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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + + GLINDA OF OZ + +In which are related the Exciting Experiences of Princess + Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in their hazardous journey + to the home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic + Isle of the Skeezers, and how they were + rescued from dire peril by the + sorcery of Glinda the + Good + + by L. FRANK BAUM + "Royal Historian of Oz" + + +This Book +is Dedicated to +My Son +Robert Stanton Baum + + + +LIST OF CHAPTERS + 1 The Call of Duty + 2 Ozma and Dorothy + 3 The Mist Maidens + 4 The Magic Tent + 5 The Magic Stairway + 6 Flathead Mountain + 7 The Magic Isle + 8 Queen Coo-ee-oh + 9 Lady Aurex +10 Under Water +11 The Conquest of the Skeezers +12 The Diamond Swan +13 The Alarm Bell +14 Ozma's Counsellors +15 The Great Sorceress +16 The Enchanted Fishes +17 Under the Great Dome +18 The Cleverness of Ervic +19 Red Reera, the Yookoohoo.. +20 A Puzzling Problem +21 The Three Adepts +22 The Sunken Island +23 The Magic Words +24 Glinda's Triumph + + + + + +Chapter One + +The Call to Duty + + +Glinda, the good Sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand +court of her palace, surrounded by her maids of honor +-- a hundred of the most beautiful girls of the +Fairyland of Oz. The palace court was built of rare +marbles, exquisitely polished. Fountains tinkled +musically here and there; the vast colonnade, open to +the south, allowed the maidens, as they raised their +heads from their embroideries, to gaze upon a vista of +rose-hued fields and groves of trees bearing fruits or +laden with sweet-scented flowers. At times one of the +girls would start a song, the others joining in the +chorus, or one would rise and dance, gracefully swaying +to the music of a harp played by a companion. And then +Glinda smiled, glad to see her maids mixing play with +work. + +Presently among the fields an object was seen moving, +threading the broad path that led to the castle gate. +Some of the girls looked upon this object enviously; +the Sorceress merely gave it a glance and nodded her +stately head as if pleased, for it meant the coming of +her friend and mistress -- the only one in all the land +that Glinda bowed to. + +Then up the path trotted a wooden animal attached to +a red wagon, and as the quaint steed halted at the gate +there descended from the wagon two young girls, Ozma, +Ruler of Oz, and her companion, Princess Dorothy. Both +were dressed in simple white muslin gowns, and as they +ran up the marble steps of the palace they laughed and +chatted as gaily as if they were not the most important +persons in the world's loveliest fairyland. + +The maids of honor had risen and stood with bowed +heads to greet the royal Ozma, while Glinda came +forward with outstretched arms to greet her guests. + +"We've just come on a visit, you know," said Ozma. +"Both Dorothy and I were wondering how we should pass +the day when we happened to think we'd not been to your +Quadling Country for weeks, so we took the Sawhorse and +rode straight here." + +"And we came so fast," added Dorothy, "that our hair +is blown all fuzzy, for the Sawhorse makes a wind of +his own. Usually it's a day's journey from the Em'rald +City, but I don't s'pose we were two hours on the way." + +"You are most welcome," said Glinda the Sorceress, +and led them through the court to her magnificent +reception hall. Ozma took the arm of her hostess, but +Dorothy lagged behind, kissing some of the maids she +knew best, talking with others, and making them all +feel that she was their friend. When at last she joined +Glinda and Ozma in the reception hall, she found them +talking earnestly about the condition of the people, +and how to make them more happy and contented -- +although they were already the happiest and most +contented folks in all the world. + +This interested Ozma, of course, but it didn't +interest Dorothy very much, so the little girl ran over +to a big table on which was lying open Glinda's Great +Book of Records. + +This Book is one of the greatest treasures in Oz, and +the Sorceress prizes it more highly than any of her +magical possessions. That is the reason it is firmly +attached to the big marble table by means of golden +chains, and whenever Glinda leaves home she locks the +Great Book together with five jeweled padlocks, and +carries the keys safely hidden in her bosom. + +I do not suppose there is any magical thing in any +fairyland to compare with the Record Book, on the pages +of which are constantly being printed a record of every +event that happens in any part of the world, at exactly +the moment it happens. And the records are always +truthful, although sometimes they do not give as many +details as one could wish. But then, lots of things +happen, and so the records have to be brief or even +Glinda's Great Book could not hold them all. + +Glinda looked at the records several times each day, +and Dorothy, whenever she visited the Sorceress, loved +to look in the Book and see what was happening +everywhere. Not much was recorded about the Land of Oz, +which is usually peaceful and uneventful, but today +Dorothy found something which interested her. Indeed, +the printed letters were appearing on the page even +while she looked. + +"This is funny!" she exclaimed. "Did you know, +Ozma, that there were people in your Land of Oz +called Skeezers?" + +"Yes," replied Ozma, coming to her side, "I know that +on Professor Wogglebug's Map of the Land of Oz there is +a place marked 'Skeezer,' but what the Skeezers are +like I do not know. No one I know has ever seen them or +heard of them. The Skeezer Country is 'way at the upper +edge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy, +impassable desert on one side and the mountains of +Oogaboo on another side. That is a part of the Land of +Oz of which I know very little." + +"I guess no one else knows much about it either, +unless it's the Skeezers themselves," remarked Dorothy. +"But the Book says: 'The Skeezers of Oz have declared +war on the Flatheads of Oz, and there is likely to be +fighting and much trouble as the result.'" + +"Is that all the Book says?" asked Ozma. + +"Every word," said Dorothy, and Ozma and Glinda both +looked at the Record and seemed surprised and +perplexed. + +"Tell me, Glinda," said Ozma, "who are the +Flatheads?" + +"I cannot, your Majesty," confessed the Sorceress. +"Until now I never have heard of them, nor have I ever +heard the Skeezers mentioned. In the faraway corners of +Oz are hidden many curious tribes of people, and those +who never leave their own countries and never are +visited by those from our favored part of Oz, naturally +are unknown to me. However, if you so desire, I can +learn through my arts of sorcery something of the +Skeezers and the Flatheads." + +"I wish you would," answered Ozma seriously. "You +see, Glinda, if these are Oz people they are my +subjects and I cannot allow any wars or troubles in the +Land I rule, if I can possibly help it." + +"Very well, your Majesty," said the Sorceress, "I +will try to get some information to guide you. Please +excuse me for a time, while I retire to my Room of +Magic and Sorcery." + +"May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly. + +"No, Princess," was the reply. "It would spoil the +charm to have anyone present." + +So Glinda locked herself in her own Room of Magic and +Dorothy and Ozma waited patiently for her to come out +again. + +In about an hour Glinda appeared, looking grave and +thoughtful. + +"Your Majesty," she said to Ozma, "the Skeezers live +on a Magic Isle in a great lake. For that reason -- +because the Skeezers deal in magic -- I can learn +little about them." + +"Why, I didn't know there was a lake in that part of +Oz," exclaimed Ozma. "The map shows a river running +through the Skeezer Country, but no lake." + +"That is because the person who made the map never +had visited that part of the country," explained the +Sorceress. "The lake surely is there, and in the lake +is an island -- a Magic Isle -- and on that island live +the people called the Skeezers." + +"What are they like?" inquired the Ruler of Oz. + +"My magic cannot tell me that," confessed Glinda, +"for the magic of the Skeezers prevents anyone outside +of their domain knowing anything about them." + +"The Flatheads must know, if they're going to fight +the Skeezers," suggested Dorothy + +"Perhaps so," Glinda replied, "but I can get little +information concerning the Flatheads, either. They are +people who inhabit a mountain just south of the Lake of +the Skeezers. The mountain has steep sides and a broad, +hollow top, like a basin, and in this basin the +Flatheads have their dwellings. They also are magic- +workers and usually keep to themselves and allow no one +from outside to visit them. I have learned that the +Flatheads number about one hundred people -- men, women +and children -- while the Skeezers number just one +hundred and one." + +"What did they quarrel about, and why do they wish to +fight one another?" was Ozma's next question. + +"I cannot tell your Majesty that," said Glinda. + +"But see here!" cried Dorothy, "it's against the law +for anyone but Glinda and the Wizard to work magic in +the Land of Oz, so if these two strange people are +magic-makers they are breaking the law and ought to be +punished!" Ozma smiled upon her little friend. + +"Those who do not know me or my laws," she said, +"cannot be expected to obey my laws. If we know nothing +of the Skeezers or the Flatheads, it is likely that +they know nothing of us." + +"But they ought to know, Ozma, and we ought to know. +Who's going to tell them, and how are we going to make +them behave?" + +"That," returned Ozma, "is what I am now considering. +What would you advise, Glinda?" + +The Sorceress took a little time to consider this +question, before she made reply. Then she said: "Had +you not learned of the existence of the Flatheads and +the Skeezers, through my Book of Records, you would +never have worried about them or their quarrels. So, if +you pay no attention to these peoples, you may never +hear of them again." + +"But that wouldn't be right," declared Ozma. "I am +Ruler of all the Land of Oz, which includes the +Gillikin Country, the Quadling Country, the Winkie +Country and the Munchkin Country, as well as the +Emerald City, and being the Princess of this fairyland +it is my duty to make all my people -- wherever they +may be -- happy and content and to settle their +disputes and keep them from quarreling. So, while the +Skeezers and Flatheads may not know me or that I am +their lawful Ruler, I now know that they inhabit my +kingdom and are my subjects, so I would not be doing my +duty if I kept away from them and allowed them to +fight." + +"That's a fact, Ozma," commented Dorothy. +"You've got to go up to the Gillikin Country and make +these people behave themselves and make up their +quarrels. But how are you going to do it?" + +"That is what is puzzling me also, your Majesty," +said the Sorceress. "It may be dangerous for you to go +into those strange countries, where the people are +possibly fierce and warlike." + +"I am not afraid," said Ozma, with a smile. + +"'Tisn't a question of being 'fraid," argued Dorothy. +"Of course we know you're a fairy, and can't be killed +or hurt, and we know you've a lot of magic of your own +to help you. But, Ozma dear, in spite of all this +you've been in trouble before, on account of wicked +enemies, and it isn't right for the Ruler of all Oz to +put herself in danger." + +"Perhaps I shall be in no danger at all," returned +Ozma, with a little laugh. "You mustn't imagine danger, +Dorothy, for one should only imagine nice things, and +we do not know that the Skeezers and Flatheads are +wicked people or my enemies. Perhaps they would be good +and listen to reason." + +"Dorothy is right, your Majesty," asserted the +Sorceress. "It is true we know nothing of these faraway +subjects, except that they intend to fight one another, +and have a certain amount of magic power at their +command. Such folks do not like to submit to +interference and they are more likely to resent your +coming among them than to receive you kindly and +graciously, as is your due." + +"If you had an army to take with you," added Dorothy, +"it wouldn't be so bad; but there isn't such a thing as +an army in all Oz." + +"I have one soldier," said Ozma. + +"Yes, the soldier with the green whiskers; but he's +dreadful 'fraid of his gun and never loads it. I'm sure +he'd run rather than fight. And one soldier, even if he +were brave, couldn't do much against two hundred and +one Flatheads and Skeezers." + +"What then, my friends, would you suggest?" inquired +Ozma. + +"I advise you to send the Wizard of Oz to them, and +let him inform them that it is against the laws of Oz +to fight, and that you command them to settle their +differences and become friends," proposed Glinda. "Let +the Wizard tell them they will be punished if they +refuse to obey the commands of the Princess of all the +Land of Oz." + +Ozma shook her head, to indicate that the advice was +not to her satisfaction. + +"If they refuse, what then?" she asked. "I should be +obliged to carry out my threat and punish them, and +that would be an unpleasant and difficult thing to do. +I am sure it would be better for me to go peacefully, +without an army and armed only with my authority as +Ruler, and plead with them to obey me. Then, if they +prove obstinate I could resort to other means to win +their obedience." + +"It's a ticklish thing, anyhow you look at it," +sighed Dorothy. "I'm sorry now that I noticed the +Record in the Great Book." + +"But can't you realize, my dear, that I must do my +duty, now that I am aware of this trouble?" asked Ozma. +"I am fully determined to go at once to the Magic Isle +of the Skeezers and to the enchanted mountain of the +Flatheads, and prevent war and strife between their +inhabitants. The only question to decide is whether it +is better for me to go alone, or to assemble a party of +my friends and loyal supporters to accompany me." + +"If you go I want to go, too," declared Dorothy. +"Whatever happens it's going to be fun -- 'cause all +excitement is fun -- and I wouldn't miss it for the +world!" + +Neither Ozma nor Glinda paid any attention to this +statement, for they were gravely considering the +serious aspect of this proposed adventure. + +"There are plenty of friends who would like to go +with you," said the Sorceress, "but none of them would +afford your Majesty any protection in case you were in +danger. You are yourself the most powerful fairy in Oz, +although both I and the Wizard have more varied arts of +magic at our command. However, you have one art that no +other in all the world can equal -- the art of winning +hearts and making people love to bow to your gracious +presence. For that reason I believe you can accomplish +more good alone than with a large number of subjects in +your train." + +"I believe that also," agreed the Princess. "I shall +be quite able to take care of myself, you know, but +might not be able to protect others so well. I do not +look for opposition, however. I shall speak to these +people in kindly words and settle their dispute -- +whatever it may be -- in a just manner." + +"Aren't you going to take me?" pleaded Dorothy. +"You'll need some companion, Ozma." + +The Princess smiled upon her little friend. + +"I see no reason why you should not accompany me," +was her reply. "Two girls are not very warlike and they +will not suspect us of being on any errand but a kindly +and peaceful one. But, in order to prevent war and +strife between these angry peoples, we must go to them +at once. Let us return immediately to the Emerald City +and prepare to start on our journey early tomorrow +morning." + +Glinda was not quite satisfied with this plan, but +could not think of any better way to meet the problem. +She knew that Ozma, with all her gentleness and sweet +disposition, was accustomed to abide by any decision +she had made and could not easily be turned from her +purpose. Moreover she could see no great danger to the +fairy Ruler of Oz in the undertaking, even though the +unknown people she was to visit proved obstinate. But +Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who had +come from Kansas to live in the Land of Oz. Dorothy +might encounter dangers that to Ozma would be as +nothing but to an "Earth child" would be very serious. + +The very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had been +made a Princess by her friend Ozma, prevented her from +being killed or suffering any great bodily pain as long +as she lived in that fairyland. She could not grow big, +either, and would always remain the same little girl +who had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that +fairyland or was spirited away from it. But Dorothy was +a mortal, nevertheless, and might possibly be +destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends could +ever find her. She could, for instance be cut into +pieces, and the pieces, while still alive and free from +pain, could be widely scattered; or she might be buried +deep underground or "destroyed" in other ways by evil +magicians, were she not properly protected. These facts +Glinda was considering while she paced with stately +tread her marble hall. + +Finally the good Sorceress paused and drew a ring +from her finger, handing it to Dorothy. + +"Wear this ring constantly until your return," she +said to the girl. "If serious danger threatens you, +turn the ring around on your finger once to the right +and another turn to the left. That will ring the alarm +bell in my palace and I will at once come to your +rescue. But do not use the ring unless you are actually +in danger of destruction. While you remain with +Princess Ozma I believe she will be able to protect you +from all lesser ills." + +"Thank you, Glinda," responded Dorothy gratefully, as +she placed the ring on her finger. "I'm going to wear +my Magic Belt which I took from the Nome King, too, so +I guess I'll be safe from anything the Skeezers and +Flatheads try to do to me." + +Ozma had many arrangements to make before she could +leave her throne and her palace in the Emerald City, +even for a trip of a few days, so she bade goodbye to +Glinda and with Dorothy climbed into the Red Wagon. A +word to the wooden Sawhorse started that astonishing +creature on the return journey, and so swiftly did he +run that Dorothy was unable to talk or do anything but +hold tight to her seat all the way back to the Emerald +City. + + + + +Chapter Two + +Ozma and Dorothy + + + +Residing in Ozma's palace at this time was a live +Scarecrow, a most remarkable and intelligent creature +who had once ruled the Land of Oz for a brief period +and was much loved and respected by all the people. +Once a Munchkin farmer had stuffed an old suit of +clothes with straw and put stuffed boots on the feet +and used a pair of stuffed cotton gloves for hands. The +head of the Scarecrow was a stuffed sack fastened to +the body, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted on +the sack. When a hat had been put on the head, the +thing was a good imitation of a man. The farmer placed +the Scarecrow on a pole in his cornfield and it came to +life in a curious manner. Dorothy, who was passing by +the field, was hailed by the live Scarecrow and lifted +him off his pole. He then went with her to the Emerald +City, where the Wizard of Oz gave him some excellent +brains, and the Scarecrow soon became an important +personage. + +Ozma considered the Scarecrow one of her best friends +and most loyal subjects, so the morning after her visit +to Glinda she asked him to take her place as Ruler of +the Land of Oz while she was absent on a journey, and +the Scarecrow at once consented without asking any +questions. + +Ozma had warned Dorothy to keep their journey a +secret and say nothing to anyone about the Skeezers and +Flatheads until their return, and Dorothy promised to +obey. She longed to tell her girl friends, tiny Trot +and Betsy Bobbin, of the adventure they were +undertaking, but refrained from saying a word on the +subject although both these girls lived with her in +Ozma's palace. + +Indeed, only Glinda the Sorceress knew they were +going, until after they had gone, and even the +Sorceress didn't know what their errand might be. + +Princess Ozma took the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, +although she was not sure there was a wagon road all +the way to the Lake of the Skeezers. The Land of Oz is +a pretty big place, surrounded on all sides by a Deadly +Desert which it is impossible to cross, and the Skeezer +Country, according to the map, was in the farthest +northwestern part of Oz, bordering on the north desert. +As the Emerald City was exactly in the center of Oz, it +was no small journey from there to the Skeezers. + +Around the Emerald City the country is thickly +settled in every direction, but the farther away you +get from the city the fewer people there are, until +those parts that border on the desert have small +populations. Also those faraway sections are little +known to the Oz people, except in the south, where +Glinda lives and where Dorothy has often wandered on +trips of exploration. + +The least known of all is the Gillikin Country, which +harbors many strange bands of people among its +mountains and valleys and forests and streams, and Ozma +was now bound for the most distant part of the Gillikin +Country. + +"I am really sorry," said Ozma to Dorothy, as they +rode away in the Red Wagon, "not to know more about the +wonderful Land I rule. It is my duty to be acquainted +with every tribe of people and every strange and hidden +country in all Oz, but I am kept so busy at my palace +making laws and planning for the comforts of those who +live near the Emerald City, that I do not often find +time to make long journeys." + +"Well," replied Dorothy, "we'll prob'bly find out a +lot on this trip, and we'll learn all about the +Skeezers and Flatheads, anyhow. Time doesn't make much +diff'rence in the Land of Oz, 'cause we don't grow up, +or get old, or become sick and die, as they do other +places; so, if we explore one place at a time, we'll +by-an'-by know all about every nook and corner in Oz." + +Dorothy wore around her waist the Nome King's Magic +Belt, which protected her from harm, and the Magic Ring +which Glinda had given her was on her finger. Ozma had +merely slipped a small silver wand into the bosom of +her gown, for fairies do not use chemicals and herbs +and the tools of wizards and sorcerers to perform their +magic. The Silver Wand was Ozma's one weapon of offense +and defense and by its use she could accomplish many +things. + +They had left the Emerald City just at sunrise and +the Sawhorse traveled very swiftly over the roads +towards the north, but in a few hours the wooden animal +had to slacken his pace because the farm houses had +become few and far between and often there were no +paths at all in the direction they wished to follow. At +such times they crossed the fields, avoiding groups of +trees and fording the streams and rivulets whenever +they came to them. But finally they reached a broad +hillside closely covered with scrubby brush, through +which the wagon could not pass. + +"It will be difficult even for you and me to get +through without tearing our dresses," said Ozma, "so we +must leave the Sawhorse and the Wagon here until our +return." + +"That's all right," Dorothy replied, "I'm tired +riding, anyhow. Do you s'pose, Ozma, we're anywhere +near the Skeezer Country?" + +"I cannot tell, Dorothy dear, but I know we've been +going in the right direction, so we are sure to find it +in time." + +The scrubby brush was almost like a grove of small +trees, for it reached as high as the heads of the two +girls, neither of whom was very tall. They were obliged +to thread their way in and out, until Dorothy was +afraid they would get lost, and finally they were +halted by a curious thing that barred their further +progress. It was a huge web -- as if woven by gigantic +spiders -- and the delicate, lacy film was fastened +stoutly to the branches of the bushes and continued to +the right and left in the form of a half circle. The +threads of this web were of a brilliant purple color +and woven into numerous artistic patterns, but it +reached from the ground to branches above the heads of +the girls and formed a sort of fence that hedged them +in. + +"It doesn't look very strong, though," said Dorothy. +"I wonder if we couldn't break through." She tried but +found the web stronger than it seemed. All her efforts +could not break a single thread. + +"We must go back, I think, and try to get around this +peculiar web," Ozma decided. + +So they turned to the right and, following the web +found that it seemed to spread in a regular circle. On +and on they went until finally Ozma said they had +returned to the exact spot from which they had started. +"Here is a handkerchief you dropped when we were here +before," she said to Dorothy. + +"In that case, they must have built the web behind +us, after we walked into the trap," exclaimed the +little girl. + +"True," agreed Ozma, "an enemy has tried to imprison +us." + +"And they did it, too," said Dorothy. "I wonder who +it was." + +"It's a spider-web, I'm quite sure," returned Ozma, +"but it must be the work of enormous spiders." + +"Quite right!" cried a voice behind them. Turning +quickly around they beheld a huge purple spider sitting +not two yards away and regarding them with its small +bright eyes. + +Then there crawled from the bushes a dozen more great +purple spiders, which saluted the first one and said: + +"The web is finished, O King, and the strangers are +our prisoners." + +Dorothy did not like the looks of these spiders at +all. They had big heads, sharp claws, small eyes and +fuzzy hair all over their purple bodies. + +"They look wicked," she whispered to Ozma. "What +shall we do?" + +Ozma gazed upon the spiders with a serious face. + +"What is your object in making us prisoners?" she +inquired. + +"We need someone to keep house for us," answered the +Spider King. "There is sweeping and dusting to be done, +and polishing and washing of dishes, and that is work +my people dislike to do. So we decided that if any +strangers came our way we would capture them and make +them our servants." + +"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all Oz," said the girl +with dignity. + +"Well, I am King of all Spiders," was the reply, "and +that makes me your master. Come with me to my palace +and I will instruct you in your work." + +"I won't," said Dorothy indignantly. "We won't have +anything to do with you." + +"We'll see about that," returned the Spider in a +severe tone, and the next instant he made a dive +straight at Dorothy, opening the claws in his legs as +if to grab and pinch her with the sharp points. But the +girl was wearing her Magic Belt and was not harmed. The +Spider King could not even touch her. He turned swiftly +and made a dash at Ozma, but she held her Magic Wand +over his head and the monster recoiled as if it had +been struck. + +"You'd better let us go," Dorothy advised him, "for +you see you can't hurt us." + +"So I see," returned the Spider King angrily. "Your +magic is greater than mine. But I'll not help you to +escape. If you can break the magic web my people have +woven you may go; if not you must stay here and +starve." With that the Spider King uttered a peculiar +whistle and all the spiders disappeared. + +"There is more magic in my fairyland than I dreamed +of," remarked the beautiful Ozma, with a sigh of regret. +"It seems that my laws have not been obeyed, for even +these monstrous spiders defy me by means of Magic." + +"Never mind that now," said Dorothy; "let's see what +we can do to get out of this trap." + +They now examined the web with great care and were +amazed at its strength. Although finer than the finest +silken hairs, it resisted all their efforts to work +through, even though both girls threw all their weight +against it. + +"We must find some instrument which will cut the +threads of the web," said Ozma, finally. "Let us look +about for such a tool." + +So they wandered among the bushes and finally came to +a shallow pool of water, formed by a small bubbling +spring. Dorothy stooped to get a drink and discovered +in the water a green crab, about as big as her hand. +The crab had two big, sharp claws, and as soon as +Dorothy saw them she had an idea that those claws could +save them. + +"Come out of the water," she called to the crab; "I +want to talk to you." + +Rather lazily the crab rose to the surface and caught +hold of a bit of rock. With his head above the water he +said in a cross voice: + +"What do you want?" + +"We want you to cut the web of the purple spiders +with your claws, so we can get through it," answered +Dorothy. "You can do that, can't you?" + +"I suppose so," replied the crab. "But if I do what +will you give me?" + +"What do you wish?" Ozma inquired. + +"I wish to be white, instead of green," said the +crab. "Green crabs are very common, and white ones are +rare; besides the purple spiders, which infest this +hillside, are afraid of white crabs. Could you make me +white if I should agree to cut the web for you?" + +"Yes," said Ozma, "I can do that easily. And, so you +may know I am speaking the truth, I will change your +color now." + +She waved her silver wand over the pool and the crab +instantly became snow-white -- all except his eyes, +which remained black. The creature saw his reflection +in the water and was so delighted that he at once +climbed out of the pool and began moving slowly toward +the web, by backing away from the pool. He moved so +very slowly that Dorothy cried out impatiently: "Dear +me, this will never do!" Caching the crab in her hands +she ran with him to the web. + +She had to hold him up even then, so he could reach +with his claws strand after strand of the filmy purple +web, which he was able to sever with one nip. + +When enough of the web had been cut to allow them to +pass, Dorothy ran back to the pool and placed the white +crab in the water, after which she rejoined Ozma. They +were just in time to escape through the web, for +several of the purple spiders now appeared, having +discovered that their web had been cut, and had the +girls not rushed through the opening the spiders would +have quickly repaired the cuts and again imprisoned +them. + +Ozma and Dorothy ran as fast as they could and +although the angry spiders threw a number of strands of +web after them, hoping to lasso them or entangle them +in the coils, they managed to escape and clamber to the +top of the hill. + + + + +Chapter Three + +The Mist Maidens + + + +From the top of the hill Ozma and Dorothy looked down +into the valley beyond and were surprised to find it +filled with a floating mist that was as dense as smoke. +Nothing in the valley was visible except these rolling +waves of mist, but beyond, on the other side, rose a +grassy hill that appeared quite beautiful. + +"Well," said Dorothy, "what are we to do, Ozma? Walk +down into that thick fog, an' prob'bly get lost in it, +or wait till it clears away?" + +"I'm not sure it will clear away, however long we +wait," replied Ozma, doubtfully. "If we wish to get on, +I think we must venture into the mist." + +"But we can't see where we're going, or what we're +stepping on," protested Dorothy. "There may be +dreadful things mixed up in that fog, an' I'm scared +just to think of wading into it." + +Even Ozma seemed to hesitate. She was silent and +thoughtful for a little while, looking at the rolling +drifts that were so gray and forbidding. Finally she +said: + +"I believe this is a Mist Valley, where these moist +clouds always remain, for even the sunshine above does +not drive them away. Therefore the Mist Maids must live +here, and they are fairies and should answer my call." + +She placed her two hands before her mouth, forming a +hollow with them, and uttered a clear, thrilling, bird- +like cry. It floated far out over the mist waves and +presently was answered by a similar sound, as of a far- +off echo. + +Dorothy was much impressed. She had seen many strange +things since coming to this fairy country, but here was +a new experience. At ordinary times Ozma was just like +any little girl one might chance to meet -- simple, +merry, lovable as could be -- yet with a certain +reserve that lent her dignity in her most joyous moods. +There were times, however, when seated on her throne +and commanding her subjects, or when her fairy powers +were called into use, when Dorothy and all others about +her stood in awe of their lovely girl Ruler and +realized her superiority. + +Ozma waited. Presently out from the billows rose +beautiful forms, clothed in fleecy, trailing garments +of gray that could scarcely be distinguished from the +mist. Their hair was mist-color, too; only their +gleaming arms and sweet, pallid faces proved they were +living, intelligent creatures answering the call of a +sister fairy. + +Like sea nymphs they rested on the bosom of the +clouds, their eyes turned questioningly upon the two +girls who stood upon the bank. One came quite near and +to her Ozma said: + +"Will you please take us to the opposite hillside? We +are afraid to venture into the mist. I am Princess Ozma +of Oz, and this is my friend Dorothy, a Princess of +Oz." + +The Mist Maids came nearer, holding out their arms. +Without hesitation Ozma advanced and allowed them to +embrace her and Dorothy plucked up courage to follow. +Very gently the Mist Maids held them. Dorothy thought +the arms were cold and misty -- they didn't seem real +at all -- yet they supported the two girls above the +surface of the billows and floated with them so swiftly +to the green hillside opposite that the girls were +astonished to find themselves set upon the grass before +they realized they had fairly started. + +"Thank you!" said Ozma gratefully, and Dorothy also +added her thanks for the service. + +The Mist Maids made no answer, but they smiled and +waved their hands in good-bye as again they floated out +into the mist and disappeared from view. + + + + +Chapter Four + +The Magic Tent + + +"Well," said Dorothy with a laugh, "that was easier +than I expected. It's worth while, sometimes, to be a +real fairy. But I wouldn't like to be that kind, and +live in a dreadful fog all the time." + +They now climbed the bank and found before them a +delightful plain that spread for miles in all +directions. Fragrant wild flowers were scattered +throughout the grass; there were bushes bearing lovely +blossoms and luscious fruits; now and then a group of +stately trees added to the beauty of the landscape. But +there were no dwellings or signs of life. + +The farther side of the plain was bordered by a row +of palms, and just in front of the palms rose a queerly +shaped hill that towered above the plain like a +mountain. The sides of this hill were straight up and +down; it was oblong in shape and the top seemed flat +and level. + +"Oh, ho!" cried Dorothy; "I'll bet that's the +mountain Glinda told us of, where the Flatheads live." + +"If it is," replied Ozma, "the Lake of the Skeezers +must be just beyond the line of palm trees. Can you +walk that far, Dorothy?" + +"Of course, in time," was the prompt answer. "I'm +sorry we had to leave the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon +behind us, for they'd come in handy just now; but with +the end of our journey in sight a tramp across these +pretty green fields won't tire us a bit." + +It was a longer tramp than they suspected, however, +and night overtook them before they could reach the +flat mountain. So Ozma proposed they camp for the night +and Dorothy was quite ready to approve. She didn't like +to admit to her friend she was tired, but she told +herself that her legs "had prickers in 'em," meaning +they had begun to ache. + +Usually when Dorothy started on a journey of +exploration or adventure, she carried with her a basket +of food, and other things that a traveler in a strange +country might require, but to go away with Ozma was +quite a different thing, as experience had taught her. +The fairy Ruler of Oz only needed her silver wand -- +tipped at one end with a great sparkling emerald -- to +provide through its magic all that they might need. +Therefore Ozma, having halted with her companion and +selected a smooth, grassy spot on the plain, waved her +wand in graceful curves and chanted some mystic words +in her sweet voice, and in an instant a handsome tent +appeared before them. The canvas was striped purple and +white, and from the center pole fluttered the royal +banner of Oz. + +"Come, dear," said Ozma, taking Dorothy's hand, "I am +hungry and I'm sure you must be also; so let us go in +and have our feast." + +On entering the tent they found a table set for two, +with snowy linen, bright silver and sparkling +glassware, a vase of roses in the center and many +dishes of delicious food, some smoking hot, waiting to +satisfy their hunger. Also, on either side of the tent +were beds, with satin sheets, warm blankets and pillows +filled with swansdown. There were chairs, too, and +tall lamps that lighted the interior of the tent with a +soft, rosy glow. + +Dorothy, resting herself at her fairy friend's +command, and eating her dinner with unusual enjoyment, +thought of the wonders of magic. If one were a fairy +and knew the secret laws of nature and the mystic words +and ceremonies that commanded those laws, then a simple +wave of a silver wand would produce instantly all that +men work hard and anxiously for through weary years. +And Dorothy wished in her kindly, innocent heart, that +all men and women could be fairies with silver wands, +and satisfy all their needs without so much work and +worry, for then, she imagined, they would have all +their working hours to be happy in. But Ozma, looking +into her friend's face and reading those thoughts, gave +a laugh and said: + +"No, no, Dorothy, that wouldn't do at all. Instead of +happiness your plan would bring weariness to the world. +If every one could wave a wand and have his wants +fulfilled there would be little to wish for. There +would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for +nothing would then be difficult, and the pleasure of +earning something longed for, and only to be secured by +hard work and careful thought, would be utterly lost. +There would be nothing to do you see, and no interest +in life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that +makes life worth our while -- to do good deeds and to +help those less fortunate than ourselves." + +"Well, you're a fairy, Ozma. Aren't you happy?" asked +Dorothy + +"Yes, dear, because I can use my fairy powers to make +others happy. Had I no kingdom to rule, and no subjects +to look after, I would be miserable. Also, you must +realize that while I am a more powerful fairy than any +other inhabitant of Oz, I am not as powerful as Glinda +the Sorceress, who has studied many arts of magic that +I know nothing of. Even the little Wizard of Oz can do +some things I am unable to accomplish, while I can +accomplish things unknown to the Wizard. This is to +explain that I'm not all-powerful, by any means. My +magic is simply fairy magic, and not sorcery or +wizardry." + +"All the same," said Dorothy, "I'm mighty glad you +could make this tent appear, with our dinners and beds +all ready for us." + +Ozma smiled. + +"Yes, it is indeed wonderful," she agreed. "Not all +fairies know that sort of magic, but some fairies can +do magic that fills me with astonishment. I think that +is what makes us modest and unassuming -- the fact that +our magic arts are divided, some being given each of +us. I'm glad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that +there still are things in both nature and in wit for me +to marvel at." + +Dorothy couldn't quite understand this, so she said +nothing more on the subject and presently had a new +reason to marvel. For when they had quite finished +their meal table and contents disappeared in a flash. + +"No dishes to wash, Ozma!" she said with a laugh. "I +guess you'd make a lot of folks happy if you could +teach 'em just that one trick." + +For an hour Ozma told stories, and talked with +Dorothy about various people in whom they were +interested. And then it was bedtime, and they undressed +and crept into their soft beds and fell asleep almost +as soon as their heads touched their pillows. + + + + +Chapter Five + +The Magic Stairway + + + +The flat mountain looked much nearer in the clear +light of the morning sun, but Dorothy and Ozma knew +there was a long tramp before them, even yet. They +finished dressing only to find a warm, delicious +breakfast awaiting them, and having eaten they left the +tent and started toward the mountain which was their +first goal. After going a little way Dorothy looked +back and found that the fairy tent had entirely +disappeared. She was not surprised, for she knew this +would happen. + +"Can't your magic give us a horse an' wagon, or an +automobile?" inquired Dorothy. + +"No, dear; I'm sorry that such magic is beyond my +power," confessed her fairy friend. + +"Perhaps Glinda could," said Dorothy thoughtfully. + +"Glinda has a stork chariot that carries her through +the air," said Ozma, "but even our great Sorceress +cannot conjure up other modes of travel. Don't forget +what I told you last night, that no one is powerful +enough to do everything." + +"Well, I s'pose I ought to know that, having lived so +long in the Land of Oz," replied Dorothy; "but I can't +do any magic at all, an' so I can't figure out e'zactly +how you an' Glinda an' the Wizard do it." + +"Don't try," laughed Ozma. "But you have at least one +magical art, Dorothy: you know the trick of winning all +hearts." + +"No, I don't," said Dorothy earnestly. "If I really +can do it, Ozma, I am sure I don't know how I do it." + +It took them a good two hours to reach the foot of +the round, flat mountain, and then they found the +sides so steep that they were like the wall of a house. + +"Even my purple kitten couldn't climb 'em," remarked +Dorothy, gazing upward. + +"But there is some way for the Flatheads to get down +and up again," declared Ozma; "otherwise they couldn't +make war with the Skeezers, or even meet them and +quarrel with them." + +"That's so, Ozma. Let's walk around a ways; perhaps +we'll find a ladder or something." + +They walked quite a distance, for it was a big +mountain, and as they circled around it and came to the +side that faced the palm trees, they suddenly +discovered an entrance way cut out of the rock wall. +This entrance was arched overhead and not very deep +because it merely led to a short flight of stone +stairs. + +"Oh, we've found a way to the top at last," announced +Ozma, and the two girls turned and walked straight +toward the entrance. Suddenly they bumped against +something and stood still, unable to proceed farther. + +"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, rubbing her nose, which +had struck something hard, although she could not see +what it was; "this isn't as easy as it looks. What has +stopped us, Ozma? Is it magic of some sort?" + +Ozma was feeling around, her bands outstretched +before her. + +"Yes, dear, it is magic," she replied. "The Flatheads +had to have a way from their mountain top from the +plain below, but to prevent enemies from rushing up the +stairs to conquer them, they have built, at a small +distance before the entrance a wall of solid stone, the +stones being held in place by cement, and then they +made the wall invisible." + +"I wonder why they did that?" mused Dorothy. "A wall +would keep folks out anyhow, whether it could be seen +or not, so there wasn't any use making it invisible. +Seems to me it would have been better to have left it +solid, for then no one would have seen the entrance +behind it. Now anybody can see the entrance, as we did. +And prob'bly anybody that tries to go up the stairs +gets bumped, as we did." + +Ozma made no reply at once. Her face was grave and +thoughtful. + +"I think I know the reason for making the wall +invisible," she said after a while. "The Flatheads use +the stairs for coming down and going up. If there was a +solid stone wall to keep them from reaching the plain +they would themselves be imprisoned by the wall. So +they had to leave some place to get around the wall, +and, if the wall was visible, all strangers or enemies +would find the place to go around it and then the wall +would be useless. So the Flatheads cunningly made their +wall invisible, believing that everyone who saw the +entrance to the mountain would walk straight toward it, +as we did, and find it impossible to go any farther. I +suppose the wall is really high and thick, and can't be +broken through, so those who find it in their way are +obliged to go away again." + +"Well," said Dorothy, "if there's a way around the +wall, where is it?" + +"We must find it," returned Ozma, and began feeling +her way along the wall. Dorothy followed and began to +get discouraged when Ozma had walked nearly a quarter +of a mile away from the entrance. But now the invisible +wall curved in toward the side of the mountain and +suddenly ended, leaving just space enough between the +wall and the mountain for an ordinary person to pass +through. + +The girls went in, single file, and Ozma explained +that they were now behind the barrier and could go +back to the entrance. They met no further obstructions. + +"Most people, Ozma, wouldn't have figured this thing +out the way you did," remarked Dorothy. "If I'd been +alone the invisible wall surely would have stumped me." + +Reaching the entrance they began to mount the stone +stairs. They went up ten stairs and then down five +stairs, following a passage cut from the rock. The +stairs were just wide enough for the two girls to walk +abreast, arm in arm. At the bottom of the five stairs +the passage turned to the right, and they ascended ten +more stairs, only to find at the top of the flight five +stairs leading straight down again. Again the passage +turned abruptly, this time to the left, and ten more +stairs led upward. + +The passage was now quite dark, for they were in the +heart of the mountain and all daylight had been shut +out by the turns of the passage. However, Ozma drew her +silver wand from her bosom and the great jewel at its +end gave out a lustrous, green-tinted light which +lighted the place well enough for them to see their way +plainly. + +Ten steps up, five steps down, and a turn, this way +or that. That was the program, and Dorothy figured that +they were only gaining five stairs upward each trip +that they made. + +"Those Flatheads must be funny people," she said to +Ozma. "They don't seem to do anything in a bold +straightforward manner. In making this passage they +forced everyone to walk three times as far as is +necessary. And of course this trip is just as tiresome +to the Flatheads as it is to other folks." + +"That is true," answered Ozma; "yet it is a clever +arrangement to prevent their being surprised by +intruders. Every time we reach the tenth step of a +flight, the pressure of our feet on the stone makes a +bell ring on top of the mountain, to warn the Flatheads +of our coming." + +"How do you know that?" demanded Dorothy, astonished. + +"I've heard the bell ever since we started," Ozma +told her. "You could not hear it, I know, but when I am +holding my wand in my hand I can hear sounds a great +distance off." + +"Do you hear anything on top of the mountain 'cept +the bell?" inquired Dorothy + +"Yes. The people are calling to one another in alarm +and many footsteps are approaching the place where we +will reach the flat top of the mountain." + +This made Dorothy feel somewhat anxious. "I'd thought +we were going to visit just common, ordinary people," +she remarked, "but they're pretty clever, it seems, and +they know some kinds of magic, too. They may be +dangerous, Ozma. P'raps we'd better stayed at home." + +Finally the upstairs-and-downstairs passage seemed +coming to an end, for daylight again appeared ahead of +the two girls and Ozma replaced her wand in the bosom +of her gown. The last ten steps brought them to the +surface, where they found themselves surrounded by +such a throng of queer people that for a time they +halted, speechless, and stared into the faces that +confronted them. + +Dorothy knew at once why these mountain people were +called Flatheads. Their heads were really flat on top, +as if they had been cut off just above the eyes and +ears. Also the heads were bald, with no hair on top at +all, and the ears were big and stuck straight out, and +the noses were small and stubby, while the mouths of +the Flatheads were well shaped and not unusual. Their +eyes were perhaps their best feature, being large and +bright and a deep violet in color. + +The costumes of the Flatheads were all made of metals +dug from their mountain. Small gold, silver, tin and +iron discs, about the size of pennies, and very thin, +were cleverly wired together and made to form knee +trousers and jackets for the men and skirts and waists +for the women. The colored metals were skillfully mixed +to form stripes and checks of various sorts, so that +the costumes were quite gorgeous and reminded Dorothy +of pictures she had seen of Knights of old clothed +armor. + +Aside from their flat heads, these people were not +really bad looking. The men were armed with bows and +arrows and had small axes of steel stuck in their metal +belts. They wore no hats nor ornaments. + + + + +Chapter Six + +Flathead Mountain + + + +When they saw that the intruders on their mountain +were only two little girls, the Flatheads grunted with +satisfaction and drew back, permitting them to see what +the mountain top looked like. It was shaped like a +saucer, so that the houses and other buildings -- all +made of rocks -- could not be seen over the edge by +anyone standing in the plain below. + +But now a big fat Flathead stood before the girls and +in a gruff voice demanded: + +"What are you doing here? Have the Skeezers sent you +to spy upon us?" + +"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all the Land of Oz." + +"Well, I've never heard of the Land of Oz, so you may +be what you claim," returned the Flathead. + +"This is the Land of Oz -- part of it, anyway," +exclaimed Dorothy. "So Princess Ozma rules you Flathead +people, as well as all the other people in Oz." + +The man laughed, and all the others who stood around +laughed, too. Some one in the crowd called: + +"She'd better not tell the Supreme Dictator about +ruling the Flatheads. Eh, friends?" + +"No, indeed!" they all answered in positive tones. + +"Who is your Supreme Dictator?" answered Ozma. + +"I think I'll let him tell you that himself," +answered the man who had first spoken. "You have broken +our laws by coming here; and whoever you are the +Supreme Dictator must fix your punishment. Come along +with me." + +He started down a path and Ozma and Dorothy followed +him without protest, as they wanted to see the most +important person in this queer country. The houses they +passed seemed pleasant enough and each had a little +yard in which were flowers and vegetables. Walls of +rock separated the dwellings, and all the paths were +paved with smooth slabs of rock. This seemed their only +building material and they utilized it cleverly for +every purpose. + +Directly in the center of the great saucer stood a +larger building which the Flathead informed the girls +was the palace of the Supreme Dictator. He led them +through an entrance hall into a big reception room, +where they sat upon stone benches and awaited the +coming of the Dictator. Pretty soon he entered from +another room -- a rather lean and rather old Flathead, +dressed much like the others of this strange race, and +only distinguished from them by the sly and cunning +expression of his face. He kept his eyes half closed +and looked through the slits of them at Ozma and +Dorothy, who rose to receive him. + +"Are you the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads?" +inquired Ozma. + +"Yes, that's me," he said, rubbing his hands slowly +together. "My word is law. I'm the head of the +Flatheads on this flat headland." + +"I am Princess Ozma of Oz, and I have come from the +Emerald City to --" + +"Stop a minute," interrupted the Dictator, and turned +to the man who had brought the girls there. "Go away, +Dictator Felo Flathead!" he commanded. "Return to your +duty and guard the Stairway. I will look after these +strangers." The man bowed and departed, and Dorothy +asked wonderingly: + +"Is he a Dictator, too?" + +"Of course," was the answer. "Everybody here is a +dictator of something or other. They're all office +holders. That's what keeps them contented. But I'm the +Supreme Dictator of all, and I'm elected once a year. +This is a democracy, you know, where the people are +allowed to vote for their rulers. A good many others +would like to be Supreme Dictator, but as I made a law +that I am always to count the votes myself, I am always +elected." + +"What is your name?" asked Ozma. + +"I am called the Su-dic, which is short for Supreme +Dictator. I sent that man away because the moment you +mentioned Ozma of Oz, and the Emerald City, I knew who +you are. I suppose I'm the only Flathead that ever +heard of you, but that's because I have more brains +than the rest." + +Dorothy was staring hard at the Su-dic. + +"I don't see how you can have any brains at all," she +remarked, "because the part of your head is gone where +brains are kept." + +"I don't blame you for thinking that," he said. "Once +the Flatheads had no brains because, as you say, there +is no upper part to their heads, to hold brains. But +long, long ago a band of fairies flew over this country +and made it all a fairyland, and when they came to the +Flatheads the fairies were sorry to find them all very +stupid and quite unable to think. So, as there was no +good place in their bodies in which to put brains the +Fairy Queen gave each one of us a nice can of brains to +carry in his pocket and that made us just as +intelligent as other people. See," he continued, "here +is one of the cans of brains the fairies gave us." He +took from a pocket a bright tin can having a pretty red +label on it which said: Concentrated Brains, Extra +Quality." + +"And does every Flathead have the same kind of +brains?" asked Dorothy. + +"Yes, they're all alike. Here's another can." From +another pocket he produced a second can of brains. + +"Did the fairies give you a double supply?" inquired +Dorothy. + +"No, but one of the Flatheads thought he wanted to be +the Su-dic and tried to get my people to rebel against +me, so I punished him by taking away his brains. One +day my wife scolded me severely, so I took away her can +of brains. She didn't like that and went out and robbed +several women of their brains. Then I made a law that +if anyone stole another's brains, or even tried to +borrow them, he would forfeit his own brains to the Su- +dic. So each one is content with his own canned brains +and my wife and I are the only ones on the mountain +with more than one can. I have three cans and that +makes me very clever -- so clever that I'm a good +Sorcerer, if I do say it myself. My poor wife had four +cans of brains and became a remarkable witch, but alas! +that was before those terrible enemies, the Skeezers, +transformed her into a Golden Pig." + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy; "is your wife really +a Golden Pig?" + +"She is. The Skeezers did it and so I have declared +war on them. In revenge for making my wife a Pig I +intend to ruin their Magic Island and make the Skeezers +the slaves of the Flatheads!" + +The Su-dic was very angry now; his eyes flashed and +his face took on a wicked and fierce expression. But +Ozma said to him, very sweetly and in a friendly voice: + +"I am sorry to hear this. Will you please tell me +more about your troubles with the Skeezers? Then +perhaps I can help you." + +She was only a girl, but there was dignity in her +pose and speech which impressed the Su-dic. + +"If you are really Princess Ozma of Oz," the Flathead +said, "you are one of that band of fairies who, under +Queen Lurline, made all Oz a Fairyland. I have heard +that Lurline left one of her own fairies to rule Oz, +and gave the fairy the name of Ozma." + +"If you knew this why did you not come to me at the +Emerald City and tender me your loyalty and obedience?" +asked the Ruler of Oz. + +"Well, I only learned the fact lately, and I've been +too busy to leave home," he explained, looking at the +floor instead of into Ozma's eyes. She knew he had +spoken a falsehood, but only said: + +"Why did you quarrel with the Skeezers?" + +"It was this way," began the Su-dic, glad to change +the subject. "We Flatheads love fish, and as we have no +fish on this mountain we would sometimes go to the Lake +of the Skeezers to catch fish. This made the Skeezers +angry, for they declared the fish in their lake +belonged to them and were under their protection and +they forbade us to catch them. That was very mean and +unfriendly in the Skeezers, you must admit, and when we +paid no attention to their orders they set a guard