TikTok of Oz.....................................................................................................................................................1

L. Frank Baum.........................................................................................................................................1

To My Readers .........................................................................................................................................1

Chapter One. Ann's Army ........................................................................................................................2

Chapter Two. Out of Oogaboo .................................................................................................................6

Chapter Three. Magic Mystifies the Marchers........................................................................................7

Chapter Four. Betsy Braves the Billows ................................................................................................11

Chapter Five. The Roses Repulse the Refugees....................................................................................12

Chapter Six. Shaggy Seeks his Stray Brother ........................................................................................14

Chapter Seven. Polychrome's Pitiful Plight ...........................................................................................20

Chapter Eight. TikTok Tackles a Tough Task....................................................................................25

Chapter Nine. Ruggedo's Rage is Rash and Reckless...........................................................................30

Chapter Ten. A Terrible Tumble Through a Tube .................................................................................36

Chapter Eleven. The Famous Fellowship of Fairies ..............................................................................40

Chapter Twelve. The Lovely Lady of Light..........................................................................................43

Chapter Thirteen. The Jinjin's Just Judgment........................................................................................45

Chapter Fourteen. The LongEared Hearer Learns by Listening.........................................................50

Chapter Fifteen. The Dragon Defies Danger.........................................................................................54

Chapter Sixteen. The Naughty Nome....................................................................................................57

Chapter Seventeen. A Tragic Transformation.......................................................................................60

Chapter Eighteen. A Clever Conquest ...................................................................................................65

Chapter Nineteen. King Kaliko ..............................................................................................................68

Chapter Twenty. Quox Quietly Quits....................................................................................................72

Chapter TwentyOne. A Bashful Brother.............................................................................................74

Chapter TwentyTwo. Kindly Kisses...................................................................................................79

Chapter TwentyThree. Ruggedo Reforms ...........................................................................................83

Chapter TwentyFour. Dorothy is Delighted........................................................................................85

Chapter TwentyFive. The Land of Love.............................................................................................90

The very marked success of my last year's fairy book, "The Patchwork Girl of Oz," convinces me that my

readers like the Oz stories "best of all," as one little girl wrote me. So here, my dears, is a new Oz story in

which is introduced Ann Soforth, the Queen of Oogahoo, whom TikTok assisted in conquering our old

acquaintance, the Nome Kin. It also tells of Betsy Bobin and how, after many adventures, she finally reached

There is a play called "The TikTok Man of Oz," hut it is not like this story of "TikTok of Oz," although

some of the adventures recorded in this book, as well as those in several other Oz hooks, are included in the

play. Those who have seen the play and those who have read the other Oz hooks will find in this story a lot of

In the letters I receive from children there has been an urgent appeal for me to write a story that will take Trot

and Cap'n Bill to the Land of Oz, where they will meet Dorothy and Ozma. Also they think ButtonBright

ought to get acquainted with Ojo the Lucky. As you know, I am obliged to talk these matters over with

Dorothy by means of the "wireless," for that is the only way I can communicate with the Land of Oz. When I

asked her about this idea, she replied: "Why, haven't you heard?" I said "No." "Well," came the message over

the wireless, "I'll tell you all about it, by and by, and then you can make a hook of that story for the children

So, if Dorothy keeps her word and I am permitted to write another Oz hook, you will probably discover how

all these characters came together in the famous Emerald City. Meantime, I want to tell all my little

friendswhose numbers are increasing by many thousands every yearthat I am very grateful for the favor

they have shown my hooks and for the delightful little letters I am constantly receiving. I am almost sure that

I have as many friends among the children of America as any story writer alive; and this, of course, makes

"Some one must sweep it," replied Ann's younger sister, Salye; "else we shall soon he wading in dust. And

"I'm Queen of Oogaboo," said Ann, proudly. "But," she added with a sigh, "my kingdom is the smallest and

This was quite true. Away up in the mountains, in a far corner of the beautiful fairyland of Oz, lies a small

valley which is named Oogaboo, and in this valley lived a few people who were usually happy and contented

and never cared to wander over the mountain pass into the more settled parts of the land. They knew that all

of Oz, including their own territory, was ruled by a beautiful Princess named Ozma, who lived in the splendid

Emerald City; yet the simple folk of Oogaboo never visited Ozma. They had a royal family of their

ownnot especially to rule over them, but just as a matter of pride. Ozma permitted the various parts of her

country to have their Kings and Queens and Emperors and the like, but all were ruled over by the lovely girl

The King of Oogaboo used to he a man named Jol Jemkiph Soforth, who for many years did all the drudgery

of deciding disputes and telling his people when to plant cabbages and pickle onions. But the King's wife had

a sharp tongue and small respect for the King, her husband; therefore one night King Jol crept over the pass

into the Land of Oz and disappeared from Oogaboo for good and all. The Queen waited a few years for him

to return and then started in search of him, leaving her eldest daughter, Ann Soforth, to act as Queen.

Now, Ann had not forgotten when her birthday came, for that meant a party and feasting and dancing, but she

had quite forgotten how many years the birthdays marked. In a land where people live always, this is not

considered a cause for regret, so we may justly say that Queen Ann of Oogaboo was old enough to make

But she didn't make jelly, or do any more of the housework than she could help. She was an ambitious

woman and constantly resented the fact that her kingdom was so tiny and her people so stupid and

unenterprising. Often she wondered what had become of her father and mother, out beyond the pass, in the

wonderful Land of Oz, and the fact that they did not return to Oogaboo led Ann to suspect that they bad

found a better place to live. So, when Salye refused to sweep the floor of the living room in the palace, and

"Go, if you want to," answered Salye; "but you are very foolish to leave this place."

"Because in the Land of Oz, which is Ozma's country, you will be a nobody, while here you are a Queen."

"Oh, yes! Queen over eighteen men, twentyseven women and fortyfour children!" returned Ann bitterly.

"Well, there are certainly more people than that in the great Land of Oz," laughed Salye. "Why don't you

raise an army and conquer them, and be Queen of all Oz?" she asked, trying to taunt Ann and so to anger her.

Then she made a face at her sister and went into the back yard to swing in the hammock.

Her jeering words, however, had given Queen Ann an idea. She reflected that Oz was reported to be a

peaceful country and Ozma a mere girl who ruled with gentleness to all and was obeyed because her people

loved her. Even in Oogaboo the story was told that Ozma's sole army consisted of twenty seven fine

officers, who wore beautiful uniforms but carried no weapons, because there was no one to fight. Once there

had been a private soldier, besides the officers, but Ozma had made him a CaptainGeneral and taken away

The more Ann thought about the matter the more she was convinced it would be easy to conquer the Land of

Oz and set herself up as Ruler in Ozma's place, if she but had an Army to do it with. Afterward she could go

out into the world and conquer other lands, and then perhaps she could find a way to the moon, and conquer

It all depended on an Army, Ann decided. She carefully counted in her mind all the men of her kingdom.

Yes; there were exactly eighteen of them, all told. That would not make a very big Army, but by surprising

Ozma's unarmed officers her men might easily subdue them. "Gentle people are always afraid of those that

bluster," Ann told herself. "I don't wish to shed any blood, for that would shock my nerves and I might faint;

but if we threaten and flash our weapons I am sure the people of Oz will fall upon their knees before me and

This argument, which she repeated to herself more than once, finally determined the Queen of Oogaboo to

"Whatever happens," she reflected, "can make me no more unhappy than my staying shut up in this miserable

valley and sweeping floors and quarreling with Sister Salye; so I will venture all, and win what I may."

The first man she came to was Jo Apple, so called because he had an apple orchard.

"Jo," said Ann, "I am going to conquer the world, and I want you to join my Army."

"Don't ask me to do such a fool thing, for I must politely refuse Your Majesty," said Jo Apple."

"I have no intention of asking you. I shall command you, as Queen of Oogaboo, to join," said Ann.

"In that case, I suppose I must obey," the man remarked, in a sad voice. "But I pray you to consider that I am

a very important citizen, and for that reason am entitled to an office of high rank."

Then she went to the next man, whose name was Jo Bunn, as he owned an orchard where grahambuns and

"Jo," said Ann, "I am going to conquer the world, and I command you to join my Army."

"For that reason you shall be one of my Generals, and wear a cocked hat with gold braid, and curl your

So he consented, although sorely against his will, and the Queen walked on to the next cottage. Here lived Jo

Cone, so called because the trees in his orchard bore crops of excellent icecream cones.

"Excuse me, please," said Jo Cone. "I am a bad fighter. My good wife conquered me years ago, for she can

fight better than I. Take her, Your Majesty, instead of me, and I'll bless you for the favor."

"This must be an army of menfierce, ferocious warriors," declared Ann, looking sternly upon the mild little

"I'll go," said Jo Cone, and Ann went on to the cottage of Jo Clock, who had an orchard of clocktrees. This

man at first insisted that he would not join the army, but Queen Ann's promise to make him a General finally

"Then four Generals are enough," announced Jo Clock. "I advise you to make the rest of them Colonels."

Ann tried to follow his advice. The next four men she visitedwho were Jo Plum, Jo Egg, Jo Banjo and Jo

Cheese, named after the trees in their orchardsshe made Colonels of her Army; but the fifth one, Jo Nails,

said Colonels and Generals were getting to be altogether too common in the Army of Oogaboo and he

preferred to be a Major. So Jo Nails, Jo Cake, Jo Ham and Jo Stockings were all four made Majors, while the

next fourJo Sandwich, Jo Padlocks, Jo Sundae and Jo Buttonswere appointed Captains of the Army.

But now Queen Ann was in a quandary. There remained but two other men in all Oogaboo, and if she made

these two Lieutenants, while there were four Captains, four Majors, four Colonels and four Generals, there

One of these men, however, was Jo Candy, and he would not go at all. No promises could tempt him, nor

could threats move him. He said he must remain at home to harvest his crop of jacksonballs, lemondrops,

bonbons and chocolatecreams. Also he had large fields of crackerjack and buttered popcorn to be mowed

and threshed, and he was determined not to disappoint the children of Oogaboo by going away to conquer the

Finding Jo Candy so obstinate, Queen Ann let him have his own way and continued her journey to the house

of the eighteenth and last man in Oogaboo, who was a young fellow named Jo Files. This Files had twelve

trees which bore steel files of various sorts; but also he had nine booktrees, on which grew a choice

selection of storybooks. In case you have never seen books growing upon trees, I will explain that those in

Jo Files' orchard were enclosed in broad green husks which, when fully ripe, turned to a deep red color. Then

the books were picked and husked and were ready to read. If they were picked too soon, the stories were

found to be confused and uninteresting and the spelling bad. However, if allowed to ripen perfectly, the

Files freely gave his books to all who wanted them, but the people of Oogaboo cared little for books and so

he had to read most of them himself, before they spoiled. For, as you probably know, as soon as the books

were read the words disappeared and the leaves withered and fadedwhich is the worst fault of all books

When Queen Ann spoke to this young man Files, who was both intelligent and ambitious, he said he thought

it would be great fun to conquer the world. But he called her attention to the fact that he was far superior to

the other men of her army. Therefore, he would not be one of her Generals or Colonels or Majors or Captains,

"I hate to have a Private Soldier in my army, she said; "they're so common. I am told that Princess Ozma once

had a private soldier, but she made him her CaptainGeneral, which is good evidence that the private was

"Ozma's army doesn't fight," returned Files; "but your army must fight like fury in order to conquer the

world. I have read in my books that it is always the private soldiers who do the fighting, for no officer is ever

brave enough to face the foe. Also, it stands to reason that your officers must have some one to command and

to issue their orders to; therefore I'll be the one. I long to slash and slay the enemy and become a hero. Then,

when we return to Oogaboo, I'll take all the marbles away from the children and melt them up and make a

Ann was much pleased with Private Files. He seemed indeed to be such a warrior as she needed in her

enterprise, and her hopes of success took a sudden bound when Files told her he knew where a guntree grew

and would go there at once and pick the ripest and biggest musket the tree bore.

Three days later the Grand Army of Oogaboo assembled in the square in front of the royal palace. The

sixteen officers were attired in gorgeous uniforms and carried sharp, glittering swords. The Private had

picked his gun and, although it was not a very big weapon, Files tried to look fierce and succeeded so well

The women were there, protesting that Queen Ann Soforth bad no right to take their husbands and fathers

from them; but Ann commanded them to keep silent, and that was the hardest order to obey they had ever

The Queen appeared before her Army dressed in an imposing uniform of green, covered with gold braid. She

wore a green soldiercap with a purple plume in it and looked so royal and dignified that everyone in

Oogaboo except the Army was glad she was going. The Army was sorry she was not going alone.

"Of course," replied General Bunn, proudly. "We're not looking for trouble, you know, but for plunder. The

"For my part," said Files, "I prefer war and carnage to anything. The only way to become a hero is to

conquer, and the storybooks all say that the easiest way to conquer is to fight."

"That's the idea, my brave man!" agreed Ann. "To fight is to conquer and to conquer is to secure plunder and

to secure plunder is to become a hero. With such noble determination to back me, the world is mine!

Goodbye, Salye. When we return we shall be rich and famous. Come, Generals; let us march."

At this the Generals straightened up and threw out their chests. Then they swung their glittering swords in

Then the Colonels shouted to the Majors: "For ward March!" and the Majors yelled to the Captains:

So Files shouldered his gun and began to march, and all the officers followed after him. Queen Ann came last

of all, rejoicing in her noble army and wondering why she had not decided long ago to conquer the world.

In this order the procession marched out of Oogaboo and took the narrow mountain pass which led into the

Princess Ozma was all unaware that the Army of Oogaboo, led by their ambitious Queen, was determined to

conquer her Kingdom. The beautiful girl Ruler of Oz was busy with the welfare of her subjects and had no

time to think of Ann Soforth and her disloyal plans. But there was one who constantly guarded the peace and

happiness of the Land of Oz and this was the Official Sorceress of the Kingdom, Glinda the Good.

In her magnificent castle, which stands far north of the Emerald City where Ozma holds her court, Glinda

owns a wonderful magic Record Book, in which is printed every event that takes place anywhere, just as soon

The smallest things and the biggest things are all recorded in this book. If a child stamps its foot in anger,

Glinda reads about it; if a city burns down, Glinda finds the fact noted in her book.

The Sorceress always reads her Record Book every day, and so it was she knew that Ann Soforth, Queen of

Oogaboo, had foolishly assembled an army of sixteen officers and one private soldier, with which she

There was no danger but that Ozma, supported by the magic arts of Glinda the Good and the powerful

Wizard of Ozboth her firm friendscould easily defeat a far more imposing army than Ann's; but it would

be a shame to have the peace of Oz interrupted by any sort of quarreling or fighting. So Glinda did not even

mention the matter to Ozma, or to anyone else. She merely went into a great chamber of her castle, known as

the Magic Room, where she performed a magical ceremony which caused the mountain pass that led from

Oogaboo to make several turns and twists. The result was that when Ann and her army came to the end of the

pass they were not in the Land of Oz at all, but in an adjoining territory that was quite distinct from Ozma's

As the Oogaboo people emerged into this country, the pass they had traversed disappeared behind them and it

was not likely they would ever find their way back into the valley of Oogaboo. They were greatly puzzled,

indeed, by their surroundings and did not know which way to go. None of them had ever visited Oz, so it

took them some time to discover they were not in Oz at all, but in an unknown country.

"Never mind," said Ann, trying to conceal her disappointment; "we have started out to conquer the world, and

here is part of it. In time, as we pursue our victorious journey, we will doubtless come to Oz; but, until we get

"Most certainly," said Ann. "We have met no people, as yet, but when we do, we will inform them that they

"And afterward we will plunder them of all their possessions," added General Apple.

"They may not possess anything," objected Private Files; "but I hope they will fight us, just the same. A

"Don't worry," said the Queen. "We can fight, whether our foes do or not; and perhaps we would find it more

It was a barren country and not very pleasant to travel in. Moreover, there was little for them to eat, and as the

officers became hungry they became fretful. Many would have deserted had they been able to find their way

home, but as the Oogaboo people were now hopelessly lost in a strange country they considered it more safe

Queen Ann's temper, never very agreeable, became sharp and irritable as she and her army tramped over the

rocky roads without encountering either people or plunder. She scolded her officers until they became surly,

and a few of them were disloyal enough to ask her to hold her tongue. Others began to reproach her for

leading them into difficulties and in the space of three unhappy days every man was mourning for his orchard

Files, however, proved a different sort. The more difficulties he encountered the more cheerful he became,

and the sighs of the officers were answered by the merry whistle of the Private. His pleasant disposition did

much to encourage Queen Ann and before long she consulted the Private Soldier more often than she did his

It was on the third day of their pilgrimage that they encountered their first adventure. Toward evening the sky

"I do not think it is a fog," replied Files, looking with interest at the approaching cloud. "It seems to me more

"A terrible beast with a horrible appetite," answered the soldier, growing a little paler than usual. "I have

never seen a Rak, to be sure, but I have read of them in the storybooks that grew in my orchard, and if this is

Hearing this, the officers became quite worried and gathered closer about their soldier.

"The only picture of a Rak that I ever saw in a book was rather blurred," said Files, "because the book was

not quite ripe when it was picked. But the creature can fly in the air and run like a deer and swim like a fish.

Inside its body is a glowing furnace of fire, and the Rak breathes in air and breathes out smoke, which

darkens the sky for miles around, wherever it goes. It is bigger than a hundred men and feeds on any living

The officers now began to groan and to tremble, but Files tried to cheer them, saying:

"It may not be a Rak, after all, that we see approaching us, and you must not forget that we people of

"Nevertheless," said Captain Buttons, "if the Rak catches us, and chews us up into small pieces, and swallows

"I cannot see how that would help us," wailed Colonel Banjo. "A hamburger steak is a hamburger steak,

"I tell you, this may not be a Rak," persisted Files. "We will know, when the cloud gets nearer, whether it is

the breath of a Rak or not. If it has no smell at all, it is probably a fog; but If it has an odor of salt and pepper,

They all eyed the dark cloud fearfully. Before long it reached the frightened group and began to envelop

them. Every nose sniffed the cloud and every one detected in it the odor of salt and pepper.

"The Rak!" shouted Private Files, and with a howl of despair the sixteen officers fell to the ground, writhing

and moaning in anguish. Queen Ann sat down upon a rock and faced the cloud more bravely, although her

heart was beating fast. As for Files, he calmly loaded his gun and stood ready to fight the foe, as a soldier

They were now in absolute darkness, for the cloud which covered the sky and the setting sun was black as

ink. Then through the gloom appeared two round, glowing balls of red, and Files at once decided these must

There were several bullets in the gun, all gathered from an excellent bullettree in Oogaboo, and they were

big and hard. They flew toward the monster and struck it, and with a wild, weird cry the Rak came fluttering

down and its huge body fell plump upon the forms of the sixteen officers, who thereupon screamed louder

"Badness me!" moaned the Rak. "See what you've done with that dangerous gun of yours!"

"I can't see," replied Files, "for the cloud formed by your breath darkens my sight!"

"Don't tell me it was an accident," continued the Rak, reproachfully, as it still flapped its wings in a helpless

"One has broken my jaw, so that I can't open my mouth. You will notice that my voice sounds rather harsh

and husky, because I have to talk with my teeth set close together. Another bullet broke my left wing, so that

I can't fly; and still another broke my right leg, so that I can't walk. It was the most careless shot I ever heard

"Can't you manage to lift your body off from my commanding officers?" inquired Files. "From their cries I'm

"I hope it is," growled the Rak. "I want to crush them, if possible, for I have a bad disposition. If only I could

open my mouth, I'd eat all of you, although my appetite is poorly this warm weather."

With this the Rak began to roll its immense body sidewise, so as to crush the officers more easily; but in

doing this it rolled completely off from them and the entire sixteen scrambled to their feet and made off as

Private Files could not see them go but he knew from the sound of their voices that they had escaped, so he

"Pardon me if I now bid you goodbye," he said to the Rak. "The parting is caused by our desire to continue

our journey. If you die, do not blame me, for I was obliged to shoot you as a matter of selfprotection."

"I shall not die," answered the monster, "for I bear a charmed life. But I beg you not to leave me!"

"Because my broken jaw will heal in about an hour, and then I shall be able to eat you. My wing will heal in a

day and my leg will heal in a week, when I shall be as well as ever. Having shot me, and so caused me all this

annoyance, it is only fair and just that you remain here and allow me to eat you as soon as I can open my

"I beg to differ with you," returned the soldier firmly. "I have made an engagement with Queen Ann of

Oogaboo to help her conquer the world, and I cannot break my word for the sake of being eaten by a Rak."

"Oh; that's different," said the monster. "If you've an engagement, don't let me detain you."

So Files felt around in the dark and grasped the hand of the trembling Queen, whom he led away from the

flapping, sighing Rak. They stumbled over the stones for a way but presently began to see dimly the path

ahead of them, as they got farther and farther away from the dreadful spot where the wounded monster lay.

By and by they reached a little hill and could see the last rays of the sun flooding a pretty valley beyond, for

now they had passed beyond the cloudy breath of the Rak. Here were huddled the sixteen officers, still

frightened and panting from their run. They had halted only because it was impossible for them to run any

Queen Ann gave them a severe scolding for their cowardice, at the same time praising Files for his courage.

"We are wiser than he, however," muttered General Clock, "for by running away we are now able to assist

Your Majesty in conquering the world; whereas, had Files been eaten by the Rak, he would have deserted

After a brief rest they descended into the valley, and as soon as they were out of sight of the Rak the spirits of

the entire party rose quickly. Just at dusk they came to a brook, on the banks of which Queen Ann

Each officer carried in his pocket a tiny white tent. This, when placed upon the ground, quickly grew in size

until it was large enough to permit the owner to enter it and sleep within its canvas walls. Files was obliged to

carry a knapsack, in which was not only his own tent but an elaborate pavilion for Queen Ann, besides a bed

and chair and a magic table. This table, when set upon the ground in Ann's pavilion, became of large size, and

in a drawer of the table was contained the Queen's supply of extra clothing, her manicure and toilet articles

and other necessary things. The royal bed was the only one in the camp, the officers and private sleeping in

There was also in the knapsack a flag bearing the royal emblem of Oogaboo, and this flag Files flew upon its

staff every night, to show that the country they were in had been conquered by the Queen of Oogaboo. So far,

no one but themselves had seen the flag, but Ann was pleased to see it flutter in the breeze and considered

The waves dashed and the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled and the ship struck a rock. Betsy Bobbin

was running across the deck and the shock sent her flying through the air until she fell with a splash into the

dark blue water. The same shock caught Hank, a thin little, sadfaced mule, and tumbled him also into the

When Betsy came up, gasping for breath because the wet plunge had surprised her, she reached out in the

dark and grabbed a bunch of hair. At first she thought it was the end of a rope, but presently she heard a

Suddenly the sea was lighted up by a vivid glare. The ship, now in the far distance, caught fire, blew up and

Betsy shuddered at the sight, but just then her eye caught a mass of wreckage floating near her and she let go

the mule's tail and seized the rude raft, pulling herself up so that she rode upon it in safety. Hank also saw the

raft and swam to it, but he was so clumsy he never would have been able to climb upon it had not Betsy

They had to crowd close together, for their support was only a hatchcover torn from the ship's deck; but it

floated them fairly well and both the girl and the mule knew it would keep them from drowning.

