Oz 21: The Gnome King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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that_the old gnome king was no great favorite with_his former subjects .

" well, Potaroo ! " grinned Ruggedo, taking up the pipe Kaliko had_been smoking, " what have_you been inventing in my absence ? "

"Flying dishes," croaked the magician, look-ing curiously at Peter ." they_do away with extra servants, fly backward and forward with_the food and wash and dry themselves as_well ."

" very_good ! " puffed Ruggedo, complacently ." well, here's another little job for_you ." Drawing out the cloak, he handed it down to_the wizened old gnome ." just mend this," ordered Ruggedo carelessly, " and_have it back by three o'clock ." Spreading the cloak across his knees, Potaroo examined it carefully all over . then backing away from_the throne he shook his head ." that your majesty, is impossible," he muttered uneasily ." this cloak cannot_be mended by gnome magic ."

" no magic at all ? " gasped Peter, disappointed beyond words, while Ruggedo glared angrily .

"I command you to mend it ! " screamed the hot- tempered little king, looking angrily around for something to throw at_the wizard .

" that makes no difference," quavered Pota-roo, backing still farther ." this cloak cannot_be mended properly anywhere but in_the kingdom of patch ."

" and where is patch ? " demanded Ruggedo, emitting a perfect cloud of pipe smoke .

" in_the Winkie country of Oz, just below the kingdom of Ann of Oogaboo," exclaimed Potaroo, looking longingly over his shoulder at_the door .

" very_well," snapped Ruggedo disagreeably, you_may go, but next_time your magic fails to work you'll be turned to a door mat .a door mat, do_you understand ? Hah ! Hah ! a door mat to stand under my feet . see ! " Ruggedo laughed wickedly, and_the poor wizard, mumbling his sorrow, rushed from_the throne room

"Rubyation ! " blustered Ruggedo, as_the door closed on Potaroo ." now we'll have to_go to patch ."

" well, isn't that on_the way to_the emerald city ? " inquired Peter, very_much amused by all that had happened .

" yes," acknowledged Ruggedo, "I suppose it_is, but here comes lunch ! Ah ! I'm hungry enough to eat abilly goat stuffed with soldier buttons ! "

preceded by two gnomes carrying a huge golden tray, Kaliko came stepping timidly into_the room .Ruggedo had the usual gnome fare of ground rocks, pebble pie and muddy coffee; but for Peter, Kaliko had brought a small steak, fried potatoes and ice cream . after_the hard sea biscuit, this tasted perfectly delicious, and Peter, not knowing what strange adventures lay ahead, ate every scrap .Ruggedo, too, enjoyed his luncheon and amused himself by throwing the dishes at Kaliko as he finished with_them .Peter wondered why the flying dishes were_not in use, but feeling sorry for_the old wizard decided not to ask .

" you_may now pack us up a lunch," announced Ruggedo, as he swallowed the last of_his coffee ." we're starting for_the emerald city almost at once ."

" how are_you going to cross the desert ? " inquired Kaliko . angry as he_was at_the old gnome king, he_could_not help feeling curious about his plans .

" magic ! old cauliflower ! magic ! how do_you suppose I got off the island ? " wheezed Ruggedo haughtily ."Don't stand there stuttering . fetch me a new suit and hurry along with_the lunch ."

Shrugging his thin shoulders, and turning up his eyes, Kaliko did as he_was told, and in less_than an hour Peter and_the gnome king were wending their way over the rocky hills of Ev .Ruggedo had the magic cloak tucked carefully under his arm and Peter carried a small basket of provisions .

" how are we going to cross this desert ? " asked Peter, looking with interest down toward the beach where the gnomes were busily at work unloading the treasure from_the Blunderoo .

"I don't know," confessed Ruggedo quite frankly, " but if Kaliko had discovered I had_not magic enough to cross the desert, he_would_have roused the gnomes and kicked us out_of_the kingdom ."

" is_there no other way to Oz ? " sighed Peter . he_was growing a little anxious about ever reaching Philadelphia in_time for_the baseball game .

"Nope ! " puffed the gnome king, trudging along sturdily ." the deadly desert surrounds the whole country . it's supposed to_keep people out of Oz," he finished with a malicious wink ." but it_has_been crossed before and can_be crossed again, though I'm sure I don't know how ."

the entrance of_the gnome king's caverns was quite near the edge of_the deadly desert, so it_was not long before_they reached this dangerous expanse of burning sand and sat down on a boulder to_try and devise some means of crossing over .