on +the shore of the lake to prevent our fishing. + +"Now, my wife, Rora Flathead, having four cans of +brains, had become a wonderful witch, and fish being +brain food, she loved to eat fish better than any one +of us. So she vowed she would destroy every fish in the +lake, unless the Skeezers let us catch what we wanted. +They defied us, so Rora prepared a kettleful of magic +poison and went down to the lake one night to dump it +all in the water and poison the fish. It was a clever +idea, quite worthy of my dear wife, but the Skeezer +Queen -- a young lady named Coo-ee-oh -- hid on the +bank of the lake and taking Rora unawares, transformed +her into a Golden Pig. The poison was spilled on the +ground and wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh, not content with her +cruel transformation, even took away my wife's four +cans of brains, so she is now a common grunting pig +without even brains enough to know her own name." + +"Then," said Ozma thoughtfully, "the Queen of the +Skeezers must be a Sorceress." + +"Yes," said the Su-dic, "but she doesn't know much +magic, after all. She is not as powerful as Rora +Flathead was, nor half as powerful as I am now, as +Queen Coo-ee-oh will discover when we fight our great +battle and destroy her." + +"The Golden Pig can't be a witch any more, of +course," observed Dorothy. + +"No; even had Queen Coo-ee-oh left her the four cans +of brains, poor Rora, in a pig's shape, couldn't do any +witchcraft. A witch has to use her fingers, and a pig +has only cloven hoofs." + +"It seems a sad story," was Ozma's comment, "and all +the trouble arose because the Flatheads wanted fish +that did not belong to them." + +"As for that," said the Su-dic, again angry, "I made +a law that any of my people could catch fish in the +Lake of the Skeezers, whenever they wanted to. So the +trouble was through the Skeezers defying my law." + +"You can only make laws to govern your own people," +asserted Ozma sternly. "I, alone, am empowered to make +laws that must be obeyed by all the peoples of Oz." + +"Pooh!" cried the Su-dic scornfully. "You can't make +me obey your laws, I assure you. I know the extent of +your powers, Princess Ozma of Oz, and I know that I am +more powerful than you are. To prove it I shall keep +you and your companion prisoners in this mountain until +after we have fought and conquered the Skeezers. Then, +if you promise to be good, I may let you go home +again." + +Dorothy was amazed by this effrontery and defiance of +the beautiful girl Ruler of Oz, whom all until now had +obeyed without question. But Ozma, still unruffled and +dignified, looked at the Su-dic and said: + +"You did not mean that. You are angry and speak +unwisely, without reflection. I came here from my +palace in the Emerald City to prevent war and to make +peace between you and the Skeezers. I do not approve of +Queen Coo-ee-oh's action in transforming your wife Rora +into a pig, nor do I approve of Rora's cruel attempt to +poison the fishes in the lake. No one has the right to +work magic in my dominions without my consent, so the +Flatheads and the Skeezers have both broken my laws -- +which must be obeyed." + +"If you want to make peace," said the Su-dic, "make +the Skeezers restore my wife to her proper form and +give back her four cans of brains. Also make them agree +to allow us to catch fish in their lake." + +"No," returned Ozma, "I will not do that, for it +would be unjust. I will have the Golden Pig again +transformed into your wife Rora, and give her one can +of brains, but the other three cans must be restored to +those she robbed. Neither may you catch fish in the +Lake of the Skeezers, for it is their lake and the fish +belong to them. This arrangement is just and honorable, +and you must agree to it." + +"Never!" cried the Su-dic. Just then a pig came +running into the room, uttering dismal grunts. It was +made of solid gold, with joints at the bends of the +legs and in the neck and jaws. The Golden Pig's eyes +were rubies, and its teeth were polished ivory. + +"There!" said the Su-dic, "gaze on the evil work of +Queen Coo-ee-oh, and then say if you can prevent my +making war on the Skeezers. That grunting beast was +once my wife -- the most beautiful Flathead on our +mountain and a skillful witch. Now look at her!" + +"Fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers, fight the +Skeezers!" grunted the Golden Pig. + +"I will fight the Skeezers," exclaimed the Flathead +chief, "and if a dozen Ozmas of Oz forbade me I would +fight just the same." + +"Not if I can prevent it!" asserted Ozma. + +"You can't prevent it. But since you threaten me, +I'll have you confined in the bronze prison until the +war is over," said the Su-dic. He whistled and four +stout Flatheads, armed with axes and spears, entered +the room and saluted him. Turning to the men he said: +"Take these two girls, bind them with wire ropes and +cast them into the bronze prison." + +The four men bowed low and one of them asked: + +"Where are the two girls, most noble Su-dic?" + +The Su-dic turned to where Ozma and Dorothy had stood +but they had vanished! + + + + +Chapter Seven + +The Magic Isle + + + +Ozma, seeing it was useless to argue with the Supreme +Dictator of the Flatheads. had been considering how +best to escape from his power. She realized that his +sorcery might be difficult to overcome, and when he +threatened to cast Dorothy and her into a bronze prison +she slipped her hand into her bosom and grasped her +silver wand. With the other hand she grasped the hand +of Dorothy, but these motions were so natural that the +Su-dic did not notice them. Then when he turned to meet +his four soldiers, Ozma instantly rendered both herself +and Dorothy invisible and swiftly led her companion +around the group of Flatheads and out of the room. As +they reached the entry and descended the stone steps, +Ozma whispered: + +"Let us run, dear! We are invisible, so no one will +see us." + +Dorothy understood and she was a good runner. Ozma +had marked the place where the grand stairway that led +to the plain was located, so they made directly for it. +Some people were in the paths but these they dodged +around. One or two Flatheads heard the pattering of +footsteps of the girls on the stone pavement and +stopped with bewildered looks to gaze around them, but +no one interfered with the invisible fugitives. + +The Su-dic had lost no time in starting the chase. He +and his men ran so fast that they might have overtaken +the girls before they reached the stairway had not the +Golden Pig suddenly run across their path. The Su-dic +tripped over the pig and fell flat, and his four men +tripped over him and tumbled in a heap. Before they +could scramble up and reach the mouth of the passage it +was too late to stop the two girls. + +There was a guard on each side of the stairway, but +of course they did not see Ozma and Dorothy as they +sped past and descended the steps. Then they had to go +up five steps and down another ten, and so on, in the +same manner in which they had climbed to the top of the +mountain. Ozma lighted their way with her wand and they +kept on without relaxing their speed until they reached +the bottom. Then they ran to the right and turned the +corner of the invisible wall just as the Su-dic and his +followers rushed out of the arched entrance and looked +around in an attempt to discover the fugitives. + +Ozma now knew they were safe, so she told Dorothy to +stop and both of them sat down on the grass until they +could breathe freely and become rested from their mad +flight. + +As for the Su-dic, he realized he was foiled and soon +turned and climbed his stairs again. He was very angry +-- angry with Ozma and angry with himself -- because, +now that he took time to think, he remembered that he +knew very well the art of making people invisible, and +visible again, and if he had only thought of it in time +he could have used his magic knowledge to make the +girls visible and so have captured them easily. +However, it was now too late for regrets and he +determined to make preparations at once to march all +his forces against the Skeezers. + +"What shall we do next?" asked Dorothy, when they +were rested. + +"Let us find the Lake of the Skeezers," replied Ozma. +"From what that dreadful Su-dic said I imagine the +Skeezers are good people and worthy of our friendship, +and if we go to them we may help them to defeat the +Flatheads." + +"I s'pose we can't stop the war now," remarked +Dorothy reflectively, as they walked toward the row of +palm trees. + +"No; the Su-dic is determined to fight the Skeezers, +so all we can do is to warn them of their danger and +help them as much as possible." + +"Of course you'll punish the Flatheads," said +Dorothy. + +"Well, I do not think the Flathead people are as much +to blame as their Supreme Dictator," was the answer. +"If he is removed from power and his unlawful magic +taken from him, the people will probably be good and +respect the laws of the Land of Oz, and live at peace +with all their neighbors in the future." + +"I hope so," said Dorothy with a sigh of doubt + +The palms were not far from the mountain and the +girls reached them after a brisk walk. The huge trees +were set close together, in three rows, and had been +planted so as to keep people from passing them, but the +Flatheads had cut a passage through this barrier and +Ozma found the path and led Dorothy to the other side. + +Beyond the palms they discovered a very beautiful +scene. Bordered by a green lawn was a great lake fully +a mile from shore to shore, the waters of which were +exquisitely blue and sparkling, with little wavelets +breaking its smooth surface where the breezes touched +it. In the center of this lake appeared a lovely +island, not of great extent but almost entirely covered +by a huge round building with glass walls and a high +glass dome which glittered brilliantly in the sunshine. +Between the glass building and the edge of the island +was no grass, flowers or shrubbery, but only an expanse +of highly polished white marble. There were no boats on +either shore and no signs of life could be seen +anywhere on the island. + +"Well," said Dorothy, gazing wistfully at the island, +we've found the Lake of the Skeezers and their Magic +Isle. I guess the Skeezers are in that big glass +palace, but we can't get at 'em." + + + + +Chapter Eight + +Queen Coo-ee-oh + + + +Princess Ozma considered the situation gravely. Then +she tied her handkerchief to her wand and, standing at +the water's edge, waved the handkerchief like a flag, +as a signal. For a time they could observe no response. + +"I don't see what good that will do," said Dorothy. +"Even if the Skeezers are on that island and see us, +and know we're friends, they haven't any boats to come +and get us." + +But the Skeezers didn't need boats, as the girls soon +discovered. For on a sudden an opening appeared at the +base of the palace and from the opening came a slender +shaft of steel, reaching out slowly but steadily across +the water in the direction of the place where they +stood. To the girls this steel arrangement looked like +a triangle, with the base nearest the water. It came +toward them in the form of an arch, stretching out from +the palace wall until its end reached the bank and +rested there, while the other end still remained on the +island. + +Then they saw that it was a bridge, consisting of a +steel footway just broad enough to walk on, and two +slender guide rails, one on either side, which were +connected with the footway by steel bars. The bridge +looked rather frail and Dorothy feared it would not +bear their weight, but Ozma at once called, "Come on!" +and started to walk across, holding fast to the rail on +either side. So Dorothy summoned her courage and +followed after. Before Ozma had taken three steps she +halted and so forced Dorothy to halt, for the bridge +was again moving and returning to the island. + +"We need not walk after all," said Ozma. So they +stood still in their places and let the steel bridge +draw them onward. Indeed, the bridge drew them well +into the glass-domed building which covered the island, +and soon they found themselves standing in a marble +room where two handsomely dressed young men stood on a +platform to receive them. + +Ozma at once stepped from the end of the bridge to +the marble platform, followed by Dorothy, and then the +bridge disappeared with a slight clang of steel and a +marble slab covered the opening from which it had +emerged. + +The two young men bowed profoundly to Ozma, and one +of them said: + +"Queen Coo-ee-oh bids you welcome, O Strangers. Her +Majesty is waiting to receive you in her palace." + +"Lead on," replied Ozma with dignity. + +But instead of "leading on," the platform of marble +began to rise, carrying them upward through a square +hole above which just fitted it. A moment later they +found themselves within the great glass dome that +covered almost all of the island. + +Within this dome was a little village, with houses, +streets, gardens and parks. The houses were of colored +marbles, prettily designed, with many stained-glass +windows, and the streets and gardens seemed well cared +for. Exactly under the center of the lofty dome was a +small park filled with brilliant flowers, with an +elaborate fountain, and facing this park stood a +building larger and more imposing than the others. +Toward this building the young men escorted Ozma and +Dorothy. + +On the streets and in the doorways or open windows of +the houses were men, women and children, all richly +dressed. These were much like other people in different +parts of the Land of Oz, except that instead of seeming +merry and contented they all wore expressions of much +solemnity or of nervous irritation. They had beautiful +homes, splendid clothes, and ample food, but Dorothy at +once decided something was wrong with their lives and +that they were not happy. She said nothing, however, +but looked curiously at the Skeezers. + +At the entrance of the palace Ozma and Dorothy were +met by two other young men, in uniform and armed with +queer weapons that seemed about halfway between pistols +and guns, but were like neither. Their conductors bowed +and left them, and the two in uniforms led the girls +into the palace. + +In a beautiful throne room, surrounded by a dozen or +more young men and women, sat the Queen of the +Skeezers, Coo-ee-oh. She was a girl who looked older +than Ozma or Dorothy -- fifteen or sixteen, at least -- +and although she was elaborately dressed as if she were +going to a ball she was too thin and plain of feature +to be pretty. But evidently Queen Coo-ee-oh did not +realize this fact, for her air and manner betrayed her +as proud and haughty and with a high regard for her own +importance. Dorothy at once decided she was "snippy" +and that she would not like Queen Coo-ee-oh as a +companion. + +The Queen's hair was as black as her skin was white +and her eyes were black, too. The eyes, as she calmly +examined Ozma and Dorothy, had a suspicious and +unfriendly look in them, but she said quietly: + +"I know who you are, for I have consulted my Magic +Oracle, which told me that one calls herself Princess +Ozma, the Ruler of all the Land of Oz, and the other is +Princess Dorothy of Oz, who came from a country called +Kansas. I know nothing of the Land of Oz, and I know +nothing of Kansas." + +"Why, this is the Land of Oz!" cried Dorothy. "It's a +part of the Land of Oz, anyhow, whether you know it or +not." + +"Oh, in-deed!" answered Queen Coo-ee-oh, scornfully. +"I suppose you will claim next that this Princess Ozma, +ruling the Land of Oz, rules me!" + +"Of course," returned Dorothy. "There's no doubt of +it." + +The Queen turned to Ozma. + +"Do you dare make such a claim?" she asked. + +By this time Ozma had made up her mind as to the +character of this haughty and disdainful creature, +whose self-pride evidently led her to believe herself +superior to all others. + +"I did not come here to quarrel with your Majesty," +said the girl Ruler of Oz, quietly. "What and who I am +is well established, and my authority comes from the +Fairy Queen Lurline, of whose band I was a member when +Lurline made all Oz a Fairyland. There are several +countries and several different peoples in this broad +land, each of which has its separate rulers, Kings, +Emperors and Queens. But all these render obedience to +my laws and acknowledge me as the supreme Ruler." + +"If other Kings and Queens are fools that does not +interest me in the least," replied Coo-ee-oh, +disdainfully. "In the Land of the Skeezers I alone am +supreme. You are impudent to think I would defer to you +-- or to anyone else." + +"Let us not speak of this now, please," answered +Ozma. "Your island is in danger, for a powerful foe is +preparing to destroy it." + +"Pah! The Flatheads. I do not fear them." + +"Their Supreme Dictator is a Sorcerer." + +"My magic is greater than his. Let the Flatheads +come! They will never return to their barren mountain- +top. I will see to that." + +Ozma did not like this attitude, for it meant that +the Skeezers were eager to fight the Flatheads, and +Ozma's object in coming here was to prevent fighting +and induce the two quarrelsome neighbors to make peace. +She was also greatly disappointed in Coo-ee-oh, for the +reports of Su-dic had led her to imagine the Queen more +just and honorable than were the Flatheads. Indeed Ozma +reflected that the girl might be better at heart than +her self-pride and overbearing manner indicated, and in +any event it would be wise not to antagonize her but to +try to win her friendship. + +"I do not like wars, your Majesty," said Ozma. "In +the Emerald City, where I rule thousands of people, and +in the countries near to the Emerald City, where +thousands more acknowledge my rule, there is no army at +all, because there is no quarreling and no need to +fight. If differences arise between my people, they +come to me and I judge the cases and award justice to +all. So, when I learned there might be war between two +faraway people of Oz, I came here to settle the dispute +and adjust the quarrel." + +"No one asked you to come," declared Queen Coo-ee-oh. +"It is my business to settle this dispute, not yours. +You say my island is a part of the Land of Oz, which +you rule, but that is all nonsense, for I've never +heard of the Land of Oz, nor of you. You say you are a +fairy, and that fairies gave you command over me. I +don't believe it! What I do believe is that you are an +impostor and have come here to stir up trouble among my +people, who are already becoming difficult to manage. +You two girls may even be spies of the vile Flatheads, +for all I know, and may be trying to trick me. But +understand this," she added, proudly rising from her +jeweled throne to confront them, "I have magic powers +greater than any fairy possesses, and greater than any +Flathead possesses. I am a Krumbic Witch -- the only +Krumbic Witch in the world -- and I fear the magic of +no other creature that exists! You say you rule +thousands. I rule one hundred and one Skeezers. But +every one of them trembles at my word. Now that Ozma of +Oz and Princess Dorothy are here, I shall rule one +hundred and three subjects, for you also shall bow +before my power. More than that, in ruling you I also +rule the thousands you say you rule." + +Dorothy was very indignant at this speech. + +"I've got a pink kitten that sometimes talks like +that," she said, "but after I give her a good whipping +she doesn't think she's so high and mighty after all. +If you only knew who Ozma is you'd be scared to death +to talk to her like that!" + +Queen Coo-ee-oh gave the girl a supercilious look. +Then she turned again to Ozma. + +"I happen to know," said she, "that the Flatheads +intend to attack us tomorrow, but we are ready for +them. Until the battle is over, I shall keep you two +strangers prisoners on my island, from which there is +no chance for you to escape." + +She turned and looked around the band of courtiers +who stood silently around her throne. + +"Lady Aurex," she continued, singling out one of the +young women, "take these children to your house and +care for them, giving them food and lodging. You may +allow them to wander anywhere under the Great Dome, for +they are harmless. After I have attended to the +Flatheads I will consider what next to do with these +foolish girls." + +She resumed her seat and the Lady Aurex bowed low and +said in a humble manner: + +"I obey your Majesty's commands." Then to Ozma and +Dorothy she added, "Follow me," and turned to leave the +throne room. + +Dorothy looked to see what Ozma would do. To her +surprise and a little to her disappointment Ozma turned +and followed Lady Aurex. So Dorothy trailed after them, +but not without giving a parting, haughty look toward +Queen Coo-ee-oh, who had her face turned the other way +and did not see the disapproving look + + + + +Chapter Nine + +Lady Aurex + + + +Lady Aurex led Ozma and Dorothy along a street to a +pretty marble house near to one edge of the great glass +dome that covered the village. She did not speak to the +girls until she had ushered them into a pleasant room, +comfortably furnished, nor did any of the solemn people +they met on the street venture to speak. + +When they were seated Lady Aurex asked if they were +hungry, and finding they were summoned a maid and +ordered food to be brought. + +This Lady Aurex looked to be about twenty years old, +although in the Land of Oz where people have never +changed in appearance since the fairies made it a +fairyland -- where no one grows old or dies -- it is +always difficult to say how many years anyone has +lived. She had a pleasant, attractive face, even though +it was solemn and sad as the faces of all Skeezers +seemed to be, and her costume was rich and elaborate, +as became a lady in waiting upon the Queen. + +Ozma had observed Lady Aurex closely and now asked +her in a gentle tone: + +"Do you, also, believe me to be an impostor?" + +"I dare not say," replied Lady Aurex in a low tone. + +"Why are you afraid to speak freely?" inquired Ozma. + +"The Queen punishes us if we make remarks that she +does not like." + +"Are we not alone then, in this house?" + +"The Queen can hear everything that is spoken on this +island -- even the slightest whisper," declared Lady +Aurex. "She is a wonderful witch, as she has told you, +and it is folly to criticise her or disobey her +commands." + +Ozma looked into her eyes and saw that she would like +to say more if she dared. So she drew from her bosom +her silver wand, and having muttered a magic phrase in +a strange tongue, she left the room and walked slowly +around the outside of the house, making a complete +circle and waving her wand in mystic curves as she +walked. Lady Aurex watched her curiously and, when Ozma +had again entered the room and seated herself, she +asked: + +"What have you done?" + +"I've enchanted this house in such a manner that +Queen Coo-ee-oh, with all her witchcraft, cannot hear +one word we speak within the magic circle I have made," +replied Ozma. "We may now speak freely and as loudly as +we wish, without fear of the Queen's anger." + +Lady Aurex brightened at this. + +"Can I trust you?" she asked. + +"Ev'rybody trusts Ozma," exclaimed Dorothy. "She is +true and honest, and your wicked Queen will be sorry +she insulted the powerful Ruler of all the Land of Oz." + +"The Queen does not know me yet," said Ozma, "but I +want you to know me, Lady Aurex, and I want you to tell +me why you, and all the Skeezers, are unhappy. Do not +fear Coo-ee-oh's anger, for she cannot hear a word we +say, I assure you." + +Lady Aurex was thoughtful a moment; then she said: "I +shall trust you, Princess Ozma, for I believe you are +what you say you are -- our supreme Ruler. If you knew +the dreadful punishments our Queen inflicts upon us, +you would not wonder we are so unhappy. The Skeezers +are not bad people; they do not care to quarrel and +fight, even with their enemies the Flatheads; but they +are so cowed and fearful of Coo-ee-oh that they obey +her slightest word, rather than suffer her anger." + +"Hasn't she any heart, then?" asked Dorothy. + +"She never displays mercy. She loves no one but +herself," asserted Lady Aurex, but she trembled as she +said it, as if afraid even yet of her terrible Queen. + +"That's pretty bad," said Dorothy, shaking her head +gravely. "I see you've a lot to do here, Ozma, in this +forsaken corner of the Land of Oz. First place, you've +got to take the magic away from Queen Coo-ee-oh, and +from that awful Su-dic, too. My idea is that neither of +them is fit to rule anybody, 'cause they're cruel and +hateful. So you'll have to give the Skeezers and +Flatheads new rulers and teach all their people that +they're part of the Land of Oz and must obey, above +all, the lawful Ruler, Ozma of Oz. Then, when you've +done that, we can go back home again." + +Ozma smiled at her little friend's earnest counsel, +but Lady Aurex said in an anxious tone: + +"I am surprised that you suggest these reforms while +you are yet prisoners on this island and in Coo-ee-oh's +power. That these things should be done, there is no +doubt, but just now a dreadful war is likely to break +out, and frightful things may happen to us all. Our +Queen has such conceit that she thinks she can overcome +the Su-dic and his people, but it is said Su-dic's +magic is very powerful, although not as great as that +possessed by his wife Rora, before Coo-ee-oh +transformed her into a Golden Pig." + +"I don't blame her very much for doing that," +remarked Dorothy, "for the Flatheads were wicked to try +to catch your beautiful fish and the Witch Rora wanted +to poison all the fishes in the lake." + +"Do you know the reason?" asked the Lady Aurex. + +"I don't s'pose there was any reason, 'cept just +wickedness," replied Dorothy. + +"Tell us the reason," said Ozma earnestly. + +"Well, your Majesty, once -- a long time ago -- the +Flatheads and the Skeezers were friendly. They visited +our island and we visited their mountain, and +everything was pleasant between the two peoples. At +that time the Flatheads were ruled by three Adepts in +Sorcery, beautiful girls who were not Flatheads, but +had wandered to the Flat Mountain and made their home +there. These three Adepts used their magic only for +good, and the mountain people gladly made them their +rulers. They taught the Flatheads how to use their +canned brains and how to work metals into clothing that +would never wear out, and many other things that added +to their happiness and content. + +"Coo-ee-oh was our Queen then, as now, but she knew +no magic and so had nothing to be proud of. But the +three Adepts were very kind to Coo-ee-oh. They built +for us this wonderful dome of glass and our houses of +marble and taught us to make beautiful clothing and +many other things. Coo-ee-oh pretended to be very +grateful for these favors, but it seems that all the +time she was jealous of the three Adepts and secretly +tried to discover their arts of magic. In this she was +more clever than anyone suspected. She invited the +three Adepts to a banquet one day, and while they were +feasting Coo-ee-oh stole their charms and magical +instruments and transformed them into three fishes -- a +gold fish, a silver fish and a bronze fish. While the +poor fishes were gasping and flopping helplessly on the +floor of the banquet room one of them said +reproachfully: 'You will be punished for this, Coo-ee- +oh, for if one of us dies or is destroyed, you will +become shrivelled and helpless, and all your stolen +magic will depart from you.' Frightened by this threat, +Coo-ee-oh at once caught up the three fish and ran with +them to the shore of the lake, where she cast them into +the water. This revived the three Adepts and they swam +away and disappeared. + +"I, myself, witnessed this shocking scene," continued +Lady Aurex, "and so did many other Skeezers. The news +was carried to the Flatheads, who then turned from +friends to enemies. The Su-dic and his wife Rora were +the only ones on the mountain who were glad the three +Adepts had been lost to them, and they at once became +Rulers of the Flatheads and stole their canned brains +from others to make themselves the more powerful. Some +of the Adepts' magic tools had been left on the +mountain, and these Rora seized and by the use of them +she became a witch. + +"The result of Coo-ee-oh's treachery was to make both +the Skeezers and the Flatheads miserable instead of +happy. Not only were the Su-dic and his wife cruel to +their people, but our Queen at once became proud and +arrogant and treated us very unkindly. All the Skeezers +knew she had stolen her magic powers and so she hated +us and made us humble ourselves before her and obey her +slightest word. If we disobeyed, or did not please her, +or if we talked about her when we were in our own homes +she would have us dragged to the whipping post in her +palace and lashed with knotted cords. That is why we +fear her so greatly." + +This story filled Ozma's heart with sorrow and +Dorothy's heart with indignation. + +"I now understand," said Ozma, "why the fishes in the +lake have brought about war between the Skeezers and +the Flatheads." + +"Yes," Lady Aurex answered, "now that you know the +story it is easy to understand. The Su-dic and his wife +came to our lake hoping to catch the silver fish, or +gold fish, or bronze fish -- any one of them would do - +- and by destroying it deprive Coo-ee-oh of her magic. +Then they could easily conquer her. Also they had +another reason for wanting to catch the fish -- they +feared that in some way the three Adepts might regain +their proper forms and then they would be sure to +return to the mountain and punish Rora and the Su-dic. +That was why Rora finally tried to poison all the +fishes in the lake, at the time Coo-ee-oh transformed +her into a Golden Pig. Of course this attempt to +destroy the fishes frightened the Queen, for her safety +lies in keeping the three fishes alive." + +"I s'pose Coo-ee-oh will fight the Flatheads with all +her might," observed Dorothy. + +"And with all her magic," added Ozma, thoughtfully. + +"I do not see how the Flatheads can get to this +island to hurt us," said Lady Aurex. + +"They have bows and arrows, and I guess they mean to +shoot the arrows at your big dome, and break all the +glass in it," suggested Dorothy. + +But Lady Aurex shook her head with a smile. + +"They cannot do that," she replied. + +"Why not?" + +"I dare not tell you why, but if the Flatheads come +to-morrow morning you will yourselves see the reason." + +"I do not think they will attempt to harm the +island," Ozma declared. "I believe they will first +attempt to destroy the fishes, by poison or some other +means. If they succeed in that, the conquest of the +island will not be difficult." + +"They have no boats," said Lady Aurex, "and Coo-ee- +oh, who has long expected this war, has been preparing +for it in many astonishing ways. I almost wish the +Flatheads would conquer us, for then we would be free +from our dreadful Queen; but I do not wish to see the +three transformed fishes destroyed, for in them lies +our only hope of future happiness." + +"Ozma will take care of you, whatever happens," +Dorothy assured her. But the Lady Aurex, not knowing +the extent of Ozma's power -- which was, in fact, not +so great as Dorothy imagined -- could not take much +comfort in this promise. + +It was evident there would be exciting times on the +morrow, if the Flatheads really attacked the Skeezers +of the Magic Isle. + + + + +Chapter Ten + +Under Water + + + +When night fell all the interior of the Great Dome, +streets and houses, became lighted with brilliant +incandescent lamps, which rendered it bright as day. +Dorothy thought the island must look beautiful by night +from the outer shore of the lake. There was revelry and +feasting in the Queen's palace, and the music of the +royal band could be plainly heard in Lady Aurex's +house, where Ozma and Dorothy remained with their +hostess and keeper. They were prisoners, but treated +with much consideration. + +Lady Aurex gave them a nice supper and when they +wished to retire showed them to a pretty room with +comfortable beds and wished them a good night and +pleasant dreams. + +"What do you think of all this, Ozma?" Dorothy +anxiously inquired when they were alone. + +"I am glad we came," was the reply, "for although +there may be mischief done to-morrow, it was necessary +I should know about these people, whose leaders are +wild and lawless and oppress their subjects with +injustice and cruelties. My task, therefore, is to +liberate the Skeezers and the Flatheads and secure for +them freedom and happiness. I have no doubt I can +accomplish this in time." + +"Just now, though, we're in a bad fix," asserted +Dorothy. "If Queen Coo-ee-oh conquers to-morrow, she +won't be nice to us, and if the Su-dic conquers, he'll +be worse." + +"Do not worry, dear," said Ozma, "I do not think we +are in danger, whatever happens, and the result of our +adventure is sure to be good." + +Dorothy was not worrying, especially. She had +confidence in her friend, the fairy Princess of Oz, and +she enjoyed the excitement of the events in which she +was taking part. So she crept into bed and fell asleep +as easily as if she had been in her own cosy room in +Ozma's palace. + +A sort of grating, grinding sound awakened her. The +whole island seemed to tremble and sway, as it might do +in an earthquake. Dorothy sat up in bed, rubbing her +eyes to get the sleep out of them, and then found it +was daybreak. + +Ozma was hurriedly dressing herself. + +"What is it?" asked Dorothy, jumping out of bed. + +"I'm not sure," answered Ozma "but it feels as if the +island is sinking." + +As soon as possible they finished dressing, while the +creaking and swaying continued. Then they rushed into +the living room of the house and found Lady Aurex, +fully dressed, awaiting them. + +"Do not be alarmed," said their hostess. "Coo-ee-oh +has decided to submerge the island, that is all. But it +proves the Flatheads are coming to attack us." + +"What do you mean by sub-sub-merging the island?" +asked Dorothy. + +"Come here and see," was the reply. + +Lady Aurex led them to a window which faced the side +of the great dome which covered all the village, and +they could see that the island was indeed sinking, for +the water of the lake was already half way up the side +of the dome. Through the glass could be seen swimming +fishes, and tall stalks of swaying seaweeds, for the +water was clear as crystal and through it they could +distinguish even the farther shore of the lake. + +"The Flatheads are not here yet," said Lady Aurex. +"They will come soon, but not until all of this dome is +under the surface of the water." + +"Won't the dome leak?" Dorothy inquired anxiously. + +"No, indeed." + +"Was the island ever sub-sub-sunk before?" + +"Oh, yes; on several occasions. But Coo-ee-oh doesn't +care to do that often, for it requires a lot of hard +work to operate the machinery. The dome was built so +that the island could disappear. I think," she +continued, "that our Queen fears the Flatheads will +attack the island and try to break the glass of the +dome." + +"Well, if we're under water, they can't fight us, and +we can't fight them," asserted Dorothy. + +"They could kill the fishes, however," said Ozma +gravely + +"We have ways to fight, also, even though our island +is under water," claimed Lady Aurex. "I cannot tell you +all our secrets, but this island is full of surprises. +Also our Queen's magic is astonishing." + +"Did she steal it all from the three Adepts in +Sorcery that are now fishes?" + +"She stole the knowledge and the magic tools, but she +has used them as the three Adepts never would have +done." + +By this time the top of the dome was quite under +water and suddenly the island stopped sinking and +became stationary. + +"See!" cried Lady Aurex, pointing to the shore. "The +Flatheads have come." + +On the bank, which was now far above their heads, a +crowd of dark figures could be seen. + +"Now let us see what Coo-ee-oh will do to oppose +them," continued Lady Aurex, in a voice that betrayed +her excitement. + + * * * * * * * * + +The Flatheads, pushing their way through the line of +palm trees, had reached the shore of the lake just as +the top of the island's dome disappeared beneath the +surface. The water now flowed from shore to shore, but +through the clear water the dome was still visible and +the houses of the Skeezers could be dimly seen through +the panes of glass. + +"Good!" exclaimed the Su-dic, who had armed all his +followers and had brought with him two copper vessels, +which he carefully set down upon the ground beside him. +"If Coo-ee-oh wants to hide instead of fighting our job +will be easy, for in one of these copper vessels I have +enough poison to kill every fish in the lake." + +"Kill them, then, while we have time, and then we can +go home again," advised one of the chief officers. + +"Not yet," objected the Su-dic. "The Queen of the +Skeezers has defied me, and I want to get her into my +power, as well as to destroy her magic. She transformed +my poor wife into a Golden Pig, and I must have revenge +for that, whatever else we do." + +"Look out!" suddenly exclaimed the officers, pointing +into the lake; "something's going to happen." + +From the submerged dome a door opened and something +black shot swiftly out into the water. The door +instantly closed behind it and the dark object cleaved +its way through the water, without rising to the +surface, directly toward the place where the Flatheads +were standing. + +"What is that?" Dorothy asked the Lady Aurex. + +"That is one of the Queen's submarines," was the +reply. "It is all enclosed, and can move under water. +Coo-ee-oh has several of these boats which are kept in +little rooms in the basement under our village. When +the island is submerged, the Queen uses these boats to +reach the shore, and I believe she now intends to fight +the Flatheads with them." + +The Su-dic and his people knew nothing of Coo-ee-oh's +submarines, so they watched with surprise as the under- +water boat approached them. When it was quite near the +shore it rose to the surface and the top parted and +fell back, disclosing a boat full of armed Skeezers. At +the head was the Queen, standing up in the bow and +holding in one hand a coil of magic rope that gleamed +like silver. + +The boat halted and Coo-ee-oh drew back her arm to +throw the silver rope toward the Su-dic, who was now +but a few feet from her. But the wily Flathead leader +quickly realized his danger and before the Queen could +throw the rope he caught up one of the copper vessels +and dashed its contents full in her face! + + + + +Chapter Eleven + +The Conquest of the Skeezers + + + +Queen Coo-ee-oh dropped the rope, tottered and fell +headlong into the water, sinking beneath the surface, +while the Skeezers in the submarine assist her and only +stared at the ripples in the water where she had +disappeared. A moment later there arose to the surface +a beautiful White Swan. This Swan was of large size, +very gracefully formed, and scattered all over its +white feathers were tiny diamonds, so thickly placed +that as the rays of the morning sun fell upon them the +entire body of the Swan glistened like one brilliant +diamond. The head of the Diamond Swan had a bill of +polished gold and its eyes were two sparkling +amethysts. + +"Hooray!" cried the Su-dic, dancing up and down with +wicked glee. "My poor wife, Rora, is avenged at last. +You made her a Golden Pig, Coo-ee-oh, and now I have +made you a Diamond Swan. Float on your lake forever, if +you like, for your web feet can do no more magic and +you are as powerless as the Pig you made of my wife! + +"Villain! Scoundrel!" croaked the Diamond Swan. "You +will be punished for this. Oh, what a fool I was to let +you enchant me! + +"A fool you were, and a fool you are!" laughed the +Su-dic, dancing madly in his delight. And then he +carelessly tipped over the other copper vessel with his +heel and its contents spilled on the sands and were +lost to the last drop. + +The Su-dic stopped short and looked at the overturned +vessel with a rueful countenance. + +"That's too bad -- too bad!" he exclaimed +sorrowfully. "I've lost all the poison I had to kill +the fishes with, and I can't make any more because only +my wife knew the secret of it, and she is now a foolish +Pig and has forgotten all her magic." + +"Very well," said the Diamond Swan scornfully, as she +floated upon the water and swam gracefully here and +there. I'm glad to see you are foiled. Your punishment +is just beginning, for although you have enchanted me +and taken away my powers of sorcery you have still the +three magic fishes to deal with, and they'll destroy +you in time, mark my words." + +The Su-dic stared at the Swan a moment. Then he +yelled to his men: + +"Shoot her! Shoot the saucy bird!" + +They let fly some arrows at the Diamond Swan, but she +dove under the water and the missiles fell harmless. +When Coo-ce-oh rose to the surface she was far from the +shore and she swiftly swam across the lake to where no +arrows or spears could reach her. + +The Su-dic rubbed his chin and thought what to do +next. Near by floated the submarine in which the Queen +had come, but the Skeezers who were in it were puzzled +what to do with themselves. Perhaps they were not sorry +their cruel mistress had been transformed into a +Diamond Swan, but the transformation had left them +quite helpless. The under-water boat was not operated +by machinery, but by certain mystic words uttered by +Coo-ee-oh. They didn't know how to submerge it, or how +to make the water-tight shield cover them again, or how +to make the boat go back to the castle, or make it +enter the little basement room where it was usually +kept. As a matter of fact, they were now shut out of +their village under the Great Dome and could not get +back again. So one of the men called to the Supreme +Dictator of the Flatheads, saying: + +"Please make us prisoners and take us to your +mountain, and feed and keep us, for we have nowhere to +go." + +Then the Su-dic laughed and answered: + +"Not so. I can't be bothered by caring for a lot of +stupid Skeezers. Stay where you are, or go wherever you +please, so long as you keep away from our mountain." He +turned to his men and added: "We have conquered Queen +Coo-ee-oh and made her a helpless swan. The Skeezers +are under water and may stay there. So, having won the +war, let us go home again and make merry and feast, +having after many years proved the Flatheads to be +greater and more powerful than the Skeezers." + +So the Flatheads marched away and passed through the +row of palms and went back to their mountain, where the +Su-dic and a few of his officers feasted and all the +others were forced to wait on them. + +"I'm sorry we couldn't have roast pig," said the Su- +dic, "but as the only pig we have is made of gold, we +can't eat her. Also the Golden Pig happens to be my +wife, and even were she not gold I am sure she would be +too tough to eat." + + + + +Chapter Twelve + +The Diamond Swan + + + +When the Flatheads had gone away the Diamond Swan +swam back to the boat and one of the young Skeezers +named Ervic said to her eagerly: + +"How can we get back to the island, your Majesty?" + +"Am I not beautiful?" asked Coo-ee-oh, arching her +neck gracefully and spreading her diamond-sprinkled +wings. "I can see my reflection in the water, and I'm +sure there is no bird nor beast, nor human as +magnificent as I am!" + +"How shall we get back to the island, your Majesty?" +pleaded Ervic. + +"When my fame spreads throughout the land, people +will travel from all parts of this lake to look upon my +loveliness," said Coo-ee-oh, shaking her feathers to +make the diamonds glitter more brilliantly. + +"But, your Majesty, we must go home and we do not +know how to get there," Ervic persisted. + +"My eyes," remarked the Diamond Swan, "are +wonderfully blue and bright and will charm all +beholders." + +"Tell us how to make the boat go -- how to get back +into the island," begged Ervic and the others cried +just as earnestly: "Tell us, Coo-ee-oh; tell us!" + +"I don't know," replied the Queen in a careless tone. + +"You are a magic-worker, a sorceress, a witch!" + +"I was, of course, when I was a girl," she said, +bending her head over the clear water to catch her +reflection in it; "but now I've forgotten all such +foolish things as magic. Swans are lovelier than girls, +especially when they're sprinkled with diamonds. Don't +you think so?" And she gracefully swam away, without +seeming to care whether they answered or not. + +Ervic and his companions were in despair. They saw +plainly that Coo-ee-oh could not or would not help +them. The former Queen had no further thought for her +island, her people, or her wonderful magic; she was +only intent on admiring her own beauty. + +"Truly," said Ervic, in a gloomy voice, "the +Flatheads have conquered us!" + + * * * * * * * * + +Some of these events had been witnessed by Ozma +and Dorothy and Lady Aurex, who had left the house +and gone close to the glass of the dome, in order to see +what was going on. Many of the Skeezers had also +crowded against the dome, wondering what would +happen next. Although their vision was to an extent +blurred by the water and the necessity of looking +upward at an angle, they had observed the main points +of the drama enacted above. They saw Queen Coo- +ee-oh's submarine come to the surface and open; they +saw the Queen standing erect to throw her magic rope; +they saw her sudden transformation into a Diamond +Swan, and a cry of amazement went up from the +Skeezers inside the dome. + +"Good!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I hate that old Su-dic, +but I'm glad Coo-ee-oh is punished." + +"This is a dreadful misfortune!" cried Lady Aurex, +pressing her hands upon her heart. + +"Yes," agreed Ozma, nodding her head thoughtfully; +"Coo-ee-oh's misfortune will prove a terrible blow to +her people." + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Dorothy in +surprise. "Seems to me the Skeezers are in luck to lose +their cruel Queen." + +"If that were all you would be right," responded Lady +Aurex; "and if the island were above water it would not +be so serious. But here we all are, at the bottom of +the lake, and fast prisoners in this dome." + +"Can't you raise the island?" inquired Dorothy. + +"No. Only Coo-ee-oh knew how to do that," was the +answer. + +"We can try," insisted Dorothy. "If it can be made to +go down, it can be made to come up. The machinery is +still here, I suppose. + +"Yes; but the machinery works by magic, and Coo-ee-oh +would never share her secret power with any one of us." + +Dorothy's face grew grave; but she was thinking. + +"Ozma knows a lot of magic," she said. + +"But not that kind of magic," Ozma replied. + +"Can't you learn how, by looking at the machinery?" + +"I'm afraid not, my dear. It isn't fairy magic at +all; it is witchcraft." + +"Well," said Dorothy, turning to Lady Aurex, "you say +there are other sub-sub-sinking boats. We can get in +one of those, and shoot out to the top of the water, +like Coo-ee-oh did, and so escape. And then we can help +to rescue all the Skeezers down here." + +"No one knows how to work the under-water boats but +the Queen," declared Lady Aurex. + +"Isn't there any door or window in this dome that we +could open?" + +"No; and, if there were, the water would rush in +to flood the dome, and we could not get out." + +"The Skeezers," said Ozma, "could not drown; they +only get wet and soggy and in that condition they would +be very uncomfortable and unhappy. But you are a mortal +girl, Dorothy, and if your Magic Belt protected you +from death you would have to lie forever at the bottom +of the lake." + +"No, I'd rather die quickly," asserted the little +girl. "But there are doors in the basement that open -- +to let out the bridges and the boats -- and that would +not flood the dome, you know." + +"Those doors open by a magic word, and only Coo-ee-oh +knows the word that must be uttered," said Lady Aurex. + +"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, "that dreadful Queen's +witchcraft upsets all my plans to escape. I guess I'll +give it up, Ozma, and let you save us." + +Ozma smiled, but her smile was not so cheerful as +usual. The Princess of Oz found herself confronted with +a serious problem, and although she had no thought of +despairing she realized that the Skeezers and their +island, as well as Dorothy and herself, were in grave +trouble and that unless she could find a means to save +them they would be lost to the Land of Oz for all +future time. + +"In such a dilemma," said she, musingly, "nothing is +gained by haste. Careful thought may aid us, and so may +the course of events. The unexpected is always likely +to happen, and cheerful patience is better than +reckless action." + +"All right," returned Dorothy; "take your time, Ozma; +there's no hurry. How about some breakfast, Lady +Aurex?" + +Their hostess led them back to the house, where she +ordered her trembling servants to prepare and serve +breakfast. All the Skeezers were frightened and anxious +over the transformation of their Queen into a swan. +Coo-ee-oh was feared and hated, but they had depended +on her magic to conquer the Flatheads and she was the +only one who could raise their island to the surface of +the lake again. + +Before breakfast was over several of the leading +Skeezers came to Aurex to ask her advice and to +question Princess Ozma, of whom they knew nothing +except that she claimed to be a fairy and the Ruler of +all the land, including the Lake of the Skeezers. + +"If what you told Queen Coo-ee-oh was the truth," +they said to her, "you are our lawful mistress, and we +may depend on you to get us out of our difficulties." + +"I will try to do that" Ozma graciously assured them, +"but you must remember that the powers of fairies are +granted them to bring comfort and happiness to all who +appeal to them. On the contrary, such magic as Coo-ee- +oh knew and practiced is unlawful witchcraft and her +arts are such as no fairy would condescend to use. +However, it is sometimes necessary to consider evil in +order to accomplish good, and perhaps by studying Coo- +ee-oh's tools and charms of witchcraft I may be able to +save us. Do you promise to accept me as your Ruler and +to obey my commands?" + +They promised willingly. + +"Then," continued Ozma, "I will go to Coo-ee-oh's +palace and take possession of it. Perhaps what I find +there will be of use to me. In the meantime tell all +the Skeezers to fear nothing, but have patience. Let +them return to their homes and perform their daily +tasks as usual. Coo-ee-oh's loss may not prove a +misfortune, but rather a blessing." + +This speech cheered the Skeezers amazingly. Really, +they had no one now to depend upon but Ozma, and in +spite of their dangerous position their hearts were +lightened by the transformation and absence of their +cruel Queen. + +They got out their brass band and a grand procession +escorted Ozma and Dorothy to the palace, where all of +Coo-ee-oh's former servants were eager to wait upon +them. Ozma invited Lady Aurex to stay at the palace +also, for she knew all about the Skeezers and their +island and had also been a favorite of the former +Queen, so her advice and information were sure to prove +valuable. + +Ozma was somewhat disappointed in what she found in +the palace. One room of Coo-ee-oh's private suite was +entirely devoted to the practice of witchcraft, and +here were countless queer instruments and jars of +ointments and bottles of potions labeled with queer +names, and strange machines that Ozma could not guess +the use of, and pickled toads and snails and lizards, +and a shelf of books that were written in blood, but in +a language which the Ruler of Oz did not know. + +"I do not see," said Ozma to Dorothy, who accompanied +her in her search, "how Coo-ee-oh knew the use of the +magic tools she stole from the three Adept Witches. +Moreover, from all reports these Adepts practiced only +good witchcraft, such as would be helpful to their +people, while Coo-ee-oh performed only evil." + +"Perhaps she turned the good things to evil uses?" +suggested Dorothy. + +"Yes, and with the knowledge she gained Coo-ee-oh +doubtless invented many evil things quite unknown to +the good Adepts, who are now fishes," added Ozma. "It +is unfortunate for us that the Queen kept her secrets +so closely guarded, for no one but herself could use +any of these strange things gathered in this room." + +"Couldn't we capture the Diamond Swan and make her +tell the secrets?" asked Dorothy. + +"No; even were we able to capture her, Coo-ee-oh now +has forgotten all the magic she ever knew. But until we +ourselves escape from this dome we could not capture +the Swan, and were we to escape we would have no use for +Coo-ee-oh's magic." + +"That's a fact," admitted Dorothy. "But -- say, Ozma, +here's a good idea! Couldn't we capture the three +fishes -- the gold and silver and bronze ones, and +couldn't you transform 'em back to their own shapes, +and then couldn't the three Adepts get us out of here?" + +"You are not very practical, Dorothy dear. It would +be as hard for us to capture the three fishes, from +among all the other fishes in the lake, as to capture +the Swan." + +"But if we could, it would be more help to us," +persisted the little girl. + +"That is true," answered Ozma, smiling at her +friend's eagerness. "You find a way to catch the fish, +and I'll promise when they are caught to restore them +to their proper forms." + +"I know you think I can't do it," replied Dorothy, +"but I'm going to try." + +She left the palace and went to a place where she +could look through a clear pane of the glass dome into +the surrounding water. Immediately she became +interested in the queer sights that met her view. + +The Lake of the Skeezers was inhabited by fishes of +many kinds and many sizes. The water was so transparent +that the girl could see for a long distance and the +fishes came so close to the glass of the dome that +sometimes they actually touched it. On the white sands +at the bottom of the lake were star-fish, lobsters, +crabs and many shell fish of strange shapes and with +shells of gorgeous hues. The water foliage was of +brilliant colors and to Dorothy it resembled a splendid +garden. + +But the fishes were the most interesting of all. Some +were big and lazy, floating slowly along or lying at +rest with just their fins waving. Many with big round +eyes looked full at the girl as she watched them and +Dorothy wondered if they could hear her through the +glass if she spoke to them. In Oz, where all the +animals and birds can talk, many fishes are able to +talk also, but usually they are more stupid than birds +and animals because they think slowly and haven't much +to talk about. + +In the Lake of the Skeezers the fish of smaller size +were more active than the big ones and darted quickly +in and out among the swaying weeds, as if they had +important business and were in a hurry. It was among +the smaller varieties that Dorothy hoped to spy the +gold and silver and bronze fishes. She had an idea the +three would keep together, being companions now as they +were in their natural forms, but such a multitude of +fishes constantly passed, the scene shifting every +moment, that she was not sure she would notice them +even if they appeared in view. Her eyes couldn't look +in all directions and the fishes she sought might be on +the other side of the dome, or far away in the lake. + +"P'raps, because they were afraid of Coo-ee-oh, +they've hid themselves somewhere, and don't know their +enemy has been transformed," she reflected. + +She watched the fishes for a long time, until she +became hungry and went back to the palace for lunch. +But she was not discouraged. + +"Anything new, Ozma?" she asked. + +"No, dear. Did you discover the three fishes?" + +"Not yet. But there isn't anything better for me to +do, Ozma, so I guess I'll go back and watch again." + + + + +Chapter Thirteen + +The Alarm Bell + + + +Glinda, the Good, in her palace in the Quadling +Country, had many things to occupy her mind, for not +only did she look after the weaving and embroidery of +her bevy of maids, and assist all those who came to her +to implore her help -- beasts and birds as well as +people -- but she was a close student of the arts of +sorcery and spent much time in her Magical Laboratory, +where she strove to find a remedy for every evil and to +perfect her skill in magic. + +Nevertheless, she did not forget to look in the Great +Book of Records each day to see if any mention was made +of the visit of Ozma and Dorothy to the Enchanted +Mountain of the Flatheads and the Magic Isle of the +Skeezers. The Records told her that Ozma had arrived at +the mountain, that she had escaped, with her companion, +and gone to the island of the Skeezers, and that Queen +Coo-ee-oh had submerged the island so that it was +entirely under water. Then came the statement that the +Flatheads had come to the lake to poison the fishes and +that their Supreme Dictator had transformed Queen Coo- +ee-oh into a swan. + +No other details were given in the Great