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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78637 ***
+
+
+
+
+                        The YELLOW KNIGHT of 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
+                               New York
+
+                            COPYRIGHT 1930
+                                  _by
+                         The_ REILLY & LEE CO.
+
+                          All Rights reserved
+
+
+
+
+                     _Dear Boys, and Dear Girls_:
+
+                    The tip top of the year to you!
+                    Good times and wishes!
+                    Grand fun and good cheer to you!
+                    And in this new book
+                    Full of merry Oz folks
+                    You may read of the quest
+                    Of Sir Hokus of Pokes--
+                    Of a strange Yellow Knight
+                    And Stampedro, his horse.
+                    There's a wicked old Shah,
+                    And a Princess, of course.
+                    I know I'll enjoy
+                    All the letters you'll write
+                    When you've finished the tale
+                    Of this jolly old Knight.
+                    What ho and what hey!
+                    For adventures, I say!
+                    And I'll write you some more
+                    In a year and a day. (Really.)
+
+                                                  RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.
+
+           254 S. Farragut Terrace, West Philadelphia, Penn.
+
+
+                       This book is dedicated to
+                             my very dear
+                            and very little
+                            Aunt Gertrude!
+
+                     _Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1930_
+
+
+
+
+                               CONTENTS
+
+
+                       1 Sir Hokus Plans a Quest
+
+                       2 The Knight's First Adventure
+
+                       3 Queen Marcia of Marshland
+
+                       4 Ploppa and Sir Hokus Escape
+
+                       5 Concerning a Camel
+
+                       6 Tuzzle at the Court of Oz
+
+                       7 The Cruise of the Skyrocket
+
+                       8 A Golden Princess
+
+                       9 Sir Hokus Meets an Old Friend
+
+                      10 The Deserted City
+
+                      11 The Knight Loses His Camel
+
+                      12 Camy at the Sultan's Court
+
+                      13 King of the Quix!
+
+                      14 The Enchanted Forest
+
+                      15 Five Travellers Meet
+
+                      16 Speedy in Samandra
+
+                      17 The Restoration of Corumbia
+
+                      18 The Return of the Yellow Knight
+
+                      19 For the Hand of a Princess
+
+                      20 The Marriage of Marygolden
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER ONE
+
+                        SIR HOKUS PLANS A QUEST
+
+
+"I am minded," said Sir Hokus of Pokes, drawing aside the green
+curtains and looking out over the sparkling towers and spires of the
+Emerald City of Oz--"I am minded to go on a quest!"
+
+"Quest?" shouted Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, hand-springing over the
+sofa, capering up to the Knight, and collapsing in front of him with a
+giggle. "What manner of quest, Sir Knight? Request or conquest?
+
+    "Methinks we'll go upon a quest
+    East, North, or South, Sir Hoke, or West?
+    To slay a dragon? Or what ho!
+    What hey! What say? When do we go?"
+
+"We!" Dropping the curtain, Sir Hokus looked sternly at the Patchwork
+Girl, then striding over to a small sofa sat solemnly down beside
+Dorothy, a little girl from Kansas and a Princess of Oz. The Knight and
+several more of Dorothy's friends were spending the evening in her cozy
+apartment in Ozma's palace.
+
+"Wait till Monday," smiled Dorothy, looking up from a book she was
+reading. "Wait till Monday and I'll go with you."
+
+    "Next week a questing we will go;
+    I'll break the news to those below,"
+
+chortled Scraps with a gay bounce.
+
+"Well, don't break all the furniture while you're about it," warned
+Dorothy, as the Patchwork Girl vaulted easily over the sofa and fell
+through the door.
+
+"Oh, I do hope my blue dress will be finished in time," exclaimed Trot,
+clasping her hands eagerly.
+
+"Can I take Hank?" inquired Bettsy Bobbin, who was extremely fond of
+the little mule she had brought from America. At this, Sir Hokus looked
+thoughtfully at his boots.
+
+"In my day," mused the Knight mournfully, "maidens remained quietly at
+home, doing household tasks, embroidering, watching from towers, and so
+on----"
+
+"How stuffy!" sniffed Bettsy Bobbin, sliding carefully into his lap,
+which his armor made rather hard and uncomfortable. "How old-fashioned.
+Now don't be quaint! What fun is it watching from a tower? And this
+embroidery and so on that you talk about ruins the eyes, and you know
+it!"
+
+"Well, well," rumbled Sir Hokus, looking uneasily into Bettsy's
+bright eyes, "I see no signs of ruin here, but let us speak of this
+to-morrow," and setting Bettsy gently on the floor, he bowed to all
+three girls and went clanking down the gold-flagged hallway muttering
+unhappily to himself. "Odds fish and funnels! Why did I ever mention
+this quest? Before morning every man, maiden, child, and kitten in the
+castle will know of it. Go to, now! It is too bad! Go _too_, now! Why,
+that's just what they'll all want to do. 'Twill be a parade and no
+quest at all. By my Knight shirt, it is too much!" Reaching his great
+stone chambers, Sir Hokus leaned against his four-post bed and stared
+gloomily at a picture of his friend the Scarecrow on the opposite wall.
+And his fears, let me tell you, were well founded, for news travels
+fast in the Emerald City, especially good news. In less than an hour
+there was not a soul in that whole merrie castle who had not heard
+from Scraps that the Good Knight of Oz was about to fare forth upon an
+adventure.
+
+In his tower room, Tik Tok, the machine man, marched sternly to and
+fro, practising thrusts and parries with an old cane. The Soldier with
+Green Whiskers began to brush his beard vigorously and try to recall
+what he had done with his sword, his musket, and his military brushes.
+The little Wizard of Oz, in his laboratory back of the throne room,
+took down his bag and began rubbing his hands briskly as he sorted
+out the magic appliances best suited to a perilous adventure. Even
+Dorothy's pink kitten stopped washing her face long enough to decide
+which bow she would wear upon this grand and exciting occasion.
+
+Now Oz, as nearly everyone knows, is the happiest Kingdom out of the
+world, a Kingdom so unfashionable, informal and jolly, that Queen Ozma
+thinks nothing of jumping rope, and even the most important court
+officials play tag and croquet in the gardens after tea. Perhaps this
+is because the Ruler of Oz is a girl, a fairy, to be sure, but such an
+unassuming, gracious fairy that no one feels frightened or embarrassed
+by her power or importance. Yet, Ozma of Oz is both powerful and
+important. Important enough to govern the four great countries of her
+realm wisely and well, powerful enough to overcome all her enemies
+and keep her people contented and happy. Of all the fairy cities in
+enchanted countries anywhere, there is none to compare with Ozma's
+capital. Its streets sparkle and twinkle with emeralds; the towered
+green castle, set in a lovely flowering park, shines and glows with
+the same precious gems, casting a radiance that can be seen for miles
+on all sides. And to her castle Ozma has called the most celebrated
+and interesting of her subjects. In a magical country like Oz, where
+wizards, witches, and fabulous monsters still abound, there are certain
+to be unusual and amazing characters. But Ozma is fondest of Dorothy,
+Bettsy and Trot, three young girls from the United States, who reached
+the Emerald City at different times after bewildering adventures in
+her fairy Kingdom. All three found life there so exciting and gay that
+they have never returned to America at all, and living in the palace
+with the Queen they advise her in all important matters of state, and
+accompany her on all of her visits and adventures.
+
+Dorothy, having come first, has had more strange experiences than
+almost anyone else, and has discovered a great many of the Oz
+celebrities. On her first trip she found the Scarecrow, a delightful
+straw-stuffed person who spends half of his time in the capital and
+the other half in a splendid corn-ear castle near the Royal Residence
+of his friend the Tin Woodman. Nick is a woodman entirely of tin,
+another of Dorothy's discoveries, and so kind and dependable that Ozma
+has made him Emperor of the East and Ruler of the Winkies. Nick's only
+worry is that his joints will rust, and no one thinks it odd that he
+carries an oil can wherever he goes and often stops in the middle of a
+conversation to lubricate his jaws. Tik Tok, on the other hand, is made
+of copper and was manufactured by a firm of magicians to be a slave
+to the King of Ev. The machine man is guaranteed to last a thousand
+years and can walk, talk, think and do everything but live. Dorothy
+found Tik Tok locked in a cave, and releasing the copper man, brought
+him to the Emerald City, where he is greatly admired and respected.
+Like Tik Tok, the Patchwork Girl is of magic origin, too, having been
+intended for a servant by her owner. Made from an old patchwork quilt,
+stuffed with cotton by a wizard's wife, Scraps was brought to life by
+the wizard's Powder of Life. But so much cleverness and fun got into
+Scraps' make-up that she refused to work and, taking an unceremonious
+leave of her master, ran off to the capital. Wherever Scraps happens
+to be, there is always plenty of fun and excitement. Then, along with
+the interesting people in the Emerald City, there are many amazing
+animals, every one of them able to talk as fast as you can. There are
+the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, an Iffin, a glass cat, and so many
+more it would never do to start telling you about them. Indeed, when I
+start talking about the celebrities at Ozma's court I never _do_ know
+when to stop. To describe them all would take about three days and as
+you probably have not that long to listen, and know most of them as
+well as I do, I'll not try, but shall get back to Sir Hokus of Pokes
+and his quest. Not much is known of the early history of this brave
+Knight except that for five centuries he was imprisoned in the Kingdom
+of Pokes, until he was rescued by Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion not so
+long ago. Since then he has lived in the capital and has been of great
+assistance to Ozma in the wars and uprisings that disturb her peaceful
+Kingdom from time to time.
+
+To some, five centuries might seem to make a man a bit ancient, but
+in Oz, where no one ever really grows old, it is just middle-aged,
+and Sir Hokus can hold his own with any of the young fellows in the
+castle. Hearing a great buzz and clatter beneath his windows, the Good
+Knight looked out and saw fifty of Ozma's gay courtiers drilling under
+the lime-drop trees with more than half the palace servants treading
+earnestly behind them. Learning from Scraps that Sir Hokus was about
+to start upon a quest, they, too, had decided to accompany him. In the
+royal stables the excitement was no less. The Sawhorse, Ozma's little
+wooden steed, magically brought to life, was quite certain he would be
+chosen for the Knight's charger.
+
+"Who," whinnied the Sawhorse proudly, "can travel so fast or so
+far as I, without food, rest, or water?" The Cowardly Lion and the
+Hungry Tiger exchanged knowing glances, for they felt that Sir Hokus
+would much prefer a soft seat upon their backs. Hank, Bettsy's mule,
+explained to everyone in a loud bray that if Bettsy Bobbin were going
+he was going, and the voices of the Comfortable Camel and the Doubtful
+Dromedary grew positively shrill when anyone suggested that they might
+be left behind.
+
+"Hokus is our dear discoverer. He found and brought us to the Emerald
+City and would not think of going on a quest without us," quavered the
+Comfortable Camel, rolling his eyes appealingly at Hank.
+
+"You eat too much," sniffed the little mule. "And hee, haw! Hee, haw!
+You wobble too much!"
+
+"You bray too much," put in the Doubtful Dromedary, coming to the
+rescue of his friend. "And don't you get hee haughty with me, sir!"
+And so they argued back and forth, till even the family of mice in the
+hayloft knew Sir Hokus was going upon a quest, and the tiniest member
+had resolved to slip in the Knight's boot and go, too.
+
+Nothing else was talked of at dinner that night in the palace, and
+so interested were Ozma, Dorothy, and the others, that they scarcely
+noticed that Sir Hokus himself said never a word and ate hardly
+a mouthful. Indeed, right in the middle of an argument as to the
+advisability of taking water-proofs or just heavy coats, the Knight
+tiptoed off to his own apartment and flung himself wearily down on a
+stone bench.
+
+"It's not that I don't want them!" groaned Sir Hokus sadly, "but how,
+with an army like that, can I hope to rescue a damsel, slay a dragon,
+or challenge a giant to mortal combat? And how shall I know that I am
+still brave and fit to do battle with fabulous monsters? The Wizard's
+magic will overcome all our difficulties, Scraps' verses will make even
+the enemy laugh, and with so many maidens, how can I hope for a proper
+fight? I would not mind just Dorothy or Ozma, but everyone in the
+castle! Odds black and blue fish! It is too much!" Folding his arms,
+Sir Hokus glared at a large calendar on his wall, then suddenly smote
+his hands joyfully together. Three days before Monday, the day set by
+Dorothy for the quest. Three days!
+
+"Hah!" breathed the Knight gleefully, and again, "Hah!" Snatching up
+his battle-axe and seizing his second best helmet from its hook behind
+the door, he trod softly into the hall and down a little-used stairway
+to the garden.
+
+And while preparations for his quest went merrily forward, Sir Hokus
+himself, without even one sandwich or extra suit of armor, marched
+grimly through the night.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER TWO
+
+                     THE KNIGHT'S FIRST ADVENTURE
+
+
+Walking rapidly, Sir Hokus soon reached the outskirts of the Emerald
+City and paused on the edge of a small wood to consider the next step
+of his journey. In which of the four countries of Oz would he be most
+likely to find a maiden in distress, a monarch in need of his trusty
+sword, or a monster ferocious enough to engage in mortal combat?
+
+Should he go to the North, into the purple land of the Gillikins and
+offer his services to Joe King, and Queen Hyacinth? Or into the red
+Quadling Country where Glinda, the Good Sorceress, ruled over the
+turbulent tribes of the South? To the West stretched the blue realm
+of the Munchkins with its wonderful Sapphire City and newly appointed
+sovereign, Cheeriobed the First. Should he go there? To the East lay
+the yellow domain of the Winkies ruled over by the Tin Woodman, and
+after looking thoughtfully in each direction, Sir Hokus turned his
+steps toward the East. It was in the Winkie Country that he had been
+first discovered by little Dorothy and in this strange and enchanted
+Empire he hoped to learn something of his former history.
+
+During his five century imprisonment in Pokes, Sir Hokus had lost
+all recollection of his early life and since his residence in the
+Emerald City he had been too occupied and interested to bother. But
+now, treading through the starlit wood, he began to think of the long
+ago days of his youth, to wonder whence he had come, who he really
+was and what great purpose had sent him riding upon that first quest
+on a far-away and but dimly remembered morning. Of his father or his
+father's castle he could recall nothing. He only remembered meeting,
+not far from the postern gates, a strange, black Knight who had
+harshly challenged him to battle. Sir Hokus had accepted the challenge
+at once and unseated the stranger with a clever thrust of his lance.
+
+Instantly the black Knight had sprung up, and crying in a loud voice,
+"Live, wretch, for centuries in the stupidest Kingdom in Oz," had
+disappeared, and Sir Hokus himself, though of course that was not his
+name at that time, had been immediately transported to Pokes and there
+he had been held captive for long forgotten ages until Dorothy and the
+Cowardly Lion had come there by chance and all three had managed to
+escape together.
+
+"Strange," mused the Knight, shaking his head sorrowfully, "strange
+that I can remember nothing more of it." The longer he thought, the
+less he could think of, and finally he gave it up altogether. "After
+all, does it matter?" he murmured, throwing back his shoulders and
+standing a trifle more straight. "A Knight's but a Knight and can but
+be bold!" Cheered by the thought of his own boldness, he peered about
+hopefully for signs of a dragon or stray gundersnatch. "What ho!" he
+roared lustily, more to keep himself company than because he expected
+any answer. "What ho, there! What HO!"
+
+"What who?" quavered a shrill voice from the branch of a tree just
+ahead, and a big, yellow owl blinked disagreeably down at him. "What
+who-ooo are you, and what 'Ho' is this you are calling?" he demanded
+sulkily.
+
+"Ah, my good bird," Sir Hokus bowed politely, "perchance you can direct
+me to a maiden in distress, a monarch in need of my sharp sword, or a
+monster whose head I might haply dissever."
+
+"Dissever?" screeched the owl, ruffling his feathers. "Well, did you
+ever! There are no maidens, monarchs, or monsters in this wood, and I
+advise you to go home and mind your own business."
+
+"It is a Knight's business to render assistance to others," Sir Hokus
+informed him sternly.
+
+"Oh, you're a Knight are you?" The owl opened his eyes wider. "Well,
+I'm a Knight, too, a night owl, and you may render me a service if you
+will."
+
+"Name it!" Eagerly Sir Hokus drew his sword.
+
+"You can go away," sniffed the owl fretfully, settling down on the
+branch. "Go away, go along with you!" And as Sir Hokus stood uncertain
+whether to clip a few feathers from its tail to teach it a lesson
+in courtesy or just go off, the bird closed its eyes. "Good-night,
+Knight," it yawned sleepily.
+
+"Good-night, night owl," answered Sir Hokus, deciding that after all
+the creature was not worth a quarrel. "Odds bodikens! I might as well
+be home in bed for all the adventures I'm having," he sighed, moving
+mournfully along in the moonlight. "Not a wild beast has crossed my
+path, not a witch, a robber, or even one little dragon! Hah, Hoh, HUM!"
+With another great yawn, the Knight removed his heavy armor, hung it
+on a nearby branch, and wrapping himself in his gray cloak lay down
+under a tree and slept soundly till morning. The chatter of the yellow
+birds awakened him about six, and buckling on his armor he quenched his
+thirst in a clear forest brook. As there were no breakfast bushes or
+afternoon tea trees about he marched resolutely onward. The forest grew
+denser at every step and he was often forced to hew out a path with his
+battle-axe, but about noon he came to a narrow footway shut in on both
+sides by giant trees and heavy underbrush. Following this for several
+miles, Sir Hokus was suddenly cheered by a bright shaft of sunlight
+ahead. Hurrying forward joyfully, he was about to step out into the
+open when a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder.
+
+"Halt!" cried a deep voice. "Halt! Stop! And other words meaning
+surrender!"
+
+"Surrender?" bellowed the Knight, with a furious bounce. "Stand back,
+knave! Unhand me, villain! Who dares cry 'halt' to Sir Hokus of Pokes?"
+
+"Getsom and Gotsom!" answered the same deep voice. "Getsom and Gotsom!
+Mud Guards to her Majesty, Queen Marcia of Marshland."
+
+"Mud Guards!" sputtered Sir Hokus, staring at the two without
+enthusiasm. "Well, in faith an' ye look it!" For Getsom and Gotsom were
+so spattered with mud and streaked with mire that scarcely any of their
+dark skin was visible. They wore rough swamp grass skirts and little
+else, and their long hair was tangled and matted and hung half over
+their sullen faces. As Sir Hokus continued to stare, the second Mud
+Guard addressed him:
+
+"Good-morrow!" he croaked, jerking his forelock. Then turning to his
+companion he whispered hoarsely, "Be careful how you treat him, Getsom,
+old fellow. Remember he is the King!"
+
+"King!" exploded Sir Hokus, growing quite curious. "What merry nonsense
+is this? I am a Knight, bound upon a curious quest."
+
+"He'll do very well indeed, if we remove the shell," continued Gotsom,
+eyeing Sir Hokus with frank approval. "How would you like to be Monarch
+of the Marshes and King of the Stick-in-the-Muds?" he asked coaxingly.
+"Our Queen has sworn to marry the first stranger who enters the
+Kingdom; you are the first, so--"
+
+"Hold, fellow!" Imperiously Sir Hokus raised his arm. "I would hear
+more of this Queen."
+
+"Well," admitted Getsom, looking uneasily at Gotsom, "she has one
+wonderful eye."
+
+"One wonderful eye!" gulped the Knight. "By my father's beard, it is
+not enough! If I ever marry 'twill be a Princess with two wonderful
+eyes and curly hair like little Dorothy's. But I am not minded to marry
+at all. I crave adventure, conquest, and furious battle!"
+
+"Marry Marcia, and you will have all three," promised Gotsom quickly.
+
+"Oh, come on! You're wasting our time," grumbled Getsom, and pressing
+forward impatiently the two Mud Guards made ready to seize the Knight.
+But Sir Hokus had no intention of being taken. Striking two ways at
+once, he felled Getsom with his sword and Gotsom with his battle-axe
+and, leaping over their inert bodies, rushed impetuously forward.
+Almost instantly he regretted this hasty action; for though he was
+indeed out of the gloomy forest, in all directions stretched a wild
+and desolate marsh, and scarcely had he run three paces before he
+began to sink down into the treacherous, watery bog. Sir Hokus struck
+out bravely enough, but what good is bravery in the mud? No matter
+how brave you are, you still keep on sinking, and weighed down by his
+heavy armor the Knight was soon in to his waist and going deeper every
+minute. Indeed, if he had not snatched desperately at a scraggly little
+tree, he would have disappeared altogether.
+
+"Methinks," groaned the Knight regretfully, "methinks I had done better
+to have gone with those muddy rogues and taken my chance with their
+one-eyed Queen. They, no doubt, have a way of crossing this mire." But
+the Mud Guards would not regain their senses for hours, and meanwhile
+he could do nothing but cling to the tree. "What now? And what next?"
+he muttered, looking around despondently. Then he took a firmer hold on
+his sword. "Odds goblins!" breathed Sir Hokus, wrinkling his brows.
+
+All around him giant bubbles were rising in the mud, and from each
+bubble came a great green frog's head. Odd goblins they were, indeed!
+Frog goblins, to be perfectly correct, and with hair-raising croaks and
+screeches they pressed closer, trying to pull the Knight down into the
+mire. Each frog goblin was about the size of a small child, and at
+first Sir Hokus struck them lightly with the flat of his sword. But as
+they came nearer and nearer, snatching with their long, skinny fingers
+and trying to loosen his hold on the tree, he swung his sword with all
+his might and brought it down with resounding whacks on their heads.
+But as fast as he struck down four, a dozen others hurled themselves
+upon him. Having only one hand free and being waist deep in the mud,
+Sir Hokus fought them off as best he could, but there were so many it
+seemed but a question of time before he would be pulled ingloriously
+into the swamp and suffocated. Then, suddenly, right at the height of
+the conflict, the frog goblins, with a hundred dismal croaks, dove into
+the bog. Panting with exhaustion, Sir Hokus glared around to discover
+the cause of their disappearance and saw a giant mud turtle plowing
+determinedly toward him. Its jaws snapped, its eyes rolled, and it was
+as large as an elephant flattened out.
+
+"A monster!" puffed Sir Hokus. "At last, a monster! But I could wish
+it had come at some happier moment, when I had more breath and better
+footing!" Nevertheless, he pulled himself resolutely up out of the mud
+and, raising his sword, calmly waited for the turtle to approach. When
+it had almost reached his tree, the creature stopped, stretched up its
+neck and regarded him long and searchingly, as if it were deciding upon
+the best place to begin biting him. Sir Hokus endured this inspection
+for several minutes in silence; then, as the monster made no move or
+murmur, he called out impatiently:
+
+"Quail, wretch! Quiver, or at least do something to show that you are
+afraid!"
+
+"I am not a quail," answered the turtle in a dignified voice, "and in
+this shell, how could I quiver?"
+
+"Well, do what you're going to do, then," shouted the Knight, "and be
+done with it." Lack of breakfast and the discomforts of the past few
+hours had not improved his temper. "Do something, d'ye hear?"
+
+"I am," said the turtle, blinking its eyes solemnly. "I am admiring
+you, dear brother. I have always suspected that somewhere a turtle
+man existed and here, at last, you are! What a gorgeous shell, and
+how perfectly it fits!" At these words, and seeing there was to be
+no slaying, Sir Hokus returned his sword to its scabbard and looked
+thoughtfully at the green monster.
+
+"Dear, dear," it continued, rolling its eyes affectionately, "I dote
+on you already. Can I catch you some nice little frogs, or would you
+prefer a serpent for breakfast?"
+
+"Neither," shuddered the Knight, "but you may carry me on your back,
+an' you will." If the creature were really as friendly as it appeared
+to be, he could stand being called its brother, at least until he was
+out of the swamp. At his words the turtle gave a squeal of pleasure,
+and hurling itself hit or miss through the mud, drew up like a
+ferryboat beside him. Seizing hold of its strong shell, Sir Hokus
+pulled himself thankfully up on its back.
+
+"A fine Knight Errant I must appear," he sighed, regarding his muddy
+armor ruefully. "No wonder it thinks I'm a turtle man! What ho, my good
+creature," he called anxiously, "is it far to the edge of this marsh?"
+
+"Far--far--very far, but not too far for Ploppa," wheezed the mud
+turtle, looking fondly back at the Knight.
+
+[Illustration: "PROCEED, PLOPPA!"]
+
+"Then proceed, Ploppa!" cried Sir Hokus, chuckling in spite of himself
+at the turtle's name. "Proceed, and let us make what speed we may!"
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER THREE
+
+                       QUEEN MARCIA OF MARSHLAND
+
+
+With his sword, Sir Hokus scraped some of the mud from his armor; then,
+settling himself cross-legged on Ploppa's back, he looked about with
+deep distaste.
+
+"Are you sure you would not like to squirm along behind me?" inquired
+the turtle, looking fondly over his shoulder. "The marsh is beautiful
+to-day. Ah, to feel the delicious squg and glug of it," he murmured,
+rolling his eyes rapturously.
+
+"Nay, an' I care not for this glugging," shuddered the Knight, "so
+splash along by yourself, dear creature." Taking some chessmen from his
+boot, Sir Hokus set them out on the nicely marked squares of Ploppa's
+shell and in the problems of the game tried to forget his hunger and
+the strangeness of his situation. Several times Ploppa opened his mouth
+to speak, for he felt extremely curious about this superior being he
+was carrying, but the Knight seemed so engrossed moving the ivory
+figures from place to place that he did not like to interrupt and
+churned quietly along saying nothing. Now and then a frog goblin rose
+from the mud, or a flock of wild geese flew screaming overhead, but for
+nearly an hour they met no one. Then, glancing up suddenly, Sir Hokus
+saw two giants striding across the marsh.
+
+"What ho, and who goes there?" cried the Knight, thumping Ploppa on the
+head with a red king.
+
+"Oh, just a couple of Stick-in-the-Muds," answered the turtle
+indifferently. "The marsh is full of them." Sweeping the chessmen back
+into his boot, Sir Hokus sat up very straight to have a better look at
+Queen Marcia's odd subjects. Their bodies seemed no larger than his
+own, but their legs were long and stick-like and reached almost to the
+tops of the trees.
+
+"Why, they _are_ sticks," decided Sir Hokus, after a long, intent look
+at the Marshlanders.
+
+"Stilts," corrected the turtle composedly. "They use stilts to keep out
+of the mud, you know."
+
+"So that's how one manages," said Sir Hokus, tapping his nose
+thoughtfully. He had once tried a smaller pair of stilts back in the
+Emerald City and had fallen hard upon his helmet, and he could not
+help but admire the clever way in which these fellows got about on
+the unwieldy poles. Their dwellings were surprising, too, for the
+Marshlanders lived in tiny mud-thatched houses built high up in the
+trees. As Sir Hokus continued to watch, the two travellers, reaching
+their own house, which was on an exact level with their feet, stepped
+off their stilts and leaving them standing against the tree went in and
+slammed the door. "Well done, by my head!" breathed Sir Hokus, settling
+back with a little chuckle. "I must tell Dorothy about this. Hast ever
+heard of Princess Dorothy, my good Ploppa?"
+
+"Is she a turtle?" inquired the monster in a bored voice.
+
+"Oh, no, no, no!" exclaimed Sir Hokus with a little gesture of
+distress, and immediately began telling the turtle all about the
+Emerald City; about Ozma, Dorothy, Bettsy, and Trot, and the other
+wonderful citizens of Oz.
+
+The turtle listened attentively, and as Sir Hokus paused for breath,
+turned his head.
+
+"If everything is so squg," (and "squg," I must tell you, is
+turtle-talk for cozy) "why did you ever come away from there?" he
+inquired, reasonably enough.
+
+"Well," muttered Sir Hokus, beginning to wonder a little himself,
+"well!" Then recalling the high purpose of his journey, he braced up
+and spoke most earnestly. "A Knight," stated Sir Hokus, raising his
+sword solemnly, "must beware of squgness! A Knight must seek danger and
+go upon curious quests in search of adventure. In other words, he must
+fight!"
+
+"I see," Ploppa shook his head knowingly. "By the way, have you met our
+Queen?"
+
+"No, but I've heard of her," admitted Sir Hokus, recalling his strange
+encounter with Getsom and Gotsom. He had been so busy describing the
+Emerald City to Ploppa that he had not remarked the change in their
+surroundings. Ahead, like an oasis in a desert, lay a higher and dryer
+bit of ground. In the exact center of this clearing rose a mud house
+much larger and more pretentious than the tree dwellings of the other
+Stick-in-the-Muds. Before the door stood six Mud Guards, their stilts
+held stiffly before them. At sight of Sir Hokus, all six dropped their
+stilts and stared at him so fixedly that his grip upon his sword
+tightened and he quietly reached for his battle-axe.
+
+"The Royal Hut of her Majesty, Queen Marcia," announced the turtle,
+seeming to take no notice of the Guards.
+
+"Yes? Yes, but let us make haste!" puffed Sir Hokus, thumping Ploppa
+hard upon the shell. "I crave not to meet her muddy Majesty." But
+before Ploppa could obey his instructions, they had come opposite the
+hut; the six Guards darted forward, and jumping upon Ploppa's back,
+dragged Sir Hokus triumphantly in to the Queen.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN MARCIA SAT CROSS-LEGGED ON THE FLOOR.]
+
+"The King!" they shouted, all together. "Long live the King!" And
+hurling the Knight upon the floor of the hut, they stood proudly
+at attention. Queen Marcia sat cross-legged on the floor, eating
+marshmallows from a large box at her side. She looked, at first glance,
+like a South Sea Islander, with her dark skin and skirt of swamp grass.
+But when Sir Hokus, who had instantly sprung to his feet, gazed into
+the face of this royal lady, he was too stunned to speak or even
+stutter. Marcia had, indeed, one wonderful eye. It was large, brown,
+and lively, turning in toward the nose. The other, which was small and
+blue and turned impishly outward, did not count at all. The Queen's
+hair had evidently never been combed, and Sir Hokus in his whole seven
+centuries had not seen anyone so bewilderingly wild and ugly. As he
+stood uncomfortably shifting from one foot to the other, Marcia's dog,
+a dingy little swampoodle, rushed out and snapped viciously at his
+heels. But the Knight's armor served him well, and yelping with pain
+and bad temper the swampoodle ran back to its mistress. The Queen had
+been examining Sir Hokus quite as closely as he had been examining her,
+and now, popping another marshmallow into her mouth, she spoke.
+
+"Well, I'll be splattered!" mumbled her Majesty. "I'll be splashed
+and splattered! What do _you_ think of him, Mira? My sister, the
+Marchioness of Muckengoo!" explained the Queen, with a wave at the
+dark-skinned lady at her side. Sir Hokus bowed in a dazed fashion and
+Mira, who was weaving baskets from dried reeds, squinted critically up
+at the Knight.
+
+"Well," said Mira, after a long, earnest squint, "if you don't marry
+him, sister, I shall!"
+
+"But ladies!" protested Sir Hokus, backing away in great distress,
+"this is impossible! I must go----"
+
+"Silence!" roared Marcia, as well as she could with her mouth full of
+marshmallows. "I have sworn to marry the first stranger who enters my
+Kingdom, and marry you I will. Guards! Fetch the crown, bring on the
+food, and summon the guests!"
+
+"You always have the best of everything," pouted Mira, throwing
+down her reeds. "You married the last stranger. This one is mine!"
+Swallowing with great difficulty, the Marchioness of Muckengoo buried
+her face in her handkerchief and sobbed as if her heart would break.
+
+"But if your Majesty is already married," began Sir Hokus, stepping
+forward hopefully, "how can you marry me?"
+
+"Silence!" cried the Queen furiously. "Speak when you're spoken to, and
+bow when you speak to me."
+
+"The last King was a p--peer!" sobbed Marcia, coming out from behind
+her handkerchief.
+
+"Well, what became of him?" demanded the Knight, paying no attention to
+Marcia's angry gestures.
+
+"He--he disappeared!" confided the Marchioness, beginning to sob anew.
+
+"Oh, I expect he fell off his stilts and was lost in the mud," sniffed
+the Queen unfeelingly. "You must be careful with your stilts, fellow.
+By the way, what is your name?"
+
+"You see in me a Knight, bound upon a curious quest," announced Sir
+Hokus, resolved to speak his mind and end this ridiculous discussion.
+"You see----"
+
+"That will do, Usee! Smirch! Conduct the King to his apartment and see
+that he is served a portion of the royal duck." At the Queen's last
+remark, Sir Hokus brightened visibly, for he had not eaten since the
+night before.
+
+"Duck!" muttered Sir Hokus. "Well, beshrew me now, after a portion of
+the royal duck I'll be better able to duck this whole proceeding." A
+glance at the door had convinced him that escape, for the time being,
+was impossible. Ten Mud Guards had replaced the first six and at a
+slight move in their direction all ten had brandished their stilts
+threateningly. So, resolved to fall in with the plans of the Queen
+for the moment and make off at the first opportunity, Sir Hokus
+followed Smirch into a small, mean room at the back of the royal
+hut. There was a rough table and chair, and a pile of grass in the
+corner evidently served for a bed. While the Knight was reflecting
+upon the very doubtful pleasures of being King of the Marsh, Smirch
+brought in a heaping platter of duck and, retreating, locked the door
+securely behind him. Almost never had anything tasted so delicious and
+Sir Hokus, unmindful of his dreary surroundings and his approaching
+marriage, fell upon the platter and soon reduced the duck to skin and
+bones. Then, much refreshed, he rose up to see what was to be done. The
+room's one window was high and barred, but by placing a chair upon the
+table and standing on that, he could manage to see out. What he saw
+filled him with new hope and courage. Asleep in the tall grass beneath
+the window lay the giant mud turtle.
+
+"Good, honest, faithful creature!" puffed the Knight, looking around
+for something to throw at Ploppa. There was nothing in the room but the
+knife, fork, and platter. The first two made no impression, but as the
+platter splintered to bits on his shell, Ploppa raised his head.
+
+"What ho! What ho, below!" whispered the Knight, so as not to arouse
+the Guards.
+
+"Oh, it's you, is it? Well, how are you enjoying the fighting? Is our
+Queen not a famous fighter?" wheezed Ploppa, blinking his eyes in an
+interested fashion.
+
+"It is not seemly for a knight to fight with ladies," hissed Sir Hokus
+earnestly. "And lest I forget I am a Knight, I must get hence. Get me
+hence at once, my good Ploppa. Wouldst have me marry a wild-eyed witch
+and break my head learning to stilt?"
+
+"But they will follow us," panted the turtle, pulling himself erect. So
+huge was the turtle that it towered above the house top and had to bend
+down to look in the window. "The Queen will not let you go."
+
+[Illustration: "BREAK ME THESE BARS."]
+
+"Break me these bars," breathed Sir Hokus impatiently. "Break me these
+bars and we'll go anyway. And if we are followed, I'll break a few
+heads. Odds dragons! A few heads, and shins, and what nots!" As easily
+as you or I would bend wax, Ploppa forced the window bars apart with
+his strong claws; then, peering round to be sure nobody was looking, he
+put his face close to the Knight's.
+
+"I have just thought of something," confided the turtle hoarsely. "When
+I return and call three times, be ready to jump!" Before Sir Hokus
+could stop him or ask about his plan, the great mud turtle was flopping
+at a great pace across the marsh.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER FOUR
+
+                      PLOPPA AND SIR HOKUS ESCAPE
+
+
+Gloomily Sir Hokus climbed down from the table. If he jumped before
+Ploppa's return, he could only reach the edge of the clearing and then
+sink into the treacherous mud. But suppose the turtle was too late? In
+great agitation he paced up and down the narrow room. Preparations for
+the wedding were going forward briskly, judging from the thumps and
+bangs and excited shrieks on the other side of the door.
+
+"A pretty kettle of blue fish!" fumed Sir Hokus, who, like most of the
+rest of us, had often dreamed of his own wedding and pictured an affair
+of great pomp and magnificence. "Not a cake nor a castle in the whole
+Kingdom. Like as not there'll be mud pie. Not a tune--not a dance step.
+And such a bride!" Climbing on the table again, he stared anxiously out
+of the window. All around the Queen's hut little black pigs grunted
+and squealed. In the distance he saw several cows on stilts nibbling
+hungrily at the tree tops, but nowhere in that whole dreary waste could
+he catch so much as a glimpse of Ploppa. Sir Hokus tried to imagine
+himself King of the Marshes, wobbling about uncomfortably on stilts,
+pointing out the sights to Dorothy or Bettsy Bobbin, but the mere
+thought of Marcia for a Queen made his heart thump so hard it rattled
+all his armor. "As soon as that door opens, I'll make a dash for it,"
+he decided desperately, "and woe to the man who stands in my way!" But
+it was not a man who stood in the door when it did open, but Marcia
+herself, surrounded by a bevy of marsh maidens. Her brown eye rolled
+round and round with excitement, and in her arms she clasped a huge
+bouquet of tiger lilies and cat-tails.
+
+"Approach, Usee!" croaked this frightful apparition. "Approach and
+salute your Queen!"
+
+"Avaunt, woman!" rasped Sir Hokus, backing rapidly toward the window.
+"Avaunt, wench, and come not near!" Though Marcia repelled him utterly,
+the Knight could not bring himself to push her aside and fight his way
+through the marsh maidens to the door. Queen Marcia had no such nice
+feelings to hold her back and, infuriated by the Knight's remarks, she
+rushed upon him and brought her bouquet down so hard upon his helmet
+that tiger lilies and cat-tails flew in every direction. I am not sure
+how long Sir Hokus would have submitted to her pummeling, or whether he
+would not in time have broken his Knightly vows and struck out at this
+marsh maiden, but at this instant three shrill calls sounded at the
+window. In one leap he was upon the table, in another, on the chair.
+
+[Illustration: "LADY, FAREWELL!"]
+
+"Lady!" boomed Sir Hokus, pulling himself up on the ledge and kissing
+his mailed glove to the Queen of the Marshes. "Lady, farewell!"
+Headlong he dove through the window and, amid the screeches of the
+Stick-in-the-Muds, disappeared. The shock of his landing on Ploppa's
+hard shell rendered him speechless for several seconds, and by the time
+he had regained his breath and his balance, Ploppa had reached the
+edge of the clearing and plunged joyfully into the impenetrable swamp.
+
+"A lucky and timely escape!" panted Sir Hokus, peering expectantly
+around for signs of the enemy. "How, now? Does no man pursue?"
+
+"Trust Ploppa for that," grunted the turtle, looking back with a
+chuckle. "I've knocked down all the stilts for miles around and tramped
+them into the mire. A fine time they'll have making new ones!"
+
+"You did?" roared the Knight, feeling more really cheerful than he had
+felt since he left the Emerald City. "Ho! Ho! Ho! This is capital,
+my dear Ploppa! Excellent and grand." Sir Hokus bent nearly double
+at the effort of a tree-dweller to draw his stilts out of the mud
+with a fishing line. And it was comical indeed to see Marcia and her
+court marooned on the tiny clearing surrounding her hut, making fierce
+gestures and shouting for the Knight to return. From every tree-house
+they passed, Stick-in-the-Muds screamed and scolded, but Ploppa had
+done his work so well that they were forced to stick to their trees and
+were powerless to prevent their new King from escaping.
+
+"I could love you for this!" beamed the Knight, thumping Ploppa
+affectionately on the shell.
+
+"Then you won't leave the swamp?" cried the turtle, with a little
+flounce of excitement. "Do say that you will remain. I'll find you a
+dry spot for a hut, bring you all the frogs you can eat, carry you
+everywhere on my back, and when you wish to fight there are always
+Stick-in-the-Muds handy."
+
+"Nay! Nay!" sighed Sir Hokus, growing sober at the mere thought of
+such an existence. "I must go forward and never shall I rest till I
+have saved a maiden, served a monarch, and destroyed a monster. I must
+go on. On, and on, and on!" Ploppa made no answer, but two big tears
+trickled down his cheeks and fell with a great splash into the bog.
+
+"You come with _me_," begged the Knight in great distress. "Come with
+me and see the world, dear Ploppa."
+
+"Will there be plenty of mud?" choked the poor turtle, controlling his
+sobs with difficulty.
+
+"Well, that I cannot promise," sighed the Knight, shaking his head
+doubtfully. "But there will be rivers and streams and plenty of fresh
+showers."
+
+"But I must have mud," insisted the turtle sorrowfully, "plenty of
+good, thick, wet mud."
+
+"And I must have adventure," declared Sir Hokus, looking with a shudder
+over the cold foggy marsh filled with the dismal croaking of frog
+goblins and the sigh of a desolate wind in the straggly trees. "I must
+have adventure and the glitter and glory of strange, glamorous places."
+
+"I must have mud and you must have adventure. Oh, why," wailed Ploppa,
+with a smothered sob, "cannot people who like each other like the same
+things? I long to go with you, but I cannot live without mud."
+
+"Well, I hope there is more magic and less mud in the next country I
+come to," said Sir Hokus, with a slight shiver. Now the next country,
+as it happened, was quite close, only hidden by the thick fog from the
+Knight's curious gaze. And presently Ploppa, dragging himself out of
+the swamp, set him down on the edge of a wide yellow plain.
+
+"Good-bye!" gurgled Ploppa, winking fast to keep from crying again.
+"Good-bye! I'll never forget you."
+
+"Nor I, you, my brave fellow." Leaning down, Sir Hokus gave the
+slippery turtle a hug--or as much of a hug as he could manage with a
+monster so huge and unwieldy. "Don't grieve," he begged earnestly, "for
+I will return! I will return," he promised, raising his sword solemnly,
+"anon!" Then, because he was not feeling any too cheerful himself, he
+strode quickly across the plain, for in the distance he could just
+descry the gleaming turrets of a strange, tall castle.
+
+[Illustration: HE STRODE QUICKLY ACROSS THE PLAIN.]
+
+"Anon! He will return anon!" strangled poor Ploppa, settling with a
+tired flop into the mud. "Anon? Anon? How long is that, pray?"
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER FIVE
+
+                          CONCERNING A CAMEL
+
+
+"Any tidings, Tuzzle?" Pushing back his yellow turban, the Sultan of
+Samandra looked anxiously at his Grand Vizier. Without speaking, Tuzzle
+shook his head. "What? No tidings!" yelled the Sultan, half rising from
+his great cushioned throne. "Then woe is me--she, you, her, it, us, and
+them!" The Sultan's voice rose to a shrill scream, and sinking back on
+his embroidered cushions he began to rock to and fro and beat himself
+violently on the chest. "Woe! Woe! Woe, I tell you!"
+
+"I am not a horse and cannot whoa, but I will do anything else that
+your Majesty suggests," murmured Tuzzle, folding his hands calmly on
+his broad stomach.
+
+"Then summon that scoundrelly Seer and fetch the Imperial Puppy!"
+commanded the Sultan in a choked voice. Tuzzle inclined his head
+grandly, for he was a very Grand Vizier, so grand, in fact, that he
+never did anything himself, but clapped his hands twice and, to the
+small slaves who appeared, communicated the orders of the Sultan.
+In five shakes of a yellow fez the slaves returned, one ushering in
+Chinda, the Seer, the other bearing upon a satin cushion Confido, a
+tiny Pekinese and the Imperial Puppy of the Realm. The sight of the
+proud little dog seemed to calm the Sultan considerably. Holding it
+close to his round, moon-like face, he whispered excitedly into one of
+its long, silky ears. The little dog nodded understandingly from time
+to time but said nothing, partly because it had nothing to say and
+partly because it could not talk, even if it had. Though Samandra is in
+the wonderful Kingdom of Oz, the animals there do not have the gift
+of speech like animals in most other Oz countries, and unfortunately
+cannot converse at all. Perhaps this is why the Sultan made the little
+dog his sole confidant, told it all his worries, secrets of state, and
+plans. An excellent idea, when you come to think of it, and one many a
+monarch might follow with good results, for secrets one tells a dog go
+no further, and Confido never betrayed his Royal Master's confidences.
+After whispering earnestly, the Sultan set the dog on his knee and
+glared fiercely down at Chinda, the Prophet.
+
+"So!" he hissed contemptuously. "You call yourself a Seer and yet for
+ten years you have been seeking my lost camel without success. Acting
+upon your misguided advice we have sent couriers here, there, and
+everywhere, searching for this valuable creature and still, still,
+he is lost to us! Never had I so comfortable a steed, so beauteous a
+beast. He was a very King of Camels; not one in my whole herd compares
+with him, and yet you, Chief Prophet and Seer of Samandra, allow him to
+be lost in a sand storm and never recovered at all."
+
+"The sand storm was not my doing," observed Chinda stiffly. "I am a
+Seer and not a weather prophet, your Highness."
+
+"A Seer, a _Seer_! Why, you sere and cast-off yellow leaf of a dead and
+blighted tree, have you nothing more to say for yourself?"
+
+"Your Majesty seems to have covered the situation," answered Chinda,
+drawing his cloak about him with a dignified gesture. "Though why the
+loss of one wretched camel should cause you such unhappiness is a
+mystery to your humble servant. Have you not held undisputed sway over
+the great Kingdom of Samandra for seven centuries? Did you not, five
+hundred years ago, by a magic unrevealed to your illustrious advisors,
+conquer the neighboring Kingdoms of Corabia and Corumbia? Verily, the
+Corabians and Corumbians are no more; all their land and treasure are
+added to your riches, and yet, for the last ten years, you have done
+nothing but grieve for a miserable, moth-eaten, wobbly-kneed camel!
+And I," Chinda thumped himself gloomily upon the chest, "how _I_ have
+suffered! My left eye has a permanent squint from staring through the
+magic telescope for signs of this tiresome creature. My right ear has
+become flattened out and uncurled listening to the undeserved and
+continuous abuse of a once kindly sovereign. I beg that your Excellency
+will permit me to retire and go to some far country where I may never
+hear the word 'camel' again. But before I go----" Chinda raised his
+voice defiantly, "before I go, let me say this: The camel you seek is
+in the Emerald City in the Royal Stable of Queen Ozma of Oz. Scarce ten
+minutes ago I saw him through a new lens in my magic telescope."
+
+"Emerald City! My dear, dear fellow, why did you not say so before?"
+Tucking the Imperial Peke under his arm and fairly rolling down the
+steps of his throne, the Sultan flung both arms around Chinda and
+hugged him heartily. "You are a Seer among seers, a wiz among wizards,"
+panted the little monarch joyfully. "I hereby promote you to Magician
+Extraordinary and Grand Bozzywoz of the Realm." While Chinda was
+recovering from the shock of his sudden promotion, and feeling his ribs
+to see that none were cracked, the Sultan spun round like a fat little
+top.
+
+"Prepare for a journey at once," he commanded, waving his scepter at
+Tuzzle. "Order the Royal Sampan! You sail at dawn down the Winkie River
+to the capital of Oz. Have the Chief Camel Driver give you a golden
+halter to bring the good beast home, and moreover and furthermore," the
+Sultan's voice rose to an anxious squeak "see that he is wearing the
+same harness and saddle sacks that he wore when he left us, especially
+the saddle sacks!" finished his Excellency, shaking his finger under
+Tuzzle's nose.
+
+"Very well, your Highness," sighed Tuzzle resignedly, "but I will
+require a gold embroidered robe and twenty slaves to wait upon me that
+I may properly represent the Sultan of Samandra at the Court of Oz."
+
+"Twenty fiddlesticks!" fumed the Sultan, stamping his foot. "Be ready
+to sail at dawn or I'll set you to work in the sulphur mines."
+
+"That," murmured Tuzzle calmly, "would certainly undermine my
+constitution, so I shall be ready. But suppose this curious camel is
+not in the Emerald City? Suppose this is just another false vision of
+our precious Prophet?"
+
+"We'll talk about that when you return," said the Sultan, panting up
+the steps of his throne and dropping heavily on his yellow cushions.
+
+"And meanwhile, I'm the Grand Bozzywoz," exulted Chinda, brushing
+rudely past the Grand Vizier. "I'll head all the processions and take
+orders from no one but his Supreme Excellency! Way for the Grand
+Bozzywoz! Way, I tell you!"
+
+"There, there, not too bozzy!" warned the Sultan, as Chinda pushed
+Tuzzle out of his path and strode haughtily from the throne room. Then,
+as the Grand Vizier, muttering with vexation, rushed in the opposite
+direction, the Sultan hugged Confido tightly to his breast.
+
+"Stupid fools!" wheezed the fat sovereign breathlessly. "They think
+I want the camel. It's not the camel we want, little treasure, but
+what's in the camel's left hand saddle sack. Without that package I am
+lost, ruined, done for. How much longer must I wait and worry? Why,
+oh, wherefore did I ever let that package out of my hands or ever stow
+it in such a place?" Confido shook his head and licked the Sultan
+sympathetically on the nose, and much comforted his Majesty thumped
+upon the golden gong at his side and called in a loud voice for his
+afternoon coffee.
+
+Meanwhile, so well were the orders of the very Grand Vizier carried
+out that when the orange crescent moon rose over the turrets and domes
+of the Sultan's city, the Royal Sampan, fully loaded and ready for the
+journey, tugged impatiently at its golden chain. Not one, but twenty
+satin robes for Tuzzle, twenty fine embroidered shawls as a gift
+for Ozma of Oz, twenty roast fowl and twenty baskets of provisions
+had been stowed in the cushioned cabin of the ship. Under the orange
+awnings forward, a tremendous deck chair had been placed for the Grand
+Vizier, and a table beside the chair was heaped with apricots, figs,
+dates, oranges, almonds, and sweetmeats of every description, for
+Tuzzle had no intention of starving on the voyage. Rubbing his hands
+complacently, the Grand Vizier regarded everything with bland approval,
+for he anticipated a tranquil and pleasant trip and had always wished
+to visit the court of Ozma. Though no one in the Emerald City had
+ever heard of Samandra, the Samandrans, being one of the most ancient
+races in all Oz, knew all about the Emerald City and the famous folk
+who lived there. Samandra, you must know, lies at the very top of the
+Winkie Country, bordered on the North by the Deadly Desert and on the
+South by the Winkie River, and is directly between the Kingdoms of
+Corabia and Corumbia. But for five hundred years all three countries
+have been under the rule of the wily Sultan, who by some strange magic
+conquered both of his kingly neighbors, stole all their treasures, and
+transformed all their subjects. Carrying most of the treasure by
+caravan to Samandra, he let the conquered Kingdoms severely alone, and
+uncared for and deserted they have lain for long dusty centuries, their
+little villages overgrown with weeds, and their stately capitals fast
+falling to ruin and decay.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROYAL SAMPAN]
+
+Samandra itself, though largely made up of a golden-sanded desert,
+has many fertile valleys and plains--lovely flowerful spots, gay in
+the spring with daffodils and lotus, having an abundance of orange
+groves, date, palm and fig trees--so that life there is very lazy and
+luxurious. Though most of the Samandrans are more than seven centuries
+old, they do not show their age at all and are as happy and handsome a
+people as you could wish to find anywhere. The Sultan himself was as
+happy as any, except for occasional spells of remorse when he thought
+of his wicked treatment of the Corumbians and Corabians. But even
+this did not seriously interfere with his pleasure until he lost his
+favorite camel in a sudden sand storm. Since then he had not known
+a peaceful moment and had so harassed his slaves, his attendants,
+and advisors, that life in the yellow castle had become well nigh
+unbearable.
+
+"But now," thought the fat little rascal, rolling off his silken couch
+long before sunup, "now all my worries are over. In three or four days
+this wretched beast will be safely restored to me." Picking up Confido,
+he told the little dog in an earnest whisper just where he would stow
+the precious package once it was in his hands again. Then, without
+waiting for his body servants to come and dress him, he struggled into
+his royal robes, and with each of his yellow shoes on the wrong foot
+shuffled down to the Winkie River to speed Tuzzle upon his mission.
+By the time he reached the royal dock, the orange sails of the sampan
+were snapping in the wind. Tuzzle, having given orders to cast off, was
+already asleep in the deck chair forward, fanned by ten of his faithful
+servitors. At the Sultan's loud cries he opened one eye and waved his
+plump hand reassuringly.
+
+"Before the fire dies four times upon the hearth-stones, we will return
+with the sacred camel," promised the Grand Vizier in his oily voice.
+And while Confido barked and the Sultan called further frantic orders
+and entreaties, the Royal Sampan slipped smoothly round a bend in the
+river and disappeared. If you have an Oz map handy, you will see that
+the Winkie River winds in a lazy fashion through the Great Empire of
+the East, turning here and then there till it comes finally to the
+outskirts of the Emerald City itself. Drifting gently with the tide,
+Tuzzle and his twenty slaves arrived a little before sundown on the
+second evening at Ozma's lovely capital. Tying their boat to a willow
+on the edge of the stream, the Samandrans stepped ashore, and Tuzzle,
+arrayed in his grandest garb, prepared to present himself to the ruler
+of all Oz.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER SIX
+
+                       TUZZLE AT THE COURT OF OZ
+
+
+About fifteen minutes later, Bettsy and Dorothy, looking up from a
+game of croquet on the palace lawn, dropped their gold mallets and
+simply stared, for moving toward them under the lime-drop trees was
+a perfectly amazing procession. First came eight tall, splendid
+slaves bearing flowering orange branches, then the very Grand Vizier
+of Samandra in a very grand sedan chair, carried by four more
+slaves; back of him stepped the eight other slaves bearing the twenty
+embroidered shawls. Tuzzle, on his part, was as amazed as the little
+girls, for though he was accustomed to comfort and even elegance
+at the Sultan's court, the Emerald City so surpassed in beauty and
+magnificence any place he had ever seen or visited that he had done
+nothing but grunt and exclaim with admiration and surprise as he was
+rapidly borne along the jewelled streets of Ozma's lovely capital. By
+the time he reached the castle itself, he had barely breath enough to
+speak.
+
+"Princess!" puffed the Grand Vizier, as his chair came opposite
+Dorothy, whom he instantly recognized, "Princess, I would speak with
+the Queen of Oz."
+
+"Certainly! Certainly!" stuttered Dorothy, reaching up hastily for her
+crown, which she had hung on the branch of a tulip tree, while Bettsy
+in her interest and excitement tripped over a wicket and sat down. But
+picking herself up quickly the little girl ran ahead to announce the
+arrival of distinguished visitors, so that by the time the procession
+reached the castle, Ozma was already seated upon her throne, waiting
+with dignity to welcome them.
+
+[Illustration: TUZZLE AT THE COURT OF OZ.]
+
+"Your Majesty," began Tuzzle, stepping pompously from the sedan chair
+and bending himself almost in half, "his Serene Highness, the Sultan of
+Samandra, sends you his royal loyal greetings and salutations."
+
+"The greetings of his Highness are graciously received," answered Ozma
+kindly, though she had never heard of the Sultan in her whole life.
+"And what is it his Serene Highness desires of us?" she inquired, with
+a curious glance at the Samandran slaves. Long experience at ruling had
+taught her that strange sovereigns seldom sent gifts unless they wanted
+something in return.
+
+"His Highness," continued Tuzzle, a little embarrassed by Ozma's frank
+query, "desires nothing more valuable than a camel. This camel was
+lost in a great sand storm and has been missing ten long years from
+the royal herd. It is the favorite mount of his Excellency, so kind
+and comfortable a creature that since its loss our sovereign has been
+inconsolable. After countless unsuccessful searches, Chinda, our Chief
+Prophet and Seer has, with the aid of a magic telescope, caught a
+glimpse of the beast in your Majesty's stable." Casting down his eyes,
+Tuzzle waited anxiously for Ozma to speak.
+
+[Illustration: "HIS HIGHNESS DESIRES NOTHING MORE VALUABLE THAN A
+CAMEL."]
+
+"Why, it must be the Comfortable Camel Sir Hokus brought to the Emerald
+City long ago!" exclaimed Dorothy, with a little hop of excitement.
+"Come on, let's go ask him."
+
+"Well, it will do no harm," answered Ozma, readily enough. "And if our
+Comfortable Camel really belongs to the Sultan of Samandra, and really
+wishes to return to his master, I see no reason why he should not do
+so, though we'll be sorry indeed to lose him."
+
+"Very good, your Highness!" mumbled Tuzzle, who was a little confused
+by the informal procedure at Ozma's court. Scraps, Trot, and the
+Scarecrow were playing leap frog at one end of the throne room. Tik
+Tok and the Cowardly Lion were running races at the other, and all
+the rest of the celebrities were grouped about the Lost King and the
+Soldier with Green Whiskers, who were in the midst of an exciting game
+of checkers. But when Ozma and the Grand Vizier started for the Royal
+Stables, they all stopped what they were doing and trooped along,
+causing Tuzzle much anxiety and uneasiness by their boisterous skips,
+vigorous claps upon the back, and continuous friendly questioning. But
+when the company reached the stall usually occupied by the Comfortable
+Camel, it was empty, and though grooms and stable boys were dispatched
+in every direction, no trace of the kindly creature could be found. The
+Doubtful Dromedary knew nothing of his whereabouts, and when a page was
+sent to question Sir Hokus, he reported that the Good Knight of Oz was
+also missing from his apartment. It was, as a matter of fact, the day
+after Sir Hokus had started upon his quest, but everyone in the palace
+had been so occupied preparing to accompany him that they had not
+missed the Good Knight at all.
+
+"Perhaps Sir Hokus has taken the camel to the next village for
+supplies," suggested Trot, and after many speculations and conjectures
+they all agreed that she might be right.
+
+"Never fear, they'll both be back," predicted the Scarecrow, winking
+cheerfully at the Grand Vizier, "and meanwhile, why not enjoy our
+hospitality? No, you seem to be well stuffed already," he observed,
+thumping Tuzzle upon the chest.
+
+"Nay, nay, the Sultan can illy spare me," muttered the Grand Vizier. "I
+must return at once!" And stepping into his sedan chair he motioned for
+the slaves to start.
+
+"And what about the shawls?" demanded Scraps, who had taken a great
+fancy to a white one embroidered in scarlet. "It's not our fault the
+Comfortable Camel has gone away."
+
+"Sh--h! Sh--h!" warned Ozma, shaking her finger reprovingly at
+the Patchwork Girl, while Dorothy and Bettsy giggled in spite of
+themselves. "As soon as the Comfortable Camel returns we shall send a
+message to your illustrious master," promised Ozma, bowing politely to
+Tuzzle. "I am sure it will not be longer than a week."
+
+"Well, in that case," wheezed the very Grand Vizier ungraciously, "I
+hope your Majesty will accept this small gift from the Sultan."
+
+"With pleasure," smiled Ozma, but before the slaves had time to present
+the shawls, Scraps snatched all twenty and throwing one to Dorothy,
+one to Trot, and one to Bettsy, dropped the rest in Ozma's lap and,
+wrapping herself tightly in the red and white one, whirled madly
+round and round Tuzzle. Fearing to linger longer at a court where
+animals conversed as sensibly as people, and such strange conduct
+was permitted, Tuzzle scrambled into his sedan chair. Bidding Ozma a
+hasty farewell, he ordered his attendants to carry him at once to the
+Royal Sampan. This they did, and at such a brisk run that the Oz folk
+burst into loud cheers of admiration and approval, for considering the
+size and weight of the very Grand Vizier, the speed of his slaves was
+remarkable.
+
+"Do you think the Comfortable Camel really belongs to this Sultan?"
+asked Dorothy, as the last Samandran disappeared from view.
+
+"Let's look in the magic picture!" suggested Bettsy Bobbin. "Let's see
+what he's like and find out where Sir Hokus and the Comfortable Camel
+have gone, too." As this seemed a sensible plan, they all hurried up
+into Ozma's sitting room. The magic picture, as most all of us know,
+is one of the most important of Ozma's treasures. She has but to ask
+the magic picture where a person is, and immediately he is shown in
+the exact country or city where he happens to be at the time of the
+question. So, with the celebrities looking breathlessly over her
+shoulder, Ozma pulled the cord that drew aside the curtain covering the
+picture, and said quietly, "Show us the Comfortable Camel." But stars!
+Nothing at all happened, for the magic picture was not there, and with
+little exclamations of alarm and dismay they gazed at the empty space
+on the wall.
+
+"Who can have taken it?" cried Dorothy indignantly.
+
+"Call the Wizard," shrilled the Scarecrow, and ran off, himself,
+to fetch him. But the Wizard, deep in his preparations for the Good
+Knight's quest, could throw no light upon the subject at all. In the
+huge encyclopædia of Oz they did learn a bit about Samandra, its ruler
+and its customs, but of the whereabouts of the Comfortable Camel, of
+Sir Hokus of Pokes, or the famous picture of Oz, even the Wizard's
+magic could tell them nothing.
+
+"But do not despair," begged the little man earnestly, that night at
+dinner. "I have almost perfected a new and marvelous invention. If our
+Good Knight and Comfortable Camel do not soon return, and if the magic
+picture is not found or discovered, I will seek them out with the help
+of my powerful searchlight. This searchlight, shot like an ordinary
+shell from a cannon, will travel all over Oz until it finds what it is
+sent for and then flash back with the exact location of the missing
+objects and people." Taking them down to his laboratory, the Wizard
+endeavored to explain the strange rays and phosphorescent material to
+be used in this latest magic contrivance. It was a little difficult
+to understand, but Ozma and her courtiers had great confidence in the
+Wizard's powers and, much cheered and comforted, they went off to bed.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER SEVEN
+
+                      THE CRUISE OF THE SKYROCKET
+
+
+"Are you sure it's all right this time, Uncle Billy? And will it take
+us straight to Mars?" Tightening the strap on his leather helmet, the
+boy looked up at the tall man who was going over, for the last time,
+the strange craft that was to carry them on an exploration of the sky.
+
+[Illustration: THE SKYROCKET]
+
+"Well," answered the tall man, wiping his hands on a piece of waste,
+"it may not take us straight, Speedy, but we'll get there somehow.
+I've calculated the distance down to the last inch, and if I can keep
+her pointed straight up and northward we'll be on Mars by to-morrow
+morning. I'm not sure yet that I ought to take you, but on the other
+hand, I don't see how I can leave you behind."
+
+"Neither do I." Speedy spoke with feeling and finality. "You're the
+only one I've got, and I'm the only one you've got, so we'd better
+stick together, don't you think?" Uncle Billy nodded soberly, for
+Speedy was an orphan and had lived with him since he was a little
+fellow of two. The boy's real name was Bill, but his quickness on the
+track and baseball field had earned him the nickname of Speedy. At ten
+he was such a good chum and so helpful with Uncle Billy's inventions
+that the great scientist could not bear to leave him behind on this,
+the most important of his undertakings.
+
+"It isn't as if there was any real danger," he mused, tapping the steel
+sides of the torpedo. "In this we'll be as safe as if we were on a
+trolley car."
+
+"Safer!" exclaimed Speedy scornfully. "Oh, come on, Uncle Billy, set
+her off! I can hardly wait!" It was a bright, clear May morning, the
+weather and wind conditions just right, and Uncle Billy, as eager as
+Speedy to be off, helped the boy into the back seat and prepared to
+light the fuse that would send them skyward. The Skyrocket, as you've
+probably guessed, was a flying torpedo, and the explosion of the rocket
+attached to the tail would carry them straight and swiftly to the stars.
+
+"Now then," puffed Uncle Billy, with a quick glance at the Skyrocket's
+gears and brakes. "Remember! As soon as I jump in, slam down the top
+and slide the bolts. And if anything should happen, though of course it
+won't, pull the lever on your right. That will release the parashuter.
+Press the button in the parashuter and it will carry you safely down to
+earth. All ready?"
+
+Speedy nodded, clutching both sides of the leather seat, tense with
+excitement. He could hear the hiss and sputter as the electric lighter
+touched the fuse of the rocket. In one second more Uncle Billy would
+be in the driver's seat, the steel re-enforced lid of the torpedo ship
+would be down, the oxygen sprays, to keep them in comfort during the
+long trip, would start, and they would be off like a flash on their
+journey through the air. With a tremulous gasp, Speedy looked over
+his shoulder. As he did, there came a terrific jolt, and with an ear
+splitting explosion the Skyrocket shot up toward the clouds. But Uncle
+Billy! Where in heck was Uncle Billy? Almost torn from his seat by the
+force of the start, Speedy looked desperately downward; then, as the
+wind ripped and tore past his head, he slammed the top of the torpedo
+and jumped into the front seat.
+
+Uncle Billy had not been quick enough. Uncle Billy had been left
+behind. Forgetting all about the parashuter, forgetting everything
+except that he was tearing through space at a terrific rate toward a
+strange and undiscovered world, the boy grasped the steering wheel and
+gave it a sharp twist. His one thought was to get back to earth and
+pick up his uncle. With a sickening swerve the Skyrocket turned and
+sped downward so swiftly that Speedy, with his face glued to the thick
+glass window, could see nothing but a flying blur. A flash of green
+told him they were nearing earth, a tiny figure wildly waving its arms
+became visible, but only for the fraction of a second; then, with a
+frightful impact, the Skyrocket hit the flying field back of Speedy's
+Long Island home, broke through, and bored its way tumultuously
+downward, down through the dark, pathless depths of the underearth!
+The splintering crash of the torpedo, as it ripped and tore through
+roots, rocks, and metal, almost deafened the boy, and the violent
+vibration made him faint and dizzy. Mechanically he grasped the wheel
+and despairingly wondered what would ever become of him. Too late he
+realized that the torpedo could not be stopped until the force of the
+rocket was spent. Why hadn't he jumped with the parashuter, as soon
+as he discovered that Uncle Billy was not aboard? It was pitch-dark
+inside, and as the roar of the Skyrocket grew louder Speedy touched
+an electric button. The cheery glow of the small lamps in the ceiling
+comforted him a little, but the vicious shake and rumble of the car
+made thinking almost impossible. Snake-like roots flashed past the
+window and snapped against the glass. Through rock strata streaked with
+gold, copper, coal, and silver, the Skyrocket splintered a pathway,
+and once they dove into a boiling mass of lava; the steel walls of the
+ship grew so hot that Speedy gave himself up for lost, but as the heat
+grew unbearable they plunged with a hiss into a deep, oily, underground
+sea filled with phosphorescent fish and terrifying monsters. Crouched
+behind the wheel, poor Speedy gasped, blinked, and shuddered. Would he
+go straight through the earth and drop out into nothingness on the
+other side? But just then the Skyrocket hit a particularly impervious
+piece of rock, and the ship gave such a bounce and backward leap that
+Speedy was flung out of the seat and knocked quite senseless. How
+long or how far he traveled in this helpless condition he never did
+discover; in fact he knew nothing at all till loud hammers and thumps
+on the outside of the torpedo finally aroused him. Surprised to find
+himself alive at all, he sat up and looked uncertainly around. The
+Skyrocket had really stopped. Strange square faces peered in through
+the window and motioned to him through the glass. Where on earth was
+he? Was he on the earth at all? Doubtfully Speedy stared up at the
+strangers; then, as the supply of oxygen was exhausted, and the air
+inside hot and stifling, he rose unsteadily, threw back the bolt and
+lifted up the top of the torpedo. Looking down into the faces of the
+curious crowd surrounding the Skyrocket, he wondered what Uncle Billy
+would do in such a situation. But the strangers stared so hard and
+so unblinkingly that he could think of nothing more remarkable than,
+"Where am I?" This question, spoken in his ordinary tone of voice,
+burst like three sharp explosions on the quiet air, echoing and
+reverberating till the crowd covered their ears and fell away from him
+in terror.
+
+Astonished at the loudness of his own voice, Speedy swayed backwards
+himself. Then, as he was debating whether to stay in the ship or to
+alight and try to find out where he was, a little square-faced fellow
+separated himself from his companions and slowly approached him. He
+had scribbled something on a card, and handing the card to Speedy he
+hastily scuttled back to his place.
+
+[Illustration: HE HAD SCRIBBLED SOMETHING ON A CARD.]
+
+"Lower your voice," directed the card in a nervous scrawl. "You are
+in Subterranea." Very much relieved to find he could understand the
+language of this odd race of underearth dwellers, Speedy nodded to
+show that he understood, and rather timidly the Subterraneans began
+to draw nearer. They were undersized, thin and undernourished little
+fellows, but dressed with great magnificence in metal-cloth robes,
+tall, stiff headdresses and shoes of pure gold, decorated with precious
+stones. Their square, not unpleasant faces were almost granite in color
+and though not of stone, seemed hard and mummy-like. Probably from
+this queer air and no sun, decided Speedy, staring at them with frank
+curiosity, and beginning to think that Subterranea might prove almost
+as interesting as Mars.
+
+The Skyrocket had come to a stop in the public square of this quaint
+underground city. Crooked pillars of irregular rock held up the blue
+stone sky in which the torpedo had cut a terrible gash. Radium stars in
+the sky sent out a misty phosphorescent glow. From the square, arched
+passageways branched out in every direction, not unlike the subways
+at home, except that they were much higher and lighter, beautifully
+tiled, and decorated with precious stones. Speedy was about to whisper
+a question, when a loud trumpet blast made him turn quickly to the left.
+
+"The Shah!" hissed the square faces impressively. "His Imperial
+Lowness, the Shah!" And waving their arms they bent down all together,
+like a field of wheat swept by a sudden wind. Wide-eyed with interest,
+Speedy saw an important little man dressed all in cloth of gold, with
+a headdress at least a yard high. He was seated cross-legged on a
+giant blue earthworm. It was as large and ugly as a sea serpent and
+its center section was raised to form a comfortable seat for the queer
+little monarch. On either side walked gorgeously attired attendants
+waving metal flags. As the great earthworm came to a stop, the Shah
+glanced inquiringly at Speedy, next up at the hole in the sky, and
+then, leaning down, took from the slave at his right a large mask and
+held it up to his face. The mask wore a ferocious scowl and Speedy
+began to feel rather uncomfortable.
+
+"Oh pshaw, Shah!" he whispered in an embarrassed wheeze, "how could I
+help breaking through the roof?" Instead of answering, the Shah clapped
+his hands twice and handed the mask back to the slave. Now out stepped
+a stiff little Subterranean, whom Speedy quite rightly guessed to be
+the Chief Counsellor of the Shah. He seemed also to be a rhymer of no
+mean ability, and in low rapid verses began to drone out the following:
+
+    "The Shah! The Shah! Of SubterraneAH!
+    In the tenth year of his splendid subter reign;
+    And whom the Shah displeases, his Headman quickly seizes
+    And hurls instanter from the Shah's domain!
+    I'm his Headman, as you see, all his subjects bow to me,
+    My name is Rhomba, see that you attend,
+    Why have you come at all? Did you fly or jump or fall,
+    Are you interloper, enemy, or friend?"
+
+"Friend," answered Speedy in a low voice, and chuckling in spite of
+himself. But his answer did not seem to appease his Imperial Lowness at
+all. Looking again at the hole in his sky, he took up the frowning mask
+and turned it again toward the boy.
+
+"Gosh!" thought Speedy uneasily, "I've certainly got to do some tall
+explaining; now what in Sam Hill shall I tell them?" All the little men
+were staring at him expectantly, and the one who had given him the card
+whispered aside to the monarch.
+
+"I think, from his high voice, he must be one of those Upperdwellers."
+
+"Speak, Upperdweller," hissed Rhomba, while the Shah changed his
+frowning mask for one whose blank expression upset Speedy even more
+than the frown. But remembering that he was the nephew of a famous
+scientist, and the holder of several records for high jumps and track
+events, he pulled himself together and in a calm whisper explained how
+the Skyrocket, in which he and Uncle Billy had intended to explore
+the sky, had gone off without the inventor; how he had turned the
+ship downward and crashed through to the center of the earth and
+landed in Subterranea through no intention or fault of his own. During
+this recital the Shah changed his mask twice. The first showed faint
+surprise, but the mask held up and slightly awry as Speedy finished his
+story was frankly yawning. Smothering his resentment at such treatment,
+Speedy went on hurriedly, "You see, if Uncle Billy had just been a
+little quicker, we'd have gone up instead of down and I'd never have
+come here at all. It was just a mix-up," he concluded earnestly.
+
+"Mix-down," corrected Rhomba severely, as the Shah shook his head to
+show that the explanation was not satisfactory. Then, making several
+strange signals to his Headman, he tapped the earthworm with his heels
+and moved grandly and unconcernedly out of the square.
+
+"Well?" inquired Speedy in a defiant whisper, as the Shah disappeared
+down a long, dim, blue tunnel.
+
+    "He doubts the truth of all you say;
+    But mend the sky and you can stay
+    And work upon the realm's defences--
+    If not, you'll take the consequences!"
+
+"And what are the consequences?" asked Speedy in a faint voice, for he
+had no desire to work for this crude little King.
+
+"Well," answered Rhomba, with a careless wave of his hand, "we usually
+throw lawbreakers to the fire fish in Lava Lake, and I suppose sky
+breakers might be called lawbreakers, too."
+
+"Lava Lake!" exclaimed Speedy, beginning to feel downright frightened.
+"But see here, how am I going to mend a great jagged hole like that?
+Why, I can't even reach it!" In his indignation he forgot to whisper,
+and at the terrible racket made by his voice the Subterraneans took to
+their gold heels. That is, all except Rhomba, who seemed to feel it his
+duty to remain.
+
+"That's your affair," he muttered indifferently. "You broke the
+sky--now mend it!" Switching his stiff robes from side to side, the
+Shah's Chief Headman followed the others, leaving Speedy all alone in
+the center of the square. His first impulse was to run, but a short
+dash down one of the tiled passageways convinced him that he would
+be lost in no time. Every few yards it turned and twisted and was
+intersected by other tunnels, and a body might as well have hoped to
+find his way out of a labyrinth. Picking his way slowly back to the
+square, Speedy was surprised to see one of the Shah's subjects sitting
+on a green bench near the Skyrocket.
+
+"My name is Zunda," whispered the little fellow, coming eagerly toward
+Speedy. "Perhaps I can help you, but I beg of you not to shout. It is
+so--so shattering. Tell me," he continued, before Speedy had time to
+say a word, "did you see anything of the other Underground Kingdoms on
+your way down? I have never traveled myself and am curious to know all."
+
+"Are there other Kingdoms?" asked Speedy in a depressed whisper. "I
+only saw a lot of roots, rocks, underground seas, and lava. Are there
+more countries down here?"
+
+"Oh, yes! Yes, indeed!" And clutching Speedy's arm, Zunda began to
+drone out like a schoolboy reciting a lesson: "The Underworld is
+divided into nine levels. First there is Neath and Underneath; then
+Low and Below. After that come Down, Upsidedown, Farther Down and
+Allthewaydown. Then Subterranea. We're about as low as you can get," he
+finished boastfully.
+
+"Yes?" murmured Speedy, trying to appear interested. "But don't you
+think we'd better talk about mending this hole in the sky?"
+
+"What's the use of talking about that?" answered Zunda, with a
+little shrug. "It just can't be done. Now do tell me something about
+Upsidedown. I hear the earthscrapers there are forty feet low."
+
+"How long will it be before--before----"
+
+"Before you're thrown to the fire fish? Oh, not till to-morrow
+morning," Zunda assured him cheerfully. "That will give you time to see
+our city, the underwood and----"
+
+"_Stop!_ Isn't there any way out of here?" Seizing the little
+Subterranean by both shoulders, Speedy gave him a desperate shake.
+Zunda blinked but shook his head negatively. Speedy looked gloomily
+up at the great rent overhead, but climbing the stone pillars was
+perfectly impossible. The return rocket on the torpedo had been lost on
+the wild downward flight, and it did seem as if he never would escape
+from this queer and eerie Kingdom under the earth.
+
+"Oh, come along," urged Zunda comfortably under his breath. "You may
+as well see all you can before----before----" Feeling Speedy's violent
+shudder, he tactfully did not finish the sentence, but drew the little
+boy hurriedly across the square.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER EIGHT
+
+                           A GOLDEN PRINCESS
+
+
+"I suppose you are wondering why our Shah never speaks," murmured
+Zunda, as they came to the end of one of the twisting tunnels. Then, as
+Speedy, too worried to wonder, made no reply, he confided importantly,
+"He is saving his voice so he never uses it; and he wears masks to
+express pleasure or displeasure to save his face."
+
+"Well, if I had a face like his, I'd not bother to save it," said
+Speedy crossly, and as Zunda went on asking him questions and quite
+calmly answering them himself, the boy tried to think of some way out
+of his dreadful difficulties. "These fellows aren't very big," he
+thought shrewdly, "and when they try to throw me in this Lava Lake,
+I'll tackle them by two's. I'll scream like fury, for that seems to
+upset them, and maybe if I'm quick I can knock out this Shah and Rhomba
+and make the rest of them behave. Why, I might even become their
+ruler!" he reflected suddenly. "Then I can sit tight till somebody
+comes down here to rescue me." Speedy felt sure that Uncle Billy
+would organize a search party and follow him down the great shaft cut
+by the Skyrocket. Immensely cheered, he began to look around with a
+little more interest. "I wonder what they eat down here," he thought
+curiously, for if he was to remain any time this would be an important
+thing to know. As if to answer his question, a squat underground
+peddler, with a huge basket on each arm, turned in from another
+tunnel. Opening the lid of one of the baskets he proudly indicated the
+contents. It seemed several days since breakfast and Speedy, hoping it
+would be fruit or cakes, looked in eagerly. With a violent shudder he
+jumped back, for the basket was full of writhing, squirming, wriggling
+earthworms.
+
+"Very tasty in a stew," smiled Zunda, as the peddler held up two long
+and particularly curly ones. But Speedy shook his head and waving the
+peddler away hurried along the tunnel, his nose scornfully in the air.
+Along the edges of the strange passageway, flagstone trapdoors in the
+floor kept opening and shutting, and Zunda explained that these were
+the entrances to the underground homes of his kinsmen. As they marched
+along, inquisitive heads popped up like Jack-in-the-Boxes and some of
+the bolder Subterraneans came out altogether and pattered cautiously
+after them, so that by the time they had come to the end of the passage
+quite a crowd had collected. They seemed perfectly friendly so Speedy
+paid no attention to them. Besides, he was much more interested in the
+strange vista opening out ahead.
+
+"The Royal Hunting Ground of his Supreme Lowness, the Shah!" explained
+Zunda, with a sweeping wave of his left arm. "The deep, dark underwood
+where the gropers grope, the dragons drag, and Lava Lake boils on
+forever!" This last information, conveyed in a tense whisper, made
+Speedy decidedly uncomfortable, but to show that he was not easily
+frightened he stepped boldly into the underwood. Here the brown and
+green rock formations took the shape of gnarled and twisted trees.
+Phosphorescent material clung like vines to their trunks, shedding a
+weird, goblinish glow. Giant stone mushrooms thrust up their flat heads
+from the slimy ground, and in the distance Speedy could see a great
+lavafall tumbling smokily into the lake below.
+
+"Well? Well?" barked Zunda, plucking nervously at his sleeve. "Have you
+seen enough? Come on out before a groper gets us."
+
+"Groper?" queried Speedy, who did not want to turn back until he had
+seen the fire fish in Lava Lake. "What's a groper?"
+
+"A groper is a blind dragon who lives in the dismal caverns of
+darkness, back of the underwood. They cannot see, but they can hear the
+faintest footfall, and unlucky persons carried off by gropers are never
+heard from again."
+
+"Well, it wouldn't be any worse than being thrown to fire fish,"
+muttered Speedy gloomily. "I'm going on."
+
+"Don't! Don't, I beg of you! No one ventures beyond the lake. Why
+destroy yourself before your time?" warned Zunda, giving Speedy's coat
+another tug.
+
+"Just the same," thought Speedy, as the little man continued to plead
+and pull, "it would be a pretty darn good place to hide; there might
+even be some way out on the other side. Thank goodness, I have my
+flashlight and could explore some of the caves. Why, I might even make
+some important scientific discoveries. Geewhiskers, I wish Uncle Billy
+were down here!" With many backward glances he allowed himself to be
+drawn out of the Shah's hunting grounds, and when they came again to
+the great square his mind was still full of the mysterious caves
+behind the underwood. Seated on one of the green benches, he paid
+little attention to the chatter of Zunda or the Subterraneans, who,
+going about their own affairs, pattered busily to and fro. Several
+times the Shah himself passed on his giant undulating earthworm and
+each time turned his frowning mask toward Speedy.
+
+"Cranky old crumb!" exclaimed the boy under his breath, as the stiff,
+gold-clad sovereign went by for the third time. "Say, what's the matter
+now?" for all the people in the square were scampering for shelter,
+tumbling down trapdoors, and even forgetting to lower their voices.
+
+"Run! It's going to subter-rain!" screamed Zunda, bounding off the
+bench and disappearing in three hops like a jack rabbit. Rhomba, the
+Rhymer, rushed by at a gallop.
+
+"Get under cover!" he directed breathlessly:
+
+    "When it rains in Subterranea, it pours down rays of sun,
+    The deadly sun that poisons one! Be quick, I tell you, _run_!"
+
+As Speedy sprang up uncertainly, a furious downpour of sunbeams almost
+blinded him. But instead of running away, he expanded his chest and
+took long deep breaths. Never had anything felt so good. The chill,
+heavy air of Subterranea seemed to clear and brighten. Speedy's head
+cleared, too. Not an undergrounder was in sight, and resolved to make
+his escape before any appeared, he ran quickly through the sparkling
+shower. Even the underwood looked cheerful drenched by the friendly
+sun rays, and hurrying along under the twisted trees, Speedy fervently
+hoped all the dragons were asleep or otherwise occupied. Just for a
+moment he paused beside Lava Lake, but when the fire fish, about the
+size of sharks, rose hungrily to the surface and snapped their flaming
+teeth at him, he ran off as fast as he could, never stopping until he
+came to the end of the underwood and stepped into the cavernous country
+on the other side. The sun storm made it quite light, and Speedy,
+hurrying along, kept a sharp lookout for gropers. Hot springs and
+small geysers bubbled up here and there between the rocks and reminded
+him not a little of the Yellowstone country and the Grand Canyon. But
+suddenly, as quickly as it had started, the sun storm ceased, and
+without warning Speedy was left in a thick, choking darkness. At the
+same instant a low threatening growl rumbled over the rocks.
+
+"Gropers!" gasped Speedy. Frantically feeling for his flashlight, he
+dashed headlong into the nearest cave, collided with a hard object
+in the center, and fell with a terrible thump to the floor. Rather
+slowly and doubtfully he sat up, and at last locating his flash pressed
+the button to see what under the sun he had bumped into. What he saw
+brought him to his feet in a jiffy. Lying on its side a short distance
+away was a solid gold statue, the statue of a quaint little Princess
+in a great stiff ruff. She was about a head taller than Speedy himself
+and her expression was so sweet and merry that he earnestly wished
+she were alive. Neither in face nor figure was she at all like the
+Subterraneans, and the little boy could not help wondering how the
+statue had come to this dark, dismal spot. Placing his flash on a ledge
+of rock so that it cast a good light, he tiptoed nearer and seizing
+the little gold hands of the Princess began to tug her to an upright
+position. He had succeeded in raising the statue about five inches when
+the Princess quite unexpectedly opened her eyes and smiled at him.
+Speedy was so startled that he let go her hands and she fell back with
+a hard bump on the rocks. Her smile changed to a look of bewilderment,
+and as Speedy, hastily recovering himself, seized her hands again a
+still more astonishing thing happened. Suddenly the hard, gold folds
+of her dress melted into rippling silken ones, the gold faded from her
+face and hands leaving them pink and rosy, the stiff, carved gold curls
+clustered round her lovely face lifted and lightened and began to dance
+and blow in the damp wind of the cave.
+
+"Good-morrow!" said the Princess, as Speedy stared at her in
+open-mouthed wonder. "Are you going to help me up, or not?" With a
+quick pull he had her on her feet; then seeing that her crown had
+rolled into a corner he quickly recovered it and held it out to her.
+
+"I--I was sorta surprised when you came to life," he explained, with an
+embarrassed swallow. "I'm awfully sorry I let you fall--but I didn't
+know you were alive."
+
+[Illustration: "I WAS SORT OF SURPRISED WHEN YOU CAME TO
+LIFE."]
+
+"Alive?" laughed the little Princess, setting the crown carelessly on
+the back of her head. "Am I alive?"
+
+"Why--why--" stuttered Speedy, hardly knowing how to explain. "It's
+what you are now, seeing, thinking, feeling, being the same as I am."
+
+"Oh!" The Princess looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you alive, too?
+Well, then I shan't mind it." Speedy nodded. Everything about this
+Princess was so strange and puzzling that he scarcely knew where to
+begin his questions. "Have you a name?" he asked finally. Seeing by
+her bewildered expression that she did not know, he dropped quickly to
+one knee, for he had suddenly remembered that statues often have their
+names stamped on the base. Sure enough, still visible on the silken hem
+of her dress were two words, "Princess Marygolden."
+
+"Your name's Marygolden," announced Speedy, jumping up in great relief,
+"and now----" The Princess looked at him expectantly, but before
+he could finish his sentence there came a scraping of claws on the
+rocks outside and a great, green, scaly dragon hurled itself through
+the opening of the cave. Speedy, snatching his flashlight, clutched
+Marygolden and backed as far away as he could. The dragon, lifting his
+ugly head, moved it slowly from side to side and gave three furious
+sniffs that filled the air with smoke and sulphur. Then it was that
+Speedy saw it had no eyes. It was a groper, and could not see them at
+all. As the monster came toward them, the little boy flattened himself
+against the rock wall, and as soon as it was out of the mouth of the
+cave he rushed wildly through the opening, pulling the Princess along.
+Guided by the faint glow from his flashlight, he stumbled over rocks
+and ridges, sometimes escaping ghastly crevices and boiling springs by
+mere inches. Marygolden had changed all of his plans. It was all very
+well for a boy to go exploring through a lot of dungeony caverns, but
+for a Princess to be chased by deadly dragonish monsters was not the
+thing. So Speedy decided to return and throw himself on the mercy of
+the Shah. Perhaps the little sovereign could even explain the strange
+coming to life of the golden statue. He, himself, might, perhaps, be
+regarded as a hero and a rescuer and not thrown to the fire fish, after
+all. Marygolden, holding tightly to his hand, ran nearly as fast as he
+did, and in almost no time they had left the cavernous country behind
+and stopped to rest under a pink stone tree in the underwood.
+
+"Is this--being--alive?" puffed the Princess, taking off her crown and
+using it for a fan.
+
+"Well," admitted Speedy judicially, "if we hadn't run like that
+the groper would have caught us and we wouldn't have been alive
+long after that. But we don't have to run all the time," he went
+on hastily. "Sometimes we walk, like this--see!" Taking her hand
+again, Speedy started slowly through the underwood. Marygolden fell
+in step quite easily, and looking up at his lovely companion Speedy
+smiled encouragingly. "She's older than I am but knows nothing at
+all," thought the boy complacently. "I'll just have to take care of
+her till something turns up." Something, as it happened, turned up
+very soon, for as Speedy and Marygolden entered the public square of
+Subterranea, a crowd of undergrounders, catching sight of them, forgot
+to whisper and burst into ear-splitting shrieks and yells. Waving
+their arms and pointing accusingly at the Princess, they ran screaming
+for the Shah. Speedy looked nervously around for Zunda, who seemed to
+be the only friend he had. But instead of Zunda, the Shah himself,
+supported on each side by a slave, came panting on the scene. While the
+Subterraneans continued to shout with anger, the Shah snatched mask
+after mask from his attendants and held them up toward Speedy. The
+first was a growling lion, then came a fierce tiger, next a horribly
+scowling goblin, each mask growing more ferocious than the last.
+Convinced that the Shah was frightfully displeased, Speedy tightened
+his hold on Marygolden, and making a dash for the Skyrocket jumped in;
+pulling the Princess after him, he slammed down the top. Marygolden,
+more interested than alarmed, pressed her pretty face against the
+window glass, but Speedy, as the undergrounders with bars and clubs
+fell upon the torpedo, began to feel terribly anxious. The Skyrocket
+could not withstand their blows forever and when it did give way what
+would happen to them? Staring around desperately his eye lighted on the
+lever that controlled the parashuter.
+
+"But that goes down," groaned Speedy, "and gosh knows, we're down far
+enough now!" Then, remembering that the Skyrocket itself, while made
+to go up, had travelled quite successfully in the other direction,
+he pushed back his leather helmet and dropped to his knees. If he
+released the parashuter and pointed it up, why would it not carry
+them aloft through the shaft cut by the torpedo? Whether it would or
+not, it was their only chance, and pulling the lever Speedy released
+the strange apparatus, fastening one strap around Marygolden and one
+around himself. Then, clasping the hands of the little Princess around
+the handle, he pressed the button in the top, seized the handle
+himself, and with a violent effort pointed the parashuter straight up.
+The first pull of the lever had opened a trapdoor in the roof of the
+Skyrocket, and as the Subterraneans, with little shouts of triumph,
+swarmed around the opening, the parashuter burst out, scattering them
+in every direction. Safely it shot through the gash in the blue stone
+sky, but missing the tunnel cut by the Skyrocket, began tearing its
+own way through earth, rock, and sand. "It's a good thing we're tied
+on," thought Speedy, gritting his teeth. He tried to call something
+reassuring to Marygolden but the awful speed of the parashuter made
+that impossible, and not sure whether they would be crushed by falling
+rock or scalded by boiling lava, Speedy clung doggedly to the bone
+handle of Uncle Billy's remarkable umbrella.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER NINE
+
+                     SIR HOKUS MEETS AN OLD FRIEND
+
+
+It was a joy to be on firm land again, and after leaving Ploppa, Sir
+Hokus strode briskly across the yellow plain. At the first stream
+he stopped to wash the last of the swamp mud from his armor; then,
+throwing out his chest, he marched resolutely toward the strange, tall
+castle.
+
+"Mayhap a true and Knightly adventure awaits me here," he mused,
+surveying through half closed eyes its glittering and distant spires.
+But the castle was a long way off, and thinking of this and that, but
+mostly of his queer encounter with the Marshlanders and the curious and
+kindly turtle, the Knight trudged cheerfully along, coming in the late
+afternoon to a little wood. Here he paused and sat down under a gnarled
+old tree to rest. Soothed by the rustle of the branches, he must have
+fallen asleep, for when he awakened it was almost dark and someone was
+shaking him violently. There was a strange hissing noise in his ears
+and a feeling of suffocation in his chest. Blinking both eyes rapidly,
+Sir Hokus, now thoroughly aroused, found himself suspended in the air,
+held in the smothering coils of a huge green serpent. And more alarming
+still, all around him were other serpents, twisting and writhing and
+thrusting out their ugly flat heads. The tree under which he had fallen
+asleep was a serpent tree; each branch growing out of the scarred,
+scaly trunk was a green and glistening snake.
+
+Now Sir Hokus, in the course of his adventurous life, had been in many
+tight places, but this was quite the worst. With both arms pinioned
+to his sides he was powerless to draw his sword, and only his heavy
+armor saved him from being utterly crushed, or poisoned by the darting
+tongues of the unsightly monsters.
+
+"There is but one thing to do, odds buttons! One thing!" he panted,
+trying in vain to free himself from the choking embrace, "and that, to
+perish manfully and unafraid!" So, with what breath he had left, the
+valiant Knight burst into a defiant battle song.
+
+    "What HO! 'Tis the challenge of good Knights and true,
+    What HO! For the swords and the daggers!
+    The lances that clash, the good steeds that crash,
+    The tilting and jousting that staggers!
+
+    "What HO! 'Tis the challenge all good Knights must heed,
+    What HO! 'Tis the call of defiance,
+    In the furious fray
+    Ye shall perish this day
+    All ye despots, ye dragons, ye giants!"
+
+To the first verse of this song the serpents paid small attention,
+but at the second, every snakish branch began to sway and swing in
+rhythm. At the third line, the serpent encircling Sir Hokus started to
+unwind, moving in perfect time with the others. As the Knight felt the
+loosening of the coils around his waist, he gave a joyous shout; then,
+seeing the effect his song was having, he bawled as loud as he could.
+With closed eyes the snakes now waved and rippled in time to the music,
+and as he reached the last note of his war cry the one holding him
+straightened out with a rapturous hiss and Sir Hokus fell crashing to
+earth. He lost no time in rolling out of the tree's reach, and for some
+moments lay panting and exhausted on the ground, while the snake tree,
+suddenly deprived of its victim and no longer under the spell of the
+song, began to snap, rattle, and hiss with fury. But Sir Hokus did not
+even open his eyes.
+
+Now, as it happened, the serpents were not the only ones who had heard
+the good Knight's singing. Plodding wearily along through the dust,
+another creature pricked up its ears as the booming notes rang through
+the wood. Then, gathering up its long legs and hunching along in great,
+awkward leaps, it ran straight toward the singer, so that by the time
+Sir Hokus had struggled to a sitting position it had reached him, and
+falling upon its knees, licked him frantically through the bars of his
+helmet.
+
+"Hokus, my dear discoverer, there you are, there you are at last!" it
+gulped happily. "I had almost given up the search when I heard that
+grand old song."
+
+[Illustration: "'TIS CAMY HIMSELF."]
+
+"Camy! By the beard of my father's goat, 'tis Camy himself!" And
+sitting up joyfully Sir Hokus gave the Comfortable Camel a resounding
+and affectionate thwack on the hump. Then, as the Camel, backing off
+to have a better look at him, drew near the darting branches of the
+serpent tree, he seized its bridle and jerked his thumb warningly in
+the tree's direction. Camy looked inquiringly over his shoulder, then
+gave a terrified bleat.
+
+"For pity sakes, for pity snakes," he squealed, sitting down with a
+thump. "What's this? What's this?"
+
+"A good thing to keep away from," rumbled the Knight, "though I'm
+minded to cut off every single branch to pay for the squeezing I've
+suffered."
+
+"Squeezing!" coughed the Camel, rolling its eyes wildly. "Oh, my dear
+Hokus, what have you escaped? But I beg of you not to cut off those
+serpents. How uncomfortable it would be if they were all loose and free
+to chase us through the wood!"
+
+"Methinks you're right!" sighed Sir Hokus, regretfully returning his
+sword to its scabbard. "But let us be gone and away from this accursed
+spot." Seizing hold of its bridle, he pulled himself erect, and walking
+slowly at the creature's head related all that had befallen him since
+he left the Emerald City. Then the Comfortable Camel told how it had
+followed him on the very night of his departure.
+
+"Fortunately I had on my trappings and saddle sacks," it confided, with
+a satisfied sniff, "and spoke to no one of my purpose, for I knew you'd
+not want the whole menagerie after you. But I did think you should have
+something comfortable to ride." Looking up at the tossing seat on the
+Camel's back, Sir Hokus sighed resignedly. Camel riding was not his
+idea of comfort, but he would not hurt the faithful creature's feelings
+by saying so.
+
+"Did you come through the swamp?" he asked curiously.
+
+"Went around," explained the Camel shortly, "and thought I'd lost you
+till I heard that old song."
+
+"Well, 'twas like to have been my last," admitted Sir Hokus, with a
+grave shake of his head, "but tell me, how goes it at the capital?"
+
+"They were still preparing for your quest when I left," chuckled the
+Camel comfortably, "and probably haven't missed you, even yet. By the
+way, where are we bound?"
+
+"'Tis too dark to see, but on the other side of this wood stands a
+splendid, tall castle. Methinks there I shall find a proper adventure."
+
+"Then," decided the Comfortable Camel firmly, "we shall require rest.
+Let us camp in this field for the night and pursue our journey in the
+morning." They had, by this time, come safely out of the wood, and all
+the other trees being of a usual and harmless nature, had experienced
+no further difficulties.
+
+"In my right hand saddle sack you will find a tent," announced the
+Comfortable Camel quietly, "a tent, shawls, and other comforts."
+
+"Hast, perchance, a sandwich or goodly tart?" inquired the Knight,
+rummaging eagerly in the huge baskets that hung from the Camel's hump.
+
+"I came just as I was," answered Camy regretfully. "I was afraid if I
+stopped for supplies someone might suspect and follow me."
+
+"Ah, well," said Sir Hokus, pulling out the tent, "an adventurer must
+endure some hardships. Perchance a great feast awaits us in yonder
+hall!"
+
+"Perchance," yawned the Camel, kneeling awkwardly upon the ground
+and disposing himself for the night. It did not take Sir Hokus long
+to put up the tent, an embroidered, silken affair with a collapsible
+bamboo pole. Spreading some thick shawls on the ground and a pillow
+for his head, the Knight removed his armor, and being exceedingly
+weary after the adventures of the day, soon fell asleep. He dreamed he
+was in a splendid ship, sailing into the harbor of a crystal city. A
+golden-haired Princess waved to him from a crystal tower, and leaning
+over the rail of the ship to wave back, Sir Hokus bumped his head on
+his sword and awoke. Awoke to find himself really sailing, sailing
+through the air, the tent top snapping and flapping in the breezes.
+
+"How, now! And what means this?" gasped the Knight, jumping up in
+alarm. A look through the tent flap was more astonishing still. There
+was Camy snoring calmly beside the tent; there was the tulip tree
+he remembered seeing before he retired--there, I say, was the field
+itself, but not resting on the solid ground. No, odds whirligigs and
+kite tails! 'Twas flying, flying like a magic carpet through the night.
+The stars twinkled up above, the lights from little towns and villages
+twinkled down below, and Sir Hokus, frantically clasping on his armor,
+thumped the Comfortable Camel hard upon the head.
+
+"What's up?" inquired the Camel, opening one eye and yawning
+tremendously. "What's up?"
+
+"Why _we_ are!" exclaimed Sir Hokus, with an excited flourish of his
+sword. "Up and away through the sky and flying Oz knows where!"
+Opening the other eye, the Camel lurched unsteadily to its feet.
+
+"But we're--quite--comfortable----" he muttered uneasily,
+"and--so--far--quite--safe. It must be one of those flying fields Peter
+was telling us about." Now Peter, as many of you know, is a little
+Philadelphia boy who has visited Oz and spent many adventurous days
+with the celebrities.
+
+"Oh, no, no, no!" said Sir Hokus, shaking his head positively. "Flying
+fields in America are not like this at all. Flying fields in America
+stand still and the airplanes do the flying and come to rest on the
+fields. But this field--this field is flying itself. Why, it may even
+carry us out of Oz!"
+
+"Shall--shall we jump?" quavered the Comfortable Camel, bobbing his
+head nervously. Then, as Sir Hokus walked to the edge of the flying
+field and looked over, he gave a frightened scream. "Take care! Take
+care, or you'll tumble off and break yourself!" he called anxiously,
+and seizing the Knight by the mail shirt-tail dragged him determinedly
+away. It was nearly a mile to the ground, and sitting down on a big
+rock in the center of the field Sir Hokus stared dizzily at the clouds
+whirling by, and at the stars shining unconcernedly over their heads.
+
+"At this rate, we'll be at the end of nowhere before we can stop
+ourselves," groaned the Knight despondently. "Every time I fall asleep
+a disaster overtakes me."
+
+[Illustration: THE FLYING FIELD TILTED SIDEWAYS.]
+
+"Disaster goes very fast," shuddered the Comfortable Camel, pressing
+as close to Sir Hokus as he could, and for almost an hour they huddled
+together as the field flew on and on over the hills and forests of Oz.
+One by one the stars faded out and the first rosy streaks of morning
+began to tinge the sky. Then, as the sun came up, the flying field came
+down, swooping toward the earth with such speed and suddenness that Sir
+Hokus was hurled off the rock and only saved himself by seizing hold
+of a furze bush. The Comfortable Camel, flung against a tree, was kept
+from falling in the same manner. But when it had almost reached the
+ground, the flying field tilted sideways into a perfect precipice, and
+Sir Hokus and the Camel rolled like cannon balls to the bottom, the
+tent coming down hard upon their heads so that they did not see the
+field straighten up and fly carelessly off without them.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER TEN
+
+                           THE DESERTED CITY
+
+
+Untangling himself from the tent folds, Sir Hokus sprang to his feet
+and looked eagerly around him. They had tumbled into the courtyard of
+a tall, strange castle of gold, but grass grew a foot high between the
+gold bricks in the court, the windows of the castle were all broken,
+and birds flew twittering in and out, while the castle itself was
+almost buried under a waving mass of vines. As Sir Hokus, pushing back
+his helmet, squinted uneasily upward, three page boys, just visible on
+the tallest tower, lifted their arms and blew three long, shrill blasts
+upon their trumpets. As the clear silvery notes, leaving a hundred
+rippling echoes in the still, morning air, finally died away, the
+pages let their arms drop stiffly at their sides and stood as rigid as
+statues, which was not surprising because they were statues--statues of
+pure gold.
+
+"Camy! Camy!" wheezed the Knight, dragging the rest of the tent off the
+Comfortable Camel. "Dids't hear yon curious clamor?"
+
+"Well," mumbled the Camel, heaving himself upward with a great creaking
+of harness and saddlery, "I heard something. Maybe it's the call to
+breakfast," he continued, sniffing the air hopefully. Then, as he took
+in the perfectly deserted courtyard and forsaken castle, his eyes
+bulged with disappointment and dismay. "Who blew?" he wheezed hoarsely.
+Without speaking, Sir Hokus waved his sword at the golden statues.
+"No!" murmured the Camel, flattening back his ears and wriggling his
+nose very fast. "Great grandmothers! In a mere moment the inhabitants
+may fall upon us with swords, spears, and daggers!"
+
+"Methinks," sighed Sir Hokus, walking slowly toward the castle,
+"methinks we'll find here neither friend nor foe. What ho! What
+ho, within!" he called loudly, but only his own voice came echoing
+sadly back to him, so pushing open the gold studded door he stepped
+cautiously inside, the Camel treading timidly at his heels. But though
+they walked through all the grand rooms, upstairs and down, they
+found no one. The furniture, being solid gold, had happily withstood
+the ravages of time, but the curtains and tapestries had crumbled to
+powder, and the dust blown in through the windows lay so thickly on
+the floors and sills that flowers had taken root there and grew as
+luxuriously inside as out. Rabbits and other small forest creatures
+peered out anxiously as the Knight and his Camel went thumping through
+the halls. Sir Hokus tried to extract some information about the former
+owner of the castle from a tiny fawn he cornered in the dining hall,
+but if the little fellow could talk he did not choose to, and with one
+bound leapt out of the window.
+
+"Some mighty monarch, mayhap, lived here," mused the Knight, leaning
+thoughtfully against the great mantel, while the Comfortable Camel
+nibbled the top of a young tree that had grown up in the fireplace.
+"But what boots it? He is not here now. What a curious quest this is
+turning out to be, Camy. I seek a maiden to rescue and find a swamp
+witch determined to marry; I seek a monster to slay and am seized by
+a snake tree; I search for a monarch to serve and find only his empty
+castle."
+
+"Yes, but wouldn't you call the way we reached this castle an
+adventure?" observed the Camel, speaking a bit indistinctly because his
+mouth was full of leaves. "Not many have travelled on a flying field,
+Hokus, and there may be a dragon lurking in these very forests, for all
+we know."
+
+"A dragon! Odds thumpenny! Why, so there may! I'll slay me a dragon
+yet! How you comfort me, Camy. And perchance I'll find a breakfast,
+too." Completely cheered, Sir Hokus strode briskly toward the door and
+down the golden steps.
+
+"Which would you rather find first," inquired the Camel, ambling slowly
+after him, "the breakfast, or the dragon?"
+
+"The dragon," answered the Knight promptly. "One can eat any time, but
+to slay a dragon!--Ah! how that would refresh me!"
+
+"These leaves refresh me more," said the Camel calmly. "Too bad you
+cannot enjoy some of these nice, tender twigs." Sir Hokus nodded
+absently.
+
+"'Tis strange, most strange, about yon trumpets," he mused, looking
+thoughtfully back at the deserted castle.
+
+"Everything's strange," admitted the Camel readily, "but that's what
+we're seeking, isn't it? Perhaps those trumpets go off like the burglar
+alarms in our castle at home when strangers tread in the courtyard."
+
+"But there's no electricity here," objected the Knight. "This castle is
+centuries old, Camy, and so is this city."
+
+"And so is this forest!" exclaimed the Camel, peering uncertainly into
+the tangle of vines and trees ahead. "Shall we go on?"
+
+"Most certainly. Hast forgotten the dragon?" Rushing ahead, Sir Hokus
+forced his way between two giant oaks, and stepped into a great,
+rustling, green forest. Moving cautiously between the mighty trees,
+many times having to slash a path for the Camel and himself with his
+sword, Sir Hokus looked sharply about for signs of a dragon or a
+breakfast. But after an hour's tramp he had found neither, and weary
+and somewhat downhearted seated himself beside a silvery forest stream
+and tried to forget how ravenously hungry he was. Camy, after quenching
+his thirst and storing up a vast quantity of water for future use,
+knelt down beside the Knight and was soon asleep. Sir Hokus, sitting
+with his back against the smooth trunk of a lyre bush, was presently
+aware of faint music, strange old tunes he had not heard since he was
+a boy, seven centuries ago. He jumped up, and parting the branches of
+the bush looked all around for signs of the singer, but could see no
+one. But as soon as he sat down the music began anew. It seemed to
+come from the bush itself. "Odds pasties! I'm dreaming!" muttered the
+Knight, starting to walk briskly up and down the banks of the little
+river. "There's no one here to sing!" Great green willows dropped their
+branches into the stream, and as Sir Hokus paused under one of the
+largest and loveliest, the willow began to weep in real earnest and big
+tears splashed down upon the Knight's armor. Its long feathery arms
+touched him on the cheek and rested gently on his shoulders, and Sir
+Hokus could have sworn he heard a voice sorrowfully calling him.
+
+[Illustration: THE WILLOW BEGAN TO WEEP IN REAL EARNEST.]
+
+"'Tis hunger that makes me imagine all this!" puffed the Knight,
+uneasily wiping away the tears. "When the stomach is empty the head
+is full of fancies." But the tears were certainly real tears, and
+extremely upset and puzzled, Sir Hokus started back toward the
+Comfortable Camel. Several horse chestnuts, as he passed under their
+branches, shook themselves violently so that a shower of chestnut burrs
+pattered down upon him, almost, thought Sir Hokus, as if they were
+trying to attract his attention. Leaning against the Comfortable Camel,
+the Knight mopped his brow, and turning his back upon the willows
+fixed his gaze upon a gaudy vine that clambered riotously over a dead
+tree. It was covered with bell-like flowers that rang and jingled
+pleasantly in the wind. Birds, after resting among its pink blossoms,
+began immediately to laugh, chatter, and fairly rock with merriment.
+"Funny!" thought Sir Hokus as two crows, alighting on the vine, burst
+into loud haw haws and then flew screaming away over the tree tops.
+"I'm feverish!" panted the Knight, feeling his pulse anxiously. "Odds
+goblets, I've heard crows caw but never haw before. I'm feverish and
+starving by inches." Falling upon the Comfortable Camel's saddle
+sacks he began burrowing wildly among their contents in search of a
+stray cracker or jar of jam left from some palace picnic. It seemed
+to the Knight that the birds perched upon the gay vine laughed more
+hilariously than ever as he rummaged through the great basket-like
+containers, almost as if they were making fun of him, but the
+Comfortable Camel never awakened at all, snoring peacefully through the
+whole performance. There was nothing eatable in the right hand saddle
+sack, and Sir Hokus, after emptying the left, had about given up in
+disgust, when he discovered a tiny catch, and turning the catch found a
+hidden compartment in the bottom of the sack. In this compartment were
+two fat packages wrapped in silver paper. Sir Hokus had the cover off
+the first in no time. Inside lay six large, fat figs, and without delay
+he popped one into his mouth, then another, and another, and another,
+till the whole six were gone. Feeling a little better, but far from
+satisfied, he now opened the second package. This contained six large
+dates, and settling back with a contented sigh the famished Knight
+tried one of the dates. Both figs and dates were dry and hard and had
+evidently lain in the sack for a long, long time, but to Sir Hokus
+they tasted perfectly delicious. A company of jays were now swinging
+on the vine and laughed so saucily at the Knight that when he finished
+the date he sent the date seed spinning into their midst. With little
+shrieks and chatters, the jays flew into the air, but the vine--swords
+and swordfish!--the vine gave itself a brisk shake that set all the
+pink bell-flowers ringing merrily, and then slowly began to unwind.
+Now it twisted and whirled and spun till Sir Hokus could see nothing
+but a flying blur of pink and green. Dropping the package of dates, he
+rubbed his eyes and stared again to make sure he had seen aright, and
+as he did so the whirling ceased, and where the vine had been stood a
+mirthful and care free person in a belled cap. He seemed as puzzled as
+Sir Hokus and after blinking at him a moment in silence, remarked in a
+confidential aside to himself:
+
+    "A Knight, a Knight, as I live! So I am to begin the day with night--
+    The day is young, the Knight is old; now is he brave, and is he bold?"
+
+"Never mind that!" blustered Sir Hokus, hopping up in great excitement.
+"Who are you and how came you here?"
+
+"Can't you guess?" With a delighted bounce, the fellow shook his belled
+stick:
+
+    "I'm just a jester gesturing
+    To keep the company gay,
+    I'm just a jester gesturing
+    My whole long life away!
+
+"As a matter of fact," he continued, sobering down suddenly, "I think
+I've been enchanted. I seem to have been a funnysuckle vine and my
+head's still full of twits and twitters. Even as a funnysuckle vine I
+still could be gay. Did you hear the birds laughing at my riddles?"
+
+"So that's what made them laugh!" roared Sir Hokus, slapping his knee
+and then rubbing the side of his hand where the armor had bruised it.
+"A funnysuckle vine, and when I flung the date seed you became----"
+
+"Myself!" announced the jester, with a sweeping bow. "And as my
+beneficent restorer, I thank you upon bended knee."
+
+"Go to, now! Go to!" puffed the Knight, pulling the fellow to his feet.
+"And a bother on this bended knee stuff. Cans't tell me aught of yon
+golden castle?"
+
+"Castle?" murmured the jester, shaking his head with a puzzled frown.
+"Castle? I remember no castle!"
+
+"But you must have lived in a castle," insisted Sir Hokus, "and if you
+were enchanted, so must the others have been. What country is this, and
+what King did you serve?"
+
+"King? Country? Faith, and I remember nothing! Nothing!" Shaking his
+head again until all the bells on his cap tinkled, the jester looked
+uneasily at the Knight. "I've been a vine so long I guess I'm still
+twisted," he admitted regretfully. "But come, there are other Kings,
+and other castles; the sun shines and the sky is blue. Let us forget
+the past and address ourselves to the future. You, being a Knight, must
+serve some King. Let me go back to his court with you!"
+
+"I serve Queen Ozma of Oz, but I am now bound upon a quest to render
+assistance to a maiden, slay a monster, or serve a monarch."
+
+"Maidens, monsters, monarchs," chanted the jester, counting them off
+on his fingers, "how I dote upon all three. I, too, will go upon this
+quest and make the going merry, be assured of that; most merry."
+Turning a somersault, the jester winked mischievously at Sir Hokus, but
+the Knight, with a little frown, was looking for the package of dates.
+Some mysterious power was in that date seed and if one enchantment had
+been broken, so reasoned Sir Hokus, might not others be dispelled? Why,
+he might even discover the King of the Golden Castle! But though he
+kicked aside the leaves and went carefully over every inch of ground
+where he had been sitting, and where the funnysuckle vine had been,
+there was not a trace of the dates anywhere. The jester, meanwhile,
+delighted to find himself alive, skipped and danced from tree to tree,
+seeming to care nothing for his former life or master, and when, with
+a sigh, Sir Hokus finally gave up searching for the dates, he tugged
+him impatiently by the arm.
+
+"Let us be off and be gone," he begged earnestly. "This forest is
+enchanted and if we tarry here we may be caught in some evil spell.
+To horse! To horse, good Knight! Let us be away and seek our fortunes
+elsewhere!" Then, his eye falling for the first time upon the sleeping
+Camel, he gave a great bounce and burst into such a roar of laughter
+that Camy awoke with a startled grunt of surprise. "Since when!"
+shrieked the jester, holding both his sides. "Since when have Knights
+ridden camels?" Without bothering to explain, Sir Hokus hurried over to
+the Comfortable Camel and quickly told him all that had happened. The
+Camel, after an amazed glance at the jester, lurched hurriedly to his
+feet.
+
+"The fellow is right," he snorted anxiously. "This forest is bewitched;
+let us get off before we take root and turn into turnips."
+
+"Many happy returnips!" chuckled the jester, jumping over a tree stump.
+"To camel! To camel, good Knight! Will you never be moving? Come on,
+Comical," he roared, snatching the Camel's bridle and giving it a
+playful twist.
+
+"Mind what you're about," said Sir Hokus in a vexed voice, for he was
+not going to have Camy insulted. Then, as the strange murmuring of
+the forest was beginning to oppress him terribly, he started to walk
+rapidly along the banks of the little stream, for this, he felt, would
+sooner or later lead them out into the open.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER ELEVEN
+
+                      THE KNIGHT LOSES HIS CAMEL
+
+
+They had gone but a few yards when the jester, capering along ahead,
+turned round and leapt three times into the air.
+
+"Stop!" he called imperiously. "Stop! I've just remembered something."
+
+"How now, and what is it?" demanded the Knight, rushing forward
+impetuously and hoping it would be something about the golden castle
+and its owner.
+
+"My name!" exulted the jester, tossing his cap into the air and
+catching it on his belled stick. "My name is Peter Pun."
+
+"Oh bother your name," fumed Sir Hokus in a disappointed voice. "That's
+not important."
+
+"Well, it's important to me," insisted the jester, hopping across the
+stream and back for pure joy:
+
+    "Peter Pun gives everyone
+    A taste of jollity and fun."
+
+"I'd rather have a taste of biscuit, or bacon and eggs," sighed the
+Knight. "Six figs and one date make a poor enough breakfast for a
+fighting man."
+
+"Date!" chattered the Comfortable Camel, taking several quick steps and
+resting his head on the Knight's shoulder. "Do you realize you've eaten
+a magic date, Hokus, and may turn into something else any minute?"
+
+"He's turning! He's turning!" yelled Peter Pun, pointing his finger
+warningly.
+
+"Turning!" groaned Sir Hokus, clapping his hand to his forehead.
+
+"Turning round," laughed Peter, hopping behind a tree to escape the
+Knight's long arm.
+
+"You're a fool," hissed the Camel angrily. "Can't you understand that
+this is serious?"
+
+"How can a fool be serious?" inquired Peter, tickling the Camel on the
+nose with a long branch.
+
+"There's really no harm in him," whispered Sir Hokus in Camy's ear.
+"And methinks all the magic in the date rested in the seed I flung at
+the funnysuckle vine."
+
+    "Methinks you're right, Good Knight! Good Knight!
+    We'll solve the riddle later;
+    At any rate, you ate the date,
+    And now are full of dayter!"
+
+"Data," corrected Sir Hokus. "Odds pasties, I would I had the rest of
+that package!"
+
+"Well I don't," said the Comfortable Camel, compressing his lips
+severely. "We've trouble enough with this one fellow without
+disenchanting any more. Much better to have left him a vine. Can't
+you walk along sensibly and stop climbing every tree you come to?" he
+snorted fretfully, as Peter swung along from branch to branch more like
+a monkey than a person.
+
+"If you'd been a vine as long as I, you'd climb trees too," laughed
+Peter, dropping lightly on the Camel's hump. "I keep thinking I'm a
+vine," he murmured dreamily, winding both arms around the Comfortable
+Camel's neck and hugging him vigorously. "And how I do dote on you,
+old potato!"
+
+"There! There!" cautioned the Camel. "Don't choke me to death." In
+spite of his sauciness, there was something so lovable about the
+little jester that Camy did not mind the embrace nearly as much as he
+pretended. "Get back in the saddle," he grunted gruffly, "and see if
+you can't keep quiet for five minutes. It's so much more comfortable
+keeping quiet."
+
+"Who wants to be comfortable?" sniffed Peter, standing on his head in
+the middle of the high seat. "Who wants to be comfortable? I'd rather
+be gay! Say:
+
+    "A company of four tried to walk through a door,
+    But the door slammed them all on the nose.
+    Can you tell me just why? Or at least have a try?
+    It's easier than you'd suppose!"
+
+"Was it a true door?" asked the Knight, who was foolishly fond of
+riddles.
+
+"As true a door as you'd find anywhere in your travels," admitted
+Peter, settling down cozily in the seat on the Camel's hump.
+
+"I don't see how it could slam anyone on the nose unless there was
+someone back of it," put in the Comfortable Camel, pulling a long wisp
+from an overhanging vine and munching it thoughtfully.
+
+"Nor do I," agreed the Knight. "Come now, what kind of door was it,
+Peter?"
+
+"A troubadour!" sang out the jester, kicking up his heels. "And if you
+were a troubadour, and four tried to walk through you, would you not
+slam them on the nose?"
+
+"Humph!" grunted Sir Hokus, striding ahead to hide his grin. "One more
+pun and there'll be a slam on your own nose, odds buttons! A slam and
+some more things, too!"
+
+"Best save your slams for the monster," yawned Peter, curling up
+comfortably and pretending to snore. "Heigho, what's that?" Leaping
+to his feet, he held his hand to his ear. "Methinks I hear a monster
+now!" Sir Hokus had already stopped and was listening intently. The dip
+and splash of some great creature churning its way through the water
+came to them quite distinctly, and as they all peered curiously ahead,
+it swept round a bend in the stream and bore straight down upon them.
+Sir Hokus, who had expected to see a ferocious river beast, let his
+sword fall in bitter disappointment. It was no monster after all, but a
+boat, a boat rowed by twenty strong slaves, its yellow sails flapping
+jauntily in the breeze. As the Knight continued to gaze gloomily at
+the curious craft, a huge fat person heaved himself out of a chair on
+deck, and after one long look at the Comfortable Camel began barking
+out orders and directions so fast that the three watchers on the bank
+could understand nothing of what he said. But the slaves apparently
+did, for dropping their oars they seized a long, thick rope, and
+before Sir Hokus had time even to blink, it whirled through the air
+and settled with a vicious hiss around Camy's long neck. With a choked
+gurgle the poor Camel slid forward into the water so quickly that Peter
+circled into the air and fell flat upon the mossy river bank.
+
+[Illustration: THE CAMEL SLID FORWARD INTO THE WATER.]
+
+"Halt! Yield! What dost thou there?" Brandishing his battle-axe, Sir
+Hokus scrambled to the edge of the stream in a vain effort to seize
+hold of the Comfortable Camel or slash the rope that was hauling
+him away, before it was too late. But it was already too late, and
+the Knight, slipping into deep water, was forced to watch his old
+friend dragged ignominiously off by the neck. The slaves, urged on by
+Tuzzle--for of course it was the very Grand Vizier--were rowing like
+mad, and Sir Hokus in his heavy armor had no chance at all to swim
+after them. Indeed, had not Peter jumped up in the nick of time and
+held out a stout branch, Sir Hokus would have sunk like a stone to
+the bottom of the stream. Peter, somewhat sobered by the unexpected
+capture of the Camel, helped the Knight to a nearby tree stump.
+Hurriedly emptying the water from his helmet and boots, Sir Hokus made
+ready to pursue the yellow boat.
+
+"Had this been a land battle 'twould not have gone so easy with them,"
+rumbled the Knight, snatching the long slippery stem of a water lily
+from around his neck.
+
+"Well, they'll land sooner or later and then we can give them what for
+and what ho! Come on!" cried the jester, dancing with impatience. "If
+we follow this river we're bound to catch them. Are we going to let
+those old camelnappers steal our good steed?"
+
+"No, odds thumpeny! A thousand times, no!" roared Sir Hokus, and
+catching up his battle-axe he began running along the edge of the
+yellow river. But twenty pair of arms are stronger than two pair of
+legs, and in less than three minutes the royal barge of the Sultan
+was out of sight. As the Knight and Peter raced along, the river grew
+broader and more turbulent. The forest, too, thinned out, and after a
+stiff twenty minute sprint the two rescuers found themselves in open
+country. Pausing a moment to catch his breath, Sir Hokus squinted
+inquiringly around. A luxurious orange grove lay ahead of them, but the
+river branched sharply in two directions. Refreshing himself with an
+orange and throwing one to Peter, the Knight paused to reflect.
+
+"Toss up your sword," advised the jester. "If the hilt comes down
+first, we'll follow the left branch; if it comes down point first,
+we'll take the right!" It seemed as good a way as any to choose, and
+when the gleaming sword fell point first at the Knight's feet, they
+both felt relieved.
+
+    "When the sword point points the way,
+    Truly one can't go astray!"
+
+chanted Peter Pun.
+
+"And that fat rascal shall have the sword point where it will do him no
+good," promised Sir Hokus, striding fiercely along the right bank of
+the stream. "Dost see a sail, Peter?"
+
+"Neither a sail nor a camel's tail," admitted the jester, shaking his
+head regretfully:
+
+    "But round that turn ahead, who knows?
+    We'll find alike our friend and foes!"
+
+"Then come on!" breathed the Knight, breaking into a run. "Come along
+with you!"
+
+"Coming!" piped Peter, his mouth full of oranges.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER TWELVE
+
+                      CAMY AT THE SULTAN'S COURT
+
+
+Now the Comfortable Camel, though nearly choked and almost drowned, had
+instantly recognized Tuzzle. Like a bad and half remembered dream, his
+former life in Samandra came back to him. The long, tiresome journeys
+across the desert, the bad temper of the Sultan, the heavy loads he was
+forced to carry in order that his peppery little master might travel
+in comfort and luxury. He opened his mouth to cry out, but found to his
+horror that he could not speak a word. Instead of indignant protests
+against his captors, he was uttering only camelish grunts and gurgles,
+and when three minnows swam down his throat he gave up in despair, and
+closing his eyes and his mouth allowed himself to be towed along in
+silence. In Samandra, he recalled bitterly, he had not been able to
+converse at all. How dreadful to be but a dumb beast of burden after
+his interesting and cozy existence in the Emerald City of Oz. It was
+not to be thought of or endured.
+
+"I'll run away first chance I have, and let them try to stop me if
+they dare," he decided grimly, beginning to work his feet to keep the
+rope round his neck from strangling him. Tuzzle, meanwhile, leaning
+proudly over the rail, was already counting up the rewards he might
+claim for his cleverness in capturing the Camel. Rubbing his hands with
+anticipation, he bade the slaves row faster. This they did, and in less
+than an hour the Royal Sampan drew alongside the golden dock in the
+Sultan's city. The Sultan, warned of their arrival by watchers he had
+stationed along the bank, came hurrying down from the palace, followed
+closely by the Grand Bozzywoz and other dignitaries.
+
+"Am I a good Seer, or am I not?" queried Chinda, waving complacently
+at the Camel swimming feebly after the yellow barge. "Behold your
+Majesty's Comfortable Camel!"
+
+"It certainly does not appear to be very comfortable at the
+present moment," observed the Keeper of the Royal Records. "A most
+uncomfortable camel I should call it."
+
+"Hold your tongue," advised the Sultan disagreeably, and after a quick
+glance to assure himself that the Camel's saddle sacks were in place,
+he called impatiently to the slaves to bring the half drowned creature
+ashore. The Camel's first action was to shake himself violently,
+drenching everyone on the dock. Then with an angry snort he trod
+heavily on the toes of Tuzzle and as many more as he could manage to
+get near.
+
+"Patience! Patience, my precious little parsnip," wheezed the Sultan,
+wiping the water out of his eyes with his sleeve and motioning for the
+Keeper of the Camels to approach. "Let him be given a triple portion
+of dried peas and rice, and with my own hands I will remove his heavy
+trappings." At this, Camy, remembering the ill-natured kicks and prods
+given by his former master, let out such a squeal of defiance that
+the courtiers tumbled in every direction to get out of his way. But
+the Camel Driver, slipping a stout noose over his head, forced him
+unwillingly up the bank and toward the Royal Camel Quarters behind the
+castle. The Sultan, fairly bubbling over with relief and excitement,
+pattered after him, for he, for very good reasons of his own, did not
+want the Camel out of his sight for an instant.
+
+"Has your Highness no word of welcome or commendation for me?"
+complained Tuzzle, limping aggrievedly beside the Sultan. "Do you not
+desire to hear of my reception at Ozma's court and of the masterful
+manner in which I was finally able to restore this long missing
+miscreant to your Majesty's stable? Have I sought out and captured this
+capricious Camel by main strength only to be ignored and stepped upon?"
+
+"Posh! Bosh! And a pound of tea!" sputtered the Sultan, waving him
+carelessly aside, and bidding all of his advisors return to the palace
+he proceeded joyfully to the stall set aside for the most important
+member of his herd. There, tied fast to an iron ring in the side of
+the wall and facing a heaping measure of dried peas and rice, the
+Comfortable Camel's usual good judgment and temper returned to him.
+Sir Hokus and Peter, he felt sure, would soon come to his assistance.
+Meanwhile, he might as well make the best of things and enjoy what he
+could of the experience. Nibbling daintily at the peas and rice, he
+paid scant attention to the Sultan, who had dismissed the attendant
+and was standing on a small ladder at his side. Tossing everything
+out of the left hand saddle sack, the Sultan suddenly gave such an
+exclamation of fury that the Comfortable Camel turned his head. The fat
+little ruler, coming to the bottom of the sack, had found the secret
+compartment open and the precious package he had been so long seeking
+and so anxiously waiting for--gone!
+
+[Illustration: THE COMFORTABLE CAMEL'S GOOD TEMPER RETURNED.]
+
+"Great, lazy, stupid son of a cow!" bellowed the Sultan, dancing up and
+down like a dervish on top of the ladder. "What have you done with my
+dates? Who has taken the dates?"
+
+"Aha!" mused the Camel to himself. "So he is at the bottom of this date
+magic. It's the dates he wants, and not me at all." And as the enraged
+Sovereign continued to dance and scream, he went calmly on with his
+lunch.
+
+"Son of a scorpion," hissed the Sultan vindictively. "Cousin to a
+cougar and uncle of a goat, how dare you come back without those
+dates?" Hammering the Camel with both fists, he nearly cried with rage.
+
+"Why, he's even better at calling me names than he used to be,"
+marveled the Camel, paying no heed to the thumps, which hurt him hardly
+at all. "I must remember all this to tell Hokus--that is, if I can ever
+talk as I used to do, I'll tell him. Heigho, there goes the fat pest,
+and good riddance." For the Sultan, seeing nothing was to be got out
+of the Camel, had finally stopped hammering him and gone away. Racing
+back to the palace he sought out Chinda and started to shake the Grand
+Bozzywoz with all his strength.
+
+"What now?" groaned the astonished Seer, clutching his turban, which
+was tossing like a ship in a hurricane. "Have you not got your precious
+Camel back again? Is this gratitude? Is this thanks--or----"
+
+"That silly Camel is of no use to me," screamed the Sultan angrily,
+almost, in his excitement, revealing the secret of the magic dates.
+"There was a package of great value in his left hand saddle sack. It
+has been lost--or stolen!" he panted desperately. "And I must have that
+package at once, at once, do you hear me?"
+
+"Package?" repeated Chinda dully. "Well, why did your Excellency not
+say so in the first place? All these years I have been seeking a Camel,
+and now you tell me it is a package and not a Camel you desire."
+
+"Silence!" shrieked the Sultan, beginning to shake him again, and in
+the next breath, "Speak, fellow, have you nothing in your head at all?"
+
+"The telescope!" puffed Chinda, jerking away from his tempery little
+master. "Let us consult the magic telescope and see what it can tell us
+of this strange matter." For ten minutes in his tall, glass enclosed
+tower, the Chief Seer and Grand Bozzywoz of Samandra gazed through the
+magic lens of his huge telescope; then, turning to the Sultan, who was
+stamping anxiously up and down the laboratory, he spoke:
+
+"You will find part of what you seek in the middle of the night," he
+announced solemnly.
+
+[Illustration: CHINDA STARED THROUGH HIS MAGIC TELESCOPE.]
+
+"In the middle of the night?" gasped the Sultan. "But where, how, and
+what night?"
+
+"More I cannot tell you now, but if your Highness will depart and leave
+me, I will go into a great silence and endeavor to discover the exact
+location of the missing package." Far from satisfied, but not knowing
+what else to do, the Sultan returned reluctantly to his throne room.
+There, clutching Confido to his breast, he whispered long and anxiously
+to the Imperial Peke and waited impatiently for nightfall.
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER THIRTEEN
+
+                           KING OF THE QUIX!
+
+
+And now, leaving the Sultan and the Comfortable Camel to their own
+devices, let us see what has been happening to Marygolden and Speedy.
+Fortunately for its two passengers, the parashuter struck a dry and
+sandy section of earth so that they were neither crushed by falling
+rock nor scalded by boiling lava. Whistling like a roman candle and
+forced upward by the rocket set off when Speedy touched the button in
+the handle, Uncle Billy's strange invention shot upward so fast that
+the boy lost all sense of time, space, and distance. And just as he was
+deciding they would never reach the upper regions at all, the steel
+umbrella burst through the top crust of earth, fluttered a few feet in
+the air and then dropped heavily to the ground.
+
+"Are--we--still--alive?" inquired Marygolden in a faint voice.
+
+"I--I think so," mumbled Speedy, who had bumped his head pretty hard on
+the handle of the parashuter.
+
+"Sometimes it hurts to be alive," sighed Marygolden, looking
+reproachfully over at him, for the little Princess had come down hard
+in the middle of a rocky path. Both adventurers were covered with dirt
+and grime, and had their umbrella-like contrivance not travelled with
+such lightning speed they would probably have been suffocated as well.
+As it was, they were perfectly exhausted and lay for several minutes
+where they had fallen. Then, rolling over, Speedy unfastened the straps
+that bound him to the handle, and giving himself a little shake, stood
+up.
+
+"Well, I hope this time we're in America," he breathed anxiously,
+leaning down to untie Marygolden. The golden Princess winced a bit as
+Speedy helped her to her feet, and afraid that she might cry, he patted
+her reassuringly on the shoulder. But Marygolden straightened up like
+a soldier and the boy could not help feeling proud of the way she was
+taking their strange experiences. "Anyway, we're out of Subterranea and
+we've escaped from that awful old Shah!" he exclaimed, beating the dust
+from his leather jacket.
+
+"Yes," agreed Marygolden gravely. "We're away from the Shah, but who
+are these?"
+
+"These?" cried Speedy, whirling round. "Well, curses macorangejuice!"
+This was a favorite expression of the boy's, but even this did not seem
+surprising enough for the strange figures racing toward them. There
+were twelve, and their long, thin legs, long, thin arms, long, thin
+bodies, long, thin faces, and long, thin hair gave them an unreal and
+comical appearance. They were dressed in silver cloth jackets and hose
+and pointed hoods, and when they reached Speedy and the Princess they
+took hands and danced round and round them so fast that the two could
+do nothing but blink and gasp and draw in their toes to keep from being
+stepped on. The twinkle of the sun on their silver hoods was making
+Speedy dreadfully giddy, when all twelve suddenly stopped, and the
+tallest of the company, drawing a long scroll from his coat, cried
+loudly:
+
+"The prophecy has been fulfilled. Behold our King!"
+
+"Nonsense!" blustered Speedy, trying to push his way out of the ring,
+"Nonsense, I'm a Republican!" Then, as the holder of the scroll began
+to read the strange document, his curiosity got the better of him.
+
+"I, Hurreewurree the Worst, Chief Counsellor of the Quix, do hereby
+pronounce you King," boomed the silver-clad leader impressively. "Our
+humble sovereign having run away, it has been prophesied by the Book of
+Stars that our next ruler would burst from the earth, as you must admit
+you have done, that our next ruler would be young and exceeding quick,
+quick to fight, quick to run, and quick to lose his temper--" ("Well,
+all that's true enough," thought Speedy, with an amused chuckle, as the
+Chief Counsellor looked at him over his specs.) "And his name shall
+mean Swift," continued Hurreewurree. "What _is_ your name?" he inquired
+solemnly, holding his finger on the scroll to keep his place.
+
+"Speedy!" answered the boy, without giving himself time to think.
+
+"Speedy!" exulted the Chief Counsellor, waving the prophecy over his
+head. "Do you hear that? Three cheers for Speedy, King of the Quix!"
+With three hilarious cheers, the long-legged strangers closed in.
+Speedy had just time to grasp Marygolden's hand before they were seized
+on all sides and hustled forward. Soon they were flying along so fast
+he had not breath enough to ask even one question.
+
+"To keep things running here you must keep moving," puffed
+Hurreewurree, "and as soon as we catch the castle you'll be crowned."
+
+"Catch the castle?" panted Speedy. "Does that run, too?" Nobody
+bothered to answer his question, but when they came to Quick City he
+saw what Hurreewurree meant, for all the houses and buildings rolled
+about like taxis. "Why, this is worse than New York!" marvelled Speedy,
+as they were almost knocked down by a barber shop. "Why, instead of
+running down to the bank, the bank runs down to you. Gosh!" gasped the
+boy, as a teller leaned out of the window of a passing bank building
+and took a roll of quicksilver from Hurreewurree. All the inhabitants
+of this curious city dashed by as if they were running races, and when
+one of Speedy's guards tried to stop a Quick and introduce him to the
+new King, the fellow burst into tears.
+
+[Illustration: BUILDINGS ROLLED BY LIKE TAXIS.]
+
+"Don't stop me!" he cried fretfully. "Can't you let me eat this piece
+of taffy before I'm too old to enjoy it?" And now Speedy noticed
+another queer thing about the Quix. Even while he was looking at them
+they changed and grew older. Hurreewurree, who had been quite young
+and handsome when he read his proclamation, was becoming more bent
+and feeble at every step and when they finally did catch up with a
+tidy silver castle, the Chief Counsellor had hardly enough strength
+to stagger up the steps. The other Quix were old men, too, and with
+a great effort tugged Speedy and Marygolden into the royal dwelling.
+Speedy was so weary from the long run, and so astonished by the change
+in his companions that he sank thankfully down upon the silver throne
+and tried to smile encouragingly at Marygolden, who had been placed in
+a silver chair at his side.
+
+"We don't have to stay unless we want to," he whispered, as
+Hurreewurree, taking a silver hood from an ancient servitor, tottered
+uncertainly toward him.
+
+"With this Lively Hood, I crown you King of the Quix!" quavered
+Hurreewurree, snatching the leather helmet from Speedy's head and
+dropping the Hood in its place. "What are your Right Royal Commands?"
+
+"Nothing right now," panted Speedy, in as imperious a pant as he
+could manage. "As soon as they go, I'll leave," he decided quickly to
+himself. "They needn't think I'm going to spend the rest of my life
+running like a jack rabbit, dodging barber shops and telegraph poles.
+Why, it's ridiculous--everything's ridiculous!" he concluded with a
+slight shudder, as the castle coasted down a steep street and just
+missed a stone wall at the bottom. Still another shock awaited him
+when he turned his gaze from the windows back into the throne room.
+Hurreewurree and his companions were growing young again, and as
+Speedy and Marygolden simply stared at them, their long silver whiskers
+fell away, their crooked legs straightened and presently they were
+young men. But Speedy had no sooner grown used to this than they grew
+younger still, and pretty soon they were all sitting on the floor in
+silver rompers playing with blocks. Much to his surprise he wanted to
+play, too, but when he tried to step down from his throne he fell off
+and bumped his head so hard he began to cry bitterly. Marygolden it
+was who picked him up, and he could only stare at her with round eyes
+for she seemed like a giantess now, for he was only ten months old.
+But this lasted scarcely ten minutes or so, and then he found he could
+walk, and scrambling down from her lap he got into an exciting game
+of tag with his subjects. Speedy could not imagine why Marygolden was
+crying. He stopped to comfort her and was soon tall enough to get back
+on his throne. But it was terribly confusing, for in ten minutes the
+little Princess was crying again.
+
+"Look! Look!" she wailed, pointing to his chin; and putting up his
+hand fearfully, Speedy discovered that he had a long silver beard. His
+voice, when he tried to speak, was so high and shrill that it startled
+him; his knees felt stiff, and his head ached!
+
+[Illustration: HE HAD A LONG SILVER BEARD.]
+
+"Why, I'm a Quick," groaned poor old Speedy, looking anxiously at his
+thin hands. "I'm a Quick, and I'll have to spend the rest of my days
+shooting up and down like an elevator. Gosh, what'll I do?" As he
+started to grow younger, his thoughts became clearer. "It's the Hood,"
+he decided frantically. "If I take off this Hood I'll be all right, but
+then suppose I take it off when I'm old, then I'll be all wrong. Gosh!
+Golly, what a fix to be in!" By this time he was a little boy again,
+and before he could explain to Marygolden, he was a baby. And not until
+he had shot up to young manhood could he make the little Princess
+understand what to do.
+
+"As soon as I look the way I did when you first saw me, pull off this
+Hood," he begged eagerly, "and do be careful, Mary dear, not to make me
+any older than I am. I don't want to miss half my life and all the fun
+of college." Marygolden nodded and watched Speedy solemnly as he grew
+older and older, and still more solemnly as he grew younger, and as the
+boy reached the exact age he had been when he plunged into Subterranea,
+the clever little Princess pulled the Lively Hood from his head and
+threw it as far as she could. With one bounce Speedy was off the throne.
+
+"Girl, that was neat!" he whispered, looking thankfully in the mirror
+over the mantel. "Why, you couldn't have done any better if you'd been
+a boy. Now, as soon as these fellows grow down a bit further, we'll
+run." Hurreewurree and the other boys were so engrossed in a marble
+game that they did not notice their new King tiptoeing toward the door.
+And by the time Speedy and Marygolden were scampering down the steps
+of the moving castle, they and all the other inhabitants of Quick City
+were infants again. "You certainly have to think and step quick in this
+country," puffed Speedy, as they ran hand in hand down the main street
+of the town. Having had a lot of practice dodging motors, he managed to
+keep out of the path of the whirling houses and shops, and by the time
+the Quix were growing up again, he and Marygolden had left the city far
+behind them. Even in the fields and orchards on the outskirts of the
+town the curious nature of the country persisted. Flowers grew up and
+wilted under their feet. Fruit ripened and fell from the trees before
+they could eat it. After several unsuccessful attempts to pick some
+peaches, only to have them rot in his hands, Speedy gave up. Indeed it
+was with something like relief that they came to a cool, deep forest,
+where trees neither shot up nor down, and everything was pleasantly
+quiet and still.
+
+"We'll stop here a long, long time," sighed Speedy, sitting down under
+a great oak. "Then I'll try to find you something to eat and discover
+where we are. I'm sure it's not America, for things like this couldn't
+happen in America. Say, I wonder why those fellows wanted me for King!
+Can you imagine being King of a place like that?"
+
+Marygolden shook her head and smoothed out her dress. "I like it better
+here," she said contentedly.
+
+"Well, I do too, but I don't think I'm going to like growing old
+very much. It felt awful." Speedy rubbed his knees reminiscently and
+wondered what Uncle Billy would think of his adventures. "I'm certainly
+having a lot of experiences," he muttered reflectively. "And you know,"
+he turned thoughtfully to look at the little Princess sitting so
+quietly at his side, "you're the very strangest of them all. I can't
+make you out in the least, Marygolden. If you were just a statue, and
+were never alive before, how is it you can talk, and know how to act?
+And now that you are alive, what are you going to do?"
+
+"I'm going to do everything you do," announced Marygolden calmly.
+
+"Gosh!" breathed Speedy, rather frightened by the responsibility of
+such a thing. "Then I'll have to be pretty careful about everything I
+do, won't I?"
+
+"Yes," smiled the Princess, folding her hands serenely in her lap.
+Speedy was about to explain that she, being a girl, could not possibly
+do all the exciting and adventurous things that he, as a boy, could do,
+but she seemed so pleased and happy that he decided to let the matter
+rest for a while.
+
+"She's certainly done everything I've done so far," he reflected
+slowly, "except grow whiskers! And she didn't cry when we fell, either.
+You're all right!" he announced emphatically, and leaning over he
+gave her a real boyish handshake. "You're all right, and a real good
+fellow!"
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER FOURTEEN
+
+                         THE ENCHANTED FOREST
+
+
+After the rush and hurry of Quick City, both travellers were glad
+enough to rest quietly under the oak tree. Leaning back with his
+head against the broad trunk, Speedy tried to puzzle out and explain
+to himself the queer happenings of the morning. But there seemed no
+reasonable explanation of Subterranea or Quick City, or the curious
+coming to life of Marygolden, and with a little sigh he finally
+stopped bothering and turned his attention back to his companion.
+
+"Do you ever remember seeing that Shah, or any of those people before?"
+he inquired earnestly.
+
+"I don't remember anyone but you," answered Marygolden, fixing her eyes
+dreamily on the bit of sky just visible above the tree tops.
+
+"Well," pondered Speedy, "if you were alive before, you must have lived
+in some old, old country. You know, you're dreadfully old-fashioned,
+Marygolden."
+
+"Do you mind?" asked the Princess, leaning forward anxiously.
+
+"No," Speedy assured her gallantly. "But I should think you would."
+His glance travelled critically from her long, frilled skirts, now
+sadly torn and dusty, to the stiff, high, and certainly uncomfortable
+ruff. "Girls don't wear such long skirts nowadays," he explained
+apologetically. "I say, shall I cut off some of that stuff?" The
+Princess seemed quite interested in the idea, so Speedy, taking out his
+scout knife, which fortunately had a scissor attachment, snipped all
+the lace ruffles from her gold dress, making it about knee length. Then
+he cut off her huge, uncomfortable ruff and stood back, quite pleased
+with the result. "If it wasn't for that crown you'd look just like a
+regular girl," declared Speedy, returning the knife to his pocket. At
+these words, and before he could stop her, Marygolden took off her
+crown and flung it as far as she possibly could.
+
+"Curses!" muttered the boy with a worried bounce. "You shouldn't have
+done that, Mary. It's probably worth a lot of money."
+
+"But it makes my head ache," stated the Princess calmly, "and what good
+is it anyway?"
+
+"Oh, well," decided Speedy, after looking without success for the
+golden circlet, "I guess you won't need a crown now, for you're going
+home with me, if I can ever find the way, and they don't use crowns in
+America."
+
+"America?" asked the Princess, taking a few dancing steps to see how it
+felt without her long, trailing skirts. "Shall we reach there soon?"
+
+"Not unless we start," answered Speedy. "And unless we want to spend
+the rest of the day in this forest, we'd better start right away."
+Marygolden made no objection, so talking quite cheerfully they strolled
+along under the giant trees.
+
+"Pretty soon, now," observed Speedy, helping the Princess over a
+little brook, "pretty soon now we ought to be meeting some people."
+
+"People!" sniffed Marygolden, turning up her pretty nose. "Every time
+we meet people we run. I'd rather not meet any people, Speedy."
+
+"Maybe the next ones will be good fellows. Maybe they'll give us
+something to eat and tell us where we are. We can't just go on and on
+forever," he explained, leaning down to examine a colored stone at his
+feet.
+
+"Is there no other way of getting about, then?" inquired Marygolden,
+staring sorrowfully at her gold kid slippers, which were already sadly
+scratched and torn by the sticks and stones of the forest. "Must we
+always walk and run?"
+
+"If we were in my country we could take a bus, or a train, or a taxi;
+but there's nothing to take here," answered Speedy in a matter-of-fact
+voice, and finally deciding that the stone he had picked up was of no
+value, he sent it flying into the branches of a horse chestnut tree.
+With speed and accuracy it hit a large chestnut burr and the burr,
+sailing through the air, dropped directly in his path. As Speedy was
+about to pick it up, it began to swell like a balloon, larger and
+larger till it was simply immense; and as Speedy and Marygolden jumped
+back together, it burst with a loud bang and out trotted a shining
+chestnut steed. He wore a breastplate of gold, yellow silk trappings,
+a gold-trimmed saddle, and had such a glorious, golden, flyaway mane
+and tail that Speedy, in spite of his fright and astonishment, gave a
+cry of pure delight and admiration. The horse, lifting his head, looked
+about a bit wildly and began to paw up the earth with his forefoot.
+
+"Do you see that?" gasped Speedy, holding fast to Marygolden's arm in
+case the wonderful horse should spring forward. "One minute there was
+a horse chestnut and now there's a chestnut horse. Girl! Girl! What a
+country!"
+
+"Is it something to ride?" whispered Marygolden, not in the least upset
+by the miraculous appearance of this stunning steed. "Is it yours?"
+
+"I belong to the Yellow Knight," trumpeted the horse, with a quick toss
+of his golden mane. "Have you seen the Yellow Knight, Smallfellow?"
+
+[Illustration: "HAVE YOU SEEN THE YELLOW KNIGHT, SMALLFELLOW?"]
+
+"Knight!" breathed Speedy in a hushed voice. "I didn't know there were
+any Knights nowadays. And listen to that, Marygolden, he's talking;
+that horse is talking to us. Wait! Stop!" he called excitedly, as the
+horse, wheeling round and round, showed signs of galloping off. "Wait,
+I want to ask you something. How is it one moment you were a chestnut
+burr, and the next moment a horse? How is it you can talk? Horses in my
+country only say 'neigh'."
+
+"Nay!" snorted the Knight's horse, pausing with one foot uplifted.
+"What a stupid country yours must be. What do they do when they wish to
+say yes, or answer a question?"
+
+"Nobody asks them questions," answered Speedy, quite truthfully. "They
+just tell them what to do."
+
+"Worse and worse," whinnied the horse disapprovingly. "Why, hereabouts
+all the animals can talk. You asked me how I happened to be a chestnut
+burr, didn't you? Well, as to that, I think I've been enchanted, and
+someone has just broken the spell."
+
+"It was Speedy," cried Marygolden, pointing proudly to the boy. "He
+threw a stone at the horse chestnut tree and knocked down the burr, and
+there you were!"
+
+"Well, in that case," mused the horse thoughtfully, "I owe you a great
+debt of gratitude. You have no idea how it feels to be cooped up in a
+chestnut burr. Speak up, Smallfellow, what can I do for you? What is
+your name, and where are you going?"
+
+"My name is Speedy, I'm from the United States, and would like to get
+back there if I could. I found Marygolden in a cave. She was enchanted,
+too, I guess, but she's all right now. Could you let us ride on your
+back and help us find our way back to America?"
+
+"That place where horses can only say 'neigh, neigh'?" questioned the
+Knight's steed uneasily. "Where they are dumb as fish, and ordered
+about like slaves? Nay, nay! Good turnips, Smallfellow! You have me
+saying it already! Nay, an' I will not go there, but I'll tell you
+what I will do," he offered generously, noticing Speedy's disappointed
+expression. "I'll not go with you, but you may come with me until I
+find the Yellow Knight, and perhaps he can tell you the way back to
+your own country. Come! Will you go? Decide quickly for I long to
+stretch my legs again." It did not take Speedy long to decide. Putting
+his foot in the golden stirrup, he gave such a spring that he landed
+safely in the splendid saddle of the Yellow Knight. Then he looked
+doubtfully down at Marygolden.
+
+"Can the little wench ride?" inquired the horse, beginning to prance
+with impatience. "Can the little baggage stick on?"
+
+"I can do anything Speedy can do," declared the Princess stoutly,
+and mounting a tree stump she motioned imperiously for the horse to
+approach.
+
+"What's your name?" asked Speedy, as the big chestnut trotted
+obligingly over to the tree stump.
+
+"Stampedro!" cried the horse, with a joyous toss of his head. "Up with
+you, maiden, and away we'll be going!" And scarcely had Marygolden
+seated herself behind Speedy and clasped her arms round his waist,
+before Stampedro set off at such a pace that both riders had all they
+could do to hang on. To himself, Speedy pretended he was really the
+Yellow Knight with long gleaming lance and gold armor. He only wished
+Uncle Billy or some of the fellows could see him galloping through the
+forest on this great shining steed, and though the Knight's saddle was
+uncommonly hard, and the bumps and bouncing terrific, he would not have
+changed places with Lindy himself. After a while Stampedro slackened
+his speed, much to the relief of Marygolden, thumping up and down
+behind.
+
+"AH--HH!" snorted the Knight's horse. "'Tis fine to breathe this keen
+air and feel the good earth underfoot again. It's good to be alive, and
+could I see my young Master, no more would I ask."
+
+"Was--he--en--chanted--too?" asked Speedy, quite breathless from the
+jouncing he had received. "Say, why didn't I bring along that stone?
+There must have been something magic about that stone, for it turned
+you from a chestnut burr to a chestnut horse. And if you ask me,
+there's something magic about this whole country."
+
+"Right in both cases," agreed Stampedro amiably. "This is the Magical
+Country of Oz."
+
+"Oz!" sputtered Speedy, sitting up very straight. "Why, I've often read
+about Oz, but I never thought it was really true."
+
+"Well, what do you think now?" queried the horse, looking over his
+shoulder to wink good-naturedly at Marygolden.
+
+"It must be true," conceded the boy slowly, "for you see, we're here.
+Do you know what part of Oz we're in, Stampedro?" The horse stopped
+short in his tracks and thought so intently that his ears crossed and
+his mane stood up and waved to and fro, but, think as he would, he
+could not remember.
+
+"It's that wretched enchantment," he wheezed crossly. "I've been a
+chestnut inside of a burr so long I've forgotten everything."
+
+"But you remembered the Yellow Knight," Marygolden reminded him softly,
+"and if we find him, perhaps he can tell us where we are."
+
+"Maybe we'd better go back and hunt that magic stone," suggested
+Speedy, as Stampedro, shouldering his way through some low bushes, came
+to a rushing yellow river. So far and so fast had he galloped that they
+were entirely out of the forest and moving swiftly toward a pleasant
+orange grove.
+
+"Too late," sighed Stampedro, picking his way carefully along the
+slippery bank of the stream. "We'd never find the place again. Besides,
+I do not think my Master was enchanted. He's far too clever for such
+trickery. Hello, what's this?" This was a bright yellow basket
+floating merrily along with the current. "Want it?" whinnied Stampedro,
+and as both his riders nodded enthusiastically he stepped daintily into
+the river and lifted the basket in his teeth.
+
+"Wonder what's in it," muttered Speedy, leaning forward eagerly to take
+the basket. "Why, hurray, it's something to eat! Chicken, Marygolden!
+Bread, fruit, cake, and everything! Here, have a chicken wing, and
+do try this apricot." Marygolden obediently took the articles Speedy
+handed to her, but she did not seem to know what to do with them.
+Speedy, buried to the ears in a piece of frosted cake, looked back at
+her in surprise.
+
+"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, gulping down his great bite of cake so
+fast he almost choked. "My goodness, I forgot! You don't even know how
+to eat. Here, girl, watch me, and do just what I do."
+
+"What manner of maiden is this Marygolden?" rumbled Stampedro. "A
+maiden who does not eat? Is she a fairy?"
+
+"No, she's a Princess," explained the boy, biting off a piece of
+chicken leg and motioning for Marygolden to do the same with her wing.
+"Like it?" he asked, as Marygolden took a thoughtful nibble.
+
+"Mm--mm! Yes!" sighed the Princess, chewing faster and faster. "See, I
+can eat just as fast as you can now!" And as both travellers were ever
+so hungry, there was soon nothing left in the basket at all. Speedy had
+given several apples to Stampedro and he was now finishing his lunch on
+the moist river-grass, while Speedy and the Princess sampled the golden
+oranges, which they could pick quite easily as the great horse walked
+beneath the branches.
+
+"You've brought us good luck already," said Speedy, looking regretfully
+into the empty basket. He was about to toss it away when a sentence
+stamped on the bottom caught his attention.
+
+"'Made in Samandra'," read Speedy with a puzzled look. "I wonder where
+that is? And how did this basket come to be in the river?" As a matter
+of fact, the basket had tumbled from the yellow boat when Tuzzle and
+his men were capturing the Comfortable Camel, but of course Speedy
+could know nothing of this and continued to stare at the gay blue
+letters.
+
+"Samandra!" he repeated slowly. "What kind of a country could that be?"
+
+"Samandra?" coughed Stampedro, stopping his eating and putting one ear
+forward and one ear backward. "It seems to me I remember something
+disagreeable about that place. Humph--HAH!" The Knight's horse
+trumpeted so loudly and suddenly that Marygolden nearly tumbled off
+backwards. "I know!" he wheezed grimly. "It's a country like that
+America you were telling me about, the only country in Oz where animals
+can't talk."
+
+"Then let's keep away from there," said Speedy, for he enjoyed the
+experience of a talking steed.
+
+"But Samandra," continued the chestnut solemnly, "Samandra lies near
+the country of the Yellow Knight. I remember riding through there long
+ago, and being struck dumb for two days. Now why can't I remember the
+name of my own country?"
+
+"Well, if we're near one we must be near both of them," reasoned
+Speedy. "And maybe there'll be some sign posts beyond this orange
+grove, or somebody who can tell us where we are."
+
+"There's somebody now," cried Marygolden, tugging Speedy's coat.
+"There, on the other side of the river! Oh dear, now we shall have to
+run again."
+
+"Good golly, it's a Knight!" exclaimed Speedy, standing up in the
+stirrups. "Look! Look, Stampedro, is that your Master?" Spinning round
+so quickly he almost spilled both of his riders, the splendid chestnut
+faced the opposite bank, his breath coming in short, smoky pants. Then
+his head dropped.
+
+"What a start you gave me, Smallfellow," he sighed reproachfully. "This
+Knight wears silver armor; my Master wears gold. This Knight is old and
+thin; my Master is young and hearty. No, no, it is not he." Stampedro's
+head fell lower and lower until his long golden mane swept the ground,
+and sorrowfully he turned away. But Speedy, nothing daunted, leaned far
+out of the saddle and shouted loudly:
+
+"Ho! Ho! Hello, Sir Knight! Can you tell me what country we are in?"
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER FIFTEEN
+
+                         FIVE TRAVELLERS MEET
+
+
+At Speedy's lusty cry, Sir Hokus and the jester stopped running and
+stared in amazement across the river.
+
+"Come now, this is better," chuckled Peter, shading his eyes with his
+hand and gazing across with lively interest at the travelers. "A page
+and a Princess, or I miss my guess."
+
+"And a horse," breathed the Knight, his eye sparkling with pleasure.
+"Such a steed as I've not seen these many long years. An' they lend me
+yon noble beast I'll overtake that fat camel-snatcher in no time. What
+ho!" he called loudly. "Cans't lend me your horse, fellow, to catch the
+greatest rascal in the country?"
+
+"Rascal?" gulped Speedy. "Why, this sounds interesting!" And Stampedro,
+being of the same mind, stepped boldly into the yellow river, swam
+strongly across, and climbed up the steep bank.
+
+"Happily met, travellers!" cried Peter Pun, throwing up his belled cap.
+Then, running alongside the great charger, he stared inquisitively up
+at Marygolden. "Are you, perchance, a damsel in distress?" he queried
+saucily. "For know that this Knight is sworn to rescue a maid, serve a
+monarch, and slay a monster. Dost wish to be rescued, maiden? Speak the
+word and 'twill be done."
+
+"I'm taking care of Marygolden," said Speedy stiffly. "I found her and
+brought her to life, and she's going back to America with me."
+
+"America!" boomed Sir Hokus, striding closer. "Art from America, young
+man? And this horse--is he from America, too?"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no! We found him in the forest. Tell them about it,
+Stampedro," begged the boy, who wanted to do nothing but feast his
+eyes on the Knight's sword and armor. With a toss of his flying mane,
+Stampedro began to speak, but a long shrill neigh was the best he could
+manage. Terrified and dismayed, he reared and plunged, and had not Sir
+Hokus seized his bit, Speedy and Marygolden would have sailed over his
+head.
+
+"Steady now! Steady! What means this?" puffed the Knight, stroking the
+glossy neck soothingly.
+
+"I know! I know!" Speedy stood straight up in the stirrups. "It means
+we're in Samandra, that country where animals cannot talk. Don't you
+care!" he whispered consolingly in the great chestnut steed's ear. "You
+can still hear, can't you?" Stampedro nodded his head to show that
+he could. "Well, then," continued Speedy, "cheer up, for if we're in
+Samandra we must be near the Kingdom of your Master. Can you tell us
+anything about the Yellow Knight?" asked Speedy, sliding down from the
+saddle and staring earnestly up at Sir Hokus. "This grand horse belongs
+to the Yellow Knight of Oz, but he's been enchanted for years and
+years. He was a horse chestnut till I flung a stone at the tree, and
+then he turned into a real chestnut horse."
+
+"Enchantments! Still more enchantments. Odds helmets and hauberks!"
+stuttered Sir Hokus, falling back against a tree and forgetting all
+about Camy for the moment. "Odds helmets and hauberks! It must have
+been the same stone that restored Peter. Dids't pick up the stone in
+yonder forest, my boy?"
+
+    "Hey bowstrings and fiddles, they're talking in riddles,
+    But, Hokus, take heed, I remember that steed!"
+
+"Hast ever seen me before, good horse?" inquired Peter Pun, capering
+close to the pawing charger. Stampedro, after a close look at the
+jester, nodded emphatically.
+
+"Well, what do you know about that?" mused Speedy, gazing from one to
+the other.
+
+"What you _you_ know about it?" demanded Peter Pun, turning a
+somersault and coming top side up under Speedy's very nose.
+
+"Well," sighed the boy, "everything's so mixed up and strange, I hardly
+know what to think. But you all seem to belong together somehow,"
+he continued seriously, "you and this Knight and Stampedro. Even
+Marygolden," he added reluctantly. "But I don't see how you can all be
+alive to-day."
+
+"Why not to-day as well as yesterday, why not yesterday as well as
+to-morrow?" queried Peter Pun blandly, sitting down cross-legged in
+the grass.
+
+"Because in our part of the world," persisted Speedy in a puzzled
+voice, "Knights and jesters lived ages and ages ago and now they're all
+dead."
+
+"What a country!" groaned Peter, toppling over backwards. "Why, we're
+all ages in Oz and no one ever dies at all. Have you no Kings, Knights,
+jesters, wizards, or enchantments where you come from? A dreadful place
+it must be."
+
+"Oh, I wouldn't say that," answered Speedy quickly. "We have motors and
+airplanes and speed boats and inventors. My uncle's an inventor," he
+finished proudly, "and that's almost the same as a wizard."
+
+"Quite true," observed Sir Hokus, as Peter Pun shook his head
+dubiously. "I've heard much about this America from Dorothy and the
+little mortal maids at the castle; also from a Philadelphia boy who
+sometimes comes to Oz and visits us in the Emerald City."
+
+"Do _you_ live in the Emerald City?" asked Speedy in a hushed voice,
+while Marygolden regarded the Knight with round eyes.
+
+"To be sure, to be sure. Let me introduce myself," smiled the Knight.
+"I am Sir Hokus of Pokes, bound upon a quest in search of adventure.
+This is Peter Pun, a jester, just released from an enchantment. We're
+both pursuing a fat rogue in a yellow boat who villainously dragged
+off the Comfortable Camel. But tell me, how came you to Oz, and what
+happened in yonder forest?"
+
+"Plenty," sighed Speedy, leaning up to pat Stampedro on the nose. "I've
+been about everywhere and everything since morning, even a King."
+
+"You're still a King," piped Peter Pun, chewing a long blade of grass,
+and when Speedy shook his head the jester still insisted.
+
+"Admit that you're thin-king this very minute of all the adventures
+you've been having. Hah, ho! Shall we pause and listen, Sir Knight,
+or fare forth and pursue? I confess to a great curiosity concerning
+these travellers. Let them tell their strange story. We also will tell
+ours, then together we will resume the chase and rescue our unfortunate
+friend."
+
+"Good!" decided the Knight. "Methinks there is more mystery here!" and
+helping Marygolden from her high perch on Stampedro's back, he seated
+her under an orange tree, and throwing himself on the grass beside her
+begged Speedy to tell his story. This Speedy was quite willing to do,
+for when one has had astonishing experiences there is nothing quite so
+satisfactory as telling about them. Sir Hokus and the jester listened
+spellbound to his exciting ride in the Skyrocket, his reception in
+Subterranea, the curious way he had discovered Marygolden and the
+miraculous coming to life of the little Princess. Their trip up in
+the parashuter astonished his listeners no less, and Speedy's trials
+and tribulations as King of the Quix made the Knight and Peter laugh
+uproariously. But when he came to the finding of the magic stone in the
+forest, and the disenchantment of Stampedro, Sir Hokus grew grave and
+thoughtful.
+
+"Of this bewitching little Princess," sighed the Knight, "I can tell
+you nothing. But this gallant charger----" he waved his sword at
+Stampedro, who was quietly grazing a little distance away, "this
+charger evidently belongs to the King of the Golden Castle."
+
+"What ho!" cried the jester. "Our quest progresses. We now have a King
+to serve and all we need is a damsel and a dragon."
+
+"I'll serve Marygolden an' she will let me," said Sir Hokus, smiling
+kindly at Speedy's Princess. As Marygolden, with a quaint curtsey, was
+acknowledging the honor, Peter, peering between two trees, let out an
+ear-splitting screech.
+
+"A dragon!" yelled the jester, jumping into the air and clicking his
+heels together. Speedy and Sir Hokus both rushed forward, but there was
+nary a dragon to be seen. As they turned questioningly back to Peter,
+the jester burst out laughing and rolled over and over on the grass.
+
+"'Tis a snap-dragon," roared Peter, pointing to a tall blue flower.
+"Ho, ho, Hokus, I caught you then."
+
+"Bother you and your punning," fumed the Knight angrily. "One more pun
+and I'll----"
+
+"Well, what's the punishment for puns?" asked Peter, sitting up with an
+interested expression.
+
+"A punch!" supplied Speedy, winking at Marygolden.
+
+    "A punch for a pun, and a punch for a punner--
+    But the lad with the punch better be a good runner--"
+
+sputtered Peter, hopping up; but Speedy had no intention of chasing him
+and was already talking seriously to the Knight.
+
+"You know," said the boy earnestly, "I'd sorta like to help you help
+this King before I go back to America, and I believe I will!"
+
+"Bravo!" roared Sir Hokus, giving Speedy a thump on the back that made
+him blink. "And when we have found and disenchanted this King, I will
+take you and Marygolden back to the Emerald City, and Ozma with her
+magic belt will transport you both to America. How will that be?"
+
+"Just fine," beamed Speedy, seizing the Knight's hand and shaking it
+heartily.
+
+"And now," put in Peter Pun, cartwheeling up to Sir Hokus, "if all the
+speechifying's over, let me tell you something. This steed belongs to
+the King's son at whose court I was jester. I remember him distinctly
+now."
+
+"Then that King's son must be the Yellow Knight!" cried Speedy
+jubilantly. "Did you say you had found his father's castle, Sir Hokus?
+Where? How? When?"
+
+    "A pretty tale it is and now,
+    Hokus Pokus, tell him how,"
+
+chuckled Peter. As Speedy drew closer to the Knight and motioned for
+Stampedro to come nearer, too, Sir Hokus told his story and all that
+had happened since he left the capital. He hurried a bit over his
+adventures in Marshland and on the flying field, but described the
+deserted city in great detail, and the finding of the package of dates
+in Camy's saddle sack, the strange changing of the funnysuckle vine
+into Peter Pun when he flung the date seed, and finally of the sudden
+theft of the Comfortable Camel by the fat owner of the yellow boat. As
+he finished, Speedy started up in great excitement. "Why, everything,"
+puffed the boy earnestly, "everything depends on that Camel! Don't you
+see? The magic dates were in the Camel's saddle sack. Whoever stole the
+Camel knew about the dates; whoever knew the dates must have enchanted
+Stampedro and Peter and this King and all his subjects."
+
+[Illustration: "EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THAT CAMEL."]
+
+"Dirks and daggers!" thundered the Knight. "You are right! What a head
+you have, young man." Stampedro, who had listened attentively to all
+this, whinnied his agreement to the Knight's statement, touching Speedy
+gently on the shoulder with his soft nose and tossing his mane to
+express his satisfaction.
+
+"Speedy can do anything," smiled Marygolden, jumping up and clapping
+her hands in delight. "Just try him!" Speedy looked a little
+uncomfortable at all this praise.
+
+"Tell me," he asked quickly, for he had thought of something else, "did
+this Comfortable Camel always live in the Emerald City?"
+
+"Yes--no--let me see!" Sir Hokus, already on his feet and ready to
+start, paused explosively. "Why, I discovered him and the Doubtful
+Dromedary myself," he explained thoughtfully. "Dorothy, the Cowardly
+Lion, and I found them about ten years ago on the edge of the Deadly
+Desert, but as far as I can remember, they never spoke of their former
+country or master."
+
+"Do you think anyone in the Emerald City knew about those dates, or
+would anyone there be mean enough to transform a whole kingdom?"
+
+"No," decided Sir Hokus, with a positive shake of his head. "And now
+that I think of it, the figs and dates were so uncommonly stale and
+hard that, had I not been starved and famished, I'd never have been
+able to swallow them at all."
+
+    "Oh sad to relate, the poor fellow ate
+    A date that was ancient and quite out of date!"
+
+"Hold your tongue," snapped the Knight, for he was trying to think,
+and Peter's nonsense disturbed him. "Those packages must have been
+in Camy's sack when he first came to the Emerald City," he declared
+finally. "And now to find the Comfortable Camel!"
+
+"Right!" cried Speedy, and Stampedro, to show his approval, reared
+right up on his hind legs and trumpeted with impatience.
+
+"Will you ride?" asked the little boy, turning politely to the Knight.
+
+"No, no. You and Marygolden ride," answered Sir Hokus, looking
+longingly at the splendid horse. "Shall I lift you up, Princess?"
+
+"Oh, don't call her Princess," begged Speedy, as Sir Hokus placed
+Marygolden carefully in the saddle. "She's through with all that stuff,
+and she's going to be plain Mary when we get back to the United States.
+Aren't you?" Marygolden nodded her head soberly.
+
+"Mary, but never plain Mary," teased Peter Pun. "Why, just to look at
+her takes my breath away completely."
+
+"But still you talk on," sighed Sir Hokus, taking Stampedro's bridle.
+"Come, my fine fellow, let's be starting." But the big chestnut planted
+all four feet, and shook his head stubbornly. "What now?" puffed the
+Knight in surprise. "Do you not wish to find your master?" Stampedro
+shook his head for "yes" but refused to budge an inch. Sir Hokus
+stepped back and looked at him questioningly.
+
+"Mayhap he wishes me to ride," announced the jester, bouncing up
+like a rubber ball behind Marygolden. Stampedro, looking around, nodded
+his approval; but when the Knight gave the bridle another tug he still
+refused to move.
+
+"Why, Stampedro, aren't you going to help us?" asked Speedy
+reproachfully. Instead of answering, the horse took Sir Hokus' mailed
+shirt-tail in his teeth and swung the Knight around toward the stirrup.
+
+"He wants us all to ride," gasped Speedy. "What do you think of that?"
+
+"I think it's a grand idea," said Peter Pun merrily. "We three scarce
+weigh as much as one. The Knight is nothing but bones and armor, and
+any horse in the good old days could carry two for a stretch. So mount
+up, Hokus, and let's be going. Let's be galloping!"
+
+"Is that what you really want?" questioned Speedy, leaning forward to
+whisper in Stampedro's ear. The chestnut nodded his head vigorously,
+and after a little more coaxing Sir Hokus sprang into the saddle.
+
+The Knight took Marygolden in his lap and Speedy squeezed in behind
+him. Peter clung to the boy's coat, perched precariously just above the
+horse's tail. Then, with a glance over his shoulder to assure him that
+everyone was settled, the great charger, like an arrow released from
+its bow, shot along the bank of the yellow river, his golden mane and
+tail streaming out like banners in the wind.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER SIXTEEN
+
+                          SPEEDY IN SAMANDRA
+
+
+And so it happened that the Sultan of Samandra, crouched sullenly on
+his cushioned throne, did not have long to wait for the approach of
+Knight. Knight was approaching by leaps and bounds. Indeed, so swiftly
+did the chestnut charger bear Sir Hokus and his three comrades that
+they came to the Sultan's city before the last of the sun's rays had
+faded from the sky. Catching a glimpse of the yellow boat tied up at
+the dock, the Knight gave a husky cheer.
+
+"On!" cried Sir Hokus, rising in the stirrups. "On to the palace!
+The King of this country is the rascal we are seeking." Sparks flew
+from the stones as Stampedro galloped up the steep streets, and the
+Samandrans, noting the fierce aspect of Sir Hokus, who was swinging his
+battle-axe wildly round his head, fled in every direction. Speedy and
+Marygolden, though shaken and breathless, could not help exclaiming
+at the splendor of the gold-domed buildings, and tall, spired castle;
+but Stampedro, without a pause, clattered up the fifty golden steps,
+pushed through the swinging doors, and burst like a bomb-shell into the
+magnificent throne room itself. The Sultan, hearing the great clamor
+without, had already risen, and when the panting steed and his four
+riders suddenly catapulted into his presence, he clutched Confido to
+his breast and with bulging eyes confronted his unexpected visitors.
+His first feeling was fright. Then, as he recognized the jester and war
+horse of a King he thought transformed and silenced forever, he gave a
+loud scream of anguish.
+
+"Robbers!" shrieked the Sultan, throwing caution to the winds. "How
+dare you steal my magic dates and ruin my strongest enchantment?"
+
+"Thief!" roared Sir Hokus, alighting with one bound. "How dare you
+steal our Comfortable Camel?" In his excitement he did not notice the
+difference between Tuzzle, whom he had seen on the yellow boat, and
+the fat ruler of the Samandrans. "R-r-restore the Comfortable Camel at
+once, and tell us what you have done with the King of the Golden City
+and all his subjects!"
+
+"N-n-never!" shrilled the Sultan, holding Confido tight up under his
+chin. And pointing to first one and then another of the intruders, he
+began to talk in a fierce undertone to the little dog.
+
+"Why do you talk to a dog when guests are present?" drawled Peter Pun,
+sliding down from Stampedro's back and snapping his fingers under the
+Sultan's nose. "Is that the pleasant custom in this country?"
+
+"You are a fool!" hissed the Sultan, "both by profession and nature.
+This is no common dog. This is Confido, the Imperial Peke of the realm.
+I speak to Confido because he knows all and tells nothing. Nothing, do
+you hear? But you, wretched plunderers, you shall tell what you have
+done with the magic dates, or be pounded to a powder and pulverized.
+Pulverized, do you understand? Tuzzle! Chinda! Blufferroo! Where
+is everybody?" Dropping Confido, the Sultan thumped on the golden
+gong beside the throne and began yelling at the top of his lungs. At
+this, Speedy, who had been all ears, jumped off Stampedro, and in
+the excitement and confusion following the arrival of the very Grand
+Vizier, the Grand Bozzywoz, the Grand Counter of the Imperial Spoons,
+and seventy Samandran spearmen, picked up Confido and tucked him
+quickly inside his leather jacket. Then, taking his place sturdily
+beside Sir Hokus, he prepared to defend himself and Marygolden.
+
+"Seize this Knight," commanded the Sultan. "Knight--Knight?" All at
+once he remembered the prophecy of Chinda: _You will find part of what
+you seek in the middle of the night._ "This Knight has eaten the magic
+dates," choked the Sultan, clutching his turban desperately. "Woe is
+me, us, you, her, it, him, and them! Slice him in two! Slice them all
+in two! Seize these villains, do you hear?" The spearmen evidently
+heard, and they moved forward, their spears pointed menacingly. Peter
+Pun, in one jump, regained the back of the Yellow Knight's horse.
+Marygolden, sliding forward, clasped both arms around his neck, and
+Stampedro, breathing fire and smoke, leapt clear over the heads of
+the advancing spearmen, through a side window, and away. With a gasp
+of relief, Speedy realized that Marygolden, at least, was safe. Sir
+Hokus, swinging his battle-axe, knocked down two of the spearmen in the
+center, and dashed through the opening before they could turn about.
+Speedy, seeing it was too late to follow, sprang for a spiral stair
+back of the throne, and tore upward three steps at a time, followed by
+all the spearmen except the two Sir Hokus had felled. Confido, inside
+his leather coat, barked and scratched, but paying no heed, the boy
+sped upward, up, up, up, till he grew faint and dizzy and his heart
+beat with loud, suffocating thumps. Reaching the top, ten steps ahead
+of the spearmen, Speedy rushed into a great glass-enclosed room and
+slammed the door. Pulling off his leather helmet he flung it on the
+sill, opened the window, and after a quick look round jumped into a big
+oak chest and closed the lid. The spearmen, panting and furious, burst
+into the room just as the lid settled into place. They stamped angrily
+about and then, catching sight of Speedy's helmet on the ledge, began
+sticking their heads out of the window and chattering away in the
+utmost excitement.
+
+"The young monkey's jumped to the ground," puffed the leader, "and
+that's the end of his impudence, but we'd better go down and pick up
+the pieces to satisfy the Sultan. Come on!" If they had not made so
+much noise themselves, they might have heard Confido barking inside
+the oak chest, but quite satisfied that their prisoner was lying at
+the bottom of the tower, they clattered noisily down the spiral stair.
+Speedy waited until their footsteps and voices died away, then crept
+cautiously out of the chest. He had run, as luck would have it, to the
+tower room of Chinda, the Seer, and gazed in surprise and bewilderment
+at the magical appliances of the prophet. The Grand Bozzywoz,
+fortunately, was below, and tiptoeing nervously about, Speedy tried to
+think of some way to escape. The tall telescope that pointed skyward
+interested him especially, and even in the midst of his worry and
+anxiety he could not resist one peek.
+
+[Illustration: HE COULD NOT RESIST ONE PEEK.]
+
+"If we could just find that date seed and the rest of the package,
+everything would be easy," sighed the boy, peering absently through
+the long tube. "Where could it have fallen?" he worried, screwing up
+his eye and scarcely noticing what he was looking at. Then he gave a
+great start, for clear and distinct in the lens of the telescope he saw
+a bit of the enchanted forest. As he stared in fascination, it narrowed
+down till there was only one tree, a hollow tree he remembered seeing
+next to the horse chestnut. Now the lens showed the inside of the tree,
+and there, among a little hoard of nuts hidden away by some thrifty
+squirrel, Speedy saw a bright and gleaming stone.
+
+"The date seed!" gasped Speedy, pressing his eye closer and closer as
+the picture faded away. "Gosh! If I can just get out of this palace
+and find my way back to the forest. Be quiet!" he directed, fiercely
+tapping the lump under his coat that was Confido. Then, relenting a
+little, he unbuttoned his coat and allowed the dog to stick out its
+head. "Can't you be still?" he pleaded earnestly. "Nothing's going to
+happen to you." With a little whimper, the Peke stopped barking and
+fixed its bulging, near-sighted eyes anxiously on the boy. "There,
+that's the fellow." Giving him a hasty pat, Speedy looked out the
+window to see how far it was to the ground, for it would never do to
+risk the spiral stair. With a shiver he drew in his head, and as he
+did, the heavy boots and rough voices of the spearmen came echoing
+upward. Not finding him senseless in the garden, they were coming
+back to search the tower. Trembling between the chest and the window,
+Speedy's glance flew round the prophet's workshop and came frantically
+to rest on a coil of rope hanging on a hook near the door. Snatching
+the rope he regained the window and tied the rope to a hook on the sill.
+
+"Curses!" puffed Speedy, tossing the rope over the edge. "Curses,
+Mickonionjuice! Here they are!" Dropping over the ledge, Speedy began
+his perilous downward descent hand over hand. He dared not look up nor
+down, and as he was wondering whether the rope would be long enough to
+reach to the bottom of the tower, it fell in a dozen stinging coils
+upon his head. A spearman, looking out of the window, had cut it with
+his scimiter, and like a log Speedy fell into the garden. Luckily he
+was only a few feet from the ground and though somewhat jarred and
+shocked, he jumped immediately to his feet and started to run. In the
+right direction, too, fortunately, and before the spearmen in the tower
+could give the alarm he had reached the dock and was scampering along
+the bank of the yellow river. "If I follow the river," he panted,
+"I'll get back to the forest. Then I'll find that date seed and try
+to find the others. Whew!" Steadying Confido with one hand, he flew
+along faster than he had ever run in the track events at home and soon
+had the satisfaction of hearing the voices of his pursuers grow fainter
+and fainter. As he paused at length to catch his breath, a great shadow
+moved silently out from the trees, a soft nose was thrust suddenly into
+his hand and two glad cries rang through the dusk. It was the horse of
+the Yellow Knight, and leaning down with eager hands to help him up,
+Marygolden and Peter Pun.
+
+[Illustration: SPEEDY BEGAN HIS PERILOUS DESCENT.]
+
+"I knew you'd get away from that old scalawag," chuckled the jester.
+"We've been watching for you. Seen Hokus since he pokused the spearmen?"
+
+"No," admitted Speedy, settling with a tired groan into the saddle
+between his two friends. "But I know where the magic date seed is
+hidden!"
+
+"You do!" cried Peter, and Marygolden looked at him in round-eyed
+admiration, while Stampedro pricked up both ears and began to prance
+sideways.
+
+"Uh-huh!" wheezed Speedy, still out of breath from his long run.
+"Do you think you could carry us back to your horse chestnut tree,
+Stampedro?" The horse hastily shook his head for "yes," and as Speedy,
+between jounces and bounces, told all that had happened, he galloped
+headlong through the Sultan's orange groves away toward the enchanted
+forest of Oz.
+
+"Wasn't it lucky I happened to mention the date seed while I was
+looking through that magic telescope? Won't Sir Hokus be surprised?
+Curses! I hope the Sultan hasn't caught him, though."
+
+"Yon Knight knows his Sultans, never fear. But why have you brought the
+Sultan's dog?" inquired Peter, looking inquisitively at Confido, whom
+he now spied for the first time.
+
+"That," smiled Speedy mysteriously, "is my secret."
+
+"But isn't he perfectly precious? Can I hold him?" begged Marygolden,
+turning round to have a better view.
+
+"Yes, but hold him tight," cautioned Speedy, and bade Stampedro stop
+while he transferred the little dog to Marygolden's arms. "He's a
+girl's dog anyway," he announced condescendingly, "and you can have him
+if you wish."
+
+"Oh, Speedy!" Hugging Confido with one arm and putting the other
+around Speedy to keep from falling off, Marygolden fairly squealed
+with delight, and Stampedro, with an impatient snort, bounded forward.
+Dusk had deepened into night, and long afterward Speedy remembered
+that thrilling gallop through the shadowy forest with only the faint
+moonlight and an occasional star to show them a path between the trees.
+But Stampedro, without one false turn or unnecessary step, brought them
+at last to the great horse chestnut tree.
+
+"Here we are! And better still, I can talk again," he cried, shaking
+his head until all the gold tassels on his armor danced in the wind.
+
+"Hurray!" shouted Speedy. "That's more like!" And patting Stampedro's
+curving neck, he slid to the ground and hurried over to the hollow tree.
+
+"Will'st alight, maiden?" said Peter Pun, tumbling after Speedy, and
+reaching up to help Marygolden. "Will'st alight in the dark, and
+shed the radiance of your beauty upon the gloomy scene?" Marygolden
+laughingly gave Peter her hand, and soon all three were peering into
+the hollow tree. Speedy, on his hands and knees, was feeling around
+with his flashlight for the magic stone.
+
+"It's here!" he cried, springing up so suddenly that he bumped his
+head. "It's here, and here it is!" Stepping out of the hollow tree, he
+placed the shining yellow stone in the palm of his hand and held it
+out to the others. Stampedro, who had dropped to his knees so that
+he could see into the tree better, bounded up with an excited little
+whinny.
+
+"Well, now that we have it, what shall we do with it, Smallfellow?"
+
+"Why, all we have to do is touch all the people who are enchanted,"
+explained Peter Pun, hopping round and round on one foot. "Touch that
+oak behind you, Speedy. I swear it winked at me just now."
+
+"But we can't go through the whole forest touching trees," objected
+Speedy. "Besides, we might miss some."
+
+"Well, what are we going to do?" asked the jester impatiently.
+
+"That's up to Confido," announced Speedy calmly. "Didn't you hear the
+Sultan say to-day that Confido knew everything? Like as not he knows
+the secret of all these transformations. That's why I brought him
+along, for now he can talk as well as listen, and tell us all he knows."
+
+"By the ears of my mother's cow!" sputtered Peter Pun, staring
+admiringly at Speedy. "You're a quick one!" Shrugging his shoulders
+carelessly but secretly thinking Peter was right, Speedy now turned to
+Confido.
+
+"Will you tell us how we can release the King of the Golden City and
+his subjects?" he asked coaxingly. "Surely you do not want them to be
+imprisoned in this forest forever. Will you tell us how the Sultan's
+evil spell may be broken?"
+
+"Woof!" barked the little dog sulkily. "Woof! Woof!"
+
+"Why, he cannot talk at all!" wailed Peter Pun, in bitter
+disappointment.
+
+"Oh, yes he can," insisted Speedy. "He just won't."
+
+"Speak, dog, or I'll flatten you under my foot!" trumpeted Stampedro,
+flashing his great eyes at the proud little Peke.
+
+"Let me ask him?" begged Marygolden, as Peter and Speedy reached
+angrily for the Imperial Puppy.
+
+"Darling," crooned the Princess, "you're going to be mine forever, and
+never have to listen to that savage old Sultan again. You shall have
+as many saucers of cream and chicken hearts as you wish and do just
+as you want, always. Couldn't you tell _me_ the little secret of the
+magic dates?" Cuddling the little dog under her chin, Marygolden looked
+pleadingly into his eyes. Now if there was one dish Confido relished
+above all others it was chicken hearts. Then, too, he had grown
+terribly tired of the whispering old Sultan and his eternal secrets,
+and now that he was to belong to this pretty girl, he decided there
+would be no harm in telling all he knew.
+
+"Yes, I could tell you," drawled the little dog in his condescending
+voice, "for I perceive that you are of royal blood. But these
+others----!" Sneezing violently to show his contempt for Peter and
+Speedy, Confido climbed on Marygolden's shoulder and whispered five
+words in her left ear.
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
+
+                      THE RESTORATION OF CORUMBIA
+
+
+"What did he say?" begged Speedy, hurrying up to the Princess.
+
+"First plant the date seed!" Solemnly Marygolden repeated the little
+dog's instructions.
+
+"That's easy enough," observed Speedy, and taking out his knife cut
+a small hole in the ground and dropped the yellow stone in. Covering
+the stone with earth, he jumped up expectantly. "What next?" Confido
+looked coldly through the boy and again whispered confidingly to
+Marygolden.
+
+"Pluck the six dates when they grow," directed the Princess, "for if
+any of the magic dates are lost, all will be restored by planting the
+seed of any one of them." A little patch of moonlight fell on the spot
+where the five watchers stood waiting for the magic seed to sprout.
+Speedy, growing impatient, took out his flashlight and knelt directly
+over the raised mound of earth. Before he could straighten up, there
+came a rip, tear, and rustle, and as Peter, Marygolden, and Stampedro
+started back, the heavy fronded head of a date palm, followed by the
+straight stout trunk of the tree itself, burst through the soil, and
+catching Speedy on the top shot up, up, and out of sight. In vain they
+all tried to catch a glimpse of their adventurous young comrade, but it
+was no use, for the palm soared above the tallest oaks in the forest.
+
+"Now see what you've done!" panted Stampedro, glaring at Confido, but
+Peter Pun held up his hand warningly.
+
+"Hark!" whispered the jester softly. "Hark! Troubles never come singly.
+Methinks we are pursued." True enough, heavy steps came thudding
+toward them, and the snap and crackle of twigs brushed by some heavy
+body.
+
+"Mount up! Mount up and we'll be off!" wheezed the Yellow Knight's
+horse. "'Tis the Sultan, no doubt, and all his men! Up with you! Up
+with you!"
+
+"And leave Speedy here all by himself?" wailed Marygolden, putting both
+arms round the palm tree.
+
+"Let us not fly until we see what manner of creature pursues," murmured
+Peter, peering fearfully into the shadows. "Hah, 'tis a camel," he
+continued, as a long neck was thrust into the rim of moonlight, "a
+camel, and like as not the Sultan."
+
+"It's Sir Hokus!" trilled Marygolden. "It's our very own Good Knight of
+Oz."
+
+[Illustration: "WHAT HO, EVERYBODY!"]
+
+"What ho, everybody! Everybody, what HO!" blustered Sir Hokus, as
+Camy, with a great rattling and tossing of saddle sacks, trotted into
+the circle around the palm tree. "And what dost thou here? All the
+way from the Sultan's castle I've followed the tracks of Stampedro,
+and at last I have found you all." With a weary sigh, he looked from
+one to the other. Then, suddenly missing Speedy, he peered anxiously
+over the Camel's hump. "Where's the boy?" he asked sharply. Without
+answering they pointed up at the palm tree. Then Marygolden and Peter
+together told how Speedy had escaped from Samandra, had cleverly stolen
+Confido and had discovered the whereabouts of the magic date seed and,
+following the little dog's directions, had been carried aloft with the
+magic palm.
+
+"How now, and we'll soon end this," grunted Sir Hokus, and tumbling
+without ceremony off Camy's back, he lifted his battle-axe. "I'll fell
+this monstrous tree."
+
+    "Stop! Stop! That were indeed a fell deed.
+    If he fell all that way,
+    He'd be smashed, 'lack-a-day!"
+
+"If you take _my_ advice," yawned the little dog, curling up more
+cozily in Marygolden's arms, "you'll do nothing." This brought a burst
+of indignation from Speedy's comrades, but as they stood arguing, the
+palm tree began to grow down, sliding silently into the earth like a
+great greased pole. As the leaves at the top came into view, and before
+they touched the ground, Speedy leapt from the center and the palm
+leaves were instantly swallowed up in the earth.
+
+"I've got them," panted the boy, triumphantly waving a bunch of ripe
+dates. "All six! Say, when did you come?" Rushing over to Sir Hokus,
+he clapped him joyfully on the back. "Say, now that we're all together
+nothing can molest us again!"
+
+"Right!" boomed Sir Hokus. "And with a lad like yourself to help, we'll
+soon have the King in his castle. A clever move to bring the little
+dog. Odds bodikens! You'll be knighted for this!"
+
+"But what happened to you?" breathed Speedy. "And is this really the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz?"
+
+"At your service," mumbled Camy, beginning to nibble at the twigs
+and smiling kindly between mouthfuls as Sir Hokus introduced Speedy,
+Marygolden, and Stampedro. "But I hope never to find myself in Samandra
+again. What a dumb place, and what a place to be dumb!"
+
+"I agree with you," whinnied Stampedro, pawing the earth at the very
+thought. "But tell us, Sir Knight, how you came off so successfully."
+
+"Easily enough," exclaimed Sir Hokus, leaning heavily on his lance.
+"Guided by my nose, which has ever been as keen as my sword, I soon
+located the Sultan's Camel Quarters. Knocking Samandrans right and
+left" (he gave a little pantomime of just how this had been done) "I
+called loudly for Camy, who immediately answered my hail. Though he
+could not talk I recognized his voice and soon had him loose. Then I
+headed straight for this forest, picking up the footprints of Stampedro
+soon after I left the castle, and came hot-foot after you."
+
+"You mean I came hot-foot," chuckled the Comfortable Camel, winking at
+Peter Pun.
+
+"Have it your own way," smiled Sir Hokus. "But here we all are, and now
+that we have the magic dates, let us proceed with the disenchantment of
+this King and his subjects. Then if yon villainous Sultan rides after
+us, there'll be plenty of good men to fight."
+
+"That's an idea," breathed Speedy. "I forgot about the Sultan. Now tell
+us, Confido, what do we do next?"
+
+"It's long past my bedtime," sniffed the pampered little Peke. "I
+don't see any cushions to sleep on, and why should I bother my head
+about this silly King and his subjects? He never did anything for me!"
+At this heartless speech Stampedro put back his ears, showed all his
+teeth, and had to be held by Sir Hokus to keep him from biting a piece
+out of the Imperial Puppy. And though Speedy and Peter Pun coaxed and
+commanded, Confido answered all their questions with yawns, and finally
+closing his eyes pretended to snore. Then Marygolden, giving him a
+little shake, began to whisper in his ear.
+
+"This King will no doubt reward you handsomely," promised the Princess
+recklessly. "He'll give you golden bowls, and collars, and anything you
+wish, if you release him from this cruel enchantment."
+
+"That's so," muttered Confido, opening his eyes and wriggling his nose.
+"I hadn't thought of that. And since _you_ have asked me, Princess,
+here goes. Take the smallest date," he directed, in his insolent little
+voice, "eat the date and bury the seed as you did before."
+
+"What?" cried Speedy impatiently. "All that to do over again?" Confido
+nodded. Speedy was not at all fond of ripe dates, but he was so curious
+to see what would happen that he swallowed it down without a murmur and
+buried the seed, this time a brilliant red stone, beneath a tall oak.
+Then, breathless and expectant, the little company of rescuers stood
+back to watch and listen.
+
+Of all his wonderful experiences, Speedy remembered the scene in the
+enchanted forest best. It seemed, while it was happening, like some
+strange, bewildering dream. For suddenly the murmur and whisper of the
+leaves became the murmur and whisper of many voices. The great oak
+dwindled and changed to a King so tall, straight, and handsome that
+a little cry of admiration burst from Speedy's lips. Oaks and pines
+all around them melted into Knights, hale, hearty, and splendid, with
+gleaming lances and shining armor. From the horse chestnut trees,
+stamping, prancing steeds charged in a glittering array, tossing their
+heads, whinnying, neighing, and calling joyfully for their riders.
+Stampedro was off in an instant, bounding here and there among the
+Knights, but finding nowhere the one he was seeking. Saplings, while
+Speedy and Marygolden gasped and marvelled, became laughing troops
+of merry children, old bent trees turned into councillors and wise
+men of the Court. Bushes became pages and seneschals bearing flaming
+torches. The willows by the river were the Queen and her ladies, in
+great green ruffs like Marygolden had worn, in velvet and lace and the
+long trailing dresses of long ago. One would have thought that not a
+tree would remain standing in the whole forest, but the enchanted ones
+were hardly missed. A sage bush became a sage, in fact. The lyre bush
+that had so puzzled Sir Hokus, was the King's minstrel, and striking
+his small harp he began instantly to sing. The trumpet vines became
+trumpeters, and while the little band of adventurers gazed in rapture
+and delight, the King found the Queen, and putting his arm around her,
+raised his hand for silence.
+
+[Illustration: IT SEEMED LIKE SOME BEWILDERING DREAM.]
+
+"Corumbians!" cried the King in his grave, deep voice. "By some
+unexplained miracle we have been released from our wearisome
+enchantment. Is my son, the Yellow Knight of Oz in this company?" There
+was a tense silence and everyone looked expectantly around, but the
+Yellow Knight neither spoke nor answered.
+
+[Illustration: THE WILLOWS WERE THE QUEEN AND HER LADIES.]
+
+"I know," cried the Queen, suddenly clapping her hands. "The Prince
+awaits us in the castle!"
+
+"To the castle! On to the castle!" roared the Corumbians, swarming
+round their Majesties.
+
+    "All the King's horses and all the King's men,
+    And all the King's court are together again!"
+
+mused Peter Pun, and breaking away from Sir Hokus and Speedy, he
+hurried over to the King and flung both arms about his knees. The
+King seemed as rejoiced to see Peter as the jester was to see him,
+and lifting him up embraced him heartily. Then Peter, for the moment
+serious and strangely dignified, turned from the King and called
+loudly. "Under yonder oak stand the liberators of us all: Speedy, a
+boy from far-off America, Sir Hokus of Pokes from the Emerald City, an
+enchanted Princess, the Comfortable Camel of Oz, and our own Stampedro!"
+
+"Don't forget me," barked Confido temperishly. "I'm about the most
+important person here!" But in the cheering and confusion following
+Peter's announcement, no one even heard the little dog. Marygolden,
+Speedy, and Sir Hokus were tossed up on the shoulders of the crowd and
+borne triumphantly to the Golden Castle. Two Knights led Camy, and two
+more walked beside Stampedro, and the flare of the torches, the blare
+of the trumpets, and neighing of the war horses made it a noisy and
+memorable march. As they entered the tumble-down and ruined courtyard,
+the page boys on the tower again blew upon their golden horns.
+
+"The salute to my son!" exclaimed the King of Corumbia breathlessly.
+"My son, the Yellow Knight, must be somewhere near." Scarcely noting
+the ruin and decay in his palace, the King rushed inside. A little
+silence fell upon the company as by the light of the torches they
+looked upon the wild and weedy castle. Softly the Queen began to weep,
+hiding her face in her long green veil. Seeing this, Speedy slid
+quickly from the shoulder of the Knight who carried him.
+
+"The same magic that restored your Majesty and your Majesty's subjects
+will restore the castle," he assured the Queen eagerly.
+
+"Yes, tell us what to do now, Confido," begged Marygolden from her high
+perch on another Knight's shoulder. "This small dog knows the secret of
+all the Sultan's enchantments," the Princess told them seriously, "and
+is going to help restore the castle."
+
+"Hola, for the Sultan's dog!" roared the Knights and courtiers, and
+cheered so loud and long that Confido felt that at last he was being
+properly valued and appreciated. And this time, without even waiting to
+be coaxed, he told what was to be done.
+
+"Let the King of Corumbia eat the smallest date on the stalk. Let a
+fire be kindled in the dining hall and the seed of the date cast into
+the fire," directed Confido, waving his paw commandingly. The King, by
+this time convinced that his son was not in the castle, had returned,
+and quickly followed the little dog's instructions. A fire was kindled
+by the servants in the great dining hall, and as the date seed fell
+upon the flames there came a crackling and trembling throughout the
+whole castle! Before the eyes of the assembled courtiers and Knights,
+the walls straightened, tapestries became shining and bright, rugs
+soft and whole. Flowers appeared in the vases, and the long oak table
+running down the center of the tall hall suddenly groaned under the
+weight of silver, china and a hundred tempting viands. From the
+kitchens came the odor of roasting meats and browning tarts. Everything
+was in a moment exactly as it had been five hundred years before, when
+the Sultan had cast his wicked spell over Corumbia. With a cry of
+pleasure and delight, the Queen seized Speedy's hand.
+
+"And now, gracious youth!" begged her Majesty. "Restore my son, and no
+more will I ever ask of thee."
+
+"Bring back the Yellow Knight!" trumpeted Stampedro, who had trotted
+into the palace and was standing with Camy beside the King. "I can no
+longer endure this separation." Speedy, as anxious as anyone to see
+this long missing Prince, turned quickly to Confido, but this time
+Confido regretfully shook his head.
+
+"The King's son cannot be disenchanted until morning! When the castle
+clocks strike ten, the Queen must eat the smallest of the remaining
+dates and fling the seed from the tallest tower. Then, and then only,
+will the King's son return."
+
+"Are you sure he will be safely restored to us?" asked the Queen.
+
+"As sure as I am of the reward I will receive from your gracious
+Majesties," murmured Confido, rolling his round little eyes at the King
+and his Royal Consort. Speedy and Peter exchanged amused glances at
+Confido's speech, but the King, after earnestly assuring the little dog
+of his willingness to bestow upon him anything whatsoever he desired,
+raised his right hand for silence.
+
+"As we must wait until morning before the last and final enchantment
+can be broken, let us feast and be merry while we wait. But first, let
+a guard be set around the castle, lest that rascally Sultan attack
+us in the night. These travellers," the King waved graciously in the
+direction of Speedy and his comrades, "these travellers have come a
+long way and have grown weary and hungry in our service. Let us refresh
+and entertain them and hear from their own lips the strange adventures
+which brought about our miraculous release."
+
+"'Tis a merry tale and wags like a donkey's ears," said the jester,
+shaking his belled stick gaily. "Tell them, Speedy, all that has
+happened to you and to us since you fell in the Skyrocket to
+Subterranea and discovered the Princess made of gold. And tell them,
+Sir Knight, all that happened since you set forth upon your quest and
+came into the enchanted forest yonder."
+
+"Nay! Nay! First let them eat and rest!" And moving toward the head
+of the long oak table, the King placed Speedy on his right, Sir Hokus
+on his left, and Marygolden beside the Queen. Stampedro and Camy had
+golden tables piled with ripe apples and crisp carrots, and Confido
+was given a golden bowl of cream and chicken hearts, and never in his
+proudest days in Samandra had the little dog been so fussed over and
+petted. When at last Speedy could eat no more, and the whole merry
+company could tuck away not even one more tart, the boy and Sir Hokus
+related their strange experiences and adventures. The Corumbians
+listened spellbound, and could one blame them? After questions,
+exclamations and praise enough to satisfy even Confido, the travellers
+expressed a desire for bed. So the King, calling loudly for lights,
+himself conducted them to the Royal Guest Chambers, and bade them an
+affectionate good-night. Marygolden and Confido had a little yellow
+room next to the Queen's own chamber. Sir Hokus and Speedy had a whole
+apartment in the tower, and Camy and Stampedro spent the night in
+the courtyard, exchanging strange experiences and boasting of their
+respective masters.
+
+"I wonder," sighed Speedy, giving his pillow a final thump, "why there
+are four dates left instead of three. It will take only one to restore
+the Yellow Knight. What about those others?" (I've been wondering that
+very thing myself, haven't you?)
+
+"I trust," wheezed Sir Hokus, just before he dozed off, "I trust that
+rascally Sultan will ride this way. There's nothing I should like
+better than a raging battle, in which I shall give myself the pleasure
+of tweaking his nose! Odds tarts and turnips! His NOSE!"
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
+
+                    THE RETURN OF THE YELLOW KNIGHT
+
+
+"This is the day we're going to see the Yellow Knight, Confido. Aren't
+you excited?" Marygolden hopped out of her canopied bed and fairly
+danced into the ruffled robe and flowered silk dress the Queen's lady
+in waiting had brought in to her.
+
+"Knights, yellow or red, mean nothing to me," yawned the little dog,
+rolling over lazily. "But I do wonder what the Sultan is doing by this
+time. I'll wager the old bore misses me like fury."
+
+"Why bother about him?" said Marygolden, combing her yellow curls
+briskly. "You belong to me, now. We're going to America and you need
+never return to Samandra at all. Don't you like me a little bit,
+Confido?"
+
+"Well, rather," admitted the little dog cautiously. "But you must carry
+me every place you go and see that I have plenty of cream and chicken."
+
+"All right," agreed Marygolden good-naturedly. "But come on, let's see
+what Speedy and Sir Hokus are doing." Tucking the Peke under her arm,
+Marygolden ran gaily down to the courtyard. Speedy and the Knight had
+been up for hours, and seated on a gold bench near a sparkling fountain
+were discussing the possibility of a surprise attack by the Sultan,
+and the probable uses of the remaining dates. It was astonishing to
+see the castle that but yesterday had lain so dusty and lifeless now
+bustling with sound and activity. Gardeners in quaint green coats were
+clipping the early roses, pages and footmen stepped importantly about,
+and everything was going on exactly as it had done five hundred years
+before, when the Sultan's transformations had taken place.
+
+"Well," mused Speedy, waving cheerfully to Marygolden, "as soon as the
+Yellow Knight is restored, we'd better be heading for the Emerald City.
+It's great fun here, but Uncle Billy must be dreadfully worried by this
+time, and I ought to be getting back. I'll certainly miss you and Peter
+and Stampedro, but there'll be Marygolden to remind me of Oz."
+
+"And a mighty sweet reminder," smiled Sir Hokus, rising gallantly as
+the little Princess dropped on the bench beside them. "Dids't rest
+well, maiden?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Marygolden, ruffling up Confido's soft fur. "But I
+can hardly wait to see the Yellow Knight. Is it almost time, Sir Hokus?"
+
+"Just one hour to ten," answered Sir Hokus, squinting up at the great
+clock on the tower. "Cans't wait that long, Princess?"
+
+    "Lords and Ladies now awaken,
+    Come to breakfast, buns and bacon,
+    Tarts and toast! What ho! What hey!
+    Will ye tarry here all day?"
+
+shouted Peter Pun, cartwheeling up to the bench.
+
+"Let's go now, while the bacon's hot," wheezed Confido, scratching
+Marygolden on the arm. "And don't forget my bowl of cream. Is there
+plenty of cream--thick, yellow cream, person?"
+
+"Barrels," Peter assured him gravely. "Cream for the Imperial
+Houndling!" called the jester, capering ahead of the visitors. "Cream
+in cups, saucers, and pudding bowls!" Breakfast, in spite of the
+anxiety of the King and Queen of Corumbia to see their son, was a
+sumptuous and merry affair. Speedy, his plate heaped with roast wild
+fowl, crisp buns, and fresh strawberry tarts, with a footman behind his
+chair to anticipate his slightest wish, reflected that there would be
+many times when he would miss all this castle and king stuff. The King,
+himself, was bubbling over with jollity, joking every other minute with
+Peter Pun; but the Queen scarcely ate a mouthful, and kept glancing
+nervously at the clock over the mantel. At ten minutes of the hour she
+could endure the suspense no longer.
+
+"Are you sure it was ten and not before?" she asked, looking anxiously
+at Confido, who was lapping up his fifth bowl of cream.
+
+"Quite sure," answered the Sultan's dog calmly. "But since your
+Highness must ascend to the tallest tower, perhaps you had better start
+ascending."
+
+[Illustration: THE MAGIC STONE STRUCK THE SILVER BREASTPLATE OF SIR
+HOKUS.]
+
+"Here's the date," said Speedy, handing the smallest one on the bunch
+to the Queen. "I'm going out into the courtyard with Stampedro," he
+cried, pushing back his chair. "Come on, Marygolden! Come on, Sir
+Hokus! Come on, Peter!" Followed by half the courtiers and servants,
+the three hurried out of the castle, and presently they gave a loud
+cheer, for high above their heads on the balcony of the castle's
+tallest tower, stood the King and Queen. Stampedro had been waiting
+for this hour since dawn, and fairly pranced with restlessness and
+impatience. As the golden bells in the tower started musically to toll,
+every face turned upward. Speedy and Marygolden, close to the Yellow
+Knight's charger, clasped hands nervously, and Sir Hokus, who held
+Stampedro's bridle, snatched off his helmet the better to see this long
+lost Prince of Corumbia. As the tenth stroke pealed from the tower,
+the Queen, who had already eaten the date, tossed the magic stone over
+the balcony rail. Like a falling star it sped downward, struck the
+silver breastplate of Sir Hokus of Pokes, and shivered into a hundred
+glittering fragments. The crowd, in a stupefied silence, stared at
+the Knight, when three shrill blasts sounded from the trumpets of the
+golden page boys on the top of the tower.
+
+"This," called the first, in a clear ringing voice, "this is Corum----"
+
+"Prince of Corumbia!" cried the second page.
+
+"And the Yellow Knight of Oz!" finished the third, and raising their
+trumpets together the pages blew one long, piercing blast. Then they
+stiffened into silence and were still. And where, now, was Sir Hokus
+of Pokes, the kind, friendly, gray old Knight of Oz? Speedy, with a
+queer sinking in his heart, rubbed his eyes and stared again. Standing
+at Stampedro's head was a sturdy young Knight with shining gold
+hair. A yellow plume rose from his gold helmet, and a yellow cloak
+floated from his broad shoulders. His eyes, blue and sparkling, looked
+impatiently over the crowd, which had broken into the wildest cheering
+and stamping. Feeling terribly confused and friendless, Marygolden and
+Speedy moved closer together, while the Comfortable Camel gave a groan
+of dismay. Without seeming to know or notice them, the Yellow Knight
+flung his arms round Stampedro's neck, and the great horse nickered and
+whinnied with joy. Waiting just long enough to embrace the King and
+Queen, who had hurried down from the tower, the Yellow Knight leapt
+into the saddle and raised his gleaming lance.
+
+"I remember where I was bound before this enchantment!" he cried
+boisterously. "I ride to win the hand of a neighboring Princess.
+Countrymen, farewell! I will return with my bride."
+
+"Oh!" gasped Marygolden. "Is he not of a marvelous handsomeness? Oh!
+Oh! He has forgotten all about serving me." And hiding her head on
+Speedy's shoulder, the Princess began to weep bitterly.
+
+"There, there!" said Speedy gruffly, shielding Marygolden from the
+press of the crowd. "What do you care about this fellow? You're coming
+to America with me."
+
+"But who'll show us the way?" wailed Marygolden, her tears falling
+thick and fast upon Confido's head. Speedy, not sure himself, stood on
+tiptoe to have a last look at the vanishing Knight, whom Stampedro had
+already carried to the gates, when he felt a tug at his coat. It was
+the Comfortable Camel, wild-eyed and furious.
+
+"Let's go after them," screamed the Camel. "Let's try those other dates
+and see whether we cannot save him from himself. Are we going to lose
+Sir Hokus of Pokes just to please these Corumbians? Climb up quickly,
+youngsters. I can run as fast as any horse in Oz. Climb up, and we'll
+bring him back again!" Not sure that they could, but unwilling to let
+the Yellow Knight ride away without a word, Speedy and Marygolden
+stepped on a bench and thence to the high seat between Camy's humps.
+Next instant there were two clouds of dust on the highway. And Camy was
+as good as his word, for though Stampedro had a long start, never once
+did they lose sight of his flying heels. Breathless and banged about,
+Speedy and the Princess hung on to the sides of the seat and to one
+another, while Confido growled and snarled at the awful discomforts
+of the ride. At first, Speedy thought they were going through
+Samandra, but skirting the Sultan's desert domain, the Knight rode
+through a pleasant pastoral valley filled with tumble-down and empty
+villages and towns, and after a sharp two-hour gallop came to a tall
+silver-trimmed castle. But it was as forsaken, forlorn, and deserted
+as the Castle of Corumbia had been the day before; every window was
+broken, and the courtyard was a wilderness of weeds. Dismounting
+slowly, the Yellow Knight looked sadly around, and as the Comfortable
+Camel came charging through the broken gateway he seemed scarcely to
+see him.
+
+"All gone," mused the Knight. "And yet, surely this was the day set for
+the grand test of skill and courage."
+
+"What are you talking about?" scolded Camy, panting and heaving with
+exhaustion. "Is this gratitude, I ask--running away from your old
+friends, and forgetting all about your former comrades? Come back to
+the Emerald City where you belong. You are Sir Hokus of Pokes and
+nobody else!"
+
+"Don't you remember us?" cried Speedy, while Marygolden extended her
+arms entreatingly. But Sir Hokus looked through and past them, and even
+when Stampedro tried to remind him of his former companions the Knight
+turned uneasily away.
+
+"I must see the Princess. Where is the Princess of Corabia?" he fumed,
+striding feverishly up and down the courtyard. "Where are the King and
+the Queen and all the others?"
+
+"In the river," barked Confido spitefully. "Where did you suppose?"
+
+"River?" sputtered the Knight, gazing fearfully at the stream running
+swiftly by the castle.
+
+"Certainly," sniffed the little dog, resting his chin on Marygolden's
+arm. "When the Sultan changed the Corumbians into trees and bushes, he
+turned the Corabians into fishes and frogs. If you want to catch the
+King, you'd better get yourself a line and a hook."
+
+"Then that's what the other dates are for," marvelled Speedy, dragging
+the three remaining dates from his pocket. "One to restore the
+Corabians, one to restore the castle, and----"
+
+"One to restore the Princess," finished Confido in a bored voice. "But
+why take all that trouble?"
+
+"Yes, why bother?" groaned the Comfortable Camel, leaning against a
+tree. "Hokus doesn't know nor care for us. Let's go back to the Emerald
+City and see whether Ozma can bring him to his senses."
+
+"But we really should help these poor people," sighed Marygolden,
+looking worriedly into the turbulent stream.
+
+"Yes," agreed Speedy thoughtfully. "We really should." The Yellow
+Knight had withdrawn, and so heard nothing of the conversation, but
+Stampedro, trotting up to the depressed little group, tried his best to
+cheer and comfort them.
+
+"The past must come before the present," he reminded them gently. "Give
+this young Knight time and he will remember you, and if you can help
+him further, I pray that you will. I, myself, will repay you and carry
+you back to America if need be, even though, once there, I may never
+speak nor see this fair land again." Touched by Stampedro's devotion
+to his master and his willingness to serve them, Speedy decided to
+break the last of the Sultan's evil spells. Confido, who seemed to
+take no interest one way or the other, drawled out instructions in a
+lazy voice, and Speedy, following these instructions, first ate the
+smallest date and cast the stone into the river. Instantly frogs' and
+fishes' heads in hundreds appeared above the surface of the water,
+changed as the watchers on the bank looked at them to people's heads,
+and presently as grand and colorful a company as had marched from the
+enchanted forest rose up out of the yellow river and proceeded quietly
+to the castle.
+
+Hurriedly seeking out the King, Speedy explained as quickly as he could
+how the Sultan's enchantment had been dispelled. The King, who, Speedy
+could not help thinking, still looked a little like a fish, embraced
+the boy heartily and promised him half the Kingdom as a reward. But
+making light of that, Speedy, who was anxious to see the castle
+restored, begged the King to eat the second date and cast the seed upon
+a newly kindled fire in the dining hall. This the King was willing and
+ready enough to do, and as miraculously and swiftly as the Castle of
+Corumbia had been restored, the Castle of Corabia resumed its former
+glory and splendor. Speedy and Marygolden liked it even better than the
+castle they had just left, for the Corabian castle was of silver and
+crystal, and glittered and sparkled like a palace of ice. Having so
+satisfactorily restored his castle, the King returned to the courtyard
+to address his subjects. The Yellow Knight, in a dazed silence, had
+watched all the changes taking place before his eyes, and now urging
+Stampedro forward, approached the raised dais where the King and Queen,
+Speedy and Marygolden had taken their places. Camy, kneeling behind the
+two, peered out at his former hero with blurred and tear-dimmed eyes.
+
+"I came to take my chance in the grand test of skill and courage for
+the hand of your daughter," cried the Yellow Knight, dipping the colors
+on his gold lance-tip to the King and Queen. At these words, four more
+Knights rode out from the crowd, repeating almost exactly the words of
+the Yellow Knight.
+
+"Gosh, these fellows must have been enchanted along with the
+Corabians," decided Speedy, helping Marygolden to a place on an
+overturned flowerpot so she could have a good view of the champions,
+"and this test must have been planned the very day the Sultan's magic
+took effect."
+
+"It was," snickered Confido, lifting his head curiously, "and what's
+more, the Princess is still enchanted and cannot be released until one
+of these Knights has passed the test and won the right to her hand. Ho,
+ho! Wait till they hear what the test is. They'll dash off in a hurry,
+even the brave Hokus, who pretends not to know us any more!"
+
+"I'll wager he won't," asserted Marygolden stoutly. "I'll wager he will
+win this Princess. Dear, dear, how happy she will be to marry a Prince
+so tall and handsome."
+
+"Sh--hh!" warned Speedy, touching her arm warningly. "The King is going
+to speak."
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER NINETEEN
+
+                      FOR THE HAND OF A PRINCESS
+
+
+"Knights and Princes!" The voice of the Corabian King sounded a trifle
+hoarse, due, no doubt, to his five hundred year immersion in the yellow
+river. "This grand test of courage for the hand of my only daughter,
+which has already been delayed five centuries by the meddling magic of
+our wicked neighbor, must be delayed still longer until the Princess
+herself has been disenchanted and restored to us. Has anyone present
+seen the Princess?" The King and Queen gazed searchingly over the heads
+of their assembled subjects, and Speedy, not wishing them to worry a
+moment longer than was necessary, stepped forward to explain.
+
+[Illustration: THE KING OF CORABIA.]
+
+"The Princess can only be released from the Sultan's spell by
+the winner of the contest," announced the King, after an earnest
+consultation with Speedy. "Kings! Knights! Princes! The fate of my only
+daughter is in your hands."
+
+"Let the contest proceed!" roared the crowd, and the five contestants
+immediately galloped forward.
+
+"State your conditions," puffed a Knight in green, holding his great
+white charger in check with difficulty.
+
+"Oh! Oh! I hope our Knight wins," breathed Marygolden, clasping the
+Comfortable Camel round the neck, and placing Confido high on the
+Camel's hump, so he could see.
+
+"Our Knight!" grumbled the Camel disdainfully. "Our Knight no longer!"
+But secretly and with great satisfaction he noted that the Yellow
+Knight was the handsomest of all the suitors.
+
+"Atta boy, Hokus!" shouted Speedy, as Stampedro galloped smartly to
+the fore. Then a deep silence fell on the company as the King rose to
+announce the conditions of the grand contest, and when he finished a
+little shiver ran through the crowd.
+
+"Beneath these three rings," the King told them, solemnly pointing to
+three brass rings in the silver flagstones at his feet, "there are
+three secret passageways. One opens into a bottomless pit filled with
+poisonous vapor, one into the cave of a seven-headed hydra, and one
+leads straight to the tower room of the Princess herself. Let each
+Knight choose his ring, and may the bravest among you win my daughter's
+hand!"
+
+"But what of the others?" objected the Knight in green. "An honest
+battle I do not mind, but bottomless pits and seven-headed hydras! Nay,
+not for the fairest damsel that lives!" Touching spurs to his horse, he
+thundered away, leaving everyone choking in the dust he had raised.
+
+"Poisonous vapor!" puffed a lordly fellow in red. "What chance has a
+brave man against such trickery? Adieu, I withdraw!" And withdraw he
+did, followed by a black Knight and a gray, who, without stopping to
+explain their reasons, cantered off so violently that they upset three
+guards and a stand of posies.
+
+"Curses!" muttered Speedy, staring anxiously at the Yellow Knight, who
+all alone stood staring down at the fatal rings. "Suppose he rides off,
+too?" But the Yellow Knight had no such intention, and with a shout
+that reminded the boy of his old friend, Sir Hokus, he sprang lightly
+from his horse.
+
+"The monster I will slay, and gladly, with the poisonous vapor I must
+take my chance, but this Princess must be saved at any cost, at any
+hazard, and come what may!"
+
+"Hola! Bravo!" screamed the company, beside itself with delight. "Three
+cheers for the Yellow Knight of Oz." Marygolden, excited as any, tore
+off the rose Peter Pun had fastened to her shoulder that morning, and
+flung it impulsively down to him. The rose fell directly over the
+center ring and the Knight, looking up in surprise, caught Marygolden
+smiling at him.
+
+"Good," he mused, thrusting the rose into his glove. "This little
+maiden whom I seem to know well, shall decide for me." And without
+pause or parley, he leaned forward and pulled up the center ring. There
+was a groan and creak as the trapdoor lifted, and the Corabians in the
+front ranks backed away as far as they could. But only a flight of
+silver steps led down from the opening, and as the Knight prepared to
+descend, the King lifted his scepter.
+
+"My son!" cried the King joyfully. "You have indeed chosen well, for
+this passageway leads straight to the tower of the Princess. But
+before you go to break the spell that cruelly keeps her from our
+presence, I beg that you will lift these other rings." Much mystified,
+the Corabians began to mutter that such a request was not fair nor
+necessary. But the Yellow Knight, after a keen look at his Majesty,
+lifted first one and then the other. A great roar of surprise and then
+mirth went up, for there was nothing under either ring but grass.
+
+"Odds muttons and buttons!" puffed the Yellow Knight, staring down in
+astonishment. "Was there, then, no monster or poisonous vapor at all?"
+
+"None," smiled the King calmly. "But the man to whom I would trust my
+daughter had to be brave enough to take a chance--to risk anything for
+her sake. That you have done. Those craven cowards who rode away might
+have done it also. And now go quickly and claim your reward." Stepping
+down from his throne, the King gave the Knight the last date that
+Speedy had plucked from the magic palm. "Eat this date," he directed
+earnestly, "place the seed upon the ledge of the tower balcony, and
+instantly the Princess will be restored to herself, to us, and to you,
+her future husband. Is that not right, Confido?" The little dog nodded
+superciliously, and with a little sigh of expectancy the crowd watched
+the Yellow Knight vanish down the steps of the secret passageway.
+
+"Well," said Speedy, squinting up at the balcony and feeling much as
+one does when the curtain is about to descend in the theater for the
+last time, "this clears up the last mystery, and after we see this
+Princess we might as well go home. Look, there's the Yellow Knight on
+the balcony now! He's eaten the date. Now I wonder whether the Princess
+will be pretty. I'll bet she's not as pretty as you are, Marygolden.
+Hey, say! Where did she go? Camy! Camy! Where's Marygolden?" But the
+Comfortable Camel was staring upward so intently that he did not even
+hear Speedy's question.
+
+"Rice! Soup and cobblestone pie!" gulped Camy, stretching up his neck
+to its fullest extent. "Do you see what I see?" Still looking anxiously
+around for Marygolden, Speedy glanced quickly aloft and then gave a
+startled scream.
+
+"Why, it's Marygolden! How did she get up there? Curses
+Mickapplejuice! How can Marygolden be the Princess of Corabia? I found
+her my own self. She's my Princess and is coming back to America with
+me!"
+
+"Guess again!" grunted the Camel dryly. As Speedy took another
+incredulous look, Marygolden put both arms round the Knight's neck and
+embraced him tenderly. Not since the Skyrocket flew off without Uncle
+Billy had Speedy felt so lost, strange, and forgotten.
+
+"Gosh! Golly!" gulped the boy, winking fast to keep back the tears.
+"Gosh! Golly! Camy, we're the only ones left. I don't suppose
+Marygolden will remember us any more than Hokus did. Come on, let's
+get out of here." But so great was the crush that they could not move
+a step. All around them the Corabians were stamping and shouting with
+joy, and presently Marygolden and the Yellow Knight came down to greet
+the cheering throng. And now, to make matters worse, who should arrive
+but the King and Queen of Corumbia and Peter Pun in a white chariot
+drawn by twenty white horses. And then what a rejoicing and embracing
+between the two kingly couples, so long separated by the Sultan's
+enchantments! Marygolden, in her gold court dress and train, looked so
+tall and stately that Speedy could not believe she was the same girl
+who had gone through so many strange adventures with him. The Princess,
+after heartily embracing her parents and the parents of the Yellow
+Knight, began to look searchingly over the heads of the courtiers,
+and not seeing Speedy, who had stepped behind a silver pillar, spoke
+quickly to a page at her side. Blowing a shrill blast on his silver
+trumpet the page called loudly.
+
+"Will the liberator of the Corumbians and the Corabians, the discoverer
+of Princess Marygolden, and the gentlest and bravest youth in twenty
+kingdoms be pleased to step forward? Speedy, the American, and the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz kindly step this way. Way for Speedy and the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz!" Speedy, turning red as a turkeycock, backed
+in embarrassment, but the crowd, quickly recognizing the boy who had
+given the magic dates to the King, boisterously pushed him forward,
+Camy treading in a dignified manner behind him. Then, to his surprise
+and delight, both the Princess and the Yellow Knight hurried forward to
+clasp his hands.
+
+"Speedy!" cried the Knight, his eyes lighting up with the same kindly
+twinkle that had characterized Sir Hokus. "And Camy! Good old Camy!
+That enchantment acted upon me like a fever. Forgive me, if in the
+excitement of the present, I for a moment forgot the friends and
+allegiances of the past. Odds bodikens! I was bewitched, or I would
+have known Marygolden long ago."
+
+"Soon as I kissed him he remembered everything," smiled the Princess,
+lifting Confido to a place on her shoulder. "Ah, Speedy, is it not
+wonderful? I, too, remember everything now. This is my real home and
+happiness, but I'll never forget the adventures we had together, nor
+the grand care you took of me when I scarce knew anything at all."
+
+"Do you mind so very much if I take care of her now?" begged Sir Hokus
+in an anxious undertone. "You wouldn't want to marry for years, and a
+Princess might not be happy in America."
+
+"I suppose not," sighed Speedy, staring up at the bewildering vision
+of loveliness that was Marygolden. "But I sorta wanted to show her my
+dog, and Uncle Billy's laboratory, and--and----" All at once Speedy
+was dreadfully homesick for a sight of Uncle Billy himself, for the
+pungent tang of Uncle Billy's pipe, and the queer smelling chemicals in
+the inventor's workshop. For the first time he felt out of place amid
+all this pomp and splendor. "I guess I'll be going along," sighed
+Speedy, with a last, long, regretful look at the Princess.
+
+"And I suppose, now that you have Stampedro, you'll not be needing me,"
+choked the Comfortable Camel, bobbing his head sadly at the splendid
+figure of the Knight. "Good--good-bye! I'm going to take Speedy to the
+Emerald City and ask Ozma to send him home to America, and then--and
+then----" Camy tried hard to control himself but finally broke down and
+wept bitterly.
+
+"Then you're coming straight back to Corumbia. Camy, Camy, you old son
+of a sandwich, d'ye think I could get along without you? Why, I'll need
+dozens of mounts! And besides, aren't you my best friend? And Speedy,
+my boy, surely you'll stay for the wedding?"
+
+"And the reward!" puffed the King of Corabia, thumping Speedy heartily
+on the back. "Half my kingdom if you will stay with us!"
+
+"And mine!" asserted the King of Corumbia, while Peter Pun begged
+Speedy to stay and share his tower.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't stay always!" explained the boy quickly. "But I'd like
+to stay for the wedding! Shall we, Camy?" The Camel, who was crying
+comfortably down the Knight's back, nodded without speaking, and as
+Sir Hokus insisted that the marriage take place at once they all turned
+toward the castle.
+
+But before they had gone a step there came a sudden and blinding flash
+of lightning. It played over the whole company, but settled like a
+spotlight upon the Yellow Knight and the Comfortable Camel of Oz.
+
+"Mmm-magic!" stuttered Peter Pun, jumping behind the King of Corumbia.
+"Sss-somebody's making light of us."
+
+"The Sultan!" burst out Speedy, rushing to the Knight's side. "What'll
+we do?" But before Sir Hokus (and somehow I cannot call this Yellow
+Knight anything but that) before Sir Hokus could draw his sword, the
+flash of light faded away. Then, as everyone began to breathe easily
+again, there came a second flash; two flying figures sailed over the
+heads of the crowd and dropped lightly before Marygolden and the Yellow
+Knight.
+
+"Why, it's Ozma!" quavered the Comfortable Camel, lifting his head from
+the Knight's shoulder.
+
+[Illustration: "WHY, IT'S OZMA!"]
+
+"Whose ma?" queried Peter Pun, coming out from behind the King. "Why,
+she's a mere child and no ma at all."
+
+"She's the ma of this whole country, just the same," asserted Camy,
+shaking his head proudly. "Three cheers for Ozma of Oz and Princess
+Dorothy, her best friend and advisor!" The Corabians, although hoarse
+from cheering already, gladly gave three more. And concealing perfectly
+their consternation and surprise at the strange manner and suddenness
+of her arrival, the rulers of Corumbia and Corabia, with bows, murmurs,
+and many graceful genuflections, greeted the Supreme Sovereign of their
+whole magic and mysterious country.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER TWENTY
+
+                      THE MARRIAGE OF MARYGOLDEN
+
+
+The Wizard of Oz, as you have probably surmised, had finally perfected
+his searchlight. First it had discovered the magic picture stuck behind
+some books in Ozma's library. Sir Hokus himself had hidden the picture
+before he started on his quest, for he knew if it was in its place he
+would soon be found and followed. Then the searchlight, shot from the
+top of the castle tower, had flashed back with the whereabouts of the
+Comfortable Camel and Sir Hokus. No sooner had Ozma discovered that
+they were in Corabia than she clasped on her magic belt and transported
+herself and Dorothy to that Kingdom.
+
+[Illustration: THE WIZARD AND HIS SEARCHLIGHT.]
+
+"Here's Camy!" gasped Dorothy, somewhat breathlessly returning the
+bows of their Majesties. "But I don't see Sir Hokus. Well, anyway, the
+searchlight has found Camy."
+
+"Found us both," corrected the Camel grandly. "There stands Sir Hokus
+of Pokes, really the Yellow Knight and Prince of Corumbia, with his
+bride, the Princess of Corabia. These, your Highness," Camy jerked
+his head respectfully in the direction of the Kings and Queens, "are
+the Sovereigns of Corumbia and Corabia and this boy, this excellent,
+courageous and adventurous American boy, is called Speedy, and in him
+you see the restorer of two kingdoms and a Prince, and the discoverer
+of a Princess!"
+
+"How about me?" coughed Confido sharply. "I guess I'm as important as
+he is!"
+
+"The Imperial Peke of Samandra, now official pet of Princess
+Marygolden," added Camy, with a broad wink at Peter Pun. Ozma smiled
+and nodded at each introduction but was so stunned and dazzled by the
+change in Sir Hokus of Pokes that she could for several moments find no
+words to express her astonishment.
+
+[Illustration: OZMA WAS STUNNED BY THE CHANGE IN SIR HOKUS.]
+
+"Is it really you?" she begged finally, standing on tiptoe to put her
+hands on the Knight's shoulder. "Yes, I can tell by the eyes. The eyes
+are the same. But wherever have you been and why did you go off without
+us? We have been so anxious and worried."
+
+Sir Hokus blushed and looked uncomfortable.
+
+"Because a Knight must go questing alone!" explained Camy, coming
+valiantly to the rescue. "And has it not been worth some worry, to have
+everything turn out so happily? Wait, just wait till you have heard our
+story!"
+
+"Why wait?" cried the King of Corabia, who was consumed with curiosity
+to discover how Speedy had come to have the magic dates. "Why wait? Let
+us hear everything now."
+
+    "A story! A story! Enchantments and glory!
+    Ye Knights and ye Ladies, give ear--
+    Attend and turn pale, as ye list to the tale
+    Of Sir Hokus and Speedy. Hear! Hear!"
+
+roared Peter Pun, shaking his belled stick hilariously. Ozma and
+Dorothy were only too anxious to hear, and when silver chairs had been
+brought for them by the footmen, the Yellow Knight and Speedy told the
+story of their exciting experiences from beginning to end. Ozma, like
+Speedy, could not help feeling a little sad to lose Sir Hokus. The Good
+Knight of Oz would be sadly missed at the castle. But she knew it would
+be selfish to wish for her old friend instead of this young and shining
+Knight, so happy in his release and future. As she sat musing over the
+whole strange story, Dorothy jumped up and impulsively kissed both the
+Knight and his bride.
+
+"I understand everything," cried Dorothy, flinging out her arms,
+"everything except how Sir Hokus got to Pokes and Marygolden to
+Subterranea. How do you suppose they did, Ozma?"
+
+"That," said Ozma, her lovely face suddenly growing grave, "we shall
+soon discover!" And touching her magic belt she spoke seven words
+under her breath. Speedy, who had dropped on a cushion beside Peter
+Pun, bounded up with a cry of alarm. The Yellow Knight jerked out his
+sword, and little gasps of dismay and curiosity burst from the lips of
+the onlookers. There, before Queen Ozma, stood the Sultan of Samandra,
+brought by the magic belt to answer for his crimes. At the moment of
+his summons, the fat and furious monarch had been riding at the head
+of his camel corps to attack the King of Corumbia. In his hand he still
+brandished a large, gleaming scimiter, and his face, distorted with
+rage, astonishment, and disappointment, was not pleasant to gaze upon.
+
+"Drop that weapon," commanded Ozma sternly, and after one quick glance
+the Sultan, recognizing the Ruler of all Oz, sulkily did as he was told.
+
+"Now," continued Ozma severely, "will you kindly explain why you stole
+the treasures of your two good neighbors and enchanted and transformed
+them and their children for five hundred years?"
+
+"If the children of these two monarchs married, as they fully intended
+to do, the two Kings would have combined to crush me," whined the
+Sultan, shifting from one foot to the other.
+
+"Nonsense!" blustered the King of Corumbia. "You know I had always the
+kindliest feelings toward you, nor ever suspected such base treachery
+at your hands."
+
+"Were you the Black Knight who challenged Sir Hokus to combat the
+day he rode out to win the Princess of Corabia?" asked Ozma. Without
+meeting her eye, the Sultan nodded.
+
+"And did you, by yellow and forbidden magic, send Sir Hokus to Pokes
+and change Marygolden to a statue and give her into the keeping of the
+Shah of Subterranea?" Again the Sultan nodded, and suddenly catching
+sight of Confido nestling in the Princess' arms, gave a shriek of rage
+and jealousy.
+
+"Wretch!" shrilled the Sultan. "Perfidious puppy, you have betrayed
+me!" Then, realizing he was in the power of a Fairy powerful enough to
+destroy him utterly, he grew still and rigid and gazed unhappily at the
+floor.
+
+"What shall be done to this wicked person?" sighed Ozma, looking
+thoughtfully at the rulers of Corumbia and Corabia. "You who have
+suffered through his treachery shall pronounce his sentence." At this
+the Sultan trembled so violently that his heavy gold necklaces and
+anklets rattled like a prisoner's chains.
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed the Corabian monarch, looking over at the King of
+Corumbia. "What say you, neighbor?"
+
+"Well," puffed the King of Corumbia, rubbing his chin thoughtfully,
+"this villain has robbed us of five hundred years, but, on the other
+hand, doubtless saved us from that many toothaches and hair-cuts.
+Suppose we ask Queen Ozma to take away all his magic powers and
+appliances, force him to return all that he has stolen, and for five
+hundred years to stay within the boundaries of his own country?"
+
+"Good enough," agreed the King of Corabia, and while Speedy and Peter
+Pun and some of the others who thought the Sultan had got off far too
+easily looked a bit disappointed, Ozma with a few magic passes rendered
+all of the Sultan's spells and wizardry useless. Then, as his presence
+spoiled the view and good spirits of an otherwise cheerful and charming
+company, she instantly transported him back to Samandra where he is
+doubtless complaining to Tuzzle or bullying the Grand Bozzywoz at this
+very moment. Confido and Camy without a quiver saw their former master
+vanish away. Then, with a satisfied sniff, Confido dozed off in the lap
+of the Princess, dreaming of all the gold bowls and collars he should
+require of the two Kings as a reward.
+
+At high noon the marriage of Marygolden was solemnized with much
+merriment and magnificence. Speedy, in a suit of silver satin, with
+knee breeches and silver buckles on his shoes, looked, if not as tall,
+quite as fine as the bridegroom himself. Stampedro and Camy were
+decked out in enormous collars of roses in honor of the bride, and
+with so many Royalties present it was an affair long talked of and
+remembered by those lucky enough to be present. Sir Hokus, recalling
+his threatened wedding in Marshland, smiled with satisfaction and
+happiness, for here, surely, was all the music, gaiety, beauty, and
+pomp a Knight could ask for, and a bride so fair and lovely that he
+wished himself a thousand times braver and more handsome than he was.
+Ozma and Dorothy, cheered by the prospect of an early visit from the
+royal couple, found themselves growing as fond of the Yellow Knight as
+they had ever been of Sir Hokus; for in spite of his youth and gaiety
+he was really the same gentle, thoughtful, delightful person he had
+been always.
+
+Speedy, looking down the long table lined with fine, friendly faces,
+realized that it was going to be hard to say good-bye. The boy from
+America had been knighted by both Kings and each had earnestly begged
+him to live always in the Land of Oz, but when the last song had been
+sung and the last toast to the bride had been given, Speedy leaned over
+and spoke a few words to Ozma. He found he could not say good-bye at
+all and wanted to slip away unnoticed and remember the bluff, merry
+company just as it was now.
+
+"Tell them I'll come back," he whispered to Ozma. "Be sure to tell
+them that, but now I must be going home." Ozma, with an understanding
+nod, touched her magic belt. One by one, like figures in a dream, the
+courtly company faded out and next thing Speedy knew he was curled up
+on the old leather sofa in Uncle Billy's workshop.
+
+"Why, hello!" said the inventor, looking up from a smoking test tube.
+"So there you are! I thought you'd be back soon. I knew nothing serious
+could happen to a nephew of mine."
+
+"Did you, Uncle Billy, now, did you?" Vastly complimented, Speedy
+jumped up and gave him a regular bear hug. "But listen," he crowed
+excitedly. "Nothing serious did happen, but _boy_ haven't I had neat
+fun?" And with the words tumbling out faster than water from a sieve,
+Speedy recounted the whole thrilling story of his adventures in the
+Skyrocket and afterward.
+
+At each astounding happening, Uncle Billy, who had dropped into an old
+leather rocker, edged closer, so that by the time Speedy finished they
+were knee to knee, staring tensely into each other's faces.
+
+"I'm building another torpedo ship," declared Uncle Billy, feeling
+around in his pocket for his pipe. "I was going down to rescue you, but
+since you are here, we can go to Mars or any other place you say when
+the new ship is finished." Speedy, his arm on the edge of the sofa and
+his chin resting in the palm of his hand, looked dreamily through the
+smoke of Uncle Billy's pipe.
+
+"Well?" questioned the inventor, puffing away vigorously. "A penny for
+your thoughts, my boy!"
+
+"I was thinking," sighed Speedy slowly and thoughtfully, "I was
+thinking that Mars would seem sorta dull after Oz."
+
+"Ho! In that case," chuckled the inventor, who had been thinking the
+same thing himself, "perhaps we'd better go to OZ!" And someway,
+sometime, somehow, I believe they will, boys and girls, don't you?
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78637 ***
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+      The Yellow Knight of Oz | Project Gutenberg
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78637 ***</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop">
+  <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+
+<h1>The YELLOW KNIGHT of OZ</h1>
+
+<p class="ph1">By RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON</p>
+
+<p>Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories<br>
+By 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.</p>
+
+<p>Chicago<br>
+New York</p>
+
+<p>COPYRIGHT 1930<br>
+<i>by</i><br>
+The REILLY &amp; LEE CO.</p>
+
+<p>All Rights reserved</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/tp.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b4.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="ph2"><i>Dear Boys, and Dear Girls</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">The tip top of the year to you!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Good times and wishes!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Grand fun and good cheer to you!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And in this new book</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Full of merry Oz folks</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">You may read of the quest</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Of Sir Hokus of Pokes—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Of a strange Yellow Knight</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And Stampedro, his horse.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">There's a wicked old Shah,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And a Princess, of course.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">I know I'll enjoy</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">All the letters you'll write</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">When you've finished the tale</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Of this jolly old Knight.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">What ho and what hey!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">For adventures, I say!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And I'll write you some more</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In a year and a day. (Really.)</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="ph2">RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.</p>
+
+<p class="ph2">254 S. Farragut Terrace, West Philadelphia, Penn.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b5.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b6.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="ph2">This book is dedicated to<br>
+my very dear<br>
+and very little<br>
+Aunt Gertrude!</p>
+
+    <p class="ph2"><i>Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1930</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b7.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table>
+<tr><td class="tdr">1</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_ONE">Sir Hokus Plans a Quest</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">2</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWO">The Knight's First Adventure</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">3</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_THREE">Queen Marcia of Marshland</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">4</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOUR">Ploppa and Sir Hokus Escape</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">5</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIVE">Concerning a Camel</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">6</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIX">Tuzzle at the Court of Oz</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">7</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVEN">The Cruise of the Skyrocket</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">8</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHT">A Golden Princess</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">9</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINE">Sir Hokus Meets an Old Friend</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">10</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_TEN">The Deserted City</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">11</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_ELEVEN">The Knight Loses His Camel</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">12</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWELVE">Camy at the Sultan's Court</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">13</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_THIRTEEN">King of the Quix!</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">14</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">The Enchanted Forest</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">15</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">Five Travellers Meet</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">16</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">Speedy in Samandra</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">17</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">The Restoration of Corumbia</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">18</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">The Return of the Yellow Knight</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">19</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINETEEN">For the Hand of a Princess</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tdr">20</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY">The Marriage of Marygolden</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b8.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b9.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/b2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_ONE"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER ONE</h2>
+
+<h3>SIR HOKUS PLANS A QUEST</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I am minded," said Sir Hokus of Pokes, drawing aside the green
+curtains and looking out over the sparkling towers and spires of the
+Emerald City of Oz—"I am minded to go on a quest!"</p>
+
+<p>"Quest?" shouted Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, hand-springing over the
+sofa, capering up to the Knight, and collapsing in front of him with a
+giggle. "What manner of quest, Sir Knight? Request or conquest?</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Methinks we'll go upon a quest</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">East, North, or South, Sir Hoke, or West?</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">To slay a dragon? Or what ho!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">What hey! What say? When do we go?"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"We!" Dropping the curtain, Sir Hokus looked sternly at the Patchwork
+Girl, then striding over to a small sofa sat solemnly down beside
+Dorothy, a little girl from Kansas and a Princess of Oz. The Knight and
+several more of Dorothy's friends were spending the evening in her cozy
+apartment in Ozma's palace.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait till Monday," smiled Dorothy, looking up from a book she was
+reading. "Wait till Monday and I'll go with you."</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Next week a questing we will go;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">I'll break the news to those below,"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>chortled Scraps with a gay bounce.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't break all the furniture while you're about it," warned
+Dorothy, as the Patchwork Girl vaulted easily over the sofa and fell
+through the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I do hope my blue dress will be finished in time," exclaimed Trot,
+clasping her hands eagerly.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Can I take Hank?" inquired Bettsy Bobbin, who was extremely fond of
+the little mule she had brought from America. At this, Sir Hokus looked
+thoughtfully at his boots.</p>
+
+<p>"In my day," mused the Knight mournfully, "maidens remained quietly at
+home, doing household tasks, embroidering, watching from towers, and so
+on——"</p>
+
+<p>"How stuffy!" sniffed Bettsy Bobbin, sliding carefully into his lap,
+which his armor made rather hard and uncomfortable. "How old-fashioned.
+Now don't be quaint! What fun is it watching from a tower? And this
+embroidery and so on that you talk about ruins the eyes, and you know
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well," rumbled Sir Hokus, looking uneasily into Bettsy's
+bright eyes, "I see no signs of ruin here, but let us speak of this
+to-morrow," and setting Bettsy gently on the floor, he bowed to all
+three girls and went clanking down the gold-flagged hallway muttering
+unhappily to himself. "Odds fish and funnels! Why did I ever mention
+this quest? Before morning every man, maiden, child, and kitten in the
+castle will know of it. Go to, now! It is too bad! Go <i>too</i>, now! Why,
+that's just what they'll all want to do. 'Twill be a parade and no
+quest at all. By my Knight shirt, it is too much!" Reaching his great
+stone chambers, Sir Hokus leaned against his four-post bed and stared
+gloomily at a picture of his friend the Scarecrow on the opposite wall.
+And his fears, let me tell you, were well founded, for news travels
+fast in the Emerald City, especially good news. In less than an hour
+there was not a soul in that whole merrie castle who had not heard
+from Scraps that the Good Knight of Oz was about to fare forth upon an
+adventure.</p>
+
+<p>In his tower room, Tik Tok, the machine man, marched sternly to and
+fro, practising thrusts and parries with an old cane. The Soldier with
+Green Whiskers began to brush his beard vigorously and try to recall
+what he had done with his sword, his musket, and his military brushes.
+The little Wizard of Oz, in his laboratory back of the throne room,
+took down his bag and began rubbing his hands briskly as he sorted
+out the magic appliances best suited to a perilous adventure. Even
+Dorothy's pink kitten stopped washing her face long enough to decide
+which bow she would wear upon this grand and exciting occasion.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Now Oz, as nearly everyone knows, is the happiest Kingdom out of the
+world, a Kingdom so unfashionable, informal and jolly, that Queen Ozma
+thinks nothing of jumping rope, and even the most important court
+officials play tag and croquet in the gardens after tea. Perhaps this
+is because the Ruler of Oz is a girl, a fairy, to be sure, but such an
+unassuming, gracious fairy that no one feels frightened or embarrassed
+by her power or importance. Yet, Ozma of Oz is both powerful and
+important. Important enough to govern the four great countries of her
+realm wisely and well, powerful enough to overcome all her enemies
+and keep her people contented and happy. Of all the fairy cities in
+enchanted countries anywhere, there is none to compare with Ozma's
+capital. Its streets sparkle and twinkle with emeralds; the towered
+green castle, set in a lovely flowering park, shines and glows with
+the same precious gems, casting a radiance that can be seen for miles
+on all sides. And to her castle Ozma has called the most celebrated
+and interesting of her subjects. In a magical country like Oz, where
+wizards, witches, and fabulous monsters still abound, there are certain
+to be unusual and amazing characters. But Ozma is fondest of Dorothy,
+Bettsy and Trot, three young girls from the United States, who reached
+the Emerald City at different times after bewildering adventures in
+her fairy Kingdom. All three found life there so exciting and gay that
+they have never returned to America at all, and living in the palace
+with the Queen they advise her in all important matters of state, and
+accompany her on all of her visits and adventures.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Dorothy, having come first, has had more strange experiences than
+almost anyone else, and has discovered a great many of the Oz
+celebrities. On her first trip she found the Scarecrow, a delightful
+straw-stuffed person who spends half of his time in the capital and
+the other half in a splendid corn-ear castle near the Royal Residence
+of his friend the Tin Woodman. Nick is a woodman entirely of tin,
+another of Dorothy's discoveries, and so kind and dependable that Ozma
+has made him Emperor of the East and Ruler of the Winkies. Nick's only
+worry is that his joints will rust, and no one thinks it odd that he
+carries an oil can wherever he goes and often stops in the middle of a
+conversation to lubricate his jaws. Tik Tok, on the other hand, is made
+of copper and was manufactured by a firm of magicians to be a slave
+to the King of Ev. The machine man is guaranteed to last a thousand
+years and can walk, talk, think and do everything but live. Dorothy
+found Tik Tok locked in a cave, and releasing the copper man, brought
+him to the Emerald City, where he is greatly admired and respected.
+Like Tik Tok, the Patchwork Girl is of magic origin, too, having been
+intended for a servant by her owner. Made from an old patchwork quilt,
+stuffed with cotton by a wizard's wife, Scraps was brought to life by
+the wizard's Powder of Life. But so much cleverness and fun got into
+Scraps' make-up that she refused to work and, taking an unceremonious
+leave of her master, ran off to the capital. Wherever Scraps happens
+to be, there is always plenty of fun and excitement. Then, along with
+the interesting people in the Emerald City, there are many amazing
+animals, every one of them able to talk as fast as you can. There are
+the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, an Iffin, a glass cat, and so many
+more it would never do to start telling you about them. Indeed, when I
+start talking about the celebrities at Ozma's court I never <i>do</i> know
+when to stop. To describe them all would take about three days and as
+you probably have not that long to listen, and know most of them as
+well as I do, I'll not try, but shall get back to Sir Hokus of Pokes
+and his quest. Not much is known of the early history of this brave
+Knight except that for five centuries he was imprisoned in the Kingdom
+of Pokes, until he was rescued by Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion not so
+long ago. Since then he has lived in the capital and has been of great
+assistance to Ozma in the wars and uprisings that disturb her peaceful
+Kingdom from time to time.</p>
+
+<p>To some, five centuries might seem to make a man a bit ancient, but
+in Oz, where no one ever really grows old, it is just middle-aged,
+and Sir Hokus can hold his own with any of the young fellows in the
+castle. Hearing a great buzz and clatter beneath his windows, the Good
+Knight looked out and saw fifty of Ozma's gay courtiers drilling under
+the lime-drop trees with more than half the palace servants treading
+earnestly behind them. Learning from Scraps that Sir Hokus was about
+to start upon a quest, they, too, had decided to accompany him. In the
+royal stables the excitement was no less. The Sawhorse, Ozma's little
+wooden steed, magically brought to life, was quite certain he would be
+chosen for the Knight's charger.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Who," whinnied the Sawhorse proudly, "can travel so fast or so
+far as I, without food, rest, or water?" The Cowardly Lion and the
+Hungry Tiger exchanged knowing glances, for they felt that Sir Hokus
+would much prefer a soft seat upon their backs. Hank, Bettsy's mule,
+explained to everyone in a loud bray that if Bettsy Bobbin were going
+he was going, and the voices of the Comfortable Camel and the Doubtful
+Dromedary grew positively shrill when anyone suggested that they might
+be left behind.</p>
+
+<p>"Hokus is our dear discoverer. He found and brought us to the Emerald
+City and would not think of going on a quest without us," quavered the
+Comfortable Camel, rolling his eyes appealingly at Hank.</p>
+
+<p>"You eat too much," sniffed the little mule. "And hee, haw! Hee, haw!
+You wobble too much!"</p>
+
+<p>"You bray too much," put in the Doubtful Dromedary, coming to the
+rescue of his friend. "And don't you get hee haughty with me, sir!"
+And so they argued back and forth, till even the family of mice in the
+hayloft knew Sir Hokus was going upon a quest, and the tiniest member
+had resolved to slip in the Knight's boot and go, too.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch1e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Nothing else was talked of at dinner that night in the palace, and
+so interested were Ozma, Dorothy, and the others, that they scarcely
+noticed that Sir Hokus himself said never a word and ate hardly
+a mouthful. Indeed, right in the middle of an argument as to the
+advisability of taking water-proofs or just heavy coats, the Knight
+tiptoed off to his own apartment and flung himself wearily down on a
+stone bench.</p>
+
+<p>"It's not that I don't want them!" groaned Sir Hokus sadly, "but how,
+with an army like that, can I hope to rescue a damsel, slay a dragon,
+or challenge a giant to mortal combat? And how shall I know that I am
+still brave and fit to do battle with fabulous monsters? The Wizard's
+magic will overcome all our difficulties, Scraps' verses will make even
+the enemy laugh, and with so many maidens, how can I hope for a proper
+fight? I would not mind just Dorothy or Ozma, but everyone in the
+castle! Odds black and blue fish! It is too much!" Folding his arms,
+Sir Hokus glared at a large calendar on his wall, then suddenly smote
+his hands joyfully together. Three days before Monday, the day set by
+Dorothy for the quest. Three days!</p>
+
+<p>"Hah!" breathed the Knight gleefully, and again, "Hah!" Snatching up
+his battle-axe and seizing his second best helmet from its hook behind
+the door, he trod softly into the hall and down a little-used stairway
+to the garden.</p>
+
+<p>And while preparations for his quest went merrily forward, Sir Hokus
+himself, without even one sandwich or extra suit of armor, marched
+grimly through the night.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_TWO"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER TWO</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE KNIGHT'S FIRST ADVENTURE</h3>
+
+
+<p>Walking rapidly, Sir Hokus soon reached the outskirts of the Emerald
+City and paused on the edge of a small wood to consider the next step
+of his journey. In which of the four countries of Oz would he be most
+likely to find a maiden in distress, a monarch in need of his trusty
+sword, or a monster ferocious enough to engage in mortal combat?</p>
+
+<p>Should he go to the North, into the purple land of the Gillikins and
+offer his services to Joe King, and Queen Hyacinth? Or into the red
+Quadling Country where Glinda, the Good Sorceress, ruled over the
+turbulent tribes of the South? To the West stretched the blue realm
+of the Munchkins with its wonderful Sapphire City and newly appointed
+sovereign, Cheeriobed the First. Should he go there? To the East lay
+the yellow domain of the Winkies ruled over by the Tin Woodman, and
+after looking thoughtfully in each direction, Sir Hokus turned his
+steps toward the East. It was in the Winkie Country that he had been
+first discovered by little Dorothy and in this strange and enchanted
+Empire he hoped to learn something of his former history.</p>
+
+<p>During his five century imprisonment in Pokes, Sir Hokus had lost
+all recollection of his early life and since his residence in the
+Emerald City he had been too occupied and interested to bother. But
+now, treading through the starlit wood, he began to think of the long
+ago days of his youth, to wonder whence he had come, who he really
+was and what great purpose had sent him riding upon that first quest
+on a far-away and but dimly remembered morning. Of his father or his
+father's castle he could recall nothing. He only remembered meeting,
+not far from the postern gates, a strange, black Knight who had
+harshly challenged him to battle. Sir Hokus had accepted the challenge
+at once and unseated the stranger with a clever thrust of his lance.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the black Knight had sprung up, and crying in a loud voice,
+"Live, wretch, for centuries in the stupidest Kingdom in Oz," had
+disappeared, and Sir Hokus himself, though of course that was not his
+name at that time, had been immediately transported to Pokes and there
+he had been held captive for long forgotten ages until Dorothy and the
+Cowardly Lion had come there by chance and all three had managed to
+escape together.</p>
+
+<p>"Strange," mused the Knight, shaking his head sorrowfully, "strange
+that I can remember nothing more of it." The longer he thought, the
+less he could think of, and finally he gave it up altogether. "After
+all, does it matter?" he murmured, throwing back his shoulders and
+standing a trifle more straight. "A Knight's but a Knight and can but
+be bold!" Cheered by the thought of his own boldness, he peered about
+hopefully for signs of a dragon or stray gundersnatch. "What ho!" he
+roared lustily, more to keep himself company than because he expected
+any answer. "What ho, there! What HO!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"What who?" quavered a shrill voice from the branch of a tree just
+ahead, and a big, yellow owl blinked disagreeably down at him. "What
+who-ooo are you, and what 'Ho' is this you are calling?" he demanded
+sulkily.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my good bird," Sir Hokus bowed politely, "perchance you can direct
+me to a maiden in distress, a monarch in need of my sharp sword, or a
+monster whose head I might haply dissever."</p>
+
+<p>"Dissever?" screeched the owl, ruffling his feathers. "Well, did you
+ever! There are no maidens, monarchs, or monsters in this wood, and I
+advise you to go home and mind your own business."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a Knight's business to render assistance to others," Sir Hokus
+informed him sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you're a Knight are you?" The owl opened his eyes wider. "Well,
+I'm a Knight, too, a night owl, and you may render me a service if you
+will."</p>
+
+<p>"Name it!" Eagerly Sir Hokus drew his sword.</p>
+
+<p>"You can go away," sniffed the owl fretfully, settling down on the
+branch. "Go away, go along with you!" And as Sir Hokus stood uncertain
+whether to clip a few feathers from its tail to teach it a lesson
+in courtesy or just go off, the bird closed its eyes. "Good-night,
+Knight," it yawned sleepily.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, night owl," answered Sir Hokus, deciding that after all
+the creature was not worth a quarrel. "Odds bodikens! I might as well
+be home in bed for all the adventures I'm having," he sighed, moving
+mournfully along in the moonlight. "Not a wild beast has crossed my
+path, not a witch, a robber, or even one little dragon! Hah, Hoh, HUM!"
+With another great yawn, the Knight removed his heavy armor, hung it
+on a nearby branch, and wrapping himself in his gray cloak lay down
+under a tree and slept soundly till morning. The chatter of the yellow
+birds awakened him about six, and buckling on his armor he quenched his
+thirst in a clear forest brook. As there were no breakfast bushes or
+afternoon tea trees about he marched resolutely onward. The forest grew
+denser at every step and he was often forced to hew out a path with his
+battle-axe, but about noon he came to a narrow footway shut in on both
+sides by giant trees and heavy underbrush. Following this for several
+miles, Sir Hokus was suddenly cheered by a bright shaft of sunlight
+ahead. Hurrying forward joyfully, he was about to step out into the
+open when a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Halt!" cried a deep voice. "Halt! Stop! And other words meaning
+surrender!"</p>
+
+<p>"Surrender?" bellowed the Knight, with a furious bounce. "Stand back,
+knave! Unhand me, villain! Who dares cry 'halt' to Sir Hokus of Pokes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Getsom and Gotsom!" answered the same deep voice. "Getsom and Gotsom!
+Mud Guards to her Majesty, Queen Marcia of Marshland."</p>
+
+<p>"Mud Guards!" sputtered Sir Hokus, staring at the two without
+enthusiasm. "Well, in faith an' ye look it!" For Getsom and Gotsom were
+so spattered with mud and streaked with mire that scarcely any of their
+dark skin was visible. They wore rough swamp grass skirts and little
+else, and their long hair was tangled and matted and hung half over
+their sullen faces. As Sir Hokus continued to stare, the second Mud
+Guard addressed him:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morrow!" he croaked, jerking his forelock. Then turning to his
+companion he whispered hoarsely, "Be careful how you treat him, Getsom,
+old fellow. Remember he is the King!"</p>
+
+<p>"King!" exploded Sir Hokus, growing quite curious. "What merry nonsense
+is this? I am a Knight, bound upon a curious quest."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll do very well indeed, if we remove the shell," continued Gotsom,
+eyeing Sir Hokus with frank approval. "How would you like to be Monarch
+of the Marshes and King of the Stick-in-the-Muds?" he asked coaxingly.
+"Our Queen has sworn to marry the first stranger who enters the
+Kingdom; you are the first, so—"</p>
+
+<p>"Hold, fellow!" Imperiously Sir Hokus raised his arm. "I would hear
+more of this Queen."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," admitted Getsom, looking uneasily at Gotsom, "she has one
+wonderful eye."</p>
+
+<p>"One wonderful eye!" gulped the Knight. "By my father's beard, it is
+not enough! If I ever marry 'twill be a Princess with two wonderful
+eyes and curly hair like little Dorothy's. But I am not minded to marry
+at all. I crave adventure, conquest, and furious battle!"</p>
+
+<p>"Marry Marcia, and you will have all three," promised Gotsom quickly.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Oh, come on! You're wasting our time," grumbled Getsom, and pressing
+forward impatiently the two Mud Guards made ready to seize the Knight.
+But Sir Hokus had no intention of being taken. Striking two ways at
+once, he felled Getsom with his sword and Gotsom with his battle-axe
+and, leaping over their inert bodies, rushed impetuously forward.
+Almost instantly he regretted this hasty action; for though he was
+indeed out of the gloomy forest, in all directions stretched a wild
+and desolate marsh, and scarcely had he run three paces before he
+began to sink down into the treacherous, watery bog. Sir Hokus struck
+out bravely enough, but what good is bravery in the mud? No matter
+how brave you are, you still keep on sinking, and weighed down by his
+heavy armor the Knight was soon in to his waist and going deeper every
+minute. Indeed, if he had not snatched desperately at a scraggly little
+tree, he would have disappeared altogether.</p>
+
+<p>"Methinks," groaned the Knight regretfully, "methinks I had done better
+to have gone with those muddy rogues and taken my chance with their
+one-eyed Queen. They, no doubt, have a way of crossing this mire." But
+the Mud Guards would not regain their senses for hours, and meanwhile
+he could do nothing but cling to the tree. "What now? And what next?"
+he muttered, looking around despondently. Then he took a firmer hold on
+his sword. "Odds goblins!" breathed Sir Hokus, wrinkling his brows.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>All around him giant bubbles were rising in the mud, and from each
+bubble came a great green frog's head. Odd goblins they were, indeed!
+Frog goblins, to be perfectly correct, and with hair-raising croaks and
+screeches they pressed closer, trying to pull the Knight down into the
+mire. Each frog goblin was about the size of a small child, and at
+first Sir Hokus struck them lightly with the flat of his sword. But as
+they came nearer and nearer, snatching with their long, skinny fingers
+and trying to loosen his hold on the tree, he swung his sword with all
+his might and brought it down with resounding whacks on their heads.
+But as fast as he struck down four, a dozen others hurled themselves
+upon him. Having only one hand free and being waist deep in the mud,
+Sir Hokus fought them off as best he could, but there were so many it
+seemed but a question of time before he would be pulled ingloriously
+into the swamp and suffocated. Then, suddenly, right at the height of
+the conflict, the frog goblins, with a hundred dismal croaks, dove into
+the bog. Panting with exhaustion, Sir Hokus glared around to discover
+the cause of their disappearance and saw a giant mud turtle plowing
+determinedly toward him. Its jaws snapped, its eyes rolled, and it was
+as large as an elephant flattened out.</p>
+
+<p>"A monster!" puffed Sir Hokus. "At last, a monster! But I could wish
+it had come at some happier moment, when I had more breath and better
+footing!" Nevertheless, he pulled himself resolutely up out of the mud
+and, raising his sword, calmly waited for the turtle to approach. When
+it had almost reached his tree, the creature stopped, stretched up its
+neck and regarded him long and searchingly, as if it were deciding upon
+the best place to begin biting him. Sir Hokus endured this inspection
+for several minutes in silence; then, as the monster made no move or
+murmur, he called out impatiently:</p>
+
+<p>"Quail, wretch! Quiver, or at least do something to show that you are
+afraid!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I am not a quail," answered the turtle in a dignified voice, "and in
+this shell, how could I quiver?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do what you're going to do, then," shouted the Knight, "and be
+done with it." Lack of breakfast and the discomforts of the past few
+hours had not improved his temper. "Do something, d'ye hear?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am," said the turtle, blinking its eyes solemnly. "I am admiring
+you, dear brother. I have always suspected that somewhere a turtle
+man existed and here, at last, you are! What a gorgeous shell, and
+how perfectly it fits!" At these words, and seeing there was to be
+no slaying, Sir Hokus returned his sword to its scabbard and looked
+thoughtfully at the green monster.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear," it continued, rolling its eyes affectionately, "I dote
+on you already. Can I catch you some nice little frogs, or would you
+prefer a serpent for breakfast?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch2e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Neither," shuddered the Knight, "but you may carry me on your back,
+an' you will." If the creature were really as friendly as it appeared
+to be, he could stand being called its brother, at least until he was
+out of the swamp. At his words the turtle gave a squeal of pleasure,
+and hurling itself hit or miss through the mud, drew up like a
+ferryboat beside him. Seizing hold of its strong shell, Sir Hokus
+pulled himself thankfully up on its back.</p>
+
+<p>"A fine Knight Errant I must appear," he sighed, regarding his muddy
+armor ruefully. "No wonder it thinks I'm a turtle man! What ho, my good
+creature," he called anxiously, "is it far to the edge of this marsh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Far—far—very far, but not too far for Ploppa," wheezed the mud
+turtle, looking fondly back at the Knight.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Proceed, Ploppa!</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Then proceed, Ploppa!" cried Sir Hokus, chuckling in spite of himself
+at the turtle's name. "Proceed, and let us make what speed we may!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_THREE"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER THREE</h2>
+
+
+<h3>QUEEN MARCIA OF MARSHLAND</h3>
+
+
+<p>With his sword, Sir Hokus scraped some of the mud from his armor; then,
+settling himself cross-legged on Ploppa's back, he looked about with
+deep distaste.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure you would not like to squirm along behind me?" inquired
+the turtle, looking fondly over his shoulder. "The marsh is beautiful
+to-day. Ah, to feel the delicious squg and glug of it," he murmured,
+rolling his eyes rapturously.</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, an' I care not for this glugging," shuddered the Knight, "so
+splash along by yourself, dear creature." Taking some chessmen from his
+boot, Sir Hokus set them out on the nicely marked squares of Ploppa's
+shell and in the problems of the game tried to forget his hunger and
+the strangeness of his situation. Several times Ploppa opened his mouth
+to speak, for he felt extremely curious about this superior being he
+was carrying, but the Knight seemed so engrossed moving the ivory
+figures from place to place that he did not like to interrupt and
+churned quietly along saying nothing. Now and then a frog goblin rose
+from the mud, or a flock of wild geese flew screaming overhead, but for
+nearly an hour they met no one. Then, glancing up suddenly, Sir Hokus
+saw two giants striding across the marsh.</p>
+
+<p>"What ho, and who goes there?" cried the Knight, thumping Ploppa on the
+head with a red king.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, just a couple of Stick-in-the-Muds," answered the turtle
+indifferently. "The marsh is full of them." Sweeping the chessmen back
+into his boot, Sir Hokus sat up very straight to have a better look at
+Queen Marcia's odd subjects. Their bodies seemed no larger than his
+own, but their legs were long and stick-like and reached almost to the
+tops of the trees.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch3a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Why, they <i>are</i> sticks," decided Sir Hokus, after a long, intent look
+at the Marshlanders.</p>
+
+<p>"Stilts," corrected the turtle composedly. "They use stilts to keep out
+of the mud, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"So that's how one manages," said Sir Hokus, tapping his nose
+thoughtfully. He had once tried a smaller pair of stilts back in the
+Emerald City and had fallen hard upon his helmet, and he could not
+help but admire the clever way in which these fellows got about on
+the unwieldy poles. Their dwellings were surprising, too, for the
+Marshlanders lived in tiny mud-thatched houses built high up in the
+trees. As Sir Hokus continued to watch, the two travellers, reaching
+their own house, which was on an exact level with their feet, stepped
+off their stilts and leaving them standing against the tree went in and
+slammed the door. "Well done, by my head!" breathed Sir Hokus, settling
+back with a little chuckle. "I must tell Dorothy about this. Hast ever
+heard of Princess Dorothy, my good Ploppa?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is she a turtle?" inquired the monster in a bored voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, no, no!" exclaimed Sir Hokus with a little gesture of
+distress, and immediately began telling the turtle all about the
+Emerald City; about Ozma, Dorothy, Bettsy, and Trot, and the other
+wonderful citizens of Oz.</p>
+
+<p>The turtle listened attentively, and as Sir Hokus paused for breath,
+turned his head.</p>
+
+<p>"If everything is so squg," (and "squg," I must tell you, is
+turtle-talk for cozy) "why did you ever come away from there?" he
+inquired, reasonably enough.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," muttered Sir Hokus, beginning to wonder a little himself,
+"well!" Then recalling the high purpose of his journey, he braced up
+and spoke most earnestly. "A Knight," stated Sir Hokus, raising his
+sword solemnly, "must beware of squgness! A Knight must seek danger and
+go upon curious quests in search of adventure. In other words, he must
+fight!"</p>
+
+<p>"I see," Ploppa shook his head knowingly. "By the way, have you met our
+Queen?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, but I've heard of her," admitted Sir Hokus, recalling his strange
+encounter with Getsom and Gotsom. He had been so busy describing the
+Emerald City to Ploppa that he had not remarked the change in their
+surroundings. Ahead, like an oasis in a desert, lay a higher and dryer
+bit of ground. In the exact center of this clearing rose a mud house
+much larger and more pretentious than the tree dwellings of the other
+Stick-in-the-Muds. Before the door stood six Mud Guards, their stilts
+held stiffly before them. At sight of Sir Hokus, all six dropped their
+stilts and stared at him so fixedly that his grip upon his sword
+tightened and he quietly reached for his battle-axe.</p>
+
+<p>"The Royal Hut of her Majesty, Queen Marcia," announced the turtle,
+seeming to take no notice of the Guards.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes? Yes, but let us make haste!" puffed Sir Hokus, thumping Ploppa
+hard upon the shell. "I crave not to meet her muddy Majesty." But
+before Ploppa could obey his instructions, they had come opposite the
+hut; the six Guards darted forward, and jumping upon Ploppa's back,
+dragged Sir Hokus triumphantly in to the Queen.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Queen Marcia sat cross-legged on the floor.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"The King!" they shouted, all together. "Long live the King!" And
+hurling the Knight upon the floor of the hut, they stood proudly
+at attention. Queen Marcia sat cross-legged on the floor, eating
+marshmallows from a large box at her side. She looked, at first glance,
+like a South Sea Islander, with her dark skin and skirt of swamp grass.
+But when Sir Hokus, who had instantly sprung to his feet, gazed into
+the face of this royal lady, he was too stunned to speak or even
+stutter. Marcia had, indeed, one wonderful eye. It was large, brown,
+and lively, turning in toward the nose. The other, which was small and
+blue and turned impishly outward, did not count at all. The Queen's
+hair had evidently never been combed, and Sir Hokus in his whole seven
+centuries had not seen anyone so bewilderingly wild and ugly. As he
+stood uncomfortably shifting from one foot to the other, Marcia's dog,
+a dingy little swampoodle, rushed out and snapped viciously at his
+heels. But the Knight's armor served him well, and yelping with pain
+and bad temper the swampoodle ran back to its mistress. The Queen had
+been examining Sir Hokus quite as closely as he had been examining her,
+and now, popping another marshmallow into her mouth, she spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll be splattered!" mumbled her Majesty. "I'll be splashed
+and splattered! What do <i>you</i> think of him, Mira? My sister, the
+Marchioness of Muckengoo!" explained the Queen, with a wave at the
+dark-skinned lady at her side. Sir Hokus bowed in a dazed fashion and
+Mira, who was weaving baskets from dried reeds, squinted critically up
+at the Knight.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mira, after a long, earnest squint, "if you don't marry
+him, sister, I shall!"</p>
+
+<p>"But ladies!" protested Sir Hokus, backing away in great distress,
+"this is impossible! I must go——"</p>
+
+<p>"Silence!" roared Marcia, as well as she could with her mouth full of
+marshmallows. "I have sworn to marry the first stranger who enters my
+Kingdom, and marry you I will. Guards! Fetch the crown, bring on the
+food, and summon the guests!"</p>
+
+<p>"You always have the best of everything," pouted Mira, throwing
+down her reeds. "You married the last stranger. This one is mine!"
+Swallowing with great difficulty, the Marchioness of Muckengoo buried
+her face in her handkerchief and sobbed as if her heart would break.</p>
+
+<p>"But if your Majesty is already married," began Sir Hokus, stepping
+forward hopefully, "how can you marry me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Silence!" cried the Queen furiously. "Speak when you're spoken to, and
+bow when you speak to me."</p>
+
+<p>"The last King was a p—peer!" sobbed Marcia, coming out from behind
+her handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what became of him?" demanded the Knight, paying no attention to
+Marcia's angry gestures.</p>
+
+<p>"He—he disappeared!" confided the Marchioness, beginning to sob anew.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I expect he fell off his stilts and was lost in the mud," sniffed
+the Queen unfeelingly. "You must be careful with your stilts, fellow.
+By the way, what is your name?"</p>
+
+<p>"You see in me a Knight, bound upon a curious quest," announced Sir
+Hokus, resolved to speak his mind and end this ridiculous discussion.
+"You see——"</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Usee! Smirch! Conduct the King to his apartment and see
+that he is served a portion of the royal duck." At the Queen's last
+remark, Sir Hokus brightened visibly, for he had not eaten since the
+night before.</p>
+
+<p>"Duck!" muttered Sir Hokus. "Well, beshrew me now, after a portion of
+the royal duck I'll be better able to duck this whole proceeding." A
+glance at the door had convinced him that escape, for the time being,
+was impossible. Ten Mud Guards had replaced the first six and at a
+slight move in their direction all ten had brandished their stilts
+threateningly. So, resolved to fall in with the plans of the Queen
+for the moment and make off at the first opportunity, Sir Hokus
+followed Smirch into a small, mean room at the back of the royal
+hut. There was a rough table and chair, and a pile of grass in the
+corner evidently served for a bed. While the Knight was reflecting
+upon the very doubtful pleasures of being King of the Marsh, Smirch
+brought in a heaping platter of duck and, retreating, locked the door
+securely behind him. Almost never had anything tasted so delicious and
+Sir Hokus, unmindful of his dreary surroundings and his approaching
+marriage, fell upon the platter and soon reduced the duck to skin and
+bones. Then, much refreshed, he rose up to see what was to be done. The
+room's one window was high and barred, but by placing a chair upon the
+table and standing on that, he could manage to see out. What he saw
+filled him with new hope and courage. Asleep in the tall grass beneath
+the window lay the giant mud turtle.</p>
+
+<p>"Good, honest, faithful creature!" puffed the Knight, looking around
+for something to throw at Ploppa. There was nothing in the room but the
+knife, fork, and platter. The first two made no impression, but as the
+platter splintered to bits on his shell, Ploppa raised his head.</p>
+
+<p>"What ho! What ho, below!" whispered the Knight, so as not to arouse
+the Guards.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's you, is it? Well, how are you enjoying the fighting? Is our
+Queen not a famous fighter?" wheezed Ploppa, blinking his eyes in an
+interested fashion.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not seemly for a knight to fight with ladies," hissed Sir Hokus
+earnestly. "And lest I forget I am a Knight, I must get hence. Get me
+hence at once, my good Ploppa. Wouldst have me marry a wild-eyed witch
+and break my head learning to stilt?"</p>
+
+<p>"But they will follow us," panted the turtle, pulling himself erect. So
+huge was the turtle that it towered above the house top and had to bend
+down to look in the window. "The Queen will not let you go."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus5.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Break me these bars.</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Break me these bars," breathed Sir Hokus impatiently. "Break me these
+bars and we'll go anyway. And if we are followed, I'll break a few
+heads. Odds dragons! A few heads, and shins, and what nots!" As easily
+as you or I would bend wax, Ploppa forced the window bars apart with
+his strong claws; then, peering round to be sure nobody was looking, he
+put his face close to the Knight's.</p>
+
+<p>"I have just thought of something," confided the turtle hoarsely. "When
+I return and call three times, be ready to jump!" Before Sir Hokus
+could stop him or ask about his plan, the great mud turtle was flopping
+at a great pace across the marsh.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_FOUR"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch4.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FOUR</h2>
+
+<h3>PLOPPA AND SIR HOKUS ESCAPE</h3>
+
+
+<p>Gloomily Sir Hokus climbed down from the table. If he jumped before
+Ploppa's return, he could only reach the edge of the clearing and then
+sink into the treacherous mud. But suppose the turtle was too late? In
+great agitation he paced up and down the narrow room. Preparations for
+the wedding were going forward briskly, judging from the thumps and
+bangs and excited shrieks on the other side of the door.</p>
+
+<p>"A pretty kettle of blue fish!" fumed Sir Hokus, who, like most of the
+rest of us, had often dreamed of his own wedding and pictured an affair
+of great pomp and magnificence. "Not a cake nor a castle in the whole
+Kingdom. Like as not there'll be mud pie. Not a tune—not a dance step.
+And such a bride!" Climbing on the table again, he stared anxiously out
+of the window. All around the Queen's hut little black pigs grunted
+and squealed. In the distance he saw several cows on stilts nibbling
+hungrily at the tree tops, but nowhere in that whole dreary waste could
+he catch so much as a glimpse of Ploppa. Sir Hokus tried to imagine
+himself King of the Marshes, wobbling about uncomfortably on stilts,
+pointing out the sights to Dorothy or Bettsy Bobbin, but the mere
+thought of Marcia for a Queen made his heart thump so hard it rattled
+all his armor. "As soon as that door opens, I'll make a dash for it,"
+he decided desperately, "and woe to the man who stands in my way!" But
+it was not a man who stood in the door when it did open, but Marcia
+herself, surrounded by a bevy of marsh maidens. Her brown eye rolled
+round and round with excitement, and in her arms she clasped a huge
+bouquet of tiger lilies and cat-tails.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch4a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Approach, Usee!" croaked this frightful apparition. "Approach and
+salute your Queen!"</p>
+
+<p>"Avaunt, woman!" rasped Sir Hokus, backing rapidly toward the window.
+"Avaunt, wench, and come not near!" Though Marcia repelled him utterly,
+the Knight could not bring himself to push her aside and fight his way
+through the marsh maidens to the door. Queen Marcia had no such nice
+feelings to hold her back and, infuriated by the Knight's remarks, she
+rushed upon him and brought her bouquet down so hard upon his helmet
+that tiger lilies and cat-tails flew in every direction. I am not sure
+how long Sir Hokus would have submitted to her pummeling, or whether he
+would not in time have broken his Knightly vows and struck out at this
+marsh maiden, but at this instant three shrill calls sounded at the
+window. In one leap he was upon the table, in another, on the chair.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Lady, farewell!</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Lady!" boomed Sir Hokus, pulling himself up on the ledge and kissing
+his mailed glove to the Queen of the Marshes. "Lady, farewell!"
+Headlong he dove through the window and, amid the screeches of the
+Stick-in-the-Muds, disappeared. The shock of his landing on Ploppa's
+hard shell rendered him speechless for several seconds, and by the time
+he had regained his breath and his balance, Ploppa had reached the
+edge of the clearing and plunged joyfully into the impenetrable swamp.</p>
+
+<p>"A lucky and timely escape!" panted Sir Hokus, peering expectantly
+around for signs of the enemy. "How, now? Does no man pursue?"</p>
+
+<p>"Trust Ploppa for that," grunted the turtle, looking back with a
+chuckle. "I've knocked down all the stilts for miles around and tramped
+them into the mire. A fine time they'll have making new ones!"</p>
+
+<p>"You did?" roared the Knight, feeling more really cheerful than he had
+felt since he left the Emerald City. "Ho! Ho! Ho! This is capital,
+my dear Ploppa! Excellent and grand." Sir Hokus bent nearly double
+at the effort of a tree-dweller to draw his stilts out of the mud
+with a fishing line. And it was comical indeed to see Marcia and her
+court marooned on the tiny clearing surrounding her hut, making fierce
+gestures and shouting for the Knight to return. From every tree-house
+they passed, Stick-in-the-Muds screamed and scolded, but Ploppa had
+done his work so well that they were forced to stick to their trees and
+were powerless to prevent their new King from escaping.</p>
+
+<p>"I could love you for this!" beamed the Knight, thumping Ploppa
+affectionately on the shell.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you won't leave the swamp?" cried the turtle, with a little
+flounce of excitement. "Do say that you will remain. I'll find you a
+dry spot for a hut, bring you all the frogs you can eat, carry you
+everywhere on my back, and when you wish to fight there are always
+Stick-in-the-Muds handy."</p>
+
+<p>"Nay! Nay!" sighed Sir Hokus, growing sober at the mere thought of
+such an existence. "I must go forward and never shall I rest till I
+have saved a maiden, served a monarch, and destroyed a monster. I must
+go on. On, and on, and on!" Ploppa made no answer, but two big tears
+trickled down his cheeks and fell with a great splash into the bog.</p>
+
+<p>"You come with <i>me</i>," begged the Knight in great distress. "Come with
+me and see the world, dear Ploppa."</p>
+
+<p>"Will there be plenty of mud?" choked the poor turtle, controlling his
+sobs with difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that I cannot promise," sighed the Knight, shaking his head
+doubtfully. "But there will be rivers and streams and plenty of fresh
+showers."</p>
+
+<p>"But I must have mud," insisted the turtle sorrowfully, "plenty of
+good, thick, wet mud."</p>
+
+<p>"And I must have adventure," declared Sir Hokus, looking with a shudder
+over the cold foggy marsh filled with the dismal croaking of frog
+goblins and the sigh of a desolate wind in the straggly trees. "I must
+have adventure and the glitter and glory of strange, glamorous places."</p>
+
+<p>"I must have mud and you must have adventure. Oh, why," wailed Ploppa,
+with a smothered sob, "cannot people who like each other like the same
+things? I long to go with you, but I cannot live without mud."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I hope there is more magic and less mud in the next country I
+come to," said Sir Hokus, with a slight shiver. Now the next country,
+as it happened, was quite close, only hidden by the thick fog from the
+Knight's curious gaze. And presently Ploppa, dragging himself out of
+the swamp, set him down on the edge of a wide yellow plain.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye!" gurgled Ploppa, winking fast to keep from crying again.
+"Good-bye! I'll never forget you."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I, you, my brave fellow." Leaning down, Sir Hokus gave the
+slippery turtle a hug—or as much of a hug as he could manage with a
+monster so huge and unwieldy. "Don't grieve," he begged earnestly, "for
+I will return! I will return," he promised, raising his sword solemnly,
+"anon!" Then, because he was not feeling any too cheerful himself, he
+strode quickly across the plain, for in the distance he could just
+descry the gleaming turrets of a strange, tall castle.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus6.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">He strode quickly across the plain.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Anon! He will return anon!" strangled poor Ploppa, settling with a
+tired flop into the mud. "Anon? Anon? How long is that, pray?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch4b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_FIVE"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch5.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FIVE</h2>
+
+
+<h3>CONCERNING A CAMEL</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Any tidings, Tuzzle?" Pushing back his yellow turban, the Sultan of
+Samandra looked anxiously at his Grand Vizier. Without speaking, Tuzzle
+shook his head. "What? No tidings!" yelled the Sultan, half rising from
+his great cushioned throne. "Then woe is me—she, you, her, it, us, and
+them!" The Sultan's voice rose to a shrill scream, and sinking back on
+his embroidered cushions he began to rock to and fro and beat himself
+violently on the chest. "Woe! Woe! Woe, I tell you!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch5a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I am not a horse and cannot whoa, but I will do anything else that
+your Majesty suggests," murmured Tuzzle, folding his hands calmly on
+his broad stomach.</p>
+
+<p>"Then summon that scoundrelly Seer and fetch the Imperial Puppy!"
+commanded the Sultan in a choked voice. Tuzzle inclined his head
+grandly, for he was a very Grand Vizier, so grand, in fact, that he
+never did anything himself, but clapped his hands twice and, to the
+small slaves who appeared, communicated the orders of the Sultan.
+In five shakes of a yellow fez the slaves returned, one ushering in
+Chinda, the Seer, the other bearing upon a satin cushion Confido, a
+tiny Pekinese and the Imperial Puppy of the Realm. The sight of the
+proud little dog seemed to calm the Sultan considerably. Holding it
+close to his round, moon-like face, he whispered excitedly into one of
+its long, silky ears. The little dog nodded understandingly from time
+to time but said nothing, partly because it had nothing to say and
+partly because it could not talk, even if it had. Though Samandra is in
+the wonderful Kingdom of Oz, the animals there do not have the gift
+of speech like animals in most other Oz countries, and unfortunately
+cannot converse at all. Perhaps this is why the Sultan made the little
+dog his sole confidant, told it all his worries, secrets of state, and
+plans. An excellent idea, when you come to think of it, and one many a
+monarch might follow with good results, for secrets one tells a dog go
+no further, and Confido never betrayed his Royal Master's confidences.
+After whispering earnestly, the Sultan set the dog on his knee and
+glared fiercely down at Chinda, the Prophet.</p>
+
+<p>"So!" he hissed contemptuously. "You call yourself a Seer and yet for
+ten years you have been seeking my lost camel without success. Acting
+upon your misguided advice we have sent couriers here, there, and
+everywhere, searching for this valuable creature and still, still,
+he is lost to us! Never had I so comfortable a steed, so beauteous a
+beast. He was a very King of Camels; not one in my whole herd compares
+with him, and yet you, Chief Prophet and Seer of Samandra, allow him to
+be lost in a sand storm and never recovered at all."</p>
+
+<p>"The sand storm was not my doing," observed Chinda stiffly. "I am a
+Seer and not a weather prophet, your Highness."</p>
+
+<p>"A Seer, a <i>Seer</i>! Why, you sere and cast-off yellow leaf of a dead and
+blighted tree, have you nothing more to say for yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your Majesty seems to have covered the situation," answered Chinda,
+drawing his cloak about him with a dignified gesture. "Though why the
+loss of one wretched camel should cause you such unhappiness is a
+mystery to your humble servant. Have you not held undisputed sway over
+the great Kingdom of Samandra for seven centuries? Did you not, five
+hundred years ago, by a magic unrevealed to your illustrious advisors,
+conquer the neighboring Kingdoms of Corabia and Corumbia? Verily, the
+Corabians and Corumbians are no more; all their land and treasure are
+added to your riches, and yet, for the last ten years, you have done
+nothing but grieve for a miserable, moth-eaten, wobbly-kneed camel!
+And I," Chinda thumped himself gloomily upon the chest, "how <i>I</i> have
+suffered! My left eye has a permanent squint from staring through the
+magic telescope for signs of this tiresome creature. My right ear has
+become flattened out and uncurled listening to the undeserved and
+continuous abuse of a once kindly sovereign. I beg that your Excellency
+will permit me to retire and go to some far country where I may never
+hear the word 'camel' again. But before I go——" Chinda raised his
+voice defiantly, "before I go, let me say this: The camel you seek is
+in the Emerald City in the Royal Stable of Queen Ozma of Oz. Scarce ten
+minutes ago I saw him through a new lens in my magic telescope."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus7.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Chinda stared through his magic telescope.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Emerald City! My dear, dear fellow, why did you not say so before?"
+Tucking the Imperial Peke under his arm and fairly rolling down the
+steps of his throne, the Sultan flung both arms around Chinda and
+hugged him heartily. "You are a Seer among seers, a wiz among wizards,"
+panted the little monarch joyfully. "I hereby promote you to Magician
+Extraordinary and Grand Bozzywoz of the Realm." While Chinda was
+recovering from the shock of his sudden promotion, and feeling his ribs
+to see that none were cracked, the Sultan spun round like a fat little
+top.</p>
+
+<p>"Prepare for a journey at once," he commanded, waving his scepter at
+Tuzzle. "Order the Royal Sampan! You sail at dawn down the Winkie River
+to the capital of Oz. Have the Chief Camel Driver give you a golden
+halter to bring the good beast home, and moreover and furthermore," the
+Sultan's voice rose to an anxious squeak "see that he is wearing the
+same harness and saddle sacks that he wore when he left us, especially
+the saddle sacks!" finished his Excellency, shaking his finger under
+Tuzzle's nose.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, your Highness," sighed Tuzzle resignedly, "but I will
+require a gold embroidered robe and twenty slaves to wait upon me that
+I may properly represent the Sultan of Samandra at the Court of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty fiddlesticks!" fumed the Sultan, stamping his foot. "Be ready
+to sail at dawn or I'll set you to work in the sulphur mines."</p>
+
+<p>"That," murmured Tuzzle calmly, "would certainly undermine my
+constitution, so I shall be ready. But suppose this curious camel is
+not in the Emerald City? Suppose this is just another false vision of
+our precious Prophet?"</p>
+
+<p>"We'll talk about that when you return," said the Sultan, panting up
+the steps of his throne and dropping heavily on his yellow cushions.</p>
+
+<p>"And meanwhile, I'm the Grand Bozzywoz," exulted Chinda, brushing
+rudely past the Grand Vizier. "I'll head all the processions and take
+orders from no one but his Supreme Excellency! Way for the Grand
+Bozzywoz! Way, I tell you!"</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, not too bozzy!" warned the Sultan, as Chinda pushed
+Tuzzle out of his path and strode haughtily from the throne room. Then,
+as the Grand Vizier, muttering with vexation, rushed in the opposite
+direction, the Sultan hugged Confido tightly to his breast.</p>
+
+<p>"Stupid fools!" wheezed the fat sovereign breathlessly. "They think
+I want the camel. It's not the camel we want, little treasure, but
+what's in the camel's left hand saddle sack. Without that package I am
+lost, ruined, done for. How much longer must I wait and worry? Why,
+oh, wherefore did I ever let that package out of my hands or ever stow
+it in such a place?" Confido shook his head and licked the Sultan
+sympathetically on the nose, and much comforted his Majesty thumped
+upon the golden gong at his side and called in a loud voice for his
+afternoon coffee.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, so well were the orders of the very Grand Vizier carried
+out that when the orange crescent moon rose over the turrets and domes
+of the Sultan's city, the Royal Sampan, fully loaded and ready for the
+journey, tugged impatiently at its golden chain. Not one, but twenty
+satin robes for Tuzzle, twenty fine embroidered shawls as a gift
+for Ozma of Oz, twenty roast fowl and twenty baskets of provisions
+had been stowed in the cushioned cabin of the ship. Under the orange
+awnings forward, a tremendous deck chair had been placed for the Grand
+Vizier, and a table beside the chair was heaped with apricots, figs,
+dates, oranges, almonds, and sweetmeats of every description, for
+Tuzzle had no intention of starving on the voyage. Rubbing his hands
+complacently, the Grand Vizier regarded everything with bland approval,
+for he anticipated a tranquil and pleasant trip and had always wished
+to visit the court of Ozma. Though no one in the Emerald City had
+ever heard of Samandra, the Samandrans, being one of the most ancient
+races in all Oz, knew all about the Emerald City and the famous folk
+who lived there. Samandra, you must know, lies at the very top of the
+Winkie Country, bordered on the North by the Deadly Desert and on the
+South by the Winkie River, and is directly between the Kingdoms of
+Corabia and Corumbia. But for five hundred years all three countries
+have been under the rule of the wily Sultan, who by some strange magic
+conquered both of his kingly neighbors, stole all their treasures, and
+transformed all their subjects. Carrying most of the treasure by
+caravan to Samandra, he let the conquered Kingdoms severely alone, and
+uncared for and deserted they have lain for long dusty centuries, their
+little villages overgrown with weeds, and their stately capitals fast
+falling to ruin and decay.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus8.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The Royal Sampan</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Samandra itself, though largely made up of a golden-sanded desert,
+has many fertile valleys and plains—lovely flowerful spots, gay in
+the spring with daffodils and lotus, having an abundance of orange
+groves, date, palm and fig trees—so that life there is very lazy and
+luxurious. Though most of the Samandrans are more than seven centuries
+old, they do not show their age at all and are as happy and handsome a
+people as you could wish to find anywhere. The Sultan himself was as
+happy as any, except for occasional spells of remorse when he thought
+of his wicked treatment of the Corumbians and Corabians. But even
+this did not seriously interfere with his pleasure until he lost his
+favorite camel in a sudden sand storm. Since then he had not known
+a peaceful moment and had so harassed his slaves, his attendants,
+and advisors, that life in the yellow castle had become well nigh
+unbearable.</p>
+
+<p>"But now," thought the fat little rascal, rolling off his silken couch
+long before sunup, "now all my worries are over. In three or four days
+this wretched beast will be safely restored to me." Picking up Confido,
+he told the little dog in an earnest whisper just where he would stow
+the precious package once it was in his hands again. Then, without
+waiting for his body servants to come and dress him, he struggled into
+his royal robes, and with each of his yellow shoes on the wrong foot
+shuffled down to the Winkie River to speed Tuzzle upon his mission.
+By the time he reached the royal dock, the orange sails of the sampan
+were snapping in the wind. Tuzzle, having given orders to cast off, was
+already asleep in the deck chair forward, fanned by ten of his faithful
+servitors. At the Sultan's loud cries he opened one eye and waved his
+plump hand reassuringly.</p>
+
+<p>"Before the fire dies four times upon the hearth-stones, we will return
+with the sacred camel," promised the Grand Vizier in his oily voice.
+And while Confido barked and the Sultan called further frantic orders
+and entreaties, the Royal Sampan slipped smoothly round a bend in the
+river and disappeared. If you have an Oz map handy, you will see that
+the Winkie River winds in a lazy fashion through the Great Empire of
+the East, turning here and then there till it comes finally to the
+outskirts of the Emerald City itself. Drifting gently with the tide,
+Tuzzle and his twenty slaves arrived a little before sundown on the
+second evening at Ozma's lovely capital. Tying their boat to a willow
+on the edge of the stream, the Samandrans stepped ashore, and Tuzzle,
+arrayed in his grandest garb, prepared to present himself to the ruler
+of all Oz.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_SIX"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch6.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER SIX</h2>
+
+<h3>TUZZLE AT THE COURT OF OZ</h3>
+
+
+<p>About fifteen minutes later, Bettsy and Dorothy, looking up from a
+game of croquet on the palace lawn, dropped their gold mallets and
+simply stared, for moving toward them under the lime-drop trees was
+a perfectly amazing procession. First came eight tall, splendid
+slaves bearing flowering orange branches, then the very Grand Vizier
+of Samandra in a very grand sedan chair, carried by four more
+slaves; back of him stepped the eight other slaves bearing the twenty
+embroidered shawls. Tuzzle, on his part, was as amazed as the little
+girls, for though he was accustomed to comfort and even elegance
+at the Sultan's court, the Emerald City so surpassed in beauty and
+magnificence any place he had ever seen or visited that he had done
+nothing but grunt and exclaim with admiration and surprise as he was
+rapidly borne along the jewelled streets of Ozma's lovely capital. By
+the time he reached the castle itself, he had barely breath enough to
+speak.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch6a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Princess!" puffed the Grand Vizier, as his chair came opposite
+Dorothy, whom he instantly recognized, "Princess, I would speak with
+the Queen of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly! Certainly!" stuttered Dorothy, reaching up hastily for her
+crown, which she had hung on the branch of a tulip tree, while Bettsy
+in her interest and excitement tripped over a wicket and sat down. But
+picking herself up quickly the little girl ran ahead to announce the
+arrival of distinguished visitors, so that by the time the procession
+reached the castle, Ozma was already seated upon her throne, waiting
+with dignity to welcome them.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus9.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Tuzzle at the court of OZ.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Your Majesty," began Tuzzle, stepping pompously from the sedan chair
+and bending himself almost in half, "his Serene Highness, the Sultan of
+Samandra, sends you his royal loyal greetings and salutations."</p>
+
+<p>"The greetings of his Highness are graciously received," answered Ozma
+kindly, though she had never heard of the Sultan in her whole life.
+"And what is it his Serene Highness desires of us?" she inquired, with
+a curious glance at the Samandran slaves. Long experience at ruling had
+taught her that strange sovereigns seldom sent gifts unless they wanted
+something in return.</p>
+
+<p>"His Highness," continued Tuzzle, a little embarrassed by Ozma's frank
+query, "desires nothing more valuable than a camel. This camel was
+lost in a great sand storm and has been missing ten long years from
+the royal herd. It is the favorite mount of his Excellency, so kind
+and comfortable a creature that since its loss our sovereign has been
+inconsolable. After countless unsuccessful searches, Chinda, our Chief
+Prophet and Seer has, with the aid of a magic telescope, caught a
+glimpse of the beast in your Majesty's stable." Casting down his eyes,
+Tuzzle waited anxiously for Ozma to speak.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus10.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">His Highness desires nothing more valuable than a camel.</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Why, it must be the Comfortable Camel Sir Hokus brought to the Emerald
+City long ago!" exclaimed Dorothy, with a little hop of excitement.
+"Come on, let's go ask him."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it will do no harm," answered Ozma, readily enough. "And if our
+Comfortable Camel really belongs to the Sultan of Samandra, and really
+wishes to return to his master, I see no reason why he should not do
+so, though we'll be sorry indeed to lose him."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, your Highness!" mumbled Tuzzle, who was a little confused
+by the informal procedure at Ozma's court. Scraps, Trot, and the
+Scarecrow were playing leap frog at one end of the throne room. Tik
+Tok and the Cowardly Lion were running races at the other, and all
+the rest of the celebrities were grouped about the Lost King and the
+Soldier with Green Whiskers, who were in the midst of an exciting game
+of checkers. But when Ozma and the Grand Vizier started for the Royal
+Stables, they all stopped what they were doing and trooped along,
+causing Tuzzle much anxiety and uneasiness by their boisterous skips,
+vigorous claps upon the back, and continuous friendly questioning. But
+when the company reached the stall usually occupied by the Comfortable
+Camel, it was empty, and though grooms and stable boys were dispatched
+in every direction, no trace of the kindly creature could be found. The
+Doubtful Dromedary knew nothing of his whereabouts, and when a page was
+sent to question Sir Hokus, he reported that the Good Knight of Oz was
+also missing from his apartment. It was, as a matter of fact, the day
+after Sir Hokus had started upon his quest, but everyone in the palace
+had been so occupied preparing to accompany him that they had not
+missed the Good Knight at all.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch6b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Perhaps Sir Hokus has taken the camel to the next village for
+supplies," suggested Trot, and after many speculations and conjectures
+they all agreed that she might be right.</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear, they'll both be back," predicted the Scarecrow, winking
+cheerfully at the Grand Vizier, "and meanwhile, why not enjoy our
+hospitality? No, you seem to be well stuffed already," he observed,
+thumping Tuzzle upon the chest.</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, nay, the Sultan can illy spare me," muttered the Grand Vizier. "I
+must return at once!" And stepping into his sedan chair he motioned for
+the slaves to start.</p>
+
+<p>"And what about the shawls?" demanded Scraps, who had taken a great
+fancy to a white one embroidered in scarlet. "It's not our fault the
+Comfortable Camel has gone away."</p>
+
+<p>"Sh—h! Sh—h!" warned Ozma, shaking her finger reprovingly at
+the Patchwork Girl, while Dorothy and Bettsy giggled in spite of
+themselves. "As soon as the Comfortable Camel returns we shall send a
+message to your illustrious master," promised Ozma, bowing politely to
+Tuzzle. "I am sure it will not be longer than a week."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, in that case," wheezed the very Grand Vizier ungraciously, "I
+hope your Majesty will accept this small gift from the Sultan."</p>
+
+<p>"With pleasure," smiled Ozma, but before the slaves had time to present
+the shawls, Scraps snatched all twenty and throwing one to Dorothy,
+one to Trot, and one to Bettsy, dropped the rest in Ozma's lap and,
+wrapping herself tightly in the red and white one, whirled madly
+round and round Tuzzle. Fearing to linger longer at a court where
+animals conversed as sensibly as people, and such strange conduct
+was permitted, Tuzzle scrambled into his sedan chair. Bidding Ozma a
+hasty farewell, he ordered his attendants to carry him at once to the
+Royal Sampan. This they did, and at such a brisk run that the Oz folk
+burst into loud cheers of admiration and approval, for considering the
+size and weight of the very Grand Vizier, the speed of his slaves was
+remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think the Comfortable Camel really belongs to this Sultan?"
