
+the Ozamandarins are at the bottom of this. Every year they usurp more
+and more power, and keeping the young King shut up in the Tower was
+but an excuse to give them their own will and way. Nor can I believe
+that the royal parents of this boy accidentally fell into the sea as
+they were reported to have done, or that the young aunts mentioned in
+the prophecy had anything at all to do with Tandy's abduction. Tell me,
+how long will the vines hold those villains prisoner, for only that
+long is Tazander safe. We must think and act quickly," said Chunum,
+tapping his staff thoughtfully on the floor.
+
+"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN--HAH!" Samuel
+expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his
+feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place
+for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the
+shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended
+to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered
+to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his
+thoughts still far away on the _Crescent Moon_, and considering the
+work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him
+behind.
+
+With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the
+cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the
+guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants
+of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in
+their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum,
+in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's
+back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo,
+startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one
+horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.
+
+"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be,
+but it is!"
+
+"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from
+under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman,
+and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so
+strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing
+the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main
+force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on
+the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the
+nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and
+soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of
+the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.
+
+"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists.
+"Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and
+Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story
+of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo,
+my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country.
+For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins
+themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah!
+What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore
+again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What
+happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to
+keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!"
+Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies,
+the Old Man continued his story.
+
+"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended
+to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only
+the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the
+jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him,
+giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect
+this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and
+could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found
+and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to
+do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant
+to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and
+ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."
+
+"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the
+umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up
+Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But
+Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.
+
+"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The
+vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will
+sink--not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but
+to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and
+sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so
+dishonorably served and betrayed!"
+
+Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the
+umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into
+the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the
+_Crescent Moon_. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own
+tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to
+navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old
+Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the
+umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open
+sea.
+
+"Look! Look! It's getting away!" cried Samuel, rushing to the cliff's
+edge and almost tumbling over. "Do you realize that there goes the only
+umbrellaphant in captivity?"
+
+"Well, well, and what if it is?" muttered Chunum, again pulling Samuel
+back to safety. "I expect Boglodore does not find this country healthy
+after the pretty story he has just told us, and come, COME, Master
+Seaman, what would you do with a flying elephant aboard your ship?"
+
+"I'd tie it to the mast and carry it back to Oz," explained Samuel,
+staring gloomily after the disappearing prize. "Why, it would be the
+most rare and amazing specimen ever brought back from anywhere, and
+now--now--I've lost it--" Samuel's arms dropped heavily to his sides
+and turning away from the cliff, he began walking slowly back toward
+Nikobo, who had at last ventured to lift her head from the sand.
+Surprised enough was the hippopotamus to learn that she had been given
+her power of speech by the ugly little magician on the umbrellaphant,
+and frightened lest she forget Tandy's language, she began talking
+rapidly to herself.
+
+"But you forget what all this means!" panted Chunum, catching up with
+the Explorer and shaking him energetically by the shoulder. "Why, this
+clears up the whole mystery. Not an AUNT but an ELEPHant carried
+Tazander to Patrippany Island. We must return quickly to the castle
+and release his innocent relatives. I myself will call back Tandy's
+frightened subjects and tell them of the great good fortune that has
+befallen, that we are rid of nine rogues and have a brave young King
+to rule Ozamaland. Come, come, do not stand here dreaming about lost
+elephants; there is much to be accomplished and done."
+
+"Goosewing my topsails, you're right!" breathed Samuel Salt, coming
+completely out of his reverie. "Round up the citizens, comrade, and
+I'll carry the good news to the castle."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 20
+
+King Tandy
+
+
+When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small
+cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of
+one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the
+covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost
+inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better
+of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the
+Ozamandarins.
+
+"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at
+the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom
+of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you
+say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear,
+dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker
+than soup!"
+
+"Well, how do you suppose _I_ feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his
+hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why,
+I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"
+
+"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead
+of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin
+down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.
+
+"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said,
+pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.
