Oz 16: Kabumpo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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lost in_the clouds .

" what's the matter ? what's the matter ? " rumbled the Runaway country, tilting forward slightly so it could_see . one look was enough . with a frightened jump, that sent the four travelers hurtling through_the air, it began running backwards and in a moment was out of sight .

Peg was_the first to recover her senses . being wood, bumps didn't bother her . she rose stiffly and gazed around her .Pompa's feet were waving feebly from a small clump of bushes .Kabumpo stood swaying near by, while wag lay over on_his side with closed eyes .

"Oh, you poor dears ! " murmured Peg, and running over to_the bushes she pulled out the prince of Pumperdink and settled him with_his back against a tree . he_was much shaken by his high dive from_the island, but pulled himself together and patted Peg's wooden hand kindly . by_this_time Kabumpo had gotten his bearings and came wobbling over .

" you've got a black eye, I_see," wheezed the elegant elephant bitterly

" not so very black," said Peg cheerfully ." are_you hurt, Kabumpo ? "

the elegant elephant felt himself all over with_his trunk ." well, I'm not used to being flung about like a bean bag," he_said irritably . then he lowered his voice hastily, as he caught another glimpse of_those dreadful giant feet ."I'll go help wag," he whispered, backing away quickly .

it took some_time to rouse the giant rabbit, but finally he opened his eyes ."I shought I thaw a giant," he muttered thickly ." hush ! " warned Kabumpo ." he's over there ." he waved his trunk in_the direction of_the mountain and began dragging wag firmly away .

"C'mon over here," he_called in a loud whisper to Peg and Pompa .Leaning heavily on Peg Amy the prince came . then he_gave a cry of distress ." my sword ! " he gasped, staring around a bit wildly .

"I'll find it," said Peg obligingly ." you sit still and rest ."

" where's the magic box ? " coughed Kabumpo, with an uneasy glance in_the giant's direction .

now that_they were actually in Ev, the elegant elephant began to doubt the wisdom of_his plan for killing the monster .

" gone ! " wailed Pompa, feeling in_his pocket ."I dropped it when I fell off the land . what shall we_do, Kabumpo ? "

"Don't be aGooch," gulped the elegant elephant, but he_said it without spirit .

" it's probably around here somewhere ." Moving quietly, Kabumpo began to poke about with_his trunk .

just then Peg Amy came flying toward them, her ragged dress fluttering in_the breeze .

" look ! " whispered the wooden doll, dropping on her knees before them .

in her hands was Glegg's box of mixed magic and it_was open !

chapter 18

prince Pompadore Proposes

while Peg and Pompa and_the elegant elephant eyed the box, wag, twitching his nose and mumbling very fast under his breath, backed rapidly away . he_was not going to run the risk of any more explosions . so anxious was_the big rabbit to_put a good distance between himself and Glegg's mixed magic, that he never realized that he_was backing toward the giant till a sharp thump on_the back of_the head brought him up short .

Trembling in every hair, wag looked over his shoulder .Stars ! he had run into_the terrible, five- toed foot of_the giant himself . at first wag was too terrified to move . but suddenly the hair on_the back of_his neck bristled erect . he peered at_the giant's foot more attentively . his eyes snapped and, seizing a stout stick that lay near by, he brought it down with all his might on_the giant's toes .

" it's Ruggedo ! " screamed wag, hopping up and down with rage ." and I'll pound his curly toes off .I don't care if he_is a giant ! I'll pound his curly toes off ! "

the stick whistled through_the air and whacked the giant's toes again .

now of_course we_have known all along that_the giant was Ruggedo, but it_was a great surprise for_the rescuers .Ruggedo was bad enough to deal with as a gnome- but a giant Ruggedo ! Horrors !

" stop him ! stop him ! " cried Peg Amy, throwing up her hands and scattering the contents of_the box of magic in every direction .

" what_are you trying to_do ? " roared Kabumpo, plunging forward ." get us all trampled on ? "

a muffled cry came down from_the clouds and, as Kabumpo dragged wag back by_the ear, something flashed through_the air and bounced upon_the elegant elephant's head ." it's the Scarecrow ! " chattered wag, wriggling from beneath Kabumpo's trunk .Kabumpo opened his eyes and peered down at_the limp bundle at his feet as he looked the bundle began to pull itself together . it sat up awkwardly and began clutching itself into shape .

