Oz 19: The Lost King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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he looked at Dorothy critically from all sides ." not bad at all," he murmured approvingly ." they'll be_glad to_get you, I'm sure . just stay here with me and presently they_will come in a truck and collect us . yes, that's the ticket, we'll wait until we_are collected ."

" well, I'm not a ticket," giggled Dorothy," and I don't want to_be collected or go into_the movies either .I'm going straight back to Oz, as_soon_as I_can ."

"Oz ? " queried the dummy, pressing his finger to_his forehead ." is_that a place or a tonic ? "

" it's a place," sputtered Dorothy ."Oh dear, wouldn't Ozma be surprised to_see you ! you_know, you're awfully like Scraps and_the Scarecrow ."

" they sound rather awful," smiled the dummy, folding his cloak around him dubiously ." are they dummies too ? "

" no, but they're stuffed," explained Dorothy, leaning over to poke him experimentally in_the chest ." you talk very queerly . I_do wonder what you_are stuffed with ! "

" hair, i_think," yawned the dummy indifferently, and leaning over he picked up his crown and set it jauntily upon_the side of_his head ."I wouldn't go back to_that Oz place if I were you," he advised earnestly ." stay here and you_can see amoving picture every day - exciting and adventurous stuff too ."

" but what's the fun of looking at other folks having adventures," sniffed Dorothy ." in Oz we_have adventures ourselves, and in Oz I'm a princess and live in a castle ."

the dummy turned and looked at her respectfully ."A princess," he murmured in a faint voice ."Oh ! "

" have_you any name ? " asked Dorothy, rather ashamed of her boast about being a princess .

" well, there's a number on_the back of_my neck, but I don't think I_have any name, answered the stuffed man uneasily ."I'm just a dummy, you_know ."

" but I wouldn't like to_call you a dummy," said Dorothy gently .

" well that's what I_am," insisted the stuffed king cheerfully, "a regular dummy ."

Tiptoeing round back of him, Dorothy pulled out a little tag on_the back of_his collar ."202-B-E-l0-B-47," read the little girl ." my what a long number ."

" yes, isn't it," replied the dummy proudly ."Couldn't you call me by_that ? "

" I_could never remember it," objected Dorothy ." let- me- see, I_might call you Clifford cause you fell off a cliff, or Cal, ' cause I_found you in California ? do_you_know, you_are dreadfully humpy in spots .Humpy ! why I believe I'll call you Humpy ! " cried Dorothy, clapping her hands softly .

"Oooh ! Ouch ! what's that ? " in sudden terror Dorothy clutched at her left shoe .

"I don't care what you call me, but I'd call you very odd ! " said the dummy in alarm ." you've grown at_least a foot while I've been looking at you . people in_this country are supposed to stay the same size," he muttered, edging away uneasily . but Dorothy scarcely heard him . there_was a frightful pain in her heart and both shoes pinched so terribly that she screamed aloud . at_the same instant all the buttons flew off the back her dress .

" are_you going to burst ? " asked the dummy anxiously .

"Oh ! Oh ! I'm afraid so," gasped the little girl, clutching herself about_the waist . at each word she shot up another inch, for Dorothy, who had lived in_the fairy land of Oz for many years, was suddenly growing up .

in Oz, no one ever grows up, but in America Dorothy would_be quite a young lady by_this_time and, removed from_the magical influences of_that magical land, she was growing all at once and finding it, as most of_the rest of us do, an exceedingly uncomfortable business . her screams as she grew taller and taller were so piteous that Humpy fell off the log .

" help ! help ! help ! " wailed the dummy, beating his flimsy arms up and down among_the leaves .

"Oh ! Oh ! Oh ! " panted Dorothy desperately ." I_can't stand this another minute . i_wish I were back . i_wish I were back ! "

next moment there_was not a sound in_the ravine, nor a person, nor even a dummy . only a startled squirrel ran up and down the log, chattering with fright and annoyance . certainly he had seen two people on_that log . well, where were they now ? he frisked his tail, he wiggled his nose and scratched his head anxiously . then, with a little bounce, he_gave it up and went off to crack some nuts for supper .

chapter 11

a real Oz adventure

" the last thing I remember," muttered the dummy thickly, " was a little girl shooting up like a fountain . now what happened after_that ? " Dorothy raised her head and looked cautiously in_the direction from_which the voice was coming . the dummy lay, face down, in a heap of leaves and, without making any attempt to rise, went stuffily on with_the conversation ."I don't mind falling for stars, but being flung around like a bean bag for a person who_is one size this minute and another size the next is all wrong .I wonder where she_is now ! "

" here I_am," called Dorothy breathlessly, rolling out of a pile of leaves on_the other side of him ." how do_you s' pose we got here ? "

" little again ! " groaned the dummy, just lifting his head long enough to look at her, and then letting it drop back among_the leaves ." little again ! "

"Oh, am I ? " Dorothy jumped up in great excitement and began measuring herself as best she_could . her stockings were stretched and torn, her dress was ripped in several seams and minus all of_its buttons . but outside of_this she was her old, or rather her young, sweet self again .

" why we_must_be back in Oz," sighed Dorothy, looking with deep relief at a stretch of purple hills in_the background ." this_is_the Gilliken country ."