The storm was not over, by any means, when the ship went down. Blinding bolts of lightning shot from cloud

to cloud and the clamor of deep thunderclaps echoed far over the sea. The waves tossed the little raft here and

there as a child tosses a rubber ball and Betsy had a solemn feeling that for hundreds of watery miles in every

Perhaps Hank had the same thought, for he gently rubbed his nose against the frightened girl and said

"You'll protect me, Hank dear, won't you?" she cried helplessly, and the mule said "Heehaw!" again, in

On board the ship, during the days that preceded the wreck, when the sea was calm, Betsy and Hank had

become good friends; so, while the girl might have preferred a more powerful protector in this dreadful

emergency, she felt that the mule would do all in a mule's power to guard her safety.

All night they floated, and when the storm had worn itself out and passed away with a few distant growls, and

the waves had grown smaller and easier to ride, Betsy stretched herself out on the wet raft and fell asleep.

Hank did not sleep a wink. Perhaps he felt it his duty to guard Betsy. Anyhow, he crouched on the raft beside

the tired sleeping girl and watched patiently until the first light of dawn swept over the sea.

The light wakened Betsy Bobbin. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and stared across the water.

The raft was floating swiftly toward a very beautiful country and as they drew near Betsy could see banks of

lovely flowers showing brightly between leafy trees. But no people were to be seen at all.

Gently the raft grated on the sandy beach. Then Betsy easily waded ashore, the mule following closely behind

her. The sun was now shining and the air was warm and laden with the fragrance of roses.

"I'd like some breakfast, Hank," remarked the girl, feeling more cheerful now that she was on dry land; "but

Betsy followed and from the eminence looked around her. A little way off stood a splendid big greenhouse,

"There ought to be people somewhere 'round," observed Betsy thoughtfully; "gardeners, or somebody. Let's

So they walked toward the great greenhouse and came to its entrance without meeting with anyone at all. A

door stood ajar, so Hank went in first, thinking if there was any danger he could back out and warn his

companion. But Betsy was close at his heels and the moment she entered was lost in amazement at the

The greenhouse was filled with magnificent rosebushes, all growing in big pots. On the central stem of each

bush bloomed a splendid Rose, gorgeously colored and deliciously fragrant, and in the center of each Rose

As Betsy and Hank entered, the heads of the Roses were drooping and their eyelids were closed in slumber;

but the mule was so amazed that he uttered a loud "Heehaw!" and at the sound of his harsh voice the rose

leaves fluttered, the Roses raised their heads and a hundred startled eyes were instantly fixed upon the

"Oooh!" cried the Roses, in a sort of sighing chorus; and one of them added: "What a horrid noise!"

"Why, that was only Hank," said Betsy, and as if to prove the truth of her words the mule uttered another

At this all the Roses turned on their stems as far as they were able and trembled as if some one were shaking

"It isn't dreadful at all," said Betsy, somewhat indignant. "When you get used to Hank's voice it will put you

"Yes; Hank's my comrade, faithful and true, answered the girl, twining her arms around the little mule's neck

Hank could only say in reply: "Heehaw!" and at his bray the Roses shivered again.

"Please go away!" begged one. "Can't you see you're frightening us out of a week's growth?"

"Yes; we were on a big ship and the storm came and wrecked it," explained the girl. "But Hank and I caught

hold of a raft and floated ashore to this place, andwe're tired and hungry. What country is this, please?"

"This is the Rose Kingdom," replied the Moss Rose, haughtily, "and it is devoted to the culture of the rarest

"But only Roses are allowed here," continued a delicate Tea Rose, bending her brows in a frown; "therefore

you must go away before the Royal Gardener finds you and casts you back into the sea."

"Well, I'm not afraid of a man," declared the girl, much relieved, and even as she spoke the Royal Gardener

popped into the greenhousea spading fork in one hand and a watering pot in the other.

He was a funny little man, dressed in a rose colored costume, with ribbons at his knees and elbows, and a

bunch of ribbons in his hair. His eyes were small and twinkling, his nose sharp and his face puckered and

"Oho!" he exclaimed, astonished to find strangers in his greenhouse, and when Hank gave a loud bray the

Gardener threw the watering pot over the mule's head and danced around with his fork, in such agitation that

presently he fell over the handle of the implement and sprawled at full length upon the ground.

Betsy laughed and pulled the watering pot off from Hank's head. The little mule was angry at the treatment he

"Look out for his heels!" called Betsy warningly and the Gardener scrambled to his feet and hastily hid

"You are breaking the Law!" he shouted, sticking out his head to glare at the girl and the mule.

"The Law doesn't except shipwrecks," replied the Royal Gardener, and he was about to say more when

suddenly there was a crash of glass and a man came tumbling through the roof of the greenhouse and fell

This sudden arrival was a queer looking man, dressed all in garments so shaggy that Betsy at first thought he

must he some animal. But the stranger ended his fall in a sitting position and then the girl saw it was really a

man. He held an apple in his hand, which he had evidently been eating when he fell, and so little was he

jarred or flustered by the accident that he continued to munch this apple as he calmly looked around him.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed Betsy, approaching him. "Who are you, and where did you come from?"

"Me? Oh, I'm Shaggy Man," said he, taking another bite of the apple. "Just dropped in for a short call. Excuse

As he spoke the Shaggy Man finished his apple, gave the core to Hankwho ate it greedily and then

The Royal Gardener had been frightened nearly into fits by the crash of glass and the fall of the shaggy

stranger into the bower of Roses, but now he peeped out from behind a bush and cried in his squeaky voice:

"Breaking the glass is breaking the Law," squeaked the Gardener, angrily. "Also, to intrude in any part of the

"Why, it's printed in a book," said the Gardener, coming forward and taking a small book from his pocket.

"Page thirteen. Here it is: 'If any stranger enters the Rose Kingdom he shall at once be condemned by the

Ruler and put to death.' So you see, strangers,' he continued triumphantly, "it's death for you all and your time

But just here Hank interposed. He had been stealthily backing toward the Royal Gardener, whom he disliked,

and now the mule's heels shot out and struck the little man in the middle. He doubled up like the letter "U"

and flew out of the door so swiftlynever touching the ground that he was gone before Betsy had time to

"Come," she whispered, approaching the Shaggy Man and taking his hand; "let's go somewhere else. They'll

"Don't worry, my dear," replied Shaggy, patting the child's head. "I'm not afraid of anything, so long as I have

"It's a charming little enchantment that wins the heart of everyone who looks upon it," was the reply. "The

Love Magnet used to hang over the gateway to the Emerald City, in the Land of Oz; but when I started on

"Oh!" cried Betsy, staring hard at him; "are you really from the wonderful Land of Oz?"

"Dear me!" exclaimed Betsy. "And why did you ever leave such a beautiful land as Oz?"

"On an errand," said Shaggy, looking sad and solemn. "I'm trying to find my dear little brother."

"Been lost these ten years, replied Shaggy, taking out a handkerchief and wiping a tear from his eye. "I didn't

know it until lately, when I saw it recorded in the magic Record Book of the Sorceress Glinda, in the Land of

"Back in Colorado, where I used to live before I went to Oz. Brother was a miner, and dug gold out of a

mine. One day he went into his mine and never came out. They searched for him, but he was not there.

"There is only one explanation," replied Shaggy, taking another apple from his pocket and eating it to relieve

"Why, he's sometimes called the Metal Monarch, and his name is Ruggedo. Lives in some underground

"Cause I don't know. But this Ruggedo gets wild with anger if anyone digs gold out of the earth, and my

private opinion is that he captured brother and carried him off to his underground kingdom. Nodon't ask

"Butdear me!in that case you will never find your lost brother!" exclaimed the girl.

"Maybe not; but it's my duty to try," answered Shaggy. "I've wandered so far without finding him, but that

only proves he is not where I've been looking. What I seek now is the hidden passage to the underground

"Well," said Betsy doubtfully, "it strikes me that if you ever manage to get there the Metal Monarch will

"When the fierce Metal Monarch sees the Love Magnet, he will love me dearly and do anything I ask."

"Oh, do!" she cried; so Shaggy searched in his shaggy pocket and drew out a small silver magnet, shaped like

The moment Betsy saw it she began to like the Shaggy Man better than before. Hank also saw the Magnet

But they were interrupted by the Royal Gardener, who stuck his head into the greenhouse and shouted

"You are all condemned to death! Your only chance to escape is to leave here instantly."

This startled little Betsy, but the Shaggy Man merely waved the Magnet toward the Gardener, who, seeing it,

"Oh, you lovely, lovely man! How fond I am of you! Every shag and bobtail that decorates you is dear to

meall I have is yours! But for goodness' sake get out of here before you die the death."

"You must. It's the Law," exclaimed the Gardener, beginning to weep real tears. "It breaks my heart to tell

you this bad news, but the Law says that all strangers must be condemned by the Ruler to die the death."

"Of course not," added Shaggy. "We haven't even seen the Ruler of the Rose Kingdom."

"Well, to tell the truth," said the Gardener, in a perplexed tone of voice, "we haven't any real Ruler, just now.

You see, all our Rulers grow on bushes in the Royal Gardens, and the last one we had got mildewed and

withered before his time. So we had to plant him, and at this time there is no one growing on the Royal

"Why, I'm the Royal Gardener. Plenty of royalties are growing, I admit; but just now they are all green. Until

one ripens, I am supposed to rule the Rose Kingdom myself, and see that its Laws are obeyed. Therefore,

"Wait a minute," pleaded Betsy. "I'd like to see those Royal Gardens before I die."

"Oh, I can't do that," objected the Gardener. But Shaggy again showed him the Love Magnet and after one

He led Shaggy, Betsy and Hank to the end of the great greenhouse and carefully unlocked a small door.

Passing through this they came into the splendid Royal Garden of the Rose Kingdom.

It was all surrounded by a tall hedge and within the enclosure grew several enormous rosebushes having thick

green leaves of the texture of velvet. Upon these bushes grew the members of the Royal Family of the Rose

Kingdommen, women and children in all stages of maturity. They all seemed to have a light green hue, as

if unripe or not fully developed, their flesh and clothing being alike green. They stood perfectly lifeless upon

their branches, which swayed softly in the breeze, and their wide open eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing

While examining these curious growing people, Betsy passed behind a big central bush and at once uttered an

exclamation of surprise and pleasure. For there, blooming in perfect color and shape, stood a Royal Princess,

"Why, she's ripe!" cried Betsy, pushing aside some of the broad leaves to observe her more clearly.

"Well, perhaps so," admitted the Gardener, who had come to the girl's side; "but she's a girl, and so we can't

"No, indeed!" came a chorus of soft voices, and looking around Betsy discovered that all the Roses had

"You see," explained the Gardener, "the subjects of Rose Kingdom don't want a girl Ruler. They want a

"Of course, for she grows on a Royal Bush. This Princess is named Ozga, as she is a distant cousin of Ozma

The Gardener then turned away to talk with his Roses and Betsy whispered to her companion: "Let's pick her,

"All right," said he. "If she's royal, she has the right to rule this Kingdom, and if we pick her she will surely

So Betsy and Shaggy each took an arm of the beautiful Rose Princess and a little twist of her feet set her free

of the branch upon which she grew. Very gracefully she stepped down from the bush to the ground, where

she bowed low to Betsy and Shaggy and said in a delightfully sweet voice: "I thank you."

But at the sound of these words the Gardener and the Roses turned and discovered that the Princess had been

picked, and was now alive. Over every face flashed an expression of resentment and anger, and one of the

"But we won't have her! We want a King!" exclaimed a Jacque Rose, and another added with a voice of

The newlypicked Princess looked from one to another of her rebellious subjects in astonishment. A grieved

"Have I no welcome here, pretty subjects?" she asked gently. "Have I not come from my Royal Bush to be

"You were picked by mortals, without our consent," replied the Moss Rose, coldly; "so we refuse to allow

"Just a second, please!" called Shaggy, taking the Love Magnet from his pocket. "I guess this will win their

Princess Ozga took the Magnet and held it poised before the eyes of her subjects; but the Roses regarded it

"Why, what's the matter?" demanded Shaggy in surprise. "The Magnet never failed to work before!"

"That's it," agreed the Gardener. "They're pretty, and sweet, and alive; but still they are Roses. Their stems

"Turn her out, Gardener, with the others!" commanded the Roses. "We will have no Ruler until a

"Very well," said the Gardener meekly. "You must excuse me, my dear Shaggy, for opposing your wishes,

but you and the others, including Ozga, must get out of Rose Kingdom immediately, if not before."

"I do. I dote on thee!" answered the Gardener earnestly; "but no true man will neglect his duty for the sake of

With this he seized a garden fork and began jabbing it at the strangers, in order to force them to leave. Hank

the mule was not afraid of the fork and when he got his heels near to the Gardener the man fell back to avoid

But now the Roses crowded around the outcasts and it was soon discovered that beneath their draperies of

green leaves were many sharp thorns which were more dangerous than Hank's heels. Neither Betsy nor Ozga

nor Shaggy nor the mule cared to brave those thorns and when they pressed away from them they found

themselves slowly driven through the garden door into the greenhouse. From there they were forced out at the

entrance and so through the territory of the flowerstrewn Rose Kingdom, which was not of very great

The Rose Princess was sobbing bitterly; Betsy was indignant and angry; Hank uttered defiant "Heehaws"

The boundary of the Rose Kingdom was a deep gulf, but there was a drawbridge in one place and this the

Royal Gardener let down until the outcasts had passed over it. Then he drew it up again and returned with his

Roses to the greenhouse, leaving the four queerly assorted comrades to wander into the bleak and unknown

"I don't mind, much," remarked Shaggy, as he led the way over the stony, barren ground. "I've got to search

"Hank and I will help you find your brother," said Betsy in her most cheerful voice. "I'm so far away from

home now that I don't s'pose I'll ever find my way back; and, to tell the truth, it's more fun traveling around

"For my part," said Princess Ozga of Roseland, with a gentle sigh, "I must remain forever exiled from my

"That's very kind of you, ma'am," said Shaggy. "But unless I can find the underground cavern of Ruggedo,

("This King was formerly named "Roquat," but after he drank of the "Waters of Oblivion" he forgot his own

"Some one must know, of course," was Shaggy's reply. "But we are not the ones. The only way to succeed is

for us to keep going until we find a person who can direct us to Ruggedo's cavern."

"No one knows that, except the person who's writing this story," said Shaggy. "But we won't find

anythingnot even supperunless we travel on. Here's a path. Let's take it and see where it leads to."

The Rain King got too much water in his basin and spilled some over the brim. That made it rain in a certain

part of the countrya real hard shower, for a timeand sent the Rainbow scampering to the place to show

the gorgeous colors of his glorious bow as soon as the mist of rain had passed and the sky was clear.

The coming of the Rainbow is always a joyous event to earth folk, yet few have ever seen it close by. Usually

the Rainbow is so far distant that you can observe its splendid hues but dimly, and that is why we seldom

In the barren country where the rain had just fallen there appeared to be no human beings at all; but the

Rainbow appeared, just the same, and dancing gayly upon its arch were the Rainbow's Daughters, led by the

fairylike Polychrome, who is so dainty and beautiful that no girl has ever quite equalled her in loveliness.

Polychrome was in a merry mood and danced down the arch of the bow to the ground, daring her sisters to

follow her. Laughing and gleeful, they also touched the ground with their twinkling feet; but all the

Daughters of the Rainbow knew that this was a dangerous pastime, so they quickly climbed upon their bow

All but Polychrome. Though the sweetest and merriest of them all, she was likewise the most reckless.

Moreover, it was an unusual sensation to pat the cold, damp earth with her rosy toes. Before she realized it

the bow had lifted and disappeared in the billowy blue sky, and here was Polychrome standing helpless upon

a rock, her gauzy draperies floating about her like brilliant cobwebs and not a soulfairy or mortalto help

"Dear me!" she exclaimed, a frown passing across her pretty face, "I'm caught again. This is the second time

my carelessness has left me on earth while my sisters returned to our Sky Palaces. The first time I enjoyed

some pleasant adventures, but this is a lonely, forsaken country and I shall be very unhappy until my

Rainbow comes again and I can climb aboard. Let me think what is best to be done."

She crouched low upon the flat rock, drew her draperies about her and bowed her head.

It was in this position that Betsy Bobbin spied Polychrome as she came along the stony path, followed by

Hank, the Princess and Shaggy. At once the girl ran up to the radiant Daughter of the Rainbow and

"Take me, my dear," said Shaggy Man in a sympathetic tone, thinking she meant "beau" instead of "bow."

"I don't want you!" cried Polychrome, stamping her foot imperiously; "I want my Rainbow."

"Oh; that's different," said Shaggy. "But try to forget it. When I was young I used to cry for the Rainbow

myself, but I couldn't have it. Looks as if you couldn't have it, either; so please don't cry."

"No?" replied Shaggy, drawing the Love Magnet from his pocket; "not a little bit?just a wee speck of a

"Yes, yes!" said Polychrome, clasping her hands in ecstasy as she gazed at the enchanted talisman; "I love

"Of course you do," said he calmly; "but I don't take any credit for it. It's the Love Magnet's powerful charm.

But you seem quite alone and friendless, little Rainbow. Don't you want to join our party until you find your

"We don't just know that," said Betsy, taking her hand; "but we're trying to find Shaggy's long lost brother,

who has been captured by the terrible Metal Monarch. Won't you come with us, and help us?"

Polychrome looked from one to another of the queer party of travelers and a bewitching smile suddenly

"A donkey, a mortal maid, a Rose Princess and a Shaggy Man!" she exclaimed. "Surely you need help, if you

"No, indeed. Ruggedo's caverns are beneath the earth's surface, where no Rainbow can ever penetrate. But

I've heard of the Metal Monarch. He is also called the Nome King, you know, and he has made trouble for a

"No one can harm a Daughter of the Rainbow," said Polychrome proudly. "I'm a sky fairy."

"Then," said Betsy, quickly, "you will be able to tell us the way to Ruggedo's cavern."

"No," returned Polychrome, shaking her head, "that is one thing I cannot do. But I will gladly,, go with you

This promise delighted all the wanderers and after the Shaggy Man had found the path again they began

moving along it in a more happy mood. The Rainbow's Daughter danced lightly over the rocky trail, no

longer sad, but with her beautiful features wreathed in smiles. Shaggy came next, walking steadily and now

and then supporting the Rose Princess, who followed him. Betsy and Hank brought up the rear, and if she

tired with walking the girl got upon Hank's back and let the stout little donkey carry her for a while.

At nightfall they came to some trees that grew beside a tiny brook and here they made camp and rested until

morning. Then away they tramped, finding berries and fruits here and there which satisfied the hunger of

It surprised Betsy to see the Rose Princess partake of their food, for she considered her a fairy; but when she

mentioned this to Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter explained that when Ozga was driven out of her Rose

Kingdom she ceased to be a fairy and would never again be more than a mere mortal. Polychrome, however,

was a fairy wherever she happened to be, and if she sipped a few dewdrops by moonlight for refreshment no

As they continued their wandering journey, direction meant very little to them, for they were hopelessly lost

in this strange country. Shaggy said it would be best to go toward the mountains, as the natural entrance to

Ruggedo's underground cavern was likely to be hidden in some rocky, deserted place; but mountains seemed

all around them except in the one direction that they had come from, which led to the Rose Kingdom and the

By and by they espied a faint trail that looked like a path and after following this for some time they reached

a crossroads. Here were many paths, leading in various directions, and there was a signpost so old that there

were now no words upon the sign. At one side was an old well, with a chain windlass for drawing water, yet

While the party halted, puzzled which way to proceed, the mule approached the well and tried to look into it.

"It's a dry well," remarked Shaggy. "Probably there has been no water in it for many years. But, come; let us

No one seemed able to decide that. They sat down in a group and tried to consider which road might be the

best to take. Hank, however, could not keep away from the well and finally he reared up on his hind legs, got

his head over the edge and uttered a loud "Heehaw!" Betsy watched her animal friend curiously.

At this, Shaggy rose and went over to the well to investigate, and Betsy went with him. The Princess and

Polychrome, who had become fast friends, linked arms and sauntered down one of the roads, to find an easy

"Really," said Shaggy, "there does seem to be something at the bottom of this old well."

There was no bucket at the end of the windlass chain, but there was a big hook that at one time was used to

hold a bucket. Shaggy let down this hook, dragged it around on the bottom and then pulled it up. An old

hoopskirt came with it, and Betsy laughed and threw it away. The thing frightened Hank, who had never seen

Several other objects the Shaggy Man captured with the hook and drew up, but none of these was important.

"This well seems to have been the dump for all the old rubbish in the country," he said, letting down the hook

once more. "I guess I've captured everything now. Nothe hook has caught again. Help me, Betsy!

She ran up and helped him turn the windlass and after much effort a confused mass of copper came in sight.

For answer the Shaggy Man grasped the bundle of copper and dumped it upon the ground, free of the well.

Then he turned it over with his foot, spread it out, and to Betsy's astonishment the thing proved to be a copper

"Just as I thought," said Shaggy, looking hard at the object. "But unless there are two copper men in the

At this moment the Rainbow's Daughter and the Rose Princess approached them, and Polychrome said:

"Oh, here's a sign on his back!" cried Betsy, who had knelt down to examine the man. "Dear me; how funny!

Then she read the following words, engraved upon the copper plates of the man's body:

"If he's guaranteed for a thousand years," said Polychrome, "he ought to work yet."

In order to do this they were obliged to set the copper man upon his feet, in an upright position, and this was

no easy task. He was inclined to topple over, and had to be propped again and again. The girls assisted

Shaggy, and at last Tik Tok seemed to be balanced and stood alone upon his broad feet.

"Yes," said Shaggy, looking at the copper man carefully, "this must be, indeed, my old friend TikTok,

whom I left ticking merrily in the Land of Oz. But how he came to this lonely place, and got into that old

"If we wind him, perhaps he will tell us," suggested Betsy. "Here's the key, hanging to a hook on his back.

"His thoughts, of course," said Polychrome, "for it requires thought to speak or move intelligently."