+
+"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious
+than interested.
+
+"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and
+pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and
+I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!"
+Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy
+flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of
+him. "I'm going straight back on the _Crescent Moon_, and I'm not
+coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow
+Island and everywhere!"
+
+"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great
+difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are
+you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be
+true!"
+
+"But it _is_ true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and
+illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.
+
+"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.
+
+"Well," said Roger, spreading his wings self-consciously, for the
+plan was his and he felt prouder of it every minute, "we are placing
+Ozamaland under the general rule and protection of Oz and leaving as
+Ruler in Tandy's place that long-legged son of the desert, Chunum. Now
+there's a fellow who can handle these scary Nobles and natives and wild
+elephant and camel riders. A King must complete his education before he
+starts ruling, you know." Roger paused to scratch his head and wink
+gaily at Samuel Salt. "And if this King chooses to finish his education
+on our ship, that is his own affair."
+
+"Oh, quite! Quite!" Samuel began to rock backward and forward and
+roar with merriment. "Roger, you rascal, you've done as good a job of
+reasoning as a whole flock of Wise Men! Fall to, Mates, now we can
+enjoy our victuals and I give you a toast to King Tandy, Cabin Boy,
+Explorer and Artist Extraordinary to this Expedition!"
+
+"Tandy! Tandy!" echoed Ato and Roger, lifting their coffee cups.
+
+"Tandy! Tandy!" mumbled Nikobo, who was lunching largely and
+luxuriantly on the flowers in a low window box. "When do we sail?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 21
+
+A Voyage Resumed
+
+
+Anxious as Tandy was to return to the _Crescent Moon_ and continue the
+voyage, it was a whole week before they finally shoved off. Chunum,
+true to his word, had rounded up the frightened citizens of the
+capital and explained to them the wicked plots of the Ozamandarins and
+their punishment by Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle. Then Tandy,
+addressing them from the castle balcony, called upon them to consider
+Chunum as their King until he himself should have completed his
+education in foreign parts and aboard the _Crescent Moon_, during which
+time he promised to keep them always in mind and have their welfare
+always at heart. Next, Tandy explained how Ozamaland was now a province
+and under the general rule and protection of Ozma of Oz, how settlers
+from that famous fairyland would soon arrive to help them build new
+cities and towns, tame the wild jungles of the interior and repel the
+dangerous invasions of the Greys.
+
+Here Chunum rose to declare he himself would be responsible for peace
+along the border between Amaland and Ozamaland, that the Greys had long
+desired to be friends with the Whites, but trouble had been stirred up
+by the Ozamandarins so they might have the credit of protecting the
+country. Then Tandy spoke again of all the advantages that would be
+enjoyed from their association with the Kingdom of Oz. It was a long
+and splendid speech, Roger and Tandy having spent the whole morning
+in its preparation, and delighted and surprised by the energy and
+ambition of their young Ruler, Tandy's subjects cheered him long and
+vociferously, greeting each new plan and proposal with loud acclaim and
+enthusiasm. The royal aunts and relatives, already released from the
+castle dungeons and restored to their royal dwellings, could not speak
+highly enough of their young relative's bravery and cleverness and
+the bravery and cleverness of all of his new friends. They quite wore
+Nikobo out with their questions and petting and the hippopotamus sighed
+hugely for the time when they would all be at sea.
+
+"Was I right or was I wrong?" questioned Roger on the third afternoon
+as Tandy, resplendent in his court suit of white velvet, reviewed
+the vast parade of Loyal Nobles and Natives, and the long lines of
+elephants and camels went sweeping by the palace. "They love you just
+as much for going away as they would if you stayed. And Chunum is a Man
+in a Million."
+
+"Right!" Tandy nodded, waving happily to the crowds that in a high
+holiday mood thronged the walks and parks of the beautiful White City.
