
The Shaggy Man of Oz
BY JACK SNOW
REILLY & LEE EDITION, COPYRIGHT 1949
(31,639 words)
"It just isn't fair," declared Tom, staring unhappily through the window at
the heavy rain pelting the lawn and garden about the house.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, so we might as well make the best
of it," replied Twink philosophically.
"But I wanted to go outdoors and play this afternoon. You know we have only
a few more weeks until school starts. Besides, I'm sick and tired of this
old house and of every single thing we have to play with."
Almost as if he understood Tom's words, Twoffle, the children's wooden
clown, tumbled over on his head in the corner where he had been standing
neglected. "Now look what you've done! You've hurt Twoffle's feelings,"
accused Twink reprovingly as she hastened to stand the funny little clown
erect again in his corner of the room.
Twink was especially fond of Twoffle. The little wooden clown with his
hinged joints and gaudily painted features and clothing had been a part of
their lives almost as long as Twink could remember. He had taken part in
many of their games, and being constructed of a fine grade of durable wood
he had outlasted many other more fragile toys that had come and gone.
Twink and Tom were twins. They lived in a large, comfortable house in the
city of Buffalo, New York, with their Mother and Father and Rosie the cook.
This afternoon the house was very quiet. Twink's and Tom's father,
Professor Jones, was at work at the University, where he taught young
people all about electrons, atoms, molecules, and other mysterious matters.
Mrs. Jones was attending a meeting of her Club of Lady Voters. Rosie, the
cook, dozed in her warm kitchen, nodding over the latest issue of a fashion
magazine.
So it was no wonder the twins were a bit lonesome. The rain streamed down
the window monotonously, and it seemed the afternoon would drag on forever.
Twink glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was a little Dutch cottage
clock, and the hands indicated it was almost
struck with a sudden idea. "Come on, Tom!" she called. "Look at the time.
If we don't hurry, we'll miss Chapter Four of Buffalo Bill Rides Again!"
Tom came to life immediately, and in an instant both children were dashing
down the broad stairway and into the library. Here was the solution to
their dull afternoon: a television set that Professor Jones had built
himself and installed in the library. It was a very special set with a
large "projection screen." The glass tube of the television set enlarged
the picture on the screen. At
could see another chapter in the exciting moving picture serial of the wild
west. The children were sure, of course, that Buffalo Bill had been named
after their own city, and this made the picture all the more interesting.
Tom was busily turning knobs and dials and making adjustments. In a few
seconds the big screen lighted up with a bluish-green glare, and a moment
later the pictures appeared. Buffalo Bill was ambushed by a wildly howling
mob of Redskins who were on the warpath. There was no doubt in Twink's and
Tom's minds that the famous scout would emerge unharmed, while the Indians
would take to noisy flight.
But just as Buffalo Bill brought his rifle to his shoulder and was sighting
the nearest Redskin, something happened. The flickering motion picture
vanished from the television screen, and in its place appeared a picture
that made the children gasp. It was one of the most beautiful scenes they
could imagine: a peaceful, rolling meadowland bright with all kinds of
wildflowers on which the sun shown down from a blue sky dotted with white,
baby clouds. In the distance rose the spires and minarets of a great
castle, glittering and glistening in the sun.
But it was not the castle or the sunny meadowland that held the children's
attention. Twink and Tom stared unbelievingly at a figure that stood in the
center of the television picture looking out at them with the most familiar
of smiles. It was Twoffle, their wooden clown.
"Good afternoon, children," said the clown quite clearly and calmly.
"G-g-g-good afternoon!" stammered Twink and Tom.
The little clown suddenly doubled up with merriment and then gasped, "If you
could only see yourselves! You're all eyes, positively bug-eyed if I ever
saw anyone who was!"
"But what are you doing in the television picture?" asked Twink, regaining a
little of her composure.
The clown disregarded her question and was suddenly serious. "Come on," he
ordered. "Conjo can hold this picture only a few minutes, and you just have
time to walk through."
"Walk through?" echoed Tom. "What do you mean?"
"Start walking toward the television screen and you'll find out," answered
the clown. "Or perhaps," he added, "you would rather stay there where it is
raining and you can't go outdoors."
"But you're only a picture," objected Twink.
"Will you please do as I tell you and start walking toward the television
screen?" asked the clown sternly.
Twink and Tom looked at each other questioningly. Tom smiled and shrugged.
"Might as well try it. Can't do any harm," he said.
"That's the spirit!" exclaimed the little clown, smiling again. "Just join
hands and walk straight toward me." Tom took Twink's hand, and the two
children slowly advanced toward the television screen. The screen was
nearly five feet high C4 several inches taller than the children C4 and
almost six feet wide. So vivid and real was the picture that Twink imagined
she could really walk right into it. Just as the children were about to
take the last step that would bring them directly in front of the
television screen, a sudden powerful gust of wind hit their backs and sent
them tumbling forward.
"This is where we'll catch it," thought Tom, sure that the wind must have
blown them into the screen. He sat up, fully expecting to see the expensive
screen torn to shreds. Instead he saw an expanse of rolling meadowland, and
he felt the warm sun beating down on his head. Twink was sitting beside him
on the green grass, staring about in utter bewilderment. Before them stood
the clown, smiling broadly.
"It's magic," breathed Twink, "pure magic."
"Well, it's magic, all right," answered the clown, "but I wouldn't say how
pure it is."
"But what has become of our library, and how did we get here, and how can
this be real, and why is it you're not upstairs in my room?" The questions
tumbled out almost faster than Twink could ask them.
"One question at a time, please," said the clown, "and I'll try to answer.
Your library is right where it always is. This can be real because it
$$is&& real. And I am not in your room because I belong here."
"But Twoffle," protested Tom, "we left you in Twink's room not fifteen
minutes ago."
"You didn't leave me there, and don't call me Twoffle," objected the clown.
By this time Twink and Tom were standing up and brushing off their clothes.
"But you $$are&& our Twoffle, you know," stated the girl. "We have had you
for years and years."
"I am not your Twoffle C4 of all the silly names," said the clown with some
irritation. "I am my own Twiffle."
"Then how is it you look so much like our Twoffle?" asked Tom, who noted the
clown was the same size as Twoffle and looked like his double.
"I was about to tell you," exclaimed the clown, "that my name is Twiffle,
and Twoffle is my third cousin."
"Oh, so then you know Twoffle?" asked Twink curiously.
"Know him?" replied Twiffle. "Of course I know him. And I also know you two
very well. Many nights Twoffle and I have sat in your rooms with the
moonlight streaming through the window and talked by the hour while you
children slept."
Twink and Tom said nothing. They were busy thinking. All this was so strange
and had happened so unexpectedly and suddenly that they were still
bewildered. Tom's eyes were puzzled as he asked, "Just before we came
through the screen, you said something about Conjo being able to `hold the
picture for only a few minutes.' Who is Conjo?"
Twiffle was suddenly alert. "That reminds me," he said, "that we must be on
our way at once. Conjo is expecting you, and we musn't keep him waiting."
Without another word, Twiffle started walking across the grass. The
children followed.
"But who is this Conjo, and where does he live?" asked Twink.
"And what does he want with us?" added Tom.
Without pausing to look at the children, Twiffle answered, "Conjo is a
Wizard, the sole ruler of this island, the Isle of Conjo. He lives in the
castle you can see in the distance. What he wants with you, he will
undoubtedly tell you himself." With this, the little clown flashed Twink
and Tom a bright smile and then walked steadily on toward the glittering
castle.
Twink found that she had no trouble at all in keeping up with Twiffle,
because his legs were so short and his stride so small. She had plenty of
time to pause occasionally and gather the colorful wildflowers that dotted
the green meadowland.
"Ozma! Where is Ozma? I must see her at once C4 immediately!" The Soldier
with the Green Whiskers had run all the way from the gates of the Emerald
City of Oz to the Royal Palace with his whiskers streaming at least six
feet behind him. Now that he had arrived at the palace, he was panting and
wild-eyed with excitement.
"Whatever is the matter with you, Omby Amby?" asked Jellia Jamb, Ozma's
dainty little maid, eyeing the distraught Guardian of the Gates with
undisguised curiosity.
Omby Amby groaned. "Something terrible has happened. I must report it to
Ozma at once."
"Can't you give me just an inkling of what it is?" coaxed Jellia.
"No," replied Omby Amby firmly. The Soldier, who was Ozma's Royal Army, was
rapidly regaining his composure C4 and his breath C4 after his wild dash
through the emerald-studded streets of the city.
"Well, then come along,"20replied Jellia Jamb with a sigh. "I suppose I
shall have to wait for Ozma to tell me what has upset you so terribly." The
little maid led the way down the corridors of the Royal Palace until she
came to a large double door. Here she knocked, and a moment later Ozma's
voice answered, "Come in."
Jellia Jamb opened the door, and the Soldier with the Green Whiskers
followed her into the room. This was Ozma's library, where the shelves that
rose from the floor to the ceiling were filled with Magic Books of Records.
The little ruler of Oz was seated at a table, deep in the study of one of
the books. She looked up questioningly as Omby Amby stood before her.
Jellia Jamb silently departed, closing the door behind her.
"Your Highness," began Omby Amby, "it is my painful duty to report a most
regrettable misfortune."
"What is it, Omby Amby," asked Ozma with a kindly smile. "What has
happened?"
"It's the Love Magnet, your Highness," gulped the Soldier. "It's been
broken!"
"Broken!" exclaimed Ozma, rising from her chair. "How could that ever have
happened?"
"It was the nail," exclaimed Omby Amby miserably. "If your Highness will
recall, the Love Magnet has been hanging from a nail over the Gates of the
Emerald City for many years C4 in fact, ever since the Shaggy Man came to
live in the Land of Oz."
"Yes, I know," said Ozma.
"Well," went on the Soldier, "the nail must have rusted, and this morning it
snapped. The Love Magnet fell to the bricks of the Yellow Road and broke
into two pieces."
Ozma's face was grave. "You brought the pieces with you?" she asked.
"Yes, your Highness, I did," replied Omby Amby. Delving into one of his
pockets, he handed Ozma the two pieces of the Love Magnet, a small bit of
metal shaped like a horseshoe when it was whole.
Ozma held the broken Love Magnet in her hand, regarding it sadly. "It is too
bad," she said, "that so wonderful a charm should be broken."
"Do you mean it can't be repaired, your Highness?" asked Omby Amby.
"Of that I am not sure," replied Ozma. "Perhaps the first thing we should do
is ask the Shaggy Man to come here and explain to him how the Love Magnet
came to be broken, since it does, after all, really belong to him."
"I will go for him immediately," said the Soldier, turning to the door.
"You will find him in the garden with Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead, who is
trying on a new head," said Ozma as Omby Amby made a low bow and closed the
door behind him.
By luck, Ozma reflected, the Shaggy Man was in the Emerald City. She knew
that Shaggy was fond of making long trips about the Land of Oz, exploring
the little-known corners and regions of this most famous of all Fairylands.
Now he had just returned from a visit with his brother, who was in the
Gillikin Country. While she waited, Ozma recalled how the Shaggy Man had
befriended Dorothy in the Great Outside World and had found his way to the
Land of Oz in the company of little Dorothy. With him he had brought the
Love Magnet, a curious magical talisman which caused whoever carried it to
be loved by all he met. Shaggy had gratefully accepted Ozma's invitation to
make his home in the Land of Oz, and since he had no further need for the
Love Magnet, Ozma had caused it to be hung over the Gates of the Emerald
City so that all who entered might be loving and loved.
Before she had done this, however, Ozma had wisely altered the powers of the
Love Magnet so that the talisman did not automatically cause the person who
carried it to be loved by all he met, but must be $$displayed&& by its
carrier before the eyes of the person or persons whose love he wished to
win. Thus, control of the powers of the Magnet were given to its owner. All
this had happened so long ago that it was now duly written down in
Professor Wogglebug's Chronicles of the Land of Oz.
Ozma's reflections were ended by the appearance of Omby Amby and the Shaggy
Man, who had no idea that anything was the matter. "Dorothy said to tell
you, your Highness, that it's one of the best heads Jack ever had," the
Shaggy Man announced with satisfaction as he entered the room. "Dorothy's
fitting it on Jack's body now."
"Won't you sit down, please, Shaggy Man?" invited Ozma.
The little Ruler's expression was so serious that the Shaggy Man asked with
concern, "What is it, Ozma? What's wrong?"
Ozma answered silently by extending her palm in which lay the halves of the
broken Love Magnet. The Shaggy Man's eyes clouded. "Oh, that $$is&& too
bad. I was very fond of the Love Magnet. It always made me feel happy
whenever I entered or left the Emerald City. How did it come to be broken?"
Ozma explained in a few words what had happened. "But can't the Love Magnet
be repaired?" asked the Shaggy Man. "I should think it would be an easy
matter for you or the Wizard or Glinda to put it together again as good as
new."
"No," Ozma shook her head. "It isn't as simple as that. A long time ago I
looked up the history of the Love Magnet in my Magic Record Books, and I
found that, if broken, it could be made whole only by one person C4 the
person who created it."
"And who," asked the Shaggy Man with deep interest, "is that?"
"It has been so long ago," admitted Ozma, "that I have forgotten who it was.
But I can look it up in a few seconds."
Ozma moved to the far side of the library, where she selected one of the
Magic Record Books and opened it on a table. After turning the pages until
she found the one containing the Love Magnet's history, Ozma ran her finger
down the finely printed column. "Here it is," she announced. "The man who
made the Love Magnet and the only person who can repair it is a Wizard
named Conjo, who lives on a tiny island in the middle of the Nonestic
Ocean."
Omby Amby had returned to his post at the Gates of the Emerald City, and
Ozma and the Shaggy Man had retired to the Chamber of Magic. Here were kept
many of the most valuable magical instruments in all the Land of Oz. "There
is only one thing to be done," the Shaggy Man was saying. "I must take the
broken Love Magnet to this Conjo and ask him to repair it."
"I am not sure at all that Conjo will agree to repair the Love Magnet for
you," Ozma replied with a troubled expression. "You see, we know very
little about this Conjo. He lives alone on this tiny island in the middle
of the Nonestic Ocean and practices magic. There is no record of his
actually misusing his magical powers. Nor, so far as we know, has he caused
trouble for anyone. However, we have reason to believe he is rather selfish
and thoughtless and that he might cause harm without really meaning to,
just to satisfy his vanity. Also, it might not suit his whim to mend the
Love Magnet."
"What is the name of the island on which Conjo lives?" asked the Shaggy Man
musingly.
"It is called the Isle of Conjo, and since it is many miles from the Land of
Oz, I have no power over the Wizard at all. In fact," concluded Ozma, "that
is the reason we here in the Land of Oz know so little about Conjo."
"Nevertheless," maintained the Shaggy Man, "I think I should go as soon as
possible to this island and do everything I can to persuade Conjo to make
the Love Magnet whole."
"Even after you crossed the Deadly Desert, you would have several days'
journey through the Land of Ev, and then you would only be on the shores of
the Nonestic Ocean. So I think it would be best, since you are determined
to make the journey, for me to use the Magic Belt to transport you directly
to the Isle of Conjo."
The Shaggy Man willingly agreed to this plan, stating that he was ready to
leave at once. "First," said Ozma, "let us have a look at the Isle of Conjo
in the Magic Picture. The girl Ruler swept aside the velvet curtain that
hung over the Magic Picture when it was not in use. The picture appeared to
be a peaceful country farmland scene with purple hills rising in the
distance. "Show us the Isle of Conjo in the Nonestic Ocean," said Ozma.
Immediately the picture shifted and changed. It now reflected a gently
rolling meadowland with a great castle in the distance. Approaching the
castle were a young girl and a boy, accompanied by the figure of a wooden
clown.
Ozma gasped in surprise. "Those are human children, Shaggy Man! What can
they be doing there when my Magic Record Books state that Conjo is the only
human being on the island? We can see that the clown accompanying them is a
puppet, evidently brought to life by Conjo."
"Perhaps they are lost," ventured the Shaggy Man.
"But how would they get to the island? It is surrounded by miles and miles
of ocean."
"I don't know," admitted the Shaggy Man, "but it is one more good reason for
me to go there as quickly as possible C4 those children may be in need of
help."
"I agree with you," said Ozma quickly. "You must find out what the children
are doing on the island and see that they are returned to their homes. If
you cannot do that, then you must bring them with you to the Land of Oz."
"Will you use the Magic Belt to transport us back to the Land of Oz?" asked
the Shaggy Man.
"That will be impossible," stated Ozma, "since I must leave this afternoon
to visit Glinda the Good. We are working on some extremely important magic
charms in which the powers of the Magic Belt are needed. I am not sure how
long I will be gone C4 perhaps for several weeks. However," Ozma went on
as she stepped to a heavy wooden chest, opened one of its drawers and
withdrew a small object, "I want you to take this with you. It will enable
you to return to the Land of Oz anytime you wish."
"What is it?" asked the Shaggy Man curiously.
"It is a Magic Compass," explained Ozma. "You will notice that it is not
round in shape like ordinary compasses, but is formed like a rectangle, as
is the Land of Oz."
Shaggy looked at the Magic Compass and found that instead of being marked
North, South, East and West as is the usual compass, it bore the words
Gilliken, Quadling, Winkie and Munchkin, which are the four countries makin
g up the Land of Oz.
"Should you wish to return to any one of the four countries," Ozma went on,
"just set the compass needle to the one to which you wish to journey. If
you want to come directly to the Emerald City, you have only to spin the
needle of the compass and you will be here as quickly as the Magic Belt
could bring you."
The Shaggy Man inspected the Magic Compass more closely and found that the
pivot on which the needle rested rose from a spot of green in the very
center of the compass. This green spot he knew represented the Emerald
City. "But what about the children?" the Shaggy Man asked. "If I can find
no way to send them home, I cannot simply leave them on the island."
"Of course not," replied Ozma. "If you think it necessary to bring them to
Oz with you, just have them put their arms in yours; then spin the compass
needle, and all three of you will be transported to the Emerald City."
The Shaggy Man placed the Magic Compass carefully in his pocket and said,
"Perhaps it would be well for me to be on my way. There's no way of telling
what will happen on that island, and those two children may need help."
Ozma slipped on the Magic Belt. "Goodbye, dear friend," she said, smiling
fondly at the Shaggy Man. "Return as quickly as you can." Then she made the
magic signal, and the Shaggy Man was no longer in the Chamber of Magic.
"Hello!" Twink, Tom and Twiffle stopped in their tracks. From out of nowhere
had suddenly appeared a man of medium height with rosy cheeks, twinkling
blue eyes, shaggy hair and clothing that, while it was composed of the
finest silks and satins, was nevertheless a mass of shags and bobtails.
Twiffle was so surprised he found it impossible to speak. Twink was
regarding the stranger seriously. Suddenly, recognition lighted up her
eyes. "Oh, it can't be!" the little girl cried. "You just can't be the
famous Shaggy Man of Oz!"
The Shaggy Man smiled. "Don't know about the famous part, but I am known as
the Shaggy Man, and until a few seconds ago I was in the Land of Oz."