" where'd you come from ? " gasped the elegant elephant . without speaking, the Scarecrow waved his hand upward and rose unsteadily to_his feet . then, catching sight of Peg Amy and Pompadore, the straw man bowed politely . meanwhile wag, seeing that Kabumpo's attention was diverted, began to sidle back toward Ruggedo .

" stop ! " cried the Scarecrow, running after him ." are_you crazy ? Don't you_know Ozma's palace is on_his head ? every time he moves everyone in_the palace tumbles about . was_it you who stirred him up and made him spill me out_of_the window ? "

"I'll wake him up some more, the wicked old scrabble- scratch," muttered wag, but Kabumpo jerked him back roughly .

" great Grump ! " choked the elegant elephant, shaking wag in_his exasperation ." here we've come all this_way to save princess Ozma and now you_want to upset everything ."

" that's the way to_do_it," said the Scarecrow, rolling his eyes wildly .

" please stop it, wag," begged Peg Amy, throwing her wooden arms around the big rabbit's neck, and as Pompa added his voice to Peg's, wag finally threw down his stick .

" who is_that beautiful girl ? " asked the Scarecrow of Kabumpo . the elegant elephant looked at_the straw man sharply, to_see that he_was not poking fun at_the wooden doll .Finding he_was quite serious, he_said proudly, " that's Peg Amy, the best little body in Oz . she's under my protection," he added grandly .

just then Pompa and Peg came over and wag, who had often seen the Scarecrow in_the emerald city, introduced them all .

" did I understand you to_say you had come to rescue Ozma ? " asked the Scarecrow, who_could_not keep his eyes off the elegant elephant .

" did I understand you to_say Ozma's palace was on Ruggedo's head ? " shuddered Kabumpo, glancing fearfully in_the direction of_the mountain .

the Scarecrow nodded vigorously and told in a few words of_their terrible journey to Ev and their present perilous position . how the palace had gotten on Ruggedo's head, he admitted was a puzzle to him .Kabumpo and Pompadore listened with amazement, especially to_the part where they had threatened Ruggedo with eggs .

" and he's kept still for two days just on account of eggs ? " gasped the elegant elephant incredulously .

" well, no," admitted the Scarecrow, wrinkling up his forehead ."A little man came flying through_the air the first morning and bumped into_the palace and instantly everyone except Scraps and me fell asleep .Ruggedo was put to sleep, too; we_could hear him snoring ."

" why, it must_have been the sand man," breathed Peg Amy ." I_have heard he lived near here ."

are they asleep now ? " asked Pompa, clutching the Scarecrow's arm . how romantic- thought the prince of Pumperdink- to rescue and waken asleeping princess ! but the Scarecrow shook his head ."A few_minutes before I fell out they began to wake up and I'd just gone to_the window to look for Glinda when Ruggedo gave a howl and ducked his head and here I fell ." the Scarecrow spread his hands eloquently and smiled at Peg .

" has Glinda been here ? " asked Kabumpo jealously .

" yes," said the Scarecrow ." she came this_morning and she's been trying all sorts of magic to reduce Ruggedo without harm to_the palace ."

" great Grump ! do_you hear that ? " Kabumpo rolled his eyes anxiously toward the prince ." if Glinda's magic takes effect before ours then where'll we be ! Peg ! where's the box of mixed magic ? "

" would you mind telling me," burst out the Scarecrow, who had_been examining one after another in_the party with a puzzled expression, " would you mind telling me how you happened to_know about_the palace disappearing; how you got across the sandy desert; how you expect to help_us; how he" ( with a jerk at wag) " came to_be too large; how she" ( with a jerk of_his thumb at Peg) " came to_be alive; and-"

" all in good_time; all in good_time ! " trumpeted Kabumpo testily ." you sound like the curious Cottabus ! the principal thing to_do now is to save Ozma . will Ruggedo stay quiet a little longer ? "

" if he's not disturbed," said the Scarecrow, with ameaning glance at wag .

" well, my hocks and woop soons ! " cried the rabbit indignantly ."Isn't anyone going to punish him ? he shook and shook Peg and he meddled with magic and blew up into a giant . he's run off with_the palace .Doesn't he deserve apounding ? "

" friend," said the Scarecrow, "I admire your spirit but my excellent brains tell me that_this_is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure . but have we the ounce of prevention ? "

" here's the question box," announced Peg, who had run off at Kabumpo's first call ." what shall we ask it first ? "

" how to save the lovely princess of Oz," spoke up Pompa, running his hand over his scorched locks ." where's my crown, Kabumpo ? "

Kabumpo fished the crown from_his pocket and Pompa set it gravely upon his head as Peg asked the question box:

" how shall we save the lovely princess of Oz ? "

these maneuvers so astonished the Scarecrow that he_lost his balance and fell flat on_his nose . when he recovered Peg was clapping her wooden hands and Kabumpo was dancing on three legs .

