Oz 20: The Hungry Tiger of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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to leave down town, and when Betsy told them a little about subways ( she had often been in subways in_the United_States) the hungry tiger gave the signal to start .

" we've fogotten the barber and_the singer," exclaimed Betsy, pausing suddenly on_the top step . but just then the two Rashers came hurrying over, and when_the hungry tiger announced that_they were going up town and from there back to_the marvelous land of Oz, both drew back .

"I've had enough ups and downs in my life," sighed the barber, " and will remain here and make my fortune . by_that_time prince Evered may, perchance, be restored to_his throne . then and then only will I return to rash ." the singer, after one look into_the gloomy opening, declared that he too, preferred to stay down town .

" with_this harp and my beautiful voice, i_will soon be a rich man," he assured them earnestly, and with many goodbyes and good wishes the four travellers left them to_make their fortunes . long after they had descended the steps and entered the subway itself, they_could hear the plaintive wails of_the sad singer and_the thrum of_the harp he had picked from_the Indus tree .

it_was dim and mysterious in_the underground passageway, and after looking in vain for a car or train to carry them up town, Betsy began following the arrows painted on_the white washed walls .

" there ought_to_be a car somewhere," panted the little girl, after they had made at_least fifty turns .

" try mine," invited Carter, and with a tired smile Betsy dropped into_the wheel- barrow .Reddy was riding the hungry tiger, and after they had proceeded for more than an hour, the arrows stopped altogether .

" well, this isn't like our subways at all," exclaimed Betsy in disgust ." when_you take a subway at home, you get somewhere ."

"Isn't this somewhere ? " asked Carter, stooping a little so he_could enter a rough stone cavern at_the end of_the tunnel .Whistling cheerfully, he trundled Betsy through_the low doorway . the hungry tiger followed, sniffing the air suspiciously, and it must_be confessed that_the little rock chamber did_not look very inviting . the walls were of jagged gray stone, the floor damp and slippery and_the whole place dismal and chilly as a vault .a feeble light flickered down from an opening in_the ceiling and after a discouraged look round, Betsy shook her head .

" we'll have to_go back down town," she sighed sadly ."I'll have to_be a cash girl after all ! "

" no you won't ! " called Reddy . he had jumped off the tiger and gone to examine the back of_the cavern ." here's a door ! " Hurrying over, the others saw that_the little prince was right .

"' cave inn,' " roared the hungry tiger, reading the door plate over the little boy's shoulder ." ' knock three times .' why, that's fine ! if_it's an inn, they'll surely have something to eat . we_can't get out so we_might as_well go in," he finished with a playful wink at Carter .Stepping back a few paces, the hungry tiger ran at_the door and bumped his head three times against the brass plate . at_the third bump, the door of cave inn flew open, the floor of_the cave itself, . tilted forward and_the four adventurers fell through .Stones and dirt rattled down after them and_the hungry tiger's growls mingled with_the screams of Betsy and Evered, as_they went tumbling down into_the darkness .

chapter 10

the magic spectacles

KALIKO, king of all the gnomes, and metal monarch besides, sat gloomily on_the jewelled rock throne in_his underground cavern .

" nothing ever happens here," complained Kaliko, frowning at his royal chamberlain .

" let's have a war," proposed Guph, looking up from_the ruby scepter he_was polishing ." we haven't had a war since Ruggedo left ."

"Ruggedo ! " shrilled Kaliko, stamping his foot furiously ." how dare you mention that name in my presence . begone ! begone and never speak to_me again .

" then I'll write," mumbled Guph, and picking up his bottle of ruby polish unconcernedly he left the throne room .Ruggedo was_the former king and had ruled over the gnomes for many years . he had_been deposed for_his wickedness by a powerful Jinn and Kaliko was_made monarch in_his place . later Ruggedo had tried to capture Oz, itself, and had_been banished by Ozma to a lonely isle in_the Nonestic ocean .

but wicked as Ruggedo had_been, the gnomes often sighed for_his return . things had_been more interesting during Ruggedo's reign and though Kaliko was a good king, he_was not half so interesting .Kaliko knew this and any mention of_the old gnome king always irritated him intensely . for several moments after Guph's departure, he continued to mutter and mumble with displeasure . then, suddenly bethinking himself of a new invention of_the chief wizard, he reached into his pocket and brought out a green case . in_the case was a pair of pink spectacles, not merely spectacles, mind you, but exspectacles, and_the gnome wizard had assured the king that with_them he could_see events before_they occurred .