"Oh! Seeing you here made me think maybe this was a part of the Land of Oz,"
said Twink, who had begun to hope since the moment she had recognized the
Shaggy Man.
Tom was regarding the new arrival curiously. "Yes," he said, "you certainly
do look just like your pictures in the books. How did you get here so fast?
Magic? I suppose the Land of Oz is quite a distance."
"Right both times!" replied the Shaggy Man. "Ozma sent me here with her
Magic Belt, and the Land of Oz is many miles away from here."
"Why did Ozma send you?" asked Twink.
"Oh, I have a little business with this Conjo fellow," answered the Shaggy
Man.
"You have business with Conjo?" Twiffle had recovered from his astonishment.
"Then you must forgive me for not greeting you more properly. It is so
seldom that we have visitors on the island."
"Looks like you already have two visitors," observed the Shaggy Man, staring
at Twink and Tom.
"Yes, but they were expected C4 and invited," pointed out Twiffle primly.
"However, since you have business with Conjo and we are on our way to see
him, there is no reason you should not accompany us."
"No reason whatsoever," agreed the Shaggy Man. "I hope this Conjo has plenty
of big, red apples."
"Why?" asked Tom.
"They happen to be my favorite food, that's all," explained the Shaggy Man.
Led by Twiffle, the Shaggy Man and the two children were advancing over the
meadow toward the Castle of Conjo. The sun was now setting, burnishing the
spires and turrets of the castle with rich hues of gold and copper. The
Shaggy Man judged they had less than a mile to travel to the castle doors.
"Don't you children think introductions are in order," asked the Shaggy
Man, "since you seem to know me already?"
"Well," Twink began, "this is Twiffle, who is a third cousin of Twoffle."
Twiffle bowed briefly, and the Shaggy Man nodded. "And this is Tom, and I
am Twink. We live in Buffalo."
"Wait a minute," interrupted the Shaggy Man. "How did you happen to get a
name like Twink?"
"Twink and Tom are not our real names," explained Tom. "Our parents named us
Abbadiah and Zebbidiah."
"Why did they do that?" asked the Shaggy Man indignantly.
"Well," Tom went on, "they didn't expect twins C4 we are twins, you know
C4 and they couldn't make up their minds what to name us. So they just
picked names at the beginning and end of the alphabet. That's how we came
to be named from A to Z."
The Shaggy Man sighed. "And then," Twink went on, "I began to toddle when I
was supposed to be still crawling, and everyone called me Twink, because I
got from one place to another in a twinkle. Tom got his nickname in a funny
way, too."
"I have always been interested in everything mechanical and electrical,"
explained Tom, "so when I was only two years old and took my toy phonograph
apart to see where the little men and women who made the talking and music
were, my Father said, `Why, you're a regular Tom Edison.' And so ever since
then I have been Tom."
"At least they are better than those other names," said the Shaggy Man.
Conjo's castle loomed even larger, casting lengthening shadows as the sun
lowered behind it. In a few more minutes Twiffle had led them to a large
door that was evidently the entrance of the castle. Hanging on the door was
a sign which Twink, Tom and the Shaggy Man read.
CASTLE OF CONJO
WORKING WIZARD
"This way, please," said Twiffle. The door opened at his touch, and they
entered. All they could see was a vast corridor with doors on each side. At
the end of the corridor was a handsome marble staircase that wound up to
the upper floors. Twiffle's little wooden feet pattered busily down the
polished marble floor of the corridor until he came to an arch-shaped
doorway upon which hung the sign:
QUIET!
Wizard at Work
As they passed before this door with its strange admonition, the Shaggy Man
and his friends heard a sound that reminded them of a buzz-saw. "I wonder,"
ventured Twink, "if Conjo is building some new magical machine."
Twiffle disregarded the little girl's question and proceeded to push the
door, which opened as easily as had the door of the castle.
Inside they found a vast, domed room. All around the sides of the room was a
series of tables, workbenches, and tall cabinets. The tables and benches
were filled with every kind of chemical instrument imaginable C4 beakers,
retorts, test tubes, hundreds of bottles of different kinds of colored
liquids, crucibles, and a series of burners over which simmered vials and
pots of chemical mixtures. From these rose vari-colored vapors, filling the
room with a pungent haze. The cabinet shelves were crowded and jumbled with
thousands of containers of various powders, ointments, and mixtures used by
wizards in working their magic spells. One cabinet contained nothing but
books of magic recipes and formulas C4 everything from changing people
into doorknobs to curing headaches.
The Shaggy Man and the children had scarcely glanced at all this array of
tools and materials for working magic when their attention was drawn to a
huge divan that rested in the very middle of the marble floor of the great
chamber. This luxurious divan was covered with the softest and most
expensive of rich velvet robes and comforts. Curled up in a ball in the
midst of the blankets and downy, satin-covered cushions was a little man.
He was snoring.
Twink almost laughed aloud. So this was Conjo, the working Wizard! She
realized now it was Conjo's snoring they had mistaken for the sound of a
buzz-saw. Twiffle seemed neither surprised nor disturbed to find his master
sound asleep. The little clown trotted over to the handsome divan and,
seizing Conjo by the shoulders, shook him vigorously. The Shaggy Man was
grinning broadly, and Tom was holding a hand over his mouth to suppress his
laughter.
Sputtering and yawning, Conjo sat up on the divan. Since he was rubbing the
sleep out of his eyes with his knuckles, he did not see his guests for
several seconds. Then he blinked, yawned widely, and smiling a little
foolishly said, "Well, wiz my wand if it isn't Twink and Tom."
"You already know us?" asked Twink.
"Oh, goodness yes," replied Conjo, stretching lazily. "Twiffle has been
telling me about you for years C4 ever since you were mere babies. I let
Twiffle visit your friend Twoffle in your home, you know. Send him there by
my magic," explained Conjo proudly.
Conjo was coming more awake every minute. "Jumping June Bugs!" he exclaimed
as his eyes fell on the Shaggy Man. "I didn't tell Twiffle to bring your
Father along C4 or is this person your Grandfather?"
"Neither one," said the Shaggy Man with an amused smile. "Your magic had
nothing to do with my coming here, Conjo. I came of my own accord."
"Came from where?" demanded Conjo, and then went on before the Shaggy Man
had a chance to answer, "You were shipwrecked C4 that must be it, of
course C4 you are a poor, forlorn castaway, a helpless victim of the deep
and mighty ocean."
"No," contradicted the Shaggy Man, "I was not shipwrecked. I came here from
the Land of Oz."
Conjo started. "The Land of Oz!" he exclaimed incredulously. "You mean the
Emerald City, Ozma, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Scraps,
TotoFF20C4" and then, because he was out of breath, the Wizard concluded
weakly, "and all of that?"
"I see you have heard of the Land of Oz," said the Shaggy Man, "so perhaps
you will know why I am here."
Conjo, who was a fat, bald little man not much taller than Twink or Tom,
with a fringe of white hair about his pink head, closed his little eyes,
placed a forefinger on his cherry-like nose, and thought hard. "You will
just have to tell me," he said, opening his eyes and staring appealingly at
the Shaggy Man. "I don't have a single idea. It usually takes several hours
after I wake up before I get any ideas C4 and it is so seldom that we have
shipwrecks."
"I told you," the Shaggy Man reminded Conjo patiently, "that I was not
shipwrecked. I came here from the Land of Oz to ask you to do me a favor."
"A favor?" said Conjo, thinking hard. "Why, that is strange indeed! The last
shipwrecked person who was here wanted me to do him a favor, too. He stayed
several months and then wanted to return to his home. He asked me to make a
boat for him. That was an easy trick. And because the fellow wasn't a bad
sort at all, I made him a present C4 I gave him one of my newest
creations, the Love Magnet."
"The Love Magnet," gasped the Shaggy Man.
"Don't interrupt, please," went on Conjo. "Not polite, you know. This
shipwrecked person tied the Love Magnet onto the mast of his boat and set
sail. Last I ever saw of him. Understand he encountered a whale, who upon
seeing the man and the Love Magnet, became so fond of the fellow that he
ate him." Conjo wiped a tear from his eye.
The Shaggy Man wasn't sure whether the Wizard was serious or was poking fun
at him. He decided to pretend, at any rate, that he accepted Conjo's absurd
story, saying, "Well, apparently the unfortunate man's boat was blown
ashore, and an Eskimo found the Love Magnet, for it was an Eskimo who gave
it to me, and I took it to the Land of Oz."
"My Love Magnet in the Land of Oz!" exclaimed Conjo.
"No," replied the Shaggy Man, "not $$your&& Love Magnet, since you gave it
away. It now belongs to all the people of the Land of Oz. That is why I am
here now. The Love Magnet has been broken. The favor I ask you is to repair
it, since you, its creator, are the only person who can do that."
Twink and Tom had been listening with deep interest to this conversation.
They had read about the Love Magnet, and they were surprised to learn that
it had been broken.
"Of course, of course, my dear Shaggy Man, for I perceive that is indeed who
you are, a quite famous personage of the Land of Oz." Conjo was wide awake
now. "I shall be most happy to mend the Love Magnet if it can be mended.
But surely you don't expect me to do so important and difficult a feat of
magic without, ah, er, let us say C4 a reward?"
"Yes, that's it," said Conjo, nodding his round head so violently that his
three chins rippled like the steps of an escalator. "You have asked me to
do you a favor C4 a very great favor C4 so it is only just that I should
claim a reward. That's fair, isn't it?" Conjo was regarding the Shaggy Man
with eyes from which was gone the somewhat foolish innocence.
The Shaggy Man considered uneasily. He was beginning to remember Ozma's
warning that Conjo was not to be trusted entirely. "What kind of a reward
could I give you?" the Shaggy Man asked.
Conjo's finger shot out, pointing toward the Shaggy Man. "That," he said.
"That in your pocket will be my reward!"
Involuntarily, the Shaggy Man's hand went to the pocket in which rested the
Magic Compass Ozma had given him. "You must be joking," said the Shaggy Man
incredulously. "The Magic Compass belongs to Ozma. And if I did give it to
you, how could I return to the Land of Oz? No, what you ask is impossible."
Conjo's voice was wheedling. "Surely you don't think Ozma expected me to
repair the Love Magnet for nothing, do you? I can assure you that Ozma will
regard the trading of the Magic Compass for the repair of the Love Magnet
an excellent bargain. Actually, the Magic Compass is, by Ozma's standards,
a minor bit of magic."
The Shaggy Man was perplexed. Perhaps Conjo was right. "Supposing I do give
you the Magic Compass. Then how will I get back to Oz?"
Conjo's eyes glowed. "Nothing to it!" he declared. "You can return to Oz
anytime you like. Just as soon as I repair the Love Magnet, if you wish. Of
course, I would be happy should you care to remain my guest for a time, but
the decision is entirely up to you."
"How do you propose that I return to Oz?" asked the Shaggy Man. "I can't
walk across the Deadly Desert, you know."
"Ha, ha, ho, ho, ho!" Conjo laughed. "Walk across the Deadly Desert!
Certainly not! He, he he! You shall sail high across it, swiftly and
safely! Come with me! I have something to show you." Conjo wriggled about
until his fat little body emerged from the cushions and silken coverings of
the divan. As he stood up, the Shaggy Man and his friends saw that the
little man was dressed in a loose robe of rich purple on which were
embroidered stars, crescents, black cats and the signs of the Zodiac. All
these designs were in the brightest colors, while the robe flowed about
him, secured by a golden cord tied about his middle. On his feet were
sandals woven of silver thread, with toes that curled up like question
marks. "Come with me," repeated the fat little Wizard as he waddled to the
door, "and I will show you how you can sail away in a jiffy."
The Shaggy Man and the two children followed Conjo while Twiffle remained
behind busily arranging and straightening the royal cushions and comforters
of the regal divan. In the great corridor Conjo paused before a small door
that opened at his touch, revealing a cage-like little room. "Step in," the
Wizard invited his guests. "This is an elevator that will whisk us to the
roof of the tallest tower of the castle C4 an improvement over the
stairway, up which I find it difficult to whisk myself in my present state
of, shall we say, stoutness. Ho, ho, ho, ho, he, he, he!"
Conjo beamed good humor and friendliness as the elevator shot noiselessly
upward. In a few seconds the door clicked, slid open, and Conjo led his
guests to the roof of the great tower. From this height they could see that
the Isle of Conjo was small indeed, for the blue waters of the Nonestic
Ocean were visible in any direction they looked. The sun was a great red
ball of fire in the west, but it would still be several minutes before
actual twilight set in.
"And here," said Conjo, leading them across the roof, "is the means by which
I propose you return to the Land of Oz." The Shaggy Man and the children
saw before them a most curious object. It might have been the body of an
automobile, except that it seemed to have neither front nor back. Both ends
of it curled up like a gondola. Nor did it have wheels. The flat bottom
rested solidly on the roof. To all appearances it had no means of
locomotion. Conjo was regarding the strange object proudly. "Behold!" he
said. "One of my most ingenious creations, the Airmobile!"
"You mean to say," the Shaggy Man sighed, "that this thing is actually
supposed to fly through the air?"
Conjo looked hurt. "You see before you," he said resentfully, "the most
perfect means of air travel yet invented."
Tom broke in, "But how can it fly? It has no wings, no propeller, no jets,
nothing but places to sit down!"
Conjo regarded the boy pityingly. "Do you suppose I would rely upon such
clumsy and inefficient means of flying as propellers, wings and jets? The
Airmobile is the perfect flying machine. It repels gravity."
"It does what?" asked the Shaggy Man.
Conjo stepped to the machine and opened one of the doors. "Look," he said.
"See these metal plates on the floor of the ship? They are gravity resistor
plates. You must know," he went on patiently, "that it's the force of
gravity pulling objects to the earth that causes things to have weight.
Well, my gravity resistor plates overcome gravity when exposed. Hence the
ship has no weight whatever."
"Yes," said Tom, "I can understand that. But what makes it move C4 backward
and forward, I mean?"
"Oh, that," sniffed Conjo. "These are gravity $$resistor&& plates. They not
only overcome gravity, but $$resist&& it. The power of resistance forces
the machine upward. The more surface of the plates you expose, the higher
you will go. And you will notice," Conjo continued, reaching inside the
ship and pressing a button, "that the metal plates are mounted on rods
through their middle so that they may be operated like flaps or fins C4
and they rotate. Thus, if you tilt them in one direction, the resistance to
gravity forces you ahead in one way; tilt them in the other direction and
you travel in the opposite way. Rotate them, and you can veer to right or
left."
"If it works, it is wonderful," said the Shaggy Man doubtfully.
"Oh, it works to perfection," assured Conjo. "If it were not so late in the
day, I would propose a little trip. As it is, I suggest that we go
downstairs for dinner. Then I will have to leave you to examine the Love
Magnet. We will all arise early in the morning, at which time you will have
the pleasure of a journey over the island in my Airmobile."
Twink guessed that Conjo's dinner must have been prepared and served by
magic, for there were no servants in the grand dining room into which their
round little host ushered them. But the food was quite as elaborate and
rich as the dining room itself. The Shaggy Man and the children were
hungry, and they ate heartily. Even so, they could not help noticing that
Conjo ate nearly twice as much as the Shaggy Man. Shaggy was gratified to
find a large bowl of rosy-cheeked apples in the center of the table, which
made the meal a perfect one for him.
Conjo sighed with content, wiping his lips on a fine damask napkin.
"Inhospitable as it may seem," he apologized, "I must leave you now to see
if the Love Magnet can be repaired. I will examine it in my laboratory and
tell you tomorrow if it can be fixed. Please give me the Love Magnet."
This the Shaggy Man did, and Conjo waddled to the door, pausing to say,
"Twiffle will show you to your rooms. I hope you sleep well. I know I
shall, after I finish this work." Conjo was already yawning as he left the
dining room.
A few seconds later Twiffle appeared in the doorway and invited Shaggy and
the children to follow him. The sleeping rooms to which Twiffle led them up
the marble stairway were on the second floor and were beautifully furnished
with every convenience and comfort. Twink and Tom's room contained two
inviting beds, and Twink noticed that pajamas of just the right size had
been carefully laid out. Conjo seemed to think of everything.
"See you children in the morning," said the Shaggy Man as he entered his
room which adjoined that of Twink and Tom. The Shaggy Man found his bed
soft and luxurious, so he slipped off his shaggy clothes, carefully
arranging them on a chair so that not one frill or furbelow was out of
place, put on the pajamas which Conjo had also provided for him, and
slipped into bed. Instantly the light faded from the room. More magic,
thought the Shaggy Man a bit uneasily, for it had appeared to him that the
light was an ordinary electric one which he might switch on and off at
will. But moonlight was beginning to fall through the window, so the Shaggy
Man sighed with content and in a minute was sound asleep.
It was several hours later when the Shaggy Man stirred and then sat up, wide
awake. What had awakened him? He was sure he had heard a clicking sound,
like the door of his bedchamber closing. The moonlight revealed that the
door was closed just as he had left it. Shaggy glanced at his clothes on
the chair. He leaped from bed and searched through the pockets of his
clothing. He gave a gasp of dismay. The Magic Compass was gone!
What was this? In another pocket Shaggy found a hard, metallic object, the
Love Magnet, perfectly repaired, with no trace of its ever having been
broken. The Shaggy Man sat down on his bed and thought hard. What should he
do? For some reason, Conjo had evidently entered the room, slipped the
repaired Love Magnet into Shaggy's pocket, removed the Magic Compass, and
left the room. It was the clicking of the door that Shaggy had heard. And
Conjo had slightly disarranged Shaggy's clothes C4 that had called his
attention to them.
What did all this mean? Shaggy was sure now that Conjo was not the jolly,
straightforward person he pretended to be. Perhaps he was not exactly evil,
either, but he was so vain and scheming and selfish that he would bear
watching. Then a sudden thought struck Shaggy and made him extremely
uneasy. He had come to the Isle of Conjo of his own accord to seek out
Conjo. But it was Conjo himself who had brought Twink and Tom there. Why?
Were the twins in danger? What was Conjo's purpose in taking them from
their home? It was up to him, thought the Shaggy Man, to find out and
protect them if Conjo meant them harm or had some crazy plan that would
endanger them.
Shaggy unhappily concluded there was nothing he could do now. In the morning
he would find out if the Airmobile was everything Conjo claimed. Then he
would try to discover Conjo's plans for Twink and Tom. Perhaps Twiffle
could enlighten him. Shaggy sighed. Well, at least he did have the Love
Magnet.
The Shaggy Man lay down on the bed and tried to sleep. After a long time he
drifted into a fitful slumber broken by dreams in which Conjo sailed
through the air, clutching the Love Magnet, and Twink and Tom were
transformed into dolls no larger than Twiffle. In his dream the Shaggy Man
seemed to be bound with ropes to his bed, powerless to stop any of Conjo's
mischief, while Twiffle tugged at his bonds saying, "Wake up, Shaggy Man,
wake up!"
Shaggy opened his eyes and stared. There was Twiffle, at the side of his
bed, shaking him and saying, "Wake up, Shaggy Man, wake up!"
