Oz 21: The Gnome King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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they were delighted at_the prospect of a party, and so was_the hungry tiger, who had come up just behind them .Putting a huge flower basket on_his back; the two little girls ran gaily down the palace steps .

"I'll have a strawberry sandwich," purred the tiger, looking over his shoulder at Dorothy ." be_sure to_have strawberry sandwiches ! "

"I never heard of a strawberry sandwich," laughed the little girl, shaking her head dubiously .

" well, there always has_to be a first," chuckled the tiger, trotting after Betsy .

Dorothy, looking a little puzzled, waved after him and, well pleased with her plans, ran into_the castle to ask_the wizard of Oz to_think up some new tricks to entertain the guests, and to confer with_the cook about refreshment . soon the palace began to hum with activity . the banquet hall, under the skillful hands of_the Scarecrow and sir Hokus took on a truly festive air .Messengers and pages ran hither and thither with invitations, while the royal band, tuning up on_the castle lawn, added its strains to_the general gaiety . indeed, from_the preparations for her return, one would_have thought Ozma had_been gone a year instead of a day, and Ruggedo, fluttering here and there in_his invisible robe, chuckled with amusement and malice .

" work away," muttered the gnome king darkly ." at three o'clock I_shall send_you all to_the bottom of_the Nonestic ocean, transport my gnomes here and enjoy this party my own self ." at first, Ruggedo had continued his pinchings and punchings and hair pullings but, at last, fearing detection, he had stopped his mischievous teasing and seated himself calmly in Ozma's chair at_the head of_the banquet table . in_this position it would_be a simple matter to unclasp his magic belt as_soon_as_the little fairy made ready to_take her place . the patch, which_was the only visible thing about Ruggedo, was now on_the seat of_the chair, so did_not show and, quite unconscious of_their dreadful peril, Dorothy and her friends went on with their preparations for_the party, while Ruggedo, fidgeting with impatience, kept his eyes fastened upon_the emerald clock .

Twenty minutes of three ! Twenty minutes, and then- ! the little gnome fairly hugged himself with wicked anticipation .Ten minutes of three and now everything was in readiness . Dorothy and Betsy, giggling together, were putting the finishing touches to_the table . the Scarecrow and sir Hokus, between_them, were composing a speech of welcome, for, of_course, the cowardly lion had_not_been able to_find the patchwork girl . ranged about_the walls in pleasant anticipation stood the courtiers and dear old celebrities of Oz . nick chopper, the tin woodman, summoned from_his palace by_the wizard's magic, stood conversing in a low tone with Pastoria, Ozma's royal father, about his crop of tin cans, which were larger this year than ever before . the little wizard of Oz, himself, was whispering to Tik Tok, the machine man, some_of_the tricks he_was planning for_the company's amusement and_the metal man was chuckling with mechanical mirth .Hank, Betsy's mule, Toto, Dorothy's little dog, the saw horse, Ozma's royal Steed, and all of_the other palace pets were sitting expectantly at their own special table .

" now then ! " exclaimed the Scarecrow, having finished the speech of welcome to_his own and_the knight's satisfaction, " as_soon_as I_have finished this address, I_shall extend a hand of welcome to our little ruler, lead her triumphantly to_the head of_the table and-"

" look ! " rasped the tin woodman, who stood nearest the door ." look ! look up ! look out ! " Following the direction of nick chopper's tin finger everyone did look and, next minute, in fright and bewilderment, huddled together for protection, for over the heads flashed the hand of Kuma party .

" the welcoming hand ! " gasped the scare- crow, clutching sir Hokus ." but whose ? everybody count his hands," mumbled the Scarecrow, looking anxiously at his own .

" the hand that smote me," roared the knight, making a lunge at_the hand with_his sword . everyone else ducked, dodged and shuddered as_the arm sailed hither and thither over their heads .

" it's a trick of_the wizard's," faltered Dorothy, looking hopefully at_the little man . but the wizard, peering palely from behind a huge green chair, shook his head positively .

"I had no hand in_this," muttered the wizard, mopping his bald head with_his best hanky . now, Kuma's hand could unfortunately carry out only the instructions given it by its owner . the note of warning for Ozma was tightly clasped in its fingers, but as Ozma was not present, it presumed she was to_be found in another part of_the palace and immediately flashed up the golden stairway in search of her and_the invisible gnome . but Ruggedo was now more invisible than ever, having crawled under the table at_the first sight of_the flying arm . as_the arm disappeared, everyone heaved a sigh of relief .