" you're as good as married, my boy ! " cried Kabumpo, thumping the prince upon_the back .

" what_is it ? what's happened ? " gasped the Scarecrow .

" why, the question box says to pour three drops of trick tea on Ruggedo's left foot and two on_his right and he_will then march back to_the emerald city, descend into his cave and, after_the palace has settled firmly on its foundations, he_will shrink down to_his former size," read Peg Amy, holding the question box close to her eyes, for_the printing was very_small .

"Hurrah ! " cried the Scarecrow, throwing up his hat ."Peggy, put the kettle on and we'll all have some tea but where'd you get all this magic stuff ? " he asked immediately after .

" out of a box of mixed magic," puffed Kabumpo, his little eyes twinkling with anticipation as he watched Peg . first she filled the tiny kettle at a nearby brook; then she lit the little lamp and dropped some_of_the trick tea into_the kettle . bright pink clouds arose from_the kettle, as_soon_as Peg had set it over the flame, and while they waited for_it to boil Pompa put another question .

" has Pumperdink disappeared ? " asked the prince, in atrembling voice .

"N-o," spelled the question box slowly, and Kabumpo settled back with a great sigh of relief .

" i_told you everything would_be all right if_you followed my advice," said the elegant elephant ." stand up now and try to forget your black eye you_are the prince of Pumperdink and I_am the elegant elephant of Oz ."

" but why all the ceremony asked the Scarecrow, looking mystified .

Kabumpo only chuckled to himself and, as_the trick tea was now ready, Peg took the little kettle and began to tip- toe toward Ruggedo .

" I_hope it's red hot," grumbled wag resent- fully ." he's getting off easy, the old scrabble- scratch ! Getting off ! say, look here ! " he gestured violently to Kabumpo) ." if Ruggedo returns to_the emerald city with_the palace on_his head, where does Pompa come in ? " he pointed atrembling paw at_the prince, his nose twitching so fast it made the Scarecrow blink .

" stop ! " trumpeted the elegant elephant, plunging after Peg Amy . he reached her just in_time .

"I'm no better than Pumper," grunted Kabumpo, mopping his brow with_the tail of_his robe ." suppose, after all our hardship, I had allowed Ozma and_the palace to_get away without giving Pompa a chance to ask her--"

" but we ought to save her as quick as_we_can," ventured Peg ."Couldn't we hurry back to_the emerald city again ? "

" it might_be too late," wheezed Kabumpo ." let- me- see ! "

"Hello ! " cried the Scarecrow ." here comes Glinda ." as he spoke the swan chariot of_the good sorceress floated down beside the little party .

" bother ! " groaned Kabumpo, as Glinda stepped out .

" some strangers," called the Scarecrow, gleefully running toward Glinda, " some strangers with a box of mixed magic trying to help ."

" if we_could_have a few words with Ozma," put in_the elegant elephant hastily, " everything would_be all right ."

Glinda looked at Kabumpo gravely ." it's unlawful to practice magic . you_must know that," said the sorceress sternly .

" but it's not our magic, your highness," explained Peg Amy, setting down the little kettle ." we_found it, and we're only trying to help Ozma ."

" well, in_that case," Glinda could_not help smiling at_the wooden doll's quaint appearance, " I_shall_be_glad to assist you, as all of_my magic has proved useless ."

"Aren't you the prince of Pumperdink ? " she asked, nodding toward Pompa . the prince bowed in_his most princely fashion and assured her that he_was and, after a few hasty explanations, Glinda promised to bring Ozma down in her chariot .

" tell her, " trumpeted Kabumpo impressively, as_the chariot rose in_the air, " tell her that a young prince waits below ! "

while Pompa was still looking after Glinda's chariot, Peg Amy came up_to him and extended both her wooden hands .

" i_wish you much happiness, Pompa dear," said the wooden doll in a low voice .

Pompa pressed Peg's hands gratefully ." if_it hadn't been for_you I'd never have succeeded . you_shall_have everything you wish for now, Peg . why, where are_you going ? " " good-bye ! " called Peg Amy, trying to_keep her

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