So Betsy wound him under his left arm, and at once little flashes of light began to show in the top of his head,

"Why, his talkingmachine. His thoughts may be interesting, but they don't tell us anything."

So Betsy wound the copper man under his right arm, and then from the interior of his copper body came in

"Hurrah!" cried Shaggy, joyfully, and he slapped TikTok upon the back in such a hearty manner that the

copper man lost his balance and tumbled to the ground in a heap. But the clockwork that enabled him to

speak had been wound up and he kept saying: "Pickmeup! Pickmeup! Pickmeup!" until they had

again raised him and balanced him upon his feet, when he added politely: "Many thanks!"

"He won't be selfsupporting until we wind up his action," remarked Shaggy; so Betsy wound it, as tight as

she couldfor the key turned rather hardand then TikTok lifted his feet, marched around in a circle and

"How in the world did you happen to be in that well, when I left you safe in Oz?" inquired Shaggy.

"It is a long story," replied TikTok, "but I'll tell it in a few words. After you had gone in search of your

brother, Ozma saw you wander ing in strange lands whenever she looked in her magic picture, and

she also saw your brother in the Nome King's cavern; so she sent me to tell you where to find your brother

and told me to help you if I could. The Sorceress, Glinda the Good, transported me to this place in the

wink of an eye; but here I met the Nome King himselfold Ruggedo, who is called in these parts the

Metal Monarch. Ruggedo knew what I had come for, and he was so angry that he threw me down the

well. After my works ran down I was helpless until you came along and pulled me out again. Many

"This is, indeed, good news," said Shaggy. "I suspected that my brother was the prisoner of Ruggedo; but

now I know it. Tell us, TikTok, how shall we get to the Nome King's underground cavern?"

"The best way is to walk," said TikTok. "We might crawl, or jump, or roll over and over until we get

"There is more than one entrance to the underground cavern," said Polychrome; "but old Ruggedo has

cleverly concealed every opening, so that earth dwellers can not intrude in his domain. If we find our way

"Then," said Betsy, "let us select any road, haphazard, and see where it leads us."

"That seems sensible," declared the Princess. "It may require a lot of time for us to find Ruggedo, but we

"Then the only question to decide is which way to go," added Shaggy, looking first at one road and then at

But while they stood hesitating, a peculiar sound reached their earsa sound like the tramping of many feet.

"What's coming?" cried Betsy; and then she ran to the lefthand road and glanced along the path. "Why, it's

"Stand still," commanded Shaggy. "I'm not afraid of an army. If they prove to be friendly, they can help us; if

While Shaggy and his companions stood huddled in a group at one side, the Army of Oogaboo was

approaching along the pathway, the tramp of their feet being now and then accompanied by a dismal groan as

one of the officers stepped on a sharp stone or knocked his funnybone against his neighbor's swordhandle.

Then out from among the trees marched Private Files, bearing the banner of Oogaboo, which fluttered from a

long pole. This pole he stuck in the ground just in front of the well and then he cried in a loud voice.

"I hereby conquer this territory in the name of Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, and all the inhabitants of the

"I hope there's water in it," said General Cone, mustering courage to advance to the well; but just then he

caught a glimpse of TikTok and Shaggy and at once fell upon his knees, trembling and frightened and cried

The other officers, who had now advanced into the clearing, likewise fell upon their knees and begged for

Files turned around and, seeing the strangers for the first time, examined them with much curiosity. Then,

discovering that three of the party were girls, he lifted his cap and made a polite bow.

"What's all this?" demanded a harsh voice, as Queen Ann reached the place and beheld her kneeling army.

"Permit us to introduce ourselves," replied Shaggy, stepping forward. "This is TikTok, the Clockwork

Manwho works better than some meat people. And here is Princess Ozga of Roseland, just now

unfortunately exiled from her Kingdom of Roses. I next present Polychrome, a sky fairy, who lost her Bow

by an accident and can't find her way home. The small girl here is Betsy Bobbin, from some unknown earthly

paradise called Oklahoma, and with her you see Mr. Hank, a mule with a long tail and a short temper.

"Puh!" said Ann, scornfully; "a pretty lot of vagabonds you are, indeed; all lost or strayed, I suppose, and not

"No," agreed Files, "that is a fact. But if my officers will kindly command me to conquer you, I will do so at

The officers had by this time risen from their knees and brushed the dust from their trousers. To them the

enemy did not look very fierce, so the Generals and Colonels and Majors and Captains gained courage to face

"You must understand," said Ann, "that I am the Queen of Oogaboo, and this is my invincible Army. We are

busy conquering the world, and since you seem to be a part of the world, and are obstructing our journey, it is

"That's all right," replied Shaggy. "Conquer us as often as you like. We don't mind."

"We'll see about that," retorted the Queen, angrily. "Advance, Private Files, and bind the enemy hand and

But Private Files looked at pretty Betsy and fascinating Polychrome and the beautiful Rose Princess and

But the Generals now shouted: "Forward, and bind the prisoners!" and the Colonels and Majors and Captains

All this noise annoyed Hank, who had been eyeing the Army of Oogaboo with strong disfavor. The mule now

dashed forward and began backing upon the officers and kicking fierce and dangerous heels at them. The

attack was so sudden that the officers scattered like dust in a whirlwind, dropping their swords as they ran

Betsy laughed joyously at the comical rout of the "noble army," and Polychrome danced with glee. But Ann

"Private Files, I command you to do your duty!" she cried again, and then she herself ducked to escape the

mule's heelsfor Hank made no distinction in favor of a lady who was an open enemy. Betsy grabbed her

champion by the forelock, however, and so held him fast, and when the officers saw that the mule was

restrained from further attacks they crept fearfully back and picked up their discarded swords.

"No," said Files, throwing down his gun and removing the knapsack which was strapped to his back, "I resign

my position as the Army of Oogaboo. I enlisted to fight the enemy and become a hero, but if you want some

"Indeed you haven't!" retorted the Queen. "If you resign it will break up my Army, and then I cannot conquer

the world." She now turned to the officers and said: "I must ask you to do me a favor. I know it is undignified

in officers to fight, but unless you immediately capture Private Files and force him to obey my orders there

will be no plunder for any of us. Also it is likely you will all suffer the pangs of hunger, and when we meet a

The prospect of this awful fate so frightened the officers that they drew their swords and rushed upon Files,

who stood beside Shaggy, in a truly ferocious manner. The next instant, however, they halted and again fell

upon their knees; for there, before them, was the glistening Love Magnet, held in the hand of the smiling

Shaggy Man, and the sight of this magic talisman at once won the heart of every Oogabooite. Even Ann saw

the Love Magnet, and forgetting all enmity and anger threw herself upon Shaggy and embraced him lovingly.

Quite disconcerted by this unexpected effect of the Magnet, Shaggy disengaged himself from the Queen's

encircling arms and quickly hid the talisman in his pocket. The adventurers from Oogaboo were now his firm

friends, and there was no more talk about conquering and binding any of his party.

"If you insist on conquering anyone," said Shaggy, "you may march with me to the underground Kingdom of

Ruggedo. To conquer the world, as you have set out to do, you must conquer everyone under its surface as

well as those upon its surface, and no one in all the world needs conquering so much as Ruggedo."

"Of course," answered Shaggy. "He owns all the metal that lies undergroundgold, silver, copper, brass and

tin. He has an idea he also owns all the metals above ground, for he says all metal was once a part of his

kingdom. So, by conquering the Metal Monarch, you will win all the riches in the world."

"Ah!" exclaimed General Apple, heaving a deep sigh, "that would be plunder worth our while. Let's conquer

The Queen looked reproachfully at Files, who was sitting next to the lovely Princess and whispering in her

"Alas," said Ann, "I have no longer an Army. I have plenty of brave officers, indeed, but no private soldier

for them to command. Therefore I cannot conquer Ruggedo and win all his wealth."

"Why don't you make one of your officers the Private?" asked Shaggy; but at once every officer began to

"That is impossible. A private soldier must be a terrible fighter, and my officers are unable to fight. They are

exceptionally brave in commanding others to fight, but could not themselves meet the enemy and conquer."

"Very true, Your Majesty," said Colonel Plum, eagerly. "There are many kinds of bravery and one cannot be

expected to possess them all. I myself am brave as a lion in all ways until it comes to fighting, but then my

nature revolts. Fighting is unkind and liable to be injurious to others; so, being a gentleman, I never fight."

"You see," said Ann, "how helpless I am. Had not Private Files proved himself a traitor and a deserter, I

would gladly have conquered this Ruggedo; but an Army without a private soldier is like a bee without a

"I am not a traitor, Your Majesty," protested Files. "I resigned in a proper manner, not liking the job. But

there are plenty of people to take my place. Why not make Shaggy Man the private soldier?"

"He might be killed," said Ann, looking tenderly at Shaggy, "for he is mortal, and able to die. If anything

"It would hurt me worse than that," declared Shaggy. "You must admit, Your Majesty, that I am commander

of this expedition, for it is my brother we are seeking, rather than plunder. But I and my companions would

like the assistance of your Army, and if you help us to conquer Ruggedo and to rescue my brother from

captivity we will allow you to keep all the gold and jewels and other plunder you may find."

This prospect was so tempting that the officers began whispering together and presently Colonel Cheese said:

"Your Majesty, by combining our brains we have just evolved a most brilliant idea. We will make the

"Who? Me?" asked TikTok. "Not for a single second! I cannot fight, and you must not forget that it

"At that time you had no gun," said Polychrome. "But if you join the Army of Oogaboo you will carry the

"A soldier must be able to run as well as to fight," protested TikTok, "and if my works run down, as they

"Why, it isn't a bad idea," said Shaggy. "Tik Tok will make an ideal soldier, for nothing can injure him

except a sledge hammer. And, since a Private soldier seems to be necessary to this Army, TikTok is the only

"Obey orders," replied Ann. "When the officers command you to do anything, you must do it; that is all."

"Yes," remarked Files, "onehalf of the plunder goes to Queen Ann, the other half is divided among the

"That will be satisfactory," said TikTok, picking up the gun and examining it wonderingly, for he had

Then Ann strapped the knapsack to TikTok's copper back and said: "Now we are ready to march to

"Shoulder your gun and stand ready to march," advised Files; so TikTok held the gun straight and stood

"But this is absurd!" said Ann with a frown. "If we can't get to Ruggedo, it is certain that we can't conquer

"You are right," admitted Shaggy; "but I did not say we could not get to him. We have only to discover the

That was no easy task. They all stood looking from one road to another in perplexity. The paths radiated from

the little clearing like the rays of the midday sun, and each path seemed like all the others.

Files and the Rose Princess, who had by this time become good friends, advanced a little way along one of

"Of course," said Files. "The fieldflowers must be secondcousins to a Rose Princess, and I believe if you

She looked more closely at the flowers. There were hundreds of white daisies, golden buttercups, bluebells

and daffodils growing by the roadside, and each flowerhead was firmly set upon its slender but stout stem.

There were even a few wild roses scattered here and there and perhaps it was the sight of these that gave the

She dropped to her knees, facing the flowers, and extended both her arms pleadingly toward them.

"Tell me, pretty cousins," she said in her sweet, gentle voice, "which way will lead us to the Kingdom of

At once all the stems bent gracefully to the right and the flower heads nodded oncetwice thrice in that

Ozga rose to her feet and looked wonderingly at the fieldflowers, which had now resumed their upright

"No, indeed," replied Files. "There is not a breath of wind stirring. But these lovely blossoms are indeed your

The way taken by the adventurers led up hill and down dale and wound here and there in a fashion that

seemed aimless. But always it drew nearer to a range of low mountains and Files said more than once that he

was certain the entrance to Ruggedo's cavern would be found among these rugged hills.

In this he was quite correct. Far underneath the nearest mountain was a gorgeous chamber hollowed from the

solid rock, the walls and roof of which glittered with thousands of magnificent jewels. Here, on a throne of

virgin gold, sat the famous Nome King, dressed in splendid robes and wearing a superb crown cut from a

Ruggedo, the Monarch of all the Metals and Precious Stones of the Underground World, was a round little

man with a flowing white beard, a red face, bright eyes and a scowl that covered all his forehead. One would

think, to look at him, that he ought to be jolly; one might think, considering his enormous wealth, that he

ought to be happy; but this was not the case. The Metal Monarch was surly and cross because mortals had

dug so much treasure out of the earth and kept it above ground, where all the power of Ruggedo and his

nomes was unable to recover it. He hated not only the mortals but also the fairies who live upon the earth or

above it, and instead of being content with the riches he still possessed he was unhappy because he did not

Ruggedo had been nodding, half asleep, in his chair when suddenly he sat upright, uttered a roar of rage and

The sound filled the vast cavern and penetrated to many caverns beyond, where countless thousands of nomes

were working at their unending tasks, hammering out gold and silver and other metals, or melting ores in

great furnaces, or polishing glittering gems. The nomes trembled at the sound of the King's gong and

whispered fearfully to one another that something unpleasant was sure to happen; but none dared pause in his

The heavy curtains of clothofgold were pushed aside and Kaliko, the King's High Chamberlain, entered

"Up?" roared Ruggedo, stamping his foot viciously. "Those foolish mortals are up, that's what! And they

"I feel it in my bones," said Ruggedo. "I can always feel it when those hateful earthcrawlers draw near to

my Kingdom. I am positive, Kaliko, that mortals are this very minute on their way here to annoy meand I

"Look through your spyglass, and see where the invaders are," commanded the King.

So Kaliko went to a tube in the wall of rock and put his eye to it. The tube ran from the cavern up to the side

of the mountain and turned several curves and corners, but as it was a magic spyglass Kaliko was able to see

"That's a hard question to answer, for a queerer assortment of creatures I never yet beheld," replied the nome.

"However, such a collection of curiosities may prove dangerous. There's a copper man, worked by

"Bah! that's only TikTok," said Ruggedo. "I'm not afraid of him. Why, only the other day I met the fellow

"Then some one must have pulled him out again," said Kaliko. "And there's a little girl"

"No; some other girl. In fact, there are several girls, of various sizes; but Dorothy is not with them, nor is

"I see," said he, "an army of men from Oogaboo. They are all officers and carry swords. And there is a

"Pooh!" cried Ruggedo, snapping his fingers in scorn. "I've no fear of such a mob as that. A dozen of my

"I'm not so sure of that," said Kaliko. "The people of Oogaboo are hard to destroy, and I believe the Rose

Princess is a fairy. As for Polychrome, you know very well that the Rainbow's Daughter cannot be injured by

"Then these people are coming here on no peaceful errand," declared Ruggedo, scowling fiercely. "In fact, no

one ever comes here on a peaceful errand. I hate everybody, and everybody hates me!"

"I must in some way prevent these people from reaching my dominions. Where are they now?"

"I think so," replied Kaliko. "Is it your Royal Will that we have some fun with these invaders?"

"It is," answered Ruggedo. "I want to teach them a lesson they will never forget."

Now, Shaggy had no idea that he was in a Rubber Country, nor had any of his companions. They noticed that

everything around them was of a dull gray color and that the path upon which they walked was soft and

springy, yet they had no suspicion that the rocks and trees were rubber and even the path they trod was made

Presently they came to a brook where sparkling water dashed through a deep channel and rushed away

between high rocks far down the mountainside. Across the brook were steppingstones, so placed that

travelers might easily leap from one to another and in that manner cross the water to the farther bank.

TikTok was marching ahead, followed by his officers and Queen Ann. After them came Betsy Bobbin and

Hank, Polychrome and Shaggy, and last of all the Rose Princess with Files. The Clockwork Man saw the

stream and the stepping stones and, without making a pause, placed his foot upon the first stone.

The result was astonishing. First he sank down in the soft rubber, which then rebounded and sent TikTok

soaring high in the air, where he turned a succession of flipflops and alighted upon a rubber rock far in the

General Apple did not see TikTok bound, so quickly had he disappeared; therefore he also stepped upon the

stone (which you will guess was connected with Kaliko's magnetic rubber wire) and instantly shot upward

like an arrow. General Cone came next and met with a like fate, but the others now noticed that something

was wrong and with one accord they halted the column and looked back along the path.

There was TikTok, still bounding from one rubber rock to another, each time rising a less distance from the

ground. And there was General Apple, bounding away in another direction, his threecornered hat jammed

over his eyes and his long sword thumping him upon the arms and head as it swung this way and that. And

there, also, appeared General Cone, who had struck a rubber rock headforemost and was so crumpled up that

Betsy laughed merrily at the strange sight and Polychrome echoed her laughter. But Ozga was grave and

wondering, while Queen Ann became angry at seeing the chief officers of the Army of Oogaboo bounding

around in so undignified a manner. She shouted to them to stop, but they were unable to obey, even though

they would have been glad to do so. Finally, however, they all ceased bounding and managed to get upon

"Don't ask them why," said Shaggy earnestly. "I knew you would ask them why, but you ought not to do it.

The reason is plain. Those stones are rubber; therefore they are not stones. Those rocks around us are rubber,

and therefore they are not rocks. Even this path is not a path; it's rubber. Unless we are very careful, your

Majesty, we are all likely to get the bounce, just as your poor officers and TikTok did."

"Then let's be careful," remarked Files, who was full of wisdom; but Polychrome wanted to test the quality of

the rubber, so she began dancing. Every step sent her higher and higher into the air, so that she resembled a

big butterfly fluttering lightly. Presently she made a great bound and bounded way across the stream, landing

"There is no rubber over here," she called to them. "Suppose you all try to bound over the stream, without

Ann and her officers were reluctant to undertake such a risky adventure, but Betsy at once grasped the value

of the suggestion and began jumping up and down until she found herself bounding almost as high as

Polychrome had done. Then she suddenly leaned forward and the next bound took her easily across the

"Come on, Hank!" called the girl, and the donkey tried to obey. He managed to bound pretty high but when

he tried to bound across the stream he misjudged the distance and fell with a splash into the middle of the

"Heehaw!" he wailed, struggling toward the far bank. Betsy rushed forward to help him out, but when the

"It's dry water," said Polychrome, dipping her hand into the stream and showing how the water fell from it

She called to Ozga and Shaggy to wade across, assuring them the water was shallow and would not wet them.

At once they followed her advice, avoiding the rubber stepping stones, and made the crossing with ease. This

encouraged the entire party to wade through the dry water, and in a few minutes all had assembled on the

bank and renewed their journey along the path that led to the Nome King's dominions.

"Bad luck, Your Majesty! All the invaders have passed the Rubber Country and now are fast approaching the

Ruggedo raved and stormed at the news and his anger was so great that several times, as he strode up and

down his jeweled cavern, he paused to kick Kaliko upon his shins, which were so sensitive that the poor

"There's no help for it; we must drop these audacious invaders down the Hollow Tube."

"If you do that, Your Majesty," he said, "you will make TititiHoochoo very angry.

"Never mind that," retorted Ruggedo. "Tititi Hoochoo lives on the other side of the world, so what do I care

"Remember his terrible powers," he pleaded, "and remember that he warned you, the last time you slid people

through the Hollow Tube, that if you did it again he would take vengeance upon you."

"Of two dangers," said he, it is wise to choose the least. What do you suppose these invaders want?"

So in a few minutes there entered the cavern a nome with enormous ears, who bowed low before the King.

"Strangers are approaching," said Ruggedo, "and I wish to know their errand. Listen carefully to their talk

The nome bowed again and spread out his great ears, swaying them gently up and down and back and forth.

For half an hour he stood silent, in an attitude of listening, while both the King and Kaliko grew impatient at

"Ha, the Ugly One!" exclaimed Ruggedo. "Well, Shaggy Man may have his ugly brother, for all I care. He's

too lazy to work and is always getting in my way. Where is the Ugly One now, Kaliko?"

"The last time Your Majesty stumbled over the prisoner you commanded me to send him to the Metal Forest,

"Very good. The invaders will have a hard time finding the Metal Forest," said the King, with a grin of

malicious delight, "for half the time I can't find it myself. Yet I created the forest and made every tree, out of

gold and silver, so as to keep the precious metals in a safe place and out of the reach of mortals. But tell me,

"Yes, indeed they do!" returned the nome. "The Army of Oogaboo is determined to capture all the rich metals

and rare jewels in your kingdom, and the officers and their Queen have arranged to divide the spoils and

When he heard this Ruggedo uttered a bellow of rage and began dancing up and down, rolling his eyes,

clicking his teeth together and swinging his arms furiously. Then, in an ecstasy of anger he seized the long

ears of the Hearer and pulled and twisted them cruelly; but Kaliko grabbed up the King's sceptre and rapped

him over the knuckles with it, so that Ruggedo let go the ears and began to chase his Royal Chamberlain

The Hearer took advantage of this opportunity to slip away from the cavern and escape, and after the King

had tired himself out chasing Kaliko he threw himself into his throne and panted for breath, while he glared

"You'd better save your strength to fight the enemy," suggested Kaliko. "There will be a terrible battle when

"The Army won't get here," said the King, still coughing and panting. "I'll drop 'em down the Hollow

"Yes. Go at once to my Chief Magician and order him to turn the path toward the Hollow Tube, and to make

Kaliko went away shaking his head, for he thought Ruggedo was making a great mistake, He found the

Magician and had the path twisted so that it led directly to the opening of the Hollow Tube, and this opening

Having obeyed the orders of his master, the Royal Chamberlain went to his private room and began to write

letters of recommendation of himself, stating that he was an honest man a good servant and a small eater.

"Pretty soon," he said to himself, "I shall have to look for another job, for it is certain that Ruggedo has

ruined himself by this reckless defiance of the mighty TititiHoochoo. And in seeking a job nothing is so

I suppose that Polychrome, and perhaps Queen Ann and her Army, might have been able to dispel the

enchantment of Ruggedo's Chief Magician had they known that danger lay in their pathway; for the

Rainbow's Daughter was a fairy and as Oogaboo is a part of the Land of Oz its inhabitants cannot easily be

deceived by such common magic as the Nome King could command. But no one suspected any especial

danger until after they had entered Ruggedo's cavern, and so they were journeying along in quite a contented

The officers thought he must have turned a corner, so they kept on their way and all of them likewise

disappearedone after another. Queen Ann was rather surprised at this, and in hastening forward to learn the

Betsy Bobbin had tired her feet by walking, so she was now riding upon the back of the stout little mule,

facing backward and talking to Shaggy and Polychrome, who were just behind. Suddenly Hank pitched

forward and began falling and Betsy would have tumbled over his head had she not grabbed the mule's

All around was darkness, and they were not falling directly downward but seemed to be sliding along a steep

incline. Hank's hoofs were resting upon some smooth substance over which he slid with the swiftness of the

wind. Once Betsy's heels flew up and struck a similar substance overhead. They were, indeed, descending the

"Stop, Hankstop!" cried the girl; but Hank only uttered a plaintive "Heehaw!" for it was impossible for

After several minutes had passed and no harm had befallen them, Betsy gained courage. She could see

nothing at all, nor could she hear anything except the rush of air past her ears as they plunged downward

along the Tube. Whether she and Hank were alone, or the others were with them, she could not tell. But had

some one been able to take a flashlight photograph of the Tube at that time a most curious picture would have

resulted. There was TikTok, flat upon his back and sliding headforemost down the incline. And there were

the Officers of the Army of Oogaboo, all tangled up in a confused crowd, flapping their arms and trying to

shield their faces from the clanking swords, which swung back and forth during the swift journey and

pommeled everyone within their reach. Now followed Queen Ann, who had struck the Tube in a sitting

position and went flying along with a dash and abandon that thoroughly bewildered the poor lady, who had

no idea what had happened to her. Then, a little distance away, but unseen by the others in the inky darkness,

slid Betsy and Hank, while behind them were Shaggy and Polychrome and finally Files and the princess.