+asked Dorothy, as the last Samandran disappeared from view.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's look in the magic picture!" suggested Bettsy Bobbin. "Let's see
+what he's like and find out where Sir Hokus and the Comfortable Camel
+have gone, too." As this seemed a sensible plan, they all hurried up
+into Ozma's sitting room. The magic picture, as most all of us know,
+is one of the most important of Ozma's treasures. She has but to ask
+the magic picture where a person is, and immediately he is shown in
+the exact country or city where he happens to be at the time of the
+question. So, with the celebrities looking breathlessly over her
+shoulder, Ozma pulled the cord that drew aside the curtain covering the
+picture, and said quietly, "Show us the Comfortable Camel." But stars!
+Nothing at all happened, for the magic picture was not there, and with
+little exclamations of alarm and dismay they gazed at the empty space
+on the wall.</p>
+
+<p>"Who can have taken it?" cried Dorothy indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Call the Wizard," shrilled the Scarecrow, and ran off, himself,
+to fetch him. But the Wizard, deep in his preparations for the Good
+Knight's quest, could throw no light upon the subject at all. In the
+huge encyclopædia of Oz they did learn a bit about Samandra, its ruler
+and its customs, but of the whereabouts of the Comfortable Camel, of
+Sir Hokus of Pokes, or the famous picture of Oz, even the Wizard's
+magic could tell them nothing.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch6c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"But do not despair," begged the little man earnestly, that night at
+dinner. "I have almost perfected a new and marvelous invention. If our
+Good Knight and Comfortable Camel do not soon return, and if the magic
+picture is not found or discovered, I will seek them out with the help
+of my powerful searchlight. This searchlight, shot like an ordinary
+shell from a cannon, will travel all over Oz until it finds what it is
+sent for and then flash back with the exact location of the missing
+objects and people." Taking them down to his laboratory, the Wizard
+endeavored to explain the strange rays and phosphorescent material to
+be used in this latest magic contrivance. It was a little difficult
+to understand, but Ozma and her courtiers had great confidence in the
+Wizard's powers and, much cheered and comforted, they went off to bed.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_SEVEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch7.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER SEVEN</h2>
+
+<h3>THE CRUISE OF THE SKYROCKET</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Are you sure it's all right this time, Uncle Billy? And will it take
+us straight to Mars?" Tightening the strap on his leather helmet, the
+boy looked up at the tall man who was going over, for the last time,
+the strange craft that was to carry them on an exploration of the sky.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus11.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The Skyrocket</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Well," answered the tall man, wiping his hands on a piece of waste,
+"it may not take us straight, Speedy, but we'll get there somehow.
+I've calculated the distance down to the last inch, and if I can keep
+her pointed straight up and northward we'll be on Mars by to-morrow
+morning. I'm not sure yet that I ought to take you, but on the other
+hand, I don't see how I can leave you behind."</p>
+
+<p>"Neither do I." Speedy spoke with feeling and finality. "You're the
+only one I've got, and I'm the only one you've got, so we'd better
+stick together, don't you think?" Uncle Billy nodded soberly, for
+Speedy was an orphan and had lived with him since he was a little
+fellow of two. The boy's real name was Bill, but his quickness on the
+track and baseball field had earned him the nickname of Speedy. At ten
+he was such a good chum and so helpful with Uncle Billy's inventions
+that the great scientist could not bear to leave him behind on this,
+the most important of his undertakings.</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't as if there was any real danger," he mused, tapping the steel
+sides of the torpedo. "In this we'll be as safe as if we were on a
+trolley car."</p>
+
+<p>"Safer!" exclaimed Speedy scornfully. "Oh, come on, Uncle Billy, set
+her off! I can hardly wait!" It was a bright, clear May morning, the
+weather and wind conditions just right, and Uncle Billy, as eager as
+Speedy to be off, helped the boy into the back seat and prepared to
+light the fuse that would send them skyward. The Skyrocket, as you've
+probably guessed, was a flying torpedo, and the explosion of the rocket
+attached to the tail would carry them straight and swiftly to the stars.</p>
+
+<p>"Now then," puffed Uncle Billy, with a quick glance at the Skyrocket's
+gears and brakes. "Remember! As soon as I jump in, slam down the top
+and slide the bolts. And if anything should happen, though of course it
+won't, pull the lever on your right. That will release the parashuter.
+Press the button in the parashuter and it will carry you safely down to
+earth. All ready?"</p>
+
+<p>Speedy nodded, clutching both sides of the leather seat, tense with
+excitement. He could hear the hiss and sputter as the electric lighter
+touched the fuse of the rocket. In one second more Uncle Billy would
+be in the driver's seat, the steel re-enforced lid of the torpedo ship
+would be down, the oxygen sprays, to keep them in comfort during the
+long trip, would start, and they would be off like a flash on their
+journey through the air. With a tremulous gasp, Speedy looked over
+his shoulder. As he did, there came a terrific jolt, and with an ear
+splitting explosion the Skyrocket shot up toward the clouds. But Uncle
+Billy! Where in heck was Uncle Billy? Almost torn from his seat by the
+force of the start, Speedy looked desperately downward; then, as the
+wind ripped and tore past his head, he slammed the top of the torpedo
+and jumped into the front seat.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch7a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>Uncle Billy had not been quick enough. Uncle Billy had been left
+behind. Forgetting all about the parashuter, forgetting everything
+except that he was tearing through space at a terrific rate toward a
+strange and undiscovered world, the boy grasped the steering wheel and
+gave it a sharp twist. His one thought was to get back to earth and
+pick up his uncle. With a sickening swerve the Skyrocket turned and
+sped downward so swiftly that Speedy, with his face glued to the thick
+glass window, could see nothing but a flying blur. A flash of green
+told him they were nearing earth, a tiny figure wildly waving its arms
+became visible, but only for the fraction of a second; then, with a
+frightful impact, the Skyrocket hit the flying field back of Speedy's
+Long Island home, broke through, and bored its way tumultuously
+downward, down through the dark, pathless depths of the underearth!
+The splintering crash of the torpedo, as it ripped and tore through
+roots, rocks, and metal, almost deafened the boy, and the violent
+vibration made him faint and dizzy. Mechanically he grasped the wheel
+and despairingly wondered what would ever become of him. Too late he
+realized that the torpedo could not be stopped until the force of the
+rocket was spent. Why hadn't he jumped with the parashuter, as soon
+as he discovered that Uncle Billy was not aboard? It was pitch-dark
+inside, and as the roar of the Skyrocket grew louder Speedy touched
+an electric button. The cheery glow of the small lamps in the ceiling
+comforted him a little, but the vicious shake and rumble of the car
+made thinking almost impossible. Snake-like roots flashed past the
+window and snapped against the glass. Through rock strata streaked with
+gold, copper, coal, and silver, the Skyrocket splintered a pathway,
+and once they dove into a boiling mass of lava; the steel walls of the
+ship grew so hot that Speedy gave himself up for lost, but as the heat
+grew unbearable they plunged with a hiss into a deep, oily, underground
+sea filled with phosphorescent fish and terrifying monsters. Crouched
+behind the wheel, poor Speedy gasped, blinked, and shuddered. Would he
+go straight through the earth and drop out into nothingness on the
+other side? But just then the Skyrocket hit a particularly impervious
+piece of rock, and the ship gave such a bounce and backward leap that
+Speedy was flung out of the seat and knocked quite senseless. How
+long or how far he traveled in this helpless condition he never did
+discover; in fact he knew nothing at all till loud hammers and thumps
+on the outside of the torpedo finally aroused him. Surprised to find
+himself alive at all, he sat up and looked uncertainly around. The
+Skyrocket had really stopped. Strange square faces peered in through
+the window and motioned to him through the glass. Where on earth was
+he? Was he on the earth at all? Doubtfully Speedy stared up at the
+strangers; then, as the supply of oxygen was exhausted, and the air
+inside hot and stifling, he rose unsteadily, threw back the bolt and
+lifted up the top of the torpedo. Looking down into the faces of the
+curious crowd surrounding the Skyrocket, he wondered what Uncle Billy
+would do in such a situation. But the strangers stared so hard and
+so unblinkingly that he could think of nothing more remarkable than,
+"Where am I?" This question, spoken in his ordinary tone of voice,
+burst like three sharp explosions on the quiet air, echoing and
+reverberating till the crowd covered their ears and fell away from him
+in terror.</p>
+
+<p>Astonished at the loudness of his own voice, Speedy swayed backwards
+himself. Then, as he was debating whether to stay in the ship or to
+alight and try to find out where he was, a little square-faced fellow
+separated himself from his companions and slowly approached him. He
+had scribbled something on a card, and handing the card to Speedy he
+hastily scuttled back to his place.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus12.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">He had scribbled something on a card.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Lower your voice," directed the card in a nervous scrawl. "You are
+in Subterranea." Very much relieved to find he could understand the
+language of this odd race of underearth dwellers, Speedy nodded to
+show that he understood, and rather timidly the Subterraneans began
+to draw nearer. They were undersized, thin and undernourished little
+fellows, but dressed with great magnificence in metal-cloth robes,
+tall, stiff headdresses and shoes of pure gold, decorated with precious
+stones. Their square, not unpleasant faces were almost granite in color
+and though not of stone, seemed hard and mummy-like. Probably from
+this queer air and no sun, decided Speedy, staring at them with frank
+curiosity, and beginning to think that Subterranea might prove almost
+as interesting as Mars.</p>
+
+<p>The Skyrocket had come to a stop in the public square of this quaint
+underground city. Crooked pillars of irregular rock held up the blue
+stone sky in which the torpedo had cut a terrible gash. Radium stars in
+the sky sent out a misty phosphorescent glow. From the square, arched
+passageways branched out in every direction, not unlike the subways
+at home, except that they were much higher and lighter, beautifully
+tiled, and decorated with precious stones. Speedy was about to whisper
+a question, when a loud trumpet blast made him turn quickly to the left.</p>
+
+<p>"The Shah!" hissed the square faces impressively. "His Imperial
+Lowness, the Shah!" And waving their arms they bent down all together,
+like a field of wheat swept by a sudden wind. Wide-eyed with interest,
+Speedy saw an important little man dressed all in cloth of gold, with
+a headdress at least a yard high. He was seated cross-legged on a
+giant blue earthworm. It was as large and ugly as a sea serpent and
+its center section was raised to form a comfortable seat for the queer
+little monarch. On either side walked gorgeously attired attendants
+waving metal flags. As the great earthworm came to a stop, the Shah
+glanced inquiringly at Speedy, next up at the hole in the sky, and
+then, leaning down, took from the slave at his right a large mask and
+held it up to his face. The mask wore a ferocious scowl and Speedy
+began to feel rather uncomfortable.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch7b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Oh pshaw, Shah!" he whispered in an embarrassed wheeze, "how could I
+help breaking through the roof?" Instead of answering, the Shah clapped
+his hands twice and handed the mask back to the slave. Now out stepped
+a stiff little Subterranean, whom Speedy quite rightly guessed to be
+the Chief Counsellor of the Shah. He seemed also to be a rhymer of no
+mean ability, and in low rapid verses began to drone out the following:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"The Shah! The Shah! Of SubterraneAH!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In the tenth year of his splendid subter reign;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And whom the Shah displeases, his Headman quickly seizes</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And hurls instanter from the Shah's domain!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">I'm his Headman, as you see, all his subjects bow to me,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">My name is Rhomba, see that you attend,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Why have you come at all? Did you fly or jump or fall,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Are you interloper, enemy, or friend?"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Friend," answered Speedy in a low voice, and chuckling in spite of
+himself. But his answer did not seem to appease his Imperial Lowness at
+all. Looking again at the hole in his sky, he took up the frowning mask
+and turned it again toward the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Gosh!" thought Speedy uneasily, "I've certainly got to do some tall
+explaining; now what in Sam Hill shall I tell them?" All the little men
+were staring at him expectantly, and the one who had given him the card
+whispered aside to the monarch.</p>
+
+<p>"I think, from his high voice, he must be one of those Upperdwellers."</p>
+
+<p>"Speak, Upperdweller," hissed Rhomba, while the Shah changed his
+frowning mask for one whose blank expression upset Speedy even more
+than the frown. But remembering that he was the nephew of a famous
+scientist, and the holder of several records for high jumps and track
+events, he pulled himself together and in a calm whisper explained how
+the Skyrocket, in which he and Uncle Billy had intended to explore
+the sky, had gone off without the inventor; how he had turned the
+ship downward and crashed through to the center of the earth and
+landed in Subterranea through no intention or fault of his own. During
+this recital the Shah changed his mask twice. The first showed faint
+surprise, but the mask held up and slightly awry as Speedy finished his
+story was frankly yawning. Smothering his resentment at such treatment,
+Speedy went on hurriedly, "You see, if Uncle Billy had just been a
+little quicker, we'd have gone up instead of down and I'd never have
+come here at all. It was just a mix-up," he concluded earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"Mix-down," corrected Rhomba severely, as the Shah shook his head to
+show that the explanation was not satisfactory. Then, making several
+strange signals to his Headman, he tapped the earthworm with his heels
+and moved grandly and unconcernedly out of the square.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" inquired Speedy in a defiant whisper, as the Shah disappeared
+down a long, dim, blue tunnel.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"He doubts the truth of all you say;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But mend the sky and you can stay</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And work upon the realm's defences—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">If not, you'll take the consequences!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"And what are the consequences?" asked Speedy in a faint voice, for he
+had no desire to work for this crude little King.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," answered Rhomba, with a careless wave of his hand, "we usually
+throw lawbreakers to the fire fish in Lava Lake, and I suppose sky
+breakers might be called lawbreakers, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Lava Lake!" exclaimed Speedy, beginning to feel downright frightened.
+"But see here, how am I going to mend a great jagged hole like that?
+Why, I can't even reach it!" In his indignation he forgot to whisper,
+and at the terrible racket made by his voice the Subterraneans took to
+their gold heels. That is, all except Rhomba, who seemed to feel it his
+duty to remain.</p>
+
+<p>"That's your affair," he muttered indifferently. "You broke the
+sky—now mend it!" Switching his stiff robes from side to side, the
+Shah's Chief Headman followed the others, leaving Speedy all alone in
+the center of the square. His first impulse was to run, but a short
+dash down one of the tiled passageways convinced him that he would
+be lost in no time. Every few yards it turned and twisted and was
+intersected by other tunnels, and a body might as well have hoped to
+find his way out of a labyrinth. Picking his way slowly back to the
+square, Speedy was surprised to see one of the Shah's subjects sitting
+on a green bench near the Skyrocket.</p>
+
+<p>"My name is Zunda," whispered the little fellow, coming eagerly toward
+Speedy. "Perhaps I can help you, but I beg of you not to shout. It is
+so—so shattering. Tell me," he continued, before Speedy had time to
+say a word, "did you see anything of the other Underground Kingdoms on
+your way down? I have never traveled myself and am curious to know all."</p>
+
+<p>"Are there other Kingdoms?" asked Speedy in a depressed whisper. "I
+only saw a lot of roots, rocks, underground seas, and lava. Are there
+more countries down here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! Yes, indeed!" And clutching Speedy's arm, Zunda began to
+drone out like a schoolboy reciting a lesson: "The Underworld is
+divided into nine levels. First there is Neath and Underneath; then
+Low and Below. After that come Down, Upsidedown, Farther Down and
+Allthewaydown. Then Subterranea. We're about as low as you can get," he
+finished boastfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?" murmured Speedy, trying to appear interested. "But don't you
+think we'd better talk about mending this hole in the sky?"</p>
+
+<p>"What's the use of talking about that?" answered Zunda, with a
+little shrug. "It just can't be done. Now do tell me something about
+Upsidedown. I hear the earthscrapers there are forty feet low."</p>
+
+<p>"How long will it be before—before——"</p>
+
+<p>"Before you're thrown to the fire fish? Oh, not till to-morrow
+morning," Zunda assured him cheerfully. "That will give you time to see
+our city, the underwood and——"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Stop!</i> Isn't there any way out of here?" Seizing the little
+Subterranean by both shoulders, Speedy gave him a desperate shake.
+Zunda blinked but shook his head negatively. Speedy looked gloomily
+up at the great rent overhead, but climbing the stone pillars was
+perfectly impossible. The return rocket on the torpedo had been lost on
+the wild downward flight, and it did seem as if he never would escape
+from this queer and eerie Kingdom under the earth.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch7c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Oh, come along," urged Zunda comfortably under his breath. "You may
+as well see all you can before——before——" Feeling Speedy's violent
+shudder, he tactfully did not finish the sentence, but drew the little
+boy hurriedly across the square.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_EIGHT"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch8.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER EIGHT</h2>
+
+<h3>A GOLDEN PRINCESS</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I suppose you are wondering why our Shah never speaks," murmured
+Zunda, as they came to the end of one of the twisting tunnels. Then, as
+Speedy, too worried to wonder, made no reply, he confided importantly,
+"He is saving his voice so he never uses it; and he wears masks to
+express pleasure or displeasure to save his face."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch8a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Well, if I had a face like his, I'd not bother to save it," said
+Speedy crossly, and as Zunda went on asking him questions and quite
+calmly answering them himself, the boy tried to think of some way out
+of his dreadful difficulties. "These fellows aren't very big," he
+thought shrewdly, "and when they try to throw me in this Lava Lake,
+I'll tackle them by two's. I'll scream like fury, for that seems to
+upset them, and maybe if I'm quick I can knock out this Shah and Rhomba
+and make the rest of them behave. Why, I might even become their
+ruler!" he reflected suddenly. "Then I can sit tight till somebody
+comes down here to rescue me." Speedy felt sure that Uncle Billy
+would organize a search party and follow him down the great shaft cut
+by the Skyrocket. Immensely cheered, he began to look around with a
+little more interest. "I wonder what they eat down here," he thought
+curiously, for if he was to remain any time this would be an important
+thing to know. As if to answer his question, a squat underground
+peddler, with a huge basket on each arm, turned in from another
+tunnel. Opening the lid of one of the baskets he proudly indicated the
+contents. It seemed several days since breakfast and Speedy, hoping it
+would be fruit or cakes, looked in eagerly. With a violent shudder he
+jumped back, for the basket was full of writhing, squirming, wriggling
+earthworms.</p>
+
+<p>"Very tasty in a stew," smiled Zunda, as the peddler held up two long
+and particularly curly ones. But Speedy shook his head and waving the
+peddler away hurried along the tunnel, his nose scornfully in the air.
+Along the edges of the strange passageway, flagstone trapdoors in the
+floor kept opening and shutting, and Zunda explained that these were
+the entrances to the underground homes of his kinsmen. As they marched
+along, inquisitive heads popped up like Jack-in-the-Boxes and some of
+the bolder Subterraneans came out altogether and pattered cautiously
+after them, so that by the time they had come to the end of the passage
+quite a crowd had collected. They seemed perfectly friendly so Speedy
+paid no attention to them. Besides, he was much more interested in the
+strange vista opening out ahead.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch8b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"The Royal Hunting Ground of his Supreme Lowness, the Shah!" explained
+Zunda, with a sweeping wave of his left arm. "The deep, dark underwood
+where the gropers grope, the dragons drag, and Lava Lake boils on
+forever!" This last information, conveyed in a tense whisper, made
+Speedy decidedly uncomfortable, but to show that he was not easily
+frightened he stepped boldly into the underwood. Here the brown and
+green rock formations took the shape of gnarled and twisted trees.
+Phosphorescent material clung like vines to their trunks, shedding a
+weird, goblinish glow. Giant stone mushrooms thrust up their flat heads
+from the slimy ground, and in the distance Speedy could see a great
+lavafall tumbling smokily into the lake below.</p>
+
+<p>"Well? Well?" barked Zunda, plucking nervously at his sleeve. "Have you
+seen enough? Come on out before a groper gets us."</p>
+
+<p>"Groper?" queried Speedy, who did not want to turn back until he had
+seen the fire fish in Lava Lake. "What's a groper?"</p>
+
+<p>"A groper is a blind dragon who lives in the dismal caverns of
+darkness, back of the underwood. They cannot see, but they can hear the
+faintest footfall, and unlucky persons carried off by gropers are never
+heard from again."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it wouldn't be any worse than being thrown to fire fish,"
+muttered Speedy gloomily. "I'm going on."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't! Don't, I beg of you! No one ventures beyond the lake. Why
+destroy yourself before your time?" warned Zunda, giving Speedy's coat
+another tug.</p>
+
+<p>"Just the same," thought Speedy, as the little man continued to plead
+and pull, "it would be a pretty darn good place to hide; there might
+even be some way out on the other side. Thank goodness, I have my
+flashlight and could explore some of the caves. Why, I might even make
+some important scientific discoveries. Geewhiskers, I wish Uncle Billy
+were down here!" With many backward glances he allowed himself to be
+drawn out of the Shah's hunting grounds, and when they came again to
+the great square his mind was still full of the mysterious caves
+behind the underwood. Seated on one of the green benches, he paid
+little attention to the chatter of Zunda or the Subterraneans, who,
+going about their own affairs, pattered busily to and fro. Several
+times the Shah himself passed on his giant undulating earthworm and
+each time turned his frowning mask toward Speedy.</p>
+
+<p>"Cranky old crumb!" exclaimed the boy under his breath, as the stiff,
+gold-clad sovereign went by for the third time. "Say, what's the matter
+now?" for all the people in the square were scampering for shelter,
+tumbling down trapdoors, and even forgetting to lower their voices.</p>
+
+<p>"Run! It's going to subter-rain!" screamed Zunda, bounding off the
+bench and disappearing in three hops like a jack rabbit. Rhomba, the
+Rhymer, rushed by at a gallop.</p>
+
+<p>"Get under cover!" he directed breathlessly:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"When it rains in Subterranea, it pours down rays of sun,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The deadly sun that poisons one! Be quick, I tell you, <i>run</i>!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>As Speedy sprang up uncertainly, a furious downpour of sunbeams almost
+blinded him. But instead of running away, he expanded his chest and
+took long deep breaths. Never had anything felt so good. The chill,
+heavy air of Subterranea seemed to clear and brighten. Speedy's head
+cleared, too. Not an undergrounder was in sight, and resolved to make
+his escape before any appeared, he ran quickly through the sparkling
+shower. Even the underwood looked cheerful drenched by the friendly
+sun rays, and hurrying along under the twisted trees, Speedy fervently
+hoped all the dragons were asleep or otherwise occupied. Just for a
+moment he paused beside Lava Lake, but when the fire fish, about the
+size of sharks, rose hungrily to the surface and snapped their flaming
+teeth at him, he ran off as fast as he could, never stopping until he
+came to the end of the underwood and stepped into the cavernous country
+on the other side. The sun storm made it quite light, and Speedy,
+hurrying along, kept a sharp lookout for gropers. Hot springs and
+small geysers bubbled up here and there between the rocks and reminded
+him not a little of the Yellowstone country and the Grand Canyon. But
+suddenly, as quickly as it had started, the sun storm ceased, and
+without warning Speedy was left in a thick, choking darkness. At the
+same instant a low threatening growl rumbled over the rocks.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch8c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Gropers!" gasped Speedy. Frantically feeling for his flashlight, he
+dashed headlong into the nearest cave, collided with a hard object
+in the center, and fell with a terrible thump to the floor. Rather
+slowly and doubtfully he sat up, and at last locating his flash pressed
+the button to see what under the sun he had bumped into. What he saw
+brought him to his feet in a jiffy. Lying on its side a short distance
+away was a solid gold statue, the statue of a quaint little Princess
+in a great stiff ruff. She was about a head taller than Speedy himself
+and her expression was so sweet and merry that he earnestly wished
+she were alive. Neither in face nor figure was she at all like the
+Subterraneans, and the little boy could not help wondering how the
+statue had come to this dark, dismal spot. Placing his flash on a ledge
+of rock so that it cast a good light, he tiptoed nearer and seizing
+the little gold hands of the Princess began to tug her to an upright
+position. He had succeeded in raising the statue about five inches when
+the Princess quite unexpectedly opened her eyes and smiled at him.
+Speedy was so startled that he let go her hands and she fell back with
+a hard bump on the rocks. Her smile changed to a look of bewilderment,
+and as Speedy, hastily recovering himself, seized her hands again a
+still more astonishing thing happened. Suddenly the hard, gold folds
+of her dress melted into rippling silken ones, the gold faded from her
+face and hands leaving them pink and rosy, the stiff, carved gold curls
+clustered round her lovely face lifted and lightened and began to dance
+and blow in the damp wind of the cave.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morrow!" said the Princess, as Speedy stared at her in
+open-mouthed wonder. "Are you going to help me up, or not?" With a
+quick pull he had her on her feet; then seeing that her crown had
+rolled into a corner he quickly recovered it and held it out to her.</p>
+
+<p>"I—I was sorta surprised when you came to life," he explained, with an
+embarrassed swallow. "I'm awfully sorry I let you fall—but I didn't
+know you were alive."</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus13.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">I was sort of surprised when you came to life.</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Alive?" laughed the little Princess, setting the crown carelessly on
+the back of her head. "Am I alive?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why—why—" stuttered Speedy, hardly knowing how to explain. "It's
+what you are now, seeing, thinking, feeling, being the same as I am."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" The Princess looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you alive, too?
+Well, then I shan't mind it." Speedy nodded. Everything about this
+Princess was so strange and puzzling that he scarcely knew where to
+begin his questions. "Have you a name?" he asked finally. Seeing by
+her bewildered expression that she did not know, he dropped quickly to
+one knee, for he had suddenly remembered that statues often have their
+names stamped on the base. Sure enough, still visible on the silken hem
+of her dress were two words, "Princess Marygolden."</p>
+
+<p>"Your name's Marygolden," announced Speedy, jumping up in great relief,
+"and now——" The Princess looked at him expectantly, but before
+he could finish his sentence there came a scraping of claws on the
+rocks outside and a great, green, scaly dragon hurled itself through
+the opening of the cave. Speedy, snatching his flashlight, clutched
+Marygolden and backed as far away as he could. The dragon, lifting his
+ugly head, moved it slowly from side to side and gave three furious
+sniffs that filled the air with smoke and sulphur. Then it was that
+Speedy saw it had no eyes. It was a groper, and could not see them at
+all. As the monster came toward them, the little boy flattened himself
+against the rock wall, and as soon as it was out of the mouth of the
+cave he rushed wildly through the opening, pulling the Princess along.
+Guided by the faint glow from his flashlight, he stumbled over rocks
+and ridges, sometimes escaping ghastly crevices and boiling springs by
+mere inches. Marygolden had changed all of his plans. It was all very
+well for a boy to go exploring through a lot of dungeony caverns, but
+for a Princess to be chased by deadly dragonish monsters was not the
+thing. So Speedy decided to return and throw himself on the mercy of
+the Shah. Perhaps the little sovereign could even explain the strange
+coming to life of the golden statue. He, himself, might, perhaps, be
+regarded as a hero and a rescuer and not thrown to the fire fish, after
+all. Marygolden, holding tightly to his hand, ran nearly as fast as he
+did, and in almost no time they had left the cavernous country behind
+and stopped to rest under a pink stone tree in the underwood.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this—being—alive?" puffed the Princess, taking off her crown and
+using it for a fan.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," admitted Speedy judicially, "if we hadn't run like that
+the groper would have caught us and we wouldn't have been alive
+long after that. But we don't have to run all the time," he went
+on hastily. "Sometimes we walk, like this—see!" Taking her hand
+again, Speedy started slowly through the underwood. Marygolden fell
+in step quite easily, and looking up at his lovely companion Speedy
+smiled encouragingly. "She's older than I am but knows nothing at
+all," thought the boy complacently. "I'll just have to take care of
+her till something turns up." Something, as it happened, turned up
+very soon, for as Speedy and Marygolden entered the public square of
+Subterranea, a crowd of undergrounders, catching sight of them, forgot
+to whisper and burst into ear-splitting shrieks and yells. Waving
+their arms and pointing accusingly at the Princess, they ran screaming
+for the Shah. Speedy looked nervously around for Zunda, who seemed to
+be the only friend he had. But instead of Zunda, the Shah himself,
+supported on each side by a slave, came panting on the scene. While the
+Subterraneans continued to shout with anger, the Shah snatched mask
+after mask from his attendants and held them up toward Speedy. The
+first was a growling lion, then came a fierce tiger, next a horribly
+scowling goblin, each mask growing more ferocious than the last.
+Convinced that the Shah was frightfully displeased, Speedy tightened
+his hold on Marygolden, and making a dash for the Skyrocket jumped in;
+pulling the Princess after him, he slammed down the top. Marygolden,
+more interested than alarmed, pressed her pretty face against the
+window glass, but Speedy, as the undergrounders with bars and clubs
+fell upon the torpedo, began to feel terribly anxious. The Skyrocket
+could not withstand their blows forever and when it did give way what
+would happen to them? Staring around desperately his eye lighted on the
+lever that controlled the parashuter.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch8d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"But that goes down," groaned Speedy, "and gosh knows, we're down far
+enough now!" Then, remembering that the Skyrocket itself, while made
+to go up, had travelled quite successfully in the other direction,
+he pushed back his leather helmet and dropped to his knees. If he
+released the parashuter and pointed it up, why would it not carry
+them aloft through the shaft cut by the torpedo? Whether it would or
+not, it was their only chance, and pulling the lever Speedy released
+the strange apparatus, fastening one strap around Marygolden and one
+around himself. Then, clasping the hands of the little Princess around
+the handle, he pressed the button in the top, seized the handle
+himself, and with a violent effort pointed the parashuter straight up.
+The first pull of the lever had opened a trapdoor in the roof of the
+Skyrocket, and as the Subterraneans, with little shouts of triumph,
+swarmed around the opening, the parashuter burst out, scattering them
+in every direction. Safely it shot through the gash in the blue stone
+sky, but missing the tunnel cut by the Skyrocket, began tearing its
+own way through earth, rock, and sand. "It's a good thing we're tied
+on," thought Speedy, gritting his teeth. He tried to call something
+reassuring to Marygolden but the awful speed of the parashuter made
+that impossible, and not sure whether they would be crushed by falling
+rock or scalded by boiling lava, Speedy clung doggedly to the bone
+handle of Uncle Billy's remarkable umbrella.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_NINE"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch9.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER NINE</h2>
+
+
+<h3>SIR HOKUS MEETS AN OLD FRIEND</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was a joy to be on firm land again, and after leaving Ploppa, Sir
+Hokus strode briskly across the yellow plain. At the first stream
+he stopped to wash the last of the swamp mud from his armor; then,
+throwing out his chest, he marched resolutely toward the strange, tall
+castle.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch9a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Mayhap a true and Knightly adventure awaits me here," he mused,
+surveying through half closed eyes its glittering and distant spires.
+But the castle was a long way off, and thinking of this and that, but
+mostly of his queer encounter with the Marshlanders and the curious and
+kindly turtle, the Knight trudged cheerfully along, coming in the late
+afternoon to a little wood. Here he paused and sat down under a gnarled
+old tree to rest. Soothed by the rustle of the branches, he must have
+fallen asleep, for when he awakened it was almost dark and someone was
+shaking him violently. There was a strange hissing noise in his ears
+and a feeling of suffocation in his chest. Blinking both eyes rapidly,
+Sir Hokus, now thoroughly aroused, found himself suspended in the air,
+held in the smothering coils of a huge green serpent. And more alarming
+still, all around him were other serpents, twisting and writhing and
+thrusting out their ugly flat heads. The tree under which he had fallen
+asleep was a serpent tree; each branch growing out of the scarred,
+scaly trunk was a green and glistening snake.</p>
+
+<p>Now Sir Hokus, in the course of his adventurous life, had been in many
+tight places, but this was quite the worst. With both arms pinioned
+to his sides he was powerless to draw his sword, and only his heavy
+armor saved him from being utterly crushed, or poisoned by the darting
+tongues of the unsightly monsters.</p>
+
+<p>"There is but one thing to do, odds buttons! One thing!" he panted,
+trying in vain to free himself from the choking embrace, "and that, to
+perish manfully and unafraid!" So, with what breath he had left, the
+valiant Knight burst into a defiant battle song.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"What HO! 'Tis the challenge of good Knights and true,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">What HO! For the swords and the daggers!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The lances that clash, the good steeds that crash,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The tilting and jousting that staggers!</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"What HO! 'Tis the challenge all good Knights must heed,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">What HO! 'Tis the call of defiance,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In the furious fray</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Ye shall perish this day</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">All ye despots, ye dragons, ye giants!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>To the first verse of this song the serpents paid small attention,
+but at the second, every snakish branch began to sway and swing in
+rhythm. At the third line, the serpent encircling Sir Hokus started to
+unwind, moving in perfect time with the others. As the Knight felt the
+loosening of the coils around his waist, he gave a joyous shout; then,
+seeing the effect his song was having, he bawled as loud as he could.
+With closed eyes the snakes now waved and rippled in time to the music,
+and as he reached the last note of his war cry the one holding him
+straightened out with a rapturous hiss and Sir Hokus fell crashing to
+earth. He lost no time in rolling out of the tree's reach, and for some
+moments lay panting and exhausted on the ground, while the snake tree,
+suddenly deprived of its victim and no longer under the spell of the
+song, began to snap, rattle, and hiss with fury. But Sir Hokus did not
+even open his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Now, as it happened, the serpents were not the only ones who had heard
+the good Knight's singing. Plodding wearily along through the dust,
+another creature pricked up its ears as the booming notes rang through
+the wood. Then, gathering up its long legs and hunching along in great,
+awkward leaps, it ran straight toward the singer, so that by the time
+Sir Hokus had struggled to a sitting position it had reached him, and
+falling upon its knees, licked him frantically through the bars of his
+helmet.</p>
+
+<p>"Hokus, my dear discoverer, there you are, there you are at last!" it
+gulped happily. "I had almost given up the search when I heard that
+grand old song."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">'Tis Camy himself.</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Camy! By the beard of my father's goat, 'tis Camy himself!" And
+sitting up joyfully Sir Hokus gave the Comfortable Camel a resounding
+and affectionate thwack on the hump. Then, as the Camel, backing off
+to have a better look at him, drew near the darting branches of the
+serpent tree, he seized its bridle and jerked his thumb warningly in
+the tree's direction. Camy looked inquiringly over his shoulder, then
+gave a terrified bleat.</p>
+
+<p>"For pity sakes, for pity snakes," he squealed, sitting down with a
+thump. "What's this? What's this?"</p>
+
+<p>"A good thing to keep away from," rumbled the Knight, "though I'm
+minded to cut off every single branch to pay for the squeezing I've
+suffered."</p>
+
+<p>"Squeezing!" coughed the Camel, rolling its eyes wildly. "Oh, my dear
+Hokus, what have you escaped? But I beg of you not to cut off those
+serpents. How uncomfortable it would be if they were all loose and free
+to chase us through the wood!"</p>
+
+<p>"Methinks you're right!" sighed Sir Hokus, regretfully returning his
+sword to its scabbard. "But let us be gone and away from this accursed
+spot." Seizing hold of its bridle, he pulled himself erect, and walking
+slowly at the creature's head related all that had befallen him since
+he left the Emerald City. Then the Comfortable Camel told how it had
+followed him on the very night of his departure.</p>
+
+<p>"Fortunately I had on my trappings and saddle sacks," it confided, with
+a satisfied sniff, "and spoke to no one of my purpose, for I knew you'd
+not want the whole menagerie after you. But I did think you should have
+something comfortable to ride." Looking up at the tossing seat on the
+Camel's back, Sir Hokus sighed resignedly. Camel riding was not his
+idea of comfort, but he would not hurt the faithful creature's feelings
+by saying so.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you come through the swamp?" he asked curiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Went around," explained the Camel shortly, "and thought I'd lost you
+till I heard that old song."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, 'twas like to have been my last," admitted Sir Hokus, with a
+grave shake of his head, "but tell me, how goes it at the capital?"</p>
+
+<p>"They were still preparing for your quest when I left," chuckled the
+Camel comfortably, "and probably haven't missed you, even yet. By the
+way, where are we bound?"</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis too dark to see, but on the other side of this wood stands a
+splendid, tall castle. Methinks there I shall find a proper adventure."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," decided the Comfortable Camel firmly, "we shall require rest.
+Let us camp in this field for the night and pursue our journey in the
+morning." They had, by this time, come safely out of the wood, and all
+the other trees being of a usual and harmless nature, had experienced
+no further difficulties.</p>
+
+<p>"In my right hand saddle sack you will find a tent," announced the
+Comfortable Camel quietly, "a tent, shawls, and other comforts."</p>
+
+<p>"Hast, perchance, a sandwich or goodly tart?" inquired the Knight,
+rummaging eagerly in the huge baskets that hung from the Camel's hump.</p>
+
+<p>"I came just as I was," answered Camy regretfully. "I was afraid if I
+stopped for supplies someone might suspect and follow me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, well," said Sir Hokus, pulling out the tent, "an adventurer must
+endure some hardships. Perchance a great feast awaits us in yonder
+hall!"</p>
+
+<p>"Perchance," yawned the Camel, kneeling awkwardly upon the ground
+and disposing himself for the night. It did not take Sir Hokus long
+to put up the tent, an embroidered, silken affair with a collapsible
+bamboo pole. Spreading some thick shawls on the ground and a pillow
+for his head, the Knight removed his armor, and being exceedingly
+weary after the adventures of the day, soon fell asleep. He dreamed he
+was in a splendid ship, sailing into the harbor of a crystal city. A
+golden-haired Princess waved to him from a crystal tower, and leaning
+over the rail of the ship to wave back, Sir Hokus bumped his head on
+his sword and awoke. Awoke to find himself really sailing, sailing
+through the air, the tent top snapping and flapping in the breezes.</p>
+
+<p>"How, now! And what means this?" gasped the Knight, jumping up in
+alarm. A look through the tent flap was more astonishing still. There
+was Camy snoring calmly beside the tent; there was the tulip tree
+he remembered seeing before he retired—there, I say, was the field
+itself, but not resting on the solid ground. No, odds whirligigs and
+kite tails! 'Twas flying, flying like a magic carpet through the night.
+The stars twinkled up above, the lights from little towns and villages
+twinkled down below, and Sir Hokus, frantically clasping on his armor,
+thumped the Comfortable Camel hard upon the head.</p>
+
+<p>"What's up?" inquired the Camel, opening one eye and yawning
+tremendously. "What's up?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why <i>we</i> are!" exclaimed Sir Hokus, with an excited flourish of his
+sword. "Up and away through the sky and flying Oz knows where!"
+Opening the other eye, the Camel lurched unsteadily to its feet.</p>
+
+<p>"But we're—quite—comfortable——" he muttered uneasily,
+"and—so—far—quite—safe. It must be one of those flying fields Peter
+was telling us about." Now Peter, as many of you know, is a little
+Philadelphia boy who has visited Oz and spent many adventurous days
+with the celebrities.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, no, no!" said Sir Hokus, shaking his head positively. "Flying
+fields in America are not like this at all. Flying fields in America
+stand still and the airplanes do the flying and come to rest on the
+fields. But this field—this field is flying itself. Why, it may even
+carry us out of Oz!"</p>
+
+<p>"Shall—shall we jump?" quavered the Comfortable Camel, bobbing his
+head nervously. Then, as Sir Hokus walked to the edge of the flying
+field and looked over, he gave a frightened scream. "Take care! Take
+care, or you'll tumble off and break yourself!" he called anxiously,
+and seizing the Knight by the mail shirt-tail dragged him determinedly
+away. It was nearly a mile to the ground, and sitting down on a big
+rock in the center of the field Sir Hokus stared dizzily at the clouds
+whirling by, and at the stars shining unconcernedly over their heads.</p>
+
+<p>"At this rate, we'll be at the end of nowhere before we can stop
+ourselves," groaned the Knight despondently. "Every time I fall asleep
+a disaster overtakes me."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus15.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The flying field tilted sideways.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Disaster goes very fast," shuddered the Comfortable Camel, pressing
+as close to Sir Hokus as he could, and for almost an hour they huddled
+together as the field flew on and on over the hills and forests of Oz.
+One by one the stars faded out and the first rosy streaks of morning
+began to tinge the sky. Then, as the sun came up, the flying field came
+down, swooping toward the earth with such speed and suddenness that Sir
+Hokus was hurled off the rock and only saved himself by seizing hold
+of a furze bush. The Comfortable Camel, flung against a tree, was kept
+from falling in the same manner. But when it had almost reached the
+ground, the flying field tilted sideways into a perfect precipice, and
+Sir Hokus and the Camel rolled like cannon balls to the bottom, the
+tent coming down hard upon their heads so that they did not see the
+field straighten up and fly carelessly off without them.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_TEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch10.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER TEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE DESERTED CITY</h3>
+
+
+<p>Untangling himself from the tent folds, Sir Hokus sprang to his feet
+and looked eagerly around him. They had tumbled into the courtyard of
+a tall, strange castle of gold, but grass grew a foot high between the
+gold bricks in the court, the windows of the castle were all broken,
+and birds flew twittering in and out, while the castle itself was
+almost buried under a waving mass of vines. As Sir Hokus, pushing back
+his helmet, squinted uneasily upward, three page boys, just visible on
+the tallest tower, lifted their arms and blew three long, shrill blasts
+upon their trumpets. As the clear silvery notes, leaving a hundred
+rippling echoes in the still, morning air, finally died away, the
+pages let their arms drop stiffly at their sides and stood as rigid as
+statues, which was not surprising because they were statues—statues of
+pure gold.</p>
+
+<p>"Camy! Camy!" wheezed the Knight, dragging the rest of the tent off the
+Comfortable Camel. "Dids't hear yon curious clamor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," mumbled the Camel, heaving himself upward with a great creaking
+of harness and saddlery, "I heard something. Maybe it's the call to
+breakfast," he continued, sniffing the air hopefully. Then, as he took
+in the perfectly deserted courtyard and forsaken castle, his eyes
+bulged with disappointment and dismay. "Who blew?" he wheezed hoarsely.
+Without speaking, Sir Hokus waved his sword at the golden statues.
+"No!" murmured the Camel, flattening back his ears and wriggling his
+nose very fast. "Great grandmothers! In a mere moment the inhabitants
+may fall upon us with swords, spears, and daggers!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch10a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Methinks," sighed Sir Hokus, walking slowly toward the castle,
+"methinks we'll find here neither friend nor foe. What ho! What
+ho, within!" he called loudly, but only his own voice came echoing
+sadly back to him, so pushing open the gold studded door he stepped
+cautiously inside, the Camel treading timidly at his heels. But though
+they walked through all the grand rooms, upstairs and down, they
+found no one. The furniture, being solid gold, had happily withstood
+the ravages of time, but the curtains and tapestries had crumbled to
+powder, and the dust blown in through the windows lay so thickly on
+the floors and sills that flowers had taken root there and grew as
+luxuriously inside as out. Rabbits and other small forest creatures
+peered out anxiously as the Knight and his Camel went thumping through
+the halls. Sir Hokus tried to extract some information about the former
+owner of the castle from a tiny fawn he cornered in the dining hall,
+but if the little fellow could talk he did not choose to, and with one
+bound leapt out of the window.</p>
+
+<p>"Some mighty monarch, mayhap, lived here," mused the Knight, leaning
+thoughtfully against the great mantel, while the Comfortable Camel
+nibbled the top of a young tree that had grown up in the fireplace.
+"But what boots it? He is not here now. What a curious quest this is
+turning out to be, Camy. I seek a maiden to rescue and find a swamp
+witch determined to marry; I seek a monster to slay and am seized by
+a snake tree; I search for a monarch to serve and find only his empty
+castle."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but wouldn't you call the way we reached this castle an
+adventure?" observed the Camel, speaking a bit indistinctly because his
+mouth was full of leaves. "Not many have travelled on a flying field,
+Hokus, and there may be a dragon lurking in these very forests, for all
+we know."</p>
+
+<p>"A dragon! Odds thumpenny! Why, so there may! I'll slay me a dragon
+yet! How you comfort me, Camy. And perchance I'll find a breakfast,
+too." Completely cheered, Sir Hokus strode briskly toward the door and
+down the golden steps.</p>
+
+<p>"Which would you rather find first," inquired the Camel, ambling slowly
+after him, "the breakfast, or the dragon?"</p>
+
+<p>"The dragon," answered the Knight promptly. "One can eat any time, but
+to slay a dragon!—Ah! how that would refresh me!"</p>
+
+<p>"These leaves refresh me more," said the Camel calmly. "Too bad you
+cannot enjoy some of these nice, tender twigs." Sir Hokus nodded
+absently.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis strange, most strange, about yon trumpets," he mused, looking
+thoughtfully back at the deserted castle.</p>
+
+<p>"Everything's strange," admitted the Camel readily, "but that's what
+we're seeking, isn't it? Perhaps those trumpets go off like the burglar
+alarms in our castle at home when strangers tread in the courtyard."</p>
+
+<p>"But there's no electricity here," objected the Knight. "This castle is
+centuries old, Camy, and so is this city."</p>
+
+<p>"And so is this forest!" exclaimed the Camel, peering uncertainly into
+the tangle of vines and trees ahead. "Shall we go on?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly. Hast forgotten the dragon?" Rushing ahead, Sir Hokus
+forced his way between two giant oaks, and stepped into a great,
+rustling, green forest. Moving cautiously between the mighty trees,
+many times having to slash a path for the Camel and himself with his
+sword, Sir Hokus looked sharply about for signs of a dragon or a
+breakfast. But after an hour's tramp he had found neither, and weary
+and somewhat downhearted seated himself beside a silvery forest stream
+and tried to forget how ravenously hungry he was. Camy, after quenching
+his thirst and storing up a vast quantity of water for future use,
+knelt down beside the Knight and was soon asleep. Sir Hokus, sitting
+with his back against the smooth trunk of a lyre bush, was presently
+aware of faint music, strange old tunes he had not heard since he was
+a boy, seven centuries ago. He jumped up, and parting the branches of
+the bush looked all around for signs of the singer, but could see no
+one. But as soon as he sat down the music began anew. It seemed to
+come from the bush itself. "Odds pasties! I'm dreaming!" muttered the
+Knight, starting to walk briskly up and down the banks of the little
+river. "There's no one here to sing!" Great green willows dropped their
+branches into the stream, and as Sir Hokus paused under one of the
+largest and loveliest, the willow began to weep in real earnest and big
+tears splashed down upon the Knight's armor. Its long feathery arms
+touched him on the cheek and rested gently on his shoulders, and Sir
+Hokus could have sworn he heard a voice sorrowfully calling him.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus16.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The willow began to weep in real earnest.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"'Tis hunger that makes me imagine all this!" puffed the Knight,
+uneasily wiping away the tears. "When the stomach is empty the head
+is full of fancies." But the tears were certainly real tears, and
+extremely upset and puzzled, Sir Hokus started back toward the
+Comfortable Camel. Several horse chestnuts, as he passed under their
+branches, shook themselves violently so that a shower of chestnut burrs
+pattered down upon him, almost, thought Sir Hokus, as if they were
+trying to attract his attention. Leaning against the Comfortable Camel,
+the Knight mopped his brow, and turning his back upon the willows
+fixed his gaze upon a gaudy vine that clambered riotously over a dead
+tree. It was covered with bell-like flowers that rang and jingled
+pleasantly in the wind. Birds, after resting among its pink blossoms,
+began immediately to laugh, chatter, and fairly rock with merriment.
+"Funny!" thought Sir Hokus as two crows, alighting on the vine, burst
+into loud haw haws and then flew screaming away over the tree tops.
+"I'm feverish!" panted the Knight, feeling his pulse anxiously. "Odds
+goblets, I've heard crows caw but never haw before. I'm feverish and
+starving by inches." Falling upon the Comfortable Camel's saddle
+sacks he began burrowing wildly among their contents in search of a
+stray cracker or jar of jam left from some palace picnic. It seemed
+to the Knight that the birds perched upon the gay vine laughed more
+hilariously than ever as he rummaged through the great basket-like
+containers, almost as if they were making fun of him, but the
+Comfortable Camel never awakened at all, snoring peacefully through the
+whole performance. There was nothing eatable in the right hand saddle
+sack, and Sir Hokus, after emptying the left, had about given up in
+disgust, when he discovered a tiny catch, and turning the catch found a
+hidden compartment in the bottom of the sack. In this compartment were
+two fat packages wrapped in silver paper. Sir Hokus had the cover off
+the first in no time. Inside lay six large, fat figs, and without delay
+he popped one into his mouth, then another, and another, and another,
+till the whole six were gone. Feeling a little better, but far from
+satisfied, he now opened the second package. This contained six large
+dates, and settling back with a contented sigh the famished Knight
+tried one of the dates. Both figs and dates were dry and hard and had
+evidently lain in the sack for a long, long time, but to Sir Hokus
+they tasted perfectly delicious. A company of jays were now swinging
+on the vine and laughed so saucily at the Knight that when he finished
+the date he sent the date seed spinning into their midst. With little
+shrieks and chatters, the jays flew into the air, but the vine—swords
+and swordfish!—the vine gave itself a brisk shake that set all the
+pink bell-flowers ringing merrily, and then slowly began to unwind.
+Now it twisted and whirled and spun till Sir Hokus could see nothing
+but a flying blur of pink and green. Dropping the package of dates, he
+rubbed his eyes and stared again to make sure he had seen aright, and
+as he did so the whirling ceased, and where the vine had been stood a
+mirthful and care free person in a belled cap. He seemed as puzzled as
+Sir Hokus and after blinking at him a moment in silence, remarked in a
+confidential aside to himself:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"A Knight, a Knight, as I live! So I am to begin the day with night—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The day is young, the Knight is old; now is he brave, and is he bold?"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch10b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Never mind that!" blustered Sir Hokus, hopping up in great excitement.
+"Who are you and how came you here?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch10c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Can't you guess?" With a delighted bounce, the fellow shook his belled
+stick:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"I'm just a jester gesturing</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">To keep the company gay,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">I'm just a jester gesturing</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">My whole long life away!</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"As a matter of fact," he continued, sobering down suddenly, "I think
+I've been enchanted. I seem to have been a funnysuckle vine and my
+head's still full of twits and twitters. Even as a funnysuckle vine I
+still could be gay. Did you hear the birds laughing at my riddles?"</p>
+
+<p>"So that's what made them laugh!" roared Sir Hokus, slapping his knee
+and then rubbing the side of his hand where the armor had bruised it.
+"A funnysuckle vine, and when I flung the date seed you became——"</p>
+
+<p>"Myself!" announced the jester, with a sweeping bow. "And as my
+beneficent restorer, I thank you upon bended knee."</p>
+
+<p>"Go to, now! Go to!" puffed the Knight, pulling the fellow to his feet.
+"And a bother on this bended knee stuff. Cans't tell me aught of yon
+golden castle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Castle?" murmured the jester, shaking his head with a puzzled frown.
+"Castle? I remember no castle!"</p>
+
+<p>"But you must have lived in a castle," insisted Sir Hokus, "and if you
+were enchanted, so must the others have been. What country is this, and
+what King did you serve?"</p>
+
+<p>"King? Country? Faith, and I remember nothing! Nothing!" Shaking his
+head again until all the bells on his cap tinkled, the jester looked
+uneasily at the Knight. "I've been a vine so long I guess I'm still
+twisted," he admitted regretfully. "But come, there are other Kings,
+and other castles; the sun shines and the sky is blue. Let us forget
+the past and address ourselves to the future. You, being a Knight, must
+serve some King. Let me go back to his court with you!"</p>
+
+<p>"I serve Queen Ozma of Oz, but I am now bound upon a quest to render
+assistance to a maiden, slay a monster, or serve a monarch."</p>
+
+<p>"Maidens, monsters, monarchs," chanted the jester, counting them off
+on his fingers, "how I dote upon all three. I, too, will go upon this
+quest and make the going merry, be assured of that; most merry."
+Turning a somersault, the jester winked mischievously at Sir Hokus, but
+the Knight, with a little frown, was looking for the package of dates.
+Some mysterious power was in that date seed and if one enchantment had
+been broken, so reasoned Sir Hokus, might not others be dispelled? Why,
+he might even discover the King of the Golden Castle! But though he
+kicked aside the leaves and went carefully over every inch of ground
+where he had been sitting, and where the funnysuckle vine had been,
+there was not a trace of the dates anywhere. The jester, meanwhile,
+delighted to find himself alive, skipped and danced from tree to tree,
+seeming to care nothing for his former life or master, and when, with
+a sigh, Sir Hokus finally gave up searching for the dates, he tugged
+him impatiently by the arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us be off and be gone," he begged earnestly. "This forest is
+enchanted and if we tarry here we may be caught in some evil spell.
+To horse! To horse, good Knight! Let us be away and seek our fortunes
+elsewhere!" Then, his eye falling for the first time upon the sleeping
+Camel, he gave a great bounce and burst into such a roar of laughter
+that Camy awoke with a startled grunt of surprise. "Since when!"
+shrieked the jester, holding both his sides. "Since when have Knights
+ridden camels?" Without bothering to explain, Sir Hokus hurried over to
+the Comfortable Camel and quickly told him all that had happened. The
+Camel, after an amazed glance at the jester, lurched hurriedly to his
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>"The fellow is right," he snorted anxiously. "This forest is bewitched;
+let us get off before we take root and turn into turnips."</p>
+
+<p>"Many happy returnips!" chuckled the jester, jumping over a tree stump.
+"To camel! To camel, good Knight! Will you never be moving? Come on,
+Comical," he roared, snatching the Camel's bridle and giving it a
+playful twist.</p>
+
+<p>"Mind what you're about," said Sir Hokus in a vexed voice, for he was
+not going to have Camy insulted. Then, as the strange murmuring of
+the forest was beginning to oppress him terribly, he started to walk
+rapidly along the banks of the little stream, for this, he felt, would
+sooner or later lead them out into the open.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch10d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch11.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER ELEVEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE KNIGHT LOSES HIS CAMEL</h3>
+
+
+<p>They had gone but a few yards when the jester, capering along ahead,
+turned round and leapt three times into the air.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop!" he called imperiously. "Stop! I've just remembered something."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch11a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"How now, and what is it?" demanded the Knight, rushing forward
+impetuously and hoping it would be something about the golden castle
+and its owner.</p>
+
+<p>"My name!" exulted the jester, tossing his cap into the air and
+catching it on his belled stick. "My name is Peter Pun."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh bother your name," fumed Sir Hokus in a disappointed voice. "That's
+not important."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's important to me," insisted the jester, hopping across the
+stream and back for pure joy:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Peter Pun gives everyone</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">A taste of jollity and fun."</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I'd rather have a taste of biscuit, or bacon and eggs," sighed the
+Knight. "Six figs and one date make a poor enough breakfast for a
+fighting man."</p>
+
+<p>"Date!" chattered the Comfortable Camel, taking several quick steps and
+resting his head on the Knight's shoulder. "Do you realize you've eaten
+a magic date, Hokus, and may turn into something else any minute?"</p>
+
+<p>"He's turning! He's turning!" yelled Peter Pun, pointing his finger
+warningly.</p>
+
+<p>"Turning!" groaned Sir Hokus, clapping his hand to his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Turning round," laughed Peter, hopping behind a tree to escape the
+Knight's long arm.</p>
+
+<p>"You're a fool," hissed the Camel angrily. "Can't you understand that
+this is serious?"</p>
+
+<p>"How can a fool be serious?" inquired Peter, tickling the Camel on the
+nose with a long branch.</p>
+
+<p>"There's really no harm in him," whispered Sir Hokus in Camy's ear.
+"And methinks all the magic in the date rested in the seed I flung at
+the funnysuckle vine."</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Methinks you're right, Good Knight! Good Knight!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">We'll solve the riddle later;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">At any rate, you ate the date,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And now are full of dayter!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Data," corrected Sir Hokus. "Odds pasties, I would I had the rest of
+that package!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well I don't," said the Comfortable Camel, compressing his lips
+severely. "We've trouble enough with this one fellow without
+disenchanting any more. Much better to have left him a vine. Can't
+you walk along sensibly and stop climbing every tree you come to?" he
+snorted fretfully, as Peter swung along from branch to branch more like
+a monkey than a person.</p>
+
+<p>"If you'd been a vine as long as I, you'd climb trees too," laughed
+Peter, dropping lightly on the Camel's hump. "I keep thinking I'm a
+vine," he murmured dreamily, winding both arms around the Comfortable
+Camel's neck and hugging him vigorously. "And how I do dote on you,
+old potato!"</p>
+
+<p>"There! There!" cautioned the Camel. "Don't choke me to death." In
+spite of his sauciness, there was something so lovable about the
+little jester that Camy did not mind the embrace nearly as much as he
+pretended. "Get back in the saddle," he grunted gruffly, "and see if
+you can't keep quiet for five minutes. It's so much more comfortable
+keeping quiet."</p>
+
+<p>"Who wants to be comfortable?" sniffed Peter, standing on his head in
+the middle of the high seat. "Who wants to be comfortable? I'd rather
+be gay! Say:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"A company of four tried to walk through a door,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But the door slammed them all on the nose.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Can you tell me just why? Or at least have a try?</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">It's easier than you'd suppose!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Was it a true door?" asked the Knight, who was foolishly fond of
+riddles.</p>
+
+<p>"As true a door as you'd find anywhere in your travels," admitted
+Peter, settling down cozily in the seat on the Camel's hump.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how it could slam anyone on the nose unless there was
+someone back of it," put in the Comfortable Camel, pulling a long wisp
+from an overhanging vine and munching it thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor do I," agreed the Knight. "Come now, what kind of door was it,
+Peter?"</p>
+
+<p>"A troubadour!" sang out the jester, kicking up his heels. "And if you
+were a troubadour, and four tried to walk through you, would you not
+slam them on the nose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" grunted Sir Hokus, striding ahead to hide his grin. "One more
+pun and there'll be a slam on your own nose, odds buttons! A slam and
+some more things, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"Best save your slams for the monster," yawned Peter, curling up
+comfortably and pretending to snore. "Heigho, what's that?" Leaping
+to his feet, he held his hand to his ear. "Methinks I hear a monster
+now!" Sir Hokus had already stopped and was listening intently. The dip
+and splash of some great creature churning its way through the water
+came to them quite distinctly, and as they all peered curiously ahead,
+it swept round a bend in the stream and bore straight down upon them.