" are_you still the same size, or are_you going to shoot up into a young lady again ? Don't shoot," begged the dummy quickly ." it makes me nervous ! "

" well, I don't know," said Dorothy doubtfully . to_tell the truth the little girl had_not had time to_think at all, nor did she quite realize_that she was one age in Oz and another age in America ."I'll have to ask_the wizard about_it when we get back to_the emerald city," she sighed, with a very puzzled expression ." it's all very funny, don't you_think so, Humpy ? "

" can't get it through my hair at all," puffed the dummy .Sitting up stiffly he reached for_his crown ." where are we now and when does the next reel begin ? "

instead of answering Dorothy plumped down among_the leaves and, with her elbows on her knees, stared thoughtfully at_the dummy .

" i_wish I_knew how you came to_be alive, and how we got back to Oz," mused Dorothy slowly . there_was a flash and flutter in_the air and down at her feet dropped a crisp white card .Humpy promptly toppled over backward and Dorothy, herself, gave a little gasp of surprise .

" by wishing," said the card in pink letters, just as_if it had heard her questions . below there_was some smaller printing and picking up the card Dorothy quickly read on: " wish way is at_the foot of maybe mountain . this_morning you were on wish way . you put some_of_the silver wishing sand in your pocket . you wished yourself in America ."

" mercy ! " cried Dorothy, dropping the card in her astonishment ." why so I_did, and I wished you were alive, and I wished we were back and now I'm going to wish us both straight to_the emerald city . i_was on wish way once before and know all about wishing ."

" wait ! wait a minute," panted the dummy, clutching his crown ."I'm used to being flung about, to dying and all that sort of thing, but this wishing business makes me breathless . wait ! "

Dorothy had already made her wish and, closing her eyes, sat perfectly still . after a moment she opened them but nothing at all had happened . she and Humpy still sitting on_the pile of leaves and_the white card had vanished .Blinking rapidly, Dorothy felt in her pocket ." no wonder it didn't work," muttered Dorothy ." the wishing sand's all gone . I_must_have used the last grain when I wished we were back .Oh dear, we'll have to walk ! "

" where ? " Holding his crown with both hands, the dummy sat up and looked anxiously at_the little girl .

" to_the emerald city, where I live, in a splendid palace with Ozma, the queen," explained Dorothy patiently .

" well, I wouldn't mind living in a palace at all .I'm dressed for_the part . let's go on," said the dummy cheerfully . after a few bends backwards and a few bends forwards, he rose and started unsteadily down the road ." you_can_be the star in_this picture," he added generously, " and I'll be your double and fall for_you any_time you say .

" all right ! " agreed Dorothy, taking him cozily by_the arm .Having had great experience with stuffed persons, and having brought Humpy to life, she felt more or less responsible for him .

as_they walked along together, she told him a little about herself and as_much about_the wonderful land of Oz as she thought a man with hair brains could understand . so_many marvelous things had happened to Humpy in_the movies that he evinced no surprise at Dorothy's stories .

as_the dummy and Dorothy hurried on, a great screaming and scolding made them stop short .a scraggy- looking woods cut off the road ahead and, advancing backward upon them, there came two crooked and curious woodsmen bearing a flag . as_the flag fluttered and rippled in_the wind, Dorothy tried to_make out the strange words embroidered in white upon its purple background .

"Eht Kcab Sdoow ! " said the flag mysteriously ."Og yawa ! Og yawa ! " shouted the woodsmen rudely ."Teg tuo ! Teg tuo ! Teg tuo ! "

" is_this Oz talk," gasped Humpy, falling back in dismay, " or Arabic ? i_was in an Arabian picture once and it sounded something like this .Tuo teg, yourselves," he shouted defiantly, as_the woodsmen drew nearer, " and none of your back talk either ! "

" back talk ! " cried Dorothy, clutching him suddenly by_the sleeve ."Oh, that's just what they_are talking, Humpy . they're talking ' back talk .' wait a minute ! " Closing her eyes, Dorothy began writing imaginary letters in_the air and, as_the two woodsmen reached them, she burst out triumphantly, " it says ' the back Woods' on_that flag .Oh dear, I wished we were back and now we_are ! "

" you_think awful fast," blinked the dummy admiringly ." the mere look of_that language makes me dizzy . so they're talking back talk are they ? well, what do they say ? are they going to hit us ? "

" they're telling us to_go away, muttered Dorothy, putting her fingers in her ears, for_the two leaders had_been joined by a hundred more and all were screaming at_the top or rather, i_should say, the bottom of_their voices . they kept their backs to_the travellers and shouted the dreadful back talk over their shoulders . they all carried gleaming axes and, when Dorothy made an attempt to advance, they brandished them threateningly .

" if I_could only talk back," wailed the little girl, "I'd tell them I_am a princess . then maybe they'd let me through ."

"Couldn't you write it ? " suggested Humpy, looking at_the angry horde with growing alarm .

" why, how did you_think of_that ? " Dorothy stared at him in honest amazement . then, feeling in her pocket, she brought out a stub of pencil and a crumpled piece of paper . the woodsmen watched her curiously over their shoulders as she slowly wrote her message .

"I MA Ssecnirp Yhtorod, dneirf fo Amzo fo Zo . yam ew ssap hguorht ruoy sdoow ? " printed Dorothy after a great_many pauses and erasures . rather timidly she handed it to one_of_the flag bearers and after a great scowling and head-shaking, the woodsmen raised their axes and shouted in chorus, "Sey ! Sey ! "

" that means ' yes'," breathed Dorothy, taking Humpy's arm ."C'mon, let's hurry, before_they change their minds ." the woodsmen parted solemnly to_make a path, but when_they reached the backwoods itself, