Oz 21: The Gnome King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16]
hall and, watching from a safe distance, saw to_his utter relief and astonishment that_the egg had hatched . instantly its power over him ceased and, dashing forward, he had pounced upon_the belt and clasped it about his waist .

" revenge ! " roared the voice of_the invisible gnome ." revenge ! next moment I_shall send_you all to_the bottom of_the Nonestic ocean ! "

" not that ! not that ! " faltered the patchwork girl, clutching Ozma in a panic ."I never could stand water ! "

chapter 19

the wizard Makes the gnome king visible

at Ruggedo's words, the celebrities and courtiers clung shuddering together .Knowing the awful power of_the belt and feeling that_they were indeed lost, they waited for_the gnome king to_speak . but Peter, seizing first a tumbler, then a plate, sent them flying at_the blue patch .Ruggedo might_be invisible, but he_was still there .Shaking his head angrily as_the tumbler broke over his crown he cried in a loud voice, "I command you to transport-"

the plate, crashing against his nose, made him pause, and Peter followed this with a vase and water pitcher . but gnomes have hard heads and, with an angry roar, Ruggedo began again, "I command you to transport these people-"

by_this_time Peter had thrown everything in reach .Feeling desperately in_his pocket he sent a top, abaseball and a box of fish hooks whizzing through_the air . then, as his fingers closed on_the sorcerer's stone, he flung that, too, at_the invisible gnome . instantly there_was a complete and utter silence . the patch still fluttered wildly before their eyes and, as_the stunned company eyed it in horrified suspense, the hand of Kuma descended and closed roughly on_the invisible shoulder of Ruggedo .

" hold him ! hold him ! " panted the wizard, rushing forward with_his black bag ."I remember now the magic to_make him visible ." the little wizard of Oz seldom uses chants and, instead of_the verse Wumbo had employed, sprinkled a black and white powder over the gnome king . even years afterward Peter could remember the distorted and furious face of Ruggedo, as_the spell of_the magic cloak was broken and he stood revealed to_his enemies .Struggling to shake off the clutch of Kuma's hand, he_was desperately trying to_speak to_the magic belt . but, though his mouth moved, not a sound is- sued from_his lips .

" struck dumb ! " cried the Scarecrow, un-clasping his arms from_the knight's neck, where he had flung them in_his extreme agitation ." but how ! and why ? "

" I_have it ! I_have it ! " exclaimed the wizard, pouncing upon_the emerald that Peter, as a last resort, had hurled at_the gnome king ." this_is_the famous silence stone, used by_the ancient Emperors of Oz to_keep their wives quiet in times of war . how it came into_the possession of Soob I_cannot imagine, but see, here written in magic on_the emerald itself is_the whole story: ' whom this stone touches on_the head shall remain silent for seven years .

" yon honest lad hath saved the realm ! " boomed sir Hokus, slapping Peter on_the back and beaming joyfully upon_the still trembling company .

" i_wish I_could_have read that before," puffed Peter .

" well, it's lucky you threw it when_you did," answered the wizard ." one more word and we'd have_been at_the bottom of_the sea . as_it_is-" calmly the wizard unclasped the belt from_the scowling gnome king and, snatching the box of mixed magic and_the wishing pills, handed them back to Ozma-" as_it_is, Ruggedo is perfectly harmless ."

" three cheers for Peter ! " cried the Scarecrow, waving his hat over his head ." his aim and arm have saved the day ."

" that's because he's such a good pitcher," mumbled the little bear, and_the cheers were given with_such a will all the dishes on_the table skipped .Ozwold, who had buried his head in a flower pot at_the first of_the gnome king's threats, now reared it cautiously and, with mud still sticking to_his bill, approached the queen .

" if your highness will excuse me," quavered the oztrich hoarsely, " I_must_be going . this excitement is very bad for_my child ."

Plucking a plume from_his tail, Ozwold ex- tended it politely .Smiling kindly, Ozma took the plume and sent Jellia, her little maid, to fetch an emerald necklace, for Scraps had, just in_time, reminded her of_the hatchday present for_the baby oztrich .