Book and so +Glinda did not know that since Coo-ee-oh had forgotten +her magic none of the Skeezers knew how to raise the +island to the surface again. So Glinda was not worried +about Ozma and Dorothy until one morning, while she sat +with her maids, there came a sudden clang of the +great alarm bell. This was so unusual that every maid +gave a start and even the Sorceress for a moment could +not think what the alarm meant. + +Then she remembered the ring she had given Dorothy +when she left the palace to start on her venture. In +giving the ring Glinda had warned the little girl not +to use its magic powers unless she and Ozma were in +real danger, but then she was to turn it on her finger +once to the right and once to the left and Glinda's +alarm bell would ring. + +So the Sorceress now knew that danger threatened her +beloved Ruler and Princess Dorothy, and she hurried to +her magic room to seek information as to what sort of +danger it was. The answer to her question was not very +satisfactory, for it was only: "Ozma and Dorothy are +prisoners in the great Dome of the Isle of the +Skeezers, and the Dome is under the water of the lake." + +"Hasn't Ozma the power to raise the island to the +surface?" inquired Glinda. + +"No," was the reply, and the Record refused to say +more except that Queen Coo-ee-oh, who alone could +command the island to rise, had been transformed by the +Flathead Su-dic into a Diamond Swan. + +Then Glinda consulted the past records of the +Skeezers in the Great Book. After diligent search she +discovered that Coo-ee-oh was a powerful sorceress who +had gained most of her power by treacherously +transforming the Adepts of Magic, who were visiting +her, into three fishes -- gold, silver and bronze -- +after which she had them cast into the lake. + +Glinda reflected earnestly on this information and +decided that someone must go to Ozma's assistance. +While there was no great need of haste, because Ozma +and Dorothy could live in a submerged dome a long time, +it was evident they could not get out until someone was +able to raise the island. + +The Sorceress looked through all her recipes and +books of sorcery, but could find no magic that would +raise a sunken island. Such a thing had never before +been required in sorcery. Then Glinda made a little +island, covered by a glass dome, and sunk it in a pond +near her castle, and experimented in magical ways to +bring it to the surface. She made several such +experiments, but all were failures. It seemed a simple +thing to do, yet she could not do it. + +Nevertheless, the wise Sorceress did not despair of +finding a way to liberate her friends. Finally she +concluded that the best thing to do was to go to the +Skeezer country and examine the lake. While there she +was more likely to discover a solution to the problem +that bothered her, and to work out a plan for the +rescue of Ozma and Dorothy. + +So Glinda summoned her storks and her aerial chariot, +and telling her maids she was going on a journey and +might not soon return, she entered the chariot and was +carried swiftly to the Emerald City. + +In Princess Ozma's palace the Scarecrow was now +acting as Ruler of the Land of Oz. There wasn't much +for him to do, because all the affairs of state moved +so smoothly, but he was there in case anything +unforeseen should happen. + +Glinda found the Scarecrow playing croquet with Trot +and Betsy Bobbin, two little girls who lived at the +palace under Ozma's protection and were great friends +of Dorothy and much loved by all the Oz people. + +"Something's happened!" cried Trot, as the chariot of +the Sorceress descended near them. "Glinda never comes +here 'cept something's gone wrong." + +"I hope no harm has come to Ozma, or Dorothy," said +Betsy anxiously, as the lovely Sorceress stepped down +from her chariot. + +Glinda approached the Scarecrow and told him of the +dilemma of Ozma and Dorothy and she added: "We must +save them, somehow, Scarecrow." + +"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, stumbling over a +wicket and falling flat on his painted face. + +The girls picked him up and patted his straw stuffing +into shape, and he continued, as if nothing had +occurred: "But you'll have to tell me what to do, for I +never have raised a sunken island in all my life." + +"We must have a Council of State as soon as +possible," proposed the Sorceress. "Please send +messengers to summon all of Ozma's counsellors to this +palace. Then we can decide what is best to be done." + +The Scarecrow lost no time in doing this. Fortunately +most of the royal counsellors were in the Emerald City +or near to it, so they all met in the throne room of +the palace that same evening. + + + + +Chapter Fourteen + +Ozma's Counsellors + + + +No Ruler ever had such a queer assortment of advisers +as the Princess Ozma had gathered about her throne. +Indeed, in no other country could such amazing people +exist. But Ozma loved them for their peculiarities and +could trust every one of them. + +First there was the Tin Woodman. Every bit of him was +tin, brightly polished. All his joints were kept well +oiled and moved smoothly. He carried a gleaming axe to +prove he was a woodman, but seldom had cause to use it +because he lived in a magnificent tin castle in the +Winkie Country of Oz and was the Emperor of all the +Winkies. The Tin Woodman's name was Nick Chopper. He +had a very good mind, but his heart was not of much +account, so he was very careful to do nothing unkind or +to hurt anyone's feelings. + +Another counsellor was Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of +Oz, who was made of a gaudy patchwork quilt, cut into +shape and stuffed with cotton. This Patchwork Girl was +very intelligent, but so full of fun and mad pranks +that a lot of more stupid folks thought she must be +crazy. Scraps was jolly under all conditions, however +grave they might be, but her laughter and good spirits +were of value in cheering others and in her seemingly +careless remarks much wisdom could often be found. + +Then there was the Shaggy Man -- shaggy from head to +foot, hair and whiskers, clothes and shoes -- but very +kind and gentle and one of Ozma's most loyal +supporters. + +Tik-Tok was there, a copper man with machinery inside +him, so cleverly constructed that he moved, spoke and +thought by three separate clock-works. Tik-Tok was very +reliable because he always did exactly what he was +wound up to do, but his machinery was liable to run +down at times and then he was quite helpless until +wound up again. + +A different sort of person was Jack Pumpkinhead, one +of Ozma's oldest friends and her companion on many +adventures. Jack's body was very crude and awkward, +being formed of limbs of trees of different sizes, +jointed with wooden pegs. But it was a substantial body +and not likely to break or wear out, and when it was +dressed the clothes covered much of its roughness. The +head of Jack Pumpkinhead was, as you have guessed, a +ripe pumpkin, with the eyes, nose and mouth carved upon +one side. The pumpkin was stuck on Jack's wooden neck +and was liable to get turned sidewise or backward and +then he would have to straighten it with his wooden +hands. + +The worst thing about this sort of a head was that it +did not keep well and was sure to spoil sooner or +later. So Jack's main business was to grow a field of +fine pumpkins each year, and always before his old head +spoiled he would select a fresh pumpkin from the field +and carve the features on it very neatly, and have it +ready to replace the old head whenever it became +necessary. He didn't always carve it the same way, so +his friends never knew exactly what sort of an +expression they would find on his face. But there was +no mistaking him, because he was the only pumpkin- +headed man alive in the Land of Oz. + +A one-legged sailor-man was a member of Ozma's +council. His name was Cap'n Bill and he had come to the +Land of Oz with Trot, and had been made welcome on +account of his cleverness, honesty and good nature. He +wore a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost and +was a great friend of all the children in Oz because he +could whittle all sorts of toys out of wood with his +big jack-knife. + +Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., was another member +of the council. The "H. M." meant Highly Magnified, for +the Professor was once a little bug, who became +magnified to the size of a man and always remained so. +The "T. E." meant that he was Thoroughly Educated. He +was at the head of Princess Ozma's Royal Athletic +College, and so that the students would not have to +study and so lose much time that could be devoted to +athletic sports, such as football, baseball and the +like, Professor Wogglebug had invented the famous +Educational Pills. If one of the college students took +a Geography Pill after breakfast, he knew his geography +lesson in an instant; if he took a Spelling Pill he at +once knew his spelling lesson, and an Arithmetic Pill +enabled the student to do any kind of sum without +having to think about it. + +These useful pills made the college very popular and +taught the boys and girls of Oz their lessons in the +easiest possible way. In spite of this, Professor +Wogglebug was not a favorite outside his college, for +he was very conceited and admired himself so much and +displayed his cleverness and learning so constantly, +that no one cared to associate with him. Ozma found him +of value in her councils, nevertheless. + +Perhaps the most splendidly dressed of all those +present was a great frog as large as a man, called the +Frogman, who was noted for his wise sayings. He had +come to the Emerald City from the Yip Country of Oz and +was a guest of honor. His long-tailed coat was of +velvet, his vest of satin and his trousers of finest +silk. There were diamond buckles on his shoes and he +carried a gold-headed cane and a high silk hat. All of +the bright colors were represented in his rich attire, +so it tired one's eyes to look at him for long, until +one became used to his splendor. + +The best farmer in all Oz was Uncle Henry, who was +Dorothy's own uncle, and who now lived near the Emerald +City with his wife Aunt Em. Uncle Henry taught the Oz +people how to grow the finest vegetables and fruits and +grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the Royal +Storehouses well filled. He, too, was a counsellor. + +The reason I mention the little Wizard of Oz last is +because he was the most important man in the Land of +Oz. He wasn't a big man in size but he was a man in +power and intelligence and second only to Glinda the +Good in all the mystic arts of magic. Glinda had taught +him, and the Wizard and the Sorceress were the only +ones in Oz permitted by law to practice wizardry and +sorcery, which they applied only to good uses and for +the benefit of the people. + +The Wizard wasn't exactly handsome but he was +pleasant to look at. His bald head was as shiny as if +it had been varnished; there was always a merry twinkle +in his eyes and he was as spry as a schoolboy. Dorothy +says the reason the Wizard is not as powerful as Glinda +is because Glinda didn't teach him all she knows, but +what the Wizard knows he knows very well and so he +performs some very remarkable magic. The ten I have +mentioned assembled, with the Scarecrow and Glinda, in +Ozma's throne room, right after dinner that evening, +and the Sorceress told them all she knew of the plight +of Ozma and Dorothy + +"Of course we must rescue them," she continued, "and +the sooner they are rescued the better pleased they +will be; but what we must now determine is how they can +be saved. That is why I have called you together in +council." + +"The easiest way," remarked the Shaggy Man, "is to +raise the sunken island of the Skeezers to the top of +the water again." + +"Tell me how?" said Glinda. + +"I don't know how, your Highness, for I have never +raised a sunken island." + +"We might all get under it and lift," suggested +Professor Wogglebug. + +"How can we get under it when it rests on the bottom +of the lake?" asked the Sorceress. + +"Couldn't we throw a rope around it and pull it +ashore?" inquired Jack Pumpkinhead. + +"Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested +the Patchwork Girl with a laugh. + +"Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious +matter, and we must give it serious thought." + +"How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was +the Frogman's question. + +"None of us can tell, for we have not been there." + +"In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me +we ought to go to the Skeezer country and examine it +carefully." + +"Quite right," agreed the Tin Woodman. + +"We-will-have-to-go-there-any-how," remarked Tik-Tok +in his jerky machine voice. + +"The question is which of us shall go, and how many +of us?" said the Wizard. + +"I shall go of course," declared the Scarecrow. + +"And I," said Scraps. + +"It is my duty to Ozma to go," asserted the Tin +Woodman. + +"I could not stay away, knowing our loved Princess is +in danger," said the Wizard. + +"We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said. + +Finally one and all present decided to go to the +Skeezer country, with Glinda and the little Wizard to +lead them. Magic must meet magic in order to conquer +it, so these two skillful magic-workers were necessary +to insure the success of the expedition. + +They were all ready to start at a moment's notice, +for none had any affairs of importance to attend to. +Jack was wearing a newly made Pumpkin-head and the +Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with fresh straw. +Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the +Tin Woodman always was well oiled. + +"It is quite a long journey," said Glinda, "and while +I might travel quickly to the Skeezer country by means +of my stork chariot the rest of you will be obliged to +walk. So, as we must keep together, I will send my +chariot back to my castle and we will plan to leave the +Emerald City at sunrise to-morrow." + + + + +Chapter Fifteen + +The Great Sorceress + + + +Betsy and Trot, when they heard of the rescue +expedition, begged the Wizard to permit them to join it +and he consented. The Glass Cat, overhearing the +conversation, wanted to go also and to this the Wizard +made no objection. + +This Glass Cat was one of the real curiosities of Oz. +It had been made and brought to life by a clever +magician named Dr. Pipt, who was not now permitted to +work magic and was an ordinary citizen of the Emerald +City. The cat was of transparent glass, through which +one could plainly see its ruby heart beating and its +pink brains whirling around in the top of the head. + +The Glass Cat's eyes were emeralds; its fluffy tail +was of spun glass and very beautiful. The ruby heart, +while pretty to look at, was hard and cold and the +Glass Cat's disposition was not pleasant at all times. +It scorned to catch mice, did not eat, and was +extremely lazy. If you complimented the remarkable cat +on her beauty, she would be very friendly, for she +loved admiration above everything. The pink brains were +always working and their owner was indeed more +intelligent than most common cats. + +Three other additions to the rescue party were made +the next morning, just as they were setting out upon +their journey. The first was a little boy called Button +Bright, because he had no other name that anyone could +remember. He was a fine, manly little fellow, well +mannered and good humored, who had only one bad fault. +He was continually getting lost. To be sure, Button +Bright got found as often as he got lost, but when he +was missing his friends could not help being anxious +about him. + +"Some day," predicted the Patchwork Girl, "he won't +be found, and that will be the last of him." But that +didn't worry Button Bright, who was so careless that he +did not seem to be able to break the habit of getting +lost. + +The second addition to the party was a Munchkin boy +of about Button Bright's age, named Ojo. He was often +called "Ojo the Lucky," because good fortune followed +him wherever he went. He and Button Bright were close +friends, although of such different natures, and Trot +and Betsy were fond of both. + +The third and last to join the expedition was an +enormous lion, one of Ozma's regular guardians and the +most important and intelligent beast in all Oz. He +called himself the Cowardly Lion, saying that every +little danger scared him so badly that his heart +thumped against his ribs, but all who knew him knew +that the Cowardly Lion's fears were coupled with +bravery and that however much he might be frightened he +summoned courage to meet every danger he encountered. +Often he had saved Dorothy and Ozma in times of peril, +but afterward he moaned and trembled and wept because +he had been so scared. + +"If Ozma needs help, I'm going to help her," said the +great beast. "Also, I suspect the rest of you may need +me on the journey -- especially Trot and Betsy -- for +you may pass through a dangerous part of the country. I +know that wild Gillikin country pretty well. Its +forests harbor many ferocious beasts." + +They were glad the Cowardly Lion was to join them, +and in good spirits the entire party formed a +procession and marched out of the Emerald City amid the +shouts of the people, who wished them success and a +safe return with their beloved Ruler. + +They followed a different route from that taken by +Ozma and Dorothy, for they went through the Winkie +Country and up north toward Oogaboo. But before they +got there they swerved to the left and entered the +Great Gillikin Forest, the nearest thing to a +wilderness in all Oz. Even the Cowardly Lion had to +admit that certain parts of this forest were unknown to +him, although he had often wandered among the trees, +and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, who were great +travelers, never had been there at all. + +The forest was only reached after a tedious tramp, +for some of the Rescue Expedition were quite awkward on +their feet. The Patchwork Girl was as light as a +feather and very spry; the Tin Woodman covered the +ground as easily as Uncle Henry and the Wizard; but +Tik-Tok moved slowly and the slightest obstruction in +the road would halt him until the others cleared it +away. Then, too, Tik-Tok's machinery kept running down, +so Betsy and Trot took turns in winding it up. + +The Scarecrow was more clumsy but less bother, for +although he often stumbled and fell he could scramble +up again and a little patting of his straw-stuffed body +would put him in good shape again. + +Another awkward one was Jack Pumpkinhead, for walking +would jar his head around on his neck and then he would +be likely to go in the wrong direction. But the Frogman +took Jack's arm and then he followed the path more +easily. + +Cap'n Bill's wooden leg didn't prevent him from +keeping up with the others and the old sailor could +walk as far as any of them. + +When they entered the forest the Cowardly Lion took +the lead. There was no path here for men, but many +beasts had made paths of their own which only the eyes +of the Lion, practiced in woodcraft, could discern. So +he stalked ahead and wound his way in and out, the +others following in single file, Glinda being next to +the Lion. + +There are dangers in the forest, of course, but as +the huge Lion headed the party he kept the wild +denizens of the wilderness from bothering the +travelers. Once, to be sure, an enormous leopard sprang +upon the Glass Cat and caught her in his powerful jaws, +but he broke several of his teeth and with howls of +pain and dismay dropped his prey and vanished among the +trees. + +"Are you hurt?" Trot anxiously inquired of the Glass +Cat. + +"How silly!" exclaimed the creature in an irritated +tone of voice; "nothing can hurt glass, and I'm too +solid to break easily. But I'm annoyed at that +leopard's impudence. He has no respect for beauty or +intelligence. If he had noticed my pink brains work, +I'm sure he would have realized I'm too important to be +grabbed in a wild beast's jaws." + +"Never mind," said Trot consolingly; "I'm sure he +won't do it again." + +They were almost in the center of the forest when +Ojo, the Munchkin boy, suddenly said: "Why, where's +Button Bright?" + +They halted and looked around them. Button Bright was +not with the party. + +Dear me," remarked Betsy, "I expect he's lost again!" + +"When did you see him last, Ojo?"inquired Glinda. + +"It was some time ago," replied Ojo. "He was trailing +along at the end and throwing twigs at the squirrels in +the trees. Then I went to talk to Betsy and Trot, and +just now I noticed he was gone." + +"This is too bad," declared the Wizard, "for it is +sure to delay our journey. We must find Button Bright +before we go any farther, for this forest is full of +ferocious beasts that would not hesitate to tear the +boy to pieces." + +"But what shall we do?" asked the Scarecrow. "If any +of us leaves the party to search for Button Bright he +or she might fall a victim to the beasts, and if the +Lion leaves us we will have no protector. + +"The Glass Cat could go," suggested the Frogman. +"The beasts can do her no harm, as we have discovered." + +The Wizard turned to Glinda. + +"Cannot your sorcery discover where Button Bright +is?" he asked. + +"I think so," replied the Sorceress. + +She called to Uncle Henry, who had been carrying her +wicker box, to bring it to her, and when he obeyed she +opened it and drew out a small round mirror. On the +surface of the glass she dusted a white powder and then +wiped it away with her handkerchief and looked in the +mirror. It reflected a part of the forest, and there, +beneath a wide-spreading tree, Button Bright was lying +asleep. On one side of him crouched a tiger, ready to +spring; on the other side was a big gray wolf, its +bared fangs glistening in a wicked way. + +"Goodness me!" cried Trot, looking over Glinda's +shoulder. "They'll catch and kill him sure." + +Everyone crowded around for a glimpse at the magic +mirror. + +"Pretty bad -- pretty bad!" said the Scarecrow +sorrowfully. + +"Comes of getting lost!" said Cap'n Bill, sighing. + +"Guess he's a goner!" said the Frogman, wiping his +eyes on his purple silk handkerchief. + +"But where is he? Can't we save him?" asked Ojo the +Lucky. + +"If we knew where he is we could probably save him," +replied the little Wizard, "but that tree looks so much +like all the other trees, that we can't tell whether +it's far away or near by." + +"Look at Glinda!" exclaimed Betsy + +Glinda, having handed the mirror to the Wizard, had +stepped aside and was making strange passes with her +outstretched arms and reciting in low, sweet tones a +mystical incantation. Most of them watched the +Sorceress with anxious eyes, despair giving way to the +hope that she might be able to save their friend. the +Wizard, however, watched the scene in the mirror, while +over his shoulders peered Trot, the Scarecrow and the +Shaggy Man. + +What they saw was more strange than Glinda's actions. +The tiger started to spring on the sleeping boy, but +suddenly lost its power to move and lay flat upon the +ground. The gray wolf seemed unable to lift its feet +from the ground. It pulled first at one leg and then at +another, and finding itself strangely confined to the +spot began to back and snarl angrily. They couldn't +hear the barkings and snarls, but they could see the +creature's mouth open and its thick lips move. Button +Bright, however, being but a few feet away from the +wolf, heard its cries of rage, which wakened him from +his untroubled sleep. The boy sat up and looked first +at the tiger and then at the wolf. His face showed that +for a moment he was quite frightened, but he soon saw +that the beasts were unable to approach him and so he +got upon his feet and examined them curiously, with a +mischievous smile upon his face. Then he deliberately +kicked the tiger's head with his foot and catching up a +fallen branch of a tree he went to the wolf and gave it +a good whacking. Both the beasts were furious at such +treatment but could not resent it. + +Button Bright now threw down the stick and with his +hands in his pockets wandered carelessly away. + +"Now," said Glinda, "let the Glass Cat run and find +him. He is in that direction," pointing the way, "but +how far off I do not know. Make haste and lead him back +to us as quickly as you can." + +The Glass Cat did not obey everyone's orders, but she +really feared the great Sorceress, so as soon as the +words were spoken the crystal animal darted away and +was quickly lost to sight. + +The Wizard handed the mirror back to Glinda, for the +woodland scene had now faded from the glass. Then those +who cared to rest sat down to await Button Bright's +coming. It was not long before be appeared through the +trees and as he rejoined his friends he said in a +peevish tone: + +"Don't ever send that Glass Cat to find me again. She +was very impolite and, if we didn't all know that she +had no manners, I'd say she insulted me." + +Glinda turned upon the boy sternly. + +"You have caused all of us much anxiety and +annoyance," said she. "Only my magic saved you from +destruction. I forbid you to get lost again." + +"Of course," he answered. "It won't be my fault if I +get lost again; but it wasn't my fault this time." + + + + +Chapter Sixteen + +The Enchanted Fishes + + + +I must now tell you what happened to Ervic and the +three other Skeezers who were left floating in the iron +boat after Queen Coo-ee-oh had been transformed into a +Diamond Swan by the magic of the Flathead Su-dic. + +The four Skeezers were all young men and their leader +was Ervic. Coo-ee-oh had taken them with her in the +boat to assist her if she captured the Flathead chief, +as she hoped to do by means of her silver rope. They +knew nothing about the witchcraft that moved the +submarine and so, when left floating upon the lake, +were at a loss what to do. The submarine could not be +submerged by them or made to return to the sunken +island. There were neither oars nor sails in the boat, +which was not anchored but drifted quietly upon the +surface of the lake. + +The Diamond Swan had no further thought or care for +her people. She had sailed over to the other side of +the lake and all the calls and pleadings of Ervic and +his companions were unheeded by the vain bird. As there +was nothing else for them to do, they sat quietly in +their boat and waited as patiently as they could for +someone to come to their aid. + +The Flatheads had refused to help them and had gone +back to their mountain. All the Skeezers were +imprisoned in the Great Dome and could not help even +themselves. When evening came, they saw the Diamond +Swan, still keeping to the opposite shore of the lake, +walk out of the water to the sands, shake her diamond- +sprinkled feathers, and then disappear among the bushes +to seek a resting place for the night. + +"I'm hungry," said Ervic. + +"I'm cold," said another Skeezer. + +"I'm tired," said a third. + +"I'm afraid," said the last one of them. + +But it did them no good to complain. Night fell and +the moon rose and cast a silvery sheen over the surface +of the water. + +"Go to sleep," said Ervic to his companions. "I'll +stay awake and watch, for we may be rescued in some +unexpected way. + +So the other three laid themselves down in the bottom +of the boat and were soon fast asleep. + +Ervic watched. He rested himself by leaning over the +bow of the boat, his face near to the moonlit water, +and thought dreamily of the day's surprising events and +wondered what would happen to the prisoners in the +Great Dome. + +Suddenly a tiny goldfish popped its head above the +surface of the lake, not more than a foot from his +eyes. A silverfish then raised its head beside that of +the goldfish, and a moment later a bronzefish lifted +its head beside the others. The three fish, all in a +row, looked earnestly with their round, bright eyes +into the astonished eyes of Ervic the Skeezer. + +"We are the three Adepts whom Queen Coo-ee-oh +betrayed and wickedly transformed," said the goldfish, +its voice low and soft but distinctly heard in the +stillness of the night. + +"I know of our Queen's treacherous deed," replied +Ervic, "and I am sorry for your misfortune. Have you +been in the lake ever since?" + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"I -- I hope you are well -- and comfortable," +stammered Ervic, not knowing what else to say. + +"We knew that some day Ooo-ee-oh would meet with the +fate she so richly deserves," declared the bronzefish. +"We have waited and watched for this time. Now if you +will promise to help us and will be faithful and true, +you can aid us in regaining our natural forms, and save +yourself and all your people from the dangers that now +threaten you." + +"Well," said Ervic, "you can depend on my doing the +best I can. But I'm no witch, nor magician, you must +know." + +"All we ask is that you obey our instructions," +returned the silverfish. "We know that you are honest +and that you served Coo-ee-oh only because you were +obliged to in order to escape her anger. Do as we +command and all will be well." + +"I promise!" exclaimed the young man. "Tell me what I +am to do first." + +"You will find in the bottom of your boat the silver +cord which dropped from Coo-ee-oh's hand when she was +transformed," said the goldfish. "Tie one end of that +cord to the bow of your boat and drop the other end to +us in the water. Together we will pull your boat to the +shore." + +Ervic much doubted that the three small fishes could +move so heavy a boat, but he did as he was told and the +fishes all seized their end of the silver cord in their +mouths and headed toward the nearest shore, which was +the very place where the Flatheads had stood when they +conquered Queen Coo-ee-oh. + +At first the boat did not move at all, although the +fishes pulled with all their strength. But presently +the strain began to tell. Very slowly the boat crept +toward the shore, gaining more speed at every moment. A +couple of yards away from the sandy beach the fishes +dropped the cord from their mouths and swam to one +side, while the iron boat, being now under way, +continued to move until its prow grated upon the sands. + +Ervic leaned over the side and said to the fishes: +"What next?" + +"You will find upon the sand," said the silverfish, +"a copper kettle, which the Su-dic forgot when he went +away. Cleanse it thoroughly in the water of the lake, +for it has had poison in it. When it is cleaned, fill +it with fresh water and hold it over the side of the +boat, so that we three may swim into the kettle. We +will then instruct you further." + +"Do you wish me to catch you, then?" asked Ervic in +surprise. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +So Ervic jumped out of the boat and found the copper +kettle. Carrying it a little way down the beach, he +washed it well, scrubbing away every drop of the poison +it had contained with sand from the shore + +Then he went back to the boat. + +Ervic's comrades were still sound asleep and knew +nothing of the three fishes or what strange happenings +were taking place about them. Ervic dipped the kettle +in the lake, holding fast to the handle until it was +under water. The gold and silver and bronze fishes +promptly swam into the kettle. The young Skeezer then +lifted it, poured out a little of the water so it would +not spill over the edge, and said to the fishes: "What +next?" + +"Carry the kettle to the shore. Take one hundred +steps to the east, along the edge of the lake, and then +you will see a path leading through the meadows, up +hill and down dale. Follow the path until you come to a +cottage which is painted a purple color with white +trimmings. When you stop at the gate of this cottage we +will tell you what to do next. Be careful, above all, +not to stumble and spill the water from the kettle, or +you would destroy us and all you have done would be in +vain." + +The goldfish issued these commands and Ervic promised +to be careful and started to obey. He left his sleeping +comrades in the boat, stepping cautiously over their +bodies, and on reaching the shore took exactly one +hundred steps to the east. Then he looked for the path +and the moonlight was so bright that he easily +discovered it, although it was hidden from view by tall +weeds until one came full upon it. This path was very +narrow and did not seem to be much used, but it was +quite distinct and Ervic had no difficulty in following +it. He walked through a broad meadow, covered with tall +grass and weeds, up a hill and down into a valley and +then up another hill and down again. + +It seemed to Ervic that he had walked miles and +miles. Indeed the moon sank low and day was beginning +to dawn when finally he discovered by the roadside a +pretty little cottage, painted purple with white +trimmings. It was a lonely place -- no other buildings +were anywhere about and the ground was not tilled at +all. No farmer lived here, that was certain. Who would +care to dwell in such an isolated place? + +But Ervic did not bother his head long with such +questions. He went up to the gate that led to the +cottage, set the copper kettle carefully down and +bending over it asked: + +"What next?" + + + + +Chapter Seventeen + +Under the Great Dome + + + +When Glinda the Good and her followers of the Rescue +Expedition came in sight of the Enchanted Mountain of +the Flatheads, it was away to the left of them, for the +route they had taken through the Great Forest was some +distance from that followed by Ozma and Dorothy. + +They halted awhile to decide whether they should call +upon the Supreme Dictator first, or go on to the Lake +of the Skeezers. + +"If we go to the mountain," said the Wizard, "we may +get into trouble with that wicked Su-dic, and then we +would be delayed in rescuing Ozma and Dorothy. So I +think our best plan will be to go to the Skeezer +Country, raise the sunken island and save our friends +and the imprisoned Skeezers. Afterward we can visit the +mountain and punish the cruel magician of the +Flatheads." + +"That is sensible," approved the Shaggy Man. "I quite +agree with you." + +The others, too, seemed to think the Wizard's plan +the best, and Glinda herself commended it, so on they +marched toward the line of palm trees that hid the +Skeezers' lake from view. + +Pretty soon they came to the palms. These were set +closely together, the branches, which came quite to the +ground, being so tightly interlaced that even the Glass +Cat could scarcely find a place to squeeze through. The +path which the Flatheads used was some distance away. + +"Here's a job for the Tin Woodman," said the +Scarecrow. + +So the Tin Woodman, who was always glad to be of use, +set to work with his sharp, gleaming axe, which he +always carried, and in a surprisingly short time had +chopped away enough branches to permit them all to pass +easily through the trees. + +Now the clear waters of the beautiful lake were +before them and by looking closely they could see the +outlines of the Great Dome of the sunken island, far +from shore and directly in the center of the lake. + +Of course every eye was at first fixed upon this +dome, where Ozma and Dorothy and the Skeezers were +still fast prisoners. But soon their attention was +caught by a more brilliant sight, for here was the +Diamond Swan swimming just before them, its long neck +arched proudly, the amethyst eyes gleaming and all the +diamond-sprinkled feathers glistening splendidly under +the rays of the sun. + +"That," said Glinda, "is the transformation of Queen +Coo-ce-oh, the haughty and wicked witch who betrayed +the three Adepts at Magic and treated her people like +slaves." + +"She's wonderfully beautiful now," remarked the +Frogman. + +"It doesn't seem like much of a punishment," said +Trot. "The Flathead Su-dic ought to have made her a +toad." + +"I am sure Coo-ee-oh is punished," said Glinda, "for +she has lost all her magic power and her grand palace +and can no longer misrule the poor Skeezers." + +"Let us call to her, and hear what she has to say," +proposed the Wizard. + +So Glinda beckoned the Diamond Swan, which swam +gracefully to a position near them. Before anyone could +speak Coo-ee-oh called to them in a rasping voice -- +for the voice of a swan is always harsh and unpleasant +-- and said with much pride: + +"Admire me, Strangers! Admire the lovely Coo-ee-oh, +the handsomest creature in all Oz. Admire me!" + +"Handsome is as handsome does," replied the +Scarecrow. "Are your deeds lovely, Coo-ce-oh?" + +"Deeds? What deeds can a swan do but swim around and +give pleasure to all beholders?" said the sparkling +bird. + +"Have you forgotten your former life? Have you +forgotten your magic and witchcraft?" inquired the +Wizard. + +"Magic -- witchcraft? Pshaw, who cares for such silly +things?" retorted Coo-ee-oh. "As for my past life, it +seems like an unpleasant dream. I wouldn't go back to +it if I could. Don't you admire my beauty, Strangers?" + +"Tell us, Coo-ee-oh," said Glinda earnestly, "if you +can recall enough of your witchcraft to enable us to +raise the sunken island to the surface of the lake. +Tell us that and I'll give you a string of pearls to +wear around your neck and add to your beauty." + +"Nothing can add to my beauty, for I'm the most +beautiful creature anywhere in the whole world." + +"But how can we raise the island?" + +"I don't know and I don't care. If ever I knew I've +forgotten, and I'm glad of it," was the response. "Just +watch me circle around and see me glitter! + +"It's no use," said Button Bright; "the old Swan is +too much in love with herself to think of anything +else." + +"That's a fact," agreed Betsy with a sigh; "but we've +got to get Ozma and Dorothy out of that lake, somehow +or other." + +"And we must do it in our own way," added the +Scarecrow. + +"But how?" asked Uncle Henry in a grave voice, for he +could not bear to think of his dear niece Dorothy being +out there under water; "how shall we do it?" + +"Leave that to Glinda," advised the Wizard, realizing +he was helpless to do it himself. + +"If it were just an ordinary sunken island," said the +powerful sorceress, "there would be several ways by +which I might bring it to the surface again. But this +is a Magic Isle, and by some curious art of witchcraft, +unknown to any but Queen Coo-ce-oh, it obeys certain +commands of magic and will not respond to any other. I +do not despair in the least, but it will require some +deep study to solve this difficult problem. If the Swan +could only remember the witchcraft that she invented +and knew as a woman, I could force her to tell me the +secret, but all her former knowledge is now forgotten." + +"It seems to me," said the Wizard after a brief +silence had followed Glinda's speech, "that there are +three fishes in this lake that used to be Adepts at +Magic and from whom Coo-ee-oh stole much of her +knowledge. If we could find those fishes and return +them to their former shapes, they could doubtless tell +us what to do to bring the sunken island to the +surface." + +"I have thought of those fishes," replied Glinda, +"but among so many fishes as this lake contains how are +we to single them out?" + +You will understand, of course, that had Glinda been +at home in her castle, where the Great Book of Records +was, she would have known that Ervic the Skeezer +already had taken the gold and silver and bronze fishes +from the lake. But that act had been recorded in the +Book after Glinda had set out on this journey, so it +was all unknown to her. + +"I think I see a boat yonder on the shore," said Ojo +the Munchkin boy, pointing to a place around the edge +of the lake. "If we could get that boat and row all +over the lake, calling to the magic fishes, we might be +able to find them." + +"Let us go to the boat," said the Wizard. + +They walked around the lake to where the boat was +stranded upon the beach, but found it empty. It was a +mere shell of blackened steel, with a collapsible roof +that, when in position, made the submarine watertight, +but at present the roof rested in slots on either side +of the magic craft. There were no oars or sails, no +machinery to make the boat go, and although Glinda +promptly realized it was meant to be operated by +witchcraft, she was not acquainted with that sort of +magic. + +"However," said she, "the boat is merely a boat, and +I believe I can make it obey a command of sorcery, as +well as it did the command of witchcraft. After I have +given a little thought to the matter, the boat will +take us wherever we desire to go." + +"Not all of us," returned the Wizard, "for it won't +hold so many. But, most noble Sorceress, provided you +can make the boat go, of what use will it be to us?" + +"Can't we use it to catch the three fishes?" asked +Button Bright. + +"It will not be necessary to use the boat for that +purpose," replied Glinda. "Wherever in the lake the +enchanted fishes may be, they will answer to my call. +What I am trying to discover is how the boat came to be +on this shore, while the island on which it belongs is +under water yonder. Did Coo-ee-oh come here in the boat +to meet the Flatheads before the island was sunk, or +afterward?" + +No one could answer that question, of course; but +while they pondered the matter three young men advanced +from the line of trees, and rather timidly bowed to the +strangers. + +"Who are you, and where did you come from?" inquired +the Wizard. + +"We are Skeezers," answered one of them, "and our +home is on the Magic Isle of the Lake. We ran away when +we saw you coming, and hid behind the trees, but as you +are Strangers and seem to be friendly we decided to +meet you, for we are in great trouble and need +assistance." + +"If you belong on the island, why are you here?" +demanded Glinda. + +So they told her all the story: How the Queen had +defied the Flatheads and submerged the whole island so +that her enemies could not get to it or destroy it; +how, when the Flatheads came to the shore, Coo-ee-oh +had commanded them, together with their friend Ervic, +to go with her in the submarine to conquer the Su-dic, +and how the boat had shot out from the basement of the +sunken isle, obeying a magic word, and risen to the +surface, where it opened and floated upon the water. + +Then followed the account of how the Su-dic had +transformed Coo-ee-oh into a swan, after which she had +forgotten all the witchcraft she ever knew. The young +men told how, in the night when they were asleep, their +comrade Ervic had mysteriously disappeared, while the +boat in some strange manner had floated to the shore +and stranded upon the beach. + +That was all they knew. They had searched in vain for +three days for Ervic. As their island was under water +and they could not get back to it, the three Skeezers +had no place to go, and so had waited patiently beside +their boat for something to happen. + +Being questioned by Glinda and the Wizard, they told +all they knew about Ozma and Dorothy and declared the +two girls were still in the village under the Great +Dome. They were quite safe and would be well cared for +by Lady Aurex, now that the Queen who opposed them was +out of the way. + +When they had gleaned all the information they could +from these Skeezers, the Wizard said to Glinda: + +"If you find you can make this boat obey your +sorcery, you could have it return to the island, +submerge itself, and enter the door in the basement +from which it came. But I cannot see that our going to +the sunken island would enable our friends to escape. +We would only Join them as prisoners." + +"Not so, friend Wizard," replied Glinda. "If the boat +would obey my commands to enter the basement door, it +would also obey my commands to come out again, and I +could bring Ozma and Dorothy back with me." + +"And leave all of our people still imprisoned?" asked +one of the Skeezers reproachfully. + +"By making several trips in the boat, Glinda could +fetch all your people to the shore," replied the +Wizard. + +"But what could they do then?" inquired another +Skeezer. "They would have no homes and no place to go, +and would be at the mercy of their enemies, the +Flatheads." + +"That is true," said Glinda the Good. "And as these +people are Ozma's subjects, I think she would refuse to +escape with Dorothy and leave the others behind, or to +abandon the island which is the lawful home of the +Skeezers. I believe the best plan will be to summon the +three fishes and learn from them how to raise the +island." + +The little Wizard seemed to think that this was +rather a forlorn hope. + +"How will you summon them," he asked the lovely +Sorceress, "and how can they hear you?" + +"That is something we must consider carefully," +responded stately Glinda, with a serene smile. "I +think I can find a way." + +All of Ozma's counsellors applauded this sentiment, +for they knew well the powers of the Sorceress. + +"Very well," agreed the Wizard. "Summon them, most +noble Glinda." + + + + +Chapter Eighteen + +The Cleverness of Ervic + + + +We must now return to Ervic the Skeezer, who, when he +had set down the copper kettle containing the three +fishes at the gate of the lonely cottage, had asked, +"What next?" + +The goldfish stuck its head above the water in the +kettle and said in its small but distinct voice: + +"You are to lift the latch, open the door, and walk +boldly into the cottage. Do not be afraid of anything +you see, for however you seem to be threatened with +dangers, nothing can harm you. The cottage is the home +of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who +assumes all sorts of forms, sometimes changing her form +several times in a day, according to her fancy. What +her real form may be we do not know. This strange +creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed +through friendship, or won by pity. She has never +assisted anyone, or done wrong to anyone, that we know +of. All her wonderful powers are used for her own +selfish amusement. She will order you out of the house +but you must refuse to go. Remain and watch Reera +closely and try to see what she uses to accomplish her +transformations. If you can discover the secret +whisper it to us and we will then tell you what to do +next." + +"That sounds easy," returned Ervic, who had listened +carefully. "But are you sure she will not hurt me, or +try to transform me?" + +"She may change your form," replied the goldfish, +"but do not worry if that happens, for we can break +that enchantment easily. You may be sure that nothing +will harm you, so you must not be frightened at +anything you see or hear." + +Now Ervic was as brave as any ordinary young man, and +he knew the fishes who spoke to him were truthful and +to be relied upon, nevertheless he experienced a +strange sinking of the heart as he picked up the kettle +and approached the door of the cottage. His hand +trembled as he raised the latch, but he was resolved to +obey his instructions. He pushed the door open, took +three strides into the middle of the one room the +cottage contained, and then stood still and looked +around him. + +The sights that met his gaze were enough to frighten +anyone who had not been properly warned. On the floor +just before Ervic lay a great crocodile, its red eyes +gleaming wickedly and its wide open mouth displaying +rows of sharp teeth. Horned toads hopped about; each +of the four upper corners of the room was festooned +with a thick cobweb, in the center of which sat a +spider as big around as a washbasin, and armed with +pincher-like claws; a red-and-green lizard was +stretched at full length on the window-sill and black +rats darted in and out of the holes they had gnawed in +the floor of the cottage. + +But the most startling thing was a huge gray ape +which sat upon a bench and knitted. It wore a lace cap, +such as old ladies wear, and a little apron of lace, +but no other clothing. Its eyes were bright and looked +as if coals were burning in them. The ape moved as +naturally as an ordinary person might, and on Ervic's +entrance stopped knitting and raised its head to look +at him. + +"Get out!" cried a sharp voice, seeming to come from +the ape's mouth. + +Ervic saw another bench, empty, just beyond him, so +he stepped over the crocodile, sat down upon the bench +and carefully placed the kettle beside him. + +"Get out!" again cried the voice. + +Ervic shook his head. + +"No," said he, "I'm going to stay." + +The spiders left their four corners, dropped to the +floor and made a rush toward the young Skeezer, +circling around his legs with their pinchers extended. +Ervic paid no attention to them. An enormous black rat +ran up Ervic's body, passed around his shoulders and +uttered piercing squeals in his ears, but he did not +wince. The green-and-red lizard, coming from the +window-sill, approached Ervic and began spitting a +flaming fluid at him, but Ervic merely stared at the +creature and its flame did not touch him. + +The crocodile raised its tail and, swinging around, +swept Ervic off the bench with a powerful blow. But the +Skeezer managed to save the kettle from upsetting and +he got up, shook off the horned toads that were +crawling over him and resumed his seat on the bench. + +All the creatures, after this first attack, remained +motionless, as if awaiting orders. The old gray ape +knitted on, not looking toward Ervic now, and the young +Skeezer stolidly kept his seat. He expected something +else to happen, but nothing did. A full hour passed and +Ervic was growing nervous. + +"What do you want?" the ape asked at last. + +"Nothing," said Ervic. + +"You may have that!" retorted the ape, and at this +all the strange creatures in the room broke into a +chorus of cackling laughter. + +Another long wait. + +"Do you know who I am?" questioned the ape. + +"You must be Reera the Red -- the Yookoohoo," Ervic +answered. + +"Knowing so much, you must also know that I do not +like strangers. Your presence here in my home annoys +me. Do you not fear my anger?" + +"No," said the young man. + +"Do you intend to obey me, and leave this house?" +"No," replied Ervic, just as quietly as the Yookoohoo +had spoken. + +The ape knitted for a long time before resuming the +conversation. + +"Curiosity," it said, "has led to many a man's +undoing. I suppose in some way you have learned that I +do tricks of magic, and so through curiosity you have +come here. You may have been told that I do not injure +anyone, so you are bold enough to disobey my commands +to go away. You imagine that you may witness some of +the rites of witchcraft, and that they may amuse you. +Have I spoken truly?" + +"Well," remarked Ervic, who had been pondering on the +strange circumstances of his coming here, "you are +right in some ways, but not in others. I am told that +you work magic only for your own amusement. That seems +to me very selfish. Few people understand magic. I'm +told that you are the only real Yookoohoo in all Oz. +Why don't you amuse others as well as yourself?" + +"What right have you to question my actions?" + +"None at all." + +"And you say you are not here to demand any +favors of me?" + +"For myself I want nothing from you." + +"You are wise in that. I never grant favors." + +"That doesn't worry me," declared Ervic. + +"But you are curious? You hope to witness some of my +magic transformations?" + +"If you wish to perform any magic, go ahead," said +Ervic. "It may interest me and it may not. If you'd +rather go on with your knitting, it's all the same to +me. I am in no hurry at all." + +This may have puzzled Red Reera, but the face beneath +the lace cap could show no expression, being covered +with hair. Perhaps in all her career the Yookoohoo had +never been visited by anyone who, like this young man, +asked for nothing, expected nothing, and had no reason +for coming except curiosity. This attitude practically +disarmed the witch and she began to regard the Skeezer +in a more friendly way. She knitted for some time, +seemingly in deep thought, and then she arose and +walked to a big cupboard that stood against the wall of +the room. When the cupboard door was opened Ervic could +see a lot of drawers inside, and into one of these +drawers -- the second from the bottom -- Reera thrust a +hairy hand. + +Until now Ervic could see over the bent form of the +ape, but suddenly the form, with its back to him, +seemed to straighten up and blot out the cupboard of +drawers. The ape had changed to the form of a woman, +dressed in the pretty Gillikin costume, and when she +turned around he saw that it was a young woman, whose +face was quite attractive. + +"Do you like me better this way?" Reera inquired with +a smile. + +"You look better," he said calmly, "but I'm not sure +I like you any better." + +She laughed, saying: "During the heat of the day I +like to be an ape, for an ape doesn't wear any clothes +to speak of. But if one has gentlemen callers it is +proper to dress up." + +Ervic noticed her right hand was closed, as if she +held something in it. She shut the cupboard door, bent +over the crocodile and in a moment the creature had +changed to a red wolf. It was not pretty even now, and +the wolf crouched beside its mistress as a dog might +have done. Its teeth looked as dangerous as had those +of the crocodile. + +Next the Yookoohoo went about touching all the +lizards and toads, and at her touch they became +kittens. The rats she changed into chipmunks. Now the +only horrid creatures remaining were the four great +spiders, which hid themselves behind their thick webs. + +"There!" Reera cried, "now my cottage presents a more +comfortable appearance. I love the toads and lizards +and rats, because most people hate them, but I would +tire of them if they always remained the same. +Sometimes I change their forms a dozen times a day." + +"You are clever," said Ervic. "I did not hear you +utter any incantations or magic words. All you did was +to touch the creatures." + +"Oh, do you think so?" she replied. "Well, touch them +yourself, if you like, and see if you can change their +forms." + +"No," said the Skeezer, "I don't understand magic and +if I did I would not try to imitate your skill. You are +a wonderful Yookoohoo, while I am only a common +Skeezer." + +This confession seemed to please Reera, who liked to +have her witchcraft appreciated. + +"Will you go away now?" she asked. "I prefer to be +alone." + +"I prefer to stay here," said Ervic. + +"In another person's home, where you are not wanted?" + +"Yes." + +"Is not your curiosity yet satisfied?" demanded +Reera, with a smile. + +"I don't know. Is there anything else you can do?" + +"Many things. But why should I exhibit my powers to a +stranger?" + +"I can think of no reason at all," he replied. + +She looked at him curiously. + +"You want no power for yourself, you say, and you're +too stupid to be able to steal my secrets. This isn't a +pretty cottage, while outside are sunshine, broad +prairies and beautiful wildflowers. Yet you insist on +sitting on that bench and annoying me with your +unwelcome presence. What have you in that kettle?" + +"Three fishes," he answered readily. + +"Where did you get them?" + +"I caught them in the Lake of the Skeezers." + +"What do you intend to do with the fishes?" + +"I shall carry them to the home of a friend of mine +who has three children. The children will love to have +the fishes for pets." + +She came over to the bench and looked into the +kettle, where the three fishes were swimming quietly in +the water. + +"They're pretty," said Reera. "Let me transform them +into something else." + +"No," objected the Skeezer. + +"I love to transform things; it's so interesting. And +I've never transformed any fishes in all my life." + +"Let them alone," said Ervic. + +"What shapes would you prefer them to have? I can +make them turtles, or cute little sea-horses; or I +could make them piglets, or rabbits, or guinea-pigs; +or, if you like I can make chickens of them, or eagles, +or bluejays." + +"Let them alone!" repeated Ervic. + +"You're not a very pleasant visitor," laughed Red +Reera. "People accuse me of being cross and crabbed +and unsociable, and they are quite right. If you had +come here pleading and begging for favors, and half +afraid of my Yookoohoo magic, I'd have abused you until +you ran away; but you're quite different from that. +You're the unsociable and crabbed and disagreeable one, +and so I like you, and bear with your grumpiness. It's +time for my midday meal; are you hungry?" + +"No," said Ervic, although he really desired food. + +"Well, I am," Reera declared and clapped her hands +together. Instantly a table appeared, spread with linen +and bearing dishes of various foods, some smoking hot. +There were two plates laid, one at each end of the +table, and as soon as Reera seated herself all her +creatures gathered around her, as if they were +accustomed to be fed when she ate. The wolf squatted at +her right hand and the kittens and chipmunks gathered +at her left. + +"Come, Stranger, sit down and eat," she called +cheerfully, "and while we're eating let us decide into +what forms we shall change your fishes." + +"They're all right as they are," asserted Ervic, +drawing up his bench to the table. "The fishes are +beauties -- one gold, one silver and one bronze. +Nothing that has life is more lovely than a beautiful +fish." + +"What! Am I not more lovely?" Reera asked, smiling at +his serious face. + +"I don't object to you -- for a Yookoohoo, you know," +he said, helping himself to the food and eating with +good appetite. + +"And don't you consider a beautiful girl more lovely +than a fish, however pretty the fish may be?" + +"Well," replied Ervic, after a period of thought, +"that might be. If you transformed my three fish into +three girls -- girls who would be Adepts at Magic, you +know they might please me as well as the fish do. You +won't do that of course, because you can't, with all +your skill. And, should you be able to do so, I fear my +troubles would be more than I could bear. They would +not consent to be my slaves -- especially if they were +Adepts at Magic -- and so they would command me to obey +them. No, Mistress Reeraq let us not transform the +fishes at all." + +The Skeezer had put his case with remarkable +cleverness. He realized that if he appeared anxious for +such a transformation the Yookoohoo would not perform +it, yet he had skillfully suggested that they be made +Adepts at Magic. + + + + + +Chapter Nineteen + +Red Reera, the Yookoohoo + + + +After the meal was over and Reera had fed her pets, +including the four monster spiders which had come down +from their webs to secure their share, she made the +table disappear from the floor of the cottage. + +"I wish you'd consent to my transforming your +fishes," she said, as she took up her knitting again. + +The Skeezer made no reply. He thought it unwise to +hurry matters. All during the afternoon they sat +silent. Once Reera went to her cupboard and after +thrusting her hand into the same drawer as before, +touched the wolf and transformed it into a bird with +gorgeous colored feathers. This bird was larger than a +parrot and of a somewhat different form, but Ervic had +never seen one like it before. + +"Sing!" said Reera to the bird, which had perched +itself on a big wooden peg -- as if it had been in the +cottage before and knew just what to do. + +And the bird sang jolly, rollicking songs with words +to them -- just as a person who had been carefully +trained might do. The songs were entertaining and Ervic +enjoyed listening to them. In an hour or so the bird +stopped singing, tucked its head under its wing and +went to sleep. Reera continued knitting but seemed +thoughtful. + +Now Ervic had marked this cupboard drawer well and +had concluded that Reera took something from it which +enabled her to perform her transformations. He thought +that if he managed to remain in the cottage, and Reera +fell asleep, he could slyly open the cupboard, take a +portion of whatever was in the drawer, and by dropping +it into the copper kettle transform the three fishes +into their natural shapes. Indeed, he had firmly +resolved to carry out this plan when the Yookoohoo put +down her knitting and walked toward the door. + +"I'm going out for a few minutes," said she; "do you +wish to go with me, or will you remain here?" + +Ervic did not answer but sat quietly on his bench. So +Reera went out and closed the cottage door. + +As soon as she was gone, Ervic rose and tiptoed to +the cupboard. + +"Take care! Take care!" cried several voices, coming +from the kittens and chipmunks. "If you touch anything +we'll tell the Yookoohoo!" + +Ervic hesitated a moment but, remembering that he +need not consider Reera's anger if he succeeded in +transforming the fishes, he was about to open the +cupboard when he was arrested by the voices of the +fishes, which stuck their heads above the water in the +kettle and called out: + +"Come here, Ervic!" + +So he went back to the kettle and bent over it + +"Let the cupboard alone," said the goldfish to him +earnestly. "You could not succeed by getting that magic +powder, for only the Yookoohoo knows how to use it. The +best way is to allow her to transform us into three +girls, for then we will have our natural shapes and be +able to perform all the Arts of Magic we have learned +and well understand. You are acting wisely and in the +most effective manner. We did not know you were so +intelligent, or that Reera could be so easily deceived +by you. Continue as you have begun and try to persuade +her to transform us. But insist that we be given the +forms of girls." + +The goldfish ducked its head down just as Reera re- +entered the cottage. She saw Ervic bent over the +kettle, so she came and joined him. + +"Can your fishes talk?" she asked. + +"Sometimes," he replied, "for all fishes in the Land +of Oz know how to speak. Just now they were asking me +for some bread. They are hungry." + +"Well, they can have some bread," said Reera. "But it +is nearly supper-time, and if you would allow me to +transform your fishes into girls they could join us at +the table and have plenty of food much nicer than +crumbs. Why not let me transform them?" + +"Well," said Ervic, as if hesitating, "ask the +fishes. If they consent, why -- why, then, I'll think +it over." + +Reera bent over the kettle and asked: + +"Can you hear me, little fishes?" + +All three popped their heads above water. + +"We can hear you," said the bronzefish. + +"I want to give you other forms, such as rabbits, or +turtles or girls, or something; but your master, the +surly Skeezer, does not wish me to. However, he has +agreed to the plan if you will consent." + +"We'd like to be girls," said the silverfish. + +"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic. + +"If you promise to make us three beautiful girls, +we will consent," said the goldfish. + +"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic again. + +"Also make us Adepts at Magic," added the bronzefish. + +"I don't know exactly what that means," replied Reera +musingly, "but as no Adept at Magic is as powerful as +Yookoohoo, I'll add that to the transformation." + +"We won't try to harm you, or to interfere with your +magic in any way," promised the goldfish. "On the +contrary, we will be your friends." + +"Will you agree to go away and leave me alone in my +cottage, whenever I command you to do so?" asked Reera. + +"We promise that," cried the three fishes. + +"Don't do it! Don't consent to the transformation," +urged Ervic. + +"They have already consented," said the Yookoohoo, +laughing in his face, "and you have promised me to +abide by their decision. So, friend Skeezer, I shall +perform the transformation whether you like it or not." + +Ervic seated himself on the bench again, a deep scowl +on his face but joy in his heart. Reera moved over to +the cupboard, took something from the drawer and +returned to the copper kettle. She was clutching +something tightly in her right hand, but with her left +she reached within the kettle, took out the three +fishes and laid them carefully on the floor, where they +gasped in distress at being out of water. + +Reera did not keep them in misery more than a few +seconds, for she touched each one with her right hand +and instantly the fishes were transformed into three +tall and slender young women, with fine, intelligent +faces and clothed in handsome, clinging gowns. The one +who had been a goldfish had beautiful golden hair and +blue eyes and was exceedingly fair of skin; the one who +had been a bronzefish had dark brown hair and clear +gray eyes and her complexion matched these lovely +features. The one who had been a silverfish had snow- +white hair of the finest texture and deep brown eyes. +The hair contrasted exquisitely with her pink cheeks +and ruby-red lips, nor did it make her look a day older +than her two companions. + +As soon as they secured these girlish shapes, all +three bowed low to the Yookoohoo and said: + +"We thank you, Reera." + +Then they bowed to the Skeezer and said: + +"We thank you, Ervic." + +"Very good!" cried the Yookoohoo, examining her work +with critical approval. "You are much better and more +interesting than fishes, and this ungracious Skeezer +would scarcely allow me to do the transformations. You +surely have nothing to thank him for. But now let us +dine in honor of the occasion." + +She clapped her hands together and again a table +loaded with food appeared in the cottage. It was a +longer table, this time, and places were set for the +three Adepts as well as for Reera and Ervic. + +"Sit down, friends, and eat your fill," said the +Yookoohoo, but instead of seating herself at the head +of the table she went to the cupboard, saying to the +Adepts: "Your beauty and grace, my fair friends, quite +outshine my own. So that I may appear properly at the +banquet table I intend, in honor of this occasion, to +take upon myself my natural shape." + +Scarcely had she finished this speech when Reera +transformed herself into a young woman fully as lovely +as the three Adepts. She was not quite so tall as they, +but her form was more rounded and more handsomely +clothed, with a wonderful jeweled girdle and a necklace +of shining pearls. Her hair was a bright auburn red, +and her eyes large and dark. + +"Do you claim this is your natural form?" asked Ervic +of the Yookoohoo. + +"Yes," she replied. "This is the only form I am +really entitled to wear. But I seldom assume it because +there is no one here to admire or appreciate it and I +get tired admiring it myself." + +"I see now why you are named Reera the Red," remarked +Ervic. + +"It is on account of my red hair," she explained +smiling. "I do not care for red hair myself, which is +one reason I usually wear other forms." + +"It is beautiful," asserted the young man; and then +remembering the other women present he added: "But, of +course, all women should not have red hair, because +that would make it too common. Gold and silver and +brown hair are equally handsome." + +The smiles that he saw interchanged between the four +filled the poor Skeezer with embarrassment, so he fell +silent and attended to eating his supper, leaving the +others to do the talking. The three Adepts frankly told +Reera who they were. how they became fishes and how +they had planned secretly to induce the Yookoohoo to +transform them. They admitted that they had feared, had +they asked her to help, that she would have refused +them. + +"You were quite right," returned the Yookoohoo. "I +make it my rule never to perform magic to assist +others, for if I did there would always be crowd at my +cottage demanding help and I hate crowds and want to be +left alone." + +"However, now that you are restored to your proper +shapes, I do not regret my action and I hope you will +be of use in saving the Skeezer people by raising their +island to the surface of the lake, where it really +belongs. But you must promise me that after you go away +you will never come here again, nor tell anyone what I +have done for you." + +The three Adepts and Ervic thanked the Yookoohoo +warmly. They promised to remember her wish that they +should not come to her cottage again and so, with a +good-bye, took their departure. + + + + +Chapter Twenty + +A Puzzling Problem + + + +Glinda the Good, having decided to try her sorcery +upon the abandoned submarine, so that it would obey her +commands, asked all of her party, including the +Skeezers, to withdraw from the shore of the take to the +line of palm trees. She kept with her only the little +Wizard of Oz, who was her pupil and knew how to assist +her in her magic rites. When they two were alone beside +the stranded boat, Glinda said to the Wizard: + +"I shall first try my magic recipe No. 1163, which is +intended to make inanimate objects move at my command. +Have you a skeropythrope with you?" + +"Yes, I always carry one in my bag," replied the +Wizard. He opened his black bag of magic tools and took +out a brightly polished skeropythrope, which he handed +to the Sorceress. Glinda had also brought a small +wicker bag, containing various requirements of sorcery, +and from this she took a parcel of powder and a vial of +liquid. She poured the liquid into the skeropythrope +and added the powder. At once the skeropythrope began +to sputter and emit sparks of a violet color, which +spread in all directions. The Sorceress instantly +stepped into the middle of the boat and held the +instrument so that the sparks fell all around her and +covered every bit of the blackened steel boat. At the +same time Glinda crooned a weird incantation in the +language of sorcery, her voice sounding low and +musical. + +After a little the violet sparks ceased, and those +that had fallen upon the boat had disappeared and left +no mark upon its surface. The ceremony was ended and +Glinda returned the skeropythrope to the Wizard, who +put it away in his black bag. + +"That ought to do the business all right," he said +confidently + +"Let us make a trial and see," she replied. + +So they both entered the boat and seated themselves. + +Speaking in a tone of command the Sorceress said to +the boat: "Carry us across the lake, to the farther +shore." + +At once the boat backed off the sandy beach, turned +its prow and moved swiftly over the water. + +"Very good -- very good indeed!" cried the Wizard, +when the boat slowed up at the shore opposite from that +whence they had departed. "Even Coo-ee-oh, with all +her witchcraft, could do no better." + +The Sorceress now said to the boat: + +"Close up, submerge and carry us to the basement door +of the sunken island -- the door from which you emerged +at the command of Queen Coo-ee-oh." + +The boat obeyed. As it sank into the water the top +sections rose from the sides and joined together over +the heads of Glinda and the Wizard, who were thus +enclosed in a water-proof chamber. There were four +glass windows in this covering, one on each side and +one on either end, so that the passengers could see +exactly where they were going. Moving under water more +slowly than on the surface, the submarine gradually +approached the island and halted with its bow pressed +against the huge marble door in the basement under the +Dome. This door was tightly closed and it was evident +to both Glinda and the Wizard that it would not open to +admit the underwater boat unless a magic word was +spoken by them or someone from within the basement of +the island. But what was this magic word? Neither of +them knew. + +"I'm afraid," said the Wizard regretfully, "that we +can't get in, after all. Unless your sorcery can +discover the word to open the marble door." + +"That is probably some word only known to Coo-ce-oh," +replied the Sorceress. "I may be able to discover what +it is, but that will require time. Let us go back +again to our companions." + +"It seems a shame, after we have made the boat obey +us, to be balked by just a marble door," grumbled the +Wizard. + +At Glinda's command the boat rose until it was on a +level with the glass dome that covered the Skeezer +village, when the Sorceress made it slowly circle all +around the Great Dome. + +Many faces were pressed against the glass from the +inside, eagerly watching the submarine, and in one +place were Dorothy and Ozma, who quickly recognized +Glinda and the Wizard through the glass windows of the +boat. Glinda saw them, too, and held the boat close to +the Dome while the friends exchanged greetings in +pantomime. Their voices, unfortunately, could not be +heard through the Dome and the water and the side of +the boat. The Wizard tried to make the girls +understand, through signs, that he and Glinda had come +to their rescue, and Ozma and Dorothy understood this +from the very fact that the Sorceress and the Wizard +had appeared. The two girl prisoners were smiling and +in safety, and knowing this Glinda felt she could take +all the time necessary in order to effect their final +rescue. + +As nothing more could be done just then, Glinda +ordered the boat to return to shore and it obeyed +readily. First it ascended to the surface of the water, +then the roof parted and fell into the slots at the +side of the boat, and then the magic craft quickly made +the shore and beached itself on the sands at the very +spot from which it had departed at Glinda's command. +All the Oz people and the Skeezers at once ran to the +boat to ask if they had reached the island, and whether +they had seen Ozma and Dorothy. The Wizard told them of +the obstacle they had met in the way of a marble door, +and how Glinda would now undertake to find a magic way +to conquer the door. + +Realizing that it would require several days to +succeed in reaching the island raising it and +liberating their friends and the Skeezer people, Glinda +now prepared a camp half way between the lake shore and +the palm trees. + +The Wizard's wizardry made a number of tents appear +and the sorcery of the Sorceress furnished these tents +all complete, with beds, chairs, tables, flags, lamps +and even books with which to pass idle hours. All the +tents had the Royal Banner of Oz flying from the +centerpoles and one big tent, not now occupied, had +Ozma's own banner moving in the breeze. + +Betsy and Trot had a tent to themselves, and Button +Bright and Ojo had another. The Scarecrow and the Tin +Woodman paired together in one tent and so did Jack +Pumpkinhead and the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Uncle +Henry, Tik-Tok and Professor Wogglebug. Glinda had the +most splendid tent of all, except that reserved for +Ozma, while the Wizard had a little one of his own. +Whenever it was meal time, tables loaded with food +magically appeared in the tents of those who were in +the habit of eating, and these complete arrangements +made the rescue party just comfortable as they would +have been in their own homes. + +Far into the night Glinda sat in her tent studying a +roll of mystic scrolls in search of a word that would +open the basement door of the island and admit her to +the Great Dome. She also made many magical experiments, +hoping to discover something that would aid her. Yet +the morning found the powerful Sorceress still +unsuccessful. + +Glinda's art could have opened any ordinary door, you +may be sure, but you must realize that this marble door +of the island had been commanded not to open save in +obedience to one magic word, and therefore all other +magic words could have no effect upon it. The magic +word that guarded the door had probably been invented +by Coo-ee-oh, who had now forgotten it. The only way, +then, to gain entrance to the sunken island was to +break the charm that held the door fast shut. If this +could be done no magic would be required to open it. + +The next day the Sorceress and the Wizard again +entered the boat and made it submerge and go to the +marble door, which they tried in various ways to open, +but without success. + +"We shall have to abandon this attempt, I think," +said Glinda. "The easiest way to raise the island would +be for us to gain admittance to the Dome and then +descend to the basement and see in what manner +Coo-ee-oh made the entire island sink or rise at her +command. It naturally occurred to me that the easiest +way to gain admittance would be by having the boat take +us into the basement through the marble door from which +Coo-ee-oh launched it. But there must be other ways to +get inside the Dome and join Ozma and Dorothy, and such +ways we must find by study and the proper use of our +powers of magic." + +"It won't be easy," declared the Wizard, "for we must +not forget that Ozma herself understands considerable +magic, and has doubtless tried to raise the island or +find other means of escape from it and failed." + +"That is true," returned Glinda, "but Ozma's magic is +fairy magic, while you are a Wizard and I am a +Sorceress. In this way the three of us have a great +variety of magic to work with, and if we should all +fail it will be because the island is raised and +lowered by a magic power none of us is acquainted with. +My idea therefore is to seek -- by such magic as we +possess -- to accomplish our object in another way." + +They made the circle of the Dome again in their boat, +and once more saw Ozma and Dorothy through their +windows and exchanged signals with the two imprisoned +girls. + +Ozma realized that her friends were doing all in +their power to rescue her and smiled an encouragement +to their efforts. Dorothy seemed a little anxious but +was trying to be as brave as her companion. + +After the boat had returned to the camp and Glinda +was seated in her tent, working out various ways by +which Ozma and Dorothy could be rescued, the Wizard +stood on the shore dreamily eying the outlines of the +Great Dome which showed beneath the clear water, when +he raised his eyes and saw a group of strange people +approaching from around the lake. Three were young +women of stately presence, very beautifully dressed, +who moved with remarkable grace. They were followed at +a little distance by a good-looking young Skeezer. + +The Wizard saw at a glance that these people might be +very important, so he advanced to meet them. The three +maidens received him graciously and the one with the +golden hair said: + +"I believe you are the famous Wizard of Oz, of whom I +have often heard. We are seeking Glinda, the Sorceress, +and perhaps you can lead us to her." + +"I can, and will, right gladly," answered the Wizard. +"Follow me, please." + +The little Wizard was puzzled as to the identity of +the three lovely visitors but he gave no sign that +might embarrass them. + +He understood they did not wish to be questioned, and +so he made no remarks as he led the way to Glinda's +tent. + +With a courtly bow the Wizard ushered the three +visitors into the gracious presence of Glinda, the +Good. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-One + +The Three Adepts + + + +The Sorceress looked up from her work as the three +maidens entered, and something in their appearance and +manner led her to rise and bow to them in her most +dignified manner. The three knelt an instant before the +great Sorceress and then stood upright and waited for +her to speak. + +"Whoever you may be," said Glinda, "I bid you +welcome." + +"My name is Audah," said one. + +"My name is Aurah," said another. + +"My name is Aujah," said the third. + +Glinda had never heard these names before, but +looking closely at the three she asked: + +"Are you witches or workers in magic?" + +"Some of the secret arts we have gleaned from +Nature," replied the brownhaired maiden modestly, "but +we do not place our skill beside that of the Great +Sorceress, Glinda the Good." + +"I suppose you are aware it is unlawful to practice +magic in the Land of Oz, without the permission of our +Ruler, Princess Ozma?" + +"No, we were not aware of that," was the reply. "We +have heard of Ozma, who is the appointed Ruler of all +this great fairyland, but her laws have not reached us, +as yet." + +Glinda studied the strange maidens thoughtfully; then +she said to them: + +"Princess Ozma is even now imprisoned in the Skeezer +village. for the whole island with its Great Dome, was +sunk to the bottom of the lake by the witchcraft of +Coo-ee-oh, whom the Flathead Su-dic transformed into a +silly swan. I am seeking some way to overcome +Coo-ee-oh's magic and raise the isle to the surface +again. Can you help me do this?" + +The maidens exchanged glances, and the white-haired +one replied + +"We do not know; but we will try to assist you." + +"It seems," continued Glinda musingly, "that +Coo-ee-oh derived most of her witchcraft from three +Adepts at Magic, who at one time ruled the Flatheads. +While the Adepts were being entertained by Coo-ee-oh at +a banquet in her palace, she cruelly betrayed them and +after transforming them into fishes cast them into the +lake. + +"If I could find these three fishes and return them +to their natural shapes -- they might know what magic +Coo-ee-oh used to sink the island. I was about to go to +the shore and call these fishes to me when you arrived. +So, if you will join me, we will try to find them." + +The maidens exchanged smiles now, and the golden- +haired one, Audah, said to Glinda: + +"It will not be necessary to go to the lake. We are +the three fishes." + +"Indeed!" cried Glinda. "Then you are the three +Adepts at Magic, restored to your proper forms?" + +"We are the three Adepts," admitted Aujah. + +"Then," said Glinda, "my task is half accomplished. +But who destroyed the transformation that made you +fishes?" + +"We have promised not to tell," answered Aurah; "but +this young Skeezer was largely responsible for our +release; he is brave and clever, and we owe him our +gratitude." + +Glinda looked at Ervic, who stood modestly behind the +Adepts, hat in hand. "He shall be properly rewarded," +she declared, "for in helping you he has helped us all, +and perhaps saved his people from being imprisoned +forever in the sunken isle." + +The Sorceress now asked her guests to seat themselves +and a long talk followed, in which the Wizard of Oz +shared. + +"We are quite certain," said Aurah, "that if we could +get inside the Dome we could discover Coo-ee-oh's +secrets, for in all her work, after we became fishes, +she used the formulas and incantations and arts that +she stole from us. She may have added to these things, +but they were the foundation of all her work." + +"What means do you suggest for our getting into the +Dome?" inquired Glinda. + +The three Adepts hesitated to reply, for they had not +yet considered what could be done to reach the inside +of the Great Dome. While they were in deep thought, and +Glinda and the Wizard were quietly awaiting their +suggestions, into the tent rushed Trot and Betsy, +dragging between them the Patchwork Girl. + +"Oh, Glinda," cried Trot, "Scraps has thought of a +way to rescue Ozma and Dorothy and all of the +Skeezers." + +The three Adepts could not avoid laughing merrily, +for not only were they amused by the queer form of the +Patchwork Girl, but Trot's enthusiastic speech struck +them as really funny. If the Great Sorceress and the +famous Wizard and the three talented Adepts at Magic +were unable as yet to solve the important problem of +the sunken isle, there was little chance for a patched +girl stuffed with cotton to succeed. + +But Glinda, smiling indulgently at the earnest faces +turned toward her, patted the children's heads and +said: + +"Scraps is very clever. Tell us what she has thought +of, my dear." + +"Well," said Trot, "Scraps says that if you could dry +up all the water in the lake the island would be on dry +land, an' everyone could come and go whenever they +liked." + +Glinda smiled again, but the Wizard said to the +girls: + +"If we should dry up the lake, what would become of +all the beautiful fishes that now live in the water?" + +"Dear me! That's so," admitted Betsy, crestfallen; "we +never thought of that, did we Trot?" + +"Couldn't you transform 'em into polliwogs?" asked +Scraps, turning a somersault and then standing on one +leg. "You could give them a little, teeny pond to swim +in, and they'd be just as happy as they are as fishes." + +"No indeed!" replied the Wizard, severely. "It is +wicked to transform any living creatures without their +consent, and the lake is the home of the fishes and +belongs to them." + +"All right," said Scraps, making a face at him; "I +don't care." + +"It's too bad," sighed Trot, "for I thought we'd +struck a splendid idea." + +"So you did," declared Glinda, her face now grave and +thoughtful. "There is something in the Patchwork Girl's +idea that may be of real value to us." + +"I think so, too," agreed the golden-haired Adept. +"The top of the Great Dome is only a few feet below the +surface of the water. If we could reduce the level of +the lake until the Dome sticks a little above the +water, we could remove some of the glass and let +ourselves down into the village by means of ropes." + +"And there would be plenty of water left for the +fishes to swim in," added the white-haired maiden. + +"If we succeed in raising the island we could fill up +the lake again," suggested the brown-haired Adept. + +"I believe," said the Wizard, rubbing his hands +together in delight, "that the Patchwork Girl has shown +us the way to success." + +The girls were looking curiously at the three +beautiful Adepts, wondering who they were, so Glinda +introduced them to Trot and Betsy and Scraps, and then +sent the children away while she considered how to +carry the new idea into effect. + +Not much could be done that night, so the Wizard +prepared another tent for the Adepts, and in the +evening Glinda held a reception and invited all her +followers to meet the new arrivals. The Adepts were +greatly astonished at the extraordinary personages +presented to them, and marveled that Jack Pumpkinhead +and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and Tik-Tok could +really live and think and talk just like other people. +They were especially pleased with the lively Patchwork +Girl and loved to watch her antics. + +It was quite a pleasant party, for Glinda served some +dainty refreshments to those who could eat, and the +Scarecrow recited some poems, and the Cowardly Lion +sang a song in his deep bass voice. The only thing +that marred their joy was the thought that their +beloved Ozma and dear little Dorothy were yet confined +in the Great Dome of the Sunken island. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Two + +The Sunken Island + + + +As soon as they had breakfasted the next morning, +Glinda and the Wizard and the three Adepts went down to +the shore of the lake and formed a line with their +faces toward the submerged island. All the others came +to watch them, but stood at a respectful distance in +the background. + +At the right of the Sorceress stood Audah and Aurah, +while at the left stood the Wizard and Aujah. Together +they stretched their arms over the water's edge and in +unison the five chanted a rhythmic incantation. + +This chant they repeated again and again, swaying +their arms gently from side to side, and in a few +minutes the watchers behind them noticed that the lake +had begun to recede from the shore. Before long the +highest point of the dome appeared above the water. +Gradually the water fell, making the dome appear to +rise. When it was three or four feet above the surface +Glinda gave the signal to stop, for their work had been +accomplished. + +The blackened submarine was now entirely out of +water, but Uncle Henry and Cap'n Bill managed to push +it into the lake. Glinda, the Wizard, Ervic and the +Adepts got into the boat, taking with them a coil of +strong rope, and at the command of the Sorceress the +craft cleaved its way through the water toward the part +of the Dome which was now visible. + +"There's still plenty of water for the fish to swim +in," observed the Wizard as they rode along. "They +might like more but I'm sure they can get along until +we have raised the island and can fill up the lake +again." + +The boat touched gently on the sloping glass of the +Dome, and the Wizard took some tools from his black bag +and quickly removed one large pane of glass, thus +making a hole large enough for their bodies to pass +through. Stout frames of steel supported the glass of +the Dome, and around one of these frames the Wizard +tied the end of a rope. + +"I'll go down first," said he, "for while I'm not as +spry as Cap'n Bill I'm sure I can manage it easily. Are +you sure the rope is long enough to reach the bottom?" + +"Quite sure," replied the Sorceress. + +So the Wizard let down the rope and climbing through +the opening lowered himself down, hand over hand, +clinging to the rope with his legs and feet. Below in +the streets of the village were gathered all the +Skeezers, men, women and children, and you may be sure +that Ozma and Dorothy, with Lady Aurex, were filled +with joy that their friends were at last coming to +their rescue. + +The Queen's palace, now occupied by Ozma, was +directly in the center of the Dome, so that when the +rope was let down the end of it came just in front of +the palace entrance. Several Skeezers held fast to the +rope's end to steady it and the Wizard reached the +ground in safety. He hugged first Ozma and then +Dorothy, while all the Skeezers cheered as loud as they +could. + +The Wizard now discovered that the rope was long +enough to reach from the top of the Dome to the ground +when doubled, so he tied a chair to one end of the rope +and called to Glinda to sit in the chair while he and +some of the Skeezers lowered her to the pavement. In +this way the Sorceress reached the ground quite +comfortably and the three Adepts and Ervic soon +followed her. + +The Skeezers quickly recognized the three Adepts at +Magic, whom they had learned to respect before their +wicked Queen betrayed them, and welcomed them as +friends. All the inhabitants of the village had been +greatly frightened by their imprisonment under water, +but now realized that an attempt was to be made to +rescue them. + +Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts followed Ozma and +Dorothy into the palace, and they asked Lady Aurex and +Ervic to join them. After Ozma had told of her +adventures in trying to prevent war between the +Flatheads and the Skeezers, and Glinda had told all +about the Rescue Expedition and the restoration of the +three Adepts by the help of Ervic, a serious +consultation was held as to how the island could be +made to rise. + +"I've tried every way in my power," said Ozma, "but +Coo-ee-oh used a very unusual sort of magic which I do +not understand. She seems to have prepared her +witchcraft in such a way that a spoken word is +necessary to accomplish her designs, and these spoken +words are known only to herself." + +"That is a method we taught her," declared Aurah the +Adept. + +"I can do no more, Glinda," continued Ozma, "so I +wish you would try what your sorcery can accomplish." + +"First, then," said Glinda, "let us visit the +basement of the island, which I am told is underneath +the village." + +A flight of marble stairs led from one of Coo-ee-oh's +private rooms down to the basement, but when the party +arrived all were puzzled by what they saw. In the +center of a broad, low room, stood a mass of great cog- +wheels, chains and pulleys, all interlocked and seeming +to form a huge machine; but there was no engine or +other motive power to make the wheels turn. + +"This, I suppose, is the means by which the island is +lowered or raised," said Ozma, "but the magic word +which is needed to move the machinery is unknown to +us." + +The three Adepts were carefully examining the mass of +wheels, and soon the golden-haired one said: + +"These wheels do not control the island at all. On +the contrary, one set of them is used to open the doors +of the little rooms where the submarines are kept, as +may be seen from the chains and pulleys used. Each boat +is kept in a little room with two doors, one to the +basement room where we are now and the other letting +into the lake. + +"When Coo-ee-oh used the boat in which she attacked +the Flatheads, she first commanded the basement door to +open and with her followers she got into the boat and +made the top close over them. Then the basement door +being closed, the outer door was slowly opened, letting +the water fill the room to float the boat, which then +left the island, keeping under water." + +"But how could she expect to get back again?" asked +the Wizard. + +"Why the boat would enter the room filled with water +and after the outer door was closed a word of command +started a pump which pumped all the water from the +room. Then the boat would open and Coo-ee-oh could +enter the basement." + +"I see," said the Wizard. "It is a clever +contrivance, but won't work unless one knows the magic +words." + +"Another part of this machinery," explained the +white-haired Adept, "is used to extend the bridge from +the island to the mainland. The steel bridge is in a +room much like that in which the boats are kept, and at +Coo-ce-oh's command it would reach out, joint by joint, +until its far end touched the shore of the lake. The +same magic command would make the bridge return to its +former position. Of course the bridge could not be used +unless the island was on the surface of the water." + +"But how do you suppose Coo-ee-oh managed to sink the +island, and make it rise again?" inquired Glinda. + +This the Adepts could not yet explain. As nothing +more could be learned from the basement they mounted +the steps to the Queen's private suite again, and Ozma +showed them to a special room where Coo-ee-oh kept her +magical instruments and performed all her arts of +witchcraft. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Three + +The Magic Words + + + +Many interesting things were to be seen in the Room +of Magic, including much that had been stolen from the +Adepts when they were transformed to fishes, but they +had to admit that Coo-ee-oh had a rare genius for +mechanics, and had used her knowledge in inventing a +lot of mechanical apparatus that ordinary witches, +wizards and sorcerers could not understand. + +They all carefully inspected this room, taking care +to examine every article they came across. + +"The island," said Glinda thoughtfully, "rests on a +base of solid marble. When it is submerged, as it is +now, the base of the island is upon the bottom of the +lake. What puzzles me is how such a great weight can be +lifted and suspended in the water, even by magic." + +"I now remember," returned Aujah, "that one of the +arts we taught Coo-ee-oh was the way to expand steel, +and I think that explains how the island is raised and +lowered. I noticed in the basement a big steel pillar +that passed through the floor and extended upward to +this palace. Perhaps the end of it is concealed in this +very room. If the lower end of the steel pillar is +firmly embedded in the bottom of the lake, Coo-ee-oh +could utter a magic word that would make the pillar +expand, and so lift the entire island to the level of +the water." + +"I've found the end of the steel pillar. It's just +here," announced the Wizard, pointing to one side of +the room where a great basin of polished steel seemed +to have been set upon the floor. + +They all gathered around, and Ozma said: + +"Yes, I am quite sure that is the upper end of the +pillar that supports the island. I noticed it when I +first came here. It has been hollowed out, you see, and +something has been burned in the basin, for the fire +has left its marks. I wondered what was under the great +basin and got several of the Skeezers to come up here +and try to lift it for me. They were strong men, but +could not move it at all." + +"It seems to me," said Audah the Adept, "that we have +discovered the manner in which Coo-ee-oh raised the +island. She would burn some sort of magic powder in the +basin, utter the magic word, and the pillar would +lengthen out and lift the island with it." + +"What's this?" asked Dorothy, who had been searching +around with the others, and now noticed a slight hollow +in the wall, near to where the steel basin stood. As +she spoke Dorothy pushed her thumb into the hollow and +instantly a small drawer popped out from the wall. + +The three Adepts, Glinda and the Wizard sprang +forward and peered into the drawer. It was half filled +with a grayish powder, the tiny grains of which +constantly moved as if impelled by some living force. + +"It may be some kind of radium," said the Wizard. + +"No," replied Glinda, "it is more wonderful than even +radium, for I recognize it as a rare mineral powder +called Gaulau by the sorcerers. I wonder how Coo-ee-oh +discovered it and where she obtained it." + +"There is no doubt," said Aujah the Adept, "that this +is the magic powder Coo-ee-oh burned in the basin. If +only we knew the magic word, I am quite sure we could +raise the island." + +"How can we discover the magic word?" asked Ozma, +turning to Glinda as she spoke. + +"That we must now seriously consider," answered the +Sorceress. + +So all of them sat down in the Room of Magic and +began to think. It was so still that after a while +Dorothy grew nervous. The little girl never could keep +silent for long, and at the risk of displeasing her +magic-working friends she suddenly said: + +"Well, Coo-ee-oh used just three magic words, one to +make the bridge work, and one to make the submarines go +out of their holes, and one to raise and lower the +island. Three words. And Coo-ee-oh's name is made up of +just three words. One is 'Coo,' and one is 'ee,' and +one is 'oh.' + +The Wizard frowned but Glinda looked wonderingly at +the young girl and Ozma cried out: + +"A good thought, Dorothy dear! You may have solved +our problem." + +"I believe it is worth a trial," agreed Glinda. "It +would be quite natural for Coo-ee-oh to divide her +name into three magic syllables, and Dorothy's +suggestion seems like an inspiration." + +The three Adepts also approved the trial but the +brown-haired one said: + +"We must be careful not to use the wrong word, and +send the bridge out under water. The main thing, if +Dorothy's idea is correct, is to hit upon the one word +that moves the island." + +"Let us experiment," suggested the Wizard. + +In the drawer with the moving gray powder was a tiny +golden cup, which they thought was used for measuring. +Glinda filled this cup with the powder and carefully +poured it into the shallow basin, which was the top of +the great steel pillar supporting the island. Then +Aurah the Adept lighted a taper and touched it to the +powder, which instantly glowed fiery red and tumbled +about the basin with astonishing energy. While the +grains of powder still glowed red the Sorceress bent +over it and said in a voice of command: "Coo!" + +They waited motionless to see what would happen. +There was a grating noise and a whirl of machinery, but +the island did not move a particle. + +Dorothy rushed to the window, which overlooked +the glass side of the dome. + +"The boats!" she exclaimed. "The boats are all +loose an' sailing under water." + +"We've made a mistake," said the Wizard gloomily. + +"But it's one which shows we are on the right track," +declared Aujah the Adept. "We know now that Coo-ee-oh +used the syllables of her name for the magic words." + +"If 'Coo' sends out the boats, it is probable that +ee' works the bridge," suggested Ozma. "So the last +part of the name may raise the island." + +"Let us try that next then," proposed the Wizard. + +He scraped the embers of the burned powder out of the +basin and Glinda again filled the golden cup from the +drawer and placed it on top the steel pillar. Aurah +lighted it with her taper and Ozma bent over the basin +and murmured the long drawn syllable: "Oh-h-h!" + +Instantly the island trembled and with a weird +groaning noise it moved upward -- slowly, very slowly, +but with a steady motion, while all the company stood +by in awed silence. It was a wonderful thing, even to +those skilled in the arts of magic, wizardry and +sorcery, to realize that a single word could raise that +great, heavy island, with its immense glass Dome. + +"Why, we're way above the lake now!" exclaimed +Dorothy from the window, when at last the island ceased +to move. + +"That is because we lowered the level of the water," +explained Glinda. + +They could hear the Skeezers cheering lustily in the +streets of the village as they realized that they were +saved. + +"Come," said Ozma eagerly, "let us go down and join +the people." + +"Not just yet," returned Glinda, a happy smile upon +her lovely face, for she was overjoyed at their +success. "First let us extend the bridge to the +mainland, where our friends from the Emerald City are +waiting." + +It didn't take long to put more powder in the basin, +light it and utter the syllable "EE!" The result was +that a door in the basement opened and the steel bridge +moved out, extended itself joint by joint, and finally +rested its far end on the shore of the lake just in +front of the encampment. + +"Now," said Glinda, "we can go up and receive the +congratulations of the Skeezers and of our friends of +the Rescue Expedition." + +Across the water, on the shore of the lake, the +Patchwork Girl was waving them a welcome. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Four + +Glinda's Triumph + + + +Of course all those who had joined Glinda's +expedition at once crossed the bridge to the island, +where they were warmly welcomed by the Skeezers. Before +all the concourse of people Princess Ozma made a speech +from a porch of the palace and demanded that they +recognize her as their lawful Ruler and promise to obey +the laws of the Land of Oz. In return she agreed to +protect them from all future harm and declared they +would no longer be subjected to cruelty and abuse. + +This pleased the Skeezers greatly, and when Ozma told +them they might elect a Queen to rule over them, who in +turn would be subject to Ozma of Oz, they voted for +Lady Aurex, and that same day the ceremony of crowning +the new Queen was held and Aurex was installed as +mistress of the palace. + +For her Prime Minister the Queen selected Ervic, for +the three Adepts had told of his good judgment, +faithfulness and cleverness, and all the Skeezers +approved the appointment. + +Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts stood on the bridge +and recited an incantation that quite filled the lake +with water again, and the Scarecrow and the Patchwork +Girl climbed to the top of the Great Dome and replaced +the pane of glass that had been removed to allow Glinda +and her followers to enter. + +When evening came Ozma ordered a great feast +prepared, to which every Skeezer was invited. The +village was beautifully decorated and brilliantly +lighted and there was music and dancing until a late +hour to celebrate the liberation of the people. For the +Skeezers had been freed, not only from the water of the +lake but from the cruelty of their former Queen. + +As the people from the Emerald City prepared the next +morning to depart Queen Aurex said to Ozma: + +"There is only one thing I now fear for my people, +and that is the enmity of the terrible Su-dic of the +Flatheads. He is liable to come here at any time and +try to annoy us, and my Skeezers are peaceful folks and +unable to fight the wild and wilful Flatheads." + +"Do not worry," returned Ozma, reassuringly. "We +intend to stop on our way at the Flatheads' Enchanted +Mountain and punish the Su-dic for his misdeeds." + +That satisfied Aurex and when Ozma and her followers +trooped over the bridge to the shore, having taken +leave of their friends, all the Skeezers cheered them +and waved their hats and handkerchiefs, and the band +played and the departure was indeed a ceremony long to +be remembered. + +The three Adepts at Magic, who had formerly ruled the +Flatheads wisely and considerately, went with Princess +Ozma and her people, for they had promised Ozma to stay +on the mountain and again see that the laws were +enforced. + +Glinda had been told all about the curious Flatheads +and she had consulted with the Wizard and formed a plan +to render them more intelligent and agreeable. + +When the party reached the mountain Ozma and Dorothy +showed them how to pass around the invisible wall -- +which had been built by the Flatheads after the Adepts +were transformed -- and how to gain the up-and-down +stairway that led to the mountain top. + +The Su-dic had watched the approach of the party from +the edge of the mountain and was frightened when he saw +that the three Adepts had recovered their natural forms +and were coming back to their former home. He realized +that his power would soon be gone and yet he determined +to fight to the last. He called all the Flatheads +together and armed them, and told them to arrest all +who came up the stairway and hurl them over the edge of +the mountain to the plain below. But although they +feared the Supreme Dictator, who had threatened to +punish them if they did not obey his commands, as soon +as they saw the three Adepts they threw down their arms +and begged their former rulers to protect them. + +The three Adepts assured the excited Flatheads that +they had nothing to fear. + +Seeing that his people had rebelled the Su-dic ran +away and tried to hide, but the Adepts found him and +had him cast into a prison, all his cans of brains +being taken away from him. + +After this easy conquest of the Su-dic, Glinda told +the Adepts of her plan, which had already been approved +by Ozma of Oz, and they joyfully agreed to it. So, +during the next few days, the great Sorceress +transformed, in a way, every Flathead on the mountain. + +Taking them one at a time, she had the can of brains +that belonged to each one opened and the contents +spread on the flat head, after which, by means of her +arts of sorcery, she caused the head to grow over the +brains -- in the manner most people wear them -- and +they were thus rendered as intelligent and good looking +as any of the other inhabitants of the Land of Oz. + +When all had been treated in this manner there were +no more Flatheads at all, and the Adepts decided to +name their people Mountaineers. One good result of +Glinda's sorcery was that no one could now be deprived +of the brains that belonged to him and each person had +exactly the share he was entitled to. + +Even the Su-dic was given his portion of brains and +his flat head made round, like the others, but he was +deprived of all power to work further mischief, and +with the Adepts constantly watching him he would be +forced to become obedient and humble. + +The Golden Pig, which ran grunting about the streets, +with no brains at all, was disenchanted by Glinda, and +in her woman's form was given brains and a round head. +This wife of the Su-dic had once been even more wicked +than her evil husband, but she had now forgotten all +her wickedness and was likely to be a good woman +thereafter. + +These things being accomplished in a satisfactory +manner, Princess Ozma and her people bade farewell to +the three Adepts and departed for the Emerald City, +well pleased with their interesting adventures. + +They returned by the road over which Ozma and Dorothy +had come, stopping to get the Sawhorse and the Red +Wagon where they had left them. + +"I'm very glad I went to see these peoples," said +Princess Ozma, "for I not only prevented any further +warfare between them, but they have been freed from the +rule of the Su-dic and Coo-ee-oh and are now happy and +loyal subjects of the Land of Oz. Which proves that it +is always wise to do one's duty, however unpleasant +that duty may seem to be." + + + + + + +The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum: + +The Wizard of Oz +The Land of Oz +Ozma of Oz +Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz +The Road to Oz +The Emerald city of Oz +The Patchwork Girl of Oz +Tik-Tok of Oz +The Scarecrow of Oz +Rinkitink in Oz +The Lost Princess of Oz +The Tin Woodman of Oz +The Magic of Oz +Glinda of Oz + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Glinda of Oz, by L. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + +</pre> + + + + + + + + +<h1>GLINDA OF OZ</h1> + +<p class="center">In which are related the Exciting Experiences of Princess<br /> + Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in their hazardous journey<br /> + to the home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic<br /> + Isle of the Skeezers, and how they were<br /> + rescued from dire peril by the<br /> + sorcery of Glinda the<br /> + Good</p> + +<h3>by L. FRANK BAUM</h3> +<p class="center">"Royal Historian of Oz"</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<p class="center">This Book<br /> +is Dedicated to<br /> +My Son<br /> +Robert Stanton Baum</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" border="0"> +<tr> + <td align="right">CHAPTER</td> + <td> </td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">I</td> + <td><a href="#CH1">The Call of Duty</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">II</td> + <td><a href="#CH2">Ozma and Dorothy</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">III</td> + <td><a href="#CH3">The Mist Maidens</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">IV</td> + <td><a href="#CH4">The Magic Tent</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">V</td> + <td><a href="#CH5">The Magic Stairway</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">VI</td> + <td><a href="#CH6">Flathead Mountain</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">VII</td> + <td><a href="#CH7">The Magic Isle</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">VIII</td> + <td><a href="#CH8">Queen Coo-ee-oh</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">IX</td> + <td><a href="#CH9">Lady Aurex</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">X</td> + <td><a href="#CH10">Under Water</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XI</td> + <td><a href="#CH11">The Conquest of the Skeezers</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XII</td> + <td><a href="#CH12">The Diamond Swan</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XIII</td> + <td><a href="#CH13">The Alarm Bell</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XIV</td> + <td><a href="#CH14">Ozma's Counsellors</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XV</td> + <td><a href="#CH15">The Great Sorceress</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XVI</td> + <td><a href="#CH16">The Enchanted Fishes</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XVII</td> + <td><a href="#CH17">Under the Great Dome</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XVIII</td> + <td><a href="#CH18">The Cleverness of Ervic</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XIX</td> + <td><a href="#CH19">Red Reera, the Yookoohoo</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XX</td> + <td><a href="#CH20">A Puzzling Problem</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XXI</td> + <td><a href="#CH21">The Three Adepts</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XXII</td> + <td><a href="#CH22">The Sunken Island</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XXIII</td> + <td><a href="#CH23">The Magic Words</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align="right">XXIV</td> + <td><a href="#CH24">Glinda's Triumph</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + +<h2><a name="CH1" id="CH1">Chapter One</a></h2> + +<h3>The Call to Duty</h3> + + +<p>Glinda, the good Sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand court of her +palace, surrounded by her maids of honor—a hundred of the most +beautiful girls of the Fairyland of Oz. The palace court was built of +rare marbles, exquisitely polished. Fountains tinkled musically here +and there; the vast colonnade, open to the south, allowed the maidens, +as they raised their heads from their embroideries, to gaze upon a +vista of rose-hued fields and groves of trees bearing fruits or laden +with sweet-scented flowers. At times one of the girls would start a +song, the others joining in the chorus, or one would rise and dance, +gracefully swaying to the music of a harp played by a companion. And +then Glinda smiled, glad to see her maids mixing play with work.</p> + +<p>Presently among the fields an object was seen moving, threading the +broad path that led to the castle gate. Some of the girls looked upon +this object enviously; the Sorceress merely gave it a glance and +nodded her stately head as if pleased, for it meant the coming of her +friend and mistress—the only one in all the land that Glinda bowed +to.</p> + +<p>Then up the path trotted a wooden animal attached to a red wagon, and +as the quaint steed halted at the gate there descended from the wagon +two young girls, Ozma, Ruler of Oz, and her companion, Princess +Dorothy. Both were dressed in simple white muslin gowns, and as they +ran up the marble steps of the palace they laughed and chatted as +gaily as if they were not the most important persons in the world's +loveliest fairyland.</p> + +<p>The maids of honor had risen and stood with bowed heads to greet the +royal Ozma, while Glinda came forward with outstretched arms to greet +her guests.</p> + +<p>"We've just come on a visit, you know," said Ozma. "Both Dorothy and I +were wondering how we should pass the day when we happened to think +we'd not been to your Quadling Country for weeks, so we took the +Sawhorse and rode straight here."</p> + +<p>"And we came so fast," added Dorothy, "that our hair is blown all +fuzzy, for the Sawhorse makes a wind of his own. Usually it's a day's +journey from the Em'rald City, but I don't s'pose we were two hours on +the way."</p> + +<p>"You are most welcome," said Glinda the Sorceress, and led them +through the court to her magnificent reception hall. Ozma took the arm +of her hostess, but Dorothy lagged behind, kissing some of the maids +she knew best, talking with others, and making them all feel that she +was their friend. When at last she joined Glinda and Ozma in the +reception hall, she found them talking earnestly about the condition +of the people, and how to make them more happy and contented—although +they were already the happiest and most contented folks in all the +world.</p> + +<p>This interested Ozma, of course, but it didn't interest Dorothy very +much, so the little girl ran over to a big table on which was lying +open Glinda's Great Book of Records.</p> + +<p>This Book is one of the greatest treasures in Oz, and the Sorceress +prizes it more highly than any of her magical possessions. That is the +reason it is firmly attached to the big marble table by means of +golden chains, and whenever Glinda leaves home she locks the Great +Book together with five jeweled padlocks, and carries the keys safely +hidden in her bosom.