The Shaggy Man was awake in an instant. "What is it, Twiffle, what is
wrong?"
"There is no time to lose," whispered Twiffle. "Quick, get into your
clothes, and I will arouse the children."
Shaggy dressed as speedily as possible, but no sooner had he finished than
Twiffle, followed by Twink and Tom, now wide-eyed with excitement and fully
dressed, appeared in the doorway. "Come," Twiffle whispered.
Silently, Shaggy and the children followed Twiffle down the marble stairway
to the elevator. The castle was not entirely dark, thanks to the bright
moonlight flowing through the windows. They stepped into the elevator which
had a dim light of its own. Once more it shot up to the roof of the tower.
Stepping out on the roof, Twiffle beckoned them after him. The clown made
his way straight to the Magic Airmobile. He climbed in, motioning for
Shaggy and the children to do likewise. They all squeezed into the
contraption after him. Twink noted the cushioned seats in each end of the
Airmobile were soft and yielding. Conjo certainly liked comfort. "Where are
we going? And why?" demanded the Shaggy Man.
"There is no time to talk now," retorted Twiffle briefly. "Wait until we are
well in the air."
"Do you know how to operate this thing?" asked Tom.
"I have watched Conjo run it many times. I am sure I can manage it," replied
Twiffle. The little clown was busy with the buttons which exposed the
gravity resistor plates, and almost before they realized it, the Airmobile
had risen gently from the roof and was moving silently through the night.
"Ah, that is a relief," sighed Twiffle as he watched Conjo's castle recede
in the distance.
"But where are we going?" asked Twink, who was thoroughly enjoying the ride
through the cool night air.
"The main thing," explained Twiffle, "is to get as far away from Conjo as
possible."
"Then he is a villain, as I suspected," said Shaggy.
Twiffle nodded. "Conjo is a curious man. He repaired the Love Magnet because
he couldn't bear seeing one of his own charms broken. He is very vain.
Actually, he doesn't care anything about the Love Magnet, which has no
effect on him, since he made it. He doesn't love anyone, and he doesn't
want anyone to love him. He came to this island many years ago. He wanted
to be alone, since he disliked people and desired only to work on his
wizard charms and incantations. He brought me to life merely to amuse
himself and to have someone to talk to when he felt like boasting. Recently
he has become restless. He has found that, after all, he wants someone
before whom he can show off his magic tricks. But he hesitated to bring
many people to the island, fearing they would steal some of his precious
magic tools."
Twiffle paused and sighed. He went on, "I had made the mistake of telling
him about you, Twink and Tom. Those visits he permitted me to your home
while you slept were the only kindness Conjo ever showed me, so I don't
feel I owe him any allegiance, even though he did bring me to life. Well,
yesterday Conjo announced he was going to use his magic to bring you
children to his island."
"I see," murmured Twink. "and so you have rescued us."
"I hope so," replied Twiffle. "After what I found out tonight, I couldn't
let you stay here. Conjo talks in his sleep a great deal, and tonight he
mumbled enough for me to learn completely for the first time what his plans
are for you two children."
"What do you mean, `plans'?" asked Tom.
"Why, Conjo was going to make you drink a magic potion that would wipe out
all memory of your home, parents and former lives. Then you would be
content to stay on the island with him."
"How dreadful!" exclaimed Twink, shuddering.
"And I suppose he never meant for me to return to the Land of Oz," said the
Shaggy Man.
"Oh no," replied Twiffle. "Conjo wanted your magic Compass badly, because it
possesses a kind of magic that he knows nothing about. I believe he meant
to transport you to the Land of Ev, where you could find your way back to
Oz as best you could."
"But now," said Twink happily, "the Airmobile will take us all to the Land
of Oz."
Twiffle shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm afraid it won't. Conjo is a
clever wizard of sorts, but he is not powerful enough to invent a machine
that will fly across the Deadly Desert."
"You mean this contraption won't carry us over the desert and back to Oz?"
the Shaggy Man asked, greatly disturbed.
"No," said Twiffle. "I have heard of powerful birds managing to fly high
enough to cross the Deadly Desert, but I know of no magic that can
penetrate the barrier of invisibility that Glinda the Good spread across
the deadly waste many years ago C4 certainly not Conjo's magic!"
"Then what shall we do?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"As I said," reminded Twiffle, "the most important thing was to get out of
Conjo's power. The Airmobile will carry us to the edge of the Deadly
Desert, but no farther."
The Shaggy Man was silent, considering. Once he had managed to cross the
Deadly Desert in a sandboat C4 that had been before Glinda had laid down
the magic barrier. But even since then, others had crossed the desert. So
the Shaggy Man didn't give up all hope.
The Airmobile was carrying them swiftly and silently through the night.
Below them the waters of the Nonestic Ocean gleamed silver in the
moonlight. There was just the faintest rocking motion as the Airmobile sped
along. Perhaps it was this and the fact that Shaggy and the two children
were deep in their own thoughts that made them all fall asleep before they
knew it. Twiffle smiled and applied himself to the operation of the
Airmobile. He had no need for sleep.
Twink was the first to awaken. The sun was well up in the sky, and the
morning was bright and clear. She shook Tom awake, and at the same time the
Shaggy Man aroused himself. They looked over the side of the craft and saw
below them a pleasant land of hills and rolling farmlands. "The Land of
Ev," announced the Shaggy Man. "We shouldn't be so very far from the Deadly
Desert now."
Twiffle had looked up and was staring ahead of him in amazement. The little
clown slowed down the Airmobile. Directly ahead of them was a cluster of
little houses and buildings C4 a good-sized village C4 in the sky. "What
in the world can that be?" gasped Twink.
The Airmobile was moving very slowly as they approached the sky village.
Directly before them, on what would have been the outskirts of the town had
it been on the earth, was a sign reading:
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING HIGHTOWN
Population C4 522
Altitude C4 approximately 15,000 feet (but it varies)
They could see people walking about among the houses just as though they
were on solid ground. The Shaggy Man shook his head. Twink and Tom were
staring, fascinated. The Airmobile glided silently a few feet past the
sign. Then it jerked several times and came to an abrupt halt.
Twiffle looked puzzled. He pushed one button, then another. Nothing
happened. Twiffle did it all over again, a bit frantically this time. Still
nothing happened. "It's no use," said Twiffle. "The Airmobile won't budge.
We're stuck in mid-air!"
While Twiffle fussed with the controls of the Magic Airmobile, a crowd of
curious people began to gather about the stalled aircraft. They were men,
women, children, and even dogs, and they walked on the air easily and
unconcernedly, as if it were the normal thing to do. These people were all
very tall and exceedingly thin. The grown-ups were well over eight feet in
height, while the older children averaged about six feet tall. Perhaps the
fact that they lived so high up had caused them to grow that way, too.
Their clothing was what we would consider old-fashioned, but was neat and
well cared for. The women wore the brightest of colors, which flashed gaily
in the clear sunlight. The people chattered among themselves, pointing
toward the Airmobile, and several dogs barked excitedly. A loud voice
exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this? What is going on here?"
The crowd made way for the speaker, who proved to be a sour-faced, tall
individual wearing a frock coat and a high silk hat C4 a stovepipe hat,
the Shaggy Man would have called it.
"Pardon us," began the Shaggy Man, "but I am afraid we are the cause of all
the excitement. You see, our airship has stalled just inside your town."
The tall man stared curiously at the occupants of the Airmobile as he said,
"Of course your flying machine won't operate in Hightown. In fact, a flying
machine in Hightown is an utter absurdity C4 against all the town
ordinances and rules. I must ask you to remove it immediately."
"Not very friendly, is he?" remarked Tom.
But Twiffle was interested. "What do you mean, sir, that the aircraft is
against your laws?"
The tall man sniffed. "It should be apparent to you that the last thing in
the sky we need is an airplane. Here in this favored spot we walk on air
and are not compelled to crawl across the earth like worms."
"Yes," said the Shaggy Man, "we can see all that. But tell us, your Honor,
do you think we would be able to walk on air as you do?"
The top-hatted man was distinctly flattered by the Shaggy Man's mode of
address. "Ah," he replied, "I can see that you recognize me as a person of
importance. I am the Lord High Mayor of Hightown, and my word here
represents the highest law of the land. As for your being able to walk as
we do on the air, I see no reason why you shouldn't since in Hightown there
is no gravity to pull you to the earth."
"What was that you said? No gravity?" Twiffle was obviously excited.
"Exactly," replied the Lord High Mayor with great dignity. "Within the
boundaries of Hightown, the earth does not exert the least bit of gravity
C4 none whatsoever."
"Then that explains it," said Twiffle. "The Airmobile operates on the
principle of gravity, and since there is no gravity here, the craft is
useless."
"What are we to do?" asked the Shaggy Man. "I am not sure I want to go
walking around on the air, although these folks seem to take to it
naturally enough."
"Tell me," said Twiffle, addressing the Lord High Mayor, "is Hightown of
very great area?"
"Oh," exclaimed the Lord High Mayor, "it is simply enormous C4 no less than
four square acres of the most delightful air!"
"Have you any idea, your Honor," asked the Shaggy Man, "how we can get our
flying machine out of Hightown?"
"Oh, that's very simple," replied the Lord High Mayor. "Since your craft has
only just crossed the boundary into Hightown, I would suggest that you get
out and push the machine to the edge of the boundary C4 then push it a few
inches more, and it will be in the field of gravity again where it is
equipped to operate."
"Of course!" exclaimed Twiffle joyfully. "Why didn't I think of that?"
The Lord High Mayor smiled with smug satisfaction.
"I'll adjust these gravity plates now," continued Twiffle, "so the plane
won't fall when it passes the boundary." After he had pressed some buttons,
he and the Shaggy Man and Twink and Tom climbed out of the Airmobile. The
air seemed as solid under their feet as the earth. Nevertheless, this
walking on thin air was a most curious experience, and in spite of
themselves they found they were treading gingerly as though they were
walking on eggs.
The Lord High Mayor and the crowd of Hightowners that had gathered watched
curiously as the Shaggy Man and Tom slowly pushed the Airmobile toward the
boundary of Hightown. It was no task at all, since the Airmobile had no
weight. They knew the sign that had greeted them as they entered Hightown
marked the spot where gravity again exerted its pull, so they pushed the
Airmobile slowly over this invisible line.
Zoom! Like an arrow shot from a bow, the Airmobile darted upward. Far above
their heads it continued its mad climb into the sky. So fast did it move
that within a few seconds it was visible only as a tiny speck far above
them.
"What in the sky has happened?" gasped the Shaggy Man.
"It is all my fault," said Twiffle despondently. "I must have exposed the
gravity plates too much when I adjusted them. I was so afraid the plane
would fall. When the Airmobile passed into the area of gravity, it shot
$$upward&&. Now it is lost to us forever." Twiffle looked as if he were
about to weep.
"Cheer up, Twiffle," said the Shaggy Man. "Maybe we can get the Airmobile
back." Shaggy turned to the Lord High Mayor and asked, "Since we can walk
on air as well as you, couldn't we just walk up there and climb into the
Airmobile?"
"You could if you wanted to stop breathing," said the Lord High Mayor
cheerfully.
"Why do you say that?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Because," exclaimed the Lord High Mayor, "we have discovered that the
higher up you go, the thinner the air becomes. At the altitude now attained
by your craft, the air would be so thin that it would be unbreathable."
"Anyway," said Twink with a sigh, "the Airmobile isn't there any more."
They all stared upward. The girl was right. The speck that had been the
Airmobile had vanished completely. "Wonder where it went," said Twink.
The Lord High Mayor explained pompously, "Apparently your craft attained so
great a speed that it shot off into space, beyond the power of gravity.
From now on there's no telling where it will go."
"And astronomers will report that folks from earth are about to visit
another world, I suppose," grinned the Shaggy Man.
"Too bad old Conjo isn't in it," grumbled Twiffle.
"The question is," said Tom, "what do we do now?"
"Right," agreed the Shaggy Man as he turned to the Lord High Mayor and
asked, "Sir, can you tell us how we can leave Hightown and proceed on our
journey?"
"You wish to leave Hightown? Where could you possibly wish to go?" inquired
the Lord High Mayor.
"Well, eventually we hope to reach the Emerald City in the Land of Oz,"
replied the Shaggy Man, "so we're heading for the Deadly Desert surrounding
the Land of Oz. Then we'll have to figure out some way to cross the
desert."
The Lord High Mayor stared at Shaggy in horror. "The Deadly Desert!" he
exclaimed. "Do you mean to stand here in the sky and tell me you actually
wish to go near that terrible, burning, dry waste of shifting deadly sands
when you can stay here and enjoy the delightful perfection of the aerial
climate of Hightown?"
"No," began the Shaggy Man patiently, "we don't like the Desert any more
than you do, but in order to get to Oz we must cross the Desert. I assure
you the Land of Oz has a climate just as delightful as that of Hightown."
"That is impossible!" declared the Lord High Mayor indignantly. "Hightown
has the only perfect climate in the world, and now that you are here, you
might as well stay and enjoy it."
"Wonder if he ever heard of California?" murmured Tom to Twink.
"We would like very much to stay and enjoy your climate, your Honor,"
replied the Shaggy Man, "but it is impossible. We must be on our way to the
Land of Oz, much as we admire your high airs. So if you will kindly tell us
how we may leave your town, we will be much obliged."
The Lord High Mayor seemed to be deep in thought. "Leave our town?" he said
incredulously. "I don't believe it. No one could want to leave Hightown. It
is the pinnacle of civilization, the highest point in high life ever
reached by man. Sir, I conclude that I must have misunderstood you. It is
beyond comprehension that you should wish to depart from this exalted
community and go crawling about the lowly earth like a worm. I simply must
have misunderstood you."
"There's nothing wrong with your ears," replied the Shaggy Man. "I said it,
and I'll say it again C4 we want to leave Hightown! Maybe we haven't
advanced to the state where we can fully appreciate your hi-falutin' ways,
and if you want to know the truth, we actually like to feel the earth
beneath our feet."
The Lord High Mayor stared at the Shaggy Man unbelievingly. There was a
suspicion of tears in his eyes. "My poor, dear fellow," he said. "How I
grieve for you C4 to have such low tastes. The earth under one's feet C4
ugh! But then," he went on, brightening, "you have not been here long
enough to appreciate the soaring virtues of life in Hightown. Once you have
become accustomed to the lofty plane on which we live and the superiority
we enjoy over earth-crawlers, I am sure that all the sod in the world will
not tempt you to put foot upon the earth again."
"Please," said the Shaggy Man in exasperation. "Will you stop talking like
the Chamber of Commerce and tell us how we can get back to earth?"
The Lord High Mayor eyed Shaggy narrowly. "Well," he said, "if you insist on
leaving Hightown, you could walk to the boundary there, where gravity
begins again, step over and fall very quickly to the earth. That is the fas
test way I can think of leaving Hightown, but I wouldn't recommend it."
"No, no," the Shaggy Man assured him. "We have no desire to $$fall&& to the
earth." Shaggy looked below him with a shudder. "We would be in no shape to
continue our travels if we did that."
"Well, then, you see, it is all settled," said the Lord High Mayor with a
beaming smile. "You will stay with us. Everything is settled and there is
not the slightest doubt that you will find Hightown the Garden Spot of the
Sky. Now, since I am the Lord High Mayor of Hightown, it is my elevated
privilege and honor to welcome you and make you comfortable. You will
please follow me on what is the most fortunate journey of your life, for
you are on your way to savoring the high and flighty life of Hightown."
There seemed nothing else to do, so Shaggy and his friends followed the Lord
High Mayor, stepping gingerly on what seemed to them to be the airiest
space. As the Mayor proceeded, the crowd of curious Hightowners made way
for him and the little company of adventurers.
"Might I inquire," asked Twiffle, "where you are taking us?"
"Why, to my Air Castle, of course," answered the Lord High Mayor. "Since you
are my guests, you must be treated with the greatest courtesy. Later we
will find a permanent dwelling for you."
They had now reached the center of the small town, and here the Lord High
Mayor paused before a dwelling that was little different from any other of
the houses which were scarcely more than bungalows except that they were
all quite high and narrow to suit the shapes of the Hightowners.
"This is your Air Castle?" asked the Shaggy Man. "It looks no different from
the other houses."
"And why should it be different?" demanded the Lord High Mayor. "Here we all
live in Air Castles. You people who crawl around on the earth just dream of
them. We are privileged to enjoy them." This last was said with an air of
great pride.
One thing did distinguish the Lord High Mayor's dwelling from the others in
the town. Directly in front of it there stood a handsome flower pot in
which was blossoming a beautiful magnolia. The Lord High Mayor paused to
enjoy the delightful aroma of the flower. "Ah, magnolia! That means we
shall have a south wind soon. You visitors are indeed fortunate to have
arrived in Hightown at this time."
"I'm not so sure we would be fortunate to arrive here any time," grumbled
Twiffle.
"You see," the Mayor went on, disregarding Twiffle's remark, "when the
magnolia blossoms, that means a south wind is coming. And $$that&& means we
shall soon have a delightful southern cloud on which to walk. I assure you
there is nothing more delightful than walking on a southern cloud."
"Seems to me clouds of any sort would be sort of squiggy for walking
purposes, no matter how pretty they are to look at," said the Shaggy Man.
"What happens when there's a north wind coming?" asked Twink curiously.
"Oh, then the plant blossoms with a beautiful wild thyme, and we are
privileged to enjoy that delightful scent. When there's an east wind on its
way," the Lord High Mayor continued, "then the plant bears chrysanthemums.
When the west wind is coming, we enjoy the blossoms and scent of wild
roses."
"Doesn't the west wind bring rain clouds?" asked Tom, remembering that it
usually did in Buffalo.
"Yes," said the Mayor, "that is right."
"Then it $$rains&& here in Hightown where you have a have a perfect
climate?" asked the boy, remembering his disgust with the rain at home.
"Not at all," replied the Mayor. "There is no gravity to pull the raindrops
earthward, so it can't rain. We just go out wading in the rain cloud."
"That's quite a plant," said the Shaggy Man, staring at the flower pot with
its beautiful blossoms.
"It's much more than that," said the Mayor. "Certainly since we have the
most perfect weather in the world in Hightown, we would have the most
perfect weather forecaster. That's just what the plant is."
While Tom was trying to puzzle out why, if Hightown always had perfect
weather, it needed any weather forecaster at all, the door of the Mayor's
home opened and they were welcomed by a tall, thin woman in a blue checked
bungalow apron. She proved to be the Mayor's wife. The good woman
immediately served dinner, hurrying about and doing her best to make the
visitors at home. She was particularly pleasant to Twink and Tom and was
greatly amazed and a little awed by Twiffle.
Strangely enough, the food consisted entirely of fruits, but they were all
fresh and tasty. When the meal was over, the Lord High Mayor announced that
it was time for a nap. "A nap!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man. "Why, it is only
a little past noon. We can't sleep now."
"It is the custom in Hightown," remarked the Mayor placidly, "and you will
soon come to enjoy the siesta as much as we. However, if you cannot sleep,
you may sit on the front porch. But don't go off the porch and wander
about, as you may come to the edge of the town and fall to the earth."
With this, the Lord High Mayor and his wife retired to their room, and the
visitors were left to themselves. There seemed nothing else to do but to
follow the Mayor's suggestion and while away the Town's hour of sleep on
the front porch. Here they found several chairs and a swing and soon made
themselves comfortable.
There was nothing interesting about the scenery, and little to talk about,
and they were beginning to be a bit bored when a saucy brown wren flitted
out of the sky and perched on the porch railing, regarding Shaggy and his
friends with bright little eyes. "Strangers here, aren't you?" asked the
bird. "Fine place to live. You'll like it, I'm sure."
"We don't like it, and we don't intend to stay," said the Shaggy Man a bit
ill-humoredly.
"Well, if you don't like it, then why don't you leave right away?" asked the
bird.
"How?" asked Shaggy. "Walk to the edge of the town and fall to the earth? We
can't fly like you, you know."
"You don't need to fly. You can walk down through the air C4 or rather,
swim down C4 using your arms to push you through the air. There's no
gravity, you know." And with a flirt of its saucy trail, the bird was gone.
With a shout, Twiffle leaped to his feet. "What fools we've been! Of course
there's no gravity, and we can push ourselves right down to earth! Come on,
let's be on our way." Twiffle ran to the edge of the porch and leaped out
head first. They could see the little clown below them, moving his arms
like a swimmer.
"Should we try it?" asked the Shaggy Man doubtfully.
Tom didn't wait for an answer. He jumped from the porch just as Twiffle had
done. He found that by moving his arms he could force himself downward.
Indeed, it was no more effort than walking on a level on the air. In a
short time he discovered that, since there was no gravity, he could move at
will up or down through the air. Now Twink was at his side, thoroughly
enjoying the novel experience. The Shaggy Man was following close behind.
Twink glanced upward once and saw the spectacle of a whole town suspended
in the air above her. She could even make out the Mayor's house and the
flower pot in front of it. They were all swimming earthward at about the
same level when there was a flirt of small wings, and the wren who had
spoken to them on the porch of the Lord High Mayor's house alighted on the
Shaggy Man's shoulder. "I see you took my advice," said the wren.
"Yes," said the Shaggy Man, "and we are grateful to you for telling us about
this easy way to leave Hightown."
"Think nothing of it," replied the wren airily. "I always feel sorry for
anyone who gets stuck in Hightown. There isn't a stupider place in the
world. Those Hightowners have never seen anything but their own silly
little town, so they just can't imagine there's anything else in the
world."
"You get around quite a bit, I suppose," ventured the Shaggy Man.
"Being a bird, naturally," retorted the wren with a saucy flirt of his tail.
"Well, then," said Shaggy, "would you mind doing your own flying and getting
off my shoulder?"
"That's gratitude for you," said the wren reproachfully. "I save you from a
life of boredom and you refuse to let me hitchhike down to earth." But the
bird didn't move from Shaggy's shoulder.
"Where are you going, anywhere in particular?" asked Twink.
"Oh yes, of course," the wren replied. "Just below Hightown there is a
lovely orchard of all kinds of fruit trees. That's where the Hightowners
get all their food. They live on fruit. They can boast about their silly
town all they like, but when they want food, you can bet they hurry down to
the orchard on earth for it. That's why they don't like us birds. We enjoy
eating the fruit in the orchard, too. We seldom go near Hightown, except
when the people are asleep. They are so disagreeable they throw things at
us and accuse us of stealing from their orchard. Their orchard, indeed!"
"Tell me," said the Shaggy Man, "was your mother a magpie?"
"Of course not," replied the wren indignantly.
"I thought she must have been," said the Shaggy Man, "because you certainly
chatter like a magpie."
"That's enough," declared the wren. "If you can't appreciate intelligent
conversation, I shan't waste it upon you. You are far too slow for me
anyway. No hard feelings, though. Good luck to all of you." And with that,
the wren was off, darting swiftly earthward. Shaggy and his friends all had
a good laugh over the gossipy little bird.
Ten minutes more "swimming" brought them within sight of the orchard about
which the bird had told them. "The Hightown sign said `altitude 15,000
feet,'FF20" said Tom. "That's almost three miles. I can't believe we've
been swimming that far."
"Probably they boosted that figure as high as their opinion of Hightown,"
said Twiffle, "and anyway, it did say the altitude varied. Varies very
much, I'd say."
A few minutes later they were standing on the earth in a grove of apple,
plum, and cherry trees. Every branch was filled with ripe, luscious fruit.
Twink looked for their friend, the wren, but saw nothing of him. The Shaggy
Man began looking about the ground for apples. Suddenly he laughed. "That
was really stupid of me," he called to Twink and Tom. "Of course there
aren't any apples on the ground. They can't fall off the trees!"
"This must be where the Hightowners get their fruit," said Twink.
"Of course," replied Shaggy. "They thought they would keep us with them by
not telling us how easy it is to reach the earth from Hightown."
"But they must have known we would see some of them coming and going to the
orchard and find out sooner or later how to escape," said Tom.
"Well, thanks to that bird, we found out sooner," said Twiffle.
Before they left the grove, Shaggy walked in the air to the upper branches
of the biggest apple tree in the orchard and filled his pockets with the
largest and ruddiest of the fruit. "Can't tell where we'll find our next
meal," he explained.
Knowing the area that was freed from the force of gravity was of very small
extent, Shaggy and his friends walked steadily in one direction, treading
several feet in the air, since that was easier than walking on the earth.
As there was no difference in the appearance of the countryside where
gravity exerted itself again, they had no way of telling when they would
suddenly emerge from the gravityless land.
Shaggy was in the lead when he suddenly experienced that curious sensation
that comes when you step unexpectedly into a hole. The result was that
Shaggy toppled forward and found himself sprawled on the grass. Following
him came Twink, Tom and Twiffle. Only Tom managed to maintain his balance.
What he had realized in time was simply that the others had stepped off the
air on which they had been walking to the earth a foot or two below them.
The Shaggy Man sighed. "Give me the earth to crawl around on any day, as
our friend the Lord High Mayor would put it, even though it does mean an
occasional tumble."
Before the travelers lay one of the most beautiful valleys they had ever
seen. Gently sloping hills led down to green fields. Through the middle of
the valley flowed a steam that looked like a shimmering blue ribbon
stretched out on a green carpet. On the near bank of the stream, in the
very center of the valley, stood a castle. Its spires, turrets, and towers
were so delicately formed that they glistened like lace-filigree in the
sunlight. Twink's eyes glowed. "Isn't it just the most beautiful sight you
ever saw?" she exclaimed.
"It certainly is elegant," admitted the Shaggy Man. "But what we want to
know is, what kind of folks live in it."
"Oh, I'm sure they must be very happy and contented," said Twink. "They just
$$must&& be to live in a place like that."
"Then we are going to visit the castle?" asked Twiffle a bit doubtfully.
"It seems the only thing to do," replied the Shaggy Man. "I admit I have no
idea where we are, and there is just the possibility that whoever lives in
that castle may be able to help us get to Oz, or at least give us
directions to the Deadly Desert."
Tom was already on his way, running happily down the green slope toward the
stream and the castle. A ten-minute walk in the bright sunlight brought the
little group of adventurers to the doors of the castle. So far they had
seen no living persons. Birds sang in the trees, and once a white rabbit
had bounded across Tom's path, but there were no signs of human beings.
The Shaggy Man stepped forward and knocked boldly on the heavy door.
Instantly it swung silently open. As the adventurers stepped inside, Twink
gasped, and even the Shaggy Man, accustomed as he was to the splendor of
Ozma's Royal Palace, was impressed with the magnificence of his
surroundings. The floor and walls of the castle were of the whitest
alabaster, polished so that the creamy depths of the stone mirrored the
luxurious furnishings, casting a luster that enhanced the woven richness of
the deep-hued draperies in the paneled walls.
Who had built such a castle? Each of the travelers tried to picture in his
own mind the kind of people who might live here. Would they be friendly or
unfriendly, helpful or dangerous? Still there was no sign of people. The
only sound that broke the stillness of the foyer in which Shaggy and his
friends stood was the tinkling of water as it flowed from a small fountain
in the center of the room. This fountain was fashioned like an ordinary
drinking fountain, the stream of water that rose from it being not more
than three or four inches in height. Around the rim of the alabaster
fountain was a metal plate with writing inscribed upon it.
Her curiosity aroused, Twink advanced to the fountain and read:
This is a Phontain.
Any visitors are requested to speak
their messages into it.
Signed: Rex Ticket & Regina Curtain.
"What in the world can it mean?" whispered Twink. Her companions had
gathered about her and were reading the metal plate with wonder.
"Rex and Regina," ventured the Shaggy Man, "are King and Queen. That's
Latin. So evidently the head folks of this castle are King Ticket and Queen
Curtain. Hmmm C4 certainly odd names for a King and Queen."
"A Phontain, and we're supposed to talk into it!" sniffed Twiffle with
disgust. "Whoever heard of such nonsense?"
"Well," observed the Shaggy Man, "I've heard of babbling brooks, so why not
a talking fountain that will carry our words?"
"A phoney fountain, I suppose," said Tom, grinning.
Shaggy stooped over the Phontain and spoke clearly and distinctly: "This is
the Shaggy Man of Oz speaking. In behalf of my friends, Twink and Tom of
the United States of America, Twiffle, late of the Isle of Conjo, and
myself, I request an audience with King Ticket and Queen Curtain."
Almost immediately a red neon sign lighted up over two large double doors at
the opposite end of the foyer. The sign flashed the single word "Entrance."
"I guess this is where we go in," remarked the Shaggy Man as he walked to
the door and pushed the large metal handle.
They were in a small, brightly lighted theater containing about one hundred
seats. On the stage, seated on two thrones, were a man and a woman C4
evidently King Ticket and Queen Curtain. All about the King and Queen on
the stage there was a bustle of the most frenzied activity. There sounded
the clash and clatter of hammers, the ripping of saws and the whirring of
drills and bits. Perhaps fifteen or twenty men were hard at work knocking
together and erecting a bewildering array of scenery. Calmly seated about
the stage on three-cornered stools, their sewing baskets at their sides,
were a number of ladies sewing on costumes. Others were apparently sewing
together large pieces of canvas. Still other ladies were engaged in
painting artistic pictures on the canvas which was then stretched on wooden
frameworks to serve as backdrops for the stage.
After Shaggy and his friends had watched this display of industry for
several minutes, they advanced down the middle aisle of the theater. The
King and queen had been doing no actual work. They merely issued directions
to the others, who seemed not to pay them the slightest heed, but continued
with their tasks. King Ticket looked up. "Well," he said to the Shaggy Man,
"you certainly took your time getting here. It was at least three minutes
ago that you announced yourselves on the Phontain."
"Do you mean you really heard us through that water fountain?" asked the
Shaggy Man.
"Water hath a limpid tongue with which to lave the naked ear," said King
Ticket in a voice which was meant to be impressive. "Of course we heard you
through the Phontain. There are Phontains in all the rooms of the Castle
C4 even in the theater, here C4 which repeat messages when we speak into
them."
Twink thought this was much nicer than telephones which (sic C4 with?)
rudely jangling bells, although probably not as private. "You didn't
think," commented Queen Curtain as though she had read Twink's thoughts,
"that we would use ordinary means of communication such as telephones in
the Valley of Romance, did you?"
"Oh," said the Shaggy Man, "is this the Valley of Romance?"
"It is, and since you are from the Land of Oz," said King Ticket, "you must
surely have heard of the Valley of Romance."
The Shaggy Man reflected. It seemed he could recall Ozma mentioning
something about some such valley, but he couldn't remember anything that
she had said about it. "How far are we from the Land of Oz?" asked Twiffle.
"Dear me!" exclaimed King Ticket, staring at Twiffle. "For a moment I
thought you were real!"
"I am real," stated Twiffle with dignity. "I just don't happen to be made of
flesh and blood and bones, that's all."
"And as for the Land of Oz," remarked Queen Curtain meditatively, "it is
indeed very far away C4 over the stream and over the hill C4 far, far
away to the desert, and then over that, too. In fact, it isn't even in the
Valley of Romance, so that means it must be quite some distance off. Too
far even to think of," she added as though to say that closed the subject.
The Shaggy Man shrugged. Evidently these two weren't going to be of much
help to the travelers in finding their way back to Oz. Well, they would
make a lunch of the apples he carried in his pockets and then continue on
their journey. Shaggy and his friends made themselves comfortable in the
deeply upholstered seats in the front row of the theater. Shaggy divided
the apples between Twink, Tom, and himself. He offered several to King
Ticket and Queen Curtain, who refused them rather disdainfully.
Shaggy and his friends ate in silence while they watched the activity on the
stage. Not one of the busily working men and women seemed even to be aware
of the presence of the strangers. Finishing his apples, the Shaggy Man
arose and said, "Looks like you folks are getting ready for quite a play.
What's the name of it?"
Unexpectedly one of the workers on a ladder stopped his task of hammering
together a bit of framework for the scenery and replied to Shaggy's
question: "That we won't know until the curtain goes up tonight. Tonight's
the First Night of this new play, and I shall be in charge." The fellow
added impressively, "For I am the First Knight of the Realm, you know."
"No," replied the Shaggy Man, "I didn't know." Shaggy was a little angry,
for he thought the man was making fun of him.
"Oh yes," Queen Curtain went on placidly. "He is the First Knight of the
Realm C4 in fact, all these people are Lords and Ladies of the Royal
Theater."
"And do you always build your own scenery and make your own costumes?" asked
the Shaggy Man.
King Ticket shifted uneasily on his throne. "Yes, and it always seems to
turn out rather badly. I suppose all we were really meant to do was to
enjoy the magnificent performances on the stage. And," the King brightened,
"that is all we truly have any desire to do. That is a full life for us and
quite enough C4 to sit in the theater and watch great drama unfold. What
need have we for any lives of our own when the stage is a world in itself
and therein we are content to dwell?" The King's voice gently subsided to a
whisper, and his eyes stared dreamily into space.
Queen Curtain took up the story. "During the performances Lord Props and
Lady Cue help the actors, although none too well, I must admit. Lord Props
seldom gets things right: when a gunshot is called for, there is very
likely to be a bell ringing. Once when the scene required a bowl of
goldfish, Lord Props actually managed to cram a whole live lobster into a
soup tureen. Lady Cues does, however, manage to do a bit better with her
cues. She is seldom more than two lines behind the actors."
"How long do your plays run?" asked Shaggy.
"Night after night after glorious night for years and years and years C4
sometimes as long as we can remember there has been the same wonderful play
for us to see on the stage at night," said the King, who had awakened from
his dream.
"And what do you do the rest of the time?" queried the Shaggy Man.
"Nothing C4 nothing but sleep," answered King Ticket. "Why should we? We
have the glorious stage for our lives." The King looked about him at the
work going on.
"Who are your actors?" asked Tom.
For a moment, King Ticket seemed embarrassed. Then he replied vaguely with a
wave of his hand as if to dismiss the matter as of little importance. "Oh,
just actors C4 you know, the usual thing, leading man, leading lady,
villain, comedian, and so forth."
"Come," said the Shaggy Man, "we're wasting time here. We should be on our
way if we ever hope to reach the Land of Oz."
Queen Curtain looked up. "You won't stay for dinner and the theater?"
"No thank you," replied Shaggy. "We have a long journey ahead of us, and we
really must be going on our way now." With this, Shaggy and his friends
walked up the aisle toward the door by which they had entered the theater.
King Ticket had been staring intently at the Shaggy Man, and now he
whispered something in a low voice to Queen Curtain. The Queen considered
for a moment and then nodded her head. Twink and Tom, who were directly
behind the Shaggy Man, stopped and stared at each other. They were only
halfway up the aisle. The Shaggy Man had been only a step ahead of them.
Now he was gone C4 vanished completely!
Twink and Tom were utterly bewildered at their friend's disappearance. They
didn't know what to do next. Twiffle turned to King Ticket and Queen
Curtain on the stage and demanded, "Where is the Shaggy Man?"
King Ticket looked up innocently. "Why, has he gone somewhere?"
"Certainly he has gone somewhere," said Twiffle, who was becoming angry.
"And you had better tell us where. Don't forget that the Shaggy Man is an
important personage of the Land of Oz. If anything happens to him, you will
be sorry."
"Pooh!" sniffed King Ticket. "We know all about the Land of Oz and its silly
girl ruler, Ozma. But your famous Shaggy Man had not even heard of the
Valley of Romance. What can anyone in Oz do? They don't even know of our
existence."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," declared Twiffle with more courage than he
felt.
"Anyway," continued King Ticket musingly, "the Land of Oz is vastly
overrated. Why, as far as I know, there isn't a single theater in all the
country!"
"And so," began Queen Curtain quietly, "why don't you children just make
yourselves comfortable until dinner time? Then you may join us for the
meal, and afterwards you shall be our guests in the Royal Box to witness
the performance of our new play."
Twiffle was aroused now. He climbed right up on the arm of King Ticket's
chair. "We don't want your dinner. We don't want to see your play. All we
want is the Shaggy Man, and then we shall continue our journey."
"Tut, tut," admonished King Ticket. "What a violent disposition the little
puppet has."
"I am afraid," said Queen Curtain, "that you really have no choice. You must
stay here until we are ready for you to depart. After all, you came of your
own accord, you know."
Twiffle was silent. He was at a loss to know what to say or do. Twink and
Tom felt suddenly alone and a little bit frightened now that the Shaggy Man
was gone. Even in the brief time they had known him, they had grown very
fond of him and had come to rely upon him. Seeing this, Twiffle returned to
stand by the children and said, "Never you mind. We'll find the Shaggy Man
all right. Perhaps it would be wise to remain here tonight as these people
wish us to do. That will give us a chance to find out what they have done
with Shaggy."
This was said in a whisper, to which Tom answered, "Well, I could enjoy a
good meal. We haven't had anything to eat but fruit since yesterday."
Actually, Tom was as worried about Shaggy as Twink, but being a boy, he
didn't want to let the girl know.
Twink was indignant. "I'm surprised at you, Tom! The idea of talking about
food when we've just lost our best friend! But I suppose Twiffle is right."
"Good!" said King Ticket. "Then that is settled, and you will be with us for
dinner and the theater!"
"Gosh!" exclaimed Tom. "Do you suppose he heard everything we said?"
"I don't have any doubt of it," replied Twiffle calmly. "Therefore we might
as well converse in our ordinary voices."
"You were indeed fortunate to have arrived just in time for the opening
night of our new play," said Queen Curtain pleasantly. "I am sure you will
enjoy it immensely. Tell me, have you children seen many plays?"
"Oh yes," replied Tom, "we have seen lots of our school plays, and last
Christmas Twink and I had important parts in the Christmas pageant."
"Well, then, you will certainly enjoy yourselves tonight," said the Queen,
smiling happily at the children. "We will work only about an hour more.
Then everything will be in readiness. That will give us plenty of time to
tidy up, dress in our finest, and enjoy the dinner and the play to the
utmost."
The hour passed swiftly. The children apparently were engrossed in the work
going on on the stage, but actually their thoughts were busy puzzling over
the mystery of what had happened to the Shaggy Man.
"Lady Cue will show you to your rooms, children," announced Queen Curtain,
rising from her throne. The Lords and Ladies were putting away their tools
and sewing. A tall, thin, worried-looking woman, sewing basket on her arm,
stepped down a short flight of stairs from the stage and smiled rather
absent-mindedly at Twink and Tom. "You will come with me, I think?" she
said hesitantly.
Twink and Tom looked at Twiffle, who nodded, and all three followed the tall
lady, who was proceeding uncertainly up the aisle. Outside the theater,
Lady Cue led Twiffle and the children up a broad staircase leading to the
second floor of the castle. Here there was a long corridor, with smaller
corridors leading off of it, each with many doors opening into various
suites and rooms. Lady Cue had advanced only a short distance down the main
corridor when she stopped uncertainly before a door and turned to her
charges. "This is a door," she said, "but do you think it is the right
one?"
"I'm sure we wouldn't know, Madame," replied Twiffle. "After all, you live
in this castle and should know all about it."
Lady Cue sighed. "Of course, of course. I forgot for the moment that you are
the strangers. Well, we shall have to do our best to find the right door."
"Haven't you been in any of these rooms?" asked Tom curiously.
"$$In&& them?" asked Lady Cue vaguely. "Oh, I must have, since I live here,
you know. Once inside the rooms I am sure I would be able to find my way
with no trouble. But outside them it is most confusing. How is one to know
what is $$inside&& when one is $$outside?&&" Lady Cue looked at them
beseechingly and wandered down the corridor to another door exactly like
the one she had just left. She stared at this one for several minutes, then
boldly opened it a crack and peered in. "Oh goodness! I beg your pardon,"
she said to someone in the room, hastily closing the door. "Well," she
said, "that's one that isn't the one. The First Knight of the Realm is in
there pressing his breeches for tonight's performance."
"The First Knight of the Realm presses his own clothes?" asked Twink.
"He does, he does," asserted Lady Cue, wagging her head. "I did it for him
once, but somehow the creases ran zigzag, and he looked like he was
corrugated. It is my opinion, though," Lady Cue added in a confidential
whisper, "that he wears a poor quality garment." Lady Cue turned and
started off down one of the smaller corridors. Twink, Tom and Twiffle
followed her, at which Lady Cue stopped and looked at them with a puzzled
expression. "Did you wish to see me?" she asked.
"You were taking us to our rooms," reminded Twiffle.
"I was?" exclaimed Lady Cue, greatly surprised. "Well, then you just show me
where your rooms are, and I will be glad to take you to them."
"But you were supposed to show $$us&& to our rooms," said Tom.
"I was? Oh dear, this is confusing," said Lady Cue.
"Have you no idea where our rooms are, Madame?" asked Twiffle.
"I wouldn't say that," replied Lady Cue. "I did have a very good idea, but
it seems I mislaid it somewhere. There are so very many rooms, you know,
and any one of them might be yours, if only there weren't so many other
people in the castle. That's what we must be careful about, you know. I
don't think you would want to share rooms with someone else, would you,
maybe?"
All the time they were wandering from corridor to corridor while Lady Cue
became more and more unsure of her bearings. At last she stopped and said
hopelessly, "You'll have to pardon me, my friends, but I am afraid I am
lost. I haven't the faintest idea where we are."
"What shall we do?" asked Twink.
"I have it," said Lady Cue. "I will pin my handkerchief to this door," and
she indicated a door opposite them, "so that we can't get more lost.
Whenever we pass this door with the handkerchief on it, we will know
exactly where we are."
"And where will that be?" asked Twiffle.
"Why, where the handkerchief is, of course," replied Lady Cue. With that,
Lady Cue reached in her pocket and pulled out a large linen napkin that
bore traces of food on it. "Oh dear," she exclaimed. "I seem to have picked
this up at luncheon. How thoughtless of me." She advanced to the door and,
removing a large safety pin from the front of her dress, carefully pinned
the napkin to the door.
"Whose rooms are these?" asked Twiffle.
"I haven't the faintest idea," replied Lady Cue.
"Why not open the door and find out?" pursued Twiffle.
"Why not?" echoed Lady Cue as she turned the knob and pushed open the door.
They all stepped inside. There was no sign of any occupants of the room.
The closets were all empty, and there were no personal articles about. The
suite consisted of a large, beautifully furnished living room with doors
leading to two comfortable bedrooms with baths.
"Why can't we use these rooms?" asked Twiffle.
"What a wonderful idea," exclaimed Lady Cue. "Then we won't have to hunt any
longer for your rooms, because these will be your rooms. But are you sure
it's all right? It sounds much too simple." And with a worried look, the
poor lady started to take down the napkin from the door.
"No, no," said Twiffle. "Leave the napkin there. Then you will be able to
find us again. Remember now, just look for the napkin on the door and
you'll know which is our room."
Lady Cue nodded and extracted a large, old-fashioned watch from the depths
of her sewing basket. She squinted at it, and said, "You have just one half
hour to prepare for dinner. I will call for you and take you to the, the
C4 oh yes, the dining room. That," she confided, "is where they are serving
dinner tonight." With that, the befuddled Lady Cue closed the door, only to
find she was still in the room. So she opened it, stepped outside, and then
carefully closed it again.
Twink, Tom and Twiffle, in spite of their troubles, burst out laughing. If
anything went right with the play tonight, they were sure it wouldn't be
due to Lady Cue's efforts. While Twiffle waited patiently, the children
bathed, scrubbed their faces and hands, and reappeared much refreshed and
quite ready for the dinner that had been promised them. Twink was
fascinated with the long rows of books on one side of the luxuriously
furnished room, but she hardly had time to do more than glance at a few
pictures when there came a gentle rapping on their door.
Twiffle opened it. There stood Lady Cue. Her dress was on backwards, and she
had forgotten to do her hair. Solemnly she counted Twink, Tom and Twiffle
C4 one, two, three. "Is that right?" she asked them anxiously. "Were there
just three of you? So often when I count I have something left over. This
time it seems to come out even. That's very odd."
"Three would be odd," muttered Twiffle. Fortunately, Lady Cue didn't hear
him, or she might have become even more confused. She was already on her
way through the corridors, so the children and the clown followed her.
After several false starts and wandering through a number of corridors,
they finally found their way to the great staircase.
The Grand Dining Room of the castle was brilliantly lighted by three huge
crystal chandeliers. Each of the chandeliers flamed with more than a score
of tapering lights which were reflected shimmeringly in the alabaster
ceiling and walls. As soon as Twink, Tom and Twiffle entered the dining
room, they were espied by Queen Curtain, who motioned them to seat
themselves at her right. Queen Curtain and King Ticket occupied the head of
the table. The Lords and Ladies of the Castle were filing into the dining
room, chattering spiritedly, and all handsomely gowned and garbed. In a few
minutes all were seated. There were a few curious glances at the three
strangers at the table, but for the most part the Lords and Ladies of the
Valley of Romance were far too excited over the play they were to witness
that evening to give more than a passing glance to the children and the
little clown.
The meal passed through many delicious and elaborate courses with no
incidents. Queen Curtain played the charming host, occasionally tossing
pleasant remarks to the children and Twiffle. Poor Lady Cue put salt in her
tea instead of sugar, but she drank the entire cup without seeming to
notice her mistake. "Perhaps she really likes it that way," Twink whispered
to Tom.
At the end of the meal, King Ticket rose and addressed the assemblage
solemnly. "The moment has come for which we have prepared these many days.
We will now pass into the theater for the first performance of the new
play." No one spoke. This apparently was an important moment. The only
sound in the vast dining room was the rustling of the ladies' skirts and
the patter of footsteps on the alabaster floor.
Queen Curtain took Twink by the hand, and Tom and Twiffle followed into the
theater. It was brilliantly lighted as the Lords and Ladies settled into
their seats. A few of them hurried backstage C4 they were the ones who
worked the scenery and otherwise aided in the presentation of the play.
Twink, Tom and Twiffle found themselves seated in the Royal Box with King
Ticket and Queen Curtain. The houselights dimmed, the curtains went up, and
with no preliminaries the play was under way.
Two actors walked woodenly forward on the stage. They were dressed in what
Twink and Tom could tell was supposed to be armor, but was obviously
kitchen utensils strung together and about to fall off. From the words they
were saying, the two knights seemed to be getting very angry with one
another. But they looked at the audience instead of looking at each other,
and spoke their lines in a dazed, unexcited way as though they were talking
in their sleep. Impossible as it seemed from their lack of action, it
became apparent that they were so enraged they had decided to fight out in
a tournament their quarrel over a lady. Oh yes, there she was at the side
of the stage, paying no attention at all to the knights.
The tournament scene came next. The knights in their pots and pans were
mounted on extraordinary horses. Each was made up of two men covered with
tufted candlewick bedspreads. They too moved about the stage in a slow and
sleepy way. The lady who had inspired the fight looked on from her box seat
at the side of the stage, waving her handkerchief. But it had slipped her
mind apparently that it was the tournament she was watching, and she looked
straight at the audience and listlessly waved her handkerchief as if trying
to attract the attention of anyone who might care to wave back at her.
When the knights supposedly rushed their horses at each other and aimed
their spears, the steeds ambled slowly in opposite directions so far apart
that they seemed not to be aware of each other at all. When they did
finally get together, the horse of the knight who was to be winner slipped
and fell down, and the bedspread slid to the floor. The horse and the
knight who was to be victorious had to be re-assembled before he could
triumph over his victim, who had been watching him pick himself up off the
floor.
Twink and Tom had to clap their hands over their mouths to keep from
bursting out with laughter. They did this because it was apparent that King
Ticket, Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies took the play quite
seriously. Indeed, they were wildly enthusiastic. Throughout the entire
play the scenery kept toppling over. Lord Props provided the wrong sound
effects and stage furniture at every opportunity, and Lady Cue became so
interested in a book of poetry that she read from this instead of giving
the actors and actresses their proper lines.
Twink and Tom thought it strange that the people on the stage should mumble
their lines so badly and behave altogether as though they were only half
awake and were moving by clockwork. Act after act continued in this
fashion. But the audience saw only the drama as it was intended. The Queen
and the Ladies wept openly, applying delicate lace handkerchiefs to their
eyes. King Ticket and the Lords, being men, contented themselves with
brushing away a furtive tear and repeatedly blowing their noses loudly in
their spotless white linen kerchiefs.
"Magnificent!" exclaimed King Ticket.
"Glorious!" proclaimed Queen Curtain through her tears. "This play will run
for years. It is one of the greatest romances we have ever staged!"
"Romance!" sighed King Ticket. "Ah, sublime romance. There is nothing in the
world so touching and beautiful!"
It was near the end of the last act. Twink and Tom were nodding. Suddenly a
new actor appeared upon the stage. Twink's half-shut eyes flew open. She
grasped Tom by the arms and shook him awake. Twiffle leaned forward,
holding on to the rail of the box. None of them said a word. For a few
seconds they merely stared unbelievingly. The new character who had come on
the stage and was even then mumbling his lines in a mechanical voice was
the Shaggy Man!
At the sight of the Shaggy Man on the stage, Twink couldn't contain herself.
She leaned far out of the box and called, "Shaggy Man! Here we are. It's
Tom, Twiffle and Twink!"
If the Shaggy Man heard, he gave no indication of it. His eyes stared
straight ahead of him, and he mumbled the words of his lines as though he
were speaking in a dream in which he was only half awake. But King Ticket
and Queen Curtain as well as the audience of Lords and Ladies heard. A wave
of annoyed "Sshhhhhs" arose from the audience, while Queen Curtain grabbed
Twink by the arm, pulling her back into her seat and saying angrily, "How
dare you interrupt the play? For that you shall join your precious Shaggy
Man on the stage tomorrow night."
Tom started from his seat indignantly at the Queen's threatening words, but
Twiffle, who looked worried, pulled him back. The three unwilling playgoers
fell into an uneasy silence. A few moments later the curtain came down with
a crash and the play was over. "Dear, dear me," remarked King ticket.
"There go the curtain ropes again. We shall have to repair them tomorrow."
Queen Curtain turned to Twiffle and the children. "Go to your rooms
immediately," she ordered sternly. "You know where they are. Don't try to
escape. That is impossible. All the doors leading out of the castle are
securely locked. And as for you," she said, shooting Twink an angry glance,
"you will be taken care of tomorrow. Now be gone, all of you!"
Twink shivered. Tom took her hand, and with Twiffle following they made
their way out of the theater to their rooms. They passed unnoticed through
the Lords and Ladies, who were noisily discussing the play, exclaiming over
its excellence and looking forward to the next night's performance C4 of
the same play.
As soon as they were in their rooms, Twiffle quickly closed the door and
silently motioned the children to his side. The little clown was plainly
excited. "Listen," he whispered to the children. "I believe I have figured
out what has happened to the Shaggy Man and all the rest of the actors and
actresses, for that matter. They have been enchanted. King Ticket and Queen
Curtain have cast some kind of spell upon them so that they are only half
awake. The only existence they have is their dreamlike life on the stage as
they go through their parts in the play."
"I see," nodded Twink. "I believe you're right. Otherwise Shaggy would
surely have answered when I called to him from the box."
"Of course," said Twiffle.
"Then you don't think," surmised Tom, "that any of the actors and actresses
are Lords and Ladies of the castle?"
"Not a bit of it," stated Twiffle firmly. "It is my belief that they are
people from adjoining countries who, like ourselves, have wandered
unwittingly into the castle and have been enchanted for the pleasure of
King Ticket, Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies who have always lived
there."
"You must be right," murmured Twink, recalling how King Ticket had brushed
aside their question as to the identity of the actors and actresses.
"Of course I am right," asserted Twiffle. "It is the only solution that
answers all the questions. What we must do now is find a way to rescue the
Shaggy Man tonight before King Ticket and Queen Curtain have a chance to
cast their disgusting old spell on Twink tomorrow."
"Then let's get started," said Tom. "What do we do, Twiffle?"
"Nothing now," replied Twiffle. "We must wait until everyone in the castle
is asleep. Only then will it be safe for us to act."
Twink and Tom tried to be calm during the next hour as they discussed with
Twiffle their chances of rescuing the Shaggy Man and making an escape from
the castle. At last Twiffle went quietly to the door and slowly opened it,
peering up and down the hall corridor. The entire castle seemed to be
wrapped in deep silence. There was not a sound. "Come," whispered Twiffle.
"I believe it is safe to proceed now. Everyone seems to be asleep. You must
walk on your tiptoes so your steps won't be heard."
"Where are we going, Twiffle?" whispered Tom.
"To the theater and then backstage. That is where I am almost sure we will
find the Shaggy Man and all the rest of the unfortunate actors and
actresses." The lights of the castle were dimmed to a soft glow, but this
was enough for the adventurers to find their way to the theater with no
trouble. Here the same soft light glowed, filling the theater with a thin,
ghostly luminescence.
Twiffle quickly led the way down the aisle, then up the small flight of
stairs to the stage. Beckoning the children to follow him, Twiffle darted
through the wings to the back of the stage. Here an amazing sight greeted
them. Lined up in two rows like soldiers on a drill field were about fifty
men, women and children. Some of them Twink and Tom recalled having seen on
the stage earlier that evening. They ranged in age from small children to
elderly men and women. They stood stiffly, as though they were at
attention. Their eyes were tight shut. So still were these figures that
Twink couldn't tell whether or not they were breathing. In the front row
stood the Shaggy Man.
"Every type for every part," muttered Twiffle to himself. Then, turning to
the children, he whispered, "Here they are, just as I suspected, the
unfortunate victims of King Ticket and Queen Curtain. They have no more
life than mere dummies until the curtain goes up and they walk on the stage
to play their parts in that absurd drama."
Twiffle approached the Shaggy Man and studied him intently. At last he
sighed and shook his head. "I am afraid there is nothing we can do just
now," he admitted. "I learned a little magic from Conjo, and I hoped that I
might be able to release the Shaggy Man, but the spell that is upon him is
a strange one. I have no power to break it."
"There must surely be $$something&& we can do," said Tom, thinking of Queen
Curtain's threatening speech to Twink.
"I must have time to think," said Twiffle. "At least we have discovered the
whereabouts of the Shaggy Man, and we know what has happened to him and all
these other poor people. There must be some way to release them, if only I
can hit upon it. I suggest we return to our rooms. We certainly don't want
to be discovered here."
"But what about Twink?" asked Tom with dismay.
"I am hoping I can prevent Queen Curtain from making good her threat,"
replied Twiffle grimly.
"Oh, don't worry about me," said Twink bravely. "If worst comes to worst and
I don't make a better actress than the rest of these folks, I'll be awfully
disappointed in myself."
Despite the late hour at which they had gone to bed, Tom awakened bright and
early in the morning, hurried into his clothes and bounded into Twink's
room. The bed was empty! Thinking that Twink might have risen before him,
Tom dashed into the living room. There he found Twiffle alone, deep in
thought.
"Twiffle! Twiffle! Twink is gone!" exclaimed Tom.
Twiffle nodded his head gravely. "I know," he said. "I looked for her about
half an hour ago, and she was gone. I was afraid this would happen."
"But this is terrible!" protested Tom. "Think of poor Twink C4 one of those
senseless dummies just for the amusement of these wicked people." The boy
was thoroughly incensed as he went on. "They call this the Valley of
Romance! Why, they must be heartless. They don't even know what real
romance or love is!"
Twiffle let out a shout and leaped to his feet. "My boy, you've done it!" he
cried.
"Done what?" gasped the astonished Tom.
"You've just given me the solution of all our problems. I now know how we
can save not only Twink and the Shaggy Man, but all the other people
enslaved by King Ticket and Queen Curtain!"
"You do?" said Tom wonderingly.
"Yes," responded Twiffle. "You were wrong about only one thing: King Ticket,
Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies are not heartless. They have hearts,
all right. But you were very right when you said they don't know what real
romance or love is. They don't. We're going to show them, and in the
process we will rescue Twink and Shaggy!" Twiffle excitedly unfolded his
plan. As Tom listened, he grew more and more cheerful. When Twiffle
finished, Tom picked up the little clown and danced exuberantly about the
room with him.
"Twiffle," the boy shouted, "you're a wonder!"
Twiffle grinned from ear to ear. "It was you who gave me the idea," he
reminded Tom modestly. "But we must plan very carefully," he went on,
becoming serious. "Remember, there is only a slim chance that our plan will
work. We must take that chance and hope for the best. As there is nothing
we can do until tonight when the play is again presented, we should make
use of this time to work out every single detail of our plan."