" come ! come ! " wheezed the wizard, step-ping out nervously from behind the green chair," we_must not let a little thing like this spoil the party ."

" why, it's three o'clock now ! "

" and here's Ozma ! " cried Dorothy . and there, indeed, was Ozma, standing with a quiet smile in_the doorway . at once the Scarecrow burst into his speech: " welcome Ozma, beauteous queen sovereign of_this city green, illustrious ruler-"

thump ! ban-g ! crash ! with hand still upraised, the Scarecrow swung to_the long French windows . so did everyone for_that matter .

"A menagerie ! " shrilled nick chopper, fall-ing back against the wall .

" why, it's Scraps ! " burst out the Scarecrow, as_the oztrich, with_his three dusty riders, plunged giddily into_the room .

" beware ! " roared the oztrich in a terrible voice, and when an oztrich roars it_is four times louder than a lion ." beware ! "

Knocking over Tik Tok and three footmen, bearing trays of lemonade, the great green bird rushed impetuously toward the queen ." beware ! " it roared again so lustily that Ozma's curls blew straight out behind .

" beware," coughed the Scarecrow irritably ." well, I ought_to_be where you_are . out of_my place, you rude monster ."

" beware the gnome king ! " finished the oztrich, bowing his head so low and so suddenly that_the patchwork girl fell off one side and Peter and grumpy off the other .

chapter 18

the theft of_the magic belt

OZMA, surprised enough at_the party, was so startled and dismayed by_the oztrich's roars that she caught at a little gold stand to_keep from falling . as she steadied herself, two arms clasped themselves round her waist .

"Oh ! Oh ! someone is trying to steal my magic belt ! " wailed the little fairy, swaying dizzily from side to side .

" take this ! take this ! " Bounding to_his feet, Peter picked up the oztrich egg and fairly forced it into Ozma's arms . as he_did so there came a blood-curdling screech, and then, perfect silence .

" it's Ruggedo ! " puffed the patchwork girl, who had picked herself up by_this_time .

" look for a blue patch ! look for a blue patch ! " panted grumpy, standing on_his hind legs and sniffing the air anxiously . but there_was no sign of a blue patch anywhere, for Ruggedo at_the first glimpse of_the egg had commanded the magic cloak to carry him to_the royal stable . here, trembling and shaken, he cowered in_the hungry tiger's stall . furious to_have_been frustrated by Peter at_the very instant when success seemed sure, he raved and sputtered and tried to_think up some way to_get his belt in_spite of_the hateful egg . meanwhile, in_the palace, the utmost confusion prevailed, and when_the hand of Kuma again flashed into_the banquet hall and flew like an arrow to Ozma and dropped the note of warning into her lap, the courtiers fled in every direction, while the celebrities crowded close about_the little queen to protect her from_these confusing and invisible enemies .

" stop ! stop ! " panted Peter, as sir Hokus, waving his sword, made determined swings at_the flying arm ." it's a helping hand ! it belongs to a friend of_mine, sir ! " Tugging at_the iron coat tails of_the knight, he sought to dissuade him from_his grim purpose, but not until Ozma clapped sharply did the good knight desist .

Leaning back wearily in_the chair to_which_the Scarecrow had guided her, and still holding the great oztrich egg in her lap, Ozma turned to Scraps .

" what does this mean ? who_are these strangers, and where is_the gnome king ? " asked Ozma in a faint voice . as she spoke, Kuma's hand patted Peter approvingly on_the head, and doubled into a fist under the knight's nose and, sailing upward, settled quietly on_the green chandelier ."I've been a queen, I've riz and fell and_have athrilling tale to_tell ! " puffed Scraps, tossing back her yarn dramati-cally .

" never mind the thrills, come to_the point ! come to_the point ! " growled the cowardly lion, looking uneasily at_the oztrich, who was strutting pompously up and down the banquet hall, and at grumpy, who was casting longing eyes at_the banquet table .

now the whole company turned expectantly to_the patchwork girl and, enjoying the importance of her position and news to_the very fullest extent, Scraps told her story and Peter's, while the little boy kept a sharp lookout for_the invisible gnome .Scraps' own adventures were surprising enough, but when she came to Peter's experiences with_the former gnome king, the sea quakes, their escape in_the pirate ship and_the magic casket of Soob, the sorcerer, the excitement of her hearers knew no bounds .Clapping on two pair of specs, the wizard of Oz rushed from_the room to fetch his encyclopedia of magic and_his black bag, for he_felt that his utmost skill would_be needed to_prevent the gnome from carrying out his wicked plans .