</p> + +<p>I do not suppose there is any magical thing in any fairyland to +compare with the Record Book, on the pages of which are constantly +being printed a record of every event that happens in any part of the +world, at exactly the moment it happens. And the records are always +truthful, although sometimes they do not give as many details as one +could wish. But then, lots of things happen, and so the records have +to be brief or even Glinda's Great Book could not hold them all.</p> + +<p>Glinda looked at the records several times each day, and Dorothy, +whenever she visited the Sorceress, loved to look in the Book and see +what was happening everywhere. Not much was recorded about the Land of +Oz, which is usually peaceful and uneventful, but today Dorothy found +something which interested her. Indeed, the printed letters were +appearing on the page even while she looked.</p> + +<p>"This is funny!" she exclaimed. "Did you know, Ozma, that there were +people in your Land of Oz called Skeezers?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Ozma, coming to her side, "I know that on Professor +Wogglebug's Map of the Land of Oz there is a place marked 'Skeezer,' +but what the Skeezers are like I do not know. No one I know has ever +seen them or heard of them. The Skeezer Country is 'way at the upper +edge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy, impassable desert on one +side and the mountains of Oogaboo on another side. That is a part of +the Land of Oz of which I know very little."</p> + +<p>"I guess no one else knows much about it either, unless it's the +Skeezers themselves," remarked Dorothy. "But the Book says: 'The +Skeezers of Oz have declared war on the Flatheads of Oz, and there is +likely to be fighting and much trouble as the result.'"</p> + +<p>"Is that all the Book says?" asked Ozma.</p> + +<p>"Every word," said Dorothy, and Ozma and Glinda both looked at the +Record and seemed surprised and perplexed.</p> + +<p>"Tell me, Glinda," said Ozma, "who are the Flatheads?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot, your Majesty," confessed the Sorceress. "Until now I never +have heard of them, nor have I ever heard the Skeezers mentioned. In +the faraway corners of Oz are hidden many curious tribes of people, +and those who never leave their own countries and never are visited by +those from our favored part of Oz, naturally are unknown to me. +However, if you so desire, I can learn through my arts of sorcery +something of the Skeezers and the Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"I wish you would," answered Ozma seriously. "You see, Glinda, if +these are Oz people they are my subjects and I cannot allow any wars +or troubles in the Land I rule, if I can possibly help it."</p> + +<p>"Very well, your Majesty," said the Sorceress, "I will try to get some +information to guide you. Please excuse me for a time, while I retire +to my Room of Magic and Sorcery."</p> + +<p>"May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"No, Princess," was the reply. "It would spoil the charm to have +anyone present."</p> + +<p>So Glinda locked herself in her own Room of Magic and Dorothy and Ozma +waited patiently for her to come out again.</p> + +<p>In about an hour Glinda appeared, looking grave and thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"Your Majesty," she said to Ozma, "the Skeezers live on a Magic Isle +in a great lake. For that reason—because the Skeezers deal in +magic—I can learn little about them."</p> + +<p>"Why, I didn't know there was a lake in that part of Oz," exclaimed +Ozma. "The map shows a river running through the Skeezer Country, but +no lake."</p> + +<p>"That is because the person who made the map never had visited that +part of the country," explained the Sorceress. "The lake surely is +there, and in the lake is an island—a Magic Isle—and on that island +live the people called the Skeezers."</p> + +<p>"What are they like?" inquired the Ruler of Oz.</p> + +<p>"My magic cannot tell me that," confessed Glinda, "for the magic of +the Skeezers prevents anyone outside of their domain knowing anything +about them."</p> + +<p>"The Flatheads must know, if they're going to fight the Skeezers," +suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps so," Glinda replied, "but I can get little information +concerning the Flatheads, either. They are people who inhabit a +mountain just south of the Lake of the Skeezers. The mountain has +steep sides and a broad, hollow top, like a basin, and in this basin +the Flatheads have their dwellings. They also are magic-workers and +usually keep to themselves and allow no one from outside to visit +them. I have learned that the Flatheads number about one hundred +people—men, women and children—while the Skeezers number just one +hundred and one."</p> + +<p>"What did they quarrel about, and why do they wish to fight one +another?" was Ozma's next question.</p> + +<p>"I cannot tell your Majesty that," said Glinda.</p> + +<p>"But see here!" cried Dorothy, "it's against the law for anyone but +Glinda and the Wizard to work magic in the Land of Oz, so if these two +strange people are magic-makers they are breaking the law and ought to +be punished!" Ozma smiled upon her little friend.</p> + +<p>"Those who do not know me or my laws," she said, "cannot be expected +to obey my laws. If we know nothing of the Skeezers or the Flatheads, +it is likely that they know nothing of us."</p> + +<p>"But they ought to know, Ozma, and we ought to know. Who's going to +tell them, and how are we going to make them behave?"</p> + +<p>"That," returned Ozma, "is what I am now considering. What would you +advise, Glinda?"</p> + +<p>The Sorceress took a little time to consider this question, before she +made reply. Then she said: "Had you not learned of the existence of +the Flatheads and the Skeezers, through my Book of Records, you would +never have worried about them or their quarrels. So, if you pay no +attention to these peoples, you may never hear of them again."</p> + +<p>"But that wouldn't be right," declared Ozma. "I am Ruler of all the +Land of Oz, which includes the Gillikin Country, the Quadling Country, +the Winkie Country and the Munchkin Country, as well as the Emerald +City, and being the Princess of this fairyland it is my duty to make +all my people—wherever they may be—happy and content and to settle +their disputes and keep them from quarreling. So, while the Skeezers +and Flatheads may not know me or that I am their lawful Ruler, I now +know that they inhabit my kingdom and are my subjects, so I would not +be doing my duty if I kept away from them and allowed them to fight."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact, Ozma," commented Dorothy. "You've got to go up to the +Gillikin Country and make these people behave themselves and make up +their quarrels. But how are you going to do it?"</p> + +<p>"That is what is puzzling me also, your Majesty," said the Sorceress. +"It may be dangerous for you to go into those strange countries, where +the people are possibly fierce and warlike."</p> + +<p>"I am not afraid," said Ozma, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"'Tisn't a question of being 'fraid," argued Dorothy. "Of course we +know you're a fairy, and can't be killed or hurt, and we know you've a +lot of magic of your own to help you. But, Ozma dear, in spite of all +this you've been in trouble before, on account of wicked enemies, and +it isn't right for the Ruler of all Oz to put herself in danger."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I shall be in no danger at all," returned Ozma, with a little +laugh. "You mustn't imagine danger, Dorothy, for one should only +imagine nice things, and we do not know that the Skeezers and +Flatheads are wicked people or my enemies. Perhaps they would be good +and listen to reason."</p> + +<p>"Dorothy is right, your Majesty," asserted the Sorceress. "It is true +we know nothing of these faraway subjects, except that they intend to +fight one another, and have a certain amount of magic power at their +command. Such folks do not like to submit to interference and they are +more likely to resent your coming among them than to receive you +kindly and graciously, as is your due."</p> + +<p>"If you had an army to take with you," added Dorothy, "it wouldn't be +so bad; but there isn't such a thing as an army in all Oz."</p> + +<p>"I have one soldier," said Ozma.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the soldier with the green whiskers; but he's dreadful 'fraid of +his gun and never loads it. I'm sure he'd run rather than fight. And +one soldier, even if he were brave, couldn't do much against two +hundred and one Flatheads and Skeezers."</p> + +<p>"What then, my friends, would you suggest?" inquired Ozma.</p> + +<p>"I advise you to send the Wizard of Oz to them, and let him inform +them that it is against the laws of Oz to fight, and that you command +them to settle their differences and become friends," proposed Glinda. +"Let the Wizard tell them they will be punished if they refuse to obey +the commands of the Princess of all the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>Ozma shook her head, to indicate that the advice was not to her +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"If they refuse, what then?" she asked. "I should be obliged to carry +out my threat and punish them, and that would be an unpleasant and +difficult thing to do. I am sure it would be better for me to go +peacefully, without an army and armed only with my authority as Ruler, +and plead with them to obey me. Then, if they prove obstinate I could +resort to other means to win their obedience."</p> + +<p>"It's a ticklish thing, anyhow you look at it," sighed Dorothy. "I'm +sorry now that I noticed the Record in the Great Book."</p> + +<p>"But can't you realize, my dear, that I must do my duty, now that I am +aware of this trouble?" asked Ozma. "I am fully determined to go at +once to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers and to the enchanted mountain +of the Flatheads, and prevent war and strife between their +inhabitants. The only question to decide is whether it is better for +me to go alone, or to assemble a party of my friends and loyal +supporters to accompany me."</p> + +<p>"If you go I want to go, too," declared Dorothy. "Whatever happens +it's going to be fun—'cause all excitement is fun—and I wouldn't +miss it for the world!"</p> + +<p>Neither Ozma nor Glinda paid any attention to this statement, for they +were gravely considering the serious aspect of this proposed +adventure.</p> + +<p>"There are plenty of friends who would like to go with you," said the +Sorceress, "but none of them would afford your Majesty any protection +in case you were in danger. You are yourself the most powerful fairy +in Oz, although both I and the Wizard have more varied arts of magic +at our command. However, you have one art that no other in all the +world can equal—the art of winning hearts and making people love to +bow to your gracious presence. For that reason I believe you can +accomplish more good alone than with a large number of subjects in +your train."</p> + +<p>"I believe that also," agreed the Princess. "I shall be quite able to +take care of myself, you know, but might not be able to protect others +so well. I do not look for opposition, however. I shall speak to these +people in kindly words and settle their dispute—whatever it may +be—in a just manner."</p> + +<p>"Aren't you going to take me?" pleaded Dorothy. "You'll need some +companion, Ozma."</p> + +<p>The Princess smiled upon her little friend.</p> + +<p>"I see no reason why you should not accompany me," was her reply. "Two +girls are not very warlike and they will not suspect us of being on +any errand but a kindly and peaceful one. But, in order to prevent war +and strife between these angry peoples, we must go to them at once. +Let us return immediately to the Emerald City and prepare to start on +our journey early tomorrow morning."</p> + +<p>Glinda was not quite satisfied with this plan, but could not think of +any better way to meet the problem. She knew that Ozma, with all her +gentleness and sweet disposition, was accustomed to abide by any +decision she had made and could not easily be turned from her purpose. +Moreover she could see no great danger to the fairy Ruler of Oz in the +undertaking, even though the unknown people she was to visit proved +obstinate. But Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who had +come from Kansas to live in the Land of Oz. Dorothy might encounter +dangers that to Ozma would be as nothing but to an "Earth child" would +be very serious.</p> + +<p>The very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had been made a Princess +by her friend Ozma, prevented her from being killed or suffering any +great bodily pain as long as she lived in that fairyland. She could +not grow big, either, and would always remain the same little girl who +had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that fairyland or was +spirited away from it. But Dorothy was a mortal, nevertheless, and +might possibly be destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends could +ever find her. She could, for instance be cut into pieces, and the +pieces, while still alive and free from pain, could be widely +scattered; or she might be buried deep underground or "destroyed" in +other ways by evil magicians, were she not properly protected. These +facts Glinda was considering while she paced with stately tread her +marble hall.</p> + +<p>Finally the good Sorceress paused and drew a ring from her finger, +handing it to Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Wear this ring constantly until your return," she said to the girl. +"If serious danger threatens you, turn the ring around on your finger +once to the right and another turn to the left. That will ring the +alarm bell in my palace and I will at once come to your rescue. But do +not use the ring unless you are actually in danger of destruction. +While you remain with Princess Ozma I believe she will be able to +protect you from all lesser ills."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Glinda," responded Dorothy gratefully, as she placed the +ring on her finger. "I'm going to wear my Magic Belt which I took from +the Nome King, too, so I guess I'll be safe from anything the Skeezers +and Flatheads try to do to me."</p> + +<p>Ozma had many arrangements to make before she could leave her throne +and her palace in the Emerald City, even for a trip of a few days, so +she bade goodbye to Glinda and with Dorothy climbed into the Red +Wagon. A word to the wooden Sawhorse started that astonishing creature +on the return journey, and so swiftly did he run that Dorothy was +unable to talk or do anything but hold tight to her seat all the way +back to the Emerald City.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH2" id="CH2">Chapter Two</a></h2> + +<h3>Ozma and Dorothy</h3> + +<p>Residing in Ozma's palace at this time was a live Scarecrow, a most +remarkable and intelligent creature who had once ruled the Land of Oz +for a brief period and was much loved and respected by all the people. +Once a Munchkin farmer had stuffed an old suit of clothes with straw +and put stuffed boots on the feet and used a pair of stuffed cotton +gloves for hands. The head of the Scarecrow was a stuffed sack +fastened to the body, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted on the +sack. When a hat had been put on the head, the thing was a good +imitation of a man. The farmer placed the Scarecrow on a pole in his +cornfield and it came to life in a curious manner. Dorothy, who was +passing by the field, was hailed by the live Scarecrow and lifted him +off his pole. He then went with her to the Emerald City, where the +Wizard of Oz gave him some excellent brains, and the Scarecrow soon +became an important personage.</p> + +<p>Ozma considered the Scarecrow one of her best friends and most loyal +subjects, so the morning after her visit to Glinda she asked him to +take her place as Ruler of the Land of Oz while she was absent on a +journey, and the Scarecrow at once consented without asking any +questions.</p> + +<p>Ozma had warned Dorothy to keep their journey a secret and say nothing +to anyone about the Skeezers and Flatheads until their return, and +Dorothy promised to obey. She longed to tell her girl friends, tiny +Trot and Betsy Bobbin, of the adventure they were undertaking, but +refrained from saying a word on the subject although both these girls +lived with her in Ozma's palace.</p> + +<p>Indeed, only Glinda the Sorceress knew they were going, until after +they had gone, and even the Sorceress didn't know what their errand +might be.</p> + +<p>Princess Ozma took the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, although she was +not sure there was a wagon road all the way to the Lake of the +Skeezers. The Land of Oz is a pretty big place, surrounded on all +sides by a Deadly Desert which it is impossible to cross, and the +Skeezer Country, according to the map, was in the farthest +northwestern part of Oz, bordering on the north desert. As the Emerald +City was exactly in the center of Oz, it was no small journey from +there to the Skeezers.</p> + +<p>Around the Emerald City the country is thickly settled in every +direction, but the farther away you get from the city the fewer people +there are, until those parts that border on the desert have small +populations. Also those faraway sections are little known to the Oz +people, except in the south, where Glinda lives and where Dorothy has +often wandered on trips of exploration.</p> + +<p>The least known of all is the Gillikin Country, which harbors many +strange bands of people among its mountains and valleys and forests +and streams, and Ozma was now bound for the most distant part of the +Gillikin Country.</p> + +<p>"I am really sorry," said Ozma to Dorothy, as they rode away in the +Red Wagon, "not to know more about the wonderful Land I rule. It is my +duty to be acquainted with every tribe of people and every strange and +hidden country in all Oz, but I am kept so busy at my palace making +laws and planning for the comforts of those who live near the Emerald +City, that I do not often find time to make long journeys."</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Dorothy, "we'll prob'bly find out a lot on this trip, +and we'll learn all about the Skeezers and Flatheads, anyhow. Time +doesn't make much diff'rence in the Land of Oz, 'cause we don't grow +up, or get old, or become sick and die, as they do other places; so, +if we explore one place at a time, we'll by-an'-by know all about +every nook and corner in Oz."</p> + +<p>Dorothy wore around her waist the Nome King's Magic Belt, which +protected her from harm, and the Magic Ring which Glinda had given her +was on her finger. Ozma had merely slipped a small silver wand into +the bosom of her gown, for fairies do not use chemicals and herbs and +the tools of wizards and sorcerers to perform their magic. The Silver +Wand was Ozma's one weapon of offense and defense and by its use she +could accomplish many things.</p> + +<p>They had left the Emerald City just at sunrise and the Sawhorse +traveled very swiftly over the roads towards the north, but in a few +hours the wooden animal had to slacken his pace because the farm +houses had become few and far between and often there were no paths at +all in the direction they wished to follow. At such times they crossed +the fields, avoiding groups of trees and fording the streams and +rivulets whenever they came to them. But finally they reached a broad +hillside closely covered with scrubby brush, through which the wagon +could not pass.</p> + +<p>"It will be difficult even for you and me to get through without +tearing our dresses," said Ozma, "so we must leave the Sawhorse and +the Wagon here until our return."</p> + +<p>"That's all right," Dorothy replied, "I'm tired riding, anyhow. Do you +s'pose, Ozma, we're anywhere near the Skeezer Country?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot tell, Dorothy dear, but I know we've been going in the right +direction, so we are sure to find it in time."</p> + +<p>The scrubby brush was almost like a grove of small trees, for it +reached as high as the heads of the two girls, neither of whom was +very tall. They were obliged to thread their way in and out, until +Dorothy was afraid they would get lost, and finally they were halted +by a curious thing that barred their further progress. It was a huge +web—as if woven by gigantic spiders—and the delicate, lacy film was +fastened stoutly to the branches of the bushes and continued to the +right and left in the form of a half circle. The threads of this web +were of a brilliant purple color and woven into numerous artistic +patterns, but it reached from the ground to branches above the heads +of the girls and formed a sort of fence that hedged them in.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look very strong, though," said Dorothy. "I wonder if we +couldn't break through." She tried but found the web stronger than it +seemed. All her efforts could not break a single thread.</p> + +<p>"We must go back, I think, and try to get around this peculiar web," +Ozma decided.</p> + +<p>So they turned to the right and, following the web found that it +seemed to spread in a regular circle. On and on they went until +finally Ozma said they had returned to the exact spot from which they +had started. "Here is a handkerchief you dropped when we were here +before," she said to Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"In that case, they must have built the web behind us, after we walked +into the trap," exclaimed the little girl.</p> + +<p>"True," agreed Ozma, "an enemy has tried to imprison us."</p> + +<p>"And they did it, too," said Dorothy. "I wonder who it was."</p> + +<p>"It's a spider-web, I'm quite sure," returned Ozma, "but it must be +the work of enormous spiders."</p> + +<p>"Quite right!" cried a voice behind them. Turning quickly around they +beheld a huge purple spider sitting not two yards away and regarding +them with its small bright eyes.</p> + +<p>Then there crawled from the bushes a dozen more great purple spiders, +which saluted the first one and said:</p> + +<p>"The web is finished, O King, and the strangers are our prisoners."</p> + +<p>Dorothy did not like the looks of these spiders at all. They had big +heads, sharp claws, small eyes and fuzzy hair all over their purple +bodies.</p> + +<p>"They look wicked," she whispered to Ozma. "What shall we do?"</p> + +<p>Ozma gazed upon the spiders with a serious face.</p> + +<p>"What is your object in making us prisoners?" she inquired.</p> + +<p>"We need someone to keep house for us," answered the Spider King. +"There is sweeping and dusting to be done, and polishing and washing +of dishes, and that is work my people dislike to do. So we decided +that if any strangers came our way we would capture them and make them +our servants."</p> + +<p>"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all Oz," said the girl with dignity.</p> + +<p>"Well, I am King of all Spiders," was the reply, "and that makes me +your master. Come with me to my palace and I will instruct you in your +work."</p> + +<p>"I won't," said Dorothy indignantly. "We won't have anything to do +with you."</p> + +<p>"We'll see about that," returned the Spider in a severe tone, and the +next instant he made a dive straight at Dorothy, opening the claws in +his legs as if to grab and pinch her with the sharp points. But the +girl was wearing her Magic Belt and was not harmed. The Spider King +could not even touch her. He turned swiftly and made a dash at Ozma, +but she held her Magic Wand over his head and the monster recoiled as +if it had been struck.</p> + +<p>"You'd better let us go," Dorothy advised him, "for you see you can't +hurt us."</p> + +<p>"So I see," returned the Spider King angrily. "Your magic is greater +than mine. But I'll not help you to escape. If you can break the magic +web my people have woven you may go; if not you must stay here and +starve." With that the Spider King uttered a peculiar whistle and all +the spiders disappeared.</p> + +<p>"There is more magic in my fairyland than I dreamed of," remarked the +beautiful Ozma, with a sigh of regret. "It seems that my laws have not +been obeyed, for even these monstrous spiders defy me by means of +Magic."</p> + +<p>"Never mind that now," said Dorothy; "let's see what we can do to get +out of this trap."</p> + +<p>They now examined the web with great care and were amazed at its +strength. Although finer than the finest silken hairs, it resisted all +their efforts to work through, even though both girls threw all their +weight against it.</p> + +<p>"We must find some instrument which will cut the threads of the web," +said Ozma, finally. "Let us look about for such a tool."</p> + +<p>So they wandered among the bushes and finally came to a shallow pool +of water, formed by a small bubbling spring. Dorothy stooped to get a +drink and discovered in the water a green crab, about as big as her +hand. The crab had two big, sharp claws, and as soon as Dorothy saw +them she had an idea that those claws could save them.</p> + +<p>"Come out of the water," she called to the crab; "I want to talk to +you."</p> + +<p>Rather lazily the crab rose to the surface and caught hold of a bit of +rock. With his head above the water he said in a cross voice:</p> + +<p>"What do you want?"</p> + +<p>"We want you to cut the web of the purple spiders with your claws, so +we can get through it," answered Dorothy. "You can do that, can't +you?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose so," replied the crab. "But if I do what will you give me?"</p> + +<p>"What do you wish?" Ozma inquired.</p> + +<p>"I wish to be white, instead of green," said the crab. "Green crabs +are very common, and white ones are rare; besides the purple spiders, +which infest this hillside, are afraid of white crabs. Could you make +me white if I should agree to cut the web for you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Ozma, "I can do that easily. And, so you may know I am +speaking the truth, I will change your color now."</p> + +<p>She waved her silver wand over the pool and the crab instantly became +snow-white—all except his eyes, which remained black. The creature +saw his reflection in the water and was so delighted that he at once +climbed out of the pool and began moving slowly toward the web, by +backing away from the pool. He moved so very slowly that Dorothy cried +out impatiently: "Dear me, this will never do!" Caching the crab in +her hands she ran with him to the web.</p> + +<p>She had to hold him up even then, so he could reach with his claws +strand after strand of the filmy purple web, which he was able to +sever with one nip.</p> + +<p>When enough of the web had been cut to allow them to pass, Dorothy ran +back to the pool and placed the white crab in the water, after which +she rejoined Ozma. They were just in time to escape through the web, +for several of the purple spiders now appeared, having discovered that +their web had been cut, and had the girls not rushed through the +opening the spiders would have quickly repaired the cuts and again +imprisoned them.</p> + +<p>Ozma and Dorothy ran as fast as they could and although the angry +spiders threw a number of strands of web after them, hoping to lasso +them or entangle them in the coils, they managed to escape and clamber +to the top of the hill.</p> + + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH3" id="CH3">Chapter Three</a></h2> + +<h3>The Mist Maidens</h3> + + + +<p>From the top of the hill Ozma and Dorothy looked down into the valley +beyond and were surprised to find it filled with a floating mist that +was as dense as smoke. Nothing in the valley was visible except these +rolling waves of mist, but beyond, on the other side, rose a grassy +hill that appeared quite beautiful.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "what are we to do, Ozma? Walk down into that +thick fog, an' prob'bly get lost in it, or wait till it clears away?"</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure it will clear away, however long we wait," replied Ozma, +doubtfully. "If we wish to get on, I think we must venture into the +mist."</p> + +<p>"But we can't see where we're going, or what we're stepping on," +protested Dorothy. "There may be dreadful things mixed up in that fog, +an' I'm scared just to think of wading into it."</p> + +<p>Even Ozma seemed to hesitate. She was silent and thoughtful for a +little while, looking at the rolling drifts that were so gray and +forbidding. Finally she said:</p> + +<p>"I believe this is a Mist Valley, where these moist clouds always +remain, for even the sunshine above does not drive them away. +Therefore the Mist Maids must live here, and they are fairies and +should answer my call."</p> + +<p>She placed her two hands before her mouth, forming a hollow with them, +and uttered a clear, thrilling, bird-like cry. It floated far out over +the mist waves and presently was answered by a similar sound, as of a +far-off echo.</p> + +<p>Dorothy was much impressed. She had seen many strange things since +coming to this fairy country, but here was a new experience. At +ordinary times Ozma was just like any little girl one might chance to +meet—simple, merry, lovable as could be—yet with a certain reserve +that lent her dignity in her most joyous moods. There were times, +however, when seated on her throne and commanding her subjects, or +when her fairy powers were called into use, when Dorothy and all +others about her stood in awe of their lovely girl Ruler and realized +her superiority.</p> + +<p>Ozma waited. Presently out from the billows rose beautiful forms, +clothed in fleecy, trailing garments of gray that could scarcely be +distinguished from the mist. Their hair was mist-color, too; only +their gleaming arms and sweet, pallid faces proved they were living, +intelligent creatures answering the call of a sister fairy.</p> + +<p>Like sea nymphs they rested on the bosom of the clouds, their eyes +turned questioningly upon the two girls who stood upon the bank. One +came quite near and to her Ozma said:</p> + +<p>"Will you please take us to the opposite hillside? We are afraid to +venture into the mist. I am Princess Ozma of Oz, and this is my friend +Dorothy, a Princess of Oz."</p> + +<p>The Mist Maids came nearer, holding out their arms. Without hesitation +Ozma advanced and allowed them to embrace her and Dorothy plucked up +courage to follow. Very gently the Mist Maids held them. Dorothy +thought the arms were cold and misty—they didn't seem real at +all—yet they supported the two girls above the surface of the billows +and floated with them so swiftly to the green hillside opposite that +the girls were astonished to find themselves set upon the grass before +they realized they had fairly started.</p> + +<p>"Thank you!" said Ozma gratefully, and Dorothy also added her thanks +for the service.</p> + +<p>The Mist Maids made no answer, but they smiled and waved their hands +in good-bye as again they floated out into the mist and disappeared +from view.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH4" id="CH4">Chapter Four</a></h2> + +<h3>The Magic Tent</h3> + + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy with a laugh, "that was easier than I expected. +It's worth while, sometimes, to be a real fairy. But I wouldn't like +to be that kind, and live in a dreadful fog all the time."</p> + +<p>They now climbed the bank and found before them a delightful plain +that spread for miles in all directions. Fragrant wild flowers were +scattered throughout the grass; there were bushes bearing lovely +blossoms and luscious fruits; now and then a group of stately trees +added to the beauty of the landscape. But there were no dwellings or +signs of life.</p> + +<p>The farther side of the plain was bordered by a row of palms, and just +in front of the palms rose a queerly shaped hill that towered above +the plain like a mountain. The sides of this hill were straight up and +down; it was oblong in shape and the top seemed flat and level.</p> + +<p>"Oh, ho!" cried Dorothy; "I'll bet that's the mountain Glinda told us +of, where the Flatheads live."</p> + +<p>"If it is," replied Ozma, "the Lake of the Skeezers must be just +beyond the line of palm trees. Can you walk that far, Dorothy?"</p> + +<p>"Of course, in time," was the prompt answer. "I'm sorry we had to +leave the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon behind us, for they'd come in +handy just now; but with the end of our journey in sight a tramp +across these pretty green fields won't tire us a bit."</p> + +<p>It was a longer tramp than they suspected, however, and night overtook +them before they could reach the flat mountain. So Ozma proposed they +camp for the night and Dorothy was quite ready to approve. She didn't +like to admit to her friend she was tired, but she told herself that +her legs "had prickers in 'em," meaning they had begun to ache.</p> + +<p>Usually when Dorothy started on a journey of exploration or adventure, +she carried with her a basket of food, and other things that a +traveler in a strange country might require, but to go away with Ozma +was quite a different thing, as experience had taught her. The fairy +Ruler of Oz only needed her silver wand—tipped at one end with a +great sparkling emerald—to provide through its magic all that they +might need. Therefore Ozma, having halted with her companion and +selected a smooth, grassy spot on the plain, waved her wand in +graceful curves and chanted some mystic words in her sweet voice, and +in an instant a handsome tent appeared before them. The canvas was +striped purple and white, and from the center pole fluttered the royal +banner of Oz.</p> + +<p>"Come, dear," said Ozma, taking Dorothy's hand, "I am hungry and I'm +sure you must be also; so let us go in and have our feast."</p> + +<p>On entering the tent they found a table set for two, with snowy linen, +bright silver and sparkling glassware, a vase of roses in the center +and many dishes of delicious food, some smoking hot, waiting to +satisfy their hunger. Also, on either side of the tent were beds, with +satin sheets, warm blankets and pillows filled with swansdown. There +were chairs, too, and tall lamps that lighted the interior of the tent +with a soft, rosy glow.</p> + +<p>Dorothy, resting herself at her fairy friend's command, and eating her +dinner with unusual enjoyment, thought of the wonders of magic. If one +were a fairy and knew the secret laws of nature and the mystic words +and ceremonies that commanded those laws, then a simple wave of a +silver wand would produce instantly all that men work hard and +anxiously for through weary years. And Dorothy wished in her kindly, +innocent heart, that all men and women could be fairies with silver +wands, and satisfy all their needs without so much work and worry, for +then, she imagined, they would have all their working hours to be +happy in. But Ozma, looking into her friend's face and reading those +thoughts, gave a laugh and said:</p> + +<p>"No, no, Dorothy, that wouldn't do at all. Instead of happiness your +plan would bring weariness to the world. If every one could wave a +wand and have his wants fulfilled there would be little to wish for. +There would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for nothing +would then be difficult, and the pleasure of earning something longed +for, and only to be secured by hard work and careful thought, would be +utterly lost. There would be nothing to do you see, and no interest in +life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that makes life worth +our while—to do good deeds and to help those less fortunate than +ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Well, you're a fairy, Ozma. Aren't you happy?" asked Dorothy</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, because I can use my fairy powers to make others happy. +Had I no kingdom to rule, and no subjects to look after, I would be +miserable. Also, you must realize that while I am a more powerful +fairy than any other inhabitant of Oz, I am not as powerful as Glinda +the Sorceress, who has studied many arts of magic that I know nothing +of. Even the little Wizard of Oz can do some things I am unable to +accomplish, while I can accomplish things unknown to the Wizard. This +is to explain that I'm not all-powerful, by any means. My magic is +simply fairy magic, and not sorcery or wizardry."</p> + +<p>"All the same," said Dorothy, "I'm mighty glad you could make this +tent appear, with our dinners and beds all ready for us."</p> + +<p>Ozma smiled.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is indeed wonderful," she agreed. "Not all fairies know that +sort of magic, but some fairies can do magic that fills me with +astonishment. I think that is what makes us modest and unassuming—the +fact that our magic arts are divided, some being given each of us. I'm +glad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that there still are things +in both nature and in wit for me to marvel at."</p> + +<p>Dorothy couldn't quite understand this, so she said nothing more on +the subject and presently had a new reason to marvel. For when they +had quite finished their meal table and contents disappeared in a +flash.</p> + +<p>"No dishes to wash, Ozma!" she said with a laugh. "I guess you'd make +a lot of folks happy if you could teach 'em just that one trick."</p> + +<p>For an hour Ozma told stories, and talked with Dorothy about various +people in whom they were interested. And then it was bedtime, and they +undressed and crept into their soft beds and fell asleep almost as +soon as their heads touched their pillows.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH5" id="CH5">Chapter Five</a></h2> + +<h3>The Magic Stairway</h3> + + + +<p>The flat mountain looked much nearer in the clear light of the morning +sun, but Dorothy and Ozma knew there was a long tramp before them, +even yet. They finished dressing only to find a warm, delicious +breakfast awaiting them, and having eaten they left the tent and +started toward the mountain which was their first goal. After going a +little way Dorothy looked back and found that the fairy tent had +entirely disappeared. She was not surprised, for she knew this would +happen.</p> + +<p>"Can't your magic give us a horse an' wagon, or an automobile?" +inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, dear; I'm sorry that such magic is beyond my power," confessed +her fairy friend.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps Glinda could," said Dorothy thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Glinda has a stork chariot that carries her through the air," said +Ozma, "but even our great Sorceress cannot conjure up other modes of +travel. Don't forget what I told you last night, that no one is +powerful enough to do everything."</p> + +<p>"Well, I s'pose I ought to know that, having lived so long in the Land +of Oz," replied Dorothy; "but I can't do any magic at all, an' so I +can't figure out e'zactly how you an' Glinda an' the Wizard do it."</p> + +<p>"Don't try," laughed Ozma. "But you have at least one magical art, +Dorothy: you know the trick of winning all hearts."</p> + +<p>"No, I don't," said Dorothy earnestly. "If I really can do it, Ozma, I +am sure I don't know how I do it."</p> + +<p>It took them a good two hours to reach the foot of the round, flat +mountain, and then they found the sides so steep that they were like +the wall of a house.</p> + +<p>"Even my purple kitten couldn't climb 'em," remarked Dorothy, gazing +upward.</p> + +<p>"But there is some way for the Flatheads to get down and up again," +declared Ozma; "otherwise they couldn't make war with the Skeezers, or +even meet them and quarrel with them."</p> + +<p>"That's so, Ozma. Let's walk around a ways; perhaps we'll find a +ladder or something."</p> + +<p>They walked quite a distance, for it was a big mountain, and as they +circled around it and came to the side that faced the palm trees, they +suddenly discovered an entrance way cut out of the rock wall. This +entrance was arched overhead and not very deep because it merely led +to a short flight of stone stairs.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we've found a way to the top at last," announced Ozma, and the +two girls turned and walked straight toward the entrance. Suddenly +they bumped against something and stood still, unable to proceed +farther.</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, rubbing her nose, which had struck +something hard, although she could not see what it was; "this isn't as +easy as it looks. What has stopped us, Ozma? Is it magic of some +sort?"</p> + +<p>Ozma was feeling around, her bands outstretched before her.</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, it is magic," she replied. "The Flatheads had to have a +way from their mountain top from the plain below, but to prevent +enemies from rushing up the stairs to conquer them, they have built, +at a small distance before the entrance a wall of solid stone, the +stones being held in place by cement, and then they made the wall +invisible."</p> + +<p>"I wonder why they did that?" mused Dorothy. "A wall would keep folks +out anyhow, whether it could be seen or not, so there wasn't any use +making it invisible. Seems to me it would have been better to have +left it solid, for then no one would have seen the entrance behind it. +Now anybody can see the entrance, as we did. And prob'bly anybody that +tries to go up the stairs gets bumped, as we did."</p> + +<p>Ozma made no reply at once. Her face was grave and thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"I think I know the reason for making the wall invisible," she said +after a while. "The Flatheads use the stairs for coming down and going +up. If there was a solid stone wall to keep them from reaching the +plain they would themselves be imprisoned by the wall. So they had to +leave some place to get around the wall, and, if the wall was visible, +all strangers or enemies would find the place to go around it and then +the wall would be useless. So the Flatheads cunningly made their wall +invisible, believing that everyone who saw the entrance to the +mountain would walk straight toward it, as we did, and find it +impossible to go any farther. I suppose the wall is really high and +thick, and can't be broken through, so those who find it in their way +are obliged to go away again."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "if there's a way around the wall, where is it?"</p> + +<p>"We must find it," returned Ozma, and began feeling her way along the +wall. Dorothy followed and began to get discouraged when Ozma had +walked nearly a quarter of a mile away from the entrance. But now the +invisible wall curved in toward the side of the mountain and suddenly +ended, leaving just space enough between the wall and the mountain for +an ordinary person to pass through.</p> + +<p>The girls went in, single file, and Ozma explained that they were now +behind the barrier and could go back to the entrance. They met no +further obstructions.</p> + +<p>"Most people, Ozma, wouldn't have figured this thing out the way you +did," remarked Dorothy. "If I'd been alone the invisible wall surely +would have stumped me."</p> + +<p>Reaching the entrance they began to mount the stone stairs. They went +up ten stairs and then down five stairs, following a passage cut from +the rock. The stairs were just wide enough for the two girls to walk +abreast, arm in arm. At the bottom of the five stairs the passage +turned to the right, and they ascended ten more stairs, only to find +at the top of the flight five stairs leading straight down again. +Again the passage turned abruptly, this time to the left, and ten more +stairs led upward.</p> + +<p>The passage was now quite dark, for they were in the heart of the +mountain and all daylight had been shut out by the turns of the +passage. However, Ozma drew her silver wand from her bosom and the +great jewel at its end gave out a lustrous, green-tinted light which +lighted the place well enough for them to see their way plainly.</p> + +<p>Ten steps up, five steps down, and a turn, this way or that. That was +the program, and Dorothy figured that they were only gaining five +stairs upward each trip that they made.</p> + +<p>"Those Flatheads must be funny people," she said to Ozma. "They don't +seem to do anything in a bold straightforward manner. In making this +passage they forced everyone to walk three times as far as is +necessary. And of course this trip is just as tiresome to the +Flatheads as it is to other folks."</p> + +<p>"That is true," answered Ozma; "yet it is a clever arrangement to +prevent their being surprised by intruders. Every time we reach the +tenth step of a flight, the pressure of our feet on the stone makes a +bell ring on top of the mountain, to warn the Flatheads of our +coming."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that?" demanded Dorothy, astonished.</p> + +<p>"I've heard the bell ever since we started," Ozma told her. "You could +not hear it, I know, but when I am holding my wand in my hand I can +hear sounds a great distance off."</p> + +<p>"Do you hear anything on top of the mountain 'cept the bell?" inquired +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes. The people are calling to one another in alarm and many +footsteps are approaching the place where we will reach the flat top +of the mountain."</p> + +<p>This made Dorothy feel somewhat anxious. "I'd thought we were going to +visit just common, ordinary people," she remarked, "but they're pretty +clever, it seems, and they know some kinds of magic, too. They may be +dangerous, Ozma. P'raps we'd better stayed at home."</p> + +<p>Finally the upstairs-and-downstairs passage seemed coming to an end, +for daylight again appeared ahead of the two girls and Ozma replaced +her wand in the bosom of her gown. The last ten steps brought them to +the surface, where they found themselves surrounded by such a throng +of queer people that for a time they halted, speechless, and stared +into the faces that confronted them.</p> + +<p>Dorothy knew at once why these mountain people were called Flatheads. +Their heads were really flat on top, as if they had been cut off just +above the eyes and ears. Also the heads were bald, with no hair on top +at all, and the ears were big and stuck straight out, and the noses +were small and stubby, while the mouths of the Flatheads were well +shaped and not unusual. Their eyes were perhaps their best feature, +being large and bright and a deep violet in color.</p> + +<p>The costumes of the Flatheads were all made of metals dug from their +mountain. Small gold, silver, tin and iron discs, about the size of +pennies, and very thin, were cleverly wired together and made to form +knee trousers and jackets for the men and skirts and waists for the +women. The colored metals were skillfully mixed to form stripes and +checks of various sorts, so that the costumes were quite gorgeous and +reminded Dorothy of pictures she had seen of Knights of old clothed +armor.</p> + +<p>Aside from their flat heads, these people were not really bad looking. +The men were armed with bows and arrows and had small axes of steel +stuck in their metal belts. They wore no hats nor ornaments.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH6" id="CH6">Chapter Six</a></h2> + +<h3>Flathead Mountain</h3> + +<p>When they saw that the intruders on their mountain were only two +little girls, the Flatheads grunted with satisfaction and drew back, +permitting them to see what the mountain top looked like. It was +shaped like a saucer, so that the houses and other buildings—all made +of rocks—could not be seen over the edge by anyone standing in the +plain below.</p> + +<p>But now a big fat Flathead stood before the girls and in a gruff voice +demanded:</p> + +<p>"What are you doing here? Have the Skeezers sent you to spy upon us?"</p> + +<p>"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"Well, I've never heard of the Land of Oz, so you may be what you +claim," returned the Flathead.</p> + +<p>"This is the Land of Oz—part of it, anyway," exclaimed Dorothy. "So +Princess Ozma rules you Flathead people, as well as all the other +people in Oz."</p> + +<p>The man laughed, and all the others who stood around laughed, too. +Some one in the crowd called:</p> + +<p>"She'd better not tell the Supreme Dictator about ruling the +Flatheads. Eh, friends?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed!" they all answered in positive tones.</p> + +<p>"Who is your Supreme Dictator?" answered Ozma.</p> + +<p>"I think I'll let him tell you that himself," answered the man who had +first spoken. "You have broken our laws by coming here; and whoever +you are the Supreme Dictator must fix your punishment. Come along with +me."</p> + +<p>He started down a path and Ozma and Dorothy followed him without +protest, as they wanted to see the most important person in this queer +country. The houses they passed seemed pleasant enough and each had a +little yard in which were flowers and vegetables. Walls of rock +separated the dwellings, and all the paths were paved with smooth +slabs of rock. This seemed their only building material and they +utilized it cleverly for every purpose.</p> + +<p>Directly in the center of the great saucer stood a larger building +which the Flathead informed the girls was the palace of the Supreme +Dictator. He led them through an entrance hall into a big reception +room, where they sat upon stone benches and awaited the coming of the +Dictator. Pretty soon he entered from another room—a rather lean and +rather old Flathead, dressed much like the others of this strange +race, and only distinguished from them by the sly and cunning +expression of his face. He kept his eyes half closed and looked +through the slits of them at Ozma and Dorothy, who rose to receive +him.</p> + +<p>"Are you the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads?" inquired Ozma.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's me," he said, rubbing his hands slowly together. "My word +is law. I'm the head of the Flatheads on this flat headland."</p> + +<p>"I am Princess Ozma of Oz, and I have come from the Emerald City to +—"</p> + +<p>"Stop a minute," interrupted the Dictator, and turned to the man who +had brought the girls there. "Go away, Dictator Felo Flathead!" he +commanded. "Return to your duty and guard the Stairway. I will look +after these strangers." The man bowed and departed, and Dorothy asked +wonderingly:</p> + +<p>"Is he a Dictator, too?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," was the answer. "Everybody here is a dictator of +something or other. They're all office holders. That's what keeps them +contented. But I'm the Supreme Dictator of all, and I'm elected once a +year. This is a democracy, you know, where the people are allowed to +vote for their rulers. A good many others would like to be Supreme +Dictator, but as I made a law that I am always to count the votes +myself, I am always elected."</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" asked Ozma.</p> + +<p>"I am called the Su-dic, which is short for Supreme Dictator. I sent +that man away because the moment you mentioned Ozma of Oz, and the +Emerald City, I knew who you are. I suppose I'm the only Flathead that +ever heard of you, but that's because I have more brains than the +rest."</p> + +<p>Dorothy was staring hard at the Su-dic.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how you can have any brains at all," she remarked, +"because the part of your head is gone where brains are kept."</p> + +<p>"I don't blame you for thinking that," he said. "Once the Flatheads +had no brains because, as you say, there is no upper part to their +heads, to hold brains. But long, long ago a band of fairies flew over +this country and made it all a fairyland, and when they came to the +Flatheads the fairies were sorry to find them all very stupid and +quite unable to think. So, as there was no good place in their bodies +in which to put brains the Fairy Queen gave each one of us a nice can +of brains to carry in his pocket and that made us just as intelligent +as other people. See," he continued, "here is one of the cans of +brains the fairies gave us." He took from a pocket a bright tin can +having a pretty red label on it which said: "Concentrated Brains, +Extra Quality."</p> + +<p>"And does every Flathead have the same kind of brains?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they're all alike. Here's another can." From another pocket he +produced a second can of brains.</p> + +<p>"Did the fairies give you a double supply?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, but one of the Flatheads thought he wanted to be the Su-dic and +tried to get my people to rebel against me, so I punished him by +taking away his brains. One day my wife scolded me severely, so I took +away her can of brains. She didn't like that and went out and robbed +several women of their brains. Then I made a law that if anyone stole +another's brains, or even tried to borrow them, he would forfeit his +own brains to the Su-dic. So each one is content with his own canned +brains and my wife and I are the only ones on the mountain with more +than one can. I have three cans and that makes me very clever—so +clever that I'm a good Sorcerer, if I do say it myself. My poor wife +had four cans of brains and became a remarkable witch, but alas! that +was before those terrible enemies, the Skeezers, transformed her into +a Golden Pig."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy; "is your wife really a Golden Pig?"</p> + +<p>"She is. The Skeezers did it and so I have declared war on them. In +revenge for making my wife a Pig I intend to ruin their Magic Island +and make the Skeezers the slaves of the Flatheads!"</p> + +<p>The Su-dic was very angry now; his eyes flashed and his face took on a +wicked and fierce expression. But Ozma said to him, very sweetly and +in a friendly voice:</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to hear this. Will you please tell me more about your +troubles with the Skeezers? Then perhaps I can help you."</p> + +<p>She was only a girl, but there was dignity in her pose and speech +which impressed the Su-dic.</p> + +<p>"If you are really Princess Ozma of Oz," the Flathead said, "you are +one of that band of fairies who, under Queen Lurline, made all Oz a +Fairyland. I have heard that Lurline left one of her own fairies to +rule Oz, and gave the fairy the name of Ozma."</p> + +<p>"If you knew this why did you not come to me at the Emerald City and +tender me your loyalty and obedience?" asked the Ruler of Oz.</p> + +<p>"Well, I only learned the fact lately, and I've been too busy to leave +home," he explained, looking at the floor instead of into Ozma's eyes. +She knew he had spoken a falsehood, but only said:</p> + +<p>"Why did you quarrel with the Skeezers?"</p> + +<p>"It was this way," began the Su-dic, glad to change the subject. "We +Flatheads love fish, and as we have no fish on this mountain we would +sometimes go to the Lake of the Skeezers to catch fish. This made the +Skeezers angry, for they declared the fish in their lake belonged to +them and were under their protection and they forbade us to catch +them. That was very mean and unfriendly in the Skeezers, you must +admit, and when we paid no attention to their orders they set a guard +on the shore of the lake to prevent our fishing.</p> + +<p>"Now, my wife, Rora Flathead, having four cans of brains, had become a +wonderful witch, and fish being brain food, she loved to eat fish +better than any one of us. So she vowed she would destroy every fish +in the lake, unless the Skeezers let us catch what we wanted. They +defied us, so Rora prepared a kettleful of magic poison and went down +to the lake one night to dump it all in the water and poison the fish. +It was a clever idea, quite worthy of my dear wife, but the Skeezer +Queen—a young lady named Coo-ee-oh—hid on the bank of the lake and +taking Rora unawares, transformed her into a Golden Pig. The poison +was spilled on the ground and wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh, not content with +her cruel transformation, even took away my wife's four cans of +brains, so she is now a common grunting pig without even brains enough +to know her own name."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Ozma thoughtfully, "the Queen of the Skeezers must be a +Sorceress."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Su-dic, "but she doesn't know much magic, after all. +She is not as powerful as Rora Flathead was, nor half as powerful as I +am now, as Queen Coo-ee-oh will discover when we fight our great +battle and destroy her."</p> + +<p>"The Golden Pig can't be a witch any more, of course," observed +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No; even had Queen Coo-ee-oh left her the four cans of brains, poor +Rora, in a pig's shape, couldn't do any witchcraft. A witch has to use +her fingers, and a pig has only cloven hoofs."