Twiffle and Tom went over their plan again and again. Nevertheless, the day
seemed to Tom one of the longest he had ever spent. The long hours of
waiting were broken only three times C4 when Lady Cue brought in Tom's
meals. The food was quite good, but a bit mixed up. For breakfast the
befuddled Lady brought Tom a large slice of roast beef with corn flakes and
apple pie. Lunch consisted of fried eggs, mashed potatoes and doughnuts,
while dinner was made up of broiled apricots, strawberry shortcake and
graham crackers. But Tom was hungry and didn't mind the strange assortment
of foods too much. He managed to eat everything, even though Lady Cue
brought him six spoons with each meal and no knives or forks.
When Lady Cue appeared with the evening meal, Tom was a bit worried because
they had not been asked to dine with the Lords and Ladies in the Royal
Dining Room. Could this mean they would not be invited to the play? If so,
then their plan of rescue would be ruined. Twiffle was not worried. He was
sure they would be asked to share the King and Queen's Royal Box, if only
as a form of punishment, since they would be compelled to see Twink as one
of the puppets on the stage. Twiffle proved to be right. Early in the
evening Lady Cue appeared in the doorway and led them again to the theater.
King Ticket and Queen Curtain were already settled in the Royal Box when Tom
and Twiffle arrived. Except to give them an icy stare, the monarchs paid no
attention to their guests. Twiffle winked at Tom, but both of them were
quaking lest Twiffle's plan might not work. If it did not work, they would
be worse off than ever. If possible, the play C4 it was the same one C4
was even worse than on the previous night. The players went through their
parts in a dreamlike fashion, chanting their lines woodenly. Scenery fell
apart, the curtain came down at the wrong moments, and everything possible
went wrong. But King Ticket and Queen Curtain were enchanted. Along with
the Lords and Ladies they applauded vociferously and reacted to the
ridiculous performance with even more enthusiasm than they had displayed
the night before.
This night, Tom had no trouble in keeping awake. He squirmed about in his
seat with impatience, waiting until Twink and the Shaggy Man would appear.
This didn't happen until the play was well into the fourth and last act. As
on the night before, the Shaggy Man wandered blindly onto the stage,
speaking the same lines in an almost indistinguishable voice. A moment
later Tom tensed with excitement. A new character had been added. It was
Twink. Her eyes stared as she moved mechanically across the stage,
murmuring the words of her lines. Tom took a deep breath and glanced at
Twiffle. The time had come to act. Twiffle nodded.
In the next moment Tom climbed to the wide rail that encircled the Royal
Box. Poised there for a moment, he gave a leap and landed on the stage.
Without hesitating a moment he dashed to the Shaggy Man, and to the
amazement of everyone in the audience except Twiffle went through the
Shaggy Man's pockets. Tom gave an exultant cry. He had found what he
wanted. He held the Love Magnet before him, waving it first at the Shaggy
Man and then at Twink.
Shaggy and Twink started, then rubbed their eyes and stared about them
unbelievingly. Meanwhile, Tom was busy. He didn't hesitate until he had
exposed the Love Magnet to the gaze of each of the enchanted actors and
actresses. As each one looked at the Love Magnet, he lost his glassy stare
and came to life. In a few seconds the stage was filled, not with dummies
but with human beings, bewildered but freed from the thralldom of King
Ticket and Queen Curtain's evil spell. As they recovered, several of them
threw their arms around Tom, while all gazed at the boy with fondness and
love in their eyes. Twink suddenly realized how greatly she loved her
brother, and the first thing the Shaggy Man said was, "A great boy, that
Tom!"
Meanwhile, King Ticket and Queen Curtain, as well as the entire audience of
Lords and Ladies, had risen to their feet. None of them spoke. The real
drama suddenly being lived on the stage held them fascinated. At this very
moment, Tom advanced to the front center of the stage and with all eyes
upon him flashed the Love Magnet before the audience. A vast sigh went
through the theater. And then there was a confused babel (sic! C4 babble)
as the Lords and Ladies crowded into the aisle, each of them bent upon
reaching the stage and embracing Tom, who, they realized suddenly, was
quite the most lovable person they had ever beheld.
King Ticket leaped from the Royal Box onto the stage, hurrying toward Tom.
"My dear boy," he exclaimed, "how could I have been so blind? Isn't there
something I can do for you? Name it, and you shall have it! My Kingdom is
yours for the asking!"
Queen Curtain was standing in the box, arms outstretched appealingly to Tom.
"You darling boy!" she cried. "How wonderful it is that you have come to
visit us!"
Twiffle was sitting quietly in the Royal Box, grinning broadly. "Wouldn't
old Conjo be surprised," he thought, "if he knew how well the Love Magnet
has done its work? Tom really is quite a boy!"
That night there was a great feast in the Grand Dining Room of the castle.
Tom was the guest of honor, sitting at the head of the table between King
Ticket and Queen Curtain. Twink, feeling very proud of her brother, sat at
the Queen's right with the Shaggy Man and Twiffle at her side. In addition
to the Lords and Ladies of the castle, all the people who had formerly been
actors and actresses were seated about the table. There were speeches,
merrymaking and much laughter while everyone enjoyed course after course of
the delicious food served. King Ticket and Queen Curtain talked together
during the feast, seeming to discuss something on which they finally
appeared to reach a decision.
King Ticket arose and, banging with a silver fork against a drinking goblet,
obtained the attention and silence of the merrymakers. "My dear friends,"
began the King, beaming on his audience. "Good Queen Curtain and I have
been discussing a proposal which we are sure will meet with your approval.
You are well aware that although we did not know it, we, the people of the
Valley of Romance, have been living in a bondage that was even greater than
that which we cast over the poor unfortunates who wandered into the castle.
For we lived without knowing the meaning of true romance and love. We found
our only pleasure in artificial romance as we saw it on the stage. We had
no love for each other, no romance among ourselves. Now all this is
changed. Not only do we now appreciate and know the true meaning of real
love, but the people whom we enslaved are freed and happy once more. We
have one person to thank for this: Tom, who with the Love Magnet brought us
our present joy and happiness. Queen Curtain and I propose that we yield
our thrones and that Tom become the new King of the Valley of Romance."
The applause was tremendous. Apparently everyone in the Grand Dining Room
favored King Ticket's startling plan. But Tom leaped to his feet and
exclaimed, "Your Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for this great
honor, but I cannot be your King. Maybe I'll never get the chance to be a
king again. But the important thing for Twink and me is to find our way
home. The Shaggy Man has promised that Ozma of Oz will send us home if we
can only reach Oz. That is the thing we want most. Anyway, I have no right
to be your King. I don't know anything about the job, and you should really
be grateful to the Love Magnet for making you happy, not me. Now that you
folks know the meaning of real love, I'm sure King Ticket will make you a
fine King and Queen Curtain will be a real Queen."
Again the applause resounded. At last King Ticket rose again, expressing his
regret that Tom could not remain with them to be their King. King Ticket
promised that he would do his best to be a kind and loving monarch. His
first move, he said, would be to grant complete freedom to the people who
had wandered to the castle and had become slaves on the Stage of False
Romance. These people, he said, might return to dwell as Lords and Ladies
in the Castle of Romance.
Since they would have no further use for the theater, King ticket promised
to have the seats removed and the theater remodeled into a real Temple of
Learning where each of his subjects might learn some craft or art that
would be useful or pleasing to his fellows. Here they would meet each day
and study and work at their arts and crafts, enjoying companionship and the
satisfaction of real accomplishment and creation.
"If you do manage to get to the Land of Oz," King Ticket said to the Shaggy
Man, "I wonder if you would ask Professor Wogglebug if he would like to
come to our Temple of Learning as a visiting Professor? I am sure there are
many things he could teach us that would be both interesting and useful."
Shaggy promised to extend the invitation to the learned Wogglebug, who was
head of the Royal College of Oz.
In spite of all the excitement, Twink and Tom were nodding by the time the
feasting and speechmaking were ended. Everyone bade them a happy goodnight,
and Lady Cue conducted them once more to their rooms. The Love Magnet had
wrought its change on Lady Cue, too. Gone was her former befuddled state in
which she was not at all sure of anything or anyone. Now she was a
charming, gracious lady with the manners of a cordial and perfect hostess.
Shaggy and the children were fast asleep almost as soon as their heads
touched the soft pillows. Twiffle passed the night looking at the pictures
in the books on the living room shelves. By the middle of the following
morning they were ready to begin their adventures again. They found that
King Ticket, Queen Curtain, the Lords and Ladies and the former actors and
actresses, many of whom had decided to make their homes in the Valley of
Romance, were gathered in the courtyard to bid them farewell. King Ticket
gave them general directions for traveling to reach the Deadly Desert. That
was the nearest he could come to directing them to the Land of Oz.
Just as they were about to leave, Lady Cue arrived breathlessly on the
scene. She was so excited that she nearly lapsed into her old bewildered
state. "I C4 I C4 I have been so busy all morning cooking this for you
that I was afraid I would miss you." Lady Cue looked anxiously at Shaggy
and his friends as though she couldn't believe they were still there. As
she spoke, she handed Shaggy a large lunch basket filled with deliciously
prepared good things to eat. Shaggy, Twink, Tom and even Twiffle C4 who
didn't eat C4 thanked Lady Cue warmly for her thoughtfulness. They were
glad she had not changed entirely, for they had grown fond of her. As they
turned away from her and started once again on their journey, Lady Cue was
staring after them and dabbing at her eyes with a dishcloth.
Waving goodbye, the little band of adventurers followed the stream to the
south as it wound through the green and peaceful Valley of Romance. When
they were almost out of sight of the Castle of Romance, Twink looked back
and saw the delicately fashioned spires shimmering in the sun. "Now," the
girl said, "it is truly as beautiful a castle as it looks."
Beyond the valley, the country became rugged and rolling, with outcroppings
of grey rock, while the river narrowed, grew deeper, and flowed much more
swiftly. It was well into the afternoon when the Shaggy Man suggested that
they rest under a gnarled tree near the river bank and enjoy their
luncheon. They were all glad for the rest on the grass which grew high and
coarse over the countryside, and the food which Lady Cue had packed for
them was both satisfying and delicious.
Twink took a long look at the rather forbidding scenery about them. In the
distance loomed dark mountain peaks, while trees became fewer and fewer.
"Doesn't look like there's a living thing within miles!" said the little
girl a bit disconsolately.
"In a way, that's a good sign," replied the Shaggy Man. "For the nearer we
come to the Deadly Desert, the more wild and desolate the country is. From
the looks of things here, I wouldn't be surprised if we were near the
Kingdom of the Nomes."
"Have you any idea how we can get to Oz once we arrive at the Deadly
Desert?" asked Twiffle.
"No," said the Shaggy Man, "I haven't. But one can never tell what will
happen when traveling in a fairy country, and I figure the closer we re to
the Deadly Desert, the closer we are to Oz. Now if I just hadn't lost
Ozma's Magic Compass C4 But there's no use crying over spilt milk."
"Did I understand you to say you are going to the Land of Oz?" The words
were spoken in a small, clear voice. At the same time the tall grass just
in front of Shaggy and his friends parted, and a beaver stepped out and
viewed them fearlessly. Twink was amazed to see that the beaver wore a
small golden crown on his head, while in his right paw he carried a slender
beech rod.
"Yes," said the Shaggy Man, calmly regarding the beaver while he continued
to munch a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "That is, we hope to get to
the Land of Oz. First we must find some way to cross the Deadly Desert."
The beaver was silent for a moment, then he said, "Will you take me to Oz
with you?"
"Take you with us!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man. "Why, we aren't at all sure we
can get there ourselves. But why do you want to go to Oz? I can tell by
your crown that you're a King of some sort and not an ordinary beaver."
"I am the King of the Fairy Beavers," announced the little animal a bit
proudly. "None of us are ordinary beavers, since we are fairy creatures.
And as for why I want to visit Oz C4 well, I have heard wonderful tales of
that famous fairyland, and I have long dreamed of visiting it."
"Seems to me," observed Tom, "that since you are a Fairy King, your magic
powers could take you to Oz."
"No," replied the beaver King, "my magic is mostly water magic, and that
would be less than useless on the fiery sands of the Deadly Desert. But
that isn't the main reason that keeps me from visiting Oz."
"What is it, then?" asked Shaggy.
"I have not been invited," replied the beaver King simply.
"I am sure that if Ozma knew enough about that, she would fix it," said the
Shaggy Man kindly.
"Do you think so?" asked the beaver. "Do you really think Ozma would invite
me? I hoped you would say that, for it gives me courage to put forth a
suggestion I have in mind."
"What is that?" asked Shaggy.
"If you, the famous Shaggy Man of Oz, were to invite me to visit Oz, then
everything would be quite proper, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose it would," admitted the Shaggy Man, smiling. "But how do you
propose to get to Oz, since we can't cross the Desert?"
"Then you really invite me to accompany you? That is wonderful! As for the
Deadly Desert, I have a plan which might work."
"How did you know who the Shaggy Man was?" asked Twink.
"Oh, everyone knows about the Shaggy Man of Oz, and when I saw you here
discussing your journey to Oz, I was almost sure this could be none other
than the famous Shaggy Man."
Shaggy looked modestly at the ground.
Twiffle asked, "Just how far are we from this Deadly Desert?"
"Quite a distance," replied the beaver King. "The Desert lies just beyond
our own Kingdom, which is in the hills and mountains you see in the
distance."
"And what is your plan for crossing it?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Come to my palace, where you will be comfortable," said the King, "and we
will discuss my plan."
"It must be a long walk," sighed Twink. "And the farther we go toward the
Desert, the rockier and grayer the country becomes."
"Oh, we shan't walk. It will be much quicker to ride," declared the beaver
King. With that, the King of the Fairy Beavers walked to the edge of the
stream and uttered a shrill whistle. Shaggy and his friends followed the
little animal. A few hundred feet below them, the river curved to the left.
Around this bend in the stream they could now see some twenty little heads
C4 beavers swimming swiftly upstream and pulling after them a barge-like
boat with a canopy to shut out the rays of the sun. In a few moments the
boat was drawing near the shore on which they stood. Twink could see that
each of the little beavers wore a harness connected to the boat by a rope
of woven reeds. The boat itself was brightly painted and filled with soft,
silken cushions.
"You will be my guests on the journey down the river to my Kingdom, where it
will give me great pleasure to welcome you to my humble abode."
Twink, Tom, the Shaggy Man and Twiffle stepped into the boat. The Shaggy Man
had to stoop a bit to miss the canopy, but once they were seated on the
soft cushions there was room for all. The King of the Fairy Beavers hitched
himself into the front of the harness with the other beavers. "I hope
you'll forgive me for not riding with you," he said, "but when I have
guests, I like to do my share of the work C4 we beavers always enjoy
working together, you know, and occasions like this give me an opportunity
to forget I'm a King." The boat moved swiftly down the river, pulled easily
by the team of strong little animals.
"Well, this certainly beats walking, your Majesty," said the Shaggy Man as
he sighed with content and settled back among the cushions.
Tom, who was especially fond of animals, longed to hold one of the little
beavers and fondle it to his heart's content. And what fun it would be, the
boy thought, just to jump into the stream and swim along with the busily
paddling, happy-looking little animals. But Tom contented himself with
marveling at the ease with which the beavers pulled the boat.
Although the journey consumed more than an hour, it did not seem nearly that
long to the travelers, who were kept busy watching the changing scenery as
the boat sped swiftly downstream. The banks of the river grew much steeper,
and they could see scarcely any trees, while grey rocks jutted from the
earth and forbidding mountain peaks loomed only a few miles distant.
The beavers swam out of the current of the river and drew the boat into a
placid pool among the rocks. At the far end of the pool there was a
stairway leading from a wooden landing to a wicket (sic C4 "wicker"?) door
set in the face of a cliff of grey stone that ran steeply down to the
pond's edge. The fairy beavers seemed to be full of energy and untired by
the journey, as they chattered among themselves, drawing the boat to the
landing and making it secure.
The Shaggy Man looked about him and observed to the King, "I always thought,
your majesty, that beavers liked to live where there was plenty of wood.
I've heard tell of them building whole series of dams from trees they had
gnawed down. Even human engineers have taken some lessons in water control
from the beavers."
"You're right," replied the King of the Fairy Beavers. "But those beavers
you heard about were of the ordinary kind. Not that we fairy beavers don't
do a lot of engineering. We do. But we prefer this desolate region for our
home since we are less likely to be disturbed here. And any trees we may
need we can always fell and float downstream from the more fertile lands."
As he spoke, the beaver King ascended the steps to the wicker door and
swung it open. The Shaggy Man had to stoop to enter, but once inside he
found he could stand with ease.
It took a few minutes for Shaggy and his friends to adjust their eyes from
the glare of the sun on the water to the lighting of the cave in which they
stood. For that was what it was, a vast cave in the cliff. A fairy light of
a silver-white issued from the rock walls and dome of the cave. The cavern
proved to be merely the anteroom of the beaver kingdom, which consisted of
a labyrinth of large and small tunnels burrowed into the earth at the rear
of the cave. Sleek, well-fed beavers hurried in and out of the burrows,
bent upon the tasks that made up their daily work.
Indeed, everyone in this underground kingdom seemed to be hard at work and
intently busy on one task or another. New tunnels were being constructed
and reinforced with carefully hewn beams of wood, new rooms and homes were
under construction, and there didn't seem to be an idle moment with all the
work that was going on. The beaver King was perhaps even busier than his
subjects, and while he was gracious and did everything in his power to make
his guests comfortable, they got the impression that even while he was
chatting with them his mind was busy with new plans and ideas for the
improvement of his kingdom.
The King of the Fairy Beavers hesitated only long enough for Shaggy and his
friends to glance about them and then led his guests down one of the
burrows, which was really a good-sized tunnel. A short distance down this
passage the beaver King paused before a large, granite door set in the
tunnel's side. Just above the door was mounted a golden crown. "It is my
pleasure," said the beaver King as the heavy door swung open, "to welcome
you to my royal suite, where I hope you will accept my humble hospitality."
There was a large reception hall, then a huge throne room that could easily
accommodate an assemblage of several thousand beavers, and finally a dining
room with mirrored walls and ceiling and a sumptuously laid table. Shaggy
and his friends were amazed at the elegance and beauty of their
surroundings. The dining room table was set with the finest of china, and
the linens were snowy white and hand woven.
The King of the Fairy Beavers still carried the slender beech rod, which
Twink had noticed in his right paw when he had first appeared among them
that afternoon. After inviting his guests to be seated at the table, the
beaver King waved the beech rod C4 which Twink and Tom had already guessed
to be his magic wand C4 and at once the table was loaded with the most
savory dishes imaginable. "I don't ordinarily employ magic unless it is
necessary," the beaver King explained. "We beavers prefer to work for what
we get, but magic affords the quickest manner of providing the strange
foods that you human beings seem to enjoy."
Twiffle and the beaver King conversed while Shaggy, Twink and Tom enjoyed
the food. They were much hungrier than they realized; the ride on the river
had given them a tremendous appetite. When they had finished eating, the
King of the Fairy Beavers said, "Now, my friends, would be a good time to
plan our trip to the Land of Oz."
No one said a word, but every eye was fixed with eager attention on the
little animal. "We cannot fly over the Deadly Desert," the beaver King went
on. "Nor can we cross it. The devouring sands would mean quick death for
all of us."