When first they tumbled into the Tube, all were too dazed to think clearly, but the trip was a long one,

because the cavity led straight through the earth to a place just opposite the Nome King's dominions, and long

"This is awful, Hank!" cried Betsy in a loud voice, and Queen Ann heard her and called out: "Are you safe,

"Mercy, no!" answered the little girl. "How could anyone be safe when she's going about sixty miles a

minute?" Then, after a pause, she added: "But where do you s'pose we're going to, Your Maj'sty?"

"Don't ask her that, please don't!" said Shaggy, who was not too far away to overhear them. "And please don't

"No one can tell where we are going until we get there," replied Shaggy, and then he yelled "Ouch!" for

The Rainbow's Daughter laughed merrily, and so infectious was this joyous laugh that Betsy echoed it and

"I'd like to know where and when we'll arrive, just the same," exclaimed the little girl.

"Be patient and you'll find out, my dear," said Polychrome. "But isn't this an odd experience? Here am I,

whose home is in the skies, making a journey through the center of the earthwhere I never expected to be!"

"How do you know we're in the center of the earth?" asked Betsy, her voice trembling a little through

"Why, we can t be anywhere else," replied Polychrome. "I have often heard of this passage, which was once

built by a Magician who was a great traveler. He thought it would save him the bother of going around the

earth's surface, but he tumbled through the Tube so fast that he shot out at the other end and hit a star in the

"It matters a good deal, if we also hit the stars when we come out," said Queen Ann, with a moan.

"Don't worry," advised Polychrome. "I believe the Magician was going the other way, and probably he went

"It's fast enough to suit me," remarked Shaggy, gently removing Polychrome's heel from his left eye.

All this time they were swiftly falling through the Tube, and it was not so easy for them to talk as you may

imagine when you read their words. But although they were so helpless and altogether in the dark as to their

fate, the fact that they were able to converse at all cheered them, considerably.

Files and Ozga were also conversing as they clung tightly to one another, and the young fellow bravely strove

to reassure the Princess, although he was terribly frightened, both on her account and on his own.

An hour, under such trying circumstances, is a very long time, and for more than an hour they continued their

fearful journey. Then, just as they began to fear the Tube would never end, TikTok popped out into broad

daylight and, after making a graceful circle in the air, fell with a splash into a great marble fountain.

Out came the officers, in quick succession, tumbling heels over head and striking the ground in many

"For the love of sassafras!" exclaimed a Peculiar Person who was hoeing pink violets in a garden. "What can

For answer, Queen Ann sailed up from the Tube, took a ride through the air as high as the treetops, and

alighted squarely on top of the Peculiar Person's head, smashing a jeweled crown over his eyes and tumbling

The mule was heavier and had Betsy clinging to his back, so he did not go so high up. Fortunately for his

little rider he struck the ground upon his four feet. Betsy was jarred a trifle but not hurt and when she looked

around her she saw the Queen and the Peculiar Person struggling together upon the ground, where the man

was trying to choke Ann and she had both hands in his bushy hair and was pulling with all her might. Some

of the officers, when they got upon their feet, hastened to separate the combatants and sought to restrain the

By this time, Shaggy, Polychrome, Ozga and Files had all arrived and were curiously examining the strange

country in which they found themselves and which they knew to be exactly on the opposite side of the world

from the place where they had fallen into the Tube. It was a lovely place, indeed, and seemed to be the garden

of some great Prince, for through the vistas of trees and shrubbery could be seen the towers of an immense

castle. But as yet the only inhabitant to greet them was the Peculiar Person just mentioned, who had shaken

off the grasp of the officers without effort and was now trying to pull the battered crown from off his eyes.

Shaggy, who was always polite, helped him to do this and when the man was free and could see again he

"Well, well, well!" he exclaimed. "Where did you come from and how did you get here?"

"I can't say, exac'ly where we came from, cause I don't know the name of the place," said the girl, "but the

"Don't call it a 'hollow' Tube, please," exclaimed the Peculiar Person in an irritated tone of voice. "If~it's a

"Because all tubes are made that way. But this Tube is private property and everyone is forbidden to fall into

"We didn't do it on purpose," explained Betsy, and Polychrome added: "I am quite sure that Ruggedo, the

"That is what she said," replied Shaggy, "and I believe she is right. We were on our way to conquer the Nome

"Not exac'ly enemies," said Betsy, a little puzzled by the question, "'cause we don't know him at all; "but we

"True," agreed the man. He looked thoughtfully from one to another of them for a while and then he turned

his head over his shoulder and said: "Never mind the fire and pincers, my good brothers. It will be best to

"Very well, Tubekins," responded a Voice, deep and powerful, that seemed to come out of the air, for the

All our friends gave a jump, at this. Even Polychrome was so startled that her gauze draperies fluttered like a

banner in a breeze. Shaggy shook his head and sighed; Queen Ann looked very unhappy; the officers clung to

But soon they gained courage to look more closely at the Peculiar Person. As he was a type of all the

inhabitants of this extraordinary land whom they afterward met, I will try to tell you what he looked like.

His face was beautiful, but lacked expression. His eyes were large and blue in color and his teeth finely

formed and white as snow. His hair was black and bushy and seemed inclined to curl at the ends. So far no

one could find any fault with his appearance. He wore a robe of scarlet, which did not cover his arms and

extended no lower than his bare knees. On the bosom of the robe was embroidered a terrible dragon's head, as

horrible to look at as the man was beautiful. His arms and legs were left bare and the skin of one arm was

bright yellow and the skin of the other arm a vivid green. He had one blue leg and one pink one, while both

Betsy could not decide whether these gorgeous colors were dyes or the natural tints of the skin, but while she

But just then a Voice exclaimed: "Here's another of them, Tubekins, lying in the water of the fountain."

"Water is a bad thing for his clockworks, anyway," agreed Shaggy, as with one accord they all started for the

fountain. But before they could reach it, invisible hands raised TikTok from the marble basin and set him

"Many thathathathanks!" he said; and then his copper jaws clicked together and he could say no more.

He next made an attempt to walk but after several awkward trials found he could not move his joints.

Peals of jeering laughter from persons unseen greeted TikTok's failure, and the new arrivals in this strange

land found it very uncomfortable to realize that there were many creatures around them who were invisible,

At once an oilcan appeared before him, held on a level with his eyes by some unseen hand. Shaggy took the

can and tried to oil TikTok's joints. As if to assist him, a strong current of warm air was directed against the

copper man which quickly dried him. Soon he was able to say "Many thanks!" quite smoothly and his joints

"Come!" commanded Tubekins, and turning his back upon them he walked up the path toward the castle.

"Shall we go?" asked Queen Ann, uncertainly; but just then she received a shove that almost pitched her

forward on her head; so she decided to go. The officers who hesitated received several energetic kicks, but

could not see who delivered them; therefore they also decidedvery wiselyto go. The others followed

willingly enough, for unless they ventured upon another terrible journey through the Tube they must make

the best of the unknown country they were in, and the best seemed to be to obey orders.

After a short walk through very beautiful gardens they came to the castle and followed Tubekins through the

From the crown which he wore, Betsy had thought this man must be the King of the country they were in, yet

after he had seated all the strangers upon benches that were ranged in a semicircle before a high throne,

Tubekins bowed humbly before the vacant throne and in a flash became invisible and disappeared.

The hall was an immense place, but there seemed to be no one in it beside themselves. Presently, however,

they heard a low cough near them, and here and there was the faint rustling of a robe and a slight patter as of

footsteps. Then suddenly there rang out the clear tone of a bell and at the sound all was changed.

Gazing around the hall in bewilderment they saw that it was filled with hundreds of men and women, all with

beautiful faces and staring blue eyes and all wearing scarlet robes and jeweled crowns upon their heads. In

fact, these people seemed exact duplicates of Tubekins and it was difficult to find any mark by which to tell

"My! what a lot of Kings and Queens!" whispered Betsy to Polychrome, who sat beside her and appeared

"It is certainly a strange sight," was Polychrome's reply; "but I cannot see how there can be more than one

King, or Queen, in any one country, for were these all rulers, no one could tell who was Master."

One of the Kings who stood near and overheard this remark turned to her and said: "One who is Master of

himself is always a King, if only to himself. In this favored land all Kings and Queens are equal, and it is our

As if to answer her, the clear tones of the bell again rang out and instantly there appeared seated in the throne

the man who was lord and master of all these royal ones. This fact was evident when with one accord they

The Private Citizen was not unlike the others, except that his eyes were black instead of blue and in the

centers of the black irises glowed red sparks that seemed like coals of fire. But his features were very

beautiful and dignified and his manner composed and stately. Instead of the prevalent scarlet robe, he wore

one of white, and the same dragon's head that decorated the others was embroidered upon its bosom.

"What charge lies against these people, Tubekins?" he asked in quiet, even tones.

"You see, it was this way," said. Betsy. "We were marching to the Nome King, to conquer him and set

"Sit down!" commanded the Citizen. "I can see that sixteen of you are merely officers, and of no account."

"But we have an Army," said General Clock, blusteringly, for he didn't like to be told he was of no account.

"It's me," said TikTok, his voice sounding a little rusty. "I'm the only Private Soldier in the party."

"Pardon me for not realizing your importance before," said he. "Will you oblige me by taking a seat beside

TikTok rose and walked over to the throne, all the Kings and Queens making way for him. Then with

clanking steps he mounted the platform and sat on the broad seat beside the Citizen.

Ann was greatly provoked at this mark of favor shown to the humble Clockwork Man, but Shaggy seemed

much pleased that his old friend's importance had been recognized by the ruler of this remarkable country.

The Citizen now began to question TikTok, who told in his mechanical voice about Shaggy's quest of his

lost brother, and how Ozma of Oz had sent the Clockwork Man to assist him, and how they had fallen in with

Queen Ann and her people from Oogaboo. Also he told how Betsy and Hank and Polychrome and the Rose

"And you intended to conquer Ruggedo, the Metal Monarch and King of the Nomes?" asked the Citizen.

"Yes. That seemed the only thing for us to do," was TikTok's reply. "But he was too clever for us. When

we got close to his cavern he made our path lead to the Tube, and made the opening in visible, so that

we all fell into it before we knew it was there. It was an easy way to get rid of us and now Ruggedo is

"Most noble Private Soldier, I must inform you that by the laws of our country anyone who comes through

the Forbidden Tube must be tortured for nine days and ten nights and then thrown back into the Tube. But it

is wise to disregard laws when they conflict with justice, and it seems that you and your followers did not

disobey our laws willingly, being forced into the Tube by Ruggedo. Therefore the Nome King is alone to

"That suits me," said TikTok. "But Ruggedo is on the other side of the world where he is away out of

"Do you imagine anything in the world or upon it can be out of the reach of the Great Jinjin?" he asked.

Queen Ann gave a scream and began to tremble. Shaggy was so disturbed that he took out a handkerchief and

wiped the perspiration from his brow. Polychrome looked sober and uneasy for the first time, while Files put

his arms around the Rose Princess as if to protect her. As for the officers, the name of the great Jinjin set

them moaning and weeping at a great rate and every one fell upon his knees before the throne, begging for

mercy. Betsy was worried at seeing her companions so disturbed, but did not know what it was all about.

"Then," said he, "if you are TititiHoochoo, and think Ruggedo is to blame, I am sure that something

The Private Citizenotherwise known as Tititi Hoochoo, the Great Jinjinlooked at the little girl steadily.

"I will presently decide what is to happen to Ruggedo," said he in a hard, stern voice. Then, turning to the

throng of Kings and Queens, he continued: "TikTok has spoken truly, for his machinery will not allow him

to lie, nor will it allow his thoughts to think falsely. Therefore these people are not our enemies and must be

treated with consideration and justice. Take them to your palaces and entertain them as guests until

tomorrow, when I command that they be brought again to my Residence. By then I shall have formed my

No sooner had TititiHoochoo spoken than he disappeared from sight. Immediately after, most of the Kings

and Queens likewise disappeared. But several of them remained visible and approached the strangers with

"The King of Animals will care for your mule," was the reply. "But do not fear for him, for he will be treated

So Polychrome and Betsy became guests of the Queen of Light, while other beautiful Kings and Queens took

The two girls followed Erma out of the hall and through the gardens of the Residence to a village of pretty

dwellings. None of these was so large or imposing as the castle of the Private Citizen, but all were handsome

The palace of the Queen of Light stood on a little eminence and was a mass of crystal windows, surmounted

by a vast crystal dome. When they entered the portals Erma was greeted by six lovely maidens, evidently of

high degree, who at once aroused Betsy's admiration. Each bore a wand in her hand, tipped with an emblem

of light, and their costumes were also emblematic of the lights they represented. Erma introduced them to her

First was Sunlight, radiantly beautiful and very fair; the second was Moonlight, a soft, dreamy damsel with

nutbrown hair; next came Starlight, equally lovely but inclined to be retiring and shy. These three were

dressed in shimmering robes of silvery white. The fourth was Daylight, a brilliant damsel with laughing eyes

and frank manners, who wore a variety of colors. Then came Firelight, clothed in a fleecy flamecolored robe

that wavered around her shapely form in a very attractive manner. The sixth maiden, Electra, was the most

beautiful of all, and Betsy thought from the first that both Sunlight and Daylight regarded Electra with envy

But all were cordial in their greetings to the strangers and seemed to regard the Queen of Light with much

affection, for they fluttered around her in a flashing, radiant group as she led the way to her regal

This apartment was richly and cosily furnished, the upholstery being of many tints, and both Betsy and

Polychrome enjoyed resting themselves upon the downy divans after their strenuous adventures of the day.

The Queen sat down to chat with her guests, who noticed that Daylight was the only maiden now seated

beside Erma. The others had retired to another part of the room, where they sat modestly with entwined arms

The Queen told the strangers all about this beautiful land, which is one of the chief residences of fairies who

minister to the needs of mankind. So many important fairies lived there that, to avoid rivalry, they had elected

as their Ruler the only important personage in the country who had no duties to mankind to perform and was,

in effect, a Private Citizen. This Ruler, or Jinjin, as was his title, bore the name of Tititi Hoochoo, and the

most singular thing about him was that he had no heart. But instead of this he possessed a high degree of

Reason and Justice and while he showed no mercy in his judgments he never punished unjustly or without

reason. To wrong doers TititiHoochoo was as terrible as he was heartless, but those who were innocent of

All the Kings and Queens of this fairyland paid reverence to Jinjin, for as they expected to be obeyed by

The inhabitants of the Land of Oz had heard many tales of this fearfully just Jinjin, whose punishments were

always equal to the faults committed. Polychrome also knew of him, although this was the first time she had

ever seen him face to face. But to Betsy the story was all new, and she was greatly interested in

Time sped swiftly during their talk and suddenly Betsy noticed that Moonlight was sitting beside the Queen

"But tell me, please," she pleaded, "why do you all wear a dragon's head embroidered on your gowns?"

"The Dragon, as you must know, was the first living creature ever made; therefore the Dragon is the oldest

and wisest of living things. By good fortune the Original Dragon, who still lives, is a resident of this land and

supplies us with wisdom whenever we are in need of it. He is old as the world and remembers everything that

"Yes, many of them. Some wandered into other lands, where men, not understanding them, made war upon

them; but many still reside in this country. None, however, is as wise as the Original Dragon, for whom we

have great respect. As he was the first resident here, we wear the emblem of the dragon's head to show that

we are the favored people who alone have the right to inhabit this fairyland, which in beauty almost equals

"I understand about the dragon, now," said Polychrome, nodding her lovely head. Betsy did not quite

understand, but she was at present interested in observing the changing lights. As Daylight had given way to

Moonlight, so now Starlight sat at the right hand of Erma the Queen, and with her coming a spirit of peace

and content seemed to fill the room. Polychrome, being herself a fairy, had many questions to ask about the

various Kings and Queens who lived in this faraway, secluded place, and before Erma had finished

answering them a rosy glow filled the room and Firelight took her place beside the Queen.

Betsy liked Firelight, but to gaze upon her warm and glowing features made the little girl sleepy, and

presently she began to nod. Thereupon Erma rose and took Betsy's hand gently in her own.

"That's nice," exclaimed the small mortal. "Now that I think of it, I'm awful hungry. But p'raps I can't eat your

The Queen smiled and led her to a doorway. As she pushed aside a heavy drapery a flood of silvery light

greeted them, and Betsy saw before her a splendid banquet hall, with a table spread with snowy linen and

crystal and silver. At one side was a broad, thronelike seat for Erma and beside her now sat the brilliant

maid Electra. Polychrome was placed on the Queen's right hand and Betsy upon her left. The other five

messengers of light now waited upon them, and each person was supplied with just the food she liked best.

Polychrome found her dish of dewdrops, all fresh and sparkling, while Betsy was so lavishly served that she

"I s'pose," she said to the Queen, "that Miss Electra is the youngest of all these girls."

"'Cause electric'ty is the newest light we know of. Didn't Mr. Edison discover it?"

"Perhaps he was the first mortal to discover it," replied the Queen. "But electricity was a part of the world

from its creation, and therefore my Electra is as old as Daylight or Moonlight, and equally beneficent to

Betsy was thoughtful for a time. Then she remarked, as she looked at the six messengers of light:

Erma laughed softly. "I couldn't, I'm sure, she replied, "and I think mortals would miss any one of my

maidens, as well. Daylight cannot take the place of Sunlight, which gives us strength and energy. Moonlight

is of value when Daylight, worn out with her long watch, retires to rest. If the moon in its course is hidden

behind the earth's rim, and my sweet Moonlight cannot cheer us, Starlight takes her place, for the skies

always lend her power. Without Firelight we should miss much of our warmth and comfort, as well as much

cheer when the walls of houses encompass us. But always, when other lights forsake us, our glorious Electra

is ready to flood us with bright rays. As Queen of Light, I love all my maidens, for I know them to be faithful

"I love 'em too!" declared Betsy. "But sometimes, when I'm real sleepy, I can get along without any light at

So Electra showed her to a pretty chamber where there was a soft, white bed, and waited patiently until Betsy

had undressed and put on a shimmery silken nightrobe that lay beside her pillow. Then the lightmaid bade

When she closed it after her Betsy was in darkness. In six winks the little girl was fast asleep.

All the adventurers were reunited next morning when they were brought from various palaces to the

As before, no one was visible except our friends and their escorts until the first bell sounded. Then in a flash

the room was seen to be filled with the beautiful Kings and Queens of the land. The second bell marked the

appearance in the throne of the mighty Jinjin, whose handsome countenance was as composed and

All bowed low to the Ruler. Their voices softly murmured: "We greet the Private Citizen, mightiest of Rulers,

TititiHoochoo bowed in acknowledgment. Then, looking around the brilliant assemblage, and at the little

"An unusual thing has happened. Inhabitants of other lands than ours, who are different from ourselves in

many ways, have been thrust upon us through the Forbidden Tube, which one of our people foolishly made

years ago and was properly punished for his folly. But these strangers had no desire to come here and were

wickedly thrust into the Tube by a cruel King on the other side of the world, named Ruggedo. This King is an

immortal, but he is not good. His magic powers hurt mankind more than they benefit them. Because he had

unjustly kept the Shaggy Man's brother a prisoner, this little band of honest people, consisting of both mortals

and immortals, determined to conquer Ruggedo and to punish him. Fearing they might succeed in this, the

"Now, this same Ruggedo has been warned by me, many times, that if ever he used this Forbidden Tube in

any way he would be severely punished. I find, by referring to the Fairy Records, that this King's servant, a

nome named Kaliko, begged his master not to do such a wrong act as to drop these people into the Tube and

"Therefore these strangers are innocent of any wrong. It is only Ruggedo who deserves punishment, and I

will punish him." He paused a moment and then continued in the same cold, merciless voice:

"These strangers must return through the Tube to their own side of the world; but I will make their fall more

easy and pleasant than it was before. Also I shall send with them an Instrument of Vengeance, who in my

name will drive Ruggedo from his underground caverns, take away his magic powers and make him a

There was a little murmur of horror from the Kings and Queens at the severity of this punishment, but no one

"In selecting my Instrument of Vengeance," went on TititiHoochoo, "I have realized that this will be an

unpleasant mission. Therefore no one of us who is blameless should be forced to undertake it. In this

wonderful land it is seldom one is guilty of wrong, even in the slightest degree, and on examining the

Records I found no King or Queen had erred. Nor had any among their followers or servants done any wrong.

But finally I came to the Dragon Family, which we highly respect, and then it was that I discovered the error

"Quox, as you well know, is a young dragon who has not yet acquired the wisdom of his race. Because of this

lack, he has been disrespectful toward his most ancient ancestor, the Original Dragon, telling him once to

mind his own business and again saying that the Ancient One had grown foolish with age. We are aware that

dragons are not the same as fairies and cannot be altogether guided by our laws, yet such disrespect as Quox

has shown should not be unnoticed by us. Therefore I have selected Quox as my royal Instrument of

Vengeance and he shall go through the Tube with these people and inflict upon Ruggedo the punishment I

All had listened quietly to this speech and now the Kings and Queens bowed gravely to signify their approval

"I command you," said he, "to escort these strangers to the Tube and see that they all enter it."

The King of the Tube, who had first discovered our friends and brought them to the Private Citizen, stepped

forward and bowed. As he did so, the Jinjin and all the Kings and Queens suddenly disappeared and only

"All right," said Betsy, with a sigh; "I don't mind going back so very much, 'cause the Jinjin promised to

Indeed, Queen Ann and her officers were the only ones who looked solemn and seemed to fear the return

journey. One thing that bothered Ann was her failure to conquer this land of Tititi Hoochoo. As they

followed their guide through the gardens to the mouth of the Tube she said to Shaggy:

"How can I conquer the world, if I go away and leave this rich country unconquered?"

"You can't," he replied. "Don't ask me why, please, for if you don't know I can't inform you."