</p> + +<p>"It seems a sad story," was Ozma's comment, "and all the trouble arose +because the Flatheads wanted fish that did not belong to them."</p> + +<p>"As for that," said the Su-dic, again angry, "I made a law that any of +my people could catch fish in the Lake of the Skeezers, whenever they +wanted to. So the trouble was through the Skeezers defying my law."</p> + +<p>"You can only make laws to govern your own people," asserted Ozma +sternly. "I, alone, am empowered to make laws that must be obeyed by +all the peoples of Oz."</p> + +<p>"Pooh!" cried the Su-dic scornfully. "You can't make me obey your +laws, I assure you. I know the extent of your powers, Princess Ozma of +Oz, and I know that I am more powerful than you are. To prove it I +shall keep you and your companion prisoners in this mountain until +after we have fought and conquered the Skeezers. Then, if you promise +to be good, I may let you go home again."</p> + +<p>Dorothy was amazed by this effrontery and defiance of the beautiful +girl Ruler of Oz, whom all until now had obeyed without question. But +Ozma, still unruffled and dignified, looked at the Su-dic and said:</p> + +<p>"You did not mean that. You are angry and speak unwisely, without +reflection. I came here from my palace in the Emerald City to prevent +war and to make peace between you and the Skeezers. I do not approve +of Queen Coo-ee-oh's action in transforming your wife Rora into a pig, +nor do I approve of Rora's cruel attempt to poison the fishes in the +lake. No one has the right to work magic in my dominions without my +consent, so the Flatheads and the Skeezers have both broken my laws +—which must be obeyed."</p> + +<p>"If you want to make peace," said the Su-dic, "make the Skeezers +restore my wife to her proper form and give back her four cans of +brains. Also make them agree to allow us to catch fish in their lake."</p> + +<p>"No," returned Ozma, "I will not do that, for it would be unjust. I +will have the Golden Pig again transformed into your wife Rora, and +give her one can of brains, but the other three cans must be restored +to those she robbed. Neither may you catch fish in the Lake of the +Skeezers, for it is their lake and the fish belong to them. This +arrangement is just and honorable, and you must agree to it."</p> + +<p>"Never!" cried the Su-dic. Just then a pig came running into the room, +uttering dismal grunts. It was made of solid gold, with joints at the +bends of the legs and in the neck and jaws. The Golden Pig's eyes were +rubies, and its teeth were polished ivory.</p> + +<p>"There!" said the Su-dic, "gaze on the evil work of Queen Coo-ee-oh, +and then say if you can prevent my making war on the Skeezers. That +grunting beast was once my wife—the most beautiful Flathead on our +mountain and a skillful witch. Now look at her!"</p> + +<p>"Fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers!" grunted +the Golden Pig.</p> + +<p>"I will fight the Skeezers," exclaimed the Flathead chief, "and if a +dozen Ozmas of Oz forbade me I would fight just the same."</p> + +<p>"Not if I can prevent it!" asserted Ozma.</p> + +<p>"You can't prevent it. But since you threaten me, I'll have you +confined in the bronze prison until the war is over," said the Su-dic. +He whistled and four stout Flatheads, armed with axes and spears, +entered the room and saluted him. Turning to the men he said: "Take +these two girls, bind them with wire ropes and cast them into the +bronze prison."</p> + +<p>The four men bowed low and one of them asked:</p> + +<p>"Where are the two girls, most noble Su-dic?"</p> + +<p>The Su-dic turned to where Ozma and Dorothy had stood but they had +vanished!</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH7" id="CH7">Chapter Seven</a></h2> + +<h3>The Magic Isle</h3> + +<p>Ozma, seeing it was useless to argue with the Supreme Dictator of the +Flatheads. had been considering how best to escape from his power. She +realized that his sorcery might be difficult to overcome, and when he +threatened to cast Dorothy and her into a bronze prison she slipped +her hand into her bosom and grasped her silver wand. With the other +hand she grasped the hand of Dorothy, but these motions were so +natural that the Su-dic did not notice them. Then when he turned to +meet his four soldiers, Ozma instantly rendered both herself and +Dorothy invisible and swiftly led her companion around the group of +Flatheads and out of the room. As they reached the entry and descended +the stone steps, Ozma whispered:</p> + +<p>"Let us run, dear! We are invisible, so no one will see us."</p> + +<p>Dorothy understood and she was a good runner. Ozma had marked the +place where the grand stairway that led to the plain was located, so +they made directly for it. Some people were in the paths but these +they dodged around. One or two Flatheads heard the pattering of +footsteps of the girls on the stone pavement and stopped with +bewildered looks to gaze around them, but no one interfered with the +invisible fugitives.</p> + +<p>The Su-dic had lost no time in starting the chase. He and his men ran +so fast that they might have overtaken the girls before they reached +the stairway had not the Golden Pig suddenly run across their path. +The Su-dic tripped over the pig and fell flat, and his four men +tripped over him and tumbled in a heap. Before they could scramble up +and reach the mouth of the passage it was too late to stop the two +girls.</p> + +<p>There was a guard on each side of the stairway, but of course they did +not see Ozma and Dorothy as they sped past and descended the steps. +Then they had to go up five steps and down another ten, and so on, in +the same manner in which they had climbed to the top of the mountain. +Ozma lighted their way with her wand and they kept on without relaxing +their speed until they reached the bottom. Then they ran to the right +and turned the corner of the invisible wall just as the Su-dic and his +followers rushed out of the arched entrance and looked around in an +attempt to discover the fugitives.</p> + +<p>Ozma now knew they were safe, so she told Dorothy to stop and both of +them sat down on the grass until they could breathe freely and become +rested from their mad flight.</p> + +<p>As for the Su-dic, he realized he was foiled and soon turned and +climbed his stairs again. He was very angry—angry with Ozma and +angry with himself—because, now that he took time to think, he +remembered that he knew very well the art of making people invisible, +and visible again, and if he had only thought of it in time he could +have used his magic knowledge to make the girls visible and so have +captured them easily. However, it was now too late for regrets and he +determined to make preparations at once to march all his forces +against the Skeezers.</p> + +<p>"What shall we do next?" asked Dorothy, when they were rested.</p> + +<p>"Let us find the Lake of the Skeezers," replied Ozma. "From what that +dreadful Su-dic said I imagine the Skeezers are good people and worthy +of our friendship, and if we go to them we may help them to defeat the +Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"I s'pose we can't stop the war now," remarked Dorothy reflectively, +as they walked toward the row of palm trees.</p> + +<p>"No; the Su-dic is determined to fight the Skeezers, so all we can do +is to warn them of their danger and help them as much as possible."</p> + +<p>"Of course you'll punish the Flatheads," said Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Well, I do not think the Flathead people are as much to blame as +their Supreme Dictator," was the answer. "If he is removed from power +and his unlawful magic taken from him, the people will probably be +good and respect the laws of the Land of Oz, and live at peace with +all their neighbors in the future."</p> + +<p>"I hope so," said Dorothy with a sigh of doubt</p> + +<p>The palms were not far from the mountain and the girls reached them +after a brisk walk. The huge trees were set close together, in three +rows, and had been planted so as to keep people from passing them, but +the Flatheads had cut a passage through this barrier and Ozma found +the path and led Dorothy to the other side.</p> + +<p>Beyond the palms they discovered a very beautiful scene. Bordered by a +green lawn was a great lake fully a mile from shore to shore, the +waters of which were exquisitely blue and sparkling, with little +wavelets breaking its smooth surface where the breezes touched it. In +the center of this lake appeared a lovely island, not of great extent +but almost entirely covered by a huge round building with glass walls +and a high glass dome which glittered brilliantly in the sunshine. +Between the glass building and the edge of the island was no grass, +flowers or shrubbery, but only an expanse of highly polished white +marble. There were no boats on either shore and no signs of life could +be seen anywhere on the island.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, gazing wistfully at the island, "we've found the +Lake of the Skeezers and their Magic Isle. I guess the Skeezers are in +that big glass palace, but we can't get at 'em."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH8" id="CH8">Chapter Eight</a></h2> + +<h3>Queen Coo-ee-oh</h3> + +<p>Princess Ozma considered the situation gravely. Then she tied her +handkerchief to her wand and, standing at the water's edge, waved the +handkerchief like a flag, as a signal. For a time they could observe +no response.</p> + +<p>"I don't see what good that will do," said Dorothy. "Even if the +Skeezers are on that island and see us, and know we're friends, they +haven't any boats to come and get us."</p> + +<p>But the Skeezers didn't need boats, as the girls soon discovered. For +on a sudden an opening appeared at the base of the palace and from the +opening came a slender shaft of steel, reaching out slowly but +steadily across the water in the direction of the place where they +stood. To the girls this steel arrangement looked like a triangle, +with the base nearest the water. It came toward them in the form of an +arch, stretching out from the palace wall until its end reached the +bank and rested there, while the other end still remained on the +island.</p> + +<p>Then they saw that it was a bridge, consisting of a steel footway just +broad enough to walk on, and two slender guide rails, one on either +side, which were connected with the footway by steel bars. The bridge +looked rather frail and Dorothy feared it would not bear their weight, +but Ozma at once called, "Come on!" and started to walk across, +holding fast to the rail on either side. So Dorothy summoned her +courage and followed after. Before Ozma had taken three steps she +halted and so forced Dorothy to halt, for the bridge was again moving +and returning to the island.</p> + +<p>"We need not walk after all," said Ozma. So they stood still in their +places and let the steel bridge draw them onward. Indeed, the bridge +drew them well into the glass-domed building which covered the island, +and soon they found themselves standing in a marble room where two +handsomely dressed young men stood on a platform to receive them.</p> + +<p>Ozma at once stepped from the end of the bridge to the marble +platform, followed by Dorothy, and then the bridge disappeared with a +slight clang of steel and a marble slab covered the opening from which +it had emerged.</p> + +<p>The two young men bowed profoundly to Ozma, and one of them said:</p> + +<p>"Queen Coo-ee-oh bids you welcome, O Strangers. Her Majesty is waiting +to receive you in her palace."</p> + +<p>"Lead on," replied Ozma with dignity.</p> + +<p>But instead of "leading on," the platform of marble began to rise, +carrying them upward through a square hole above which just fitted it. +A moment later they found themselves within the great glass dome that +covered almost all of the island.</p> + +<p>Within this dome was a little village, with houses, streets, gardens +and parks. The houses were of colored marbles, prettily designed, with +many stained-glass windows, and the streets and gardens seemed well +cared for. Exactly under the center of the lofty dome was a small park +filled with brilliant flowers, with an elaborate fountain, and facing +this park stood a building larger and more imposing than the others. +Toward this building the young men escorted Ozma and Dorothy.</p> + +<p>On the streets and in the doorways or open windows of the houses were +men, women and children, all richly dressed. These were much like +other people in different parts of the Land of Oz, except that instead +of seeming merry and contented they all wore expressions of much +solemnity or of nervous irritation. They had beautiful homes, splendid +clothes, and ample food, but Dorothy at once decided something was +wrong with their lives and that they were not happy. She said nothing, +however, but looked curiously at the Skeezers.</p> + +<p>At the entrance of the palace Ozma and Dorothy were met by two other +young men, in uniform and armed with queer weapons that seemed about +halfway between pistols and guns, but were like neither. Their +conductors bowed and left them, and the two in uniforms led the girls +into the palace.</p> + +<p>In a beautiful throne room, surrounded by a dozen or more young men +and women, sat the Queen of the Skeezers, Coo-ee-oh. She was a girl +who looked older than Ozma or Dorothy—fifteen or sixteen, at least +—and although she was elaborately dressed as if she were going to a +ball she was too thin and plain of feature to be pretty. But evidently +Queen Coo-ee-oh did not realize this fact, for her air and manner +betrayed her as proud and haughty and with a high regard for her own +importance. Dorothy at once decided she was "snippy" and that she +would not like Queen Coo-ee-oh as a companion.</p> + +<p>The Queen's hair was as black as her skin was white and her eyes were +black, too. The eyes, as she calmly examined Ozma and Dorothy, had a +suspicious and unfriendly look in them, but she said quietly:</p> + +<p>"I know who you are, for I have consulted my Magic Oracle, which told +me that one calls herself Princess Ozma, the Ruler of all the Land of +Oz, and the other is Princess Dorothy of Oz, who came from a country +called Kansas. I know nothing of the Land of Oz, and I know nothing of +Kansas."</p> + +<p>"Why, this is the Land of Oz!" cried Dorothy. "It's a part of the Land +of Oz, anyhow, whether you know it or not."</p> + +<p>"Oh, in-deed!" answered Queen Coo-ee-oh, scornfully. "I suppose you +will claim next that this Princess Ozma, ruling the Land of Oz, rules +me!"</p> + +<p>"Of course," returned Dorothy. "There's no doubt of it."</p> + +<p>The Queen turned to Ozma.</p> + +<p>"Do you dare make such a claim?" she asked.</p> + +<p>By this time Ozma had made up her mind as to the character of this +haughty and disdainful creature, whose self-pride evidently led her to +believe herself superior to all others.</p> + +<p>"I did not come here to quarrel with your Majesty," said the girl +Ruler of Oz, quietly. "What and who I am is well established, and my +authority comes from the Fairy Queen Lurline, of whose band I was a +member when Lurline made all Oz a Fairyland. There are several +countries and several different peoples in this broad land, each of +which has its separate rulers, Kings, Emperors and Queens. But all +these render obedience to my laws and acknowledge me as the supreme +Ruler."</p> + +<p>"If other Kings and Queens are fools that does not interest me in the +least," replied Coo-ee-oh, disdainfully. "In the Land of the Skeezers +I alone am supreme. You are impudent to think I would defer to you—or +to anyone else."</p> + +<p>"Let us not speak of this now, please," answered Ozma. "Your island is +in danger, for a powerful foe is preparing to destroy it."</p> + +<p>"Pah! The Flatheads. I do not fear them."</p> + +<p>"Their Supreme Dictator is a Sorcerer."</p> + +<p>"My magic is greater than his. Let the Flatheads come! They will never +return to their barren mountain-top. I will see to that."</p> + +<p>Ozma did not like this attitude, for it meant that the Skeezers were +eager to fight the Flatheads, and Ozma's object in coming here was to +prevent fighting and induce the two quarrelsome neighbors to make +peace. She was also greatly disappointed in Coo-ee-oh, for the reports +of Su-dic had led her to imagine the Queen more just and honorable +than were the Flatheads. Indeed Ozma reflected that the girl might be +better at heart than her self-pride and overbearing manner indicated, +and in any event it would be wise not to antagonize her but to try to +win her friendship.</p> + +<p>"I do not like wars, your Majesty," said Ozma. "In the Emerald City, +where I rule thousands of people, and in the countries near to the +Emerald City, where thousands more acknowledge my rule, there is no +army at all, because there is no quarreling and no need to fight. If +differences arise between my people, they come to me and I judge the +cases and award justice to all. So, when I learned there might be war +between two faraway people of Oz, I came here to settle the dispute +and adjust the quarrel."</p> + +<p>"No one asked you to come," declared Queen Coo-ee-oh. "It is my +business to settle this dispute, not yours. You say my island is a +part of the Land of Oz, which you rule, but that is all nonsense, for +I've never heard of the Land of Oz, nor of you. You say you are a +fairy, and that fairies gave you command over me. I don't believe it! +What I do believe is that you are an impostor and have come here to +stir up trouble among my people, who are already becoming difficult to +manage. You two girls may even be spies of the vile Flatheads, for all +I know, and may be trying to trick me. But understand this," she +added, proudly rising from her jeweled throne to confront them, "I +have magic powers greater than any fairy possesses, and greater than +any Flathead possesses. I am a Krumbic Witch—the only Krumbic Witch +in the world—and I fear the magic of no other creature that exists! +You say you rule thousands. I rule one hundred and one Skeezers. But +every one of them trembles at my word. Now that Ozma of Oz and +Princess Dorothy are here, I shall rule one hundred and three +subjects, for you also shall bow before my power. More than that, in +ruling you I also rule the thousands you say you rule."</p> + +<p>Dorothy was very indignant at this speech.</p> + +<p>"I've got a pink kitten that sometimes talks like that," she said, +"but after I give her a good whipping she doesn't think she's so high +and mighty after all. If you only knew who Ozma is you'd be scared to +death to talk to her like that!"</p> + +<p>Queen Coo-ee-oh gave the girl a supercilious look. Then she turned +again to Ozma.</p> + +<p>"I happen to know," said she, "that the Flatheads intend to attack us +tomorrow, but we are ready for them. Until the battle is over, I shall +keep you two strangers prisoners on my island, from which there is no +chance for you to escape."</p> + +<p>She turned and looked around the band of courtiers who stood silently +around her throne.</p> + +<p>"Lady Aurex," she continued, singling out one of the young women, +"take these children to your house and care for them, giving them food +and lodging. You may allow them to wander anywhere under the Great +Dome, for they are harmless. After I have attended to the Flatheads I +will consider what next to do with these foolish girls."</p> + +<p>She resumed her seat and the Lady Aurex bowed low and said in a humble +manner:</p> + +<p>"I obey your Majesty's commands." Then to Ozma and Dorothy she added, +"Follow me," and turned to leave the throne room.</p> + +<p>Dorothy looked to see what Ozma would do. To her surprise and a little +to her disappointment Ozma turned and followed Lady Aurex. So Dorothy +trailed after them, but not without giving a parting, haughty look +toward Queen Coo-ee-oh, who had her face turned the other way and did +not see the disapproving look.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH9" id="CH9">Chapter Nine</a></h2> + +<h3>Lady Aurex</h3> + +<p>Lady Aurex led Ozma and Dorothy along a street to a pretty marble +house near to one edge of the great glass dome that covered the +village. She did not speak to the girls until she had ushered them +into a pleasant room, comfortably furnished, nor did any of the solemn +people they met on the street venture to speak.</p> + +<p>When they were seated Lady Aurex asked if they were hungry, and +finding they were summoned a maid and ordered food to be brought.</p> + +<p>This Lady Aurex looked to be about twenty years old, although in the +Land of Oz where people have never changed in appearance since the +fairies made it a fairyland—where no one grows old or dies—it is +always difficult to say how many years anyone has lived. She had a +pleasant, attractive face, even though it was solemn and sad as the +faces of all Skeezers seemed to be, and her costume was rich and +elaborate, as became a lady in waiting upon the Queen.</p> + +<p>Ozma had observed Lady Aurex closely and now asked her in a gentle +tone:</p> + +<p>"Do you, also, believe me to be an impostor?"</p> + +<p>"I dare not say," replied Lady Aurex in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"Why are you afraid to speak freely?" inquired Ozma.</p> + +<p>"The Queen punishes us if we make remarks that she does not like."</p> + +<p>"Are we not alone then, in this house?"</p> + +<p>"The Queen can hear everything that is spoken on this island—even the +slightest whisper," declared Lady Aurex. "She is a wonderful witch, as +she has told you, and it is folly to criticise her or disobey her +commands."</p> + +<p>Ozma looked into her eyes and saw that she would like to say more if +she dared. So she drew from her bosom her silver wand, and having +muttered a magic phrase in a strange tongue, she left the room and +walked slowly around the outside of the house, making a complete +circle and waving her wand in mystic curves as she walked. Lady Aurex +watched her curiously and, when Ozma had again entered the room and +seated herself, she asked:</p> + +<p>"What have you done?"</p> + +<p>"I've enchanted this house in such a manner that Queen Coo-ee-oh, with +all her witchcraft, cannot hear one word we speak within the magic +circle I have made," replied Ozma. "We may now speak freely and as +loudly as we wish, without fear of the Queen's anger."</p> + +<p>Lady Aurex brightened at this.</p> + +<p>"Can I trust you?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Ev'rybody trusts Ozma," exclaimed Dorothy. "She is true and honest, +and your wicked Queen will be sorry she insulted the powerful Ruler of +all the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"The Queen does not know me yet," said Ozma, "but I want you to know +me, Lady Aurex, and I want you to tell me why you, and all the +Skeezers, are unhappy. Do not fear Coo-ee-oh's anger, for she cannot +hear a word we say, I assure you."</p> + +<p>Lady Aurex was thoughtful a moment; then she said: "I shall trust you, +Princess Ozma, for I believe you are what you say you are—our supreme +Ruler. If you knew the dreadful punishments our Queen inflicts upon +us, you would not wonder we are so unhappy. The Skeezers are not bad +people; they do not care to quarrel and fight, even with their enemies +the Flatheads; but they are so cowed and fearful of Coo-ee-oh that +they obey her slightest word, rather than suffer her anger."</p> + +<p>"Hasn't she any heart, then?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"She never displays mercy. She loves no one but herself," asserted +Lady Aurex, but she trembled as she said it, as if afraid even yet of +her terrible Queen.</p> + +<p>"That's pretty bad," said Dorothy, shaking her head gravely. "I see +you've a lot to do here, Ozma, in this forsaken corner of the Land of +Oz. First place, you've got to take the magic away from Queen +Coo-ee-oh, and from that awful Su-dic, too. My idea is that neither of +them is fit to rule anybody, 'cause they're cruel and hateful. So +you'll have to give the Skeezers and Flatheads new rulers and teach +all their people that they're part of the Land of Oz and must obey, +above all, the lawful Ruler, Ozma of Oz. Then, when you've done that, +we can go back home again."</p> + +<p>Ozma smiled at her little friend's earnest counsel, but Lady Aurex +said in an anxious tone:</p> + +<p>"I am surprised that you suggest these reforms while you are yet +prisoners on this island and in Coo-ee-oh's power. That these things +should be done, there is no doubt, but just now a dreadful war is +likely to break out, and frightful things may happen to us all. Our +Queen has such conceit that she thinks she can overcome the Su-dic and +his people, but it is said Su-dic's magic is very powerful, although +not as great as that possessed by his wife Rora, before Coo-ee-oh +transformed her into a Golden Pig."</p> + +<p>"I don't blame her very much for doing that," remarked Dorothy, "for +the Flatheads were wicked to try to catch your beautiful fish and the +Witch Rora wanted to poison all the fishes in the lake."</p> + +<p>"Do you know the reason?" asked the Lady Aurex.</p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose there was any reason, 'cept just wickedness," replied +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Tell us the reason," said Ozma earnestly.</p> + +<p>"Well, your Majesty, once—a long time ago—the Flatheads and the +Skeezers were friendly. They visited our island and we visited their +mountain, and everything was pleasant between the two peoples. At that +time the Flatheads were ruled by three Adepts in Sorcery, beautiful +girls who were not Flatheads, but had wandered to the Flat Mountain +and made their home there. These three Adepts used their magic only +for good, and the mountain people gladly made them their rulers. They +taught the Flatheads how to use their canned brains and how to work +metals into clothing that would never wear out, and many other things +that added to their happiness and content.</p> + +<p>"Coo-ee-oh was our Queen then, as now, but she knew no magic and so +had nothing to be proud of. But the three Adepts were very kind to +Coo-ee-oh. They built for us this wonderful dome of glass and our +houses of marble and taught us to make beautiful clothing and many +other things. Coo-ee-oh pretended to be very grateful for these +favors, but it seems that all the time she was jealous of the three +Adepts and secretly tried to discover their arts of magic. In this she +was more clever than anyone suspected. She invited the three Adepts to +a banquet one day, and while they were feasting Coo-ee-oh stole their +charms and magical instruments and transformed them into three +fishes—a gold fish, a silver fish and a bronze fish. While the poor +fishes were gasping and flopping helplessly on the floor of the +banquet room one of them said reproachfully: 'You will be punished for +this, Coo-ee-oh, for if one of us dies or is destroyed, you will +become shrivelled and helpless, and all your stolen magic will depart +from you.' Frightened by this threat, Coo-ee-oh at once caught up the +three fish and ran with them to the shore of the lake, where she cast +them into the water. This revived the three Adepts and they swam away +and disappeared.</p> + +<p>"I, myself, witnessed this shocking scene," continued Lady Aurex, "and +so did many other Skeezers. The news was carried to the Flatheads, who +then turned from friends to enemies. The Su-dic and his wife Rora were +the only ones on the mountain who were glad the three Adepts had been +lost to them, and they at once became Rulers of the Flatheads and +stole their canned brains from others to make themselves the more +powerful. Some of the Adepts' magic tools had been left on the +mountain, and these Rora seized and by the use of them she became a +witch.</p> + +<p>"The result of Coo-ee-oh's treachery was to make both the Skeezers and +the Flatheads miserable instead of happy. Not only were the Su-dic and +his wife cruel to their people, but our Queen at once became proud and +arrogant and treated us very unkindly. All the Skeezers knew she had +stolen her magic powers and so she hated us and made us humble +ourselves before her and obey her slightest word. If we disobeyed, or +did not please her, or if we talked about her when we were in our own +homes she would have us dragged to the whipping post in her palace and +lashed with knotted cords. That is why we fear her so greatly."</p> + +<p>This story filled Ozma's heart with sorrow and Dorothy's heart with +indignation.</p> + +<p>"I now understand," said Ozma, "why the fishes in the lake have +brought about war between the Skeezers and the Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Lady Aurex answered, "now that you know the story it is easy to +understand. The Su-dic and his wife came to our lake hoping to catch +the silver fish, or gold fish, or bronze fish—any one of them would +do—and by destroying it deprive Coo-ee-oh of her magic. Then they +could easily conquer her. Also they had another reason for wanting to +catch the fish—they feared that in some way the three Adepts might +regain their proper forms and then they would be sure to return to the +mountain and punish Rora and the Su-dic. That was why Rora finally +tried to poison all the fishes in the lake, at the time Coo-ee-oh +transformed her into a Golden Pig. Of course this attempt to destroy +the fishes frightened the Queen, for her safety lies in keeping the +three fishes alive."</p> + +<p>"I s'pose Coo-ee-oh will fight the Flatheads with all her might," +observed Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"And with all her magic," added Ozma, thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"I do not see how the Flatheads can get to this island to hurt us," +said Lady Aurex.</p> + +<p>"They have bows and arrows, and I guess they mean to shoot the arrows +at your big dome, and break all the glass in it," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>But Lady Aurex shook her head with a smile.</p> + +<p>"They cannot do that," she replied.</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"I dare not tell you why, but if the Flatheads come to-morrow morning +you will yourselves see the reason."</p> + +<p>"I do not think they will attempt to harm the island," Ozma declared. +"I believe they will first attempt to destroy the fishes, by poison or +some other means. If they succeed in that, the conquest of the island +will not be difficult."</p> + +<p>"They have no boats," said Lady Aurex, "and Coo-ee-oh, who has long +expected this war, has been preparing for it in many astonishing ways. +I almost wish the Flatheads would conquer us, for then we would be +free from our dreadful Queen; but I do not wish to see the three +transformed fishes destroyed, for in them lies our only hope of future +happiness."</p> + +<p>"Ozma will take care of you, whatever happens," Dorothy assured her. +But the Lady Aurex, not knowing the extent of Ozma's power—which was, +in fact, not so great as Dorothy imagined—could not take much comfort +in this promise.</p> + +<p>It was evident there would be exciting times on the morrow, if the +Flatheads really attacked the Skeezers of the Magic Isle.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH10" id="CH10">Chapter Ten</a></h2> + +<h3>Under Water</h3> + +<p>When night fell all the interior of the Great Dome, streets and +houses, became lighted with brilliant incandescent lamps, which +rendered it bright as day. Dorothy thought the island must look +beautiful by night from the outer shore of the lake. There was revelry +and feasting in the Queen's palace, and the music of the royal band +could be plainly heard in Lady Aurex's house, where Ozma and Dorothy +remained with their hostess and keeper. They were prisoners, but +treated with much consideration.</p> + +<p>Lady Aurex gave them a nice supper and when they wished to retire +showed them to a pretty room with comfortable beds and wished them a +good night and pleasant dreams.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of all this, Ozma?" Dorothy anxiously inquired when +they were alone.</p> + +<p>"I am glad we came," was the reply, "for although there may be +mischief done to-morrow, it was necessary I should know about these +people, whose leaders are wild and lawless and oppress their subjects +with injustice and cruelties. My task, therefore, is to liberate the +Skeezers and the Flatheads and secure for them freedom and happiness. +I have no doubt I can accomplish this in time."</p> + +<p>"Just now, though, we're in a bad fix," asserted Dorothy. "If Queen +Coo-ee-oh conquers to-morrow, she won't be nice to us, and if the +Su-dic conquers, he'll be worse."</p> + +<p>"Do not worry, dear," said Ozma, "I do not think we are in danger, +whatever happens, and the result of our adventure is sure to be good."</p> + +<p>Dorothy was not worrying, especially. She had confidence in her +friend, the fairy Princess of Oz, and she enjoyed the excitement of +the events in which she was taking part. So she crept into bed and +fell asleep as easily as if she had been in her own cosy room in +Ozma's palace.</p> + +<p>A sort of grating, grinding sound awakened her. The whole island +seemed to tremble and sway, as it might do in an earthquake. Dorothy +sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes to get the sleep out of them, and then +found it was daybreak.</p> + +<p>Ozma was hurriedly dressing herself.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Dorothy, jumping out of bed.</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure," answered Ozma "but it feels as if the island is +sinking."</p> + +<p>As soon as possible they finished dressing, while the creaking and +swaying continued. Then they rushed into the living room of the house +and found Lady Aurex, fully dressed, awaiting them.</p> + +<p>"Do not be alarmed," said their hostess. "Coo-ee-oh has decided to +submerge the island, that is all. But it proves the Flatheads are +coming to attack us."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by sub-sub-merging the island?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Come here and see," was the reply.</p> + +<p>Lady Aurex led them to a window which faced the side of the great dome +which covered all the village, and they could see that the island was +indeed sinking, for the water of the lake was already half way up the +side of the dome. Through the glass could be seen swimming fishes, and +tall stalks of swaying seaweeds, for the water was clear as crystal +and through it they could distinguish even the farther shore of the +lake.</p> + +<p>"The Flatheads are not here yet," said Lady Aurex. "They will come +soon, but not until all of this dome is under the surface of the +water."</p> + +<p>"Won't the dome leak?" Dorothy inquired anxiously.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed."</p> + +<p>"Was the island ever sub-sub-sunk before?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; on several occasions. But Coo-ee-oh doesn't care to do that +often, for it requires a lot of hard work to operate the machinery. +The dome was built so that the island could disappear. I think," she +continued, "that our Queen fears the Flatheads will attack the island +and try to break the glass of the dome."</p> + +<p>"Well, if we're under water, they can't fight us, and we can't fight +them," asserted Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"They could kill the fishes, however," said Ozma gravely</p> + +<p>"We have ways to fight, also, even though our island is under water," +claimed Lady Aurex. "I cannot tell you all our secrets, but this +island is full of surprises. Also our Queen's magic is astonishing."</p> + +<p>"Did she steal it all from the three Adepts in Sorcery that are now +fishes?"</p> + +<p>"She stole the knowledge and the magic tools, but she has used them as +the three Adepts never would have done."</p> + +<p>By this time the top of the dome was quite under water and suddenly +the island stopped sinking and became stationary.</p> + +<p>"See!" cried Lady Aurex, pointing to the shore. "The Flatheads have +come."</p> + +<p>On the bank, which was now far above their heads, a crowd of dark +figures could be seen.</p> + +<p>"Now let us see what Coo-ee-oh will do to oppose them," continued Lady +Aurex, in a voice that betrayed her excitement.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>The Flatheads, pushing their way through the line of palm trees, had +reached the shore of the lake just as the top of the island's dome +disappeared beneath the surface. The water now flowed from shore to +shore, but through the clear water the dome was still visible and the +houses of the Skeezers could be dimly seen through the panes of glass.</p> + +<p>"Good!" exclaimed the Su-dic, who had armed all his followers and had +brought with him two copper vessels, which he carefully set down upon +the ground beside him. "If Coo-ee-oh wants to hide instead of fighting +our job will be easy, for in one of these copper vessels I have enough +poison to kill every fish in the lake."</p> + +<p>"Kill them, then, while we have time, and then we can go home again," +advised one of the chief officers.</p> + +<p>"Not yet," objected the Su-dic. "The Queen of the Skeezers has defied +me, and I want to get her into my power, as well as to destroy her +magic. She transformed my poor wife into a Golden Pig, and I must have +revenge for that, whatever else we do."</p> + +<p>"Look out!" suddenly exclaimed the officers, pointing into the lake; +"something's going to happen."</p> + +<p>From the submerged dome a door opened and something black shot swiftly +out into the water. The door instantly closed behind it and the dark +object cleaved its way through the water, without rising to the +surface, directly toward the place where the Flatheads were standing.</p> + +<p>"What is that?" Dorothy asked the Lady Aurex.</p> + +<p>"That is one of the Queen's submarines," was the reply. "It is all +enclosed, and can move under water. Coo-ee-oh has several of these +boats which are kept in little rooms in the basement under our +village. When the island is submerged, the Queen uses these boats to +reach the shore, and I believe she now intends to fight the Flatheads +with them."</p> + +<p>The Su-dic and his people knew nothing of Coo-ee-oh's submarines, so +they watched with surprise as the under-water boat approached them. +When it was quite near the shore it rose to the surface and the top +parted and fell back, disclosing a boat full of armed Skeezers. At the +head was the Queen, standing up in the bow and holding in one hand a +coil of magic rope that gleamed like silver.</p> + +<p>The boat halted and Coo-ee-oh drew back her arm to throw the silver +rope toward the Su-dic, who was now but a few feet from her. But the +wily Flathead leader quickly realized his danger and before the Queen +could throw the rope he caught up one of the copper vessels and dashed +its contents full in her face!</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH11" id="CH11">Chapter Eleven</a></h2> + +<h3>The Conquest of the Skeezers</h3> + +<p>Queen Coo-ee-oh dropped the rope, tottered and fell headlong into the +water, sinking beneath the surface, while the Skeezers in the +submarine assist her and only stared at the ripples in the water where +she had disappeared. A moment later there arose to the surface a +beautiful White Swan. This Swan was of large size, very gracefully +formed, and scattered all over its white feathers were tiny diamonds, +so thickly placed that as the rays of the morning sun fell upon them +the entire body of the Swan glistened like one brilliant diamond. The +head of the Diamond Swan had a bill of polished gold and its eyes were +two sparkling amethysts.</p> + +<p>"Hooray!" cried the Su-dic, dancing up and down with wicked glee. "My +poor wife, Rora, is avenged at last. You made her a Golden Pig, +Coo-ee-oh, and now I have made you a Diamond Swan. Float on your lake +forever, if you like, for your web feet can do no more magic and you +are as powerless as the Pig you made of my wife!"</p> + +<p>"Villain! Scoundrel!" croaked the Diamond Swan. "You will be punished +for this. Oh, what a fool I was to let you enchant me!"</p> + +<p>"A fool you were, and a fool you are!" laughed the Su-dic, dancing +madly in his delight. And then he carelessly tipped over the other +copper vessel with his heel and its contents spilled on the sands and +were lost to the last drop.</p> + +<p>The Su-dic stopped short and looked at the overturned vessel with a +rueful countenance.</p> + +<p>"That's too bad—too bad!" he exclaimed sorrowfully. "I've lost all +the poison I had to kill the fishes with, and I can't make any more +because only my wife knew the secret of it, and she is now a foolish +Pig and has forgotten all her magic."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said the Diamond Swan scornfully, as she floated upon the +water and swam gracefully here and there. "I'm glad to see you are +foiled. Your punishment is just beginning, for although you have +enchanted me and taken away my powers of sorcery you have still the +three magic fishes to deal with, and they'll destroy you in time, mark +my words."</p> + +<p>The Su-dic stared at the Swan a moment. Then he yelled to his men:</p> + +<p>"Shoot her! Shoot the saucy bird!"</p> + +<p>They let fly some arrows at the Diamond Swan, but she dove under the +water and the missiles fell harmless. When Coo-ce-oh rose to the +surface she was far from the shore and she swiftly swam across the +lake to where no arrows or spears could reach her.</p> + +<p>The Su-dic rubbed his chin and thought what to do next. Near by +floated the submarine in which the Queen had come, but the Skeezers +who were in it were puzzled what to do with themselves. Perhaps they +were not sorry their cruel mistress had been transformed into a +Diamond Swan, but the transformation had left them quite helpless. The +under-water boat was not operated by machinery, but by certain mystic +words uttered by Coo-ee-oh. They didn't know how to submerge it, or +how to make the water-tight shield cover them again, or how to make +the boat go back to the castle, or make it enter the little basement +room where it was usually kept. As a matter of fact, they were now +shut out of their village under the Great Dome and could not get back +again. So one of the men called to the Supreme Dictator of the +Flatheads, saying:</p> + +<p>"Please make us prisoners and take us to your mountain, and feed and +keep us, for we have nowhere to go."</p> + +<p>Then the Su-dic laughed and answered:</p> + +<p>"Not so. I can't be bothered by caring for a lot of stupid Skeezers. +Stay where you are, or go wherever you please, so long as you keep +away from our mountain." He turned to his men and added: "We have +conquered Queen Coo-ee-oh and made her a helpless swan. The Skeezers +are under water and may stay there. So, having won the war, let us go +home again and make merry and feast, having after many years proved +the Flatheads to be greater and more powerful than the Skeezers."</p> + +<p>So the Flatheads marched away and passed through the row of palms and +went back to their mountain, where the Su-dic and a few of his +officers feasted and all the others were forced to wait on them.</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry we couldn't have roast pig," said the Su-dic, "but as the +only pig we have is made of gold, we can't eat her. Also the Golden +Pig happens to be my wife, and even were she not gold I am sure she +would be too tough to eat."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH12" id="CH12">Chapter Twelve</a></h2> + +<h3>The Diamond Swan</h3> + +<p>When the Flatheads had gone away the Diamond Swan swam back to the +boat and one of the young Skeezers named Ervic said to her eagerly:</p> + +<p>"How can we get back to the island, your Majesty?"</p> + +<p>"Am I not beautiful?" asked Coo-ee-oh, arching her neck gracefully and +spreading her diamond-sprinkled wings. "I can see my reflection in the +water, and I'm sure there is no bird nor beast, nor human as +magnificent as I am!"</p> + +<p>"How shall we get back to the island, your Majesty?" pleaded Ervic.</p> + +<p>"When my fame spreads throughout the land, people will travel from all +parts of this lake to look upon my loveliness," said Coo-ee-oh, +shaking her feathers to make the diamonds glitter more brilliantly.</p> + +<p>"But, your Majesty, we must go home and we do not know how to get +there," Ervic persisted.</p> + +<p>"My eyes," remarked the Diamond Swan, "are wonderfully blue and bright +and will charm all beholders."</p> + +<p>"Tell us how to make the boat go—how to get back into the island," +begged Ervic and the others cried just as earnestly: "Tell us, +Coo-ee-oh; tell us!"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied the Queen in a careless tone.</p> + +<p>"You are a magic-worker, a sorceress, a witch!"</p> + +<p>"I was, of course, when I was a girl," she said, bending her head over +the clear water to catch her reflection in it; "but now I've forgotten +all such foolish things as magic. Swans are lovelier than girls, +especially when they're sprinkled with diamonds. Don't you think so?" +And she gracefully swam away, without seeming to care whether they +answered or not.</p> + +<p>Ervic and his companions were in despair. They saw plainly that +Coo-ee-oh could not or would not help them. The former Queen had no +further thought for her island, her people, or her wonderful magic; +she was only intent on admiring her own beauty.</p> + +<p>"Truly," said Ervic, in a gloomy voice, "the Flatheads have conquered +us!"</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Some of these events had been witnessed by Ozma and Dorothy and Lady +Aurex, who had left the house and gone close to the glass of the dome, +in order to see what was going on. Many of the Skeezers had also +crowded against the dome, wondering what would happen next. Although +their vision was to an extent blurred by the water and the necessity +of looking upward at an angle, they had observed the main points of +the drama enacted above. They saw Queen Coo-ee-oh's submarine come to +the surface and open; they saw the Queen standing erect to throw her +magic rope; they saw her sudden transformation into a Diamond Swan, +and a cry of amazement went up from the Skeezers inside the dome.</p> + +<p>"Good!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I hate that old Su-dic, but I'm glad +Coo-ee-oh is punished."</p> + +<p>"This is a dreadful misfortune!" cried Lady Aurex, pressing her hands +upon her heart.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Ozma, nodding her head thoughtfully; "Coo-ee-oh's +misfortune will prove a terrible blow to her people."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?" asked Dorothy in surprise. "Seems to me +the Skeezers are in luck to lose their cruel Queen."</p> + +<p>"If that were all you would be right," responded Lady Aurex; "and if +the island were above water it would not be so serious. But here we +all are, at the bottom of the lake, and fast prisoners in this dome."</p> + +<p>"Can't you raise the island?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No. Only Coo-ee-oh knew how to do that," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"We can try," insisted Dorothy. "If it can be made to go down, it can +be made to come up. The machinery is still here, I suppose."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but the machinery works by magic, and Coo-ee-oh would never +share her secret power with any one of us."</p> + +<p>Dorothy's face grew grave; but she was thinking.</p> + +<p>"Ozma knows a lot of magic," she said.</p> + +<p>"But not that kind of magic," Ozma replied.</p> + +<p>"Can't you learn how, by looking at the machinery?"</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid not, my dear. It isn't fairy magic at all; it is +witchcraft."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, turning to Lady Aurex, "you say there are other +sub-sub-sinking boats. We can get in one of those, and shoot out to +the top of the water, like Coo-ee-oh did, and so escape. And then we +can help to rescue all the Skeezers down here."</p> + +<p>"No one knows how to work the under-water boats but the Queen," +declared Lady Aurex.</p> + +<p>"Isn't there any door or window in this dome that we could open?"</p> + +<p>"No; and, if there were, the water would rush in to flood the dome, +and we could not get out."</p> + +<p>"The Skeezers," said Ozma, "could not drown; they only get wet and +soggy and in that condition they would be very uncomfortable and +unhappy. But you are a mortal girl, Dorothy, and if your Magic Belt +protected you from death you would have to lie forever at the bottom +of the lake."</p> + +<p>"No, I'd rather die quickly," asserted the little girl. "But there are +doors in the basement that open—to let out the bridges and the +boats—and that would not flood the dome, you know."</p> + +<p>"Those doors open by a magic word, and only Coo-ee-oh knows the word +that must be uttered," said Lady Aurex.</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, "that dreadful Queen's witchcraft upsets +all my plans to escape. I guess I'll give it up, Ozma, and let you +save us."</p> + +<p>Ozma smiled, but her smile was not so cheerful as usual. The Princess +of Oz found herself confronted with a serious problem, and although +she had no thought of despairing she realized that the Skeezers and +their island, as well as Dorothy and herself, were in grave trouble +and that unless she could find a means to save them they would be lost +to the Land of Oz for all future time.</p> + +<p>"In such a dilemma," said she, musingly, "nothing is gained by haste. +Careful thought may aid us, and so may the course of events. The +unexpected is always likely to happen, and cheerful patience is better +than reckless action."</p> + +<p>"All right," returned Dorothy; "take your time, Ozma; there's no +hurry. How about some breakfast, Lady Aurex?"</p> + +<p>Their hostess led them back to the house, where she ordered her +trembling servants to prepare and serve breakfast. All the Skeezers +were frightened and anxious over the transformation of their Queen +into a swan. Coo-ee-oh was feared and hated, but they had depended on +her magic to conquer the Flatheads and she was the only one who could +raise their island to the surface of the lake again.</p> + +<p>Before breakfast was over several of the leading Skeezers came to +Aurex to ask her advice and to question Princess Ozma, of whom they +knew nothing except that she claimed to be a fairy and the Ruler of +all the land, including the Lake of the Skeezers.</p> + +<p>"If what you told Queen Coo-ee-oh was the truth," they said to her, +"you are our lawful mistress, and we may depend on you to get us out +of our difficulties."</p> + +<p>"I will try to do that" Ozma graciously assured them, "but you must +remember that the powers of fairies are granted them to bring comfort +and happiness to all who appeal to them. On the contrary, such magic +as Coo-ee-oh knew and practiced is unlawful witchcraft and her arts +are such as no fairy would condescend to use. However, it is sometimes +necessary to consider evil in order to accomplish good, and perhaps by +studying Coo-ee-oh's tools and charms of witchcraft I may be able to +save us. Do you promise to accept me as your Ruler and to obey my +commands?"</p> + +<p>They promised willingly.</p> + +<p>"Then," continued Ozma, "I will go to Coo-ee-oh's palace and take +possession of it. Perhaps what I find there will be of use to me. In +the meantime tell all the Skeezers to fear nothing, but have patience. +Let them return to their homes and perform their daily tasks as usual. +Coo-ee-oh's loss may not prove a misfortune, but rather a blessing."</p> + +<p>This speech cheered the Skeezers amazingly. Really, they had no one +now to depend upon but Ozma, and in spite of their dangerous position +their hearts were lightened by the transformation and absence of their +cruel Queen.</p> + +<p>They got out their brass band and a grand procession escorted Ozma and +Dorothy to the palace, where all of Coo-ee-oh's former servants were +eager to wait upon them. Ozma invited Lady Aurex to stay at the palace +also, for she knew all about the Skeezers and their island and had +also been a favorite of the former Queen, so her advice and +information were sure to prove valuable.</p> + +<p>Ozma was somewhat disappointed in what she found in the palace. One +room of Coo-ee-oh's private suite was entirely devoted to the practice +of witchcraft, and here were countless queer instruments and jars of +ointments and bottles of potions labeled with queer names, and strange +machines that Ozma could not guess the use of, and pickled toads and +snails and lizards, and a shelf of books that were written in blood, +but in a language which the Ruler of Oz did not know.</p> + +<p>"I do not see," said Ozma to Dorothy, who accompanied her in her +search, "how Coo-ee-oh knew the use of the magic tools she stole from +the three Adept Witches. Moreover, from all reports these Adepts +practiced only good witchcraft, such as would be helpful to their +people, while Coo-ee-oh performed only evil."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she turned the good things to evil uses?" suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and with the knowledge she gained Coo-ee-oh doubtless invented +many evil things quite unknown to the good Adepts, who are now +fishes," added Ozma. "It is unfortunate for us that the Queen kept her +secrets so closely guarded, for no one but herself could use any of +these strange things gathered in this room."</p> + +<p>"Couldn't we capture the Diamond Swan and make her tell the secrets?" +asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No; even were we able to capture her, Coo-ee-oh now has forgotten all +the magic she ever knew. But until we ourselves escape from this dome +we could not capture the Swan, and were we to escape we would have no +use for Coo-ee-oh's magic."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact," admitted Dorothy. "But—say, Ozma, here's a good +idea! Couldn't we capture the three fishes—the gold and silver and +bronze ones, and couldn't you transform 'em back to their own shapes, +and then couldn't the three Adepts get us out of here?"</p> + +<p>"You are not very practical, Dorothy dear. It would be as hard for us +to capture the three fishes, from among all the other fishes in the +lake, as to capture the Swan."</p> + +<p>"But if we could, it would be more help to us," persisted the little +girl.</p> + +<p>"That is true," answered Ozma, smiling at her friend's eagerness. "You +find a way to catch the fish, and I'll promise when they are caught to +restore them to their proper forms."</p> + +<p>"I know you think I can't do it," replied Dorothy, "but I'm going to +try."</p> + +<p>She left the palace and went to a place where she could look through a +clear pane of the glass dome into the surrounding water. Immediately +she became interested in the queer sights that met her view.</p> + +<p>The Lake of the Skeezers was inhabited by fishes of many kinds and +many sizes. The water was so transparent that the girl could see for a +long distance and the fishes came so close to the glass of the dome +that sometimes they actually touched it. On the white sands at the +bottom of the lake were star-fish, lobsters, crabs and many shell fish +of strange shapes and with shells of gorgeous hues. The water foliage +was of brilliant colors and to Dorothy it resembled a splendid garden.</p> + +<p>But the fishes were the most interesting of all. Some were big and +lazy, floating slowly along or lying at rest with just their fins +waving. Many with big round eyes looked full at the girl as she +watched them and Dorothy wondered if they could hear her through the +glass if she spoke to them. In Oz, where all the animals and birds can +talk, many fishes are able to talk also, but usually they are more +stupid than birds and animals because they think slowly and haven't +much to talk about.</p> + +<p>In the Lake of the Skeezers the fish of smaller size were more active +than the big ones and darted quickly in and out among the swaying +weeds, as if they had important business and were in a hurry. It was +among the smaller varieties that Dorothy hoped to spy the gold and +silver and bronze fishes. She had an idea the three would keep +together, being companions now as they were in their natural forms, +but such a multitude of fishes constantly passed, the scene shifting +every moment, that she was not sure she would notice them even if they +appeared in view. Her eyes couldn't look in all directions and the +fishes she sought might be on the other side of the dome, or far away +in the lake.</p> + +<p>"P'raps, because they were afraid of Coo-ee-oh, they've hid themselves +somewhere, and don't know their enemy has been transformed," she +reflected.</p> + +<p>She watched the fishes for a long time, until she became hungry and +went back to the palace for lunch. But she was not discouraged.</p> + +<p>"Anything new, Ozma?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"No, dear. Did you discover the three fishes?"</p> + +<p>"Not yet. But there isn't anything better for me to do, Ozma, so I +guess I'll go back and watch again."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH13" id="CH13">Chapter Thirteen</a></h2> + +<h3>The Alarm Bell</h3> + +<p>Glinda, the Good, in her palace in the Quadling Country, had many +things to occupy her mind, for not only did she look after the weaving +and embroidery of her bevy of maids, and assist all those who came to +her to implore her help—beasts and birds as well as people—but she +was a close student of the arts of sorcery and spent much time in her +Magical Laboratory, where she strove to find a remedy for every evil +and to perfect her skill in magic.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, she did not forget to look in the Great Book of Records +each day to see if any mention was made of the visit of Ozma and +Dorothy to the Enchanted Mountain of the Flatheads and the Magic Isle +of the Skeezers. The Records told her that Ozma had arrived at the +mountain, that she had escaped, with her companion, and gone to the +island of the Skeezers, and that Queen Coo-ee-oh had submerged the +island so that it was entirely under water. Then came the statement +that the Flatheads had come to the lake to poison the fishes and that +their Supreme Dictator had transformed Queen Coo-ee-oh into a swan.</p> + +<p>No other details were given in the Great Book and so Glinda did not +know that since Coo-ee-oh had forgotten her magic none of the Skeezers +knew how to raise the island to the surface again. So Glinda was not +worried about Ozma and Dorothy until one morning, while she sat with +her maids, there came a sudden clang of the great alarm bell. This was +so unusual that every maid gave a start and even the Sorceress for a +moment could not think what the alarm meant.</p> + +<p>Then she remembered the ring she had given Dorothy when she left the +palace to start on her venture. In giving the ring Glinda had warned +the little girl not to use its magic powers unless she and Ozma were +in real danger, but then she was to turn it on her finger once to the +right and once to the left and Glinda's alarm bell would ring.</p> + +<p>So the Sorceress now knew that danger threatened her beloved Ruler and +Princess Dorothy, and she hurried to her magic room to seek +information as to what sort of danger it was. The answer to her +question was not very satisfactory, for it was only: "Ozma and Dorothy +are prisoners in the great Dome of the Isle of the Skeezers, and the +Dome is under the water of the lake."</p> + +<p>"Hasn't Ozma the power to raise the island to the surface?" inquired +Glinda.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply, and the Record refused to say more except that +Queen Coo-ee-oh, who alone could command the island to rise, had been +transformed by the Flathead Su-dic into a Diamond Swan.</p> + +<p>Then Glinda consulted the past records of the Skeezers in the Great +Book. After diligent search she discovered that Coo-ee-oh was a +powerful sorceress who had gained most of her power by treacherously +transforming the Adepts of Magic, who were visiting her, into three +fishes—gold, silver and bronze—after which she had them cast into +the lake.</p> + +<p>Glinda reflected earnestly on this information and decided that +someone must go to Ozma's assistance. While there was no great need of +haste, because Ozma and Dorothy could live in a submerged dome a long +time, it was evident they could not get out until someone was able to +raise the island.</p> + +<p>The Sorceress looked through all her recipes and books of sorcery, but +could find no magic that would raise a sunken island. Such a thing had +never before been required in sorcery. Then Glinda made a little +island, covered by a glass dome, and sunk it in a pond near her +castle, and experimented in magical ways to bring it to the surface. +She made several such experiments, but all were failures. It seemed a +simple thing to do, yet she could not do it.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, the wise Sorceress did not despair of finding a way to +liberate her friends. Finally she concluded that the best thing to do +was to go to the Skeezer country and examine the lake. While there she +was more likely to discover a solution to the problem that bothered +her, and to work out a plan for the rescue of Ozma and Dorothy.</p> + +<p>So Glinda summoned her storks and her aerial chariot, and telling her +maids she was going on a journey and might not soon return, she +entered the chariot and was carried swiftly to the Emerald City.</p> + +<p>In Princess Ozma's palace the Scarecrow was now acting as Ruler of the +Land of Oz. There wasn't much for him to do, because all the affairs +of state moved so smoothly, but he was there in case anything +unforeseen should happen.</p> + +<p>Glinda found the Scarecrow playing croquet with Trot and Betsy Bobbin, +two little girls who lived at the palace under Ozma's protection and +were great friends of Dorothy and much loved by all the Oz people.</p> + +<p>"Something's happened!" cried Trot, as the chariot of the Sorceress +descended near them. "Glinda never comes here 'cept something's gone +wrong."</p> + +<p>"I hope no harm has come to Ozma, or Dorothy," said Betsy anxiously, +as the lovely Sorceress stepped down from her chariot.</p> + +<p>Glinda approached the Scarecrow and told him of the dilemma of Ozma +and Dorothy and she added: "We must save them, somehow, Scarecrow."</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, stumbling over a wicket and +falling flat on his painted face.</p> + +<p>The girls picked him up and patted his straw stuffing into shape, and +he continued, as if nothing had occurred: "But you'll have to tell me +what to do, for I never have raised a sunken island in all my life."</p> + +<p>"We must have a Council of State as soon as possible," proposed the +Sorceress. "Please send messengers to summon all of Ozma's counsellors +to this palace. Then we can decide what is best to be done."</p> + +<p>The Scarecrow lost no time in doing this. Fortunately most of the +royal counsellors were in the Emerald City or near to it, so they all +met in the throne room of the palace that same evening.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH14" id="CH14">Chapter Fourteen</a></h2> + +<h3>Ozma's Counsellors</h3> + +<p>No Ruler ever had such a queer assortment of advisers as the Princess +Ozma had gathered about her throne. Indeed, in no other country could +such amazing people exist. But Ozma loved them for their peculiarities +and could trust every one of them.</p> + +<p>First there was the Tin Woodman. Every bit of him was tin, brightly +polished. All his joints were kept well oiled and moved smoothly. He +carried a gleaming axe to prove he was a woodman, but seldom had cause +to use it because he lived in a magnificent tin castle in the Winkie +Country of Oz and was the Emperor of all the Winkies. The Tin +Woodman's name was Nick Chopper. He had a very good mind, but his +heart was not of much account, so he was very careful to do nothing +unkind or to hurt anyone's feelings.</p> + +<p>Another counsellor was Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, who was made +of a gaudy patchwork quilt, cut into shape and stuffed with cotton. +This Patchwork Girl was very intelligent, but so full of fun and mad +pranks that a lot of more stupid folks thought she must be crazy. +Scraps was jolly under all conditions, however grave they might be, +but her laughter and good spirits were of value in cheering others and +in her seemingly careless remarks much wisdom could often be found.</p> + +<p>Then there was the Shaggy Man—shaggy from head to foot, hair and +whiskers, clothes and shoes—but very kind and gentle and one of +Ozma's most loyal supporters.</p> + +<p>Tik-Tok was there, a copper man with machinery inside him, so cleverly +constructed that he moved, spoke and thought by three separate +clock-works. Tik-Tok was very reliable because he always did exactly +what he was wound up to do, but his machinery was liable to run down +at times and then he was quite helpless until wound up again.</p> + +<p>A different sort of person was Jack Pumpkinhead, one of Ozma's oldest +friends and her companion on many adventures. Jack's body was very +crude and awkward, being formed of limbs of trees of different sizes, +jointed with wooden pegs. But it was a substantial body and not likely +to break or wear out, and when it was dressed the clothes covered much +of its roughness. The head of Jack Pumpkinhead was, as you have +guessed, a ripe pumpkin, with the eyes, nose and mouth carved upon one +side. The pumpkin was stuck on Jack's wooden neck and was liable to +get turned sidewise or backward and then he would have to straighten +it with his wooden hands.</p> + +<p>The worst thing about this sort of a head was that it did not keep +well and was sure to spoil sooner or later. So Jack's main business +was to grow a field of fine pumpkins each year, and always before his +old head spoiled he would select a fresh pumpkin from the field and +carve the features on it very neatly, and have it ready to replace the +old head whenever it became necessary. He didn't always carve it the +same way, so his friends never knew exactly what sort of an expression +they would find on his face. But there was no mistaking him, because +he was the only pumpkin-headed man alive in the Land of Oz.</p> + +<p>A one-legged sailor-man was a member of Ozma's council. His name was +Cap'n Bill and he had come to the Land of Oz with Trot, and had been +made welcome on account of his cleverness, honesty and good nature. He +wore a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost and was a great +friend of all the children in Oz because he could whittle all sorts of +toys out of wood with his big jack-knife.</p> + +<p>Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., was another member of the council. +The "H. M." meant Highly Magnified, for the Professor was once a +little bug, who became magnified to the size of a man and always +remained so. The "T. E." meant that he was Thoroughly Educated. He was +at the head of Princess Ozma's Royal Athletic College, and so that the +students would not have to study and so lose much time that could be +devoted to athletic sports, such as football, baseball and the like, +Professor Wogglebug had invented the famous Educational Pills. If one +of the college students took a Geography Pill after breakfast, he knew +his geography lesson in an instant; if he took a Spelling Pill he at +once knew his spelling lesson, and an Arithmetic Pill enabled the +student to do any kind of sum without having to think about it.</p> + +<p>These useful pills made the college very popular and taught the boys +and girls of Oz their lessons in the easiest possible way. In spite of +this, Professor Wogglebug was not a favorite outside his college, for +he was very conceited and admired himself so much and displayed his +cleverness and learning so constantly, that no one cared to associate +with him. Ozma found him of value in her councils, nevertheless.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most splendidly dressed of all those present was a great +frog as large as a man, called the Frogman, who was noted for his wise +sayings. He had come to the Emerald City from the Yip Country of Oz +and was a guest of honor. His long-tailed coat was of velvet, his vest +of satin and his trousers of finest silk. There were diamond buckles +on his shoes and he carried a gold-headed cane and a high silk hat. +All of the bright colors were represented in his rich attire, so it +tired one's eyes to look at him for long, until one became used to his +splendor.</p> + +<p>The best farmer in all Oz was Uncle Henry, who was Dorothy's own +uncle, and who now lived near the Emerald City with his wife Aunt Em. +Uncle Henry taught the Oz people how to grow the finest vegetables and +fruits and grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the Royal +Storehouses well filled. He, too, was a counsellor.</p> + +<p>The reason I mention the little Wizard of Oz last is because he was +the most important man in the Land of Oz. He wasn't a big man in size +but he was a man in power and intelligence and second only to Glinda +the Good in all the mystic arts of magic. Glinda had taught him, and +the Wizard and the Sorceress were the only ones in Oz permitted by law +to practice wizardry and sorcery, which they applied only to good uses +and for the benefit of the people.</p> + +<p>The Wizard wasn't exactly handsome but he was pleasant to look at. His +bald head was as shiny as if it had been varnished; there was always a +merry twinkle in his eyes and he was as spry as a schoolboy. Dorothy +says the reason the Wizard is not as powerful as Glinda is because +Glinda didn't teach him all she knows, but what the Wizard knows he +knows very well and so he performs some very remarkable magic. The ten +I have mentioned assembled, with the Scarecrow and Glinda, in Ozma's +throne room, right after dinner that evening, and the Sorceress told +them all she knew of the plight of Ozma and Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Of course we must rescue them," she continued, "and the sooner they +are rescued the better pleased they will be; but what we must now +determine is how they can be saved. That is why I have called you +together in council."</p> + +<p>"The easiest way," remarked the Shaggy Man, "is to raise the sunken +island of the Skeezers to the top of the water again."</p> + +<p>"Tell me how?" said Glinda.</p> + +<p>"I don't know how, your Highness, for I have never raised a sunken +island."</p> + +<p>"We might all get under it and lift," suggested Professor Wogglebug.</p> + +<p>"How can we get under it when it rests on the bottom of the lake?" +asked the Sorceress.</p> + +<p>"Couldn't we throw a rope around it and pull it ashore?" inquired Jack +Pumpkinhead.</p> + +<p>"Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested the Patchwork Girl +with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious matter, and we +must give it serious thought."</p> + +<p>"How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was the Frogman's +question.</p> + +<p>"None of us can tell, for we have not been there."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me we ought to go +to the Skeezer country and examine it carefully."</p> + +<p>"Quite right," agreed the Tin Woodman.</p> + +<p>"We-will-have-to-go-there-any-how," remarked Tik-Tok in his jerky +machine voice.</p> + +<p>"The question is which of us shall go, and how many of us?" said the +Wizard.</p> + +<p>"I shall go of course," declared the Scarecrow.</p> + +<p>"And I," said Scraps.</p> + +<p>"It is my duty to Ozma to go," asserted the Tin Woodman.</p> + +<p>"I could not stay away, knowing our loved Princess is in danger," said +the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said.</p> + +<p>Finally one and all present decided to go to the Skeezer country, with +Glinda and the little Wizard to lead them. Magic must meet magic in +order to conquer it, so these two skillful magic-workers were +necessary to insure the success of the expedition.</p> + +<p>They were all ready to start at a moment's notice, for none had any +affairs of importance to attend to. Jack was wearing a newly made +Pumpkin-head and the Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with fresh +straw. Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the Tin +Woodman always was well oiled.</p> + +<p>"It is quite a long journey," said Glinda, "and while I might travel +quickly to the Skeezer country by means of my stork chariot the rest +of you will be obliged to walk. So, as we must keep together, I will +send my chariot back to my castle and we will plan to leave the +Emerald City at sunrise to-morrow."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH15" id="CH15">Chapter Fifteen</a></h2> + +<h3>The Great Sorceress</h3> + +<p>Betsy and Trot, when they heard of the rescue expedition, begged the +Wizard to permit them to join it and he consented. The Glass Cat, +overhearing the conversation, wanted to go also and to this the Wizard +made no objection.</p> + +<p>This Glass Cat was one of the real curiosities of Oz. It had been made +and brought to life by a clever magician named Dr. Pipt, who was not +now permitted to work magic and was an ordinary citizen of the Emerald +City. The cat was of transparent glass, through which one could +plainly see its ruby heart beating and its pink brains whirling around +in the top of the head.</p> + +<p>The Glass Cat's eyes were emeralds; its fluffy tail was of spun glass +and very beautiful. The ruby heart, while pretty to look at, was hard +and cold and the Glass Cat's disposition was not pleasant at all +times. It scorned to catch mice, did not eat, and was extremely lazy. +If you complimented the remarkable cat on her beauty, she would be +very friendly, for she loved admiration above everything. The pink +brains were always working and their owner was indeed more intelligent +than most common cats.</p> + +<p>Three other additions to the rescue party were made the next morning, +just as they were setting out upon their journey. The first was a +little boy called Button Bright, because he had no other name that +anyone could remember. He was a fine, manly little fellow, well +mannered and good humored, who had only one bad fault. He was +continually getting lost. To be sure, Button Bright got found as often +as he got lost, but when he was missing his friends could not help +being anxious about him.</p> + +<p>"Some day," predicted the Patchwork Girl, "he won't be found, and that +will be the last of him." But that didn't worry Button Bright, who was +so careless that he did not seem to be able to break the habit of +getting lost.</p> + +<p>The second addition to the party was a Munchkin boy of about Button +Bright's age, named Ojo. He was often called "Ojo the Lucky," because +good fortune followed him wherever he went. He and Button Bright were +close friends, although of such different natures, and Trot and Betsy +were fond of both.</p> + +<p>The third and last to join the expedition was an enormous lion, one of +Ozma's regular guardians and the most important and intelligent beast +in all Oz. He called himself the Cowardly Lion, saying that every +little danger scared him so badly that his heart thumped against his +ribs, but all who knew him knew that the Cowardly Lion's fears were +coupled with bravery and that however much he might be frightened he +summoned courage to meet every danger he encountered. Often he had +saved Dorothy and Ozma in times of peril, but afterward he moaned and +trembled and wept because he had been so scared.</p> + +<p>"If Ozma needs help, I'm going to help her," said the great beast. +"Also, I suspect the rest of you may need me on the +journey—especially Trot and Betsy—for you may pass through a +dangerous part of the country. I know that wild Gillikin country +pretty well. Its forests harbor many ferocious beasts."</p> + +<p>They were glad the Cowardly Lion was to join them, and in good spirits +the entire party formed a procession and marched out of the Emerald +City amid the shouts of the people, who wished them success and a safe +return with their beloved Ruler.</p> + +<p>They followed a different route from that taken by Ozma and Dorothy, +for they went through the Winkie Country and up north toward Oogaboo. +But before they got there they swerved to the left and entered the +Great Gillikin Forest, the nearest thing to a wilderness in all Oz. +Even the Cowardly Lion had to admit that certain parts of this forest +were unknown to him, although he had often wandered among the trees, +and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, who were great travelers, never had +been there at all.</p> + +<p>The forest was only reached after a tedious tramp, for some of the +Rescue Expedition were quite awkward on their feet. The Patchwork Girl +was as light as a feather and very spry; the Tin Woodman covered the +ground as easily as Uncle Henry and the Wizard; but Tik-Tok moved +slowly and the slightest obstruction in the road would halt him until +the others cleared it away. Then, too, Tik-Tok's machinery kept +running down, so Betsy and Trot took turns in winding it up.</p> + +<p>The Scarecrow was more clumsy but less bother, for although he often +stumbled and fell he could scramble up again and a little patting of +his straw-stuffed body would put him in good shape again.</p> + +<p>Another awkward one was Jack Pumpkinhead, for walking would jar his +head around on his neck and then he would be likely to go in the wrong +direction. But the Frogman took Jack's arm and then he followed the +path more easily.</p> + +<p>Cap'n Bill's wooden leg didn't prevent him from keeping up with the +others and the old sailor could walk as far as any of them.</p> + +<p>When they entered the forest the Cowardly Lion took the lead. There +was no path here for men, but many beasts had made paths of their own +which only the eyes of the Lion, practiced in woodcraft, could +discern. So he stalked ahead and wound his way in and out, the others +following in single file, Glinda being next to the Lion.</p> + +<p>There are dangers in the forest, of course, but as the huge Lion +headed the party he kept the wild denizens of the wilderness from +bothering the travelers. Once, to be sure, an enormous leopard sprang +upon the Glass Cat and caught her in his powerful jaws, but he broke +several of his teeth and with howls of pain and dismay dropped his +prey and vanished among the trees.</p> + +<p>"Are you hurt?" Trot anxiously inquired of the Glass Cat.</p> + +<p>"How silly!" exclaimed the creature in an irritated tone of voice; +"nothing can hurt glass, and I'm too solid to break easily. But I'm +annoyed at that leopard's impudence. He has no respect for beauty or +intelligence. If he had noticed my pink brains work, I'm sure he would +have realized I'm too important to be grabbed in a wild beast's jaws."</p> + +<p>"Never mind," said Trot consolingly; "I'm sure he won't do it again."</p> + +<p>They were almost in the center of the forest when Ojo, the Munchkin +boy, suddenly said: "Why, where's Button Bright?"</p> + +<p>They halted and looked around them. Button Bright was not with the +party.</p> + +<p>"Dear me," remarked Betsy, "I expect he's lost again!"</p> + +<p>"When did you see him last, Ojo?" inquired Glinda.</p> + +<p>"It was some time ago," replied Ojo. "He was trailing along at the end +and throwing twigs at the squirrels in the trees. Then I went to talk +to Betsy and Trot, and just now I noticed he was gone."</p> + +<p>"This is too bad," declared the Wizard, "for it is sure to delay our +journey. We must find Button Bright before we go any farther, for this +forest is full of ferocious beasts that would not hesitate to tear the +boy to pieces."</p> + +<p>"But what shall we do?" asked the Scarecrow. "If any of us leaves the +party to search for Button Bright he or she might fall a victim to the +beasts, and if the Lion leaves us we will have no protector."</p> + +<p>"The Glass Cat could go," suggested the Frogman. "The beasts can do +her no harm, as we have discovered."</p> + +<p>The Wizard turned to Glinda.</p> + +<p>"Cannot your sorcery discover where Button Bright is?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I think so," replied the Sorceress.</p> + +<p>She called to Uncle Henry, who had been carrying her wicker box, to +bring it to her, and when he obeyed she opened it and drew out a small +round mirror. On the surface of the glass she dusted a white powder +and then wiped it away with her handkerchief and looked in the mirror. +It reflected a part of the forest, and there, beneath a wide-spreading +tree, Button Bright was lying asleep. On one side of him crouched a +tiger, ready to spring; on the other side was a big gray wolf, its +bared fangs glistening in a wicked way.</p> + +<p>"Goodness me!" cried Trot, looking over Glinda's shoulder. "They'll +catch and kill him sure."</p> + +<p>Everyone crowded around for a glimpse at the magic mirror.</p> + +<p>"Pretty bad—pretty bad!" said the Scarecrow sorrowfully.</p> + +<p>"Comes of getting lost!" said Cap'n Bill, sighing.</p> + +<p>"Guess he's a goner!" said the Frogman, wiping his eyes on his purple +silk handkerchief.</p> + +<p>"But where is he? Can't we save him?" asked Ojo the Lucky.</p> + +<p>"If we knew where he is we could probably save him," replied the +little Wizard, "but that tree looks so much like all the other trees, +that we can't tell whether it's far away or near by."</p> + +<p>"Look at Glinda!" exclaimed Betsy</p> + +<p>Glinda, having handed the mirror to the Wizard, had stepped aside and +was making strange passes with her outstretched arms and reciting in +low, sweet tones a mystical incantation. Most of them watched the +Sorceress with anxious eyes, despair giving way to the hope that she +might be able to save their friend. The Wizard, however, watched the +scene in the mirror, while over his shoulders peered Trot, the +Scarecrow and the Shaggy Man.</p> + +<p>What they saw was more strange than Glinda's actions. The tiger +started to spring on the sleeping boy, but suddenly lost its power to +move and lay flat upon the ground. The gray wolf seemed unable to lift +its feet from the ground. It pulled first at one leg and then at +another, and finding itself strangely confined to the spot began to +back and snarl angrily. They couldn't hear the barkings and snarls, +but they could see the creature's mouth open and its thick lips move. +Button Bright, however, being but a few feet away from the wolf, heard +its cries of rage, which wakened him from his untroubled sleep. The +boy sat up and looked first at the tiger and then at the wolf. His +face showed that for a moment he was quite frightened, but he soon saw +that the beasts were unable to approach him and so he got upon his +feet and examined them curiously, with a mischievous smile upon his +face. Then he deliberately kicked the tiger's head with his foot and +catching up a fallen branch of a tree he went to the wolf and gave it +a good whacking. Both the beasts were furious at such treatment but +could not resent it.</p> + +<p>Button Bright now threw down the stick and with his hands in his +pockets wandered carelessly away.</p> + +<p>"Now," said Glinda, "let the Glass Cat run and find him. He is in that +direction," pointing the way, "but how far off I do not know. Make +haste and lead him back to us as quickly as you can."</p> + +<p>The Glass Cat did not obey everyone's orders, but she really feared +the great Sorceress, so as soon as the words were spoken the crystal +animal darted away and was quickly lost to sight.</p> + +<p>The Wizard handed the mirror back to Glinda, for the woodland scene +had now faded from the glass. Then those who cared to rest sat down to +await Button Bright's coming. It was not long before be appeared +through the trees and as he rejoined his friends he said in a peevish +tone:</p> + +<p>"Don't ever send that Glass Cat to find me again. She was very +impolite and, if we didn't all know that she had no manners, I'd say +she insulted me."</p> + +<p>Glinda turned upon the boy sternly.</p> + +<p>"You have caused all of us much anxiety and annoyance," said she. +"Only my magic saved you from destruction. I forbid you to get lost +again."</p> + +<p>"Of course," he answered. "It won't be my fault if I get lost again; +but it wasn't my fault this time."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH16" id="CH16">Chapter Sixteen</a></h2> + +<h3>The Enchanted Fishes</h3> + +<p>I must now tell you what happened to Ervic and the three other +Skeezers who were left floating in the iron boat after Queen Coo-ee-oh +had been transformed into a Diamond Swan by the magic of the Flathead +Su-dic.</p> + +<p>The four Skeezers were all young men and their leader was Ervic. +Coo-ee-oh had taken them with her in the boat to assist her if she +captured the Flathead chief, as she hoped to do by means of her silver +rope. They knew nothing about the witchcraft that moved the submarine +and so, when left floating upon the lake, were at a loss what to do. +The submarine could not be submerged by them or made to return to the +sunken island. There were neither oars nor sails in the boat, which +was not anchored but drifted quietly upon the surface of the lake.</p> + +<p>The Diamond Swan had no further thought or care for her people. She +had sailed over to the other side of the lake and all the calls and +pleadings of Ervic and his companions were unheeded by the vain bird. +As there was nothing else for them to do, they sat quietly in their +boat and waited as patiently as they could for someone to come to +their aid.</p> + +<p>The Flatheads had refused to help them and had gone back to their +mountain. All the Skeezers were imprisoned in the Great Dome and could +not help even themselves. When evening came, they saw the Diamond +Swan, still keeping to the opposite shore of the lake, walk out of the +water to the sands, shake her diamond-sprinkled feathers, and then +disappear among the bushes to seek a resting place for the night.</p> + +<p>"I'm hungry," said Ervic.</p> + +<p>"I'm cold," said another Skeezer.</p> + +<p>"I'm tired," said a third.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," said the last one of them.</p> + +<p>But it did them no good to complain. Night fell and the moon rose and +cast a silvery sheen over the surface of the water.</p> + +<p>"Go to sleep," said Ervic to his companions. "I'll stay awake and +watch, for we may be rescued in some unexpected way."</p> + +<p>So the other three laid themselves down in the bottom of the boat and +were soon fast asleep.</p> + +<p>Ervic watched. He rested himself by leaning over the bow of the boat, +his face near to the moonlit water, and thought dreamily of the day's +surprising events and wondered what would happen to the prisoners in +the Great Dome.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a tiny goldfish popped its head above the surface of the +lake, not more than a foot from his eyes. A silverfish then raised its +head beside that of the goldfish, and a moment later a bronzefish +lifted its head beside the others. The three fish, all in a row, +looked earnestly with their round, bright eyes into the astonished +eyes of Ervic the Skeezer.</p> + +<p>"We are the three Adepts whom Queen Coo-ee-oh betrayed and wickedly +transformed," said the goldfish, its voice low and soft but distinctly +heard in the stillness of the night.</p> + +<p>"I know of our Queen's treacherous deed," replied Ervic, "and I am +sorry for your misfortune. Have you been in the lake ever since?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"I—I hope you are well—and comfortable," stammered Ervic, not +knowing what else to say.</p> + +<p>"We knew that some day Ooo-ee-oh would meet with the fate she so +richly deserves," declared the bronzefish. "We have waited and watched +for this time. Now if you will promise to help us and will be faithful +and true, you can aid us in regaining our natural forms, and save +yourself and all your people from the dangers that now threaten you."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Ervic, "you can depend on my doing the best I can. But +I'm no witch, nor magician, you must know."</p> + +<p>"All we ask is that you obey our instructions," returned the +silverfish. "We know that you are honest and that you served Coo-ee-oh +only because you were obliged to in order to escape her anger. Do as +we command and all will be well."</p> + +<p>"I promise!" exclaimed the young man. "Tell me what I am to do first."</p> + +<p>"You will find in the bottom of your boat the silver cord which +dropped from Coo-ee-oh's hand when she was transformed," said the +goldfish. "Tie one end of that cord to the bow of your boat and drop +the other end to us in the water. Together we will pull your boat to +the shore."</p> + +<p>Ervic much doubted that the three small fishes could move so heavy a +boat, but he did as he was told and the fishes all seized their end of +the silver cord in their mouths and headed toward the nearest shore, +which was the very place where the Flatheads had stood when they +conquered Queen Coo-ee-oh.</p> + +<p>At first the boat did not move at all, although the fishes pulled with +all their strength. But presently the strain began to tell. Very +slowly the boat crept toward the shore, gaining more speed at every +moment. A couple of yards away from the sandy beach the fishes dropped +the cord from their mouths and swam to one side, while the iron boat, +being now under way, continued to move until its prow grated upon the +sands.</p> + +<p>Ervic leaned over the side and said to the fishes: "What next?"</p> + +<p>"You will find upon the sand," said the silverfish, "a copper kettle, +which the Su-dic forgot when he went away. Cleanse it thoroughly in +the water of the lake, for it has had poison in it. When it is +cleaned, fill it with fresh water and hold it over the side of the +boat, so that we three may swim into the kettle. We will then instruct +you further."</p> + +<p>"Do you wish me to catch you, then?" asked Ervic in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply.</p> + +<p>So Ervic jumped out of the boat and found the copper kettle. Carrying +it a little way down the beach, he washed it well, scrubbing away +every drop of the poison it had contained with sand from the shore.</p> + +<p>Then he went back to the boat.</p> + +<p>Ervic's comrades were still sound asleep and knew nothing of the three +fishes or what strange happenings were taking place about them. Ervic +dipped the kettle in the lake, holding fast to the handle until it was +under water. The gold and silver and bronze fishes promptly swam into +the kettle. The young Skeezer then lifted it, poured out a little of +the water so it would not spill over the edge, and said to the fishes: +"What next?"</p> + +<p>"Carry the kettle to the shore. Take one hundred steps to the east, +along the edge of the lake, and then you will see a path leading +through the meadows, up hill and down dale. Follow the path until you +come to a cottage which is painted a purple color with white +trimmings. When you stop at the gate of this cottage we will tell you +what to do next. Be careful, above all, not to stumble and spill the +water from the kettle, or you would destroy us and all you have done +would be in vain."</p> + +<p>The goldfish issued these commands and Ervic promised to be careful +and started to obey. He left his sleeping comrades in the boat, +stepping cautiously over their bodies, and on reaching the shore took +exactly one hundred steps to the east. Then he looked for the path and +the moonlight was so bright that he easily discovered it, although it +was hidden from view by tall weeds until one came full upon it. This +path was very narrow and did not seem to be much used, but it was +quite distinct and Ervic had no difficulty in following it. He walked +through a broad meadow, covered with tall grass and weeds, up a hill +and down into a valley and then up another hill and down again.</p> + +<p>It seemed to Ervic that he had walked miles and miles. Indeed the moon +sank low and day was beginning to dawn when finally he discovered by +the roadside a pretty little cottage, painted purple with white +trimmings. It was a lonely place—no other buildings were anywhere +about and the ground was not tilled at all. No farmer lived here, that +was certain. Who would care to dwell in such an isolated place?</p> + +<p>But Ervic did not bother his head long with such questions. He went up +to the gate that led to the cottage, set the copper kettle carefully +down and bending over it asked:</p> + +<p>"What next?"</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH17" id="CH17">Chapter Seventeen</a></h2> + +<h3>Under the Great Dome</h3> + +<p>When Glinda the Good and her followers of the Rescue Expedition came +in sight of the Enchanted Mountain of the Flatheads, it was away to +the left of them, for the route they had taken through the Great +Forest was some distance from that followed by Ozma and Dorothy.</p> + +<p>They halted awhile to decide whether they should call upon the Supreme +Dictator first, or go on to the Lake of the Skeezers.</p> + +<p>"If we go to the mountain," said the Wizard, "we may get into trouble +with that wicked Su-dic, and then we would be delayed in rescuing Ozma +and Dorothy. So I think our best plan will be to go to the Skeezer +Country, raise the sunken island and save our friends and the +imprisoned Skeezers. Afterward we can visit the mountain and punish +the cruel magician of the Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"That is sensible," approved the Shaggy Man. "I quite agree with you."</p> + +<p>The others, too, seemed to think the Wizard's plan the best, and +Glinda herself commended it, so on they marched toward the line of +palm trees that hid the Skeezers' lake from view.</p> + +<p>Pretty soon they came to the palms. These were set closely together, +the branches, which came quite to the ground, being so tightly +interlaced that even the Glass Cat could scarcely find a place to +squeeze through. The path which the Flatheads used was some distance +away.</p> + +<p>"Here's a job for the Tin Woodman," said the Scarecrow.</p> + +<p>So the Tin Woodman, who was always glad to be of use, set to work with +his sharp, gleaming axe, which he always carried, and in a +surprisingly short time had chopped away enough branches to permit +them all to pass easily through the trees.</p> + +<p>Now the clear waters of the beautiful lake were before them and by +looking closely they could see the outlines of the Great Dome of the +sunken island, far from shore and directly in the center of the lake.</p> + +<p>Of course every eye was at first fixed upon this dome, where Ozma and +Dorothy and the Skeezers were still fast prisoners. But soon their +attention was caught by a more brilliant sight, for here was the +Diamond Swan swimming just before them, its long neck arched proudly, +the amethyst eyes gleaming and all the diamond-sprinkled feathers +glistening splendidly under the rays of the sun.</p> + +<p>"That," said Glinda, "is the transformation of Queen Coo-ce-oh, the +haughty and wicked witch who betrayed the three Adepts at Magic and +treated her people like slaves."</p> + +<p>"She's wonderfully beautiful now," remarked the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't seem like much of a punishment," said Trot. "The Flathead +Su-dic ought to have made her a toad."</p> + +<p>"I am sure Coo-ee-oh is punished," said Glinda, "for she has lost all +her magic power and her grand palace and can no longer misrule the +poor Skeezers."</p> + +<p>"Let us call to her, and hear what she has to say," proposed the +Wizard.</p> + +<p>So Glinda beckoned the Diamond Swan, which swam gracefully to a +position near them. Before anyone could speak Coo-ee-oh called to them +in a rasping voice—for the voice of a swan is always harsh and +unpleasant—and said with much pride:</p> + +<p>"Admire me, Strangers! Admire the lovely Coo-ee-oh, the handsomest +creature in all Oz. Admire me!"</p> + +<p>"Handsome is as handsome does," replied the Scarecrow. "Are your deeds +lovely, Coo-ce-oh?"</p> + +<p>"Deeds? What deeds can a swan do but swim around and give pleasure to +all beholders?" said the sparkling bird.</p> + +<p>"Have you forgotten your former life? Have you forgotten your magic +and witchcraft?" inquired the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Magic—witchcraft? Pshaw, who cares for such silly things?" retorted +Coo-ee-oh. "As for my past life, it seems like an unpleasant dream. I +wouldn't go back to it if I could. Don't you admire my beauty, +Strangers?"</p> + +<p>"Tell us, Coo-ee-oh," said Glinda earnestly, "if you can recall enough +of your witchcraft to enable us to raise the sunken island to the +surface of the lake. Tell us that and I'll give you a string of pearls +to wear around your neck and add to your beauty."</p> + +<p>"Nothing can add to my beauty, for I'm the most beautiful creature +anywhere in the whole world."</p> + +<p>"But how can we raise the island?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know and I don't care. If ever I knew I've forgotten, and I'm +glad of it," was the response. "Just watch me circle around and see me +glitter!"</p> + +<p>"It's no use," said Button Bright; "the old Swan is too much in love +with herself to think of anything else."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact," agreed Betsy with a sigh; "but we've got to get Ozma +and Dorothy out of that lake, somehow or other."</p> + +<p>"And we must do it in our own way," added the Scarecrow.</p> + +<p>"But how?" asked Uncle Henry in a grave voice, for he could not bear +to think of his dear niece Dorothy being out there under water; "how +shall we do it?"</p> + +<p>"Leave that to Glinda," advised the Wizard, realizing he was helpless +to do it himself.</p> + +<p>"If it were just an ordinary sunken island," said the powerful +sorceress, "there would be several ways by which I might bring it to +the surface again. But this is a Magic Isle, and by some curious art +of witchcraft, unknown to any but Queen Coo-ce-oh, it obeys certain +commands of magic and will not respond to any other. I do not despair +in the least, but it will require some deep study to solve this +difficult problem. If the Swan could only remember the witchcraft that +she invented and knew as a woman, I could force her to tell me the +secret, but all her former knowledge is now forgotten."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," said the Wizard after a brief silence had followed +Glinda's speech, "that there are three fishes in this lake that used +to be Adepts at Magic and from whom Coo-ee-oh stole much of her +knowledge. If we could find those fishes and return them to their +former shapes, they could doubtless tell us what to do to bring the +sunken island to the surface."</p> + +<p>"I have thought of those fishes," replied Glinda, "but among so many +fishes as this lake contains how are we to single them out?"</p> + +<p>You will understand, of course, that had Glinda been at home in her +castle, where the Great Book of Records was, she would have known that +Ervic the Skeezer already had taken the gold and silver and bronze +fishes from the lake. But that act had been recorded in the Book after +Glinda had set out on this journey, so it was all unknown to her.</p> + +<p>"I think I see a boat yonder on the shore," said Ojo the Munchkin boy, +pointing to a place around the edge of the lake. "If we could get that +boat and row all over the lake, calling to the magic fishes, we might +be able to find them."</p> + +<p>"Let us go to the boat," said the Wizard.</p> + +<p>They walked around the lake to where the boat was stranded upon the +beach, but found it empty. It was a mere shell of blackened steel, +with a collapsible roof that, when in position, made the submarine +watertight, but at present the roof rested in slots on either side of +the magic craft. There were no oars or sails, no machinery to make the +boat go, and although Glinda promptly realized it was meant to be +operated by witchcraft, she was not acquainted with that sort of +magic.</p> + +<p>"However," said she, "the boat is merely a boat, and I believe I can +make it obey a command of sorcery, as well as it did the command of +witchcraft. After I have given a little thought to the matter, the +boat will take us wherever we desire to go."</p> + +<p>"Not all of us," returned the Wizard, "for it won't hold so many. But, +most noble Sorceress, provided you can make the boat go, of what use +will it be to us?"</p> + +<p>"Can't we use it to catch the three fishes?" asked Button Bright.</p> + +<p>"It will not be necessary to use the boat for that purpose," replied +Glinda. "Wherever in the lake the enchanted fishes may be, they will +answer to my call. What I am trying to discover is how the boat came +to be on this shore, while the island on which it belongs is under +water yonder. Did Coo-ee-oh come here in the boat to meet the +Flatheads before the island was sunk, or afterward?"</p> + +<p>No one could answer that question, of course; but while they pondered +the matter three young men advanced from the line of trees, and rather +timidly bowed to the strangers.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, and where did you come from?" inquired the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"We are Skeezers," answered one of them, "and our home is on the Magic +Isle of the Lake. We ran away when we saw you coming, and hid behind +the trees, but as you are Strangers and seem to be friendly we decided +to meet you, for we are in great trouble and need assistance."</p> + +<p>"If you belong on the island, why are you here?" demanded Glinda.</p> + +<p>So they told her all the story: How the Queen had defied the Flatheads +and submerged the whole island so that her enemies could not get to it +or destroy it; how, when the Flatheads came to the shore, Coo-ee-oh +had commanded them, together with their friend Ervic, to go with her +in the submarine to conquer the Su-dic, and how the boat had shot out +from the basement of the sunken isle, obeying a magic word, and risen +to the surface, where it opened and floated upon the water.</p> + +<p>Then followed the account of how the Su-dic had transformed Coo-ee-oh +into a swan, after which she had forgotten all the witchcraft she ever +knew. The young men told how, in the night when they were asleep, +their comrade Ervic had mysteriously disappeared, while the boat in +some strange manner had floated to the shore and stranded upon the +beach.</p> + +<p>That was all they knew. They had searched in vain for three days for +Ervic. As their island was under water and they could not get back to +it, the three Skeezers had no place to go, and so had waited patiently +beside their boat for something to happen.</p> + +<p>Being questioned by Glinda and the Wizard, they told all they knew +about Ozma and Dorothy and declared the two girls were still in the +village under the Great Dome. They were quite safe and would be well +cared for by Lady Aurex, now that the Queen who opposed them was out +of the way.</p> + +<p>When they had gleaned all the information they could from these +Skeezers, the Wizard said to Glinda:</p> + +<p>"If you find you can make this boat obey your sorcery, you could have +it return to the island, submerge itself, and enter the door in the +basement from which it came. But I cannot see that our going to the +sunken island would enable our friends to escape. We would only Join +them as prisoners."</p> + +<p>"Not so, friend Wizard," replied Glinda. "If the boat would obey my +commands to enter the basement door, it would also obey my commands to +come out again, and I could bring Ozma and Dorothy back with me."</p> + +<p>"And leave all of our people still imprisoned?" asked one of the +Skeezers reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"By making several trips in the boat, Glinda could fetch all your +people to the shore," replied the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"But what could they do then?" inquired another Skeezer. "They would +have no homes and no place to go, and would be at the mercy of their +enemies, the Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"That is true," said Glinda the Good. "And as these people are Ozma's +subjects, I think she would refuse to escape with Dorothy and leave +the others behind, or to abandon the island which is the lawful home +of the Skeezers. I believe the best plan will be to summon the three +fishes and learn from them how to raise the island."</p> + +<p>The little Wizard seemed to think that this was rather a forlorn hope.</p> + +<p>"How will you summon them," he asked the lovely Sorceress, "and how +can they hear you?"</p> + +<p>"That is something we must consider carefully," responded stately +Glinda, with a serene smile. "I think I can find a way."</p> + +<p>All of Ozma's counsellors applauded this sentiment, for they knew well +the powers of the Sorceress.</p> + +<p>"Very well," agreed the Wizard. "Summon them, most noble Glinda."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH18" id="CH18">Chapter Eighteen</a></h2> + +<h3>The Cleverness of Ervic</h3> + +<p>We must now return to Ervic the Skeezer, who, when he had set down the +copper kettle containing the three fishes at the gate of the lonely +cottage, had asked, "What next?"</p> + +<p>The goldfish stuck its head above the water in the kettle and said in +its small but distinct voice:</p> + +<p>"You are to lift the latch, open the door, and walk boldly into the +cottage. Do not be afraid of anything you see, for however you seem to +be threatened with dangers, nothing can harm you. The cottage is the +home of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who assumes all +sorts of forms, sometimes changing her form several times in a day, +according to her fancy. What her real form may be we do not know. This +strange creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed through +friendship, or won by pity. She has never assisted anyone, or done +wrong to anyone, that we know of. All her wonderful powers are used +for her own selfish amusement. She will order you out of the house but +you must refuse to go. Remain and watch Reera closely and try to see +what she uses to accomplish her transformations. If you can discover +the secret whisper it to us and we will then tell you what to do +next."</p> + +<p>"That sounds easy," returned Ervic, who had listened carefully. "But +are you sure she will not hurt me, or try to transform me?"</p> + +<p>"She may change your form," replied the goldfish, "but do not worry if +that happens, for we can break that enchantment easily. You may be +sure that nothing will harm you, so you must not be frightened at +anything you see or hear."</p> + +<p>Now Ervic was as brave as any ordinary young man, and he knew the +fishes who spoke to him were truthful and to be relied upon, +nevertheless he experienced a strange sinking of the heart as he +picked up the kettle and approached the door of the cottage. His hand +trembled as he raised the latch, but he was resolved to obey his +instructions. He pushed the door open, took three strides into the +middle of the one room the cottage contained, and then stood still and +looked around him.</p> + +<p>The sights that met his gaze were enough to frighten anyone who had +not been properly warned. On the floor just before Ervic lay a great +crocodile, its red eyes gleaming wickedly and its wide open mouth +displaying rows of sharp teeth. Horned toads hopped about; each of the +four upper corners of the room was festooned with a thick cobweb, in +the center of which sat a spider as big around as a washbasin, and +armed with pincher-like claws; a red-and-green lizard was stretched at +full length on the window-sill and black rats darted in and out of the +holes they had gnawed in the floor of the cottage.</p> + +<p>But the most startling thing was a huge gray ape which sat upon a +bench and knitted. It wore a lace cap, such as old ladies wear, and a +little apron of lace, but no other clothing. Its eyes were bright and +looked as if coals were burning in them. The ape moved as naturally as +an ordinary person might, and on Ervic's entrance stopped knitting and +raised its head to look at him.</p> + +<p>"Get out!" cried a sharp voice, seeming to come from the ape's mouth.</p> + +<p>Ervic saw another bench, empty, just beyond him, so he stepped over +the crocodile, sat down upon the bench and carefully placed the kettle +beside him.</p> + +<p>"Get out!" again cried the voice.</p> + +<p>Ervic shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "I'm going to stay."</p> + +<p>The spiders left their four corners, dropped to the floor and made a +rush toward the young Skeezer, circling around his legs with their +pinchers extended. Ervic paid no attention to them. An enormous black +rat ran up Ervic's body, passed around his shoulders and uttered +piercing squeals in his ears, but he did not wince. The green-and-red +lizard, coming from the window-sill, approached Ervic and began +spitting a flaming fluid at him, but Ervic merely stared at the +creature and its flame did not touch him.</p> + +<p>The crocodile raised its tail and, swinging around, swept Ervic off +the bench with a powerful blow. But the Skeezer managed to save the +kettle from upsetting and he got up, shook off the horned toads that +were crawling over him and resumed his seat on the bench.</p> + +<p>All the creatures, after this first attack, remained motionless, as if +awaiting orders. The old gray ape knitted on, not looking toward Ervic +now, and the young Skeezer stolidly kept his seat. He expected +something else to happen, but nothing did. A full hour passed and +Ervic was growing nervous.</p> + +<p>"What do you want?" the ape asked at last.</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said Ervic.</p> + +<p>"You may have that!" retorted the ape, and at this all the strange +creatures in the room broke into a chorus of cackling laughter.</p> + +<p>Another long wait.</p> + +<p>"Do you know who I am?" questioned the ape.</p> + +<p>"You must be Reera the Red—the Yookoohoo," Ervic answered.</p> + +<p>"Knowing so much, you must also know that I do not like strangers. +Your presence here in my home annoys me. Do you not fear my anger?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the young man.</p> + +<p>"Do you intend to obey me, and leave this house?" "No," replied Ervic, +just as quietly as the Yookoohoo had spoken.</p> + +<p>The ape knitted for a long time before resuming the conversation.</p> + +<p>"Curiosity," it said, "has led to many a man's undoing. I suppose in +some way you have learned that I do tricks of magic, and so through +curiosity you have come here. You may have been told that I do not +injure anyone, so you are bold enough to disobey my commands to go +away. You imagine that you may witness some of the rites of +witchcraft, and that they may amuse you. Have I spoken truly?"</p> + +<p>"Well," remarked Ervic, who had been pondering on the strange +circumstances of his coming here, "you are right in some ways, but not +in others. I am told that you work magic only for your own amusement. +That seems to me very selfish. Few people understand magic. I'm told +that you are the only real Yookoohoo in all Oz. Why don't you amuse +others as well as yourself?"</p> + +<p>"What right have you to question my actions?"</p> + +<p>"None at all."</p> + +<p>"And you say you are not here to demand any favors of me?"</p> + +<p>"For myself I want nothing from you."</p> + +<p>"You are wise in that. I never grant favors."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't worry me," declared Ervic.</p> + +<p>"But you are curious? You hope to witness some of my magic +transformations?"</p> + +<p>"If you wish to perform any magic, go ahead," said Ervic. "It may +interest me and it may not. If you'd rather go on with your knitting, +it's all the same to me. I am in no hurry at all."</p> + +<p>This may have puzzled Red Reera, but the face beneath the lace cap +could show no expression, being covered with hair. Perhaps in all her +career the Yookoohoo had never been visited by anyone who, like this +young man, asked for nothing, expected nothing, and had no reason for +coming except curiosity. This attitude practically disarmed the witch +and she began to regard the Skeezer in a more friendly way. She +knitted for some time, seemingly in deep thought, and then she arose +and walked to a big cupboard that stood against the wall of the room. +When the cupboard door was opened Ervic could see a lot of drawers +inside, and into one of these drawers—the second from the +bottom—Reera thrust a hairy hand.</p> + +<p>Until now Ervic could see over the bent form of the ape, but suddenly +the form, with its back to him, seemed to straighten up and blot out +the cupboard of drawers. The ape had changed to the form of a woman, +dressed in the pretty Gillikin costume, and when she turned around he +saw that it was a young woman, whose face was quite attractive.</p> + +<p>"Do you like me better this way?" Reera inquired with a smile.</p> + +<p>"You look better," he said calmly, "but I'm not sure I like you any +better."</p> + +<p>She laughed, saying: "During the heat of the day I like to be an ape, +for an ape doesn't wear any clothes to speak of. But if one has +gentlemen callers it is proper to dress up."</p> + +<p>Ervic noticed her right hand was closed, as if she held something in +it. She shut the cupboard door, bent over the crocodile and in a +moment the creature had changed to a red wolf. It was not pretty even +now, and the wolf crouched beside its mistress as a dog might have +done. Its teeth looked as dangerous as had those of the crocodile.</p> + +<p>Next the Yookoohoo went about touching all the lizards and toads, and +at her touch they became kittens. The rats she changed into chipmunks. +Now the only horrid creatures remaining were the four great spiders, +which hid themselves behind their thick webs.</p> + +<p>"There!" Reera cried, "now my cottage presents a more comfortable +appearance. I love the toads and lizards and rats, because most people +hate them, but I would tire of them if they always remained the same. +Sometimes I change their forms a dozen times a day."</p> + +<p>"You are clever," said Ervic. "I did not hear you utter any +incantations or magic words. All you did was to touch the creatures."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do you think so?" she replied. "Well, touch them yourself, if you +like, and see if you can change their forms."</p> + +<p>"No," said the Skeezer, "I don't understand magic and if I did I would +not try to imitate your skill. You are a wonderful Yookoohoo, while I +am only a common Skeezer."</p> + +<p>This confession seemed to please Reera, who liked to have her +witchcraft appreciated.</p> + +<p>"Will you go away now?" she asked. "I prefer to be alone."</p> + +<p>"I prefer to stay here," said Ervic.</p> + +<p>"In another person's home, where you are not wanted?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Is not your curiosity yet satisfied?" demanded Reera, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. Is there anything else you can do?"</p> + +<p>"Many things. But why should I exhibit my powers to a stranger?"</p> + +<p>"I can think of no reason at all," he replied.</p> + +<p>She looked at him curiously.</p> + +<p>"You want no power for yourself, you say, and you're too stupid to be +able to steal my secrets. This isn't a pretty cottage, while outside +are sunshine, broad prairies and beautiful wildflowers. Yet you insist +on sitting on that bench and annoying me with your unwelcome presence. +What have you in that kettle?"</p> + +<p>"Three fishes," he answered readily.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get them?"</p> + +<p>"I caught them in the Lake of the Skeezers."</p> + +<p>"What do you intend to do with the fishes?"</p> + +<p>"I shall carry them to the home of a friend of mine who has three +children. The children will love to have the fishes for pets."</p> + +<p>She came over to the bench and looked into the kettle, where the three +fishes were swimming quietly in the water.</p> + +<p>"They're pretty," said Reera. "Let me transform them into something +else."</p> + +<p>"No," objected the Skeezer.</p> + +<p>"I love to transform things; it's so interesting. And I've never +transformed any fishes in all my life."</p> + +<p>"Let them alone," said Ervic.</p> + +<p>"What shapes would you prefer them to have? I can make them turtles, +or cute little sea-horses; or I could make them piglets, or rabbits, +or guinea-pigs; or, if you like I can make chickens of them, or +eagles, or bluejays."</p> + +<p>"Let them alone!" repeated Ervic.</p> + +<p>"You're not a very pleasant visitor," laughed Red Reera. "People +accuse me of being cross and crabbed and unsociable, and they are +quite right. If you had come here pleading and begging for favors, and +half afraid of my Yookoohoo magic, I'd have abused you until you ran +away; but you're quite different from that. You're the unsociable and +crabbed and disagreeable one, and so I like you, and bear with your +grumpiness. It's time for my midday meal; are you hungry?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Ervic, although he really desired food.</p> + +<p>"Well, I am," Reera declared and clapped her hands together. Instantly +a table appeared, spread with linen and bearing dishes of various +foods, some smoking hot. There were two plates laid, one at each end +of the table, and as soon as Reera seated herself all her creatures +gathered around her, as if they were accustomed to be fed when she +ate. The wolf squatted at her right hand and the kittens and chipmunks +gathered at her left.</p> + +<p>"Come, Stranger, sit down and eat," she called cheerfully, "and while +we're eating let us decide into what forms we shall change your +fishes."</p> + +<p>"They're all right as they are," asserted Ervic, drawing up his bench +to the table. "The fishes are beauties—one gold, one silver and one +bronze. Nothing that has life is more lovely than a beautiful fish."</p> + +<p>"What! Am I not more lovely?" Reera asked, smiling at his serious +face.</p> + +<p>"I don't object to you—for a Yookoohoo, you know," he said, helping +himself to the food and eating with good appetite.</p> + +<p>"And don't you consider a beautiful girl more lovely than a fish, +however pretty the fish may be?"</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Ervic, after a period of thought, "that might be. If +you transformed my three fish into three girls—girls who would be +Adepts at Magic, you know they might please me as well as the fish do. +You won't do that of course, because you can't, with all your skill. +And, should you be able to do so, I fear my troubles would be more +than I could bear. They would not consent to be my slaves—especially +if they were Adepts at Magic—and so they would command me to obey +them. No, Mistress Reeraq let us not transform the fishes at all."</p> + +<p>The Skeezer had put his case with remarkable cleverness. He realized +that if he appeared anxious for such a transformation the Yookoohoo +would not perform it, yet he had skillfully suggested that they be +made Adepts at Magic.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH19" id="CH19">Chapter Nineteen</a></h2> + +<h3>Red Reera, the Yookoohoo</h3> + +<p>After the meal was over and Reera had fed her pets, including the four +monster spiders which had come down from their webs to secure their +share, she made the table disappear from the floor of the cottage.</p> + +<p>"I wish you'd consent to my transforming your fishes," she said, as +she took up her knitting again.</p> + +<p>The Skeezer made no reply. He thought it unwise to hurry matters. All +during the afternoon they sat silent. Once Reera went to her cupboard +and after thrusting her hand into the same drawer as before, touched +the wolf and transformed it into a bird with gorgeous colored +feathers. This bird was larger than a parrot and of a somewhat +different form, but Ervic had never seen one like it before.</p> + +<p>"Sing!" said Reera to the bird, which had perched itself on a big +wooden peg—as if it had been in the cottage before and knew just what +to do.</p> + +<p>And the bird sang jolly, rollicking songs with words to them—just as +a person who had been carefully trained might do. The songs were +entertaining and Ervic enjoyed listening to them. In an hour or so the +bird stopped singing, tucked its head under its wing and went to +sleep. Reera continued knitting but seemed thoughtful.</p> + +<p>Now Ervic had marked this cupboard drawer well and had concluded that +Reera took something from it which enabled her to perform her +transformations. He thought that if he managed to remain in the +cottage, and Reera fell asleep, he could slyly open the cupboard, take +a portion of whatever was in the drawer, and by dropping it into the +copper kettle transform the three fishes into their natural shapes. +Indeed, he had firmly resolved to carry out this plan when the +Yookoohoo put down her knitting and walked toward the door.</p> + +<p>"I'm going out for a few minutes," said she; "do you wish to go with +me, or will you remain here?"</p> + +<p>Ervic did not answer but sat quietly on his bench. So Reera went out +and closed the cottage door.</p> + +<p>As soon as she was gone, Ervic rose and tiptoed to the cupboard.</p> + +<p>"Take care! Take care!" cried several voices, coming from the kittens +and chipmunks. "If you touch anything we'll tell the Yookoohoo!"</p> + +<p>Ervic hesitated a moment but, remembering that he need not consider +Reera's anger if he succeeded in transforming the fishes, he was about +to open the cupboard when he was arrested by the voices of the fishes, +which stuck their heads above the water in the kettle and called out:</p> + +<p>"Come here, Ervic!"</p> + +<p>So he went back to the kettle and bent over it</p> + +<p>"Let the cupboard alone," said the goldfish to him earnestly. "You +could not succeed by getting that magic powder, for only the Yookoohoo +knows how to use it. The best way is to allow her to transform us into +three girls, for then we will have our natural shapes and be able to +perform all the Arts of Magic we have learned and well understand. You +are acting wisely and in the most effective manner. We did not know +you were so intelligent, or that Reera could be so easily deceived by +you. Continue as you have begun and try to persuade her to transform +us. But insist that we be given the forms of girls."</p> + +<p>The goldfish ducked its head down just as Reera re-entered the +cottage. She saw Ervic bent over the kettle, so she came and joined +him.</p> + +<p>"Can your fishes talk?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes," he replied, "for all fishes in the Land of Oz know how to +speak. Just now they were asking me for some bread. They are hungry."</p> + +<p>"Well, they can have some bread," said Reera. "But it is nearly +supper-time, and if you would allow me to transform your fishes into +girls they could join us at the table and have plenty of food much +nicer than crumbs. Why not let me transform them?"</p> + +<p>"Well," said Ervic, as if hesitating, "ask the fishes. If they +consent, why—why, then, I'll think it over."</p> + +<p>Reera bent over the kettle and asked:</p> + +<p>"Can you hear me, little fishes?"</p> + +<p>All three popped their heads above water.</p> + +<p>"We can hear you," said the bronzefish.</p> + +<p>"I want to give you other forms, such as rabbits, or turtles or girls, +or something; but your master, the surly Skeezer, does not wish me to. +However, he has agreed to the plan if you will consent."</p> + +<p>"We'd like to be girls," said the silverfish.</p> + +<p>"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic.</p> + +<p>"If you promise to make us three beautiful girls, we will consent," +said the goldfish.</p> + +<p>"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic again.</p> + +<p>"Also make us Adepts at Magic," added the bronzefish.</p> + +<p>"I don't know exactly what that means," replied Reera musingly, "but +as no Adept at Magic is as powerful as Yookoohoo, I'll add that to the +transformation."</p> + +<p>"We won't try to harm you, or to interfere with your magic in any +way," promised the goldfish. "On the contrary, we will be your +friends."</p> + +<p>"Will you agree to go away and leave me alone in my cottage, whenever +I command you to do so?" asked Reera.</p> + +<p>"We promise that," cried the three fishes.</p> + +<p>"Don't do it! Don't consent to the transformation," urged Ervic.</p> + +<p>"They have already consented," said the Yookoohoo, laughing in his +face, "and you have promised me to abide by their decision. So, friend +Skeezer, I shall perform the transformation whether you like it or +not."</p> + +<p>Ervic seated himself on the bench again, a deep scowl on his face but +joy in his heart. Reera moved over to the cupboard, took something +from the drawer and returned to the copper kettle. She was clutching +something tightly in her right hand, but with her left she reached +within the kettle, took out the three fishes and laid them carefully +on the floor, where they gasped in distress at being out of water.</p> + +<p>Reera did not keep them in misery more than a few seconds, for she +touched each one with her right hand and instantly the fishes were +transformed into three tall and slender young women, with fine, +intelligent faces and clothed in handsome, clinging gowns. The one who +had been a goldfish had beautiful golden hair and blue eyes and was +exceedingly fair of skin; the one who had been a bronzefish had dark +brown hair and clear gray eyes and her complexion matched these lovely +features. The one who had been a silverfish had snow-white hair of the +finest texture and deep brown eyes. The hair contrasted exquisitely +with her pink cheeks and ruby-red lips, nor did it make her look a day +older than her two companions.</p> + +<p>As soon as they secured these girlish shapes, all three bowed low to +the Yookoohoo and said:</p> + +<p>"We thank you, Reera."</p> + +<p>Then they bowed to the Skeezer and said:</p> + +<p>"We thank you, Ervic."</p> + +<p>"Very good!" cried the Yookoohoo, examining her work with critical +approval. "You are much better and more interesting than fishes, and +this ungracious Skeezer would scarcely allow me to do the +transformations. You surely have nothing to thank him for. But now let +us dine in honor of the occasion."</p> + +<p>She clapped her hands together and again a table loaded with food +appeared in the cottage. It was a longer table, this time, and places +were set for the three Adepts as well as for Reera and Ervic.</p> + +<p>"Sit down, friends, and eat your fill," said the Yookoohoo, but +instead of seating herself at the head of the table she went to the +cupboard, saying to the Adepts: "Your beauty and grace, my fair +friends, quite outshine my own. So that I may appear properly at the +banquet table I intend, in honor of this occasion, to take upon myself +my natural shape."</p> + +<p>Scarcely had she finished this speech when Reera transformed herself +into a young woman fully as lovely as the three Adepts. She was not +quite so tall as they, but her form was more rounded and more +handsomely clothed, with a wonderful jeweled girdle and a necklace of +shining pearls. Her hair was a bright auburn red, and her eyes large +and dark.</p> + +<p>"Do you claim this is your natural form?" asked Ervic of the +Yookoohoo.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she replied. "This is the only form I am really entitled to +wear. But I seldom assume it because there is no one here to admire or +appreciate it and I get tired admiring it myself."</p> + +<p>"I see now why you are named Reera the Red," remarked Ervic.</p> + +<p>"It is on account of my red hair," she explained smiling. "I do not +care for red hair myself, which is one reason I usually wear other +forms."</p> + +<p>"It is beautiful," asserted the young man; and then remembering the +other women present he added: "But, of course, all women should not +have red hair, because that would make it too common. Gold and silver +and brown hair are equally handsome."</p> + +<p>The smiles that he saw interchanged between the four filled the poor +Skeezer with embarrassment, so he fell silent and attended to eating +his supper, leaving the others to do the talking. The three Adepts +frankly told Reera who they were, how they became fishes and how they +had planned secretly to induce the Yookoohoo to transform them. They +admitted that they had feared, had they asked her to help, that she +would have refused them.</p> + +<p>"You were quite right," returned the Yookoohoo. "I make it my rule +never to perform magic to assist others, for if I did there would +always be crowd at my cottage demanding help and I hate crowds and +want to be left alone."</p> + +<p>"However, now that you are restored to your proper shapes, I do not +regret my action and I hope you will be of use in saving the Skeezer +people by raising their island to the surface of the lake, where it +really belongs. But you must promise me that after you go away you +will never come here again, nor tell anyone what I have done for you."</p> + +<p>The three Adepts and Ervic thanked the Yookoohoo warmly. They promised +to remember her wish that they should not come to her cottage again +and so, with a good-bye, took their departure.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH20" id="CH20">Chapter Twenty</a></h2> + +<h3>A Puzzling Problem</h3> + +<p>Glinda the Good, having decided to try her sorcery upon the abandoned +submarine, so that it would obey her commands, asked all of her party, +including the Skeezers, to withdraw from the shore of the take to the +line of palm trees. She kept with her only the little Wizard of Oz, +who was her pupil and knew how to assist her in her magic rites. When +they two were alone beside the stranded boat, Glinda said to the +Wizard:</p> + +<p>"I shall first try my magic recipe No. 1163, which is intended to make +inanimate objects move at my command. Have you a skeropythrope with +you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I always carry one in my bag," replied the Wizard. He opened his +black bag of magic tools and took out a brightly polished +skeropythrope, which he handed to the Sorceress. Glinda had also +brought a small wicker bag, containing various requirements of +sorcery, and from this she took a parcel of powder and a vial of +liquid. She poured the liquid into the skeropythrope and added the +powder. At once the skeropythrope began to sputter and emit sparks of +a violet color, which spread in all directions. The Sorceress +instantly stepped into the middle of the boat and held the instrument +so that the sparks fell all around her and covered every bit of the +blackened steel boat. At the same time Glinda crooned a weird +incantation in the language of sorcery, her voice sounding low and +musical.</p> + +<p>After a little the violet sparks ceased, and those that had fallen +upon the boat had disappeared and left no mark upon its surface. The +ceremony was ended and Glinda returned the skeropythrope to the +Wizard, who put it away in his black bag.</p> + +<p>"That ought to do the business all right," he said confidently</p> + +<p>"Let us make a trial and see," she replied.</p> + +<p>So they both entered the boat and seated themselves.</p> + +<p>Speaking in a tone of command the Sorceress said to the boat: "Carry +us across the lake, to the farther shore."</p> + +<p>At once the boat backed off the sandy beach, turned its prow and moved +swiftly over the water.</p> + +<p>"Very good—very good indeed!" cried the Wizard, when the boat slowed +up at the shore opposite from that whence they had departed. "Even +Coo-ee-oh, with all her witchcraft, could do no better."</p> + +<p>The Sorceress now said to the boat:</p> + +<p>"Close up, submerge and carry us to the basement door of the sunken +island—the door from which you emerged at the command of Queen +Coo-ee-oh."</p> + +<p>The boat obeyed. As it sank into the water the top sections rose from +the sides and joined together over the heads of Glinda and the Wizard, +who were thus enclosed in a water-proof chamber. There were four glass +windows in this covering, one on each side and one on either end, so +that the passengers could see exactly where they were going. Moving +under water more slowly than on the surface, the submarine gradually +approached the island and halted with its bow pressed against the huge +marble door in the basement under the Dome. This door was tightly +closed and it was evident to both Glinda and the Wizard that it would +not open to admit the underwater boat unless a magic word was spoken +by them or someone from within the basement of the island. But what +was this magic word? Neither of them knew.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," said the Wizard regretfully, "that we can't get in, +after all. Unless your sorcery can discover the word to open the +marble door."</p> + +<p>"That is probably some word only known to Coo-ce-oh," replied the +Sorceress. "I may be able to discover what it is, but that will +require time. Let us go back again to our companions."</p> + +<p>"It seems a shame, after we have made the boat obey us, to be balked +by just a marble door," grumbled the Wizard.</p> + +<p>At Glinda's command the boat rose until it was on a level with the +glass dome that covered the Skeezer village, when the Sorceress made +it slowly circle all around the Great Dome.</p> + +<p>Many faces were pressed against the glass from the inside, eagerly +watching the submarine, and in one place were Dorothy and Ozma, who +quickly recognized Glinda and the Wizard through the glass windows of +the boat. Glinda saw them, too, and held the boat close to the Dome +while the friends exchanged greetings in pantomime. Their voices, +unfortunately, could not be heard through the Dome and the water and +the side of the boat. The Wizard tried to make the girls understand, +through signs, that he and Glinda had come to their rescue, and Ozma +and Dorothy understood this from the very fact that the Sorceress and +the Wizard had appeared. The two girl prisoners were smiling and in +safety, and knowing this Glinda felt she could take all the time +necessary in order to effect their final rescue.</p> + +<p>As nothing more could be done just then, Glinda ordered the boat to +return to shore and it obeyed readily. First it ascended to the +surface of the water, then the roof parted and fell into the slots at +the side of the boat, and then the magic craft quickly made the shore +and beached itself on the sands at the very spot from which it had +departed at Glinda's command. All the Oz people and the Skeezers at +once ran to the boat to ask if they had reached the island, and +whether they had seen Ozma and Dorothy. The Wizard told them of the +obstacle they had met in the way of a marble door, and how Glinda +would now undertake to find a magic way to conquer the door.</p> + +<p>Realizing that it would require several days to succeed in reaching +the island raising it and liberating their friends and the Skeezer +people, Glinda now prepared a camp half way between the lake shore and +the palm trees.</p> + +<p>The Wizard's wizardry made a number of tents appear and the sorcery of +the Sorceress furnished these tents all complete, with beds, chairs, +tables, flags, lamps and even books with which to pass idle hours. All +the tents had the Royal Banner of Oz flying from the centerpoles and +one big tent, not now occupied, had Ozma's own banner moving in the +breeze.</p> + +<p>Betsy and Trot had a tent to themselves, and Button Bright and Ojo had +another. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman paired together in one tent +and so did Jack Pumpkinhead and the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Uncle +Henry, Tik-Tok and Professor Wogglebug. Glinda had the most splendid +tent of all, except that reserved for Ozma, while the Wizard had a +little one of his own. Whenever it was meal time, tables loaded with +food magically appeared in the tents of those who were in the habit of +eating, and these complete arrangements made the rescue party just +comfortable as they would have been in their own homes.</p> + +<p>Far into the night Glinda sat in her tent studying a roll of mystic +scrolls in search of a word that would open the basement door of the +island and admit her to the Great Dome. She also made many magical +experiments, hoping to discover something that would aid her. Yet the +morning found the powerful Sorceress still unsuccessful.</p> + +<p>Glinda's art could have opened any ordinary door, you may be sure, but +you must realize that this marble door of the island had been +commanded not to open save in obedience to one magic word, and +therefore all other magic words could have no effect upon it. The +magic word that guarded the door had probably been invented by +Coo-ee-oh, who had now forgotten it. The only way, then, to gain +entrance to the sunken island was to break the charm that held the +door fast shut. If this could be done no magic would be required to +open it.</p> + +<p>The next day the Sorceress and the Wizard again entered the boat and +made it submerge and go to the marble door, which they tried in +various ways to open, but without success.</p> + +<p>"We shall have to abandon this attempt, I think," said Glinda. "The +easiest way to raise the island would be for us to gain admittance to +the Dome and then descend to the basement and see in what manner +Coo-ee-oh made the entire island sink or rise at her command. It +naturally occurred to me that the easiest way to gain admittance would +be by having the boat take us into the basement through the marble +door from which Coo-ee-oh launched it. But there must be other ways to +get inside the Dome and join Ozma and Dorothy, and such ways we must +find by study and the proper use of our powers of magic."</p> + +<p>"It won't be easy," declared the Wizard, "for we must not forget that +Ozma herself understands considerable magic, and has doubtless tried +to raise the island or find other means of escape from it and failed."</p> + +<p>"That is true," returned Glinda, "but Ozma's magic is fairy magic, +while you are a Wizard and I am a Sorceress. In this way the three of +us have a great variety of magic to work with, and if we should all +fail it will be because the island is raised and lowered by a magic +power none of us is acquainted with. My idea therefore is to seek—by +such magic as we possess—to accomplish our object in another way."</p> + +<p>They made the circle of the Dome again in their boat, and once more +saw Ozma and Dorothy through their windows and exchanged signals with +the two imprisoned girls.</p> + +<p>Ozma realized that her friends were doing all in their power to rescue +her and smiled an encouragement to their efforts. Dorothy seemed a +little anxious but was trying to be as brave as her companion.</p> + +<p>After the boat had returned to the camp and Glinda was seated in her +tent, working out various ways by which Ozma and Dorothy could be +rescued, the Wizard stood on the shore dreamily eying the outlines of +the Great Dome which showed beneath the clear water, when he raised +his eyes and saw a group of strange people approaching from around the +lake. Three were young women of stately presence, very beautifully +dressed, who moved with remarkable grace. They were followed at a +little distance by a good-looking young Skeezer.</p> + +<p>The Wizard saw at a glance that these people might be very important, +so he advanced to meet them. The three maidens received him graciously +and the one with the golden hair said:</p> + +<p>"I believe you are the famous Wizard of Oz, of whom I have often +heard. We are seeking Glinda, the Sorceress, and perhaps you can lead +us to her."</p> + +<p>"I can, and will, right gladly," answered the Wizard. "Follow me, +please."</p> + +<p>The little Wizard was puzzled as to the identity of the three lovely +visitors but he gave no sign that might embarrass them.</p> + +<p>He understood they did not wish to be questioned, and so he made no +remarks as he led the way to Glinda's tent.</p> + +<p>With a courtly bow the Wizard ushered the three visitors into the +gracious presence of Glinda, the Good.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH21" id="CH21">Chapter Twenty-One</a></h2> + +<h3>The Three Adepts</h3> + +<p>The Sorceress looked up from her work as the three maidens entered, +and something in their appearance and manner led her to rise and bow +to them in her most dignified manner. The three knelt an instant +before the great Sorceress and then stood upright and waited for her +to speak.</p> + +<p>"Whoever you may be," said Glinda, "I bid you welcome."</p> + +<p>"My name is Audah," said one.</p> + +<p>"My name is Aurah," said another.</p> + +<p>"My name is Aujah," said the third.</p> + +<p>Glinda had never heard these names before, but looking closely at the +three she asked:</p> + +<p>"Are you witches or workers in magic?"</p> + +<p>"Some of the secret arts we have gleaned from Nature," replied the +brownhaired maiden modestly, "but we do not place our skill beside +that of the Great Sorceress, Glinda the Good."</p> + +<p>"I suppose you are aware it is unlawful to practice magic in the Land +of Oz, without the permission of our Ruler, Princess Ozma?"</p> + +<p>"No, we were not aware of that," was the reply. "We have heard of +Ozma, who is the appointed Ruler of all this great fairyland, but her +laws have not reached us, as yet."</p> + +<p>Glinda studied the strange maidens thoughtfully; then she said to +them:</p> + +<p>"Princess Ozma is even now imprisoned in the Skeezer village, for the +whole island with its Great Dome, was sunk to the bottom of the lake +by the witchcraft of Coo-ee-oh, whom the Flathead Su-dic transformed +into a silly swan. I am seeking some way to overcome Coo-ee-oh's magic +and raise the isle to the surface again. Can you help me do this?"</p> + +<p>The maidens exchanged glances, and the white-haired one replied</p> + +<p>"We do not know; but we will try to assist you."</p> + +<p>"It seems," continued Glinda musingly, "that Coo-ee-oh derived most of +her witchcraft from three Adepts at Magic, who at one time ruled the +Flatheads. While the Adepts were being entertained by Coo-ee-oh at a +banquet in her palace, she cruelly betrayed them and after +transforming them into fishes cast them into the lake.</p> + +<p>"If I could find these three fishes and return them to their natural +shapes—they might know what magic Coo-ee-oh used to sink the island. +I was about to go to the shore and call these fishes to me when you +arrived. So, if you will join me, we will try to find them."</p> + +<p>The maidens exchanged smiles now, and the golden-haired one, Audah, +said to Glinda:</p> + +<p>"It will not be necessary to go to the lake. We are the three fishes."</p> + +<p>"Indeed!" cried Glinda. "Then you are the three Adepts at Magic, +restored to your proper forms?"</p> + +<p>"We are the three Adepts," admitted Aujah.</p> + +<p>"Then," said Glinda, "my task is half accomplished. But who destroyed +the transformation that made you fishes?"</p> + +<p>"We have promised not to tell," answered Aurah; "but this young +Skeezer was largely responsible for our release; he is brave and +clever, and we owe him our gratitude."</p> + +<p>Glinda looked at Ervic, who stood modestly behind the Adepts, hat in +hand. "He shall be properly rewarded," she declared, "for in helping +you he has helped us all, and perhaps saved his people from being +imprisoned forever in the sunken isle."</p> + +<p>The Sorceress now asked her guests to seat themselves and a long talk +followed, in which the Wizard of Oz shared.</p> + +<p>"We are quite certain," said Aurah, "that if we could get inside the +Dome we could discover Coo-ee-oh's secrets, for in all her work, after +we became fishes, she used the formulas and incantations and arts that +she stole from us. She may have added to these things, but they were +the foundation of all her work."</p> + +<p>"What means do you suggest for our getting into the Dome?" inquired +Glinda.</p> + +<p>The three Adepts hesitated to reply, for they had not yet considered +what could be done to reach the inside of the Great Dome. While they +were in deep thought, and Glinda and the Wizard were quietly awaiting +their suggestions, into the tent rushed Trot and Betsy, dragging +between them the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Glinda," cried Trot, "Scraps has thought of a way to rescue Ozma +and Dorothy and all of the Skeezers."</p> + +<p>The three Adepts could not avoid laughing merrily, for not only were +they amused by the queer form of the Patchwork Girl, but Trot's +enthusiastic speech struck them as really funny. If the Great +Sorceress and the famous Wizard and the three talented Adepts at Magic +were unable as yet to solve the important problem of the sunken isle, +there was little chance for a patched girl stuffed with cotton to +succeed.</p> + +<p>But Glinda, smiling indulgently at the earnest faces turned toward +her, patted the children's heads and said:</p> + +<p>"Scraps is very clever. Tell us what she has thought of, my dear."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Trot, "Scraps says that if you could dry up all the water +in the lake the island would be on dry land, an' everyone could come +and go whenever they liked."</p> + +<p>Glinda smiled again, but the Wizard said to the girls:</p> + +<p>"If we should dry up the lake, what would become of all the beautiful +fishes that now live in the water?"</p> + +<p>"Dear me! That's so," admitted Betsy, crestfallen; "we never thought +of that, did we Trot?"</p> + +<p>"Couldn't you transform 'em into polliwogs?" asked Scraps, turning a +somersault and then standing on one leg. "You could give them a +little, teeny pond to swim in, and they'd be just as happy as they are +as fishes."</p> + +<p>"No indeed!" replied the Wizard, severely. "It is wicked to transform +any living creatures without their consent, and the lake is the home +of the fishes and belongs to them."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Scraps, making a face at him; "I don't care."</p> + +<p>"It's too bad," sighed Trot, "for I thought we'd struck a splendid +idea."</p> + +<p>"So you did," declared Glinda, her face now grave and thoughtful. +"There is something in the Patchwork Girl's idea that may be of real +value to us."</p> + +<p>"I think so, too," agreed the golden-haired Adept. "The top of the +Great Dome is only a few feet below the surface of the water. If we +could reduce the level of the lake until the Dome sticks a little +above the water, we could remove some of the glass and let ourselves +down into the village by means of ropes."</p> + +<p>"And there would be plenty of water left for the fishes to swim in," +added the white-haired maiden.</p> + +<p>"If we succeed in raising the island we could fill up the lake again," +suggested the brown-haired Adept.</p> + +<p>"I believe," said the Wizard, rubbing his hands together in delight, +"that the Patchwork Girl has shown us the way to success."</p> + +<p>The girls were looking curiously at the three beautiful Adepts, +wondering who they were, so Glinda introduced them to Trot and Betsy +and Scraps, and then sent the children away while she considered how +to carry the new idea into effect.</p> + +<p>Not much could be done that night, so the Wizard prepared another tent +for the Adepts, and in the evening Glinda held a reception and invited +all her followers to meet the new arrivals. The Adepts were greatly +astonished at the extraordinary personages presented to them, and +marveled that Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman +and Tik-Tok could really live and think and talk just like other +people. They were especially pleased with the lively Patchwork Girl +and loved to watch her antics.</p> + +<p>It was quite a pleasant party, for Glinda served some dainty +refreshments to those who could eat, and the Scarecrow recited some +poems, and the Cowardly Lion sang a song in his deep bass voice. The +only thing that marred their joy was the thought that their beloved +Ozma and dear little Dorothy were yet confined in the Great Dome of +the Sunken island.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH22" id="CH22">Chapter Twenty-Two</a></h2> + +<h3>The Sunken Island</h3> + +<p>As soon as they had breakfasted the next morning, Glinda and the +Wizard and the three Adepts went down to the shore of the lake and +formed a line with their faces toward the submerged island. All the +others came to watch them, but stood at a respectful distance in the +background.</p> + +<p>At the right of the Sorceress stood Audah and Aurah, while at the left +stood the Wizard and Aujah. Together they stretched their arms over +the water's edge and in unison the five chanted a rhythmic +incantation.</p> + +<p>This chant they repeated again and again, swaying their arms gently +from side to side, and in a few minutes the watchers behind them +noticed that the lake had begun to recede from the shore. Before long +the highest point of the dome appeared above the water. Gradually the +water fell, making the dome appear to rise. When it was three or four +feet above the surface Glinda gave the signal to stop, for their work +had been accomplished.</p> + +<p>The blackened submarine was now entirely out of water, but Uncle Henry +and Cap'n Bill managed to push it into the lake. Glinda, the Wizard, +Ervic and the Adepts got into the boat, taking with them a coil of +strong rope, and at the command of the Sorceress the craft cleaved its +way through the water toward the part of the Dome which was now +visible.</p> + +<p>"There's still plenty of water for the fish to swim in," observed the +Wizard as they rode along. "They might like more but I'm sure they can +get along until we have raised the island and can fill up the lake +again."</p> + +<p>The boat touched gently on the sloping glass of the Dome, and the +Wizard took some tools from his black bag and quickly removed one +large pane of glass, thus making a hole large enough for their bodies +to pass through. Stout frames of steel supported the glass of the +Dome, and around one of these frames the Wizard tied the end of a +rope.</p> + +<p>"I'll go down first," said he, "for while I'm not as spry as Cap'n +Bill I'm sure I can manage it easily. Are you sure the rope is long +enough to reach the bottom?"</p> + +<p>"Quite sure," replied the Sorceress.</p> + +<p>So the Wizard let down the rope and climbing through the opening +lowered himself down, hand over hand, clinging to the rope with his +legs and feet. Below in the streets of the village were gathered all +the Skeezers, men, women and children, and you may be sure that Ozma +and Dorothy, with Lady Aurex, were filled with joy that their friends +were at last coming to their rescue.</p> + +<p>The Queen's palace, now occupied by Ozma, was directly in the center +of the Dome, so that when the rope was let down the end of it came +just in front of the palace entrance. Several Skeezers held fast to +the rope's end to steady it and the Wizard reached the ground in +safety. He hugged first Ozma and then Dorothy, while all the Skeezers +cheered as loud as they could.</p> + +<p>The Wizard now discovered that the rope was long enough to reach from +the top of the Dome to the ground when doubled, so he tied a chair to +one end of the rope and called to Glinda to sit in the chair while he +and some of the Skeezers lowered her to the pavement. In this way the +Sorceress reached the ground quite comfortably and the three Adepts +and Ervic soon followed her.</p> + +<p>The Skeezers quickly recognized the three Adepts at Magic, whom they +had learned to respect before their wicked Queen betrayed them, and +welcomed them as friends. All the inhabitants of the village had been +greatly frightened by their imprisonment under water, but now realized +that an attempt was to be made to rescue them.</p> + +<p>Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts followed Ozma and Dorothy into the +palace, and they asked Lady Aurex and Ervic to join them. After Ozma +had told of her adventures in trying to prevent war between the +Flatheads and the Skeezers, and Glinda had told all about the Rescue +Expedition and the restoration of the three Adepts by the help of +Ervic, a serious consultation was held as to how the island could be +made to rise.</p> + +<p>"I've tried every way in my power," said Ozma, "but Coo-ee-oh used a +very unusual sort of magic which I do not understand. She seems to +have prepared her witchcraft in such a way that a spoken word is +necessary to accomplish her designs, and these spoken words are known +only to herself."</p> + +<p>"That is a method we taught her," declared Aurah the Adept.</p> + +<p>"I can do no more, Glinda," continued Ozma, "so I wish you would try +what your sorcery can accomplish."</p> + +<p>"First, then," said Glinda, "let us visit the basement of the island, +which I am told is underneath the village."</p> + +<p>A flight of marble stairs led from one of Coo-ee-oh's private rooms +down to the basement, but when the party arrived all were puzzled by +what they saw. In the center of a broad, low room, stood a mass of +great cog-wheels, chains and pulleys, all interlocked and seeming to +form a huge machine; but there was no engine or other motive power to +make the wheels turn.</p> + +<p>"This, I suppose, is the means by which the island is lowered or +raised," said Ozma, "but the magic word which is needed to move the +machinery is unknown to us."</p> + +<p>The three Adepts were carefully examining the mass of wheels, and soon +the golden-haired one said:</p> + +<p>"These wheels do not control the island at all. On the contrary, one +set of them is used to open the doors of the little rooms where the +submarines are kept, as may be seen from the chains and pulleys used. +Each boat is kept in a little room with two doors, one to the basement +room where we are now and the other letting into the lake.</p> + +<p>"When Coo-ee-oh used the boat in which she attacked the Flatheads, she +first commanded the basement door to open and with her followers she +got into the boat and made the top close over them. Then the basement +door being closed, the outer door was slowly opened, letting the water +fill the room to float the boat, which then left the island, keeping +under water."</p> + +<p>"But how could she expect to get back again?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Why the boat would enter the room filled with water and after the +outer door was closed a word of command started a pump which pumped +all the water from the room. Then the boat would open and Coo-ee-oh +could enter the basement."</p> + +<p>"I see," said the Wizard. "It is a clever contrivance, but won't work +unless one knows the magic words."</p> + +<p>"Another part of this machinery," explained the white-haired Adept, +"is used to extend the bridge from the island to the mainland. The +steel bridge is in a room much like that in which the boats are kept, +and at Coo-ce-oh's command it would reach out, joint by joint, until +its far end touched the shore of the lake. The same magic command +would make the bridge return to its former position. Of course the +bridge could not be used unless the island was on the surface of the +water."</p> + +<p>"But how do you suppose Coo-ee-oh managed to sink the island, and make +it rise again?" inquired Glinda.</p> + +<p>This the Adepts could not yet explain. As nothing more could be +learned from the basement they mounted the steps to the Queen's +private suite again, and Ozma showed them to a special room where +Coo-ee-oh kept her magical instruments and performed all her arts of +witchcraft.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH23" id="CH23">Chapter Twenty-Three</a></h2> + +<h3>The Magic Words</h3> + +<p>Many interesting things were to be seen in the Room of Magic, +including much that had been stolen from the Adepts when they were +transformed to fishes, but they had to admit that Coo-ee-oh had a rare +genius for mechanics, and had used her knowledge in inventing a lot of +mechanical apparatus that ordinary witches, wizards and sorcerers +could not understand.</p> + +<p>They all carefully inspected this room, taking care to examine every +article they came across.</p> + +<p>"The island," said Glinda thoughtfully, "rests on a base of solid +marble. When it is submerged, as it is now, the base of the island is +upon the bottom of the lake. What puzzles me is how such a great +weight can be lifted and suspended in the water, even by magic."</p> + +<p>"I now remember," returned Aujah, "that one of the arts we taught +Coo-ee-oh was the way to expand steel, and I think that explains how +the island is raised and lowered. I noticed in the basement a big +steel pillar that passed through the floor and extended upward to this +palace. Perhaps the end of it is concealed in this very room. If the +lower end of the steel pillar is firmly embedded in the bottom of the +lake, Coo-ee-oh could utter a magic word that would make the pillar +expand, and so lift the entire island to the level of the water."</p> + +<p>"I've found the end of the steel pillar. It's just here," announced +the Wizard, pointing to one side of the room where a great basin of +polished steel seemed to have been set upon the floor.</p> + +<p>They all gathered around, and Ozma said:</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am quite sure that is the upper end of the pillar that +supports the island. I noticed it when I first came here. It has been +hollowed out, you see, and something has been burned in the basin, for +the fire has left its marks. I wondered what was under the great basin +and got several of the Skeezers to come up here and try to lift it for +me. They were strong men, but could not move it at all."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," said Audah the Adept, "that we have discovered the +manner in which Coo-ee-oh raised the island. She would burn some sort +of magic powder in the basin, utter the magic word, and the pillar +would lengthen out and lift the island with it."</p> + +<p>"What's this?" asked Dorothy, who had been searching around with the +others, and now noticed a slight hollow in the wall, near to where the +steel basin stood. As she spoke Dorothy pushed her thumb into the +hollow and instantly a small drawer popped out from the wall.</p> + +<p>The three Adepts, Glinda and the Wizard sprang forward and peered into +the drawer. It was half filled with a grayish powder, the tiny grains +of which constantly moved as if impelled by some living force.</p> + +<p>"It may be some kind of radium," said the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Glinda, "it is more wonderful than even radium, for I +recognize it as a rare mineral powder called Gaulau by the sorcerers. +I wonder how Coo-ee-oh discovered it and where she obtained it."</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt," said Aujah the Adept, "that this is the magic +powder Coo-ee-oh burned in the basin. If only we knew the magic word, +I am quite sure we could raise the island."</p> + +<p>"How can we discover the magic word?" asked Ozma, turning to Glinda as +she spoke.</p> + +<p>"That we must now seriously consider," answered the Sorceress.</p> + +<p>So all of them sat down in the Room of Magic and began to think. It +was so still that after a while Dorothy grew nervous. The little girl +never could keep silent for long, and at the risk of displeasing her +magic-working friends she suddenly said:</p> + +<p>"Well, Coo-ee-oh used just three magic words, one to make the bridge +work, and one to make the submarines go out of their holes, and one to +raise and lower the island. Three words. And Coo-ee-oh's name is made +up of just three words. One is 'Coo,' and one is 'ee,' and one is +'oh.'"</p> + +<p>The Wizard frowned but Glinda looked wonderingly at the young girl and +Ozma cried out:</p> + +<p>"A good thought, Dorothy dear! You may have solved our problem."</p> + +<p>"I believe it is worth a trial," agreed Glinda. "It would be quite +natural for Coo-ee-oh to divide her name into three magic syllables, +and Dorothy's suggestion seems like an inspiration."</p> + +<p>The three Adepts also approved the trial but the brown-haired one +said:</p> + +<p>"We must be careful not to use the wrong word, and send the bridge out +under water. The main thing, if Dorothy's idea is correct, is to hit +upon the one word that moves the island."</p> + +<p>"Let us experiment," suggested the Wizard.</p> + +<p>In the drawer with the moving gray powder was a tiny golden cup, which +they thought was used for measuring. Glinda filled this cup with the +powder and carefully poured it into the shallow basin, which was the +top of the great steel pillar supporting the island. Then Aurah the +Adept lighted a taper and touched it to the powder, which instantly +glowed fiery red and tumbled about the basin with astonishing energy. +While the grains of powder still glowed red the Sorceress bent over it +and said in a voice of command: "Coo!"</p> + +<p>They waited motionless to see what would happen. There was a grating +noise and a whirl of machinery, but the island did not move a +particle.</p> + +<p>Dorothy rushed to the window, which overlooked the glass side of the +dome.</p> + +<p>"The boats!" she exclaimed. "The boats are all loose an' sailing under +water."</p> + +<p>"We've made a mistake," said the Wizard gloomily.</p> + +<p>"But it's one which shows we are on the right track," declared Aujah +the Adept. "We know now that Coo-ee-oh used the syllables of her name +for the magic words."</p> + +<p>"If 'Coo' sends out the boats, it is probable that ee' works the +bridge," suggested Ozma. "So the last part of the name may raise the +island."</p> + +<p>"Let us try that next then," proposed the Wizard.</p> + +<p>He scraped the embers of the burned powder out of the basin and Glinda +again filled the golden cup from the drawer and placed it on top the +steel pillar. Aurah lighted it with her taper and Ozma bent over the +basin and murmured the long drawn syllable: "Oh-h-h!"</p> + +<p>Instantly the island trembled and with a weird groaning noise it moved +upward—slowly, very slowly, but with a steady motion, while all the +company stood by in awed silence. It was a wonderful thing, even to +those skilled in the arts of magic, wizardry and sorcery, to realize +that a single word could raise that great, heavy island, with its +immense glass Dome.</p> + +<p>"Why, we're way above the lake now!" exclaimed Dorothy from the +window, when at last the island ceased to move.</p> + +<p>"That is because we lowered the level of the water," explained Glinda.</p> + +<p>They could hear the Skeezers cheering lustily in the streets of the +village as they realized that they were saved.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Ozma eagerly, "let us go down and join the people."</p> + +<p>"Not just yet," returned Glinda, a happy smile upon her lovely face, +for she was overjoyed at their success. "First let us extend the +bridge to the mainland, where our friends from the Emerald City are +waiting."</p> + +<p>It didn't take long to put more powder in the basin, light it and +utter the syllable "EE!" The result was that a door in the basement +opened and the steel bridge moved out, extended itself joint by joint, +and finally rested its far end on the shore of the lake just in front +of the encampment.</p> + +<p>"Now," said Glinda, "we can go up and receive the congratulations of +the Skeezers and of our friends of the Rescue Expedition."</p> + +<p>Across the water, on the shore of the lake, the Patchwork Girl was +waving them a welcome.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2><a name="CH24" id="CH24">Chapter Twenty-Four</a></h2> + +<h3>Glinda's Triumph</h3> + + + +<p>Of course all those who had joined Glinda's expedition at once crossed +the bridge to the island, where they were warmly welcomed by the +Skeezers. Before all the concourse of people Princess Ozma made a +speech from a porch of the palace and demanded that they recognize her +as their lawful Ruler and promise to obey the laws of the Land of Oz. +In return she agreed to protect them from all future harm and declared +they would no longer be subjected to cruelty and abuse.</p> + +<p>This pleased the Skeezers greatly, and when Ozma told them they might +elect a Queen to rule over them, who in turn would be subject to Ozma +of Oz, they voted for Lady Aurex, and that same day the ceremony of +crowning the new Queen was held and Aurex was installed as mistress of +the palace.</p> + +<p>For her Prime Minister the Queen selected Ervic, for the three Adepts +had told of his good judgment, faithfulness and cleverness, and all +the Skeezers approved the appointment.</p> + +<p>Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts stood on the bridge and recited an +incantation that quite filled the lake with water again, and the +Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl climbed to the top of the Great Dome +and replaced the pane of glass that had been removed to allow Glinda +and her followers to enter.</p> + +<p>When evening came Ozma ordered a great feast prepared, to which every +Skeezer was invited. The village was beautifully decorated and +brilliantly lighted and there was music and dancing until a late hour +to celebrate the liberation of the people. For the Skeezers had been +freed, not only from the water of the lake but from the cruelty of +their former Queen.</p> + +<p>As the people from the Emerald City prepared the next morning to +depart Queen Aurex said to Ozma:</p> + +<p>"There is only one thing I now fear for my people, and that is the +enmity of the terrible Su-dic of the Flatheads. He is liable to come +here at any time and try to annoy us, and my Skeezers are peaceful +folks and unable to fight the wild and wilful Flatheads."</p> + +<p>"Do not worry," returned Ozma, reassuringly. "We intend to stop on our +way at the Flatheads' Enchanted Mountain and punish the Su-dic for his +misdeeds."</p> + +<p>That satisfied Aurex and when Ozma and her followers trooped over the +bridge to the shore, having taken leave of their friends, all the +Skeezers cheered them and waved their hats and handkerchiefs, and the +band played and the departure was indeed a ceremony long to be +remembered.</p> + +<p>The three Adepts at Magic, who had formerly ruled the Flatheads wisely +and considerately, went with Princess Ozma and her people, for they +had promised Ozma to stay on the mountain and again see that the laws +were enforced.</p> + +<p>Glinda had been told all about the curious Flatheads and she had +consulted with the Wizard and formed a plan to render them more +intelligent and agreeable.</p> + +<p>When the party reached the mountain Ozma and Dorothy showed them how +to pass around the invisible wall—which had been built by the +Flatheads after the Adepts were transformed—and how to gain the +up-and-down stairway that led to the mountain top.</p> + +<p>The Su-dic had watched the approach of the party from the edge of the +mountain and was frightened when he saw that the three Adepts had +recovered their natural forms and were coming back to their former +home. He realized that his power would soon be gone and yet he +determined to fight to the last. He called all the Flatheads together +and armed them, and told them to arrest all who came up the stairway +and hurl them over the edge of the mountain to the plain below. But +although they feared the Supreme Dictator, who had threatened to +punish them if they did not obey his commands, as soon as they saw the +three Adepts they threw down their arms and begged their former rulers +to protect them.</p> + +<p>The three Adepts assured the excited Flatheads that they had nothing +to fear.</p> + +<p>Seeing that his people had rebelled the Su-dic ran away and tried to +hide, but the Adepts found him and had him cast into a prison, all his +cans of brains being taken away from him.</p> + +<p>After this easy conquest of the Su-dic, Glinda told the Adepts of her +plan, which had already been approved by Ozma of Oz, and they joyfully +agreed to it. So, during the next few days, the great Sorceress +transformed, in a way, every Flathead on the mountain.</p> + +<p>Taking them one at a time, she had the can of brains that belonged to +each one opened and the contents spread on the flat head, after which, +by means of her arts of sorcery, she caused the head to grow over the +brains—in the manner most people wear them—and they were thus +rendered as intelligent and good looking as any of the other +inhabitants of the Land of Oz.</p> + +<p>When all had been treated in this manner there were no more Flatheads +at all, and the Adepts decided to name their people Mountaineers. One +good result of Glinda's sorcery was that no one could now be deprived +of the brains that belonged to him and each person had exactly the +share he was entitled to.</p> + +<p>Even the Su-dic was given his portion of brains and his flat head made +round, like the others, but he was deprived of all power to work +further mischief, and with the Adepts constantly watching him he would +be forced to become obedient and humble.</p> + +<p>The Golden Pig, which ran grunting about the streets, with no brains +at all, was disenchanted by Glinda, and in her woman's form was given +brains and a round head. This wife of the Su-dic had once been even +more wicked than her evil husband, but she had now forgotten all her +wickedness and was likely to be a good woman thereafter.</p> + +<p>These things being accomplished in a satisfactory manner, Princess +Ozma and her people bade farewell to the three Adepts and departed for +the Emerald City, well pleased with their interesting adventures.</p> + +<p>They returned by the road over which Ozma and Dorothy had come, +stopping to get the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon where they had left +them.</p> + +<p>"I'm very glad I went to see these peoples," said Princess Ozma, "for +I not only prevented any further warfare between them, but they have +been freed from the rule of the Su-dic and Coo-ee-oh and are now happy +and loyal subjects of the Land of Oz. Which proves that it is always +wise to do one's duty, however unpleasant that duty may seem to be."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h3>The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum:</h3> + +<p> <br /> +<b> +The Wizard of Oz<br /> +The Land of Oz<br /> +Ozma of Oz<br /> +Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz<br /> +The Road to Oz<br /> +The Emerald city of Oz<br /> +The Patchwork Girl of Oz<br /> +Tik-Tok of Oz<br /> +The Scarecrow of Oz<br /> +Rinkitink in Oz<br /> +The Lost Princess of Oz<br /> +The Tin Woodman of Oz<br /> +The Magic of Oz<br /> +Glinda of Oz<br /></b> +</p> + +<pre> + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Glinda of Oz, by L. 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