" this_is simply magnif- ! " murmured Oz-wold and, as Ozma fastened the necklace round his long neck, the company cheered and cheered again, for they felt that_the great green bird was in a large measure responsible for their safety .Ozwold, himself, was anxious to_turn his child over to_his wife and tell her the story of_his amazing adventures, so Dorothy and Peter placed the baby oztrich on_his back, fastening it securely with a hair ribbon .Nodding stiffly to_the right and left, Ozwold strutted proudly from_the banquet hall, and immediately the Ozites surrounded Peter, congratulating and praising him, till the little boy grew quite red with embarrassment and pleasure .

at Ozma's command, Ruggedo was led away to_the cellar and, with nothing more to worry them or mar the festivities, the party began again and lasted far into_the night . the emerald palace is so large and so roomy that none_of_the guests thought of going home and, after_the wizard had performed the last of_his tricks and Scraps had recited the funniest of her verses, they all trooped off to bed, calling cheerily to each_other as_they mounted the golden stairs .Peter had a royal suite to himself and, curling down luxuriously in_the grand gold bed, wondered if he were_not already asleep and dreaming of all this magnificence .a bare little room had_been found for grumpy, and_the little bear, well pleased with_his new quarters and comrades, was soon asleep and snoring tremendously .

chapter 20

Peter is made a prince of Oz

with Scraps and Dorothy for guides and_the cowardly lion and hungry tiger for steeds, Peter and grumpy rode over the whole emerald city next morning, receiving everywhere the cheers and acclaim of_the inhabitants . the story of Peter's prowess had gone abroad and he_was everywhere hailed as_the hero of_the hour . right after breakfast, he had written a long note to Kuma, telling him the whole story of Ruggedo's treachery and thanking him for_his great generosity .Kuma's arm, which had needed for_the night only a little elbow room, immediately flew back to its master, with_the note and a great bag of emeralds sent by Ozma to express her thanks and appreciation .

luncheon was another party, but, as Dorothy and Betsy explained to_the little boy, every day in_the emerald city is just like one big party .

" do stay here ! " urged Dorothy and, Ozma herself, coming to Peter's chair, begged him to_make his home in_the marvelous land of Oz .

" you shall be a prince ! " promised Ozma graciously, " and rule over one_of_our smaller Kingdoms . prince Peter the first, how is_that ? " the celebrities waved and cheered at Ozma's words, and Peter, seeing that everyone expected it, rose to make_the most important speech of_his life .

"I'd like to stay and be a prince," said Peter slowly, " but you_see, folks, I'm a pitcher and I couldn't go back on_the fellows and on my grandfather, so if your majesty will just transport me to Philadelphia, why that_will_be reward enough ."

" spoken like a true and loyal knight ! " cried sir Hokus, thumping on_the table .

" good- night ! " sighed Scraps, for she had taken a great fancy to Peter, and had rather hoped he_would stay in Oz .

" would you like to_go now ? " asked Ozma, with a merry smile, for Ozma had a little plan of her own .Peter nodded a little bashfully, for_it did seem a bit rude to want to leave so delightful a place and company, but he_felt that he ought to_get in a little practice for_the game . so Ozma immediately put on her magic belt and, extending her right hand, said, imperiously:

"I command you to transport this boy and_the pirate's gold to Philadelphia ! " instantly Peter vanished and_the Ozites, running up the stairs two at_a_time, crowded round the magic picture in Ozma's sitting room .

" show us Peter," panted Ozma, for she was a little out of breath from her run . at her words the country scene in_the picture faded and there_was Peter, sitting in_the middle of a dusty ball field, with a bag of gold on each side, and a crowd of cheering boys around him .

" i_thought some_of_that gold might_be real ! " exclaimed Ozma, turning triumphantly to_the wizard ."Polacky must_have been a real pirate before he sailed into_the Nonestic ocean and while I_could_not transport any of_our gold or jewels to Philadelphia, two bags of_the pirate's gold were real ."

"Oh ! won't he have fun ! " squealed Dorothy, giving Scraps a hug .

that night Peter, sitting on_the arm of_his grandfather's chair, had the pleasure of seeing in_the evening paper the heading he had thought up himself:

" Philadelphia boy Finds treasure and Saves the emerald city of Oz ."

back in_the capital there were only a few things to settle now . the silence stone and magic cloak were carefully stored away in_the emerald safe in_the wizard's laboratory to_be used in_case of extreme danger or war .

Kaliko was at once notified of Ruggedo's capture and permitted to resume his place as king of_the Gnomes .

Walking in_the garden, the same afternoon that Peter had_been sent back to Philadelphia, the wizard of Oz had noticed a gold thread running under one_of_the benches .Following it curiously he_found that_it led into_the palace, up the stairs to_the very top sunny chamber where an old Winkie woman named Susan Smiggs did all the palace mending . Susan, then, was_the proper ruler of patch, and Scraps, shaking her head dubiously, watched the fat little seamstress drive away in_the red wagon, to_take up her duties as queen of_the Quilties . but as Ozma had promised to revise the laws of patch, perhaps Susan will_have a better time than_the patchwork girl did .

as for Ruggedo, deciding that_the loss of speech for seven years was punishment enough, Ozma kindly granted the gnome his freedom, first taking the precaution to_have him dipped into_the fountain of oblivion . as anyone touched by_these waters forgets all his past wickedness, let_us hope_that from now on Ruggedo will lead a better life and cause no more trouble in Oz .

the end

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16]