This end of the Tube had a silver rim and around it was a gold railing to which was attached a sign that read.

"Burrowed and built by Hiergargo the Magician, In the Year of the World 1 9 6 2 5 4 7 8 For his own

"He was some builder, I must say," remarked Betsy, when she had read the inscription; "but if he had known

"Is the young dragon invisible?" asked Ann, who had never seen a live dragon and was a little fearful of

"No, indeed," replied the King of the Tube. "You'll see him in a minute; but before you part company I'm

"Not at all. But Quox tires me dreadfully," said Tubekins, "and I prefer his room to his company.

At that instant a scraping sound was heard, drawing nearer and nearer until from between two big bushes

appeared a huge dragon, who approached the party, nodded his head and said: "Good morning."

Had Quox been at all bashful I am sure he would have felt uncomfortable at the astonished stare of every eye

in the groupexcept Tubekins, of course, who was not astonished because he had seen Quox so often.

Betsy had thought a "young" dragon must be a small dragon, yet here was one so enormous that the girl

decided he must be full grown, if not overgrown. His body was a lovely skyblue in color and it was thickly

set with glittering silver scales, each one as big as a servingtray. Around his neck was a pink ribbon with a

bow just under his left ear, and below the ribbon appeared a chain of pearls to which was attached a golden

locket about as large around as the end of a bass drum. This locket was set with many large and beautiful

The head and face of Quox were not especially ugly, when you consider that he was a dragon; but his eyes

were so large that it took him a long time to wink and his teeth seemed very sharp and terrible when they

showed, which they did whenever the beast smiled. Also his nostrils were quite large and wide, and those

who stood near him were liable to smell brimstoneespecially when he breathed out fire, as it is the nature

of dragons to do. To the end of his long tail was attached a big electric light.

Perhaps the most singular thing about the dragon's appearance at this time was the fact that he had a row of

seats attached to his back, one seat for each member of the party. These seats were double, with curved backs,

so that two could sit in them, and there were twelve of these double seats, all strapped firmly around the

dragon's thick body and placed one behind the other, in a row that extended from his shoulders nearly to his

"Aha!" exclaimed Tubekins; "I see that Tititi Hoochoo has transformed Quox into a carryall."

"I'm glad of that," said Betsy. "I hope, Mr. Dragon, you won't mind our riding on your back."

"Not a bit," replied Quox. "I'm in disgrace just now, you know, and the only way to redeem my good name is

to obey the orders of the Jinjin. If he makes me a beast of burden, it is only a part of my punishment, and I

must bear it like a dragon. I don't blame you people at all, and I hope you'll enjoy the ride. Hop on, please. All

Silently they took their places. Hank sat in the front seat with Betsy, so that he could rest his front hoofs upon

the dragon's head. Behind them were Shaggy and Polychrome, then Files and the Princess, and Queen Ann

and TikTok. The officers rode in the rear seats. When all had mounted to their places the dragon looked

very like one of those sightseeing wagons so common in big cities only he had legs instead of wheels.

"All ready?" asked Quox, and when they said they were he crawled to the mouth of the Tube and put his head

"Goodbye, and good luck to you!" called Tubekins; but no one thought to reply, because just then the

dragon slid his great body into the Tube and the journey to the other side of the world had begun.

At first they went so fast that they could scarcely catch their breaths, but presently Quox slowed up and said

"My scales! but that is some tumble. I think I shall take it easy and fall slower, or I'm likely to get dizzy. Is it

"That I was born? Oh, not very long ago. I'm only a mere child. If I had not been sent on this journey, I would

have celebrated my three thousand and fiftysixth birthday next Thursday. Mother was going to make me a

birthday cake with three thousand and fiftysix candles on it; but now, of course, there will be no celebration,

"Three thousand and fiftysix years!" cried Betsy. "Why, I had no idea anything could live that long!"

"My respected Ancestor, whom I would call a stupid old humbug if I had not reformed, is so old that I am a

mere baby compared with him," said Quox. "He dates from the beginning of the world, and insists on telling

us stories of things that happened fifty thousand years ago, which are of no interest at all to youngsters like

me. In fact, Grandpa isn't up to date. He lives altogether in the past, so I can't see any good reason for his

being alive today.... Are you people able to see your way, or shall I turn on more light?"

"Oh, we can see very nicely, thank you; only there's nothing to see but ourselves," answered Betsy.

This was true. The dragon's big eyes were like headlights on an automobile and illuminated the Tube far

ahead of them. Also he curled his tail upward so that the electric light on the end of it enabled them to see one

another quite clearly. But the Tube itself was only dark metal, smooth as glass but exactly the same from one

of its ends to the other. Therefore there was no scenery of interest to beguile the journey.

They were now falling so gently that the trip was proving entirely comfortable, as the Jinjin had promised it

would be; but this meant a longer journey and the only way they could make time pass was to engage in

conversation. The dragon seemed a willing and persistent talker and he was of so much interest to them that

they encouraged him to chatter. His voice was a little gruff but not unpleasant when one became used to it.

"My only fear," said he presently, "is that this constant sliding over the surface of the Tube will dull my

claws. You see, this hole isn't straight down, but on a steep slant, and so instead of tumbling freely through

the air I must skate along the Tube. Fortunately, there is a file in my tool kit, and if my claws get dull they

"They are my natural weapons, and you must not forget that I have been sent to conquer Ruggedo."

"Oh, you needn't mind about that," remarked Queen Ann, in her most haughty manner; "for when we get to

"Very good," returned the dragon, cheerfully. "That will save me a lot of botherif you succeed. But I think

He gave a long sigh, as he said this, and a sheet of flame, several feet in length, shot from his mouth. Betsy

shuddered and Hank said "Heehaw!" while some of the officers screamed in terror. But the dragon did not

"Of course," answered Quox. "What sort of a dragon would I be if my fire went out?"

"I've no idea. I only know it's there," said Quox. "The fire keeps me alive and enables me to move; also to

"Ah! You are very much like myself," said TikTok. "The only difference is that I move by

"I don't see a particle of likeness between us, I must confess," retorted Quox, gruffly. "You are not a live

"Yes, when you are wound up," sneered the dragon. "But if you run down, you are helpless."

"What would happen to you, Quox, if you ran out of gasoline?" inquired Shaggy, who did not like this attack

"What's the use of supposing that?" asked Quox. "My greatgreatgreatgrandfather has lived since the

world began, and he has never once run out of fire to keep him going. But I will confide to you that as he gets

older he shows more smoke and less fire. As for TikTok, he's well enough in his way, but he's merely

copper. And the Metal Monarch knows copper through and through. I wouldn't be surprised if Ruggedo

"This is all nonsense," said the Queen, with irritation. "TikTok is my great Armyall but the officersand

I believe he will be able to conquer Ruggedo with ease. What do you think, Polychrome?"

"You might let him try," answered the Rainbow's Daughter, with her sweet ringing laugh, that sounded like

the tinkling of tiny bells. "And if TikTok fails, you have still the big fire breathing dragon to fall back on."

"Ah!" said the dragon, another sheet of flame gushing from his mouth and nostrils; "it's a wise little girl, this

During this time Ruggedo, the Metal Monarch and King of the Nomes, was trying to amuse himself in his

splendid jeweled cavern. It was hard work for Ruggedo to find amusement to day, for all the nomes were

behaving well and there was no one to scold or to punish. The King had thrown his sceptre at Kaliko six

times, without hitting him once. Not that Kaliko had done anything wrong. On the contrary, he had obeyed

the King in every way but one: he would not stand still, when commanded to do so, and let the heavy sceptre

We can hardly blame Kaliko for this, and even the cruel Ruggedo forgave him; for he knew very well that if

he mashed his Royal Chamberlain he could never find another so intelligent and obedient. Kaliko could make

the nomes work when their King could not, for the nomes hated Ruggedo and there were so many thousands

of the quaint little underground people that they could easily have rebelled and defied the King had they

dared to do so. Sometimes, when Ruggedo abused them worse than usual, they grew sullen and threw down

their hammers and picks. Then, however hard the King scolded or whipped them, they would not work until

Kaliko came and begged them to. For Kaliko was one of themselves and was as much abused by the King as

But today all the little people were working industriously at their tasks and Ruggedo, having nothing to do,

was greatly bored. He sent for the LongEared Hearer and asked him to listen carefully and report what was

"It seems," said the Hearer, after listening for awhile, "that the women in America have clubs."

For a time the Hearer was silent, bending forward and spreading out his big ears to catch the slightest sound.

"Here is an interesting thing, Your Majesty. These people are arguing as to who shall conquer the Metal

"Well," said the Hearer, "if you could turn the Tube upside down, they would be falling the other way, Your

Ruggedo glared at him wickedly, for it was impossible to turn the Tube upside down and he believed the

"About nine thousand three hundred and six miles, seventeen furlongs, eight feet and four inchesas nearly

"Aha! Then it will be some time before they arrive," said Ruggedo, "and when they get here I shall be ready

He rushed to his gong and pounded upon it so fiercely that Kaliko came bounding into the cavern with one

shoe off and one shoe on, for he was just dressing himself after a swim in the hot bubbling lake of the

"Kaliko, those invaders whom we threw down the Tube are coming back again!" he exclaimed.

"I thought they would," said the Royal Chamberlain, pulling on the other shoe. "Tititi Hoochoo would not

allow them to remain in his kingdom, of course, and so I've been expecting them back for some time. That

"Pooh! what do I care for the Jinjin?" asked Ruggedo scornfully. "He never leaves his own kingdom, which is

"True; but he might send some one through the Tube to punish you," suggested Kaliko.

"Why, they've been conquered before, if I remember aright," answered Kaliko with a grin. "Once I saw you

running from a little girl named Dorothy, and her friends, as if you were really afraid."

"Well, I was afraid, that time," admitted the Nome King, with a deep sigh, "for Dorothy had a Yellow Hen

The King shuddered as he said "eggs," and Kaliko also shuddered, and so did the LongEared Hearer; for

eggs are the only things that the nomes greatly dread. The reason for this is that eggs belong on the earth's

surface, where birds and fowl of all sorts live, and there is something about a hen's egg, especially, that fills a

nome with horror. If by chance the inside of an egg touches one of these underground people, he withers up

and blows away and that is the end of himunless he manages quickly to speak a magical word which only

a few of the nomes know. Therefore Ruggedo and his followers had very good cause to shudder at the mere

"But Dorothy," said the King, "is not with this band of invaders; nor is the Yellow Hen. As for

"You mustn't be too sure of that," Kaliko warned him. "TititiHoochoo knows a great many things, being a

The LongEared one listened and then shook his head. But Kaliko laughed at the King.

"No one can hear an egg, Your Majesty," said he. "The only way to discover the truth is to look through the

"That's it!" cried the King. "Why didn't I think of it before? Look at once, Kaliko!"

So Kaliko went to the Spyglass and by uttering a mumbled charm he caused the other end of it to twist

around, so that it pointed down the opening of the Tube. Then he put his eye to the glass and was able to gaze

along all the turns and windings of the Magic Spyglass and then deep into the Tube, to where our friends

"A monster. He has an electric light on the end of his tail, so I can see him very plainly. And the other people

"I can see no eggs at all," said he; "but I imagine that the dragon is as dangerous as eggs. Probably

TititiHoochoo has sent him here to punish you for dropping those strangers into the Forbidden Tube. I

This news made the Nome King anxious. For a few minutes he paced up and down, stroking his long beard

"All the harm a dragon can do is to scratch with his claws and bite with his teeth."

"That is not all, but it's quite enough," returned Kaliko earnestly. "On the other hand, no one can hurt a

dragon, because he's the toughest creature alive. One flop of his huge tail could smash a hundred nomes to

pancakes, and with teeth and claws he could tear even you or me into small bits, so that it would be almost

impossible to put us together again. Once, a few hundred years ago, while wandering through some deserted

caverns, I came upon a small piece of a nome lying on the rocky floor. I asked the piece of nome what had

happened to it. Fortunately the mouth was a part of this piecethe mouth and the left eyeso it was able to

tell me that a fierce dragon was the cause. It had attacked the poor nome and scattered him in every direction,

and as there was no friend near to collect his pieces and put him together, they had been separated for a great

many years. So you see, Your Majesty, it is not in good taste to sneer at a dragon."

"It will only be necessary to chain this dragon which TititiHoochoo has sent here, in order to prevent his

"Sixteen cowardly officers and TikTok! Why, I could defeat them singlehanded; but I won't try to. I'll

summon my army of nomes to drive the invaders out of my territory, and if we catch any of them I intend to

"I'll hurt 'em all!" roared the angry Metal Monarch. "And that braying Mule I'll make into hoofsoup, and

"Why not be good to the strangers and release your prisoner, the Shaggy Man's brother?" suggested Kaliko.

"I don't want him; that's true. But I won't allow anybody to order me around. I'm King of the Nomes and I'm

the Metal Monarch, and I shall do as I please and what I please and when I please!"

With this speech Ruggedo threw his sceptre at Kaliko's head, aiming it so well that the Royal Chamberlain

had to fall flat upon the floor in order to escape it. But the Hearer did not see the sceptre coming and it swept

past his head so closely that it broke off the tip of one of his long ears. He gave a dreadful yell that quite

startled Ruggedo, and the King was sorry for the accident because those long ears of the Hearer were really

So the Nome King forgot to be angry with Kaliko and ordered his Chamberlain to summon General Guph

and the army of nomes and have them properly armed. They were then to march to the mouth of the Tube,

Although the journey through the Tube was longer, this time, than before, it was so much more comfortable

that none of our friends minded it at all. They talked together most of the time and as they found the dragon

goodnatured and fond of the sound of his own voice they soon became well acquainted with him and

"You see," said Shaggy, in his frank way, "Quox is on our side, and therefore the dragon is a good fellow. If

he happened to be an enemy, instead of a friend, I am sure I should dislike him very much, for his breath

smells of brimstone, he is very conceited and he is so strong and fierce that he would prove a dangerous foe."

"Yes, indeed," returned Quox, who had listened to this speech with pleasure; "I suppose I am about as terrible

as any living thing. I am glad you find me conceited, for that proves I know my good qualities. As for my

breath smelling of brimstone, I really can't help it, and I once met a man whose breath smelled of onions,

"And I love brimstone," declared the dragon, "so don't let us quarrel over one another's peculiarities."

Saying this, he breathed a long breath and shot a flame fifty feet from his mouth. The brimstone made Betsy

They had no idea how far they had gone through the center of the earth, nor when to expect the trip to end. At

"I wonder when we'll reach the bottom of this hole. And isn't it funny, Shaggy Man, that what is the bottom

"Exactly," responded Shaggy. "The machinery in your head is in fine working order, TikTok. You know,

Betsy, that there is such a thing as the Attraction of Gravitation, which draws everything toward the center of

the earth. That is why we fall out of bed, and why everything clings to the surface of the earth."

"Then why doesn't everyone go on down to the center of the earth?" inquired the little girl.

"I was afraid you were going to ask me that," replied Shaggy in a sad tone. "The reason, my dear, is that the

earth is so solid that other solid things can't get through it. But when there's a hole, as there is in this case, we

"Because we go so fast that we acquire speed enough to carry us right up to the other end."

"I don't understand that, and it makes my head ache to try to figure it out," she said after some thought. "One

"Don't ask me why, please," interrupted the Shaggy Man. "If you can't understand it, let it go at that."

"All the magic isn't in fairyland," he said gravely. "There's lots of magic in all Nature, and you may see it as

"Because you were so used to it all that you didn't realize it was magic. Is anything more wonderful than to

see a flower grow and blossom, or to get light out of the electricity in the air? The cows that manufacture

milk for us must have machinery fully as remarkable as that in TikTok's copper body, and perhaps you've

And then, before Shaggy could finish his speech, the strong light of day suddenly broke upon them, grew

brighter, and completely enveloped them. The dragon's claws no longer scraped against the metal Tube, for

he shot into the open air a hundred feet or more and sailed so far away from the slanting hole that when he

landed it was on the peak of a mountain and just over the entrance to the many underground caverns of the

Some of the officers tumbled off their seats when Quox struck the ground, hut most of the dragon's

passengers only felt a slight jar. All were glad to be on solid earth again and they at once dismounted and

began to look about them. Queerly enough, as soon as they had left the dragon, the seats that were strapped to

the monster's back disappeared, and this probably happened because there was no further use for them and

because Quox looked far more dignified in just his silver scales. Of course he still wore the forty yards of

ribbon around his neck, as well as the great locket, but these only made him look "dressed up," as Betsy

Now the army of nomes had gathered thickly around the mouth of the Tube, in order to be ready to capture

the band of invaders as soon as they popped out. There were, indeed, hundreds of nomes assembled, and they

were led by Guph, their most famous General. But they did not expect the dragon to fly so high, and he shot

out of the Tube so suddenly that it took them by surprise. When the nomes had rubbed the astonishment out

of their eyes and regained their wits, they discovered the dragon quietly seated on the mountainside far above

their heads, while the other strangers were standing in a group and calmly looking down upon them.

General Guph was very angry at the escape, which was no one's fault but his own.

"Come up here and capture usif you dare!" replied Queen Ann, who was winding up the clockwork of her

Guph's first answer was a roar of rage at the defiance; then he turned and issued a command to his nomes.

These were all armed with sharp spears and with one accord they raised these spears and threw them straight

at their foes, so that they rushed through the air in a perfect cloud of flying weapons.

Some damage might have been done had not the dragon quickly crawled before the others, his body being so

big that it shielded every one of them, including Hank. The spears rattled against the silver scales of Quox

and then fell harmlessly to the ground. They were magic spears, of course, and all straightway bounded back

into the hands of those who had thrown them, but even Guph could see that it was useless to repeat the attack.

It was now Queen Ann's turn to attack, so the Generals yelled "Forward march!" and the Colonels and

Majors and Captains repeated the command and the valiant Army of Oogaboo, which seemed to be composed

mainly of Tik Tok, marched forward in single column toward the nomes, while Betsy and Polychrome

cheered and Hank gave a loud "Heehaw!" and Shaggy shouted "Hooray!" and Queen Ann screamed: "At

The nomes did not await the Clockwork Man's attack but in a twinkling disappeared into the underground

caverns. They made a great mistake in being so hasty, for TikTok had not taken a dozen steps before he

stubbed his copper toe on a rock and fell flat to the ground, where he cried: "Pick me up! Pick me up! Pick

The dragon chuckled softly to himself as he scratched his left ear with his hind claw, but no one was paying

It was evident to Ann and her officers that there could be no fighting unless the enemy was present, and in

order to find the enemy they must boldly enter the underground Kingdom of the nomes. So bold a step

"Don't you think I'd better drop in on Ruggedo and obey the orders of the Jinjin?" asked Quox.

"By no means!" returned Queen Ann. "We have already put the army of nomes to flight and all that yet

remains is to force our way into those caverns, and conquer the Nome King and all his people.'

"That seems to me something of a job," said the dragon, closing his eyes sleepily. "But go ahead, if you like,

and I'll wait here for you. Don't be in any hurry on my account. To one who lives thousands of years the delay

of a few days means nothing at all, and I shall probably sleep until the time comes for me to act.

"You may as well go back to TititiHoochoo now," she said, "for the Nome King is as good as conquered

Shaggy Man had said nothing during the conversation between Queen Ann and Quox, for the simple reason

that he did not consider the matter worth an argument. Safe within his pocket reposed the Love Magnet,

which had never failed to win every heart. The nomes, he knew, were not like the heartless Roses and

Shaggy's chief anxiety had been to reach Ruggedo's Kingdom and now that the entrance lay before him he

was confident he would be able to rescue his lost brother. Let Ann and the dragon quarrel as to who should

conquer the nomes, if they liked; Shaggy would let them try, and if they failed he had the means of conquest

But Ann was positive she could not fail, for she thought her Army could do anything. So she called the

officers together and told them how to act, and she also instructed TikTok what to do and what to say.

"Please do not shoot your gun except as a last resort," she added, "for I do not wish to be cruel or to shed any

"All right," replied TikTok; "but I do not think Ruggedo would bleed if I filled him full of holes and put

Then the officers fell in line, the four Generals abreast and then the four Colonels and the four Majors and the

four Captains. They drew their glittering swords and commanded TikTok to march, which he did. Twice he

fell down, being tripped by the rough rocks, but when he struck the smooth path he got along better. Into the

gloomy mouth of the cavern entrance he stepped without hesitation, and after him proudly pranced the

officers and Queen Ann. The others held back a little, waiting to see what would happen.

Of course the Nome King knew they were coming and was prepared to receive them. Just within the rocky

passage that led to the jeweled throneroom was a deep pit, which was usually covered. Ruggedo had

The pit was so large around that it nearly filled the passage and there was barely room for one to walk around

it by pressing close to the rock walls. This TikTok did, for his copper eyes saw the pit clearly and he

avoided it; but the officers marched straight into the hole and tumbled in a heap on the bottom. An instant

later Queen Ann also walked into the pit, for she had her chin in the air and was careless where she placed her

feet. Then one of the nomes pulled a lever which replaced the cover on the pit and made the officers of

As for TikTok, he kept straight on to the cavern where Ruggedo sat in his throne and there he faced the

"I hereby conquer you in the name of Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, whose Army I am, and I

"She'll be here in a minute," said TikTok. "Perhaps she stopped to tie her shoestring."

"Now, see here, TikTok," began the Nome King, in a stern voice, "I've had enough of this nonsense. Your

Queen and her officers are all prisoners, having fallen into my power, so perhaps you'll tell me what you

"My orders were to conquer you," replied Tik Tok, "and my machinery has done the best it knows

Ruggedo pounded on his gong and Kaliko appeared, followed closely by General Guph.

"Take this copper man into the shops and set him to work hammering gold," commanded the King. "Being

run by machinery he ought to be a steady worker. He ought never to have been made, but since he exists I

"Don't do that!" exclaimed General Guph, earnestly, "for it will be useless to resist and you might hurt some

But TikTok raised his gun and took aim and not knowing what damage the gun might do the nomes were

While he was thus defying the Nome King and his high officials, Betsy Bobbin rode calmly into the royal

cavern, seated upon the back of Hank the mule. The little girl had grown tired of waiting for "something to

"Nails and nuggets!" roared the King; "how dare you bring that beast here and enter my presence

"There wasn't anybody to announce me, replied Betsy. "I guess your folks were all busy. Are you conquered

"Then please give me something to eat, for I'm awful hungry," said the girl. "You see, this conquering

business is a good deal like waiting for a circus parade; it takes a long time to get around and don't amount to

The nomes were so much astonished at this speech that for a time they could only glare at her silently, not

finding words to reply. The King finally recovered the use of his tongue and said:

"Earthcrawler! this insolence to my majesty shall be your deathwarrant. You are an ordinary mortal, and to

stop a mortal from living is so easy a thing to do that I will not keep you waiting half so long as you did for

"I'd rather you wouldn't stop me from living," remarked Betsy, getting off Hank's back and standing beside

him. "And it would be a pretty cheap King who killed a visitor while she was hungry. If you'll give me

something to eat, I'll talk this killing business over with you afterward; only, I warn you now that I don't

Her coolness and lack of fear impressed the Nome King, although he bore an intense hatred toward all

"Eggs!" shrieked the three nomes who were present, shuddering till their teeth chattered.