Kaliko had_not yet tried this new contrivance, and still grumbling a little he set the exspec-tacles upon his nose and stared drearily at_the rock wall in front of him . he really did_not expect anything to happen . therefore, when .four figures appeared suddenly upon_the wall, he_gave a start of astonishment . reflected upon_the rock surface as clearly as_if it were amoving picture, he could_see four people making their way through_the lost labyrinth at_the southern end of_his dominions .

"Guph ! Guph ! " shrieked the gnome king, pounding vigorously on_the gong at his side ." come back here at once . and when Guph, rather sulkily, appeared, he pointed excitedly at_the wall .

" look ! look ! " commanded Kaliko ." it's Betsy bobbin, the hungry tiger of Oz and two others . what in mud is_that fellow made of anyway ? "

Rubbing his eyes, Guph stared at_the wall and then at his master . then, taking a scrap of paper from a rock desk beside the throne, he scribbled two words on_the paper and handed it to_the king .

" you're crazy, stated the paper, quite saucily .

" how dare you write to_me like that ! " fumed Kaliko, tearing the paper in two ." are_you dumb, can't you speak ? are_you blind, can't you_see ? " he waved again at_the great rock . then, suddenly realizing that Guph had_not the exspectacles to help him, tore them off and clapped them upon_the chief chamberlain's nose . immediately Guph was as excited as Kaliko .

"Hurrah ! " exulted the little gnome, forgetting his determination not to_speak to_the king again ."Hurrah ! now we_can_have a war . shall I call out the guard and_have the red hot dungeons heated ? Hah, Hah, Hah ! "

" what_are you laughing at ? " exclaimed Kaliko, as Guph doubled up with mirth .

" that animated truck garden," panted Guph ." he's fallen on_his corn ear and_the hungry tiger just slipped into a mud hole ! "

" let me see," cried the king, snatching the exspectacles back again . and for_the next five minutes Kaliko and_his chief chamberlain fought bitterly for possession of_the magic glasses . as_soon_as Kaliko had them, Guph wanted to_see how the travelers were progressing, and as_soon_as Guph had them Kaliko insisted on having them back .

" well, shall we_have a war ? " grumbled Guph, as Kaliko seized the specs for_the seventeenth time .

" certainly not," answered the king ."Betsy's a good friend of_mine .Don't you remember, she was here when Ruggedo was deposed ? and I_see no harm in_these others ."

" i_thought it would_be like this," muttered Guph in disgust ." you're such agoody-goody, you never let_us_have any fun at all .I suppose you'll end by inviting them all to lunch," he finished bitterly .

" just what i_was thinking of," admitted Kaliko cheerfully ." pray go and conduct them the rest of_the way and don't slam the door when_you go out, either ." Settling back on_his throne with a little chuckle of anticipation, Kaliko continued to watch the progress of Betsy and her friends through_the winding corridors of_the lost labyrinth .

Betsy, herself, did_not even know she was in_the gnome king's dominions . after a terrible tumble through_the dark, the four adventurers had plunged into_the underground pool of a grim green grotto . while the water had broken their fall and saved them from serious injury, it had_not added to_their cheerfulness .

" this_is_not the ruby that protects me from water," sputtered prince Evered, as Carter dragged him out_of_the pool ."Ugh ! I'm nearly drowned ! "

" have_you still got it ? " asked Betsy . the hungry tiger had already pulled her out and was helping Carter fish his wheelbarrow from_the pool .Feeling in_his pocket, the prince nodded . then, picking up his sword, he looked around in huge disgust .

" is_this a cave inn ? " he demanded indig-nantly .

"I wonder where this passageway leads," murmured Betsy, who had run to an opening in_the grotto ." maybe there's an inn after all ." but there_was no sign of an inn anywhere- only a maze of rocky corridors branching out in every direction . with Betsy and Reddy on_his back, the hungry tiger stepped cautiously out_of_the grotto and started down the widest of_the curious corridors . the floors were slippery with moss covered rocks, the ceiling was of glittering green stones, shaped like long, jagged icicles .

Betsy and_the prince of rash often had to lie flat on_the tiger's back to escape their sharp points, while poor Carter green was forced to bend double, as he walked . sure- footed as he_was, the hungry tiger slipped again and again on_the treacherous stones and Carter's progress was a succession of spills, slides and tumbles . through it all the vegetable man maintained his cheerfulness, stubbornly refusing to abandon the wheel- barrow, but after an hour of winding in and out_of_the dreary labyrinth had still brought them nowhere, even the vegetable man grew anxious and sad .a thin blue mold was beginning to_form on_the end of_his nose .

" if I don't get out of here soon, I'll spoil," he wheezed nervously ." do you_see any opening ahead ? "

the hungry tiger was about to reply when he slipped into_the mud- hole that had so amused Guph . this so discouraged the poor beast he_said nothing at all . indeed, the rest of_their journey, while interesting to Kaliko, watching comfortably from_his throne, was neither interesting or amusing to_the travellers themselves . when_they came at last to an impassible rock wall and realized they_must retrace their steps, Carter sank dejectedly into_the wheel- barrow and_the hungry tiger lay down and panted with exhaustion . imagine their astonishment, when a door in_the wall suddenly opened and Guph, bearing ablazing ruby lantern, appeared before them .

" follow me," commanded Guph disagreeably ." his majesty has foolishly invited you to lunch ."

" it's a gnome ! " cried Betsy in surprise ." why, we_must_be in_the gnome king's dominions ."

" i_was here with Dorothy and Billina, when we rescued the queen of Ev and her ten children," puffed the hungry tiger, rising to_his feet ."Ruggedo was king then, but he's been put out_of_the kingdom, I understand ."

"I wonder if Kaliko's still king ? " exclaimed Betsy . the little girl had had a whole book of adventures with Ruggedo and had even been present at Kaliko's coronation ."Oh, I_do hope Kaliko's the king," she finished earnestly .

" well, if_you're going to wonder and_hope, stay here," grumbled Guph ." if_you're coming to lunch, follow me ." without waiting for an answer, the crooked little elf turned on_his heel and started rapidly down the narrow passageway . the hungry tiger looked questioningly back at Carter and Carter looked uneasily at Betsy .

" let's go," decided the little girl sensibly ." if Kaliko's still king I_know he'll help_us ."

" if he don't, I'll slice off his nose," declared Reddy, peering over Betsy's shoulder in an endeavor to catch another glimpse of Guph . he had never seen a gnome before, and as_they hurried after_the king's messenger, Betsy explained a bit about these queer rock- colored elves, who live under the earth's surface and dig for precious metals and stones . they passed hundreds of_the busy little men on their way through_the rocky tunnels, and when Guph entered the underground castle of_the gnome king, himself, both Carter green and prince Evered gasped with astonishment and admiration . lighted with jeweled lanterns, spread with silken rugs, furnished with taste and even magnificence, the spacious caverns opened in a blaze of splendor before_the visitors . the gnome king's dwelling was an old story to Betsy and_the hungry tiger . they were more interested in knowing who was king, and when_the tiger, hurrying after Guph, burst suddenly into_the throne room, Betsy gave a cry of real pleasure .

" why, .hello, Kaliko ! " cried the little girl, jumping down and running over to him eagerly .

" king Kaliko, if_you don't mind," whispered the gnome looking nervously at Guph, who was making faces at_the hungry tiger ." how did you happen into these parts, my dear ? "

" we caved in," growled the hungry tiger, sniffing the air anxiously ." is lunch nearly ready, old fellow ? I'm perishing for a square meal ."

" certainly ! certainly ! " Kaliko answered politely ." but first introduce me to your friends .I've been watching you through my exspectacles for an hour ."

"Exspectacles ! " exclaimed Betsy ." well, i_was wondering how you_knew we were here ." with a proud smile Kaliko held out the pink glasses and explained how they worked and, while the little prince and Betsy were still examining his specs, the gnome king begged them to sit down and tell him the whole story of_their adventures .

" for I'm quite_sure," surmised Kaliko looking curiously from one to_the other, but longest at Carter green, "I'm quite_sure you've been having some amazing adventures ."

Betsy nodded vigorously and Carter grinned from ear to ear, which seemed to_surprise Kaliko very_much . then, seating herself in a little rock rocking chair, Betsy

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