+Sir Hokus, who had expected to see a ferocious river beast, let his
+sword fall in bitter disappointment. It was no monster after all, but a
+boat, a boat rowed by twenty strong slaves, its yellow sails flapping
+jauntily in the breeze. As the Knight continued to gaze gloomily at
+the curious craft, a huge fat person heaved himself out of a chair on
+deck, and after one long look at the Comfortable Camel began barking
+out orders and directions so fast that the three watchers on the bank
+could understand nothing of what he said. But the slaves apparently
+did, for dropping their oars they seized a long, thick rope, and
+before Sir Hokus had time even to blink, it whirled through the air
+and settled with a vicious hiss around Camy's long neck. With a choked
+gurgle the poor Camel slid forward into the water so quickly that Peter
+circled into the air and fell flat upon the mossy river bank.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus17.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The Camel slid forward into the water.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Halt! Yield! What dost thou there?" Brandishing his battle-axe, Sir
+Hokus scrambled to the edge of the stream in a vain effort to seize
+hold of the Comfortable Camel or slash the rope that was hauling
+him away, before it was too late. But it was already too late, and
+the Knight, slipping into deep water, was forced to watch his old
+friend dragged ignominiously off by the neck. The slaves, urged on by
+Tuzzle—for of course it was the very Grand Vizier—were rowing like
+mad, and Sir Hokus in his heavy armor had no chance at all to swim
+after them. Indeed, had not Peter jumped up in the nick of time and
+held out a stout branch, Sir Hokus would have sunk like a stone to
+the bottom of the stream. Peter, somewhat sobered by the unexpected
+capture of the Camel, helped the Knight to a nearby tree stump.
+Hurriedly emptying the water from his helmet and boots, Sir Hokus made
+ready to pursue the yellow boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Had this been a land battle 'twould not have gone so easy with them,"
+rumbled the Knight, snatching the long slippery stem of a water lily
+from around his neck.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they'll land sooner or later and then we can give them what for
+and what ho! Come on!" cried the jester, dancing with impatience. "If
+we follow this river we're bound to catch them. Are we going to let
+those old camelnappers steal our good steed?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, odds thumpeny! A thousand times, no!" roared Sir Hokus, and
+catching up his battle-axe he began running along the edge of the
+yellow river. But twenty pair of arms are stronger than two pair of
+legs, and in less than three minutes the royal barge of the Sultan
+was out of sight. As the Knight and Peter raced along, the river grew
+broader and more turbulent. The forest, too, thinned out, and after a
+stiff twenty minute sprint the two rescuers found themselves in open
+country. Pausing a moment to catch his breath, Sir Hokus squinted
+inquiringly around. A luxurious orange grove lay ahead of them, but the
+river branched sharply in two directions. Refreshing himself with an
+orange and throwing one to Peter, the Knight paused to reflect.</p>
+
+<p>"Toss up your sword," advised the jester. "If the hilt comes down
+first, we'll follow the left branch; if it comes down point first,
+we'll take the right!" It seemed as good a way as any to choose, and
+when the gleaming sword fell point first at the Knight's feet, they
+both felt relieved.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"When the sword point points the way,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Truly one can't go astray!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>chanted Peter Pun.</p>
+
+<p>"And that fat rascal shall have the sword point where it will do him no
+good," promised Sir Hokus, striding fiercely along the right bank of
+the stream. "Dost see a sail, Peter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Neither a sail nor a camel's tail," admitted the jester, shaking his
+head regretfully:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"But round that turn ahead, who knows?</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">We'll find alike our friend and foes!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Then come on!" breathed the Knight, breaking into a run. "Come along
+with you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Coming!" piped Peter, his mouth full of oranges.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_TWELVE"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch12.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER TWELVE</h2>
+
+
+<h3>CAMY AT THE SULTAN'S COURT</h3>
+
+
+<p>Now the Comfortable Camel, though nearly choked and almost drowned, had
+instantly recognized Tuzzle. Like a bad and half remembered dream, his
+former life in Samandra came back to him. The long, tiresome journeys
+across the desert, the bad temper of the Sultan, the heavy loads he was
+forced to carry in order that his peppery little master might travel
+in comfort and luxury. He opened his mouth to cry out, but found to his
+horror that he could not speak a word. Instead of indignant protests
+against his captors, he was uttering only camelish grunts and gurgles,
+and when three minnows swam down his throat he gave up in despair, and
+closing his eyes and his mouth allowed himself to be towed along in
+silence. In Samandra, he recalled bitterly, he had not been able to
+converse at all. How dreadful to be but a dumb beast of burden after
+his interesting and cozy existence in the Emerald City of Oz. It was
+not to be thought of or endured.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll run away first chance I have, and let them try to stop me if
+they dare," he decided grimly, beginning to work his feet to keep the
+rope round his neck from strangling him. Tuzzle, meanwhile, leaning
+proudly over the rail, was already counting up the rewards he might
+claim for his cleverness in capturing the Camel. Rubbing his hands with
+anticipation, he bade the slaves row faster. This they did, and in less
+than an hour the Royal Sampan drew alongside the golden dock in the
+Sultan's city. The Sultan, warned of their arrival by watchers he had
+stationed along the bank, came hurrying down from the palace, followed
+closely by the Grand Bozzywoz and other dignitaries.</p>
+
+<p>"Am I a good Seer, or am I not?" queried Chinda, waving complacently
+at the Camel swimming feebly after the yellow barge. "Behold your
+Majesty's Comfortable Camel!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch12a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"It certainly does not appear to be very comfortable at the
+present moment," observed the Keeper of the Royal Records. "A most
+uncomfortable camel I should call it."</p>
+
+<p>"Hold your tongue," advised the Sultan disagreeably, and after a quick
+glance to assure himself that the Camel's saddle sacks were in place,
+he called impatiently to the slaves to bring the half drowned creature
+ashore. The Camel's first action was to shake himself violently,
+drenching everyone on the dock. Then with an angry snort he trod
+heavily on the toes of Tuzzle and as many more as he could manage to
+get near.</p>
+
+<p>"Patience! Patience, my precious little parsnip," wheezed the Sultan,
+wiping the water out of his eyes with his sleeve and motioning for the
+Keeper of the Camels to approach. "Let him be given a triple portion
+of dried peas and rice, and with my own hands I will remove his heavy
+trappings." At this, Camy, remembering the ill-natured kicks and prods
+given by his former master, let out such a squeal of defiance that
+the courtiers tumbled in every direction to get out of his way. But
+the Camel Driver, slipping a stout noose over his head, forced him
+unwillingly up the bank and toward the Royal Camel Quarters behind the
+castle. The Sultan, fairly bubbling over with relief and excitement,
+pattered after him, for he, for very good reasons of his own, did not
+want the Camel out of his sight for an instant.</p>
+
+<p>"Has your Highness no word of welcome or commendation for me?"
+complained Tuzzle, limping aggrievedly beside the Sultan. "Do you not
+desire to hear of my reception at Ozma's court and of the masterful
+manner in which I was finally able to restore this long missing
+miscreant to your Majesty's stable? Have I sought out and captured this
+capricious Camel by main strength only to be ignored and stepped upon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Posh! Bosh! And a pound of tea!" sputtered the Sultan, waving him
+carelessly aside, and bidding all of his advisors return to the palace
+he proceeded joyfully to the stall set aside for the most important
+member of his herd. There, tied fast to an iron ring in the side of
+the wall and facing a heaping measure of dried peas and rice, the
+Comfortable Camel's usual good judgment and temper returned to him.
+Sir Hokus and Peter, he felt sure, would soon come to his assistance.
+Meanwhile, he might as well make the best of things and enjoy what he
+could of the experience. Nibbling daintily at the peas and rice, he
+paid scant attention to the Sultan, who had dismissed the attendant
+and was standing on a small ladder at his side. Tossing everything
+out of the left hand saddle sack, the Sultan suddenly gave such an
+exclamation of fury that the Comfortable Camel turned his head. The fat
+little ruler, coming to the bottom of the sack, had found the secret
+compartment open and the precious package he had been so long seeking
+and so anxiously waiting for—gone!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus18.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The Comfortable Camel's good temper returned.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Great, lazy, stupid son of a cow!" bellowed the Sultan, dancing up and
+down like a dervish on top of the ladder. "What have you done with my
+dates? Who has taken the dates?"</p>
+
+<p>"Aha!" mused the Camel to himself. "So he is at the bottom of this date
+magic. It's the dates he wants, and not me at all." And as the enraged
+Sovereign continued to dance and scream, he went calmly on with his
+lunch.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch12b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Son of a scorpion," hissed the Sultan vindictively. "Cousin to a
+cougar and uncle of a goat, how dare you come back without those
+dates?" Hammering the Camel with both fists, he nearly cried with rage.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, he's even better at calling me names than he used to be,"
+marveled the Camel, paying no heed to the thumps, which hurt him hardly
+at all. "I must remember all this to tell Hokus—that is, if I can ever
+talk as I used to do, I'll tell him. Heigho, there goes the fat pest,
+and good riddance." For the Sultan, seeing nothing was to be got out
+of the Camel, had finally stopped hammering him and gone away. Racing
+back to the palace he sought out Chinda and started to shake the Grand
+Bozzywoz with all his strength.</p>
+
+<p>"What now?" groaned the astonished Seer, clutching his turban, which
+was tossing like a ship in a hurricane. "Have you not got your precious
+Camel back again? Is this gratitude? Is this thanks—or——"</p>
+
+<p>"That silly Camel is of no use to me," screamed the Sultan angrily,
+almost, in his excitement, revealing the secret of the magic dates.
+"There was a package of great value in his left hand saddle sack. It
+has been lost—or stolen!" he panted desperately. "And I must have that
+package at once, at once, do you hear me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Package?" repeated Chinda dully. "Well, why did your Excellency not
+say so in the first place? All these years I have been seeking a Camel,
+and now you tell me it is a package and not a Camel you desire."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence!" shrieked the Sultan, beginning to shake him again, and in
+the next breath, "Speak, fellow, have you nothing in your head at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"The telescope!" puffed Chinda, jerking away from his tempery little
+master. "Let us consult the magic telescope and see what it can tell us
+of this strange matter." For ten minutes in his tall, glass enclosed
+tower, the Chief Seer and Grand Bozzywoz of Samandra gazed through the
+magic lens of his huge telescope; then, turning to the Sultan, who was
+stamping anxiously up and down the laboratory, he spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"You will find part of what you seek in the middle of the night," he
+announced solemnly.</p>
+
+<p>"In the middle of the night?" gasped the Sultan. "But where, how, and
+what night?"</p>
+
+<p>"More I cannot tell you now, but if your Highness will depart and leave
+me, I will go into a great silence and endeavor to discover the exact
+location of the missing package." Far from satisfied, but not knowing
+what else to do, the Sultan returned reluctantly to his throne room.
+There, clutching Confido to his breast, he whispered long and anxiously
+to the Imperial Peke and waited impatiently for nightfall.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch12c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_THIRTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch13.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER THIRTEEN</h2>
+
+<h3>KING OF THE QUIX!</h3>
+
+
+<p>And now, leaving the Sultan and the Comfortable Camel to their own
+devices, let us see what has been happening to Marygolden and Speedy.
+Fortunately for its two passengers, the parashuter struck a dry and
+sandy section of earth so that they were neither crushed by falling
+rock nor scalded by boiling lava. Whistling like a roman candle and
+forced upward by the rocket set off when Speedy touched the button in
+the handle, Uncle Billy's strange invention shot upward so fast that
+the boy lost all sense of time, space, and distance. And just as he was
+deciding they would never reach the upper regions at all, the steel
+umbrella burst through the top crust of earth, fluttered a few feet in
+the air and then dropped heavily to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Are—we—still—alive?" inquired Marygolden in a faint voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I—I think so," mumbled Speedy, who had bumped his head pretty hard on
+the handle of the parashuter.</p>
+
+<p>"Sometimes it hurts to be alive," sighed Marygolden, looking
+reproachfully over at him, for the little Princess had come down hard
+in the middle of a rocky path. Both adventurers were covered with dirt
+and grime, and had their umbrella-like contrivance not travelled with
+such lightning speed they would probably have been suffocated as well.
+As it was, they were perfectly exhausted and lay for several minutes
+where they had fallen. Then, rolling over, Speedy unfastened the straps
+that bound him to the handle, and giving himself a little shake, stood
+up.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I hope this time we're in America," he breathed anxiously,
+leaning down to untie Marygolden. The golden Princess winced a bit as
+Speedy helped her to her feet, and afraid that she might cry, he patted
+her reassuringly on the shoulder. But Marygolden straightened up like
+a soldier and the boy could not help feeling proud of the way she was
+taking their strange experiences. "Anyway, we're out of Subterranea and
+we've escaped from that awful old Shah!" he exclaimed, beating the dust
+from his leather jacket.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch13a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Yes," agreed Marygolden gravely. "We're away from the Shah, but who
+are these?"</p>
+
+<p>"These?" cried Speedy, whirling round. "Well, curses macorangejuice!"
+This was a favorite expression of the boy's, but even this did not seem
+surprising enough for the strange figures racing toward them. There
+were twelve, and their long, thin legs, long, thin arms, long, thin
+bodies, long, thin faces, and long, thin hair gave them an unreal and
+comical appearance. They were dressed in silver cloth jackets and hose
+and pointed hoods, and when they reached Speedy and the Princess they
+took hands and danced round and round them so fast that the two could
+do nothing but blink and gasp and draw in their toes to keep from being
+stepped on. The twinkle of the sun on their silver hoods was making
+Speedy dreadfully giddy, when all twelve suddenly stopped, and the
+tallest of the company, drawing a long scroll from his coat, cried
+loudly:</p>
+
+<p>"The prophecy has been fulfilled. Behold our King!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch13b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Nonsense!" blustered Speedy, trying to push his way out of the ring,
+"Nonsense, I'm a Republican!" Then, as the holder of the scroll began
+to read the strange document, his curiosity got the better of him.</p>
+
+<p>"I, Hurreewurree the Worst, Chief Counsellor of the Quix, do hereby
+pronounce you King," boomed the silver-clad leader impressively. "Our
+humble sovereign having run away, it has been prophesied by the Book of
+Stars that our next ruler would burst from the earth, as you must admit
+you have done, that our next ruler would be young and exceeding quick,
+quick to fight, quick to run, and quick to lose his temper—" ("Well,
+all that's true enough," thought Speedy, with an amused chuckle, as the
+Chief Counsellor looked at him over his specs.) "And his name shall
+mean Swift," continued Hurreewurree. "What <i>is</i> your name?" he inquired
+solemnly, holding his finger on the scroll to keep his place.</p>
+
+<p>"Speedy!" answered the boy, without giving himself time to think.</p>
+
+<p>"Speedy!" exulted the Chief Counsellor, waving the prophecy over his
+head. "Do you hear that? Three cheers for Speedy, King of the Quix!"
+With three hilarious cheers, the long-legged strangers closed in.
+Speedy had just time to grasp Marygolden's hand before they were seized
+on all sides and hustled forward. Soon they were flying along so fast
+he had not breath enough to ask even one question.</p>
+
+<p>"To keep things running here you must keep moving," puffed
+Hurreewurree, "and as soon as we catch the castle you'll be crowned."</p>
+
+<p>"Catch the castle?" panted Speedy. "Does that run, too?" Nobody
+bothered to answer his question, but when they came to Quick City he
+saw what Hurreewurree meant, for all the houses and buildings rolled
+about like taxis. "Why, this is worse than New York!" marvelled Speedy,
+as they were almost knocked down by a barber shop. "Why, instead of
+running down to the bank, the bank runs down to you. Gosh!" gasped the
+boy, as a teller leaned out of the window of a passing bank building
+and took a roll of quicksilver from Hurreewurree. All the inhabitants
+of this curious city dashed by as if they were running races, and when
+one of Speedy's guards tried to stop a Quick and introduce him to the
+new King, the fellow burst into tears.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus19.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Buildings rolled by like taxis.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Don't stop me!" he cried fretfully. "Can't you let me eat this piece
+of taffy before I'm too old to enjoy it?" And now Speedy noticed
+another queer thing about the Quix. Even while he was looking at them
+they changed and grew older. Hurreewurree, who had been quite young
+and handsome when he read his proclamation, was becoming more bent
+and feeble at every step and when they finally did catch up with a
+tidy silver castle, the Chief Counsellor had hardly enough strength
+to stagger up the steps. The other Quix were old men, too, and with
+a great effort tugged Speedy and Marygolden into the royal dwelling.
+Speedy was so weary from the long run, and so astonished by the change
+in his companions that he sank thankfully down upon the silver throne
+and tried to smile encouragingly at Marygolden, who had been placed in
+a silver chair at his side.</p>
+
+<p>"We don't have to stay unless we want to," he whispered, as
+Hurreewurree, taking a silver hood from an ancient servitor, tottered
+uncertainly toward him.</p>
+
+<p>"With this Lively Hood, I crown you King of the Quix!" quavered
+Hurreewurree, snatching the leather helmet from Speedy's head and
+dropping the Hood in its place. "What are your Right Royal Commands?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing right now," panted Speedy, in as imperious a pant as he
+could manage. "As soon as they go, I'll leave," he decided quickly to
+himself. "They needn't think I'm going to spend the rest of my life
+running like a jack rabbit, dodging barber shops and telegraph poles.
+Why, it's ridiculous—everything's ridiculous!" he concluded with a
+slight shudder, as the castle coasted down a steep street and just
+missed a stone wall at the bottom. Still another shock awaited him
+when he turned his gaze from the windows back into the throne room.
+Hurreewurree and his companions were growing young again, and as
+Speedy and Marygolden simply stared at them, their long silver whiskers
+fell away, their crooked legs straightened and presently they were
+young men. But Speedy had no sooner grown used to this than they grew
+younger still, and pretty soon they were all sitting on the floor in
+silver rompers playing with blocks. Much to his surprise he wanted to
+play, too, but when he tried to step down from his throne he fell off
+and bumped his head so hard he began to cry bitterly. Marygolden it
+was who picked him up, and he could only stare at her with round eyes
+for she seemed like a giantess now, for he was only ten months old.
+But this lasted scarcely ten minutes or so, and then he found he could
+walk, and scrambling down from her lap he got into an exciting game
+of tag with his subjects. Speedy could not imagine why Marygolden was
+crying. He stopped to comfort her and was soon tall enough to get back
+on his throne. But it was terribly confusing, for in ten minutes the
+little Princess was crying again.</p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look!" she wailed, pointing to his chin; and putting up his
+hand fearfully, Speedy discovered that he had a long silver beard. His
+voice, when he tried to speak, was so high and shrill that it startled
+him; his knees felt stiff, and his head ached!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus20.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">He had a long silver beard.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Why, I'm a Quick," groaned poor old Speedy, looking anxiously at his
+thin hands. "I'm a Quick, and I'll have to spend the rest of my days
+shooting up and down like an elevator. Gosh, what'll I do?" As he
+started to grow younger, his thoughts became clearer. "It's the Hood,"
+he decided frantically. "If I take off this Hood I'll be all right, but
+then suppose I take it off when I'm old, then I'll be all wrong. Gosh!
+Golly, what a fix to be in!" By this time he was a little boy again,
+and before he could explain to Marygolden, he was a baby. And not until
+he had shot up to young manhood could he make the little Princess
+understand what to do.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as I look the way I did when you first saw me, pull off this
+Hood," he begged eagerly, "and do be careful, Mary dear, not to make me
+any older than I am. I don't want to miss half my life and all the fun
+of college." Marygolden nodded and watched Speedy solemnly as he grew
+older and older, and still more solemnly as he grew younger, and as the
+boy reached the exact age he had been when he plunged into Subterranea,
+the clever little Princess pulled the Lively Hood from his head and
+threw it as far as she could. With one bounce Speedy was off the throne.</p>
+
+<p>"Girl, that was neat!" he whispered, looking thankfully in the mirror
+over the mantel. "Why, you couldn't have done any better if you'd been
+a boy. Now, as soon as these fellows grow down a bit further, we'll
+run." Hurreewurree and the other boys were so engrossed in a marble
+game that they did not notice their new King tiptoeing toward the door.
+And by the time Speedy and Marygolden were scampering down the steps
+of the moving castle, they and all the other inhabitants of Quick City
+were infants again. "You certainly have to think and step quick in this
+country," puffed Speedy, as they ran hand in hand down the main street
+of the town. Having had a lot of practice dodging motors, he managed to
+keep out of the path of the whirling houses and shops, and by the time
+the Quix were growing up again, he and Marygolden had left the city far
+behind them. Even in the fields and orchards on the outskirts of the
+town the curious nature of the country persisted. Flowers grew up and
+wilted under their feet. Fruit ripened and fell from the trees before
+they could eat it. After several unsuccessful attempts to pick some
+peaches, only to have them rot in his hands, Speedy gave up. Indeed it
+was with something like relief that they came to a cool, deep forest,
+where trees neither shot up nor down, and everything was pleasantly
+quiet and still.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll stop here a long, long time," sighed Speedy, sitting down under
+a great oak. "Then I'll try to find you something to eat and discover
+where we are. I'm sure it's not America, for things like this couldn't
+happen in America. Say, I wonder why those fellows wanted me for King!
+Can you imagine being King of a place like that?"</p>
+
+<p>Marygolden shook her head and smoothed out her dress. "I like it better
+here," she said contentedly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I do too, but I don't think I'm going to like growing old
+very much. It felt awful." Speedy rubbed his knees reminiscently and
+wondered what Uncle Billy would think of his adventures. "I'm certainly
+having a lot of experiences," he muttered reflectively. "And you know,"
+he turned thoughtfully to look at the little Princess sitting so
+quietly at his side, "you're the very strangest of them all. I can't
+make you out in the least, Marygolden. If you were just a statue, and
+were never alive before, how is it you can talk, and know how to act?
+And now that you are alive, what are you going to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to do everything you do," announced Marygolden calmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Gosh!" breathed Speedy, rather frightened by the responsibility of
+such a thing. "Then I'll have to be pretty careful about everything I
+do, won't I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," smiled the Princess, folding her hands serenely in her lap.
+Speedy was about to explain that she, being a girl, could not possibly
+do all the exciting and adventurous things that he, as a boy, could do,
+but she seemed so pleased and happy that he decided to let the matter
+rest for a while.</p>
+
+<p>"She's certainly done everything I've done so far," he reflected
+slowly, "except grow whiskers! And she didn't cry when we fell, either.
+You're all right!" he announced emphatically, and leaning over he
+gave her a real boyish handshake. "You're all right, and a real good
+fellow!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_FOURTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch14.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FOURTEEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE ENCHANTED FOREST</h3>
+
+
+<p>After the rush and hurry of Quick City, both travellers were glad
+enough to rest quietly under the oak tree. Leaning back with his
+head against the broad trunk, Speedy tried to puzzle out and explain
+to himself the queer happenings of the morning. But there seemed no
+reasonable explanation of Subterranea or Quick City, or the curious
+coming to life of Marygolden, and with a little sigh he finally
+stopped bothering and turned his attention back to his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you ever remember seeing that Shah, or any of those people before?"
+he inquired earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't remember anyone but you," answered Marygolden, fixing her eyes
+dreamily on the bit of sky just visible above the tree tops.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," pondered Speedy, "if you were alive before, you must have lived
+in some old, old country. You know, you're dreadfully old-fashioned,
+Marygolden."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mind?" asked the Princess, leaning forward anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"No," Speedy assured her gallantly. "But I should think you would."
+His glance travelled critically from her long, frilled skirts, now
+sadly torn and dusty, to the stiff, high, and certainly uncomfortable
+ruff. "Girls don't wear such long skirts nowadays," he explained
+apologetically. "I say, shall I cut off some of that stuff?" The
+Princess seemed quite interested in the idea, so Speedy, taking out his
+scout knife, which fortunately had a scissor attachment, snipped all
+the lace ruffles from her gold dress, making it about knee length. Then
+he cut off her huge, uncomfortable ruff and stood back, quite pleased
+with the result. "If it wasn't for that crown you'd look just like a
+regular girl," declared Speedy, returning the knife to his pocket. At
+these words, and before he could stop her, Marygolden took off her
+crown and flung it as far as she possibly could.</p>
+
+<p>"Curses!" muttered the boy with a worried bounce. "You shouldn't have
+done that, Mary. It's probably worth a lot of money."</p>
+
+<p>"But it makes my head ache," stated the Princess calmly, "and what good
+is it anyway?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well," decided Speedy, after looking without success for the
+golden circlet, "I guess you won't need a crown now, for you're going
+home with me, if I can ever find the way, and they don't use crowns in
+America."</p>
+
+<p>"America?" asked the Princess, taking a few dancing steps to see how it
+felt without her long, trailing skirts. "Shall we reach there soon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not unless we start," answered Speedy. "And unless we want to spend
+the rest of the day in this forest, we'd better start right away."
+Marygolden made no objection, so talking quite cheerfully they strolled
+along under the giant trees.</p>
+
+<p>"Pretty soon, now," observed Speedy, helping the Princess over a
+little brook, "pretty soon now we ought to be meeting some people."</p>
+
+<p>"People!" sniffed Marygolden, turning up her pretty nose. "Every time
+we meet people we run. I'd rather not meet any people, Speedy."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe the next ones will be good fellows. Maybe they'll give us
+something to eat and tell us where we are. We can't just go on and on
+forever," he explained, leaning down to examine a colored stone at his
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there no other way of getting about, then?" inquired Marygolden,
+staring sorrowfully at her gold kid slippers, which were already sadly
+scratched and torn by the sticks and stones of the forest. "Must we
+always walk and run?"</p>
+
+<p>"If we were in my country we could take a bus, or a train, or a taxi;
+but there's nothing to take here," answered Speedy in a matter-of-fact
+voice, and finally deciding that the stone he had picked up was of no
+value, he sent it flying into the branches of a horse chestnut tree.
+With speed and accuracy it hit a large chestnut burr and the burr,
+sailing through the air, dropped directly in his path. As Speedy was
+about to pick it up, it began to swell like a balloon, larger and
+larger till it was simply immense; and as Speedy and Marygolden jumped
+back together, it burst with a loud bang and out trotted a shining
+chestnut steed. He wore a breastplate of gold, yellow silk trappings,
+a gold-trimmed saddle, and had such a glorious, golden, flyaway mane
+and tail that Speedy, in spite of his fright and astonishment, gave a
+cry of pure delight and admiration. The horse, lifting his head, looked
+about a bit wildly and began to paw up the earth with his forefoot.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you see that?" gasped Speedy, holding fast to Marygolden's arm in
+case the wonderful horse should spring forward. "One minute there was
+a horse chestnut and now there's a chestnut horse. Girl! Girl! What a
+country!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch14a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Is it something to ride?" whispered Marygolden, not in the least upset
+by the miraculous appearance of this stunning steed. "Is it yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"I belong to the Yellow Knight," trumpeted the horse, with a quick toss
+of his golden mane. "Have you seen the Yellow Knight, Smallfellow?"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus21.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Have you seen the Yellow Knight, Smallfellow?</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Knight!" breathed Speedy in a hushed voice. "I didn't know there were
+any Knights nowadays. And listen to that, Marygolden, he's talking;
+that horse is talking to us. Wait! Stop!" he called excitedly, as the
+horse, wheeling round and round, showed signs of galloping off. "Wait,
+I want to ask you something. How is it one moment you were a chestnut
+burr, and the next moment a horse? How is it you can talk? Horses in my
+country only say 'neigh'."</p>
+
+<p>"Nay!" snorted the Knight's horse, pausing with one foot uplifted.
+"What a stupid country yours must be. What do they do when they wish to
+say yes, or answer a question?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nobody asks them questions," answered Speedy, quite truthfully. "They
+just tell them what to do."</p>
+
+<p>"Worse and worse," whinnied the horse disapprovingly. "Why, hereabouts
+all the animals can talk. You asked me how I happened to be a chestnut
+burr, didn't you? Well, as to that, I think I've been enchanted, and
+someone has just broken the spell."</p>
+
+<p>"It was Speedy," cried Marygolden, pointing proudly to the boy. "He
+threw a stone at the horse chestnut tree and knocked down the burr, and
+there you were!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, in that case," mused the horse thoughtfully, "I owe you a great
+debt of gratitude. You have no idea how it feels to be cooped up in a
+chestnut burr. Speak up, Smallfellow, what can I do for you? What is
+your name, and where are you going?"</p>
+
+<p>"My name is Speedy, I'm from the United States, and would like to get
+back there if I could. I found Marygolden in a cave. She was enchanted,
+too, I guess, but she's all right now. Could you let us ride on your
+back and help us find our way back to America?"</p>
+
+<p>"That place where horses can only say 'neigh, neigh'?" questioned the
+Knight's steed uneasily. "Where they are dumb as fish, and ordered
+about like slaves? Nay, nay! Good turnips, Smallfellow! You have me
+saying it already! Nay, an' I will not go there, but I'll tell you
+what I will do," he offered generously, noticing Speedy's disappointed
+expression. "I'll not go with you, but you may come with me until I
+find the Yellow Knight, and perhaps he can tell you the way back to
+your own country. Come! Will you go? Decide quickly for I long to
+stretch my legs again." It did not take Speedy long to decide. Putting
+his foot in the golden stirrup, he gave such a spring that he landed
+safely in the splendid saddle of the Yellow Knight. Then he looked
+doubtfully down at Marygolden.</p>
+
+<p>"Can the little wench ride?" inquired the horse, beginning to prance
+with impatience. "Can the little baggage stick on?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can do anything Speedy can do," declared the Princess stoutly,
+and mounting a tree stump she motioned imperiously for the horse to
+approach.</p>
+
+<p>"What's your name?" asked Speedy, as the big chestnut trotted
+obligingly over to the tree stump.</p>
+
+<p>"Stampedro!" cried the horse, with a joyous toss of his head. "Up with
+you, maiden, and away we'll be going!" And scarcely had Marygolden
+seated herself behind Speedy and clasped her arms round his waist,
+before Stampedro set off at such a pace that both riders had all they
+could do to hang on. To himself, Speedy pretended he was really the
+Yellow Knight with long gleaming lance and gold armor. He only wished
+Uncle Billy or some of the fellows could see him galloping through the
+forest on this great shining steed, and though the Knight's saddle was
+uncommonly hard, and the bumps and bouncing terrific, he would not have
+changed places with Lindy himself. After a while Stampedro slackened
+his speed, much to the relief of Marygolden, thumping up and down
+behind.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch14b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"AH—HH!" snorted the Knight's horse. "'Tis fine to breathe this keen
+air and feel the good earth underfoot again. It's good to be alive, and
+could I see my young Master, no more would I ask."</p>
+
+<p>"Was—he—en—chanted—too?" asked Speedy, quite breathless from the
+jouncing he had received. "Say, why didn't I bring along that stone?
+There must have been something magic about that stone, for it turned
+you from a chestnut burr to a chestnut horse. And if you ask me,
+there's something magic about this whole country."</p>
+
+<p>"Right in both cases," agreed Stampedro amiably. "This is the Magical
+Country of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Oz!" sputtered Speedy, sitting up very straight. "Why, I've often read
+about Oz, but I never thought it was really true."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what do you think now?" queried the horse, looking over his
+shoulder to wink good-naturedly at Marygolden.</p>
+
+<p>"It must be true," conceded the boy slowly, "for you see, we're here.
+Do you know what part of Oz we're in, Stampedro?" The horse stopped
+short in his tracks and thought so intently that his ears crossed and
+his mane stood up and waved to and fro, but, think as he would, he
+could not remember.</p>
+
+<p>"It's that wretched enchantment," he wheezed crossly. "I've been a
+chestnut inside of a burr so long I've forgotten everything."</p>
+
+<p>"But you remembered the Yellow Knight," Marygolden reminded him softly,
+"and if we find him, perhaps he can tell us where we are."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe we'd better go back and hunt that magic stone," suggested
+Speedy, as Stampedro, shouldering his way through some low bushes, came
+to a rushing yellow river. So far and so fast had he galloped that they
+were entirely out of the forest and moving swiftly toward a pleasant
+orange grove.</p>
+
+<p>"Too late," sighed Stampedro, picking his way carefully along the
+slippery bank of the stream. "We'd never find the place again. Besides,
+I do not think my Master was enchanted. He's far too clever for such
+trickery. Hello, what's this?" This was a bright yellow basket
+floating merrily along with the current. "Want it?" whinnied Stampedro,
+and as both his riders nodded enthusiastically he stepped daintily into
+the river and lifted the basket in his teeth.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch14c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Wonder what's in it," muttered Speedy, leaning forward eagerly to take
+the basket. "Why, hurray, it's something to eat! Chicken, Marygolden!
+Bread, fruit, cake, and everything! Here, have a chicken wing, and
+do try this apricot." Marygolden obediently took the articles Speedy
+handed to her, but she did not seem to know what to do with them.
+Speedy, buried to the ears in a piece of frosted cake, looked back at
+her in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, gulping down his great bite of cake so
+fast he almost choked. "My goodness, I forgot! You don't even know how
+to eat. Here, girl, watch me, and do just what I do."</p>
+
+<p>"What manner of maiden is this Marygolden?" rumbled Stampedro. "A
+maiden who does not eat? Is she a fairy?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, she's a Princess," explained the boy, biting off a piece of
+chicken leg and motioning for Marygolden to do the same with her wing.
+"Like it?" he asked, as Marygolden took a thoughtful nibble.</p>
+
+<p>"Mm—mm! Yes!" sighed the Princess, chewing faster and faster. "See, I
+can eat just as fast as you can now!" And as both travellers were ever
+so hungry, there was soon nothing left in the basket at all. Speedy had
+given several apples to Stampedro and he was now finishing his lunch on
+the moist river-grass, while Speedy and the Princess sampled the golden
+oranges, which they could pick quite easily as the great horse walked
+beneath the branches.</p>
+
+<p>"You've brought us good luck already," said Speedy, looking regretfully
+into the empty basket. He was about to toss it away when a sentence
+stamped on the bottom caught his attention.</p>
+
+<p>"'Made in Samandra'," read Speedy with a puzzled look. "I wonder where
+that is? And how did this basket come to be in the river?" As a matter
+of fact, the basket had tumbled from the yellow boat when Tuzzle and
+his men were capturing the Comfortable Camel, but of course Speedy
+could know nothing of this and continued to stare at the gay blue
+letters.</p>
+
+<p>"Samandra!" he repeated slowly. "What kind of a country could that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Samandra?" coughed Stampedro, stopping his eating and putting one ear
+forward and one ear backward. "It seems to me I remember something
+disagreeable about that place. Humph—HAH!" The Knight's horse
+trumpeted so loudly and suddenly that Marygolden nearly tumbled off
+backwards. "I know!" he wheezed grimly. "It's a country like that
+America you were telling me about, the only country in Oz where animals
+can't talk."</p>
+
+<p>"Then let's keep away from there," said Speedy, for he enjoyed the
+experience of a talking steed.</p>
+
+<p>"But Samandra," continued the chestnut solemnly, "Samandra lies near
+the country of the Yellow Knight. I remember riding through there long
+ago, and being struck dumb for two days. Now why can't I remember the
+name of my own country?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if we're near one we must be near both of them," reasoned
+Speedy. "And maybe there'll be some sign posts beyond this orange
+grove, or somebody who can tell us where we are."</p>
+
+<p>"There's somebody now," cried Marygolden, tugging Speedy's coat.
+"There, on the other side of the river! Oh dear, now we shall have to
+run again."</p>
+
+<p>"Good golly, it's a Knight!" exclaimed Speedy, standing up in the
+stirrups. "Look! Look, Stampedro, is that your Master?" Spinning round
+so quickly he almost spilled both of his riders, the splendid chestnut
+faced the opposite bank, his breath coming in short, smoky pants. Then
+his head dropped.</p>
+
+<p>"What a start you gave me, Smallfellow," he sighed reproachfully. "This
+Knight wears silver armor; my Master wears gold. This Knight is old and
+thin; my Master is young and hearty. No, no, it is not he." Stampedro's
+head fell lower and lower until his long golden mane swept the ground,
+and sorrowfully he turned away. But Speedy, nothing daunted, leaned far
+out of the saddle and shouted loudly:</p>
+
+<p>"Ho! Ho! Hello, Sir Knight! Can you tell me what country we are in?"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_FIFTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch15.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FIFTEEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>FIVE TRAVELLERS MEET</h3>
+
+
+<p>At Speedy's lusty cry, Sir Hokus and the jester stopped running and
+stared in amazement across the river.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch15a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Come now, this is better," chuckled Peter, shading his eyes with his
+hand and gazing across with lively interest at the travelers. "A page
+and a Princess, or I miss my guess."</p>
+
+<p>"And a horse," breathed the Knight, his eye sparkling with pleasure.
+"Such a steed as I've not seen these many long years. An' they lend me
+yon noble beast I'll overtake that fat camel-snatcher in no time. What
+ho!" he called loudly. "Cans't lend me your horse, fellow, to catch the
+greatest rascal in the country?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rascal?" gulped Speedy. "Why, this sounds interesting!" And Stampedro,
+being of the same mind, stepped boldly into the yellow river, swam
+strongly across, and climbed up the steep bank.</p>
+
+<p>"Happily met, travellers!" cried Peter Pun, throwing up his belled cap.
+Then, running alongside the great charger, he stared inquisitively up
+at Marygolden. "Are you, perchance, a damsel in distress?" he queried
+saucily. "For know that this Knight is sworn to rescue a maid, serve a
+monarch, and slay a monster. Dost wish to be rescued, maiden? Speak the
+word and 'twill be done."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm taking care of Marygolden," said Speedy stiffly. "I found her and
+brought her to life, and she's going back to America with me."</p>
+
+<p>"America!" boomed Sir Hokus, striding closer. "Art from America, young
+man? And this horse—is he from America, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, no, no! We found him in the forest. Tell them about it,
+Stampedro," begged the boy, who wanted to do nothing but feast his
+eyes on the Knight's sword and armor. With a toss of his flying mane,
+Stampedro began to speak, but a long shrill neigh was the best he could
+manage. Terrified and dismayed, he reared and plunged, and had not Sir
+Hokus seized his bit, Speedy and Marygolden would have sailed over his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>"Steady now! Steady! What means this?" puffed the Knight, stroking the
+glossy neck soothingly.</p>
+
+<p>"I know! I know!" Speedy stood straight up in the stirrups. "It means
+we're in Samandra, that country where animals cannot talk. Don't you
+care!" he whispered consolingly in the great chestnut steed's ear. "You
+can still hear, can't you?" Stampedro nodded his head to show that
+he could. "Well, then," continued Speedy, "cheer up, for if we're in
+Samandra we must be near the Kingdom of your Master. Can you tell us
+anything about the Yellow Knight?" asked Speedy, sliding down from the
+saddle and staring earnestly up at Sir Hokus. "This grand horse belongs
+to the Yellow Knight of Oz, but he's been enchanted for years and
+years. He was a horse chestnut till I flung a stone at the tree, and
+then he turned into a real chestnut horse."</p>
+
+<p>"Enchantments! Still more enchantments. Odds helmets and hauberks!"
+stuttered Sir Hokus, falling back against a tree and forgetting all
+about Camy for the moment. "Odds helmets and hauberks! It must have
+been the same stone that restored Peter. Dids't pick up the stone in
+yonder forest, my boy?"</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Hey bowstrings and fiddles, they're talking in riddles,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But, Hokus, take heed, I remember that steed!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hast ever seen me before, good horse?" inquired Peter Pun, capering
+close to the pawing charger. Stampedro, after a close look at the
+jester, nodded emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what do you know about that?" mused Speedy, gazing from one to
+the other.</p>
+
+<p>"What you <i>you</i> know about it?" demanded Peter Pun, turning a
+somersault and coming top side up under Speedy's very nose.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," sighed the boy, "everything's so mixed up and strange, I hardly
+know what to think. But you all seem to belong together somehow,"
+he continued seriously, "you and this Knight and Stampedro. Even
+Marygolden," he added reluctantly. "But I don't see how you can all be
+alive to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not to-day as well as yesterday, why not yesterday as well as
+to-morrow?" queried Peter Pun blandly, sitting down cross-legged in
+the grass.</p>
+
+<p>"Because in our part of the world," persisted Speedy in a puzzled
+voice, "Knights and jesters lived ages and ages ago and now they're all
+dead."</p>
+
+<p>"What a country!" groaned Peter, toppling over backwards. "Why, we're
+all ages in Oz and no one ever dies at all. Have you no Kings, Knights,
+jesters, wizards, or enchantments where you come from? A dreadful place
+it must be."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch15b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Oh, I wouldn't say that," answered Speedy quickly. "We have motors and
+airplanes and speed boats and inventors. My uncle's an inventor," he
+finished proudly, "and that's almost the same as a wizard."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true," observed Sir Hokus, as Peter Pun shook his head
+dubiously. "I've heard much about this America from Dorothy and the
+little mortal maids at the castle; also from a Philadelphia boy who
+sometimes comes to Oz and visits us in the Emerald City."</p>
+
+<p>"Do <i>you</i> live in the Emerald City?" asked Speedy in a hushed voice,
+while Marygolden regarded the Knight with round eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure, to be sure. Let me introduce myself," smiled the Knight.
+"I am Sir Hokus of Pokes, bound upon a quest in search of adventure.
+This is Peter Pun, a jester, just released from an enchantment. We're
+both pursuing a fat rogue in a yellow boat who villainously dragged
+off the Comfortable Camel. But tell me, how came you to Oz, and what
+happened in yonder forest?"</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty," sighed Speedy, leaning up to pat Stampedro on the nose. "I've
+been about everywhere and everything since morning, even a King."</p>
+
+<p>"You're still a King," piped Peter Pun, chewing a long blade of grass,
+and when Speedy shook his head the jester still insisted.</p>
+
+<p>"Admit that you're thin-king this very minute of all the adventures
+you've been having. Hah, ho! Shall we pause and listen, Sir Knight,
+or fare forth and pursue? I confess to a great curiosity concerning
+these travellers. Let them tell their strange story. We also will tell
+ours, then together we will resume the chase and rescue our unfortunate
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" decided the Knight. "Methinks there is more mystery here!" and
+helping Marygolden from her high perch on Stampedro's back, he seated
+her under an orange tree, and throwing himself on the grass beside her
+begged Speedy to tell his story. This Speedy was quite willing to do,
+for when one has had astonishing experiences there is nothing quite so
+satisfactory as telling about them. Sir Hokus and the jester listened
+spellbound to his exciting ride in the Skyrocket, his reception in
+Subterranea, the curious way he had discovered Marygolden and the
+miraculous coming to life of the little Princess. Their trip up in
+the parashuter astonished his listeners no less, and Speedy's trials
+and tribulations as King of the Quix made the Knight and Peter laugh
+uproariously. But when he came to the finding of the magic stone in the
+forest, and the disenchantment of Stampedro, Sir Hokus grew grave and
+thoughtful.</p>
+
+<p>"Of this bewitching little Princess," sighed the Knight, "I can tell
+you nothing. But this gallant charger——" he waved his sword at
+Stampedro, who was quietly grazing a little distance away, "this
+charger evidently belongs to the King of the Golden Castle."</p>
+
+<p>"What ho!" cried the jester. "Our quest progresses. We now have a King
+to serve and all we need is a damsel and a dragon."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch15c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I'll serve Marygolden an' she will let me," said Sir Hokus, smiling
+kindly at Speedy's Princess. As Marygolden, with a quaint curtsey, was
+acknowledging the honor, Peter, peering between two trees, let out an
+ear-splitting screech.</p>
+
+<p>"A dragon!" yelled the jester, jumping into the air and clicking his
+heels together. Speedy and Sir Hokus both rushed forward, but there was
+nary a dragon to be seen. As they turned questioningly back to Peter,
+the jester burst out laughing and rolled over and over on the grass.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a snap-dragon," roared Peter, pointing to a tall blue flower.
+"Ho, ho, Hokus, I caught you then."</p>
+
+<p>"Bother you and your punning," fumed the Knight angrily. "One more pun
+and I'll——"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what's the punishment for puns?" asked Peter, sitting up with an
+interested expression.</p>
+
+<p>"A punch!" supplied Speedy, winking at Marygolden.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"A punch for a pun, and a punch for a punner—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But the lad with the punch better be a good runner—"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>sputtered Peter, hopping up; but Speedy had no intention of chasing him
+and was already talking seriously to the Knight.</p>
+
+<p>"You know," said the boy earnestly, "I'd sorta like to help you help
+this King before I go back to America, and I believe I will!"</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo!" roared Sir Hokus, giving Speedy a thump on the back that made
+him blink. "And when we have found and disenchanted this King, I will
+take you and Marygolden back to the Emerald City, and Ozma with her
+magic belt will transport you both to America. How will that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Just fine," beamed Speedy, seizing the Knight's hand and shaking it
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," put in Peter Pun, cartwheeling up to Sir Hokus, "if all the
+speechifying's over, let me tell you something. This steed belongs to
+the King's son at whose court I was jester. I remember him distinctly
+now."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that King's son must be the Yellow Knight!" cried Speedy
+jubilantly. "Did you say you had found his father's castle, Sir Hokus?
+Where? How? When?"</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"A pretty tale it is and now,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Hokus Pokus, tell him how,"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>chuckled Peter. As Speedy drew closer to the Knight and motioned for
+Stampedro to come nearer, too, Sir Hokus told his story and all that
+had happened since he left the capital. He hurried a bit over his
+adventures in Marshland and on the flying field, but described the
+deserted city in great detail, and the finding of the package of dates
+in Camy's saddle sack, the strange changing of the funnysuckle vine
+into Peter Pun when he flung the date seed, and finally of the sudden
+theft of the Comfortable Camel by the fat owner of the yellow boat. As
+he finished, Speedy started up in great excitement. "Why, everything,"
+puffed the boy earnestly, "everything depends on that Camel! Don't you
+see? The magic dates were in the Camel's saddle sack. Whoever stole the
+Camel knew about the dates; whoever knew the dates must have enchanted
+Stampedro and Peter and this King and all his subjects."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus22.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Everything depends on that Camel.</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Dirks and daggers!" thundered the Knight. "You are right! What a head
+you have, young man." Stampedro, who had listened attentively to all
+this, whinnied his agreement to the Knight's statement, touching Speedy
+gently on the shoulder with his soft nose and tossing his mane to
+express his satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Speedy can do anything," smiled Marygolden, jumping up and clapping
+her hands in delight. "Just try him!" Speedy looked a little
+uncomfortable at all this praise.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me," he asked quickly, for he had thought of something else, "did
+this Comfortable Camel always live in the Emerald City?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes—no—let me see!" Sir Hokus, already on his feet and ready to
+start, paused explosively. "Why, I discovered him and the Doubtful
+Dromedary myself," he explained thoughtfully. "Dorothy, the Cowardly
+Lion, and I found them about ten years ago on the edge of the Deadly
+Desert, but as far as I can remember, they never spoke of their former
+country or master."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think anyone in the Emerald City knew about those dates, or
+would anyone there be mean enough to transform a whole kingdom?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," decided Sir Hokus, with a positive shake of his head. "And now
+that I think of it, the figs and dates were so uncommonly stale and
+hard that, had I not been starved and famished, I'd never have been
+able to swallow them at all."</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Oh sad to relate, the poor fellow ate</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">A date that was ancient and quite out of date!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hold your tongue," snapped the Knight, for he was trying to think,
+and Peter's nonsense disturbed him. "Those packages must have been
+in Camy's sack when he first came to the Emerald City," he declared
+finally. "And now to find the Comfortable Camel!"</p>
+
+<p>"Right!" cried Speedy, and Stampedro, to show his approval, reared
+right up on his hind legs and trumpeted with impatience.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you ride?" asked the little boy, turning politely to the Knight.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no. You and Marygolden ride," answered Sir Hokus, looking
+longingly at the splendid horse. "Shall I lift you up, Princess?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, don't call her Princess," begged Speedy, as Sir Hokus placed
+Marygolden carefully in the saddle. "She's through with all that stuff,
+and she's going to be plain Mary when we get back to the United States.
+Aren't you?" Marygolden nodded her head soberly.</p>
+
+<p>"Mary, but never plain Mary," teased Peter Pun. "Why, just to look at
+her takes my breath away completely."</p>
+
+<p>"But still you talk on," sighed Sir Hokus, taking Stampedro's bridle.
+"Come, my fine fellow, let's be starting." But the big chestnut planted
+all four feet, and shook his head stubbornly. "What now?" puffed the
+Knight in surprise. "Do you not wish to find your master?" Stampedro
+shook his head for "yes" but refused to budge an inch. Sir Hokus
+stepped back and looked at him questioningly.</p>
+
+<p>"Mayhap he wishes me to ride," announced the jester, bouncing up
+like a rubber ball behind Marygolden. Stampedro, looking around, nodded
+his approval; but when the Knight gave the bridle another tug he still
+refused to move.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Stampedro, aren't you going to help us?" asked Speedy
+reproachfully. Instead of answering, the horse took Sir Hokus' mailed
+shirt-tail in his teeth and swung the Knight around toward the stirrup.</p>
+
+<p>"He wants us all to ride," gasped Speedy. "What do you think of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's a grand idea," said Peter Pun merrily. "We three scarce
+weigh as much as one. The Knight is nothing but bones and armor, and
+any horse in the good old days could carry two for a stretch. So mount
+up, Hokus, and let's be going. Let's be galloping!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that what you really want?" questioned Speedy, leaning forward to
+whisper in Stampedro's ear. The chestnut nodded his head vigorously,
+and after a little more coaxing Sir Hokus sprang into the saddle.</p>
+
+<p>The Knight took Marygolden in his lap and Speedy squeezed in behind
+him. Peter clung to the boy's coat, perched precariously just above the
+horse's tail. Then, with a glance over his shoulder to assure him that
+everyone was settled, the great charger, like an arrow released from
+its bow, shot along the bank of the yellow river, his golden mane and
+tail streaming out like banners in the wind.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch15d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_SIXTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch16.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER SIXTEEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>SPEEDY IN SAMANDRA</h3>
+
+
+<p>And so it happened that the Sultan of Samandra, crouched sullenly on
+his cushioned throne, did not have long to wait for the approach of
+Knight. Knight was approaching by leaps and bounds. Indeed, so swiftly
+did the chestnut charger bear Sir Hokus and his three comrades that
+they came to the Sultan's city before the last of the sun's rays had
+faded from the sky. Catching a glimpse of the yellow boat tied up at
+the dock, the Knight gave a husky cheer.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch16a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"On!" cried Sir Hokus, rising in the stirrups. "On to the palace!
+The King of this country is the rascal we are seeking." Sparks flew
+from the stones as Stampedro galloped up the steep streets, and the
+Samandrans, noting the fierce aspect of Sir Hokus, who was swinging his
+battle-axe wildly round his head, fled in every direction. Speedy and
+Marygolden, though shaken and breathless, could not help exclaiming
+at the splendor of the gold-domed buildings, and tall, spired castle;
+but Stampedro, without a pause, clattered up the fifty golden steps,
+pushed through the swinging doors, and burst like a bomb-shell into the
+magnificent throne room itself. The Sultan, hearing the great clamor
+without, had already risen, and when the panting steed and his four
+riders suddenly catapulted into his presence, he clutched Confido to
+his breast and with bulging eyes confronted his unexpected visitors.
+His first feeling was fright. Then, as he recognized the jester and war
+horse of a King he thought transformed and silenced forever, he gave a
+loud scream of anguish.</p>
+
+<p>"Robbers!" shrieked the Sultan, throwing caution to the winds. "How
+dare you steal my magic dates and ruin my strongest enchantment?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!" roared Sir Hokus, alighting with one bound. "How dare you
+steal our Comfortable Camel?" In his excitement he did not notice the
+difference between Tuzzle, whom he had seen on the yellow boat, and
+the fat ruler of the Samandrans. "R-r-restore the Comfortable Camel at
+once, and tell us what you have done with the King of the Golden City
+and all his subjects!"</p>
+
+<p>"N-n-never!" shrilled the Sultan, holding Confido tight up under his
+chin. And pointing to first one and then another of the intruders, he
+began to talk in a fierce undertone to the little dog.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you talk to a dog when guests are present?" drawled Peter Pun,
+sliding down from Stampedro's back and snapping his fingers under the
+Sultan's nose. "Is that the pleasant custom in this country?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are a fool!" hissed the Sultan, "both by profession and nature.
+This is no common dog. This is Confido, the Imperial Peke of the realm.
+I speak to Confido because he knows all and tells nothing. Nothing, do
+you hear? But you, wretched plunderers, you shall tell what you have
+done with the magic dates, or be pounded to a powder and pulverized.
+Pulverized, do you understand? Tuzzle! Chinda! Blufferroo! Where
+is everybody?" Dropping Confido, the Sultan thumped on the golden
+gong beside the throne and began yelling at the top of his lungs. At
+this, Speedy, who had been all ears, jumped off Stampedro, and in
+the excitement and confusion following the arrival of the very Grand
+Vizier, the Grand Bozzywoz, the Grand Counter of the Imperial Spoons,
+and seventy Samandran spearmen, picked up Confido and tucked him
+quickly inside his leather jacket. Then, taking his place sturdily
+beside Sir Hokus, he prepared to defend himself and Marygolden.</p>
+
+<p>"Seize this Knight," commanded the Sultan. "Knight—Knight?" All at
+once he remembered the prophecy of Chinda: <i>You will find part of what
+you seek in the middle of the night.</i> "This Knight has eaten the magic
+dates," choked the Sultan, clutching his turban desperately. "Woe is
+me, us, you, her, it, him, and them! Slice him in two! Slice them all
+in two! Seize these villains, do you hear?" The spearmen evidently
+heard, and they moved forward, their spears pointed menacingly. Peter
+Pun, in one jump, regained the back of the Yellow Knight's horse.
+Marygolden, sliding forward, clasped both arms around his neck, and
+Stampedro, breathing fire and smoke, leapt clear over the heads of
+the advancing spearmen, through a side window, and away. With a gasp
+of relief, Speedy realized that Marygolden, at least, was safe. Sir
+Hokus, swinging his battle-axe, knocked down two of the spearmen in the
+center, and dashed through the opening before they could turn about.
+Speedy, seeing it was too late to follow, sprang for a spiral stair
+back of the throne, and tore upward three steps at a time, followed by
+all the spearmen except the two Sir Hokus had felled. Confido, inside
+his leather coat, barked and scratched, but paying no heed, the boy
+sped upward, up, up, up, till he grew faint and dizzy and his heart
+beat with loud, suffocating thumps. Reaching the top, ten steps ahead
+of the spearmen, Speedy rushed into a great glass-enclosed room and
+slammed the door. Pulling off his leather helmet he flung it on the
+sill, opened the window, and after a quick look round jumped into a big
+oak chest and closed the lid. The spearmen, panting and furious, burst
+into the room just as the lid settled into place. They stamped angrily
+about and then, catching sight of Speedy's helmet on the ledge, began
+sticking their heads out of the window and chattering away in the
+utmost excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"The young monkey's jumped to the ground," puffed the leader, "and
+that's the end of his impudence, but we'd better go down and pick up
+the pieces to satisfy the Sultan. Come on!" If they had not made so
+much noise themselves, they might have heard Confido barking inside
+the oak chest, but quite satisfied that their prisoner was lying at
+the bottom of the tower, they clattered noisily down the spiral stair.