+
+Chunum had taken Samuel Salt and Ato on an expedition into the jungle
+so that the Royal Explorer of Oz could procure a creeping bird and
+flying reptile for his collection. Nikobo, old jungaleer that she was,
+had gone along to see that no harm came to them. To Tandy a snake with
+feathers and a bird with scales and fangs was no novelty, but Samuel,
+returning with a pair of each, considered them the most peculiar and
+precious of his queer specimens. He carried their cages everywhere he
+went and spent long rapt hours watching the snakes fly and the birds
+creep about their new cages. Ato had discovered a new and rare fruit
+and had brought along several slips to plant in the rail boxes he had
+outside the galley. Nikobo had swum to her heart's content in a green
+and muddy jungle stream and all three were now quite ready and anxious
+to continue the voyage. Aboard the _Crescent Moon_ one of the Guards
+had been established to feed the monkey fish and water boy and tend
+to the plants in the hold and serve as watchman. And early one bright
+morning, just a week after they had landed, the members of the Royal
+Exploration Party of Oz set forth from the palace.
+
+Oz flags fluttered and snapped in the fresh morning breeze, mingling
+with the white banners of Ozamaland, and the streets and avenues were
+lined with Tandy's cheering and now quite cheerful subjects. Riding
+Nikobo, accompanied by Chunum on a white elephant and the entire camel
+corps and elephant guard, the party made their way down to the water's
+edge, feeling exactly, as Ato whispered in a laughing undertone to
+Roger, like a whole circus and a zoo. Besides Roger, Tandy, Samuel Salt
+and Ato, Nikobo carried two large cages and two small cages. In the
+small cages were the flying reptiles and creeping birds. In the large
+cages a baby white camel and a baby white elephant.
+
+"You'll sink, my Lass," worried Samuel Salt, as Nikobo, having safely
+made her way down the rocky cliff road, waded confidently out into the
+sea.
+
+"Not me," murmured the hippopotamus comfortably. "You may get wet, but
+I'll get you safely out to the ship. Trust me."
+
+"Goodbye! Goodbye, all!" cried Tandy, standing up on her back to wave
+to the crowds collected on the cliffs. Now that he was leaving, he felt
+a strange fondness for them. "Goodbye, Chunum! I'll be back, never
+fear!"
+
+"Goodbye, Little Fellow! Goodbye, Little King! A fair and far-away
+voyage to you," called the tall old desert chief, standing up in his
+stirrups to wave his long lance. "To the sun--the moon--the stars I
+commend you! Go in happiness and return in health and live long to rule
+over Ozamaland."
+
+"You take care of the country and we'll take care of the King," shouted
+Samuel. "Goodbye! Goodbye! Be watching, all of you, for the ships from
+Oz!"
+
+"Goodbye! Goodbye!" called the Nobles, the natives, the guards; even
+the elephants and camels raised their shrill voices in farewell as
+Nikobo swam strongly away from the shore and toward the _Crescent Moon_.
+
+The guard left in charge of the ship thankfully turned the vessel
+over to its rightful owners and, shaking Tandy feelingly by the hand,
+climbed down the ladder and dropped nervously on the back of the
+hippopotamus, who was to carry him to shore.
+
+"Here, Brainless, lend a hand with the freight," yelled Roger as Tandy
+stood gazing rather thoughtfully toward the cliffs. "The King's ashore!
+Long live his cabin boy! I'll carry these pesky reptilia if you take
+the camel." Roger winked at Tandy as Samuel Salt, bent double under
+the baby elephant's cage, started carefully down to the hold. The baby
+camel and its cage were so small Tandy could manage them quite easily,
+and with a little laugh he hurried after Samuel and Roger. By the time
+they had finished Nikobo had returned from her shore trip and climbed
+thankfully back on her raft.
+
+"All hands stand by to heave up the anchor," bellowed Samuel, stepping
+cheerfully over to his sail controls. "Anchors aweigh! and away we go,
+boys, and the hippopotamus take the hindmost!"