"What's the matter?" asked Betsy wonderingly. "Are eggs as high here as they are at home?"

"Guph," said the King in an agitated voice, turning to his General, "let us destroy this rash mortal at once!

Guph glanced at TikTok, whose gun was still pointed, but just then Kaliko stole softly behind the copper

man and kicked his kneejoints so that they suddenly bent forward and tumbled TikTok to the floor, his gun

Then Guph, seeing TikTok helpless, made a grab at Betsy. At the same time Hank's heels shot out and

caught the General just where his belt was buckled. He rose into the air swift as a cannon ball, struck the

Nome King fairly and flattened his Majesty against the wall of rock on the opposite side of the cavern.

Together they fell to the floor in a dazed and crumpled condition, seeing which Kaliko whispered to Betsy:

She looked into Kaliko's face inquiringly and thought he seemed honest and goodnatured, so she decided to

follow him. He led her and the mule through several passages and into a small cavern very nicely and

"This is my own room," said he, "but you are quite welcome to use it. Wait here a minute and I'll get you

When Kaliko returned he brought a tray containing some broiled mushrooms, a loaf of mineral bread and

some petroleumbutter. The butter Betsy could not eat, but the bread was good and the mushrooms delicious.

"Well, if you hear three raps on the door, open it," said Kaliko; "but don't let anyone in unless they give the

"All right," promised Betsy, and when Kaliko left the cosy cavern she closed and locked the door.

In the meantime Ann and her officers, finding themselves prisoners in the pit, had shouted and screamed until

they were tired out, but no one had come to their assistance. It was very dark and damp in the pit and they

could not climb out because the walls were higher than their heads and the cover was on. The Queen was first

angry and then annoyed and then discouraged; but the officers were only afraid. Every one of the poor

fellows heartily wished he was back in Oogaboo caring for his orchard, and some were so unhappy that they

Finally the Queen sat down on the bottom of the pit and leaned her back against the wall. By good luck her

sharp elbow touched a secret spring in the wall and a big flat rock swung inward. Ann fell over backward, but

Then she began to crawl through the passage, which was as dark and dank as the pit, and the officers

followed her in single file. They crawled, and they crawled, and they kept on crawling, for the passage was

not big enough to allow them to stand upright. It turned this way and twisted that, sometimes like a corkscrew

"It will never endnever!" moaned the officers, who were rubbing all the skin off their knees on the rough

"It must end," retorted Ann courageously, "or it never would have been made. We don't know where it will

So she crawled on, and the officers crawled on, and while they were crawling through this awful underground

passage Polychrome and Shaggy and Files and the Rose Princess, who were standing outside the entrance to

"Don't let us worry," said Shaggy to his companions, "for it may take the Queen some time to conquer the

"I do, indeed," replied Shaggy. "This Nome King is really a powerful fellow and has a legion of nomes to

assist him, whereas our bold Queen commands a Clockwork Man and a band of faint hearted officers."

"She ought to have let Quox do the conquering," said Polychrome, dancing lightly upon a point of rock and

fluttering her beautiful draperies. "But perhaps the dragon was wise to let her go first, for when she fails to

"Up there on the rocks," replied Files. "Look, my dear; you may see him from here. He said he would take a

little nap while we were mixing up with Ruggedo, and he added that after we had gotten into trouble he

would wake up and conquer the Nome King in a jiffy, as his master the Jinjin has ordered him to do."

"Quox means well," said Shaggy, "but I do not think we shall need his services; for just as soon as I am

satisfied that Queen Ann and her army have failed to conquer Ruggedo, I shall enter the caverns and show the

King my Love Magnet. That he cannot resist; therefore the conquest will be made with ease."

This speech of Shaggy Man's was overheard by the LongEared Hearer, who was at that moment standing by

Ruggedo's side. For when the King and Guph had recovered from Hank's kick and had picked themselves up,

their first act was to turn TikTok on his back and put a heavy diamond on top of him, so that he could not

get up again. Then they carefully put his gun in a corner of the cavern and the King sent Guph to fetch the

The Hearer was still angry at Ruggedo for breaking his ear, but he acknowledged the Nome King to be his

master and was ready to obey his commands. Therefore he repeated Shaggy's speech to the King, who at once

realized that his Kingdom was in grave danger. For Ruggedo knew of the Love Magnet and its powers and

was horrified at the thought that Shaggy might show him the magic talisman and turn all the hatred in his

"Really," said he, "I'd rather he conquered and lose my wealth and my Kingdom than gaze at that awful Love

Magnet. What can I do to prevent the Shaggy Man from taking it out of his pocket?"

Kaliko returned to the cavern in time to overhear this question, and being a loyal nome and eager to serve his

"If we can manage to bind the Shaggy Man's arms, tight to his body, he could not get the Love Magnet out of

"True!" cried the King in delight at this easy solution of the problem. "Get at once a dozen nomes, with ropes,

and place them in the passage where they can seize and bind Shaggy as soon as he enters.

This Kaliko did, and meanwhile the watchers outside the entrance were growing more and more uneasy about

"I don't worry so much about the Oogaboo people," said Polychrome, who had grown sober with waiting, and

perhaps a little nervous, "for they could not be killed, even though Ruggedo might cause them much suffering

and perhaps destroy them utterly. But we should not have allowed Betsy and Hank to go alone into the

caverns. The little girl is mortal and possesses no magic powers whatever, so if Ruggedo captures her she will

"That is indeed true," replied Shaggy. "I wouldn't like to have anything happen to dear little Betsy, so I

"We may as well go with you," asserted Files, "for by means of the Love Magnet, you can soon bring the

So it was decided to wait no longer. Shaggy walked through the entrance first, and after him came the others.

They had no thought of danger to themselves, and Shaggy, who was going along with his hands thrust into

his pockets, was much surprised when a rope shot out from the darkness and twined around his body, pinning

down his arms so securely that he could not even withdraw his hands from the pockets. Then appeared

several grinning nomes, who speedily tied knots in the ropes and then led the prisoner along the passage to

the cavern. No attention was paid to the others, but Files and the Princess followed on after Shaggy,

determined not to desert their friend and hoping that an opportunity might arise to rescue him.

As for Polychrome, as soon as she saw that trouble had overtaken Shaggy she turned and ran lightly back

through the passage and out of the entrance. Then she easily leaped from rock to rock until she paused beside

But Quox did not wake up. He lay as one in a trance, absolutely motionless, with his enormous eyes tight

closed. The eyelids had big silver scales on them, like all the rest of his body.

Polychrome might have thought Quox was dead had she not known that dragons do not die easily or had she

not observed his huge body swelling as he breathed. She picked up a piece of rock and pounded against his

"Dear me, how unfortunate!" sighed the lovely Rainbow's Daughter. "I wonder what is the best and surest

way to waken a dragon. All our friends may be captured and destroyed while this great beast lies asleep."

She walked around Quox two or three times, trying to discover some tender place on his body where a thump

or a punch might he felt; but he lay extended along the rocks with his chin flat upon the ground and his legs

drawn underneath his body, and all that one could see was his thick skyblue skinthicker than that of a

Then, despairing at last of wakening the beast, and worried over the fate of her friends, Polychrome again ran

Here she found Ruggedo lolling in his throne and smoking a long pipe. Beside him stood General Guph and

Kaliko, and ranged before the King were the Rose Princess, Files and the Shaggy Man. TikTok still lay

Ruggedo was now in a more contented frame of mind. One by one he had met the invaders and easily

captured them. The dreaded Love Magnet was indeed in Shaggy's pocket, only a few feet away from the

King, but Shaggy was powerless to show it and unless Ruggudo's eyes beheld the talisman it could not affect

him. As for Betsy Bobbin and her mule, he believed Kaliko had placed them in the Slimy Cave, while Ann

and her officers he thought safely imprisoned in the pit. Ruggedo had no fear of Files or Ozga, but to be on

the safe side he had ordered golden handcuffs placed upon their wrists. These did not cause them any great

annoyance but prevented them from making an attack, had they been inclined to do so.

The Nome King, thinking himself wholly master of the situation, was laughing and jeering at his prisoners

when Polychrome, exquisitely beautiful and dancing like a ray of light, entered the cavern.

"Oho!" cried the King; "a Rainbow under ground, eh?" and then he stared hard at Polychrome, and still

harder, and then he sat up and pulled the wrinkles out of his robe and arranged his whiskers. "On my word,"

said he, "you are a very captivating creature; moreover, I perceive you are a fairy."

"Well," replied Ruggedo, "I like you. The others I hate. I hate everybodybut you! Wouldn't you like to live

always in this beautiful cavern, Polychrome? See! the jewels that stud the walls have every tint and color of

your Rainbowand they are not so elusive. I'll have fresh dewdrops gathered for your feasting every day and

"No, thank you," laughed Polychrome. "My home is in the sky, and I'm only on a visit to this solid, sordid

earth. But tell me, Ruggedo, why my friends have been wound with cords and bound with chains?"

"They threatened me," answered Ruggedo. "The fools did not know how powerful I am."

"Then, since they are now helpless, why not release them and send them back to the earth's surface?"

"Because I hate 'em and mean to make em suffer for their invasion. But I'll make a bargain with you, sweet

Polly. Remain here and live with me and I'll set all these people free. You shall be my daughter or my wife or

my aunt or grandmother whichever you like only stay here to brighten my gloomy kingdom and make me

"I'm positive," answered Shaggy. "But you seem to be something of a Love Magnet yourself, Polychrome."

She laughed again and said to Ruggedo: "Not even to rescue my friends would I live in your kingdom. Nor

"You forget," retorted the King, scowling darkly, "that you also are in my power."

"Not so, Ruggedo. The Rainbow's Daughter is beyond the reach of your spite or malice."

"Seize her!" suddenly shouted the King, and General Guph sprang forward to obey. Polychrome stood quite

still, yet when Guph attempted to clutch her his hands met in air, and now the Rainbow's Daughter was in

Several times Guph endeavored to capture her and Ruggedo even came down from his throne to assist his

General; but never could they lay hands upon the lovely sky fairy, who flitted here and there with the

swiftness of light and constantly defied them with her merry laughter as she evaded their efforts.

So after a time they abandoned the chase and Ruggedo returned to his throne and wiped the perspiration from

"I'm going to have some fun, to repay me for all my bother," replied the Nome King. Then he said to Kaliko:

Kaliko at once withdrew and presently returned with a score of nomes, all of whom were nearly as evil

looking as their hated master. They bore great golden pincers, and prods of silver, and clamps and chains and

various wickedlooking instruments, all made of precious metals and set with diamonds and rubies.

"Now, Pang," said Ruggedo, addressing the leader of the executioners, "fetch the Army of Oogaboo and their

Queen from the pit and torture them here in my presenceas well as in the presence of their friends. It will

"I hear Your Majesty, and I obey Your Majesty," answered Pang, and went with his nomes into the passage.

"No one," said Pang. "The cover was there, but the prisoners were not under it."

"In that case," snarled the King, trying to control his disappointment, "go to the Slimy Cave and fetch hither

the girl and the donkey. And while we are torturing them Kaliko must take a hundred nomes and search for

the escaped prisonersthe Queen of Oogaboo and her officers. If he does not find them, I will torture

Kaliko went away looking sad and disturbed, for he knew the King was cruel and unjust enough to carry out

this threat. Pang and the executioners also went away, in another direction, but when they came back Betsy

"Jumping jellycakes!" screamed the King. "Another escape? Are you sure you found the right cave?"

"There is but one Slimy Cave, and there is no one in it," returned Pang positively.

Ruggedo was beginning to be alarmed as well as angry. However, these disappointments but made him the

"Never mind the girl and the donkey. Here are four, at least, who cannot escape my vengeance. Let me see; I

believe I'll change my mind about TikTok. Have the gold crucible heated to a white, seething heat, and then

"But, Your Majesty," protested Kaliko, who had returned to the room after sending a hundred nomes to

search for the Oogaboo people, you must remember that TikTok is a very curious and interesting machine.

"Say another word, and you'll go into the furnace with him!" roared the King. "I'm getting tired of you,

Kaliko, and the first thing you know I'll turn you into a potato and make Saratoga chips of you! The next to

consider," he added more mildly, "is the Shaggy Man. As he owns the Love Magnet, I think I'll transform

him into a dove, and then we can practice shooting at him with Tik Tok's gun. Now, this is a very interesting

ceremony and I beg you all to watch me closely and see that I've nothing up my sleeve."

He came out of his throne to stand before the Shaggy Man, and then he waved his hands, palms downward, in

seven semicircles over his victim's head, saying in a low but clear tone of voice the magic wugwa:

The effect of this wellknown sorcery was instantaneous. Instead of the Shaggy Man, a pretty dove lay

fluttering upon the floor, its wings confined by tiny cords wound around them. Ruggedo gave an order to

Pang, who cut the cords with a pair of scissors. Being freed, the dove quickly flew upward and alighted on

"Very good! Very good!" cried Ruggedo, rubbing his hands gleefully together. "One enemy is out of my way,

(Perhaps my readers should be warned not to attempt the above transformation; for, although the exact

magical formula has been described, it is unlawful in all civilized countries for anyone to transform a person

into a dove by muttering the words Ruggedo used. There were no laws to prevent the Nome King from

performing this transformation, but if it should be attempted in any other country, and the magic worked, the

When Polychrome saw Shaggy Man transformed into a dove and realized that Ruggedo was about do

something as dreadful to the Princess and Files, and that TikTok would soon be melted in a crucible, she

turned and ran from the cavern, through the passage and back to the place where Quox lay asleep.

The great dragon still had his eyes closed and was even snoring in a manner that resembled distant thunder;

but Polychrome was now desperate, because any further delay meant the destruction of her friends. She

seized the pearl necklace, to which was attached the great locket, and jerked it with all her strength.

The result was encouraging. Quox stopped snoring and his eyelids flickered. So Polychrome jerked

againand againtill slowly the great lids raised and the dragon looked at her steadily. Said he, in a sleepy

"Come quick!" exclaimed Polychrome. "Ruggedo has captured all our friends and is about to destroy them."

"Well, well," said Quox, "I suspected that would happen. Step a little out of my path, my dear, and I'll make a

She fell back a few steps and Quox raised himself on his stout legs, whisked his long tail and in an instant

Along the passage he swept, nearly filling it with his immense body, and now he poked his head into the

But the King had long since made arrangements to capture the dragon, whenever he might appear. No sooner

did Quox stick his head into the room than a thick chain fell from above and encircled his neck. Then the

ends of the chain were drawn tight for in an adjoining cavern a thousand nomes were pulling on

themand so the dragon could advance no further toward the King. He could not use his teeth or his claws

and as his body was still in the passage he had not even room to strike his foes with his terrible tail.

Ruggedo was delighted with the success of his stratagem. He had just transformed the Rose Princess into a

fiddle and was about to transform Files into a fiddle bow, when the dragon appeared to interrupt him. So he

"Welcome, my dear Quox, to my royal entertainment. Since you are here, you shall witness some very neat

magic, and after I have finished with Files and TikTok I mean to transform you into a tiny lizardone of

"Pardon me for contradicting Your Majesty," returned Quox in a quiet voice, "but I don't believe you'll

"Yes; and I'm astonished that a dignified dragon should wear such a silly thing."

"Do you see it plainly?" persisted the dragon, with a little chuckle of amusement.

"Then you no longer possess any magical powers, and are as helpless as a clam," asserted Quox. "My great

master, TititiHoochoo, the Jinjin, enchanted this ribbon in such a way that whenever Your Majesty looked

upon it all knowledge of magic would desert you instantly, nor will any magical formula you can remember

"Pooh! I don't believe a word of it!" cried Ruggedo, half frightened, nevertheless. Then he turned toward

Files and tried to transform him into a fiddle bow. But he could not remember the right words or the right

By this time the Nome King was so alarmed that he was secretly shaking in his shoes.

"I told you not to anger TititiHoochoo," grumbled Kaliko, "and now you see the result of your

Ruggedo promptly threw his sceptre at his Royal Chamberlain, who dodged it with his usual cleverness, and

"Never mind; I don't need magic to enable me to destroy these invaders; fire and the sword will do the

business and I am still King of the Nomes and lord and master of my Underground Kingdom!"

"Again I beg to differ with Your Majesty," said Quox. "The Great Jinjin commands you to depart instantly

from this Kingdom and seek the earth's surface, where you will wander for all time to come, without a home

or country, without a friend or follower, and without any more riches than you can carry with you in your

pockets. The Great Jinjin is so generous that he will allow you to fill your pockets with jewels or gold, but

"Well, I won't do it. And your crazy old Jinjin can't make me do it, either!" declared Ruggedo. "I intend to

remain here, King of the Nomes, until the end of the world, and I defy your Tititi Hoochoo and all his

The dragon smiled again, but it was not the sort of smile that made Ruggedo feel very happy. Instead, there

was something so cold and merciless in the dragon's expression that the condemned Nome King trembled and

There was little comfort for Ruggedo in the fact that the dragon was now chained, although he had boasted of

it. He glared at the immense head of Quox as if fascinated and there was fear in the old King's eyes as he

For the dragon was now moving; not abruptly, but as if he had something to do and was about to do it. Very

deliberately he raised one claw, touched the catch of the great jeweled locket that was suspended around his

Nothing much happened at first; half a dozen hen's eggs rolled out upon the floor and then the locket closed

with a sharp click. But the effect upon the nomes of this simple thing was astounding. General Guph, Kaliko,

Pang and his band of executioners were all standing close to the door that led to the vast series of

underground caverns which constituted the dominions of the nomes, and as soon as they saw the eggs they

raised a chorus of frantic screams and rushed through the door, slamming it in Ruggedo's face and placing a

Ruggedo, dancing with terror and uttering loud cries, now leaped upon the seat of his throne to escape the

eggs, which had rolled steadily toward him. Perhaps these eggs, sent by the wise and crafty TititiHoochoo,

were in some way enchanted, for they all rolled directly after Ruggedo and when they reached the throne

This was too much for the King to bear. His horror of eggs was real and absolute and he made a leap from the

The eggs followed, rolling slowly but steadily in his direction. Ruggedo threw his sceptre at them, and then

his ruby crown, and then he drew off his heavy golden sandals and hurled these at the advancing eggs. But

the eggs dodged every missile and continued to draw nearer. The King stood trembling, his eyes staring in

terror, until they were but half a yard distant; then with an agile leap he jumped clear over them and made a

Of course the dragon was in his way, being chained in the passage with his head in the cavern, but when he

saw the King making toward him he crouched as low as he could and dropped his chin to the floor, leaving a

Ruggedo did not hesitate an instant. Impelled by fear, he leaped to the dragon's nose and then scrambled to

his back, where he succeeded in squeezing himself through the opening. After the head was passed there was

more room and he slid along the dragon's scales to his tail and then ran as fast as his legs would carry him to

the entrance. Not pausing here, so great was his fright, the King dashed on down the mountain path, but

When he picked himself up he observed that no one was following him, and while he recovered his breath he

happened to think of the decree of the Jinjinthat he should be driven from his Kingdom and made a

wanderer on the face of the earth. Well, here he was, driven from his cavern in truth; driven by those dreadful

eggs; but he would go back and defy them; he would not submit to losing his precious Kingdom and his

So, although still afraid, Ruggedo nerved himself to creep back along the path to the entrance, and when he

arrived there he saw the six eggs lying in a row just before the arched opening.

At first he paused a safe distance away to consider the case, for the eggs were now motionless. While he was

wondering what could be done, he remembered there was a magical charm which would destroy eggs and

render them harmless to nomes. There were nine passes to be made and six verses of incantation to be

recited; but Ruggedo knew them all. Now that he had ample time to be exact, he carefully went through the

But nothing happened. The eggs did not disappear, as he had expected; so he repeated the charm a second

time. When that also failed, he remembered, with a moan of despair, that his magic power had been taken

And there were the eggs, forever barring him from the Kingdom which he had ruled so long with absolute

sway! He threw rocks at them, but could not hit a single egg. He raved and scolded and tore his hair and

beard, and danced in helpless passion, but that did nothing to avert the just judgment of the Jinjin, which

From this time on he was an outcasta wanderer upon the face of the earthand he had even forgotten to

After the King had made good his escape Files said to the dragon, in a sad voice:

"Alas! why did you not come before? Because you were sleeping instead of conquering, the lovely Rose

Princess has become a fiddle without a how, while poor Shaggy sits there a cooing dove!"

"Don't worry," replied Quox. "TititiHoochoo knows his business, and I have my orders from the Great Jinjin

Files obeyed and at the moment of contact with the ribbon the Nome King's charm was broken and the Rose

The dove, perched on the back of the throne, had seen and heard all this, so without being told what to do it

flew straight to the dragon and alighted on the ribbon. Next instant Shaggy was himself again and Quox said

"Please get off my left toe, Shaggy Man, and be more particular where you step."

"I beg your pardon!" replied Shaggy, very glad to resume his natural form. Then he ran to lift the heavy

"Many thanks!" said TikTok. "Where is the wicked King who wanted to melt me in a cruci ble?"

"He has gone, and gone for good," answered Polychrome, who had managed to squeeze into the room beside

the dragon and had witnessed the occurrences with much interest. "But I wonder where Betsy Bobbin and

"We must search the cavern until we find them," declared Shaggy; but when he went to the door leading to

"I've a pretty strong push in my forehead," said Quox, "and I believe I can break down that door, even though

"But you are a prisoner, and the chains that hold you are fastened in some other room, so that we cannot

"Oh, never mind that," returned the dragon. "I have remained a prisoner only because I wished to be one,"

and with this he stepped forward and burst the stout chains as easily as if they had been threads.

But when he tried to push in the heavy metal door, even his mighty strength failed, and after several attempts

"I'll open the door," asserted TikTok, and going to the King's big gong he pounded upon It until the noise

Kaliko, in the next cavern, was wondering what had happened to Ruggedo and if he had escaped the eggs and

outwitted the dragon. But when he heard the sound of the gong, which had so often called him into the King's

presence, he decided that Ruggedo had been victorious; so he took away the bar, threw open the door and

Great was his astonishment to find the King gone and the enchantments removed from the Princess and

Shaggy. But the eggs were also gone and so Kaliko advanced to the dragon, whom he knew to be

So Kaliko went to Betsy's room and gave three raps upon the door. The little girl had been asleep, but she

"You may come out now," said Kaliko. "The King has fled in disgrace and your friends are asking for you."