" can't you_think of anything ? " snapped Ruggedo, as Peter sat kicking his heels against the boulder ." if_this silly old cloak weren't torn, I'd skim across in no time .askudge on those pesky pirates anyway ! Sa-ay ? " Opening his eyes very wide, Ruggedo thrust his face close to Peter's ." what else was in_that casket ? "

" only a couple of onions and an emerald," answered Peter listlessly .

" let's see 'em ! " Bounding off the boulder, the gnome king held out his hand .Peter produced the strangely marked stone first .

" command it to carry us across the desert," advised the gnome king, after trying unsuccessfully to decipher the markings on_the sorcerer's stone . so Peter closed his eyes and commanded the emerald to carry them across the desert . they waited for several minutes, then, when nothing happened, Peter opened the ivory box and showed Ruggedo the two magic bulbs .

" in_case of extreme danger, plant these ." Ruggedo read these directions with a puzzled frown, then snapping his fingers began to skip with excitement ." why don't you plant 'em ? " he squealed impatiently ." plant 'em, general ! plant 'em ! "

" but we're not in extreme danger," objected Peter reasonably enough .

" we're not ! " yelled Ruggedo, tugging at his beard ." why, boy, you don't know what extreme danger is . we_have to cross that desert, don't we ? well, just put one foot on_that sand and you'll go up like a puff of smoke .Don't you call that extreme danger ? " Peter argued a while longer, then, as Ruggedo insisted and there really seemed nothing else to_do, he scooped out two holes in_the ground at his feet, dropped in_the magic roots and covered them with mud and sand .Stepping back a few paces, they waited eagerly for what would happen . first came a sharp explosion . then two great green plants burst through_the surface of_the earth . they were about three times the size of Peter and, as he watched, the outer leaves opened downward, disclosing round plush seats within .Peter looked questioningly over at Ruggedo, but the gnome, being more experienced than Peter in magic, had jumped into one plant and seated himself on_the plush cushion .a little doubtfully, Peter jumped into_the other .

" just like an elevator," thought Peter, as_the bulb grew rapidly upward, shooting higher and higher on its long, pliant stem ." but I don't see what good growing up will do," he muttered, peering giddily out between_the green leaves . whether he_saw or not, the stem of_the bulb continued to grow .Clouds flew by with dazzling swiftness .Peter was all prepared to bump his head on_the ceiling of_the sky when_the long stem began to arch downward . suppose it broke and dropped him on_the burning sands of_the deadly desert ! with a violent shudder, Peter closed his eyes, and as he_did, the stem with a final spurt turned the strange elevator in_which Peter was riding completely upside down, and out fell the little boy, heels over eyebrows .

Ruggedo had_been served in_the same manner but, none the worse for their tumble, they picked themselves up and began looking around . they had fallen in a sunny peach orchard . in_the distance they_could see the shimmering sand of_the dangerous desert, while not far away stood a small, yellow, dome- shaped cottage .

" we'll go there," declared Ruggedo, tucking the magic cloak more carefully under his arm ." we'll go there, general, and inquire the way to_the kingdom of patch . but remember to_say nothing of_the plans to capture my belt . we're in_the enemy's country now ! "

still dazed from_the surprising way in_which they had crossed the desert, Peter looked around him with delight . it did_not look like the enemy's country to Peter and, picking up a large, luscious peach, he decided then and there that he_was going to like the marvelous land of Oz .

Peter thought that even the wizard of Oz, himself, would_be interested in_the wonderful elevator plants, and decided to_tell him all about_them when he got to_the emerald city .

chapter 8

Peter Meets Kuma party

as_they walked up the neat pebble path to_the little yellow house, Peter tried to remember all he had read about Oz and its curious inhabitants . but nothing he had read prepared him for_the next happening . in answer to_their knock, the door simply burst open and out came a hand and foot without any body at all . the hand seized Peter's hand, shook it warmly and drew him into_the house . the foot gave Ruggedo such a kick, he went flying into a gooseberry bush . drawn by_the hand into a cozy sitting room, Peter stood trembling with uneasiness . in a comfortable chair, smoking a pipe, sat the owner of_the cottage, also the owner of_the hand and foot, and Peter gave a gasp as_they immediately snapped back to_their proper places .