+
+"Ho, ho! Well, she's built for it," roared Ato, bending his weight to
+the cable as sail after sail rattled up the masts and bellied out from
+the yards. "Where to now, Sam-u-el? Oz?"
+
+"OZ, I should say not! We've a lot of geography to discover before we
+go back to Oz. We'll need a roc's egg before we go there, eh, Tandy? A
+roc's egg and sixty more islands for Ozma's Christmas stocking."
+
+"Oh! Will we really spend Christmas in Oz?" cried Tandy, skipping up
+and down the deck, and forgetting all about his subjects waving from
+the cliffs.
+
+"Why not?" demanded Samuel Salt, letting his hands fall happily upon
+the wheel. "Oz is as merry a place as any to spend Christmas, eh,
+Roger?"
+
+"Merry as eight bells!" cried Roger, flying joyfully into the rigging.
+"Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing but sea t'seaward!"
+
+And when the _Crescent Moon_ flies over Ev and drops down the Winkie
+River on Christmas morning with its chart full of islands and curious
+continents and its hold full of strange beasts, plants and treasure, I
+for one should like to be there, shouldn't you?
+
+                                THE END
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                      _A Word about the Oz Books_
+
+
+Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America,
+THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who
+inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated
+the imagination of millions of young readers.
+
+These are stories which are genuine fantasy--creative, funny, tender,
+exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd
+creatures, each of the 39 volumes which now comprise the series, has
+been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they
+are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at
+all.
+
+When, in a recent survey, _The New York Times_ polled a group of
+teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz
+books topped the list.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                          Captain Salt In Oz
+
+
+A voyage on the famous Nonestic Ocean! What could be more thrilling
+than that? We--many of us--have taken trips on the prosaic Atlantic
+or even Pacific, but have we found a SEA FOREST with flying fish and
+swimming birds? Have we been pursued by a real SEA SERPENT, or had
+our ship transfixed by the immense ivory tusk of a NARWHAL? Have we
+come upon the glittering island of PEAKENSPIRE, or made friends with a
+charming talking hippopotamus?
+
+Yet all these things and more befall Captain Salt, one time Pirate and
+now Royal Explorer of Oz, and his merry crew. They come back with their
+hold bursting with unique and fascinating specimens, with their chart
+crowded with new islands, claimed for Ozma, and drawn so realistically
+by the delightful little boy Tandy, Cabin Boy and Artist of the
+Expedition.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                             The Oz Books
+
+        Wizard of Oz
+        Visitors from Oz
+     1. The Land of Oz
+     2. Ozma of Oz
+     3. Dorothy and the Wizard
+     4. The Road to Oz
+     5. The Emerald City of Oz
+     6. The Patchwork Girl of Oz
+     7. Tik-Tok of Oz
+     8. The Scarecrow of Oz
+     9. Rinkitink in Oz
+    10. The Lost Princess of Oz
+    11. The Tin Woodman of Oz
+    12. The Magic of Oz
+    13. Glinda of Oz
+    14. The Royal Book of Oz
+    15. Kabumpo in Oz
+    16. The Cowardly Lion of Oz
+    17. Grandpa in Oz
+    18. The Lost King of Oz
+    19. The Hungry Tiger of Oz
+    20. The Gnome King of Oz
+    21. The Giant Horse of Oz
+    22. Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz
+    23. The Yellow Knight of Oz
+    24. Pirates in Oz
+    25. The Purple Prince of Oz
+    26. Ojo in Oz
+    27. Speedy in Oz
+    28. The Wishing Horse of Oz
+    29. Captain Salt in Oz
+    30. Handy Mandy in Oz
+    31. The Silver Princess in Oz
+    32. Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
+    33. Wonder City of Oz
+    34. Scalawagons of Oz
+    35. Lucky Bucky in Oz
+    36. Magical Mimics in Oz
+    37. The Shaggy Man of Oz
+    38. The Hidden Valley of Oz
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Salt in Oz, by 
+Ruth Plumly Thompson and L. Frank Baum
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN SALT IN OZ ***
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