+Speedy waited until their footsteps and voices died away, then crept
+cautiously out of the chest. He had run, as luck would have it, to the
+tower room of Chinda, the Seer, and gazed in surprise and bewilderment
+at the magical appliances of the prophet. The Grand Bozzywoz,
+fortunately, was below, and tiptoeing nervously about, Speedy tried to
+think of some way to escape. The tall telescope that pointed skyward
+interested him especially, and even in the midst of his worry and
+anxiety he could not resist one peek.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus23.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">He could not resist one peek.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"If we could just find that date seed and the rest of the package,
+everything would be easy," sighed the boy, peering absently through
+the long tube. "Where could it have fallen?" he worried, screwing up
+his eye and scarcely noticing what he was looking at. Then he gave a
+great start, for clear and distinct in the lens of the telescope he saw
+a bit of the enchanted forest. As he stared in fascination, it narrowed
+down till there was only one tree, a hollow tree he remembered seeing
+next to the horse chestnut. Now the lens showed the inside of the tree,
+and there, among a little hoard of nuts hidden away by some thrifty
+squirrel, Speedy saw a bright and gleaming stone.</p>
+
+<p>"The date seed!" gasped Speedy, pressing his eye closer and closer as
+the picture faded away. "Gosh! If I can just get out of this palace
+and find my way back to the forest. Be quiet!" he directed, fiercely
+tapping the lump under his coat that was Confido. Then, relenting a
+little, he unbuttoned his coat and allowed the dog to stick out its
+head. "Can't you be still?" he pleaded earnestly. "Nothing's going to
+happen to you." With a little whimper, the Peke stopped barking and
+fixed its bulging, near-sighted eyes anxiously on the boy. "There,
+that's the fellow." Giving him a hasty pat, Speedy looked out the
+window to see how far it was to the ground, for it would never do to
+risk the spiral stair. With a shiver he drew in his head, and as he
+did, the heavy boots and rough voices of the spearmen came echoing
+upward. Not finding him senseless in the garden, they were coming
+back to search the tower. Trembling between the chest and the window,
+Speedy's glance flew round the prophet's workshop and came frantically
+to rest on a coil of rope hanging on a hook near the door. Snatching
+the rope he regained the window and tied the rope to a hook on the sill.</p>
+
+<p>"Curses!" puffed Speedy, tossing the rope over the edge. "Curses,
+Mickonionjuice! Here they are!" Dropping over the ledge, Speedy began
+his perilous downward descent hand over hand. He dared not look up nor
+down, and as he was wondering whether the rope would be long enough to
+reach to the bottom of the tower, it fell in a dozen stinging coils
+upon his head. A spearman, looking out of the window, had cut it with
+his scimiter, and like a log Speedy fell into the garden. Luckily he
+was only a few feet from the ground and though somewhat jarred and
+shocked, he jumped immediately to his feet and started to run. In the
+right direction, too, fortunately, and before the spearmen in the tower
+could give the alarm he had reached the dock and was scampering along
+the bank of the yellow river. "If I follow the river," he panted,
+"I'll get back to the forest. Then I'll find that date seed and try
+to find the others. Whew!" Steadying Confido with one hand, he flew
+along faster than he had ever run in the track events at home and soon
+had the satisfaction of hearing the voices of his pursuers grow fainter
+and fainter. As he paused at length to catch his breath, a great shadow
+moved silently out from the trees, a soft nose was thrust suddenly into
+his hand and two glad cries rang through the dusk. It was the horse of
+the Yellow Knight, and leaning down with eager hands to help him up,
+Marygolden and Peter Pun.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus24.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Speedy began his perilous descent.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I knew you'd get away from that old scalawag," chuckled the jester.
+"We've been watching for you. Seen Hokus since he pokused the spearmen?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," admitted Speedy, settling with a tired groan into the saddle
+between his two friends. "But I know where the magic date seed is
+hidden!"</p>
+
+<p>"You do!" cried Peter, and Marygolden looked at him in round-eyed
+admiration, while Stampedro pricked up both ears and began to prance
+sideways.</p>
+
+<p>"Uh-huh!" wheezed Speedy, still out of breath from his long run.
+"Do you think you could carry us back to your horse chestnut tree,
+Stampedro?" The horse hastily shook his head for "yes," and as Speedy,
+between jounces and bounces, told all that had happened, he galloped
+headlong through the Sultan's orange groves away toward the enchanted
+forest of Oz.</p>
+
+<p>"Wasn't it lucky I happened to mention the date seed while I was
+looking through that magic telescope? Won't Sir Hokus be surprised?
+Curses! I hope the Sultan hasn't caught him, though."</p>
+
+<p>"Yon Knight knows his Sultans, never fear. But why have you brought the
+Sultan's dog?" inquired Peter, looking inquisitively at Confido, whom
+he now spied for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>"That," smiled Speedy mysteriously, "is my secret."</p>
+
+<p>"But isn't he perfectly precious? Can I hold him?" begged Marygolden,
+turning round to have a better view.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but hold him tight," cautioned Speedy, and bade Stampedro stop
+while he transferred the little dog to Marygolden's arms. "He's a
+girl's dog anyway," he announced condescendingly, "and you can have him
+if you wish."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Speedy!" Hugging Confido with one arm and putting the other
+around Speedy to keep from falling off, Marygolden fairly squealed
+with delight, and Stampedro, with an impatient snort, bounded forward.
+Dusk had deepened into night, and long afterward Speedy remembered
+that thrilling gallop through the shadowy forest with only the faint
+moonlight and an occasional star to show them a path between the trees.
+But Stampedro, without one false turn or unnecessary step, brought them
+at last to the great horse chestnut tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are! And better still, I can talk again," he cried, shaking
+his head until all the gold tassels on his armor danced in the wind.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurray!" shouted Speedy. "That's more like!" And patting Stampedro's
+curving neck, he slid to the ground and hurried over to the hollow tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Will'st alight, maiden?" said Peter Pun, tumbling after Speedy, and
+reaching up to help Marygolden. "Will'st alight in the dark, and
+shed the radiance of your beauty upon the gloomy scene?" Marygolden
+laughingly gave Peter her hand, and soon all three were peering into
+the hollow tree. Speedy, on his hands and knees, was feeling around
+with his flashlight for the magic stone.</p>
+
+<p>"It's here!" he cried, springing up so suddenly that he bumped his
+head. "It's here, and here it is!" Stepping out of the hollow tree, he
+placed the shining yellow stone in the palm of his hand and held it
+out to the others. Stampedro, who had dropped to his knees so that
+he could see into the tree better, bounded up with an excited little
+whinny.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch16b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Well, now that we have it, what shall we do with it, Smallfellow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, all we have to do is touch all the people who are enchanted,"
+explained Peter Pun, hopping round and round on one foot. "Touch that
+oak behind you, Speedy. I swear it winked at me just now."</p>
+
+<p>"But we can't go through the whole forest touching trees," objected
+Speedy. "Besides, we might miss some."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what are we going to do?" asked the jester impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"That's up to Confido," announced Speedy calmly. "Didn't you hear the
+Sultan say to-day that Confido knew everything? Like as not he knows
+the secret of all these transformations. That's why I brought him
+along, for now he can talk as well as listen, and tell us all he knows."</p>
+
+<p>"By the ears of my mother's cow!" sputtered Peter Pun, staring
+admiringly at Speedy. "You're a quick one!" Shrugging his shoulders
+carelessly but secretly thinking Peter was right, Speedy now turned to
+Confido.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you tell us how we can release the King of the Golden City and
+his subjects?" he asked coaxingly. "Surely you do not want them to be
+imprisoned in this forest forever. Will you tell us how the Sultan's
+evil spell may be broken?"</p>
+
+<p>"Woof!" barked the little dog sulkily. "Woof! Woof!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, he cannot talk at all!" wailed Peter Pun, in bitter
+disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes he can," insisted Speedy. "He just won't."</p>
+
+<p>"Speak, dog, or I'll flatten you under my foot!" trumpeted Stampedro,
+flashing his great eyes at the proud little Peke.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me ask him?" begged Marygolden, as Peter and Speedy reached
+angrily for the Imperial Puppy.</p>
+
+<p>"Darling," crooned the Princess, "you're going to be mine forever, and
+never have to listen to that savage old Sultan again. You shall have
+as many saucers of cream and chicken hearts as you wish and do just
+as you want, always. Couldn't you tell <i>me</i> the little secret of the
+magic dates?" Cuddling the little dog under her chin, Marygolden looked
+pleadingly into his eyes. Now if there was one dish Confido relished
+above all others it was chicken hearts. Then, too, he had grown
+terribly tired of the whispering old Sultan and his eternal secrets,
+and now that he was to belong to this pretty girl, he decided there
+would be no harm in telling all he knew.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I could tell you," drawled the little dog in his condescending
+voice, "for I perceive that you are of royal blood. But these
+others——!" Sneezing violently to show his contempt for Peter and
+Speedy, Confido climbed on Marygolden's shoulder and whispered five
+words in her left ear.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch17.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</h2>
+
+<h3>THE RESTORATION OF CORUMBIA</h3>
+
+
+<p>"What did he say?" begged Speedy, hurrying up to the Princess.</p>
+
+<p>"First plant the date seed!" Solemnly Marygolden repeated the little
+dog's instructions.</p>
+
+<p>"That's easy enough," observed Speedy, and taking out his knife cut
+a small hole in the ground and dropped the yellow stone in. Covering
+the stone with earth, he jumped up expectantly. "What next?" Confido
+looked coldly through the boy and again whispered confidingly to
+Marygolden.</p>
+
+<p>"Pluck the six dates when they grow," directed the Princess, "for if
+any of the magic dates are lost, all will be restored by planting the
+seed of any one of them." A little patch of moonlight fell on the spot
+where the five watchers stood waiting for the magic seed to sprout.
+Speedy, growing impatient, took out his flashlight and knelt directly
+over the raised mound of earth. Before he could straighten up, there
+came a rip, tear, and rustle, and as Peter, Marygolden, and Stampedro
+started back, the heavy fronded head of a date palm, followed by the
+straight stout trunk of the tree itself, burst through the soil, and
+catching Speedy on the top shot up, up, and out of sight. In vain they
+all tried to catch a glimpse of their adventurous young comrade, but it
+was no use, for the palm soared above the tallest oaks in the forest.</p>
+
+<p>"Now see what you've done!" panted Stampedro, glaring at Confido, but
+Peter Pun held up his hand warningly.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch17a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Hark!" whispered the jester softly. "Hark! Troubles never come singly.
+Methinks we are pursued." True enough, heavy steps came thudding
+toward them, and the snap and crackle of twigs brushed by some heavy
+body.</p>
+
+<p>"Mount up! Mount up and we'll be off!" wheezed the Yellow Knight's
+horse. "'Tis the Sultan, no doubt, and all his men! Up with you! Up
+with you!"</p>
+
+<p>"And leave Speedy here all by himself?" wailed Marygolden, putting both
+arms round the palm tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us not fly until we see what manner of creature pursues," murmured
+Peter, peering fearfully into the shadows. "Hah, 'tis a camel," he
+continued, as a long neck was thrust into the rim of moonlight, "a
+camel, and like as not the Sultan."</p>
+
+<p>"It's Sir Hokus!" trilled Marygolden. "It's our very own Good Knight of
+Oz."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus25.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">What ho, everybody!</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"What ho, everybody! Everybody, what HO!" blustered Sir Hokus, as
+Camy, with a great rattling and tossing of saddle sacks, trotted into
+the circle around the palm tree. "And what dost thou here? All the
+way from the Sultan's castle I've followed the tracks of Stampedro,
+and at last I have found you all." With a weary sigh, he looked from
+one to the other. Then, suddenly missing Speedy, he peered anxiously
+over the Camel's hump. "Where's the boy?" he asked sharply. Without
+answering they pointed up at the palm tree. Then Marygolden and Peter
+together told how Speedy had escaped from Samandra, had cleverly stolen
+Confido and had discovered the whereabouts of the magic date seed and,
+following the little dog's directions, had been carried aloft with the
+magic palm.</p>
+
+<p>"How now, and we'll soon end this," grunted Sir Hokus, and tumbling
+without ceremony off Camy's back, he lifted his battle-axe. "I'll fell
+this monstrous tree."</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Stop! Stop! That were indeed a fell deed.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">If he fell all that way,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">He'd be smashed, 'lack-a-day!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"If you take <i>my</i> advice," yawned the little dog, curling up more
+cozily in Marygolden's arms, "you'll do nothing." This brought a burst
+of indignation from Speedy's comrades, but as they stood arguing, the
+palm tree began to grow down, sliding silently into the earth like a
+great greased pole. As the leaves at the top came into view, and before
+they touched the ground, Speedy leapt from the center and the palm
+leaves were instantly swallowed up in the earth.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got them," panted the boy, triumphantly waving a bunch of ripe
+dates. "All six! Say, when did you come?" Rushing over to Sir Hokus,
+he clapped him joyfully on the back. "Say, now that we're all together
+nothing can molest us again!"</p>
+
+<p>"Right!" boomed Sir Hokus. "And with a lad like yourself to help, we'll
+soon have the King in his castle. A clever move to bring the little
+dog. Odds bodikens! You'll be knighted for this!"</p>
+
+<p>"But what happened to you?" breathed Speedy. "And is this really the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz?"</p>
+
+<p>"At your service," mumbled Camy, beginning to nibble at the twigs
+and smiling kindly between mouthfuls as Sir Hokus introduced Speedy,
+Marygolden, and Stampedro. "But I hope never to find myself in Samandra
+again. What a dumb place, and what a place to be dumb!"</p>
+
+<p>"I agree with you," whinnied Stampedro, pawing the earth at the very
+thought. "But tell us, Sir Knight, how you came off so successfully."</p>
+
+<p>"Easily enough," exclaimed Sir Hokus, leaning heavily on his lance.
+"Guided by my nose, which has ever been as keen as my sword, I soon
+located the Sultan's Camel Quarters. Knocking Samandrans right and
+left" (he gave a little pantomime of just how this had been done) "I
+called loudly for Camy, who immediately answered my hail. Though he
+could not talk I recognized his voice and soon had him loose. Then I
+headed straight for this forest, picking up the footprints of Stampedro
+soon after I left the castle, and came hot-foot after you."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean I came hot-foot," chuckled the Comfortable Camel, winking at
+Peter Pun.</p>
+
+<p>"Have it your own way," smiled Sir Hokus. "But here we all are, and now
+that we have the magic dates, let us proceed with the disenchantment of
+this King and his subjects. Then if yon villainous Sultan rides after
+us, there'll be plenty of good men to fight."</p>
+
+<p>"That's an idea," breathed Speedy. "I forgot about the Sultan. Now tell
+us, Confido, what do we do next?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's long past my bedtime," sniffed the pampered little Peke. "I
+don't see any cushions to sleep on, and why should I bother my head
+about this silly King and his subjects? He never did anything for me!"
+At this heartless speech Stampedro put back his ears, showed all his
+teeth, and had to be held by Sir Hokus to keep him from biting a piece
+out of the Imperial Puppy. And though Speedy and Peter Pun coaxed and
+commanded, Confido answered all their questions with yawns, and finally
+closing his eyes pretended to snore. Then Marygolden, giving him a
+little shake, began to whisper in his ear.</p>
+
+<p>"This King will no doubt reward you handsomely," promised the Princess
+recklessly. "He'll give you golden bowls, and collars, and anything you
+wish, if you release him from this cruel enchantment."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," muttered Confido, opening his eyes and wriggling his nose.
+"I hadn't thought of that. And since <i>you</i> have asked me, Princess,
+here goes. Take the smallest date," he directed, in his insolent little
+voice, "eat the date and bury the seed as you did before."</p>
+
+<p>"What?" cried Speedy impatiently. "All that to do over again?" Confido
+nodded. Speedy was not at all fond of ripe dates, but he was so curious
+to see what would happen that he swallowed it down without a murmur and
+buried the seed, this time a brilliant red stone, beneath a tall oak.
+Then, breathless and expectant, the little company of rescuers stood
+back to watch and listen.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch17b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Of all his wonderful experiences, Speedy remembered the scene in the
+enchanted forest best. It seemed, while it was happening, like some
+strange, bewildering dream. For suddenly the murmur and whisper of the
+leaves became the murmur and whisper of many voices. The great oak
+dwindled and changed to a King so tall, straight, and handsome that
+a little cry of admiration burst from Speedy's lips. Oaks and pines
+all around them melted into Knights, hale, hearty, and splendid, with
+gleaming lances and shining armor. From the horse chestnut trees,
+stamping, prancing steeds charged in a glittering array, tossing their
+heads, whinnying, neighing, and calling joyfully for their riders.
+Stampedro was off in an instant, bounding here and there among the
+Knights, but finding nowhere the one he was seeking. Saplings, while
+Speedy and Marygolden gasped and marvelled, became laughing troops
+of merry children, old bent trees turned into councillors and wise
+men of the Court. Bushes became pages and seneschals bearing flaming
+torches. The willows by the river were the Queen and her ladies, in
+great green ruffs like Marygolden had worn, in velvet and lace and the
+long trailing dresses of long ago. One would have thought that not a
+tree would remain standing in the whole forest, but the enchanted ones
+were hardly missed. A sage bush became a sage, in fact. The lyre bush
+that had so puzzled Sir Hokus, was the King's minstrel, and striking
+his small harp he began instantly to sing. The trumpet vines became
+trumpeters, and while the little band of adventurers gazed in rapture
+and delight, the King found the Queen, and putting his arm around her,
+raised his hand for silence.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus27.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The willows were the queen and her ladies.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Corumbians!" cried the King in his grave, deep voice. "By some
+unexplained miracle we have been released from our wearisome
+enchantment. Is my son, the Yellow Knight of Oz in this company?" There
+was a tense silence and everyone looked expectantly around, but the
+Yellow Knight neither spoke nor answered.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus26.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">It seemed like some bewildering dream.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I know," cried the Queen, suddenly clapping her hands. "The Prince
+awaits us in the castle!"</p>
+
+<p>"To the castle! On to the castle!" roared the Corumbians, swarming
+round their Majesties.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"All the King's horses and all the King's men,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And all the King's court are together again!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>mused Peter Pun, and breaking away from Sir Hokus and Speedy, he
+hurried over to the King and flung both arms about his knees. The
+King seemed as rejoiced to see Peter as the jester was to see him,
+and lifting him up embraced him heartily. Then Peter, for the moment
+serious and strangely dignified, turned from the King and called
+loudly. "Under yonder oak stand the liberators of us all: Speedy, a
+boy from far-off America, Sir Hokus of Pokes from the Emerald City, an
+enchanted Princess, the Comfortable Camel of Oz, and our own Stampedro!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't forget me," barked Confido temperishly. "I'm about the most
+important person here!" But in the cheering and confusion following
+Peter's announcement, no one even heard the little dog. Marygolden,
+Speedy, and Sir Hokus were tossed up on the shoulders of the crowd and
+borne triumphantly to the Golden Castle. Two Knights led Camy, and two
+more walked beside Stampedro, and the flare of the torches, the blare
+of the trumpets, and neighing of the war horses made it a noisy and
+memorable march. As they entered the tumble-down and ruined courtyard,
+the page boys on the tower again blew upon their golden horns.</p>
+
+<p>"The salute to my son!" exclaimed the King of Corumbia breathlessly.
+"My son, the Yellow Knight, must be somewhere near." Scarcely noting
+the ruin and decay in his palace, the King rushed inside. A little
+silence fell upon the company as by the light of the torches they
+looked upon the wild and weedy castle. Softly the Queen began to weep,
+hiding her face in her long green veil. Seeing this, Speedy slid
+quickly from the shoulder of the Knight who carried him.</p>
+
+<p>"The same magic that restored your Majesty and your Majesty's subjects
+will restore the castle," he assured the Queen eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, tell us what to do now, Confido," begged Marygolden from her high
+perch on another Knight's shoulder. "This small dog knows the secret of
+all the Sultan's enchantments," the Princess told them seriously, "and
+is going to help restore the castle."</p>
+
+<p>"Hola, for the Sultan's dog!" roared the Knights and courtiers, and
+cheered so loud and long that Confido felt that at last he was being
+properly valued and appreciated. And this time, without even waiting to
+be coaxed, he told what was to be done.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch17c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Let the King of Corumbia eat the smallest date on the stalk. Let a
+fire be kindled in the dining hall and the seed of the date cast into
+the fire," directed Confido, waving his paw commandingly. The King, by
+this time convinced that his son was not in the castle, had returned,
+and quickly followed the little dog's instructions. A fire was kindled
+by the servants in the great dining hall, and as the date seed fell
+upon the flames there came a crackling and trembling throughout the
+whole castle! Before the eyes of the assembled courtiers and Knights,
+the walls straightened, tapestries became shining and bright, rugs
+soft and whole. Flowers appeared in the vases, and the long oak table
+running down the center of the tall hall suddenly groaned under the
+weight of silver, china and a hundred tempting viands. From the
+kitchens came the odor of roasting meats and browning tarts. Everything
+was in a moment exactly as it had been five hundred years before, when
+the Sultan had cast his wicked spell over Corumbia. With a cry of
+pleasure and delight, the Queen seized Speedy's hand.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, gracious youth!" begged her Majesty. "Restore my son, and no
+more will I ever ask of thee."</p>
+
+<p>"Bring back the Yellow Knight!" trumpeted Stampedro, who had trotted
+into the palace and was standing with Camy beside the King. "I can no
+longer endure this separation." Speedy, as anxious as anyone to see
+this long missing Prince, turned quickly to Confido, but this time
+Confido regretfully shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"The King's son cannot be disenchanted until morning! When the castle
+clocks strike ten, the Queen must eat the smallest of the remaining
+dates and fling the seed from the tallest tower. Then, and then only,
+will the King's son return."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure he will be safely restored to us?" asked the Queen.</p>
+
+<p>"As sure as I am of the reward I will receive from your gracious
+Majesties," murmured Confido, rolling his round little eyes at the King
+and his Royal Consort. Speedy and Peter exchanged amused glances at
+Confido's speech, but the King, after earnestly assuring the little dog
+of his willingness to bestow upon him anything whatsoever he desired,
+raised his right hand for silence.</p>
+
+<p>"As we must wait until morning before the last and final enchantment
+can be broken, let us feast and be merry while we wait. But first, let
+a guard be set around the castle, lest that rascally Sultan attack
+us in the night. These travellers," the King waved graciously in the
+direction of Speedy and his comrades, "these travellers have come a
+long way and have grown weary and hungry in our service. Let us refresh
+and entertain them and hear from their own lips the strange adventures
+which brought about our miraculous release."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a merry tale and wags like a donkey's ears," said the jester,
+shaking his belled stick gaily. "Tell them, Speedy, all that has
+happened to you and to us since you fell in the Skyrocket to
+Subterranea and discovered the Princess made of gold. And tell them,
+Sir Knight, all that happened since you set forth upon your quest and
+came into the enchanted forest yonder."</p>
+
+<p>"Nay! Nay! First let them eat and rest!" And moving toward the head
+of the long oak table, the King placed Speedy on his right, Sir Hokus
+on his left, and Marygolden beside the Queen. Stampedro and Camy had
+golden tables piled with ripe apples and crisp carrots, and Confido
+was given a golden bowl of cream and chicken hearts, and never in his
+proudest days in Samandra had the little dog been so fussed over and
+petted. When at last Speedy could eat no more, and the whole merry
+company could tuck away not even one more tart, the boy and Sir Hokus
+related their strange experiences and adventures. The Corumbians
+listened spellbound, and could one blame them? After questions,
+exclamations and praise enough to satisfy even Confido, the travellers
+expressed a desire for bed. So the King, calling loudly for lights,
+himself conducted them to the Royal Guest Chambers, and bade them an
+affectionate good-night. Marygolden and Confido had a little yellow
+room next to the Queen's own chamber. Sir Hokus and Speedy had a whole
+apartment in the tower, and Camy and Stampedro spent the night in
+the courtyard, exchanging strange experiences and boasting of their
+respective masters.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder," sighed Speedy, giving his pillow a final thump, "why there
+are four dates left instead of three. It will take only one to restore
+the Yellow Knight. What about those others?" (I've been wondering that
+very thing myself, haven't you?)</p>
+
+<p>"I trust," wheezed Sir Hokus, just before he dozed off, "I trust that
+rascally Sultan will ride this way. There's nothing I should like
+better than a raging battle, in which I shall give myself the pleasure
+of tweaking his nose! Odds tarts and turnips! His NOSE!"</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch18.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE RETURN OF THE YELLOW KNIGHT</h3>
+
+
+<p>"This is the day we're going to see the Yellow Knight, Confido. Aren't
+you excited?" Marygolden hopped out of her canopied bed and fairly
+danced into the ruffled robe and flowered silk dress the Queen's lady
+in waiting had brought in to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Knights, yellow or red, mean nothing to me," yawned the little dog,
+rolling over lazily. "But I do wonder what the Sultan is doing by this
+time. I'll wager the old bore misses me like fury."</p>
+
+<p>"Why bother about him?" said Marygolden, combing her yellow curls
+briskly. "You belong to me, now. We're going to America and you need
+never return to Samandra at all. Don't you like me a little bit,
+Confido?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, rather," admitted the little dog cautiously. "But you must carry
+me every place you go and see that I have plenty of cream and chicken."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," agreed Marygolden good-naturedly. "But come on, let's see
+what Speedy and Sir Hokus are doing." Tucking the Peke under her arm,
+Marygolden ran gaily down to the courtyard. Speedy and the Knight had
+been up for hours, and seated on a gold bench near a sparkling fountain
+were discussing the possibility of a surprise attack by the Sultan,
+and the probable uses of the remaining dates. It was astonishing to
+see the castle that but yesterday had lain so dusty and lifeless now
+bustling with sound and activity. Gardeners in quaint green coats were
+clipping the early roses, pages and footmen stepped importantly about,
+and everything was going on exactly as it had done five hundred years
+before, when the Sultan's transformations had taken place.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," mused Speedy, waving cheerfully to Marygolden, "as soon as the
+Yellow Knight is restored, we'd better be heading for the Emerald City.
+It's great fun here, but Uncle Billy must be dreadfully worried by this
+time, and I ought to be getting back. I'll certainly miss you and Peter
+and Stampedro, but there'll be Marygolden to remind me of Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"And a mighty sweet reminder," smiled Sir Hokus, rising gallantly as
+the little Princess dropped on the bench beside them. "Dids't rest
+well, maiden?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed," said Marygolden, ruffling up Confido's soft fur. "But I
+can hardly wait to see the Yellow Knight. Is it almost time, Sir Hokus?"</p>
+
+<p>"Just one hour to ten," answered Sir Hokus, squinting up at the great
+clock on the tower. "Cans't wait that long, Princess?"</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"Lords and Ladies now awaken,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Come to breakfast, buns and bacon,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Tarts and toast! What ho! What hey!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Will ye tarry here all day?"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>shouted Peter Pun, cartwheeling up to the bench.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch18a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Let's go now, while the bacon's hot," wheezed Confido, scratching
+Marygolden on the arm. "And don't forget my bowl of cream. Is there
+plenty of cream—thick, yellow cream, person?"</p>
+
+<p>"Barrels," Peter assured him gravely. "Cream for the Imperial
+Houndling!" called the jester, capering ahead of the visitors. "Cream
+in cups, saucers, and pudding bowls!" Breakfast, in spite of the
+anxiety of the King and Queen of Corumbia to see their son, was a
+sumptuous and merry affair. Speedy, his plate heaped with roast wild
+fowl, crisp buns, and fresh strawberry tarts, with a footman behind his
+chair to anticipate his slightest wish, reflected that there would be
+many times when he would miss all this castle and king stuff. The King,
+himself, was bubbling over with jollity, joking every other minute with
+Peter Pun; but the Queen scarcely ate a mouthful, and kept glancing
+nervously at the clock over the mantel. At ten minutes of the hour she
+could endure the suspense no longer.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure it was ten and not before?" she asked, looking anxiously
+at Confido, who was lapping up his fifth bowl of cream.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite sure," answered the Sultan's dog calmly. "But since your
+Highness must ascend to the tallest tower, perhaps you had better start
+ascending."</p>
+
+<p>"Here's the date," said Speedy, handing the smallest one on the bunch
+to the Queen. "I'm going out into the courtyard with Stampedro," he
+cried, pushing back his chair. "Come on, Marygolden! Come on, Sir
+Hokus! Come on, Peter!" Followed by half the courtiers and servants,
+the three hurried out of the castle, and presently they gave a loud
+cheer, for high above their heads on the balcony of the castle's
+tallest tower, stood the King and Queen. Stampedro had been waiting
+for this hour since dawn, and fairly pranced with restlessness and
+impatience. As the golden bells in the tower started musically to toll,
+every face turned upward. Speedy and Marygolden, close to the Yellow
+Knight's charger, clasped hands nervously, and Sir Hokus, who held
+Stampedro's bridle, snatched off his helmet the better to see this long
+lost Prince of Corumbia. As the tenth stroke pealed from the tower,
+the Queen, who had already eaten the date, tossed the magic stone over
+the balcony rail. Like a falling star it sped downward, struck the
+silver breastplate of Sir Hokus of Pokes, and shivered into a hundred
+glittering fragments. The crowd, in a stupefied silence, stared at
+the Knight, when three shrill blasts sounded from the trumpets of the
+golden page boys on the top of the tower.</p><hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus28.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The magic stone struck the silver breastplate of Sir Hokus.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"This," called the first, in a clear ringing voice, "this is Corum——"</p>
+
+<p>"Prince of Corumbia!" cried the second page.</p>
+
+<p>"And the Yellow Knight of Oz!" finished the third, and raising their
+trumpets together the pages blew one long, piercing blast. Then they
+stiffened into silence and were still. And where, now, was Sir Hokus
+of Pokes, the kind, friendly, gray old Knight of Oz? Speedy, with a
+queer sinking in his heart, rubbed his eyes and stared again. Standing
+at Stampedro's head was a sturdy young Knight with shining gold
+hair. A yellow plume rose from his gold helmet, and a yellow cloak
+floated from his broad shoulders. His eyes, blue and sparkling, looked
+impatiently over the crowd, which had broken into the wildest cheering
+and stamping. Feeling terribly confused and friendless, Marygolden and
+Speedy moved closer together, while the Comfortable Camel gave a groan
+of dismay. Without seeming to know or notice them, the Yellow Knight
+flung his arms round Stampedro's neck, and the great horse nickered and
+whinnied with joy. Waiting just long enough to embrace the King and
+Queen, who had hurried down from the tower, the Yellow Knight leapt
+into the saddle and raised his gleaming lance.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember where I was bound before this enchantment!" he cried
+boisterously. "I ride to win the hand of a neighboring Princess.
+Countrymen, farewell! I will return with my bride."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" gasped Marygolden. "Is he not of a marvelous handsomeness? Oh!
+Oh! He has forgotten all about serving me." And hiding her head on
+Speedy's shoulder, the Princess began to weep bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"There, there!" said Speedy gruffly, shielding Marygolden from the
+press of the crowd. "What do you care about this fellow? You're coming
+to America with me."</p>
+
+<p>"But who'll show us the way?" wailed Marygolden, her tears falling
+thick and fast upon Confido's head. Speedy, not sure himself, stood on
+tiptoe to have a last look at the vanishing Knight, whom Stampedro had
+already carried to the gates, when he felt a tug at his coat. It was
+the Comfortable Camel, wild-eyed and furious.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's go after them," screamed the Camel. "Let's try those other dates
+and see whether we cannot save him from himself. Are we going to lose
+Sir Hokus of Pokes just to please these Corumbians? Climb up quickly,
+youngsters. I can run as fast as any horse in Oz. Climb up, and we'll
+bring him back again!" Not sure that they could, but unwilling to let
+the Yellow Knight ride away without a word, Speedy and Marygolden
+stepped on a bench and thence to the high seat between Camy's humps.
+Next instant there were two clouds of dust on the highway. And Camy was
+as good as his word, for though Stampedro had a long start, never once
+did they lose sight of his flying heels. Breathless and banged about,
+Speedy and the Princess hung on to the sides of the seat and to one
+another, while Confido growled and snarled at the awful discomforts
+of the ride. At first, Speedy thought they were going through
+Samandra, but skirting the Sultan's desert domain, the Knight rode
+through a pleasant pastoral valley filled with tumble-down and empty
+villages and towns, and after a sharp two-hour gallop came to a tall
+silver-trimmed castle. But it was as forsaken, forlorn, and deserted
+as the Castle of Corumbia had been the day before; every window was
+broken, and the courtyard was a wilderness of weeds. Dismounting
+slowly, the Yellow Knight looked sadly around, and as the Comfortable
+Camel came charging through the broken gateway he seemed scarcely to
+see him.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch18b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"All gone," mused the Knight. "And yet, surely this was the day set for
+the grand test of skill and courage."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you talking about?" scolded Camy, panting and heaving with
+exhaustion. "Is this gratitude, I ask—running away from your old
+friends, and forgetting all about your former comrades? Come back to
+the Emerald City where you belong. You are Sir Hokus of Pokes and
+nobody else!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you remember us?" cried Speedy, while Marygolden extended her
+arms entreatingly. But Sir Hokus looked through and past them, and even
+when Stampedro tried to remind him of his former companions the Knight
+turned uneasily away.</p>
+
+<p>"I must see the Princess. Where is the Princess of Corabia?" he fumed,
+striding feverishly up and down the courtyard. "Where are the King and
+the Queen and all the others?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the river," barked Confido spitefully. "Where did you suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"River?" sputtered the Knight, gazing fearfully at the stream running
+swiftly by the castle.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," sniffed the little dog, resting his chin on Marygolden's
+arm. "When the Sultan changed the Corumbians into trees and bushes, he
+turned the Corabians into fishes and frogs. If you want to catch the
+King, you'd better get yourself a line and a hook."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that's what the other dates are for," marvelled Speedy, dragging
+the three remaining dates from his pocket. "One to restore the
+Corabians, one to restore the castle, and——"</p>
+
+<p>"One to restore the Princess," finished Confido in a bored voice. "But
+why take all that trouble?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, why bother?" groaned the Comfortable Camel, leaning against a
+tree. "Hokus doesn't know nor care for us. Let's go back to the Emerald
+City and see whether Ozma can bring him to his senses."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch18c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"But we really should help these poor people," sighed Marygolden,
+looking worriedly into the turbulent stream.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," agreed Speedy thoughtfully. "We really should." The Yellow
+Knight had withdrawn, and so heard nothing of the conversation, but
+Stampedro, trotting up to the depressed little group, tried his best to
+cheer and comfort them.</p>
+
+<p>"The past must come before the present," he reminded them gently. "Give
+this young Knight time and he will remember you, and if you can help
+him further, I pray that you will. I, myself, will repay you and carry
+you back to America if need be, even though, once there, I may never
+speak nor see this fair land again." Touched by Stampedro's devotion
+to his master and his willingness to serve them, Speedy decided to
+break the last of the Sultan's evil spells. Confido, who seemed to
+take no interest one way or the other, drawled out instructions in a
+lazy voice, and Speedy, following these instructions, first ate the
+smallest date and cast the stone into the river. Instantly frogs' and
+fishes' heads in hundreds appeared above the surface of the water,
+changed as the watchers on the bank looked at them to people's heads,
+and presently as grand and colorful a company as had marched from the
+enchanted forest rose up out of the yellow river and proceeded quietly
+to the castle.</p>
+
+<p>Hurriedly seeking out the King, Speedy explained as quickly as he could
+how the Sultan's enchantment had been dispelled. The King, who, Speedy
+could not help thinking, still looked a little like a fish, embraced
+the boy heartily and promised him half the Kingdom as a reward. But
+making light of that, Speedy, who was anxious to see the castle
+restored, begged the King to eat the second date and cast the seed upon
+a newly kindled fire in the dining hall. This the King was willing and
+ready enough to do, and as miraculously and swiftly as the Castle of
+Corumbia had been restored, the Castle of Corabia resumed its former
+glory and splendor. Speedy and Marygolden liked it even better than the
+castle they had just left, for the Corabian castle was of silver and
+crystal, and glittered and sparkled like a palace of ice. Having so
+satisfactorily restored his castle, the King returned to the courtyard
+to address his subjects. The Yellow Knight, in a dazed silence, had
+watched all the changes taking place before his eyes, and now urging
+Stampedro forward, approached the raised dais where the King and Queen,
+Speedy and Marygolden had taken their places. Camy, kneeling behind the
+two, peered out at his former hero with blurred and tear-dimmed eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I came to take my chance in the grand test of skill and courage for
+the hand of your daughter," cried the Yellow Knight, dipping the colors
+on his gold lance-tip to the King and Queen. At these words, four more
+Knights rode out from the crowd, repeating almost exactly the words of
+the Yellow Knight.</p>
+
+<p>"Gosh, these fellows must have been enchanted along with the
+Corabians," decided Speedy, helping Marygolden to a place on an
+overturned flowerpot so she could have a good view of the champions,
+"and this test must have been planned the very day the Sultan's magic
+took effect."</p>
+
+<p>"It was," snickered Confido, lifting his head curiously, "and what's
+more, the Princess is still enchanted and cannot be released until one
+of these Knights has passed the test and won the right to her hand. Ho,
+ho! Wait till they hear what the test is. They'll dash off in a hurry,
+even the brave Hokus, who pretends not to know us any more!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll wager he won't," asserted Marygolden stoutly. "I'll wager he will
+win this Princess. Dear, dear, how happy she will be to marry a Prince
+so tall and handsome."</p>
+
+<p>"Sh—hh!" warned Speedy, touching her arm warningly. "The King is going
+to speak."</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_NINETEEN"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch19.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER NINETEEN</h2>
+
+<h3>FOR THE HAND OF A PRINCESS</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Knights and Princes!" The voice of the Corabian King sounded a trifle
+hoarse, due, no doubt, to his five hundred year immersion in the yellow
+river. "This grand test of courage for the hand of my only daughter,
+which has already been delayed five centuries by the meddling magic of
+our wicked neighbor, must be delayed still longer until the Princess
+herself has been disenchanted and restored to us. Has anyone present
+seen the Princess?" The King and Queen gazed searchingly over the heads
+of their assembled subjects, and Speedy, not wishing them to worry a
+moment longer than was necessary, stepped forward to explain.</p>
+
+<p>"The Princess can only be released from the Sultan's spell by
+the winner of the contest," announced the King, after an earnest
+consultation with Speedy. "Kings! Knights! Princes! The fate of my only
+daughter is in your hands."</p>
+
+<p>"Let the contest proceed!" roared the crowd, and the five contestants
+immediately galloped forward.</p>
+
+<p>"State your conditions," puffed a Knight in green, holding his great
+white charger in check with difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Oh! I hope our Knight wins," breathed Marygolden, clasping the
+Comfortable Camel round the neck, and placing Confido high on the
+Camel's hump, so he could see.</p>
+
+<p>"Our Knight!" grumbled the Camel disdainfully. "Our Knight no longer!"
+But secretly and with great satisfaction he noted that the Yellow
+Knight was the handsomest of all the suitors.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch19a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"Atta boy, Hokus!" shouted Speedy, as Stampedro galloped smartly to
+the fore. Then a deep silence fell on the company as the King rose to
+announce the conditions of the grand contest, and when he finished a
+little shiver ran through the crowd.</p>
+
+<p>"Beneath these three rings," the King told them, solemnly pointing to
+three brass rings in the silver flagstones at his feet, "there are
+three secret passageways. One opens into a bottomless pit filled with
+poisonous vapor, one into the cave of a seven-headed hydra, and one
+leads straight to the tower room of the Princess herself. Let each
+Knight choose his ring, and may the bravest among you win my daughter's
+hand!"</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus29.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The King of Corabia.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+
+<p>"But what of the others?" objected the Knight in green. "An honest
+battle I do not mind, but bottomless pits and seven-headed hydras! Nay,
+not for the fairest damsel that lives!" Touching spurs to his horse, he
+thundered away, leaving everyone choking in the dust he had raised.</p>
+
+<p>"Poisonous vapor!" puffed a lordly fellow in red. "What chance has a
+brave man against such trickery? Adieu, I withdraw!" And withdraw he
+did, followed by a black Knight and a gray, who, without stopping to
+explain their reasons, cantered off so violently that they upset three
+guards and a stand of posies.</p>
+
+<p>"Curses!" muttered Speedy, staring anxiously at the Yellow Knight, who
+all alone stood staring down at the fatal rings. "Suppose he rides off,
+too?" But the Yellow Knight had no such intention, and with a shout
+that reminded the boy of his old friend, Sir Hokus, he sprang lightly
+from his horse.</p>
+
+<p>"The monster I will slay, and gladly, with the poisonous vapor I must
+take my chance, but this Princess must be saved at any cost, at any
+hazard, and come what may!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hola! Bravo!" screamed the company, beside itself with delight. "Three
+cheers for the Yellow Knight of Oz." Marygolden, excited as any, tore
+off the rose Peter Pun had fastened to her shoulder that morning, and
+flung it impulsively down to him. The rose fell directly over the
+center ring and the Knight, looking up in surprise, caught Marygolden
+smiling at him.</p>
+
+<p>"Good," he mused, thrusting the rose into his glove. "This little
+maiden whom I seem to know well, shall decide for me." And without
+pause or parley, he leaned forward and pulled up the center ring. There
+was a groan and creak as the trapdoor lifted, and the Corabians in the
+front ranks backed away as far as they could. But only a flight of
+silver steps led down from the opening, and as the Knight prepared to
+descend, the King lifted his scepter.</p>
+
+<p>"My son!" cried the King joyfully. "You have indeed chosen well, for
+this passageway leads straight to the tower of the Princess. But
+before you go to break the spell that cruelly keeps her from our
+presence, I beg that you will lift these other rings." Much mystified,
+the Corabians began to mutter that such a request was not fair nor
+necessary. But the Yellow Knight, after a keen look at his Majesty,
+lifted first one and then the other. A great roar of surprise and then
+mirth went up, for there was nothing under either ring but grass.</p>
+
+<p>"Odds muttons and buttons!" puffed the Yellow Knight, staring down in
+astonishment. "Was there, then, no monster or poisonous vapor at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"None," smiled the King calmly. "But the man to whom I would trust my
+daughter had to be brave enough to take a chance—to risk anything for
+her sake. That you have done. Those craven cowards who rode away might
+have done it also. And now go quickly and claim your reward." Stepping
+down from his throne, the King gave the Knight the last date that
+Speedy had plucked from the magic palm. "Eat this date," he directed
+earnestly, "place the seed upon the ledge of the tower balcony, and
+instantly the Princess will be restored to herself, to us, and to you,
+her future husband. Is that not right, Confido?" The little dog nodded
+superciliously, and with a little sigh of expectancy the crowd watched
+the Yellow Knight vanish down the steps of the secret passageway.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Speedy, squinting up at the balcony and feeling much as
+one does when the curtain is about to descend in the theater for the
+last time, "this clears up the last mystery, and after we see this
+Princess we might as well go home. Look, there's the Yellow Knight on
+the balcony now! He's eaten the date. Now I wonder whether the Princess
+will be pretty. I'll bet she's not as pretty as you are, Marygolden.
+Hey, say! Where did she go? Camy! Camy! Where's Marygolden?" But the
+Comfortable Camel was staring upward so intently that he did not even
+hear Speedy's question.</p>
+
+<p>"Rice! Soup and cobblestone pie!" gulped Camy, stretching up his neck
+to its fullest extent. "Do you see what I see?" Still looking anxiously
+around for Marygolden, Speedy glanced quickly aloft and then gave a
+startled scream.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's Marygolden! How did she get up there? Curses
+Mickapplejuice! How can Marygolden be the Princess of Corabia? I found
+her my own self. She's my Princess and is coming back to America with
+me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Guess again!" grunted the Camel dryly. As Speedy took another
+incredulous look, Marygolden put both arms round the Knight's neck and
+embraced him tenderly. Not since the Skyrocket flew off without Uncle
+Billy had Speedy felt so lost, strange, and forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>"Gosh! Golly!" gulped the boy, winking fast to keep back the tears.
+"Gosh! Golly! Camy, we're the only ones left. I don't suppose
+Marygolden will remember us any more than Hokus did. Come on, let's
+get out of here." But so great was the crush that they could not move
+a step. All around them the Corabians were stamping and shouting with
+joy, and presently Marygolden and the Yellow Knight came down to greet
+the cheering throng. And now, to make matters worse, who should arrive
+but the King and Queen of Corumbia and Peter Pun in a white chariot
+drawn by twenty white horses. And then what a rejoicing and embracing
+between the two kingly couples, so long separated by the Sultan's
+enchantments! Marygolden, in her gold court dress and train, looked so
+tall and stately that Speedy could not believe she was the same girl
+who had gone through so many strange adventures with him. The Princess,
+after heartily embracing her parents and the parents of the Yellow
+Knight, began to look searchingly over the heads of the courtiers,
+and not seeing Speedy, who had stepped behind a silver pillar, spoke
+quickly to a page at her side. Blowing a shrill blast on his silver
+trumpet the page called loudly.</p>
+
+<p>"Will the liberator of the Corumbians and the Corabians, the discoverer
+of Princess Marygolden, and the gentlest and bravest youth in twenty
+kingdoms be pleased to step forward? Speedy, the American, and the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz kindly step this way. Way for Speedy and the
+Comfortable Camel of Oz!" Speedy, turning red as a turkeycock, backed
+in embarrassment, but the crowd, quickly recognizing the boy who had
+given the magic dates to the King, boisterously pushed him forward,
+Camy treading in a dignified manner behind him. Then, to his surprise
+and delight, both the Princess and the Yellow Knight hurried forward to
+clasp his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Speedy!" cried the Knight, his eyes lighting up with the same kindly
+twinkle that had characterized Sir Hokus. "And Camy! Good old Camy!
+That enchantment acted upon me like a fever. Forgive me, if in the
+excitement of the present, I for a moment forgot the friends and
+allegiances of the past. Odds bodikens! I was bewitched, or I would
+have known Marygolden long ago."</p>
+
+<p>"Soon as I kissed him he remembered everything," smiled the Princess,
+lifting Confido to a place on her shoulder. "Ah, Speedy, is it not
+wonderful? I, too, remember everything now. This is my real home and
+happiness, but I'll never forget the adventures we had together, nor
+the grand care you took of me when I scarce knew anything at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mind so very much if I take care of her now?" begged Sir Hokus
+in an anxious undertone. "You wouldn't want to marry for years, and a
+Princess might not be happy in America."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose not," sighed Speedy, staring up at the bewildering vision
+of loveliness that was Marygolden. "But I sorta wanted to show her my
+dog, and Uncle Billy's laboratory, and—and——" All at once Speedy
+was dreadfully homesick for a sight of Uncle Billy himself, for the
+pungent tang of Uncle Billy's pipe, and the queer smelling chemicals in
+the inventor's workshop. For the first time he felt out of place amid
+all this pomp and splendor. "I guess I'll be going along," sighed
+Speedy, with a last, long, regretful look at the Princess.</p>
+
+<p>"And I suppose, now that you have Stampedro, you'll not be needing me,"
+choked the Comfortable Camel, bobbing his head sadly at the splendid
+figure of the Knight. "Good—good-bye! I'm going to take Speedy to the
+Emerald City and ask Ozma to send him home to America, and then—and
+then——" Camy tried hard to control himself but finally broke down and
+wept bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you're coming straight back to Corumbia. Camy, Camy, you old son
+of a sandwich, d'ye think I could get along without you? Why, I'll need
+dozens of mounts! And besides, aren't you my best friend? And Speedy,
+my boy, surely you'll stay for the wedding?"</p>
+
+<p>"And the reward!" puffed the King of Corabia, thumping Speedy heartily
+on the back. "Half my kingdom if you will stay with us!"</p>
+
+<p>"And mine!" asserted the King of Corumbia, while Peter Pun begged
+Speedy to stay and share his tower.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I couldn't stay always!" explained the boy quickly. "But I'd like
+to stay for the wedding! Shall we, Camy?" The Camel, who was crying
+comfortably down the Knight's back, nodded without speaking, and as
+Sir Hokus insisted that the marriage take place at once they all turned
+toward the castle.</p>
+
+<p>But before they had gone a step there came a sudden and blinding flash
+of lightning. It played over the whole company, but settled like a
+spotlight upon the Yellow Knight and the Comfortable Camel of Oz.</p>
+
+<p>"Mmm-magic!" stuttered Peter Pun, jumping behind the King of Corumbia.
+"Sss-somebody's making light of us."</p>
+
+<p>"The Sultan!" burst out Speedy, rushing to the Knight's side. "What'll
+we do?" But before Sir Hokus (and somehow I cannot call this Yellow
+Knight anything but that) before Sir Hokus could draw his sword, the
+flash of light faded away. Then, as everyone began to breathe easily
+again, there came a second flash; two flying figures sailed over the
+heads of the crowd and dropped lightly before Marygolden and the Yellow
+Knight.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's Ozma!" quavered the Comfortable Camel, lifting his head from
+the Knight's shoulder.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus30.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p>"<span class="smcap">Why, it's Ozma!</span>"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Whose ma?" queried Peter Pun, coming out from behind the King. "Why,
+she's a mere child and no ma at all."</p>
+
+<p>"She's the ma of this whole country, just the same," asserted Camy,
+shaking his head proudly. "Three cheers for Ozma of Oz and Princess
+Dorothy, her best friend and advisor!" The Corabians, although hoarse
+from cheering already, gladly gave three more. And concealing perfectly
+their consternation and surprise at the strange manner and suddenness
+of her arrival, the rulers of Corumbia and Corabia, with bows, murmurs,
+and many graceful genuflections, greeted the Supreme Sovereign of their
+whole magic and mysterious country.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p id="CHAPTER_TWENTY"></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch20.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER TWENTY</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MARRIAGE OF MARYGOLDEN</h3>
+
+
+<p>The Wizard of Oz, as you have probably surmised, had finally perfected
+his searchlight. First it had discovered the magic picture stuck behind
+some books in Ozma's library. Sir Hokus himself had hidden the picture
+before he started on his quest, for he knew if it was in its place he
+would soon be found and followed. Then the searchlight, shot from the
+top of the castle tower, had flashed back with the whereabouts of the
+Comfortable Camel and Sir Hokus. No sooner had Ozma discovered that
+they were in Corabia than she clasped on her magic belt and transported
+herself and Dorothy to that Kingdom.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch20a.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus31.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">The Wizard and his searchlight.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Here's Camy!" gasped Dorothy, somewhat breathlessly returning the
+bows of their Majesties. "But I don't see Sir Hokus. Well, anyway, the
+searchlight has found Camy."</p>
+
+<p>"Found us both," corrected the Camel grandly. "There stands Sir Hokus
+of Pokes, really the Yellow Knight and Prince of Corumbia, with his
+bride, the Princess of Corabia. These, your Highness," Camy jerked
+his head respectfully in the direction of the Kings and Queens, "are
+the Sovereigns of Corumbia and Corabia and this boy, this excellent,
+courageous and adventurous American boy, is called Speedy, and in him
+you see the restorer of two kingdoms and a Prince, and the discoverer
+of a Princess!"</p>
+
+<p>"How about me?" coughed Confido sharply. "I guess I'm as important as
+he is!"</p>
+
+<p>"The Imperial Peke of Samandra, now official pet of Princess
+Marygolden," added Camy, with a broad wink at Peter Pun. Ozma smiled
+and nodded at each introduction but was so stunned and dazzled by the
+change in Sir Hokus of Pokes that she could for several moments find no
+words to express her astonishment.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p><span class="smcap">Ozma was stunned by the change in Sir Hokus.</span></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"Is it really you?" she begged finally, standing on tiptoe to put her
+hands on the Knight's shoulder. "Yes, I can tell by the eyes. The eyes
+are the same. But wherever have you been and why did you go off without
+us? We have been so anxious and worried."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Hokus blushed and looked uncomfortable.</p>
+
+<p>"Because a Knight must go questing alone!" explained Camy, coming
+valiantly to the rescue. "And has it not been worth some worry, to have
+everything turn out so happily? Wait, just wait till you have heard our
+story!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why wait?" cried the King of Corabia, who was consumed with curiosity
+to discover how Speedy had come to have the magic dates. "Why wait? Let
+us hear everything now."</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"A story! A story! Enchantments and glory!</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Ye Knights and ye Ladies, give ear—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Attend and turn pale, as ye list to the tale</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Of Sir Hokus and Speedy. Hear! Hear!"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>roared Peter Pun, shaking his belled stick hilariously. Ozma and
+Dorothy were only too anxious to hear, and when silver chairs had been
+brought for them by the footmen, the Yellow Knight and Speedy told the
+story of their exciting experiences from beginning to end. Ozma, like
+Speedy, could not help feeling a little sad to lose Sir Hokus. The Good
+Knight of Oz would be sadly missed at the castle. But she knew it would
+be selfish to wish for her old friend instead of this young and shining
+Knight, so happy in his release and future. As she sat musing over the
+whole strange story, Dorothy jumped up and impulsively kissed both the
+Knight and his bride.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand everything," cried Dorothy, flinging out her arms,
+"everything except how Sir Hokus got to Pokes and Marygolden to
+Subterranea. How do you suppose they did, Ozma?"</p>
+
+<p>"That," said Ozma, her lovely face suddenly growing grave, "we shall
+soon discover!" And touching her magic belt she spoke seven words
+under her breath. Speedy, who had dropped on a cushion beside Peter
+Pun, bounded up with a cry of alarm. The Yellow Knight jerked out his
+sword, and little gasps of dismay and curiosity burst from the lips of
+the onlookers. There, before Queen Ozma, stood the Sultan of Samandra,
+brought by the magic belt to answer for his crimes. At the moment of
+his summons, the fat and furious monarch had been riding at the head
+of his camel corps to attack the King of Corumbia. In his hand he still
+brandished a large, gleaming scimiter, and his face, distorted with
+rage, astonishment, and disappointment, was not pleasant to gaze upon.</p>
+
+<p>"Drop that weapon," commanded Ozma sternly, and after one quick glance
+the Sultan, recognizing the Ruler of all Oz, sulkily did as he was told.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," continued Ozma severely, "will you kindly explain why you stole
+the treasures of your two good neighbors and enchanted and transformed
+them and their children for five hundred years?"</p>
+
+<p>"If the children of these two monarchs married, as they fully intended
+to do, the two Kings would have combined to crush me," whined the
+Sultan, shifting from one foot to the other.</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense!" blustered the King of Corumbia. "You know I had always the
+kindliest feelings toward you, nor ever suspected such base treachery
+at your hands."</p>
+
+<p>"Were you the Black Knight who challenged Sir Hokus to combat the
+day he rode out to win the Princess of Corabia?" asked Ozma. Without
+meeting her eye, the Sultan nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"And did you, by yellow and forbidden magic, send Sir Hokus to Pokes
+and change Marygolden to a statue and give her into the keeping of the
+Shah of Subterranea?" Again the Sultan nodded, and suddenly catching
+sight of Confido nestling in the Princess' arms, gave a shriek of rage
+and jealousy.</p>
+
+<p>"Wretch!" shrilled the Sultan. "Perfidious puppy, you have betrayed
+me!" Then, realizing he was in the power of a Fairy powerful enough to
+destroy him utterly, he grew still and rigid and gazed unhappily at the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>"What shall be done to this wicked person?" sighed Ozma, looking
+thoughtfully at the rulers of Corumbia and Corabia. "You who have
+suffered through his treachery shall pronounce his sentence." At this
+the Sultan trembled so violently that his heavy gold necklaces and
+anklets rattled like a prisoner's chains.</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" exclaimed the Corabian monarch, looking over at the King of
+Corumbia. "What say you, neighbor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," puffed the King of Corumbia, rubbing his chin thoughtfully,
+"this villain has robbed us of five hundred years, but, on the other
+hand, doubtless saved us from that many toothaches and hair-cuts.
+Suppose we ask Queen Ozma to take away all his magic powers and
+appliances, force him to return all that he has stolen, and for five
+hundred years to stay within the boundaries of his own country?"</p>
+
+<p>"Good enough," agreed the King of Corabia, and while Speedy and Peter
+Pun and some of the others who thought the Sultan had got off far too
+easily looked a bit disappointed, Ozma with a few magic passes rendered
+all of the Sultan's spells and wizardry useless. Then, as his presence
+spoiled the view and good spirits of an otherwise cheerful and charming
+company, she instantly transported him back to Samandra where he is
+doubtless complaining to Tuzzle or bullying the Grand Bozzywoz at this
+very moment. Confido and Camy without a quiver saw their former master
+vanish away. Then, with a satisfied sniff, Confido dozed off in the lap
+of the Princess, dreaming of all the gold bowls and collars he should
+require of the two Kings as a reward.</p>
+
+<p>At high noon the marriage of Marygolden was solemnized with much
+merriment and magnificence. Speedy, in a suit of silver satin, with
+knee breeches and silver buckles on his shoes, looked, if not as tall,
+quite as fine as the bridegroom himself. Stampedro and Camy were
+decked out in enormous collars of roses in honor of the bride, and
+with so many Royalties present it was an affair long talked of and
+remembered by those lucky enough to be present. Sir Hokus, recalling
+his threatened wedding in Marshland, smiled with satisfaction and
+happiness, for here, surely, was all the music, gaiety, beauty, and
+pomp a Knight could ask for, and a bride so fair and lovely that he
+wished himself a thousand times braver and more handsome than he was.
+Ozma and Dorothy, cheered by the prospect of an early visit from the
+royal couple, found themselves growing as fond of the Yellow Knight as
+they had ever been of Sir Hokus; for in spite of his youth and gaiety
+he was really the same gentle, thoughtful, delightful person he had
+been always.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch20b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>Speedy, looking down the long table lined with fine, friendly faces,
+realized that it was going to be hard to say good-bye. The boy from
+America had been knighted by both Kings and each had earnestly begged
+him to live always in the Land of Oz, but when the last song had been
+sung and the last toast to the bride had been given, Speedy leaned over
+and spoke a few words to Ozma. He found he could not say good-bye at
+all and wanted to slip away unnoticed and remember the bluff, merry
+company just as it was now.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell them I'll come back," he whispered to Ozma. "Be sure to tell
+them that, but now I must be going home." Ozma, with an understanding
+nod, touched her magic belt. One by one, like figures in a dream, the
+courtly company faded out and next thing Speedy knew he was curled up
+on the old leather sofa in Uncle Billy's workshop.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, hello!" said the inventor, looking up from a smoking test tube.
+"So there you are! I thought you'd be back soon. I knew nothing serious
+could happen to a nephew of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you, Uncle Billy, now, did you?" Vastly complimented, Speedy
+jumped up and gave him a regular bear hug. "But listen," he crowed
+excitedly. "Nothing serious did happen, but <i>boy</i> haven't I had neat
+fun?" And with the words tumbling out faster than water from a sieve,
+Speedy recounted the whole thrilling story of his adventures in the
+Skyrocket and afterward.</p>
+
+<p>At each astounding happening, Uncle Billy, who had dropped into an old
+leather rocker, edged closer, so that by the time Speedy finished they
+were knee to knee, staring tensely into each other's faces.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ch20c.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>"I'm building another torpedo ship," declared Uncle Billy, feeling
+around in his pocket for his pipe. "I was going down to rescue you, but
+since you are here, we can go to Mars or any other place you say when
+the new ship is finished." Speedy, his arm on the edge of the sofa and
+his chin resting in the palm of his hand, looked dreamily through the
+smoke of Uncle Billy's pipe.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" questioned the inventor, puffing away vigorously. "A penny for
+your thoughts, my boy!"</p>
+
+<p>"I was thinking," sighed Speedy slowly and thoughtfully, "I was
+thinking that Mars would seem sorta dull after Oz."</p>
+
+<p>"Ho! In that case," chuckled the inventor, who had been thinking the
+same thing himself, "perhaps we'd better go to OZ!" And someway,
+sometime, somehow, I believe they will, boys and girls, don't you?</p>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+  <img src="images/ep.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78637 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
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+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #78637
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78637)