"Don't be alarmed," said the stranger in a soft voice and, taking the pipe out of_his mouth, he smiled kindly at_the little boy .Peter was not alarmed- he_was perfectly petrified and, as_the old gentleman's head flew off his body and looked out the window, he dropped into a chair and began to fan himself with_his cap ." i_thought he'd go away," sighed the head regret- fully, " but he's coming into_the house . why do_you travel with a bad little creature like that ? "

" because I'm lost," explained Peter, in a slightly shaky voice, turning around to address himself to_the head .

" well, you_may find yourself in a heap of trouble, travelling with a gnome . never trust a gnome," advised the head, coming back to settle on_the old gentleman's shoulders ."Ah ! here he comes ! "

" who kicked me ? " demanded Ruggedo, glaring all around in a perfect fury . the owner of_the cottage made no reply, but as he_needed more tobacco for_his pipe just then, flung out his hand toward the mantel . the hand sailed through_the air like a bird and, seizing the tobacco pouch, set it on_the table and then quietly attached itself to_the man's wrist . at_this odd occurrence, Ruggedo's eyes rolled wildly .Cringing against the wall, he began to move stealthily toward the door .

"Don't go," begged the owner of_the cottage blandly ."I'm not especialy fond of gnomes, but as_you_are with_this honest lad you_may stay . sit down on_that bench there and if I catch you stealing anything, I'll throw my head at you ." pale with terror, Ruggedo did as he_was told, while the man's hand, flying off again, closed and locked the door .

" there ! " he sighed, leaning back contentedly, " now we_can talk without being disturbed and_let_us start at once with names . my name," he confided proudly, " is Kuma party, and I_have_had the curious gift which seems so to astonish you since early childhood . my father was a wizard, practicing magic in_the Zamagoochie country, before_the practice of magic was forbidden in Oz, and it_is to my father that I attribute my strange come - apartishness ." he paused and waited politely for Peter to_make some remark, but Peter by_this_time was simply speechless- so Kuma, with an indulgent smile, went quietly on with_his story .

" being constructed as I_am is extremely convenient," he explained earnestly ." I_am never tired or rushed about as ordinary Oz folk are . if i_wish to pick the peaches in my orchard, I send my hands to attend to_the matter and while they_are busily at work I rest myself comfortably at home . if_my body is tired and I_desire to_be amused, I send my head to_the nearest village for news and I_can often help my less fortunate neighbors by lending them a hand or foot when_they are in trouble . perhaps I_can help_you ? " he suggested, leaning amiably toward Peter ." may I lend you a hand ? " he finished graciously .

now Kuma, in_spite of_his come-apartishness, seemed so pleasant and jolly that Peter wanted to_tell him the whole history of_his adventures, but Ruggedo frowned and shook his head, so for_the_present Peter decided to_fall in with_the gnome's plans and merely told Kuma his name and asked him the way to patch .

" patch ? " mused the Winkie thoughtfully ." why, that's not far from here . it_is just below the kingdom of queen Ann of Oogaboo, but why_not wait till morning ? it's growing dark now and besides it's raining ." looking out in surprise, Peter saw that_it_was raining . he had_been so interested in Kuma's story that he had_not even heard the patter of raindrops on_the roof .

" better stay," urged Kuma hospitably ." while my hands are preparing the supper, you_can tell me some about_your own self and why you_are going to patch ." all during Kuma's conversation, Ruggedo been wiggling with impatience and now, bouncing to_his feet, he motioned for Peter to_come along .

"I guess we_will_have to_go," sighed Peter ." which direction do we take from here, Mr party ? " the old Winkie looked disapprovingly at_the little gnome, then shaking his head and evidently concluding that_it_was no affair of_his, threw out his right arm . it immediately whizzed up stairs, but was back in a moment, a large umbrella hanging in_the crook of_the elbow and a lantern grasped in_the hand .

" since you_must go," said Kuma, rising slowly to_his feet, " at_least let me point out the way for_you and loan you an umbrella ."

" it's very kind of you," faltered Peter, ducking in_spite of himself as_the arm passed over his head on its way to open the door ." are_you sure you_can spare it ? "

"Oh, yes ! " Kuma nodded cheerfully ."I still have one

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