So Betsy and Hank returned with the Royal Chamberlain to the throne cavern, where she was received with

great joy by her friends. They told her what had happened to Ruggedo and she told them how kind Kaliko

had been to her. Quox did not have much to say until the conversation was ended, but then he turned to

"Me?" stammered the Chamberlain, greatly surprised by the question. "Well, I couldn't be a worse King, I'm

"Then hereafter you shall be the Metal Monarch, King of the Nomes, and TititiHoochoo expects you to rule

"Hooray!" cried Betsy; "I'm glad of that. King Kaliko, I salute Your Majesty and wish you joy in your

"We all wish him joy," said Polychrome; and then the others made haste to congratulate the new King.

"The Ugly One? Very willingly," replied Kaliko. "I begged Ruggedo long ago to send him away, but he

would not do so. I also offered to help your brother to escape, but he would not go."

"He's so conscientious!" said Shaggy, highly pleased. "All of our family have noble natures. But is my dear

"He doesn't work at all. In fact, there is nothing he can do in these dominions as well as our nomes, whose

numbers are so great that it worries us to keep them all busy. So your brother has only to amuse himself."

"Not exactly," returned Kaliko. "A prisoner cannot go where or when he pleases, and is not his own master."

"The Metal Forest is in the Great Domed Cavern, the largest in all our dominions," replied Kaliko. "It is

almost like being out of doors, it is so big, and Ruggedo made the wonderful forest to amuse himself, as well

as to tire out his hard working nomes. All the trees are gold and silver and the ground is strewn with

"I don't believe I can find the way," said he. "Ruggedo made three secret passages to the Metal Forest, but he

changes the location of these passages every week, so that no one can get to the Metal Forest without his

permission. However, if we look sharp, we may be able to discover one of these secret ways."

"That reminds me to ask what has become of Queen Ann and the Officers of Oogaboo," said Files.

"Oh, no; I'm quite sure he didn't. They fell into the big pit in the passage, and we put the cover on to keep

them there; but when the executioners went to look for them they had all disappeared from the pit and we

"That's funny," remarked Betsy thoughtfully. "I don't believe Ann knew any magic, or she'd have worked it

"However," said Shaggy, "they are gone, that is certain, so we cannot help them or be helped by them. And

"I do not know," confessed Shaggy. "I can not remember his looks very well, it is so long since I have seen

Betsy laughed and Shaggy seemed rather hurt; but Polychrome relieved his embarrassment by saying softly:

"Our first task," said Shaggy, a little comforted by this remark, "is to find one of those secret passages to the

"True," agreed Kaliko. "So I think I will assemble the chief nomes of my kingdom in this throne room and

tell them that I am their new King. Then I can ask them to assist us in searching for the secret passages.

Kaliko went to the big gong and pounded on it just as Ruggedo used to do; but no one answered the

"Of course not," said he, jumping up from the throne, where he had seated himself. "That is my call, and I am

So he ran out of the room and found Guph and told him to answer the summons of the King's gong. Having

returned to the royal cavern, Kaliko first pounded the gong and then sat in the throne, wearing Ruggedo's

discarded ruby crown and holding in his hand the sceptre which Ruggedo had so often thrown at his head.

"Better get out of that throne before old Ruggedo comes back," he said warningly.

"He isn't coming back, and I am now the King of the Nomes, in his stead," announced Kaliko.

"All of which is quite true," asserted the dragon, and all of those who stood around the throne bowed

Seeing this, Guph also bowed, for he was glad to be rid of such a hard master as Ruggedo. Then Kaliko, in

quite a kingly way, informed Guph that he was appointed the Royal Chamberlain, and promised not to throw

All this being pleasantly arranged, the new Chamberlain went away to tell the news to all the nomes of the

underground Kingdom, every one of whom would be delighted with the change in Kings.

When the chief nomes assembled before their new King they joyfully saluted him and promised to obey his

commands. But, when Kaliko questioned them, none knew the way to the Metal Forest, although all had

assisted in its making. So the King instructed them to search carefully for one of the passages and to bring

Meantime Quox had managed to back out of the rocky corridor and so regain the open air and his old station

on the mountainside, and there he lay upon the rocks, sound asleep, until the next day. The others of the

party were all given as good rooms as the caverns of the nomes afforded, for King Kaliko felt that he was

indebted to them for his promotion and was anxious to be as hospitable as he could.

Much wonderment had been caused by the absolute disappearance of the sixteen officers of Oogaboo and

their Queen. Not a nome had seen them, nor were they discovered during the search for the passages leading

to the Metal Forest. Perhaps no one was unhappy over their loss, but all were curious to know what had

On the next day, when our friends went to visit the dragon, Quox said to them: "I must now bid you

goodbye, for my mission here is finished and I must depart for the other side of the world, where I belong."

"To be sure. But it will be a lonely trip this time, with no one to talk to, and I cannot invite any of you to go

with me. Therefore, as soon as I slide into the hole I shall go to sleep, and when I pop out at the other end I

They thanked the dragon for befriending them and wished him a pleasant journey. Also they sent their thanks

to the great Jinjin, whose just condemnation of Ruggedo had served their interests so well. Then Quox

yawned and stretched himself and ambled over to the Tube, into which he slid headforemost and

They really felt as if they had lost a friend, for the dragon had been both kind and sociable during their brief

acquaintance with him; but they knew it was his duty to return to his own country. So they went back to the

caverns to renew the search for the hidden passages that led to the forest, but for three days all efforts to find

It was Polychrome's custom to go every day to the mountain and watch for her father, the Rainbow, for she

was growing tired with wandering upon the earth and longed to rejoin her sisters in their sky palaces. And on

the third day, while she sat motionless upon a point of rock, whom should she see slyly creeping up the

The former King looked very forlorn. His clothes were soiled and torn and he had no sandals upon his feet or

hat upon his head. Having left his crown and sceptre behind when he fled, the old nome no longer seemed

Several times had Ruggedo crept up to the mouth of the caverns, only to find the six eggs still on guard. He

knew quite well that he must accept his fate and become a homeless wanderer, but his chief regret now was

that he had neglected to fill his pockets with gold and jewels. He was aware that a wanderer with wealth at

his command would fare much better than one who was a pauper, so he still loitered around the caverns

wherein he knew so much treasure was stored, hoping for a chance to fill his pockets.

"Aha!" said he to himself, "I alone know the way to that Forest, and once there I can fill my pockets with the

He glanced at his pockets and was grieved to find them so small. Perhaps they might be enlarged, so that they

would hold more. He knew of a poor woman who lived in a cottage at the foot of the mountain, so he went to

her and begged her to sew pockets all over his robe, paying her with the gift of a diamond ring which he had

worn upon his finger. The woman was delighted to possess so valuable a ring and she sewed as many pockets

Then he returned up the mountain and, after gazing cautiously around to make sure he was not observed, he

touched a spring in a rock and it swung slowly backward, disclosing a broad passageway. This he entered,

However, Ruggedo had failed to look as carefully as he might have done, for Polychrome was seated only a

little distance off and her clear eyes marked exactly the manner in which Ruggedo had released the hidden

spring. So she rose and hurried into the cavern, where she told Kaliko and her friends of her discovery.

"I've no doubt that that is a way to the Metal Forest," exclaimed Shaggy. "Come, let us follow Ruggedo at

They agreed to this and King Kaliko called together a band of nomes to assist them by carrying torches to

"The Metal Forest has a brilliant light of its own," said he, "but the passage across the valley is likely to be

Polychrome easily found the rock and touched the spring, so in less than an hour after Ruggedo had entered

"He means to rob the Forest, I'm sure," said Kaliko; "but he will find he is no longer of any account in this

"Then please throw him as hard as you can," said Betsy, "for he deserves it. I don't mind an honest,

outan'out enemy, who fights square; but changing girls into fiddles and ordering 'em put into Slimy Caves

is mean and tricky, and Ruggedo doesn't deserve any sympathy. But you'll have to let him take as much

"Yes, the Jinjin said so; but we won't miss it much. There is more treasure in the Metal Forest than a million

It was not difficult to walk through this passage, especially when the torches lighted the way, so they made

good progress. But it proved to be a long distance and Betsy had tired herself with walking and was seated

upon the back of the mule when the passage made a sharp turn and a wonderful and glorious light burst upon

them. The next moment they were all standing upon the edge of the marvelous Metal Forest.

It lay under another mountain and occupied a great domed cavern, the roof of which was higher than a church

steeple. In this space the industrious nomes had built, during many years of labor, the most beautiful forest in

the world. The treestrunks, branches and leaveswere all of solid gold, while the bushes and underbrush

were formed of filigree silver, virgin pure. The trees towered as high as natural live oaks do and were of

On the ground were thickly strewn precious gems of every hue and size, while here and there among the trees

were paths pebbled with cut diamonds of the clearest water. Taken all together, more treasure was gathered in

this Metal Forest than is contained in all the rest of the worldif we except the land of Oz, where perhaps its

Our friends were so amazed at the sight that for a while they stood gazing in silent wonder. Then Shaggy

"Yes," replied Kaliko. "The Ugly One has been here for two or three years, to my positive knowledge."

"But what could he find to eat?" inquired Betsy. "It's an awfully swell place to live in, but one can't breakfast

"One doesn't need to, my dear," Kaliko assured her. "The Metal Forest does not fill all of this great cavern, by

any means. Beyond these gold and silver trees are other trees of the real sort, which bear foods very nice to

eat. Let us walk in that direction, for I am quite sure we will find Shaggy's brother in that part of the cavern,

So they began to tramp over the diamondpebbled paths, and at every step they were more and more

bewildered by the wondrous beauty of the golden trees with their glittering foliage.

Suddenly they heard a scream. Jewels scattered in every direction as some one hidden among the bushes

scampered away before them. Then a loud voice cried: "Halt!" and there was the sound of a struggle.

With fast beating hearts they all rushed forward and, beyond a group of stately metal trees, came full upon a

There was Ruggedo in the hands of the officers of Oogaboo, a dozen of whom were clinging to the old nome

and holding him fast in spite of his efforts to escape. There also was Queen Ann, looking grimly upon the

scene of strife; but when she observed her former companions approaching she turned away in a shamefaced

For Ann and her officers were indeed a sight to behold. Her Majesty's clothing, once so rich and gorgeous,

was now worn and torn into shreds by her long crawl through the tunnel, which, by the way, had led her

directly into the Metal Forest. It was, indeed, one of the three secret passages, and by far the most difficult of

the three. Ann had not only torn her pretty skirt and jacket, but her crown had become bent and battered and

even her shoes were so cut and slashed that they were ready to fall from her feet.

The officers had fared somewhat worse than their leader, for holes were worn in the knees of their trousers,

while sharp points of rock in the roof and sides of the tunnel had made rags of every inch of their once

brilliant uniforms. A more tattered and woeful army never came out of a battle, than these harmless victims

of the rocky passage. But it had seemed their only means of escape from the cruel Nome King; so they had

When they reached the Metal Forest their eyes beheld more plunder than they had ever dreamed of; yet they

were prisoners in this huge dome and could not escape with the riches heaped about them. Perhaps a more

unhappy and homesick lot of "conquerors" never existed than this band from Oogaboo.

After several days of wandering in their marvelous prison they were frightened by the discovery that

Ruggedo had come among them. Rendered desperate by their sad condition, the officers exhibited courage

for the first time since they left home and, ignorant of the fact that Ruggedo was no longer King of the

nomes, they threw themselves upon him and had just succeeded in capturing him when their fellow

"We were obliged to escape from the pit through a small tunnel, which was lined with sharp and jagged

rocks," said she, "and not only was our clothing torn to rags but our flesh is so bruised and sore that we are

stiff and lame in every joint. To add to our troubles we find we are still prisoners; but now that we have

succeeded in capturing the wicked Metal Monarch we shall force him to grant us our liberty."

"Ruggedo is no longer Metal Monarch, or King of the nomes," Files informed her. "He has been deposed and

cast out of his kingdom by Quox; but here is the new King, whose name is Kaliko, and I am pleased to assure

"Glad to meet Your Majesty, I'm sure," said Kaliko, bowing as courteously as if the Queen still wore splendid

The officers, having heard this explanation, now set Ruggedo free; but, as he had no place to go, he stood by

and faced his former servant, who was now King in his place, in a humble and pleading manner.

"Why, I was promised as much treasure as I could carry in my pockets," replied Ruggedo; "so I came here to

"You were commanded to leave the country of the nomes forever!" declared Kaliko.

"I know; and I'll go as soon as I have filled my pockets," said Ruggedo, meekly.

Ruggedo obeyed. Stooping down, he began gathering up jewels by the handful and stuffing them into his

many pockets. They were heavy things, these diamonds and rubies and emeralds and amethysts and the like,

so before long Ruggedo was staggering with the weight he bore, while the pockets were not yet filled. When

he could no longer stoop over without falling, Betsy and Polychrome and the Rose Princess came to his

At last these were all filled and Ruggedo presented a comical sight, for surely no man ever before had so

many pockets, or any at all filled with such a choice collection of precious stones. He neglected to thank the

young ladies for their kindness, but gave them a surly nod of farewell and staggered down the path by the

way he had come. They let him depart in silence, for with all he had taken, the masses of jewels upon the

ground seemed scarcely to have been disturbed, so numerous were they. Also they hoped they had seen the

"I'm awful glad he's gone," said Betsy, sighing deeply. "If he doesn't get reckless and spend his wealth

"But my brothermy dear brother! Where is he?" inquired Shaggy anxiously. "Have you seen him, Queen

Shaggy hesitated to reply, but Betsy said: "He's called the Ugly One. Perhaps you'll know him by that."

"The only person we have seen in this cavern," said Ann, "has run away from us whenever we approached

him. He hides over yonder, among the trees that are not gold, and we have never been able to catch sight of

"Yes, it must be," assented Kaliko. "No one else inhabits this splendid dome, so there can be no mistake."

"But why does he hide among those green trees, instead of enjoying all these glittery golden ones?" asked

"Because he finds food among the natural trees," replied Kaliko, "and I remember that he has built a little

house there, to sleep in. As for these glittery golden trees, I will admit they are very pretty at first sight. One

cannot fail to admire them, as well as the rich jewels scattered beneath them; but if one has to look at them

"I believe that is true," declared Shaggy. "My dear brother is very wise to prefer real trees to the imitation

Shaggy started for the green grove at once, and the others followed him, being curious to witness the final

Not far from the edge of the grove they came upon a small hut, cleverly made of twigs and golden branches

woven together. As they approached the place they caught a glimpse of a form that darted into the hut and

"It is Shaggyyour own loving brotherwho has been searching for you a long time and has now come to

"Oh, but you are mistaken about that," said Shaggy. "There is a new King of the nomes, named Kaliko, in

"Do you know what they have done to me?" came the answer through the closed door.

"When Ruggedo first captured me I was very handsome. Don't you remember, Shaggy?"

"Not very well, Brother; you were so young when I left home. But I remember that mother thought you were

"She was right! I am sure she was right," wailed the prisoner. "But Ruggedo wanted to injure meto make

me ugly in the eyes of all the worldso he performed a wicked enchantment. I went to bed beautifulor

you might say handsometo be very modest I will merely claim that I was good lookingand I wakened

the next morning the homeliest man in all the world! I am so repulsive that when I look in a mirror I frighten

"Poor Brother!" said Shaggy softly, and all the others were silent from sympathy.

"I was so ashamed of my looks," continued the voice of Shaggy's brother, "that I tried to hide; but the cruel

King Ruggedo forced me to appear before all the legion of nomes, to whom he said: 'Behold the Ugly One!'

But when the nomes saw my face they all fell to laughing and jeering, which prevented them from working at

their tasks. Seeing this, Ruggedo became angry and pushed me into a tunnel, closing the rock entrance so that

I could not get out. I followed the length of the tunnel until I reached this huge dome, where the marvelous

"Poor Brother!" repeated Shaggy. "But I beg you now to come forth and face us, who are your friends. None

"What shall I do?" he asked in sorrowful tones. "I cannot leave my dear brother here, and he refuses to come

"The very idea I was seeking!" exclaimed Shaggy joyfully; and then he called out: "Brother, put a mask over

"It isn't big enough," he objected; "I'm sure it isn't big enough to hide a man's face. But he can use mine.

Saying this he took from his pocket his own handkerchief and went to the door of the hut.

"Here, my Brother," he called, "take this handkerchief and make a mask of it. I will also pass you my knife,

so that you may cut holes for the eyes, and then you must tie it over your face."

The door slowly opened, just far enough for the Ugly One to thrust out his hand and take the handkerchief

For a time there was silence. Queen Ann and her army sat down upon the ground to rest. Betsy sat on Hank's

back. Polychrome danced lightly up and down the jeweled paths while Files and the Princess wandered

"Yes, Brother," came the reply and the door was thrown open to allow the Ugly One to step forth.

Betsy might have laughed aloud had she not remembered how sensitive to ridicule Shaggy's brother was, for

the handkerchief with which he had masked his features was a red one covered with big white polka dots. In

this two holes had been cutin front of the eyeswhile two smaller ones before the nostrils allowed the

man to breathe freely. The cloth was then tightly drawn over the Ugly One's face and knotted at the back of

He was dressed in clothes that had once been good, but now were sadly worn and frayed. His silk stockings

had holes in them, and his shoes were stubtoed and needed blackening. "But what can you expect," whispered

Shaggy had darted forward, and embraced his newly found brother with both his arms. The brother also

embraced Shaggy, who then led him forward and introduced him to all the assembled company.

"This is the new Nome King," he said when he came to Kaliko. "He is our friend, and has granted you your

"That is a kindly deed," replied Ugly in a sad voice, "but I dread to go back to the world in this direful

condition. Unless I remain forever masked, my dreadful face would curdle all the milk and stop all the

"I am sure I can't break the enchantment," he said. "Ruggedo was fond of magic, and learned a good many

"Perhaps Ruggedo himself might break his own enchantment," suggested Ann; "but unfortunately we have

"Never mind, my dear Brother," said Shaggy consolingly; "I am very happy to have found you again,

although I may never see your face. So let us make the most of this joyful reunion."

The Ugly One was affected to tears by this tender speech, and the tears began to wet the red handkerchief; so

"Won't you be dreadful sorry to leave this lovely place?" Betsy asked the Ugly One.

"No, indeed," said he. "Jewels and gold are cold and heartless things, and I am sure I would presently have

died of loneliness had I not found the natural forest at the edge of the artificial one. Anyhow, without these

"I don't just understand that," she admitted. "What could you find to eat here."

"The best food in the world," Ugly answered. "Do you see that grove at your left?" he added, pointing it out;

"well, such trees as those do not grow in your country, or in any other place but this cavern. I have named

them 'Hotel Trees,' because they bear a certain kind of table d'hote fruit called 'ThreeCourse Nuts.' "

"Something like cocoanuts, to look at," explained the Ugly One. "All you have to do is to pick one of them

and then sit down and eat your dinner. You first unscrew the top part and find a cupfull of good soup. After

you've eaten that, you unscrew the middle part and find a hollow filled with meat and potatoes, vegetables

and a fine salad. Eat that, and unscrew the next section, and you come to the dessert in the bottom of the nut.

That is, pie and cake, cheese and crackers, and nuts and raisins. The ThreeCourse Nuts are not all exactly

alike in flavor or in contents, but they are all good and in each one may be found a complete threecourse

"Why, there are Breakfast Trees for that, which grow over there at the right. They bear nuts, like the others,

only the nuts contain coffee or chocolate, instead of soup; oatmeal instead of meatandpotatoes, and fruits

instead of dessert. Sad as has been my life in this wonderful prison, I must admit that no one could live more

luxuriously in the best hotel in the world than I have lived here; but I will be glad to get into the open air

again and see the good old sun and the silvery moon and the soft green grass and the flowers that are kissed

by the morning dew. Ah, how much more lovely are those blessed things than the glitter of gems or the cold

"Of course," said Betsy. "I once knew a little boy who wanted to catch the measles, because all the little boys

in his neighborhood but him had 'em, and he was really unhappy 'cause he couldn't catch 'em, try as he would.

So I'm pretty certain that the things we want, and can't have, are not good for us. Isn't that true, Shaggy?"

"Not always, my dear," he gravely replied. "If we didn't want anything, we would never get anything, good or

bad. I think our longings are natural, and if we act as nature prompts us we can't go far wrong."

"For my part," said Queen Ann, "I think the world would be a dreary place without the gold and jewels."

"All things are good in their way," said Shaggy; "but we may have too much of any good thing. And I have

noticed that the value of anything depends upon how scarce it is, and how difficult it is to obtain."

"Pardon me for interrupting you," said King Kaliko, coming to their side, "but now that we have rescued

Shaggy's brother I would like to return to my royal cavern. Being the King of the Nomes, it is my duty to

So they all turned and began walking through the Metal Forest to the other side of the great domed cave,

where they had first entered it. Shaggy and his brother walked side by side and both seemed rejoiced that they

were together after their long separation. Betsy didn't dare look at the polka dot handkerchief, for fear she

would laugh aloud; so she walked behind the two brothers and led Hank by holding fast to his left ear.

When at last they reached the place where the passage led to the outer world, Queen Ann said, in a hesitating

"I have not conquered this Nome Country, nor do I expect to do so; but I would like to gather a few of these

"Help yourself, ma'am," said King Kaliko, and at once the officers of the Army took advantage of his royal

permission and began filling their pockets, while Ann tied a lot of diamonds in a big handkerchief.

This accomplished, they all entered the passage, the nomes going first to light the way with their torches.

All eyes were turned upon the ground and they found a regular trail of jewels strewn along the rock floor.

"This is queer!" said Kaliko, much surprised. "I must send some of my nomes to gather up these gems and

replace them in the Metal Forest, where they belong. I wonder how they came to be here?"

All the way along the passage they found this trail of jewels, but when they neared the end the mystery was

explained. For there, squatted upon the floor with his back to the rock wall, sat old Ruggedo, puffing and

blowing as if he was all tired out. Then they realized it was he who had scattered the jewels, from his many

pockets, which one by one had burst with the weight of their contents as he had stumbled along the passage.

"But I don't mind," said Ruggedo, with a deep sigh. "I now realize that I could not have carried such a

weighty load very far, even had I managed to escape from this passage with it. The woman who sewed the

"A few," said he, "but they will be sufficient to supply my wants, and I no longer have any desire to be rich.