"Then we're just not going to Oz, I guess," said Tom sadly.
"Oh, yes, I think we are," replied the beaver King quickly. "There is one
way left to cross the Desert."
A hush fell over the company as they waited for the beaver King's next
words. "We can cross $$under&& the Desert," he said simply.
"You have burrowed clear under the Deadly Desert to Oz?" asked the Shaggy
Man incredulously.
"No," replied the King of the Fairy Beavers, "we have not. But someone else
has."
"And who is that?" asked Twink.
"The Nome King," said the beaver King.
The Shaggy Man leaped to his feet and stared at the beaver King. "What?" he
exclaimed. "You discovered the Nome King's tunnel under the Deadly Desert?"
"Oh yes," replied the beaver King. "We have known for some time of its
existence and location."
"But this is wonderful!" gasped the Shaggy Man. "Our troubles are all over.
All we have to do is walk through the tunnel to the Emerald City!"
"No," said the King of the Fairy Beavers. "It isn't as easy as that. You
must remember we still have Glinda's Barrier of Invisibility to contend
with."
"Hmmmm," said the Shaggy Man, seating himself. "That is true. But there
might be some way we could get past that barrier. Tell me, how did you
happen to discover the Nome King's tunnel?"
"We stumbled onto it accidentally when one of our burrows led into it,"
explained the beaver King. "We followed it to the Kingdom of the Nomes,
where the tunnel opens into one of the Nome King's mines. There was a
company of Nomes working there, and the ill-natured creatures hurled
diamonds at us. In fact, the Nomes were so discourteous that we have never
since entered that section of the tunnel."
"But if you knew the tunnel led to Oz in the other direction, why didn't you
follow it?" asked Twiffle.
"Because we also know Ozma's wishes, and we respect them," replied the
beaver King quietly. "But certainly Ozma would not object to the Shaggy Man
and his friend using the tunnel. And since the Shaggy Man has so kindly
invited me to visit Oz, I feel perfectly free to accompany him."
"Then you know the story of the tunnel the Nome King built under the Deadly
Desert to the Emerald City?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Our fairy powers keep us informed of important happenings not only in Oz
but in all other parts of the world," replied the beaver King.
Twink and Tom knew the story, too. They had read how the Nome King, seeking
revenge on Ozma and Dorothy because they had once conquered him, set his
Nomes to burrowing a tunnel from the Nome Kingdom to the Emerald City. When
it was finished, Roquat the Red (as the Nome King was known then) and a
horde of evil allies marched through the tunnel intent on conquering and
laying waste all of Oz. Ozma refused to fight, but instead gathered all her
closest friends about her in the garden near the Fountain of Oblivion,
where the invaders were about to break through from the tunnel.
The famous Scarecrow of Oz had given Ozma the idea that had saved her from
the necessity of fighting. The tunnel was hot and dry, and Ozma had used
her magic powers to scatter dust through the underground passage. As a
result, when the Nome King and his allies came bursting through the earth,
they were consumed with a terrific thirst. The first thing they saw was the
Fountain of Oblivion. Just as the Scarecrow had planned, they all dashed to
the fountain and drank. The waters of this fountain cause anyone who drinks
of it to lose all memory of his former life. Consequently, the Nome King
and all his allies became as harmless as little children, having forgotten
their former evil lives. Ozma had sent them back by means of the Magic Belt
to their own lands, and then closed the earth over the tunnel's entrance
into her garden. Soon after that, Glinda had laid down the Magic Barrier of
Invisibility over the Deadly Desert, which Ozma hoped would prevent any
other invaders from attacking the Land of Oz.
"Trying to get through the tunnel really seems the only thing to do," said
the Shaggy Man thoughtfully. "That will be far better than just sitting and
waiting for Ozma to return to the Emerald City C4 I have no idea how long
she plans to visit with Glinda. I suppose the only thing we can do is try
to deal with the Barrier of Invisibility when we come to it. Perhaps your
Majesty's magic could overcome it."
The Beaver King was thoughtful. "Perhaps," he said. "But you must remember
Glinda's magic is very powerful. We may discover that the desert is just as
impassable underground as it is above ground. So don't let us raise our
hopes too high, my friends. At any rate," he concluded, "we shall undertake
the journey in the morning, and then we shall know."
The beaver King led his guests into his throne room, where comfortable seats
were provided. Next a troop of beaver acrobats came running into the throne
room. They wore brightly colored tights and put on a performance of such
skill and daring that Twink and Tom were delighted. The animals were
amazingly agile, and some of their tumbling tricks were so droll that even
Twiffle laughed aloud. "I never saw anything to beat this at the circus,"
Tom confided to Twink as the twins loudly applauded.
When the entertainment was over, it was growing late, and saying he had some
work to do in his magic workshop in preparation for the journey in the
morning, the beaver King led his guests to a suite of beautifully furnished
sleeping rooms. Twink and Tom were not a bit surprised that the beaver King
should work while they slept. Indeed, they wondered if anyone in this busy
little kingdom ever took time off to rest.
"As soon as you lie down on the beds," the beaver King told Twink and Tom,
"you will be lulled to sleep by the most beautiful music in the world."
With that, he closed the door softly and left them. Twink and Tom were in
their beds in no time at all, eager to hear the music the beaver King had
promised them. No sooner had their heads touched the pillows than they
heard it. It was like the sleepy murmuring of a thousand voices. There were
no words, only a soft whisper that seemed to come from a great distance and
yet was close by C4 was everywhere. Twink closed her eyes, and the
wordless music sang of green meadows under a golden sun, of mountain rills
that tripped from stone to stone down to beautiful valleys, of great rivers
that flowed through the hearts of vast lands, and finally of the sea
itself, singing eternally of endless wonders.
Just before Tom dropped off to sleep, he said, "Twink, I know what it is.
The beaver King said it was the most beautiful music in the world, and it
isFF20C4"
"I know," said Twink sleepily. "It's the music of running water."
Early the next morning Shaggy and his friends found a steaming hot breakfast
waiting for them in their rooms. No sooner had they finished than the King
of the Fairy Beavers appeared to lead them to the Nome King's tunnel. They
followed the King through several miles of weaving and twisting beaver
burrows until at last they stood at the entrance of the tunnel. Shaggy had
noted that the King bore on his back, like a tiny knapsack, a small bundle.
Now he saw that the twenty young beavers who were waiting at the tunnel's
entrance to undertake the journey with them bore similar though smaller
bundles on their backs. In addition, each of the young beavers carried a
pine torch to light the way through the dark tunnel. At a signal from the
beaver King, the torchbearing beavers advanced into the tunnel, and the
journey was on.
"How far are we from the Deadly Desert?" inquired the Shaggy Man.
"Not more than a mile," answered the beaver King. "We will know when we
reach the Desert, because of the heat radiated downward by the sands. The
tunnel is not far from the surface C4 no more than twenty feet, I would
judge."
The tunnel was hewn from solid rock, but the floor of it was smooth, so the
travelers were able to proceed at a good rate of speed. They all noticed
that the heat increased perceptibly the closer they came to the shifting
sands above them.
"Whee-ew!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man. "This is no place for a pleasure trip.
I can see why the Nome King was thirsty when he got out of here."
They were now directly under the Deadly Desert, and the heat radiated by the
shifting sands above them was intense. But Twink and Tom were lightly
dressed, so they didn't mind the heat so much. Twiffle naturally paid not
the slightest attention to the temperature. The beavers, who were used to
underground heat, moved swiftly forward. The pine torches of the young
beavers cast flickering shadows on the rough stone walls about the
travelers. But suddenly the light of the torches dimmed and faded in a
greater brilliance. The torchbearing beavers stopped in their tracks and
were chattering excitedly among themselves, waiting for the beaver King and
his party to catch up with them. The travelers hurried forward and found to
their amazement that the new light came from a rift in the rock roof.
Sunlight was shining down into the tunnel!
But no sooner had they recovered from this surprise than they were
overwhelmed by another. Directly ahead of them, blocking their passage
through the tunnel, was a group of the strangest people they had ever seen.
These beings were human in shape, yet they seemed to be made of flame. The
living fire that formed their bodies varied in hue from a deep, glowing red
to light orange and yellow, while their fingertips, eyes, and features gave
off blue and greenish colored flames.
There were perhaps ten of the creatures, standing side by side so that the
beaver King and his friends found their way completely blocked by this wall
of living flame. Waves of heat radiated from their flaming bodies, and
Twink and Tom had to blink their eyes several times to become accustomed to
the glare of flame and light. "Halt! You can go no further. Turn back at
once to whence you came." One of the flame folk was speaking. He appeared
to be their leader, since he was taller than his companions, and his eyes
glowed much more fiercely than the rest.
"Who are you?" asked the beaver King calmly.
"We are Dwellers of the Desert. We live on the shifting sands on the
surface. Occasionally we visit the oasis just above, where there is no
sand, but blue grass that glows with blue flame," the flame being answered.
"An oasis on the Deadly Desert?" asked the Shaggy Man incredulously.
"Certainly. Did you ever hear of a desert that didn't have an oasis?"
replied the fire creature.
"Maybe not," muttered the Shaggy Man. "And I suppose the flame grass keeps
the deadly sand from shifting into the tunnel."
"Exactly," replied the fire creature. "But we are not concerned with sand in
the tunnel. There are other things much more objectionable C4 yourselves,
for instance."
"How did you find out about the tunnel?" asked the beaver King, ignoring the
fire being's insult.
"Not that it is any of your business, but we were aware of the tunnel's
existence while the Nome King was building it. After he returned to his own
kingdom, we burned our way down through the rocks from the oasis above."
"Why did you do that?" persisted the beaver King.
The leader of the fire creatures hesitated for a moment, then replied in an
angry voice, "Because we enjoy the coolness of the tunnel. By contrast it
makes the fiery sands of the desert even more pleasant. Now, be on your way
back where you came from, or we will advance upon you and blast you to
cinders."
"My, what a fiery-tempered fellow," said Shaggy. This seemed to infuriate
the fire creature, and he was about to leap toward Shaggy when the beaver
King stepped forward holding out his beechwood wand. Instantly from the tip
of the wand there came forth a spray of water that showered on the row of
fire creatures. As soon as it touched their flaming bodies, the water
hissed into steam. The effect on the fire beings was amazing. They uttered
loud howls of pain and fright and leaped like flames from a great fire into
the air and through the rift in the rock. Their cries resounded as they
dashed over the oasis to roll in the flaming sands of the desert.
"Come," urged the beaver King, "let us hurry, although I do not think there
is any danger of pursuit."
The young beavers went first, followed by Shaggy and his friends. They
hurried until they had passed out of sight of the sunlight that flowed down
the rift into the tunnel. "I guess that's the first time those critters
ever saw water," said the Shaggy Man, grinning.
"The water didn't hurt them," said the beaver King, "and the burning sands
will soon restore whatever heat they lost. Nevertheless, I don't think they
will cause us any further annoyance."
They walked ahead rapidly hour after hour with the young beavers lighting
the way through the Nome King's tunnel.
Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him. He was alone in the tunnel! He
had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash
his companions had vanished. Just ahead of him he could hear the excited
chattering of the twenty young beavers. But there was no sign of any living
thing. Then Shaggy looked down at himself and cried out in amazement C4 he
wasn't there either! He could see nothing of his body, although he felt as
firm as ever.
"You will be kind enough to remove your wand from my eye, please!" It was
Twiffle's voice speaking somewhere near Shaggy.
"I beg your pardon, we are both invisible, so my poking my wand in your eye
was entirely unintentional, I assure you," the beaver King's voice
answered.
"Hey! Stay off my foot!" Tom called out.
"Was that your foot? I'm sure I didn't see it," Twink's voice answered
soothingly.
"Neither do I, but it's there just the same," replied Tom's voice ruefully.
All about them the young beavers' voices had risen, and several angry
disputes were taking place. Evidently some accidents had occurred among the
little animals, too. The Shaggy Man said sadly, "Well, this seems to be the
Barrier of Invisibility, and it's most effective, too. I propose we all
stay just where we are until we decide what to do, for we all seem to be
quite invisible."
"Must we turn back?" asked Twink anxiously.
"Don't you worry, Twink," said Tom. "Even if we can't get to the Land of Oz,
we'll find our way home."
"Yes, I think we must turn back," announced the beaver King. "Let us retreat
in the tunnel to the point where the Barrier of Invisibility begins. It
should be only a few feet from where we are now, since we just entered it."
"But we have turned about and lost all sense of direction since becoming
invisible," said the Shaggy Man. "Since we cannot see the tunnel, it looks
the same in every direction, so how are we to know which way to turn to go
back?"
"Walk ten steps in one direction, and if you are still invisible, then turn
about and walk twenty feet in the other direction," instructed the beaver
King. This they all did, and after a bit of experimentation and several
minor collisions, they were relieved to find themselves visible once more
and standing on the edge of the Barrier of Invisibility. At the King's
order the young beavers had remained where they were until the others had
found their way out of the Barrier. Now the beaver King uttered a series of
calls that quickly guided the animals beyond the Barrier of Invisibility.
Shaggy and his friends stood about in the tunnel gazing from one to another
almost despairingly, wondering what to do next. "There is still hope that
we may not have to go back and may be able to use the tunnel to reach Oz,
my friends," began the beaver King quietly. "Last night and far into the
morning, while you were sleeping, I was busy in my fairy workshop studying
the problem. I believe I have solved it, although of course we cannot be
quite sure until we make the test."
With that, the little animal unstrapped from his back the small bundle he
had been carrying. Laying it on the tunnel floor, he carefully unfolded it.
The bundle seemed to consist of a number of shimmering pieces of silver
cloth so light they might have been spun from spiderwebs. The beaver King
selected one of the folds of gossamer cloth and handed it to Twink. "Unfold
it and put it about you, my dear," he said. "I think you will find it just
your size."
Twink did as instructed and found the cloth fitted about her like a fairy
cloak. "Oh, it's lovely," she exclaimed.
"It's more than that, I hope," said the beaver King. "It is a Cloak of
Visibility."
"A cloak of what?" exclaimed the Shaggy Man.
"You have all heard and read tales of cloaks of invisibility," explained the
beaver King. "Cloaks that make the wearer invisible are famous in the fairy
tales of all lands. Well, I knew that we would become invisible today
against our wishes, so I have attempted to create a Cloak of Visibility C4
a cloak that would overcome the spell of invisibility."
"Do you think it will work?" asked the Shaggy Man hopefully.
"I do not know," confessed the beaver King. "I am sure it wouldn't work
above ground where Glinda's Barrier of Invisibility is full strength.
Underground, Glinda's spell is much less intense because the earth and
sands absorb and destroy the fairy spell. Glinda is a fairy just as Ozma
is, and fairies, you know, are creatures of the light and air, and it is
there that their powers are the strongest." The beaver King then handed out
Cloaks of the shimmering material to all of them. There was a tiny one that
fitted Twiffle perfectly. The twenty young beavers opened their knapsacks
and drew from them their own Cloaks of Visibility, which they adjusted
about themselves. "We are now ready to test the power of the Cloaks," said
the beaver King. "They should not only make us visible, but should enable
us to see the invisible." Twink thought she detected the slightest tremor
in the King's voice. It was no wonder, she thought, for so much depended on
those cloaks he had made.
Once again they proceeded into the tunnel, this time holding their breaths
with excitement. Would the Cloaks of Visibility work? One, two, three,
four, five steps and they found themselves watching one another to see if
they were still visible.20Six, seven, eight, nine, ten steps, but no one
breathed freely until they had covered twenty steps. They all were still
visible! And they could see the tunnel walls. The Cloaks of Visibility
worked perfectly. Eagerly, the twenty young beavers took the lead again.
"Seems to me," remarked the Shaggy Man after they had progressed for some
distance, "that by now we may have crossed the Barrier of Invisibility."
"You're right," agreed the beaver King. "And that means we are now
journeying underground in the Land of Oz. It also means that the Cloaks of
Visibility are no longer necessary for our journey, so I propose that we
discard them here, and I will destroy them so that they may never be used
by anyone else for reaching the Land of Oz."
Each of the travelers removed his shimmering cloak and placed it on a little
pile in the center of the tunnel. When all the cloaks were there, the
beaver King waved his beechwood wand over the little heap of silvery
material, and in a flash it had vanished.
"Seems a shame," murmured Twink. "They were so beautiful."
But Twink forgot the Cloaks as they journeyed on. She and Tom could scarcely
believe it C4 just over their heads was the marvelous Land of Oz. They
began talking of all the famous people who lived in Oz, and the boy and
girl would probably have walked all night had not the King of the Fairy
Beavers announced after they had been trudging steadily for more than six
hours, "My fairy powers tell me it is dark in the land above. That means we
have been walking all day. I propose we stop and sleep here and resume our
journey in the morning. We should reach the Emerald City shortly after
noon."
The Shaggy Man looked a bit ruefully at the hard stone floor of the tunnel.
"Well," he sighed, "in my wanderings I have slept in less comfortable
places. Twink can have my coat to rest her head on."
The beaver King chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Shaggy Man," he said. "I will
provide beds for us. First let us enjoy a good dinner so that we will sleep
the more soundly." After the dinner two small beds and a large one
magically appeared for Twink, Tom and Shaggy. Although he did not need to
sleep, Twiffle was provided with a little bed just his size. The beaver
King curled up on a silken cushion. Other cushions were provided for the
young beaver torchbearers, who took turns throughout the night sleeping and
standing guard. The next morning found them refreshed and eager to be on
their way toward the Emerald City. The tunnel was cool now, and they
advanced rapidly. They were all weary of the sameness of the rocky tunnel
walls and eager to reach the Land of Oz.
At last the young beavers who were leading the way came to a halt. For some
distance the travelers had noticed that the tunnel had been gently sloping
upward. Now they had arrived at its end. Just before them was a round patch
of earth C4 a sort of "cork" of earth that Ozma had set in the end of the
tunnel where it emerged in her garden. The young beavers knew exactly what
to do. They set to work digging and burrowing around the rim of this patch
of earth. When they had loosened it sufficiently, it would roll back into
the tunnel, leaving free the exit for the Shaggy Man and his friends to
emerge from the underground passage.
Twink and Tom watched in fascinated silence while the beavers worked. They
were amazingly fast and skillful. Their paws fairly flew as they scooped
out the earth and then brushed it from behind them with their wide, flat
tails. In a few more seconds the beavers would be through the earth. The
beaver King warned his comrades to step back in the tunnel, as the earth
was about to come tumbling down.
There was a creaking and crashing of earth and stones, and the beavers
dashed to safety. Suddenly loud roars of mingled anger and fright filled
the tunnel. Sitting on the pile of earth that had crashed down into the
tunnel and glaring at them frightfully while he roared was an enormous
beast.
The great beast that had plunged into the tunnel suddenly stopped roaring,
shook the gravel and dirt from his mane and back and said calmly, "I'm
surprised at you, Shaggy Man! What do you mean by digging holes in Ozma's
garden and leaving them open for unsuspecting folks to fall into? I might
very easily have broken a leg or fractured a paw."