" it must_have been Ruggedo who pinched you and pulled the cowardly lion's tail," whispered Dorothy, who was standing between sir Hokus and_the Scarecrow . when_the good knight heard how Kuma had dispatched his hand to aid Peter and Scraps in their escape from patch, he waved apologetically at_the arm resting on_the chandelier . it at once descended and began shaking hands all around and Peter, staring at_that gay and brilliant assemblage, thought he had never seen so interesting and strange a sight . the hungry tiger, now that_the story was told, was all for going on with_the party, but the wizard, realizing the extreme danger they were in, said no .

" put all the magic treasures together and place the oztrich egg on top of_them," commanded the wizard, " for Ruggedo dare not touch them so_long as_the egg is near ."

so Ozma unclasped her belt and, placing the oztrich egg in_the center, put her magic box and wishing pills beside it .

" I_cannot believe Ruggedo would_be so wicked," sighed Ozma, turning sadly to_the Scarecrow ." now that he sees it_is impossible to steal the belt perhaps he_will go away .

" not he ! " answered the Scarecrow positively ." he's around here somewhere, depend on_that, and until we_find him, watch out ! "

" why_not eat, while we watch ? " purred the hungry tiger ." these travellers look tired and hungry and deserve refreshment after their long journey ."

grumpy rolled his eyes approvingly at_the hungry tiger and Ozma, in_spite of herself, had to smile . as she nodded her royal head, the Scarecrow burst into his speech of welcome all over again, the footmen began pulling out the chairs and everyone settled down as_if nothing at all had happened . grumpy had a place between_the hungry tiger and cowardly lion, and_they, well pleased with_the behavior of_the little bear, did their best to_make him feel at home . the oztrich stood up behind grumpy, swallowing rapidly everything that came within reach .Scraps had the seat of honor beside Ozma, and Peter, between Dorothy and sir Hokus, was plied with every delicacy . the hand of Kuma, trained to_serve, flew backward and forward, filling tumblers, carrying trays and generally making itself useful .

"Dost like our emerald city, lad ? " queried sir Hokus, bending kindly toward the little boy .

" well," acknowledged Peter quite truthfully, "I haven't seen much of it, the oztrich ran so fast, you_know ."

"A rare and exceptional bird ! " murmured sir Hokus mildly, " but not my idea of a giddy steed ."

" nor mine ! " whispered Peter, winking sociably at_the knight ." he goes twenty feet at one jump and travels like a hurricane ." between bites, Peter told the knight how they had run over the bookman and a little more about_the pirate ship and_the sultan of suds, while Scraps, at_the head of_the table, gave a spirited account of her experiences as queen of_the Quilties .

so light hearted and gay are these dear people of Oz that soon they were laughing and chatting as merrily as_if no danger threatened their little ruler or themselves . only the wizard seemed to_be bothering about_the gnome king . he had placed his encyclopedia beside him on_the table and, nibbling absently at a chicken leg, continued to pore over its finely printed pages in an effort to trace the magic articles Peter had found in_the sorcerer's chest . it must_be confessed that Peter glanced from_time to_time at_the chair where the magic belt lay, marveling at its wonderful powers and hoping that when everything was over it would safely transport him back to Philadelphia .

" after_the party we'll have the cowardly lion take us all over the emerald city," promised Dorothy, as Peter dipped his spoon into aheaping saucer of Ozcream . blissfully, Peter nodded, then glanced again at_the magic belt, dropped his spoon with a crash and pushed back his chair .

" the egg ! " gasped Peter wildly ." it's hatched ! " and it most certainly had ! as_the startled company sprang to_their feet, the baby oztrich stepped awkwardly out of_its shell, wobbled to_the edge of_the chair and fell off . and_that was not all ! for as_the oztrich, with great strides, rushed to_the side of_its child, the magic belt, the box of wishing pills and_the magic box disappeared and a blue patch began to flutter and dance before_the horrified eyes of_the now thoroughly alarmed guests of Ozma .

" the gnome king ! " groaned the wizard, slamming his book with a bang .

" the belt ! " screamed Peter, dashing toward the blue patch .Feeling that something might happen that_would enable him to carry out his plans, Ruggedo had returned to_the banquet hall

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