If some of you will kindly help me to rise, I'll get out of here and leave you, for I know you all despise me

Shaggy and Kaliko raised the old King to his feet, when he was confronted by Shaggy's brother, whom he

now noticed for the first time. The queer and unexpected appearance of the Ugly One so startled Ruggedo

"I am that helpless prisoner whom your cruel magic transformed from a handsome man into an ugly one!"

"I am, my dear," admitted Ruggedo, who was now as meek and humble as formerly he had been cruel and

"Then," returned the girl, "you'd better do some more magic and give the poor man his own face again."

"I wish I could," answered the old King; "but you must remember that TititiHoochoo has deprived me of all

my magic powers. However, I never took the trouble to learn just how to break the charm I cast over

"Every charm," remarked pretty Polychrome, "has its antidote; and, if you knew this charm of ugliness,

Ruggedo ruffled his hair with both hands, sighed, slapped his chest, rubbed his ear, and stared stupidly

"I've a faint recollection that there was one thing that would break the charm," said he; "but misfortune has so

"See here, Ruggedo," said Betsy, sharply, "we've treated you pretty well, so far, but we won't stand for any

"Because it means so much to Shaggy's brother. He's dreadfully ashamed of himself, the way he is now, and

you're to blame for it. Fact is, Ruggedo, you've done so much wickedness in your life that it won't hurt you to

"I seem to remember, dimly," said he, "that a certain kind of a kiss will break the charm of ugliness."

"What kind? Why, it wasit wasit was either the kiss of a Mortal Maid; ororthe kiss of a Mortal

Maid who had once been a Fairy; oror the kiss of one who is still a Fairy. I can't remember which. But of

course no maid, mortal or fairy, would ever consent to kiss a person so uglyso dreadfully, fearfully,

"I'm not so sure of that," said Betsy, with admirable courage; "I'm a Mortal Maid, and if it is my kiss that will

Oh, you really couldn't," protested Ugly. "I would be obliged to remove my mask, andwhen you saw my

"Well, as for that," said the little girl, "I needn't see your face at all. Here's my plan: You stay in this dark

passage, and we'll send away the nomes with their torches. Then you'll take off the handkerchief, and II'll

"Well, it surely won't kill me," she replied; "and, if it makes you and your brother happy, I'm willing to take

So Kaliko ordered the torchbearers to leave the passage, which they did by going through the rock opening.

Queen Ann and her army also went out; but the others were so interested in Betsy's experiment that they

remained grouped at the mouth of the passageway. When the big rock swung into place, closing tight the

"Now, then," called Betsy in a cheerful voice, "have you got that handkerchief off your face, Ugly?"

He found her hands and clasping them in his own stooped until his face was near to that of the little girl. The

"Then let Ruggedo strike one of them and look at your brother's face, while we all turn our backs. Ruggedo

made your brother ugly, so I guess he can stand the horror of looking at him, if the charm isn't broken."

Agreeing to this, Ruggedo took the match and lighted it. He gave one look and then blew out the match.

"Ugly as ever!" he said with a shudder. "So it wasn't the kiss of a Mortal Maid, after all."

"Let me try," proposed the Rose Princess, in her sweet voice. "I am a Mortal Maid who was once a Fairy.

Files did not wholly approve of this, but he was too generous to interfere. So the Rose Princess felt her way

"No," announced the former King; "that didn't break the charm, either. It must be the kiss of a Fairy that is

"Of course I will!" answered Polychrome, with a merry laugh. "I've never kissed a mortal man in all the

thousands of years I have existed, but I'll do it to please our faithful Shaggy Man, whose unselfish affection

Even as Polychrome was speaking she tripped lightly to the side of the Ugly One and quickly touched his

"Oh, thank youthank you!" he fervently cried. "I've changed, this time, I know. I can feel it! I'm different.

Files, who was near the opening, touched the spring that released the big rock and it suddenly swung

Everyone stood motionless, staring hard at Shaggy's brother, who, no longer masked by the polkadot

"Well," said Shaggy Man, breaking the silence at last and drawing a long, deep breath of satisfaction, "you

are no longer the Ugly One, my dear brother; but, to be entirely frank with you, the face that belongs to you is

"I think he's rather good looking," remarked Betsy, gazing at the man critically.

"In comparison with what he was," said King Kaliko, "he is really beautiful. You, who never beheld his

ugliness, may not understand that; but it was my misfortune to look at the Ugly One many times, and I say

"All right," returned Betsy, briskly, "we'll take your word for it, Kaliko. And now let us get out of this tunnel

It did not take them long to regain the royal cavern of the Nome King, where Kaliko ordered served to them

Ruggedo had come trailing along after the rest of the party and while no one paid any attention to the old

King they did not offer any objection to his presence or command him to leave them. He looked fearfully to

see if the eggs were still guarding the entrance, but they had now disappeared; so he crept into the cavern

There Betsy discovered him. All of the little girl's companions were now so happy at the success of Shaggy's

quest for his brother, and the laughter and merriment seemed so general, that Betsy's heart softened toward

the friendless old man who had once been their bitter enemy, and she carried to him some of the food and

drink. Ruggedo's eyes filled with tears at this unexpected kindness. He took the child's hand in his own and

"Look here, Kaliko," said Betsy, addressing the new King, "what's the use of being hard on Ruggedo? All his

magic power is gone, so he can't do any more harm, and I'm sure he's sorry he acted so badly to everybody."

"I am," said Ruggedo. "The girl speaks truly. I'm sorry and I'm harmless. I don't want to wander through the

wide world, on top of the ground, for I'm a nome. No nome can ever be happy any place but underground."

"That being the case," said Kaliko, "I will let you stay here as long as you behave yourself; but, if you try to

act badly again, I shall drive you out, as TititiHoochoo has commanded, and you'll have to wander."

"Never fear. I'll behave," promised Ruggedo. "It is hard work being a King, and harder still to be a good

They were all pleased to hear this and to know that Ruggedo had really reformed.

"I hope he'll keep his word," whispered Betsy to Shaggy; "but if he gets bad again we will be far away from

Polychrome had been a little restless during the last hour or two. The lovely Daughter of the Rain how knew

that she had now done all in her power to assist her earth friends, and so she began to long for her sky home.

"I think," she said, after listening intently, "that it is beginning to rain. The Rain King is my uncle, you know,

and perhaps he has read my thoughts and is going to help me. Anyway I must take a look at the sky and make

So she jumped up and ran through the passage to the outer entrance, and they all followed after her and

grouped themselves on a ledge of the mountainside. Sure enough, dark clouds had filled the sky and a slow,

"It can't last for long," said Shaggy, looking upward, "and when it stops we shall lose the sweet little fairy we

have learned to love. Alas," he continued, after a moment, "the clouds are already breaking in the west,

Betsy didn't look at the sky; she looked at Polychrome, whose happy, smiling face surely foretold the coming

of her father to take her to the Cloud Palaces. A moment later a gleam of sunshine flooded the mountain and

With a cry of gladness Polychrome sprang upon a point of rock and held out her arms. Straightway the

Rainbow descended until its end was at her very feet, when with a graceful leap she sprang upon it and was at

once clasped in the arms of her radiant sisters, the Daughters of the Rainbow. But Polychrome released

herself to lean over the edge of the glowing arch and nod, and smile and throw a dozen kisses to her late

"Goodbye!" she called, and they all shouted "Goodbye!" in return and waves their hands to their pretty

Slowly the magnificent bow lifted and melted into the sky, until the eyes of the earnest watchers saw only

"I'm dreadful sorry to see Polychrome go," said Betsy, who felt like crying; "but I s'pose she'll be a good deal

"To be sure," returned Shaggy, nodding gravely. "It's her home, you know, and those poor wanderers who,

She twined her arms around her shaggy friend who was not human, and he said: "Heehaw!" in a tone that

showed he understood her mood. And the shaggy friend who was human stroked the child's head tenderly and

The little girl looked up at them gratefully, and her eyes smiled through their tears.

Rather soberly, for all loved Polychrome and would miss her, they reentered the dominions of the Nome

"Well," said Queen Ann, when all were again seated in Kaliko's royal cavern, "I wonder what we shall do

next. If I could find my way back to Oogaboo I'd take my army home at once, for I'm sick and tired of these

"No; I've changed my mind about that," admitted the Queen. "The world is too big for one person to conquer

and I was happier with my own people in Oogaboo. I wishOh, how earnestly I wishthat I was back there

Now, it is time for the reader to know that in the faraway Land of Oz the lovely Ruler, Ozma, had been

following the adventures of her Shaggy Man, and TikTok, and all the others they had met. Day by day

Ozma, with the wonderful Wizard of Oz seated beside her, had gazed upon a Magic Picture in a radium

frame, which occupied one side of the Ruler's cosy boudoir in the palace of the Emerald City. The singular

thing about this Magic Picture was that it showed whatever scene Ozma wished to see, with the figures all in

motion, just as it was taking place. So Ozma and the Wizard had watched every action of the adventurers

from the time Shaggy had met shipwrecked Betsy and Hank in the Rose Kingdom, at which time the Rose

When Ann and her people so earnestly wished to return to Oogaboo, Ozma was sorry for them and

remembered that Oogaboo was a corner of the Land of Oz. She turned to her attendant and asked:

"I think the poor Queen has suffered enough in her misguided effort to conquer the world," said Ozma,

smiling at the absurdity of the undertaking, "so no doubt she will hereafter be contented in her own little

"Send her to Oogaboo with Files," answered Ozma. "They have become such good friends that I am sure it

"Very well," said the Wizard, and without any fuss or mystery whatever he performed a magical rite that was

simple and effective. Therefore those seated in the Nome King's cavern were both startled and amazed when

all the people of Oogaboo suddenly disappeared from the room, and with them the Rose Princess. At first

they could not understand it at all; but presently Shaggy suspected the truth, and believing that Ozma was

now taking an interest in the party he drew from his pocket a tiny instrument which he placed against his ear.

Ozma, observing this action in her Magic Picture, at once caught up a similar instrument from a table beside

her and held it to her own ear. The two instruments recorded the same delicate vibrations of sound and

formed a wireless telephone, an invention of the Wizard. Those separated by any distance were thus enabled

"I have Sent the people of Oogaboo back to their own little valley," announced the Ruler of Oz; "so do not

"That was very kind of you," said Shaggy. "But Your Highness must permit me to report that my own

mission here is now ended. I have found my lost brother, and he is now beside me, freed from the

enchantment of ugliness which Ruggedo cast upon him. TikTok has served me and my comrades faithfully,

as you requested him to do, and I hope you will now transport the Clockwork Man back to your fairyland of

"I have been very happy in Oz," he said, "but my duty to others forces me to exile myself from that delightful

land. I must take care of my newfound brother, for one thing, and I have a new comrade in a dear little girl

named Betsy Bobbin, who has no home to go to, and no other friends but me and a small donkey named

Hank. I have promised Betsy never to desert her as long as she needs a friend, and so I must give up the

He said this with a sigh of regret, and Ozma made no reply but laid the tiny instrument on her table, thus

cutting off all further communication with the Shaggy Man. But the lovely Ruler of Oz still watched her

magic picture, with a thoughtful expression upon her face, and the little Wizard of Oz watched Ozma and

In the cavern of the Nome King Shaggy replaced the wireless telephone in his pocket and turning to Betsy

"I don't know, I'm sure," she answered with a puzzled face. "I'm kind of sorry our adventures are over, for I

enjoyed them, and now that Queen Ann and her people are gone, and Polychrome is gone, anddear

"He also has disappeared," said Shaggy, looking around the cavern and nodding wisely. "By this time he is in

"It used to be, my dear; but now my home is wherever you and my brother are. We are wanderers, you know,

"Then," said the girl, "let us get out of this stuffy, underground cavern and go in search of new adventures.

"I'm ready," said Shaggy, and then they bade goodbye to King Kaliko, and thanked him for his assistance,

The sky was now clear and a brilliant blue in color; the sun shone brightly and even this rugged, rocky

country seemed delightful after their confinement underground. There were but four of them nowBetsy

and Hank, and Shaggy and his brotherand the little party made their way down the mountain and followed

During this time Ozma had been holding a conference with the Wizard, and later with Tik Tok, whom the

magic of the Wizard had quickly transported to Ozma's palace. TikTok had only words of praise for Betsy

"Let us send for Dorothy," said Ozma, and summoning her favorite maid, who was named Jellia Jamb, she

asked her to request Princess Dorothy to attend her at once. So a few moments later Dorothy entered Ozma's

room and greeted her and the Wizard and TikTok with the same gentle smile and simple manner that had

"I don't b'lieve it's worth much," replied Dorothy, "but I'll do the best I can. What is it all about, Ozma?"

"You all know," said the girl Ruler, addressing her three friends, "what a serious thing it is to admit any

mortals into this fairyland of Oz. It is true I have invited several mortals to make their home here, and all of

them have proved true and loyal subjects. Indeed, no one of you three was a native of Oz. Dorothy and the

Wizard came here from the United States, and TikTok came from the Land of Ev. But of course he is not a

mortal. Shaggy is another American, and he is the cause of all my worry, for our dear Shaggy will not return

here and desert the new friends he has found in his recent adventures, because he believes they need his

"Shaggy Man was always kindhearted," remarked Dorothy. "But who are these new friends he has found?"

"One is his brother, who for many years has been a prisoner of the Nome King, our old enemy Ruggedo. This

brother seems a kindly, honest fellow, but he has done nothing to entitle him to a home in the Land of Oz."

"I have told you about Betsy Bobbin, the little girl who was shipwreckedin much the same way you once

wereand has since been following the Shaggy Man in his search for his lost brother. You remember her, do

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I've often watched her and Hank in the Magic Picture, you know. She's a

Dorothy turned to the Picture, which showed Betsy and Hank, with Shaggy and his brother, trudging along

"Seems to me," she said, musingly, "that they're a good way from any place to sleep, or any nice things to

"You are right," said TikTok. "I have been in that country, and it is a wilderness."

"It is the country of the nomes," explained the Wizard, "who are so mischievous that no one cares to live near

them. I'm afraid Shaggy and his friends will endure many hardships before they get out of that rocky place,

"Well," said Dorothy, "as far as Betsy and Hank are concerned, I'd like to have them here in Oz. It would be

such fun to have a girl playmate of my own age, you see. And Hank is such a dear little mule!"

Ozma laughed at the wistful expression in the girl's eyes, and then she drew Dorothy to her and kissed her.

"You know how dearly I love you, Ozma!" she cried. "But you're so busy ruling all this Land of Oz that we

"I know, dear. My first duty is to my subjects, and I think it would be a delight to us all to have Betsy with us.

There's a pretty suite of rooms just opposite your own where she can live, and I'll build a golden stall for

Hank in the stable where the Sawhorse lives. Then we'll introduce the mule to the Cowardly Lion and the

Hungry Tiger, and I'm sure they will soon become firm friends. But I cannot very well admit Betsy and Hank

"And, unless you admit Shaggy's brother, you will keep out poor Shaggy, whom we are all very fond of," said

"The Land of Oz is not a refuge for all mortals in distress," explained Ozma. "I do not wish to be unkind to

"So, then; the question is settled," decided Ozma. "Perform your magic, Wizard!"

He did so, placing a silver plate upon a small standard and pouring upon the plate a small quantity of pink

powder which was contained in a crystal vial. Then he muttered a rather difficult incantation which the

sorceress Glinda the Good had taught him, and it all ended in a puff of perfumed smoke from the silver plate.

This smoke was so pungent that it made both Ozma and Dorothy rub their eyes for a moment.

"You must pardon these disagreeable fumes," said the Wizard. "I assure you the smoke is a very necessary

"Look!" cried Dorothy, pointing to the Magic Picture; "they're gone! All of them are gone."

Indeed, the picture now showed the same rocky landscape as before, but the three people and the mule had

"They are gone," said the Wizard, polishing the silver plate and wrapping it in a fine cloth, "because they are

"Your Highness," she said to Ozma, "the Shaggy Man and another man are in the waiting room and ask to

pay their respects to you. Shaggy is crying like a baby, but he says they are tears of joy."

"Send them here at once, Jellia!" commanded Ozma "Also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small sized

mule have mysteriously arrived, but they don't seem to know where they are or how they came here. Shall I

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping up from her chair; "I'll go to meet Betsy myself, for she'll feel

And she ran down the stairs two at a time to greet her new friend, Betsy Bobbin.

"Well, is 'heehaw' all you are able to say?" inquired the Sawhorse, as he examined Hank with his knot eyes

They were in a beautiful stable in the rear of Ozma's palace, where the wooden Sawhorsevery much

alivelived in a goldpaneled stall, and where there were rooms for the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry

Tiger, which were filled with soft cushions for them to lie upon and golden troughs for them to eat from.

Beside the stall of the Sawhorse had been placed another for Hank, the mule. This was not quite so beautiful

as the other, for the Sawhorse was Ozma's favorite steed; but Hank had a supply of cushions for a bed (which

the Sawhorse did not need because he never slept) and all this luxury was so strange to the little mule that he

could only stand still and regard his surroundings and his queer companions with wonder and amazement.

The Cowardly Lion, looking very dignified, was stretched out upon the marble floor of the stable, eyeing

Hank with a calm and critical gaze, while near by crouched the huge Hungry Tiger, who seemed equally

interested in the new animal that had just arrived. The Sawhorse, standing stiffly before Hank, repeated his

"I have never said anything else, until now," he replied; and then he began to tremble with fright to hear

"I can well understand that," remarked the Lion, wagging his great head with a swaying motion. "Strange

things happen in this Land of Oz, as they do everywhere else. I believe you came here from the cold,

"I did," replied Hank. "One minute I was outside of Ozand the next minute I was inside! That was enough

to give me a nervous shock, as you may guess; but to find myself able to talk, as Betsy does, is a marvel that

"That is because you are in the Land of Oz," said the Sawhorse. "All animals talk, in this favored country,

and you must admit it is more sociable than to bray your dreadful 'heehaw,' which nobody can understand."

"Oh, indeed! Then there must be other mules in your outside world," said the Tiger, yawning sleepily.

"No," acknowledged the Tiger, "I have many relatives living in the Jungle Country; but I am the only Tiger

"There are other Lions, too," said the Sawhorse; "but I am the only horse, of any description, in this favored

"That is why this Land is favored," said the Tiger. "You must understand, friend Hank, that the Sawhorse

puts on airs because he is shod with plates of gold, and because our beloved Ruler, Ozma of Oz, likes to ride

The Sawhorse gave an angry snort and stamped his golden feet. The Tiger crouched and growled. Slowly the

"Friend Hank," said he, "either you are mistaken in judgment or you are willfully trying to deceive us. The

dearest, sweetest girl in the world is our Dorothy, and I will fight anyoneanimal or human who dares to

"You are all wrong!" asserted the Sawhorse in a voice of scorn. "No girl living can compare with my

Hank slowly turned around until his heels were toward the others. Then he said stubbornly:

"I am not mistaken in my statement, nor will I admit there can be a sweeter girl alive than Betsy Bobbin. If

While they hesitated, eyeing Hank's heels doubtfully, a merry peal of laughter startled the animals and

turning their heads they beheld three lovely girls standing just within the richly carved entrance to the stable.

In the center was Ozma, her arms encircling the waists of Dorothy and Betsy, who stood on either side of her.

Ozma was nearly half a head taller than the two other girls, who were almost of one size. Unobserved, they

had listened to the talk of the animals, which was a very strange experience indeed to little Betsy Bobbin.

"You foolish beasts!" exclaimed the Ruler of Oz, in a gentle but chiding voice. "Why should you fight to

defend us, who are all three loving friends and in no sense rivals? Answer me!" she continued, as they bowed

"And so have the others," replied Ozma. "I am glad you and the Hungry Tiger love Dorothy best, for she was

your first friend and companion. Also I am pleased that my Sawhorse loves me best, for together we have

endured both joy and sorrow. Hank has proved his faith and loyalty by defending his own little mistress; and

so you are all right in one way, but wrong in another. Our Land of Oz is a Land of Love, and here friendship

outranks every other quality. Unless you can all be friends, you cannot retain our love."

"Let us be friends and rub noses," said the Tiger. So Hank modestly rubbed noses with the big beast.

"Any friend of a friend of our beloved Ruler is a friend of the Cowardly Lion. That seems to cover your case.

"Why, this is as it should be," said Ozma, highly pleased to see them so fully reconciled. Then she turned to

"Almost all," answered Dorothy. "There's a Yellow Hen here, and she can talk, and so can her chickens; and

there's a Pink Kitten upstairs in my room who talks very nicely; but I've a little fuzzy black dog, named Toto,

who has been with me in Oz a long time, and he's never said a single word but 'Bowwow!'"

"Why, he's a Kansas dog; so I s'pose he's different from these fairy animals," replied Dorothy.

"Hank isn't a fairy animal, any more than Toto," said Ozma, "yet as soon as he came under the spell of our

fairyland he found he could talk. It was the same way with Billina, the Yellow Hen whom you brought here

at one time. The same spell has affected Toto, I assure you; but he's a wise little dog and while he knows

"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I never s'pected Toto was fooling me all this time." Then she drew a

small silver whistle from her pocket and blew a shrill note upon it. A moment later there was a sound of

Dorothy knelt down before him and shaking her finger just above his nose she said:

"Bowwow!" he said, and Betsy knew at once that meant yes, as well as Dorothy and Ozma knew it, for

"That's a dog answer," said Dorothy. "How would you like it, Toto, if I said nothing to you but 'bowwow'?"

"Really, Dorothy," said Betsy, "he can talk with his bark and his tail just as well as we can. Don't you

"Of course I do," replied Dorothy. "But Toto's got to be more sociable. See here, sir!" she continued,

addressing the dog, "I've just learned, for the first time, that you can say wordsif you want to. Don't you

Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, while Betsy and Ozma both laughed heartily at her pleasure and the

success of her experiment. Arm in arm they sauntered away through the beautiful gardens of the palace,

where magnificent flowers bloomed in abundance and fountains shot their silvery sprays far into the air. And

by and by, as they turned a corner, they came upon Shaggy Man and his brother, who were seated together

"I am very happy here, Your Highness," replied Shaggy's brother. "Also I am very grateful to you for

"You must thank Shaggy for that," said Ozma. "Being his brother, I have made you welcome here."

"When you know Brother better," said Shaggy earnestly, "you will be glad he has become one of your loyal

subjects. I am just getting acquainted with him myself and I find much in his character to admire."

Leaving the brothers, Ozma and the girls continued their walk. Presently Betsy exclaimed:

"Shaggy's brother can't ever be as happy in Oz as I am. Do you know, Dorothy, I didn't believe any girl could

"I wish," continued Betsy, dreamily, "that every little girl in the world could live in the Land of Oz; and every

"It is quite fortunate for us, Betsy, that your wish cannot be granted," said she, "for all that army of girls and