The Shaggy Man was grinning broadly. "Ten to one you were running away from
something in an effort to work up your well-known but careful courage to
the point of fighting." The huge lion looked down at the ground in
embarrassment.
"You seem to know this great beast," said the beaver King, who had been
regarding the sudden entrant into the tunnel with intense curiosity.
"Indeed I do!" replied the Shaggy Man. "He's an old friend of mine and quite
harmless C4 if he is your friend. For this, you see, is the famous
Cowardly Lion of Oz."
Twink and Tom had been staring with fascination at the huge lion. It was the
first time they had ever come face to face with so great a beast, and
although they had read so much about the famous Cowardly Lion of Oz that
they recognized him, he had looked so fierce when he had fallen into the
tunnel that they would surely have been frightened had it not been for
Shaggy's reassuring words. "I don't know what this is all about, Shaggy,"
sighed the lion. "I was told Ozma had sent you out of the country on an
errand for her, and now you turn up in a hole in her garden with a group of
strange people and animals."
"It can all be explained," soothed the Shaggy Man. "Meanwhile, do you think
you can help us out of here?"
"Of course," replied the Cowardly Lion. "Any friends of yours are friends of
mine. Just climb on my back and you will have no difficulty in pulling
yourselves to level ground. Those little animals don't bite, do they?" The
great lion looked anxiously at the beaver's sharp teeth. With a laugh,
Shaggy assured him he had nothing to fear.
The beavers and their King went first, followed by Twink and Tom, who found
the lion's coat to be delightfully thick and soft, and finally be Twiffle
and the Shaggy Man. The Cowardly Lion leaped from the tunnel and surveyed
Shaggy and his friends. "Children, animals, a wooden clown C4 all popping
up from what I now perceive is the Nome King's tunnel and not just a hole
in the ground as I thought when I first tumbled into it. Tell me, Shaggy,
have you had trouble with the Nome King again?"
Shaggy started to relate his adventures, but after a few words the Cowardly
Lion interrupted him. "That can wait. You can tell me all about it later.
The important thing is that you are here safely and C4 I almost forgot C4
there is plenty going on here!"
"What do you mean?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Well, to tell the truth, I was running because I was frightened. Then the
ground gave way beneath me and I fell into the tunnel."
"But why were you frightened?" persisted the Shaggy Man.
"Something is going on in the Royal Palace that I don't understand. The
Wizard is very excited. He claims someone has stolen his Black Bag of Magic
Tools and locked the door of the tower that leads to his magic workshop so
he can't get in. I overheard him telling Dorothy about it, and they both
seemed very upset. I decided I had better hide somewhere until I had
gathered enough courage to lead an attack on the enemy."
The Shaggy Man smiled to himself. "You come with us," he said to the Lion.
"First, I want you to meet my friends, Twink, Tom, Twiffle and the King of
the Fairy Beavers. Then we must find the Wizard and Dorothy and see what
this is all about."
The Cowardly Lion acknowledged the introduction so cordially that Twink and
Tom felt as if they had been friends for years. They all walked through the
beautiful gardens of Ozma's Royal Palace until they came to a large French
door leading into a study. Here, by a stroke of good luck, they found
Princess Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz deep in conversation. Dorothy and the
Wizard looked up in amazement as Shaggy and his strangely assorted band of
followers trailed into the study. Introductions were made again, and this
time Twink and Tom were very nearly tongue-tied as they realized they were
actually in the company of a real Princess of the Fairyland of Oz and the
one and only Wizard of Oz. But Dorothy was so friendly and sweet that the
little boy and girl felt quite at ease almost at once.
Shaggy told his story as briefly as possible and then asked the Wizard for
an explanation of what had been happening in the Palace. "I wish I could
tell you more definitely," said the Wizard ruefully. "But I am as mystified
as anyone. Here is all I know: I had ordered the Royal Stables to have the
Sawhorse saddled so that I might ride him to the College of Natural
History, where I wished to consult some of the books written by Professor
Wogglebug. I had placed on the ground my Black Bag of Magic Tools, which I
needed for some experiments I planned to make at the College. I was about
to mount the Sawhorse and pick up the bag when suddenly from out of nowhere
a wild-eyed little man appeared. He gave me one stare, picked up my Black
Bag, and dashed into the Palace. I was so startled that it was several
minutes before I called to him to stop. Then I went dashing into the Palace
after him. But the little man was nowhere to be seen. I hurried to
Dorothy's rooms, and she accompanied me to the throne room. Just as we
entered the throne room, the little man whisked past us and was up the
tower stairs that lead to my magic workroom."
"Did he have the Black Bag then?" asked Shaggy.
"No, that's the strange part of it. He did not," replied the Wizard. "He
locked the tower door securely after him, so Dorothy and I couldn't follow.
We have searched everywhere, but there just is not a single trace of the
Black Bag."
Twink and Tom listened, spellbound by the Wizard's story. Here they were C4
not only in the Emerald City of Oz, but in the midst of an adventure that
excited even the famous Wizard of Oz!
"I just can't understand it," said the Wizard, rubbing his bald head in
perplexity.
"Well, can't we break down the door to the tower?" asked Dorothy.
"Perhaps we could, but there are six other doors after that one before my
magic workroom can be reached. And all are protected by my own magic!"
groaned the Wizard.
"Are there no other magic tools that can be used?" inquired Shaggy.
"None," said the Wizard despondently. "Ozma took Dorothy's Magic Belt with
her when she went to visit Glinda, so we are helpless for the moment.
Twiffle had been listening with great interest. Now he said, "Tell me, was
the little man who suddenly appeared quite fat and bald save for a fringe
of white hair? And did he have blue eyes and a sort of cherry-like nose?"
"Why, yes, that describes him quite well, from the glimpse I had of him,"
said the Wizard thoughtfully.
"I think," Twiffle went on calmly, "that if you had had the opportunity to
observe him more closely, you would have seen that he wore on his wrist
Ozma's Magic Compass!"
"Conjo!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man. "Of course that's who it is. He used
Ozma's Magic Compass to bring him to the Emerald City and then started his
mischief!"
"I wonder what he wants, what his purpose is in hiding my Black Bag and then
locking himself in the tower," mused the Wizard.
"Perhaps," said Dorothy, "It would be a good thing it Twiffle told us all he
knows about this Conjo, since he seems to be better acquainted with him
than anyone else is."
"A good idea," agreed the Wizard, and they all turned to Twiffle. The little
clown recounted his life with Conjo, telling all he could remember from the
time when Conjo brought him to life to his escape with Shaggy and Twink and
Tom in the Airmobile. The Wizard considered. "Apparently the only really
bad thing Conjo has done is to take these children out of their home and
plan to make them prisoners. Outside of that he has been merely selfish,
lazy, and foolishly vain. Perhaps if we tried to talk with him we could
prove the folly of his latest actions. He must know that as soon as Ozma
returns he will be helpless before her fairy powers."
The Wizard led the way to Ozma's Grand Throne Room, on one side of which was
the door that led to the tower and Magic Workroom. The young beavers and
their King hurried along after the Wizard and Shaggy and the rest. "Perhaps
Conjo would listen to you," the Wizard suggested to Twiffle, "If you asked
him to come out and talk with us."
Twiffle walked to the tower door, knocked as loudly as he could on it, and
said, "Come out, Conjo. It is foolish of you to hide away in there. These
people want to talk with you and try to be your friends."
Everyone waited with hushed breath. Had Conjo heard? Would he come out?
After a few moments the door opened a crack, then slowly farther and
farther, until Conjo stood revealed in the doorway. The little man was
quivering with excitement. "Yes," Conjo said with what was meant to be a
smile, "I will talk to you. But don't any one of you come one step nearer
to this door. If you do, I will transform you all into doormats and jumping
jacks."
"What do you want?" asked the Wizard quietly. "Why have you hidden my Black
Bag of Magic Tools and shut me off from my Magic Workroom?"
"You should be able to figure that out," replied Conjo. "I had to do that to
render you helpless. Without your magic you are powerless to defend
yourselves. I now have at my command all of your magic as well as my own.
So I rather think you will be glad enough to do as I say."
"And just what is that?" asked the Wizard.
"From now on," said Conjo, "$$I&& am the Wizard of Oz, and $$you&&," Conjo
pointed to the Wizard, "are my assistant."
Dorothy gasped at the audacity of the little man, while the Shaggy Man
laughed aloud. The Wizard could only whisper unbelievingly, "$$You&& want
to be $$me&&?"
"No," said Conjo, who seemed relaxed now and enjoying the consternation he
had caused, "I want to be the $$Wizard of Oz&& C4 it's only a title, you
know, and I deserve it just as much as you. I'm tired of being a wizard
nobody knows about. Now I have all your magic, so who is there to say I am
not the Wizard of Oz? Ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, he, he, he!" The little man
seemed vastly amused.
"Ozma will have something to say about this," said Dorothy indignantly. "If
you think she'll let you come in here and steal all the Wizard's magic and
then try to steal his name on top of all that, you're very badly mistaken."
"I'll take care of Ozma when the time comes. After all, she's only a girl,"
said Conjo easily. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go up and
study the Wizard's magic. Please set a place for me at dinner; I shall be
quite hungry. And don't bother to look for the Wizard's Black Bag. You'll
never find it. Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, he, he, he!"
Conjo was about to close the door when the King of the Fairy Beavers raised
his beechwood wand. From the tip of it came a stream of water that played
directly on Conjo's face. Conjo gasped and sputtered, opened his mouth to
cry out, and the stream of water filled his mouth. He choked and swallowed
a large amount of the water. Immediately the stream ceased flowing from the
beaver King's wand. Conjo stared at them all with innocent wonder in his
eyes.
"Where am I?" he said.
Conjo wandered from the doorway of the tower toward the Wizard and his
friends. "Do you know who I am?" he asked the Wizard amiably. Then the fat
little man saw the young beavers. He immediately seated himself on the
floor and called to the animals to play with him.
"I think his Majesty, the King of the Fairy Beavers, can explain what has
happened to Conjo," said the Wizard.
"It is very simple," replied the beaver King. "As I have told you, I am
proficient in water magic. So when I saw that Conjo could not be talked out
of his mischievousness and that he meant further trouble, I directed a
stream of water through my Fairy Wand toward Conjo. The water came from
Ozma's Fountain of Oblivion."
"Then Conjo has forgotten all his bad ways and all his magic powers?" asked
Dorothy.
"Yes," replied the beaver King. "He is now as harmless as a child. The water
of the Fountain of Oblivion is truly wonderful. With Ozma's gracious
permission I shall take a quantity of it back to my kingdom with me when I
return."
"You have the permission now, your Majesty," said a girlish voice.
All eyes turned to the throne from which the voice came. There sat Ozma,
regarding them with a quiet smile. "I returned only a moment ago," Ozma
said, "just in time to see the outcome of Conjo's ambitious schemes and to
grant the request of our good friend the King of the Fairy Beavers. I am
sure he will use the water from the Fountain of Oblivion wisely and well."
"Then you know all about our adventures?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Yes," replied Ozma. "Glinda and I finished our tasks on which we have been
working steadily, and only a few minutes ago we hurried to open Glinda's
Great Book of Records and brought ourselves up to date on what has happened
to you, Shaggy, and your friends, as well as the events transpiring here in
the Emerald City during my absence. Now that we are together, I am happy to
greet all my friends old and new," Ozma concluded, smiling at Twink and
Tom.
The Wizard stepped to the side of Conjo, who was still seated on the throne
room floor prattling to the beavers. He reached down and unfastened from
Conjo's wrist Ozma's Magic Compass. The Girl Ruler received the magic
instrument gravely, her eyes upon Conjo. "I wonder," she said, "what we
should do with him. He is quite harmless now, but we don't want him to
learn his old, bad ways again."
Here Twiffle stepped forward. "Your Highness," the little clown began, "if I
may make a suggestion. I have known Conjo longer than anyone else here. He
is not really a bad man. His threats are worse than his deeds. Most of the
time he is quite jovial and pleasant. He loves his magic and his wizardry
and wants to show off. Now that he has a chance to begin all over again, if
he learned everything again except vanity and if he had the right guide, I
believe it is possible that he might become a good wizard."
"And you want to be that guide," said Ozma, smiling kindly at Twiffle. "What
do you think, Wizard?"
"I believe Twiffle is right," said the Wizard. "Conjo needs someone to help
him now, and Twiffle seems the person to do it."
"I am very fond of my old home on the island, and I would like to help
Conjo," said Twiffle simply.
"For my part, Twiffle is a brick," put in the Shaggy Man heartily.
"Then it is decided," replied Ozma. "I will use the Magic Belt to send Conjo
and Twiffle back to the Isle of Conjo. There Twiffle will help Conjo to
become a thoroughly good wizard. Here, Twiffle," Ozma removed a small
golden ring from her finger and handed it to Twiffle. "Keep this ring with
you always. Should Conjo ever again cause any mischief, or should you need
any help, just rub this ring and you will be transported immediately to
wherever I may be."
"Thank you, your Majesty," said Twiffle, looking at Ozma gratefully.
Twiffle then bade a fond farewell to Twink and Tom, the Shaggy Man, the King
of the Fairy Beavers, and all his other new friends. When he had finished,
Ozma placed her hands on the Magic Belt and murmured a command.
Twink and Tom looked about the throne room. Conjo and Twiffle were nowhere
to be seen. The children knew they would miss the little toy clown. But
perhaps he would come to their home sometimes to visit his third cousin,
Twoffle.
The remainder of the day was given over to sightseeing for Twink, Tom, the
King of the Fairy Beavers, and the young beavers. Dorothy and the Shaggy
Man loaded the party into the Red Wagon, which was drawn by the Sawhorse,
and conducted their guests on a tour of the beautiful City of Emeralds and
the nearby countryside. When they reached the gates of the Emerald City,
the Shaggy Man ordered the Sawhorse to stop while he, with the aid of Omby
Amby, a bright new nail and a hammer, proudly restored the Love Magnet to
its position over the entrance to the city. The company then drove out to
call on Miss Cuttenclip and her famous village whose inhabitants were
artfully cut out of magic paper and moved about and talked like living
people. Next they visited Professor Wogglebug in his College, where the
students learned their lessons by swallowing sugar-coated pills.
On the return journey they met the Scarecrow, who had been spending the day
with a Munchkin Farmer for the purpose of being restuffed with fresh new
straw C4 all except his head, of course, which was filled with the
marvelous brains the Wizard had given him. Twink and Tom were delighted
with this droll personage, who took an instant liking to them.
That evening there was a great dinner in honor of Twink, Tom and the King of
the Fairy Beavers. Many of the most famous personages of Oz were there.
Among these were the Patchwork Girl, the Tin Woodman C4 who had traveled
from his tin castle in the Winkie country for the occasion C4 Princess
Ozana, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, Ojo, Button Bright, Betsy
Bobbin, Trot, Cap'n Bill, the Woozy, and many, many others.
It was a wonderful dinner, and Twink and Tom were fascinated by all the
curious and unusual personalities. The twins felt as if they were among old
friends, since they had read so much about the famous people of Oz and
their exciting adventures. On such occasions as this it was always the
custom of the Wizard to put on a display of his magic. Tonight he did not.
In fact, the Little Wizard seemed silent and worried throughout the dinner.
As the guests began to leave the table, the Wizard approached Ozma
unhappily. "I can't imagine what Conjo did with my Black Bag of Magic
Tools," he said. "We should have questioned him before you sent him back to
the Isle of Conjo."
Ozma shook her head. "That would have done no good. Conjo lost all memory of
his former actions when he drank of the waters of the Fountain of
Oblivion."
The only others remaining around the table now were Dorothy, Shaggy, Twink,
Tom and the beaver King. "Did you look in the Magic Picture to see where
Conjo might have hidden the Black Bag?" Ozma asked.
"No," said the Wizard. "We were so excited and things happened so swiftly
that we never thought of the Magic Picture."
"Then let us consult the picture immediately," said Ozma. The Girl Ruler
rose and motioned the rest to follow her as she made her way to her suite
of rooms and the Magic Picture.
Ozma swept the velvet drape from the Magic Picture. There was the familiar
scene that appeared when the Picture was not in use: a peaceful Oz
countryside with rolling fields and hills and a large tree growing in the
foreground. "Show us the Wizard's Black Bag of Magic Tools," Ozma said.
There was no change in the picture. "What can be wrong?" whispered Dorothy
soberly.
"Perhaps the Magic Picture can only show $$people&& and not $$things&&,"
suggested the Shaggy Man. "I don't recall our ever having asked it to show
an $$object&& before."
Ozma's face was puzzled. She was staring intently at the familiar picture.
"No," she said quietly. "I think the Magic Picture is doing its best to
show us the Black Bag right now." Everyone looked at Ozma in astonishment.
There was nothing in the Magic Picture that looked anything like the Black
Bag. It was merely the old familiar scene that the magic picture showed
when it was not in use. "Conjo was very clever in a way," said Ozma. "He
hid the Black Bag by means of his wizard powers in a place where few people
would think to look. But he forgot that the Magic Picture is my own fairy
creation, and I understand its magic better than anyone else."
The Little Ruler paused, saying to those around her. "Watch this closely,
now." She murmured a fairy charm so softly that none of the group could
distinguish the words. Something was moving in the Magic Picture. From
behind the trunk of the tree that arose in the foreground of the picture
slipped a small, black object. It grew larger and larger until it filled a
quarter of the picture. Then it fell out of the picture frame to the floor.
It was the Wizard's Black Bag of Magic Tools!
The Little Wizard leaped forward and gratefully seized his precious Black
Bag. "So Conjo hid it behind the tree in the Magic Picture!" he exclaimed.
"It is growing quite late," Ozma said, turning to Twink and Tom, "and I am
sure you children must be tired after the strenuous adventures of the day."
The Little Ruler paused and then added, "I know, too, that you are anxious
to return home to your parents."
Twink nodded. "Yes, your Highness," she said. "We have had a wonderful time
in Oz, and we love you all very dearly, but we must go home as soon as we
can."
"Twink's right," agreed Tom. "We have had a great time, and I wouldn't have
missed it for anything, but we belong at home in Buffalo."
Ozma smiled her most charming smile. "Very well," she said. "We will say
goodbye now. Then Dorothy and the Shaggy Man will show you to your room,
where beds are prepared for you. While you sleep, I will use the Magic Belt
to transport you to your beds in your own home." Twink and Tom bade
goodnight and goodbye to Ozma and the King of the Fairy Beavers. The little
animal had accepted Ozma's invitation to be her guest as long as he felt he
could absent himself from his Kingdom. Then Dorothy and the Shaggy Man led
Twink and Tom to one of the most beautiful sleeping rooms the children had
ever seen. The four talked together for a short time, after which Dorothy
and Shaggy said farewell and slipped quietly from the room.
It had been a long, exciting day, and Twink and Tom had no difficulty
falling asleep, although they knew that sometime during the night they
would travel magically from the Land of Oz to their own beds in their home
in far-away Buffalo.
And that was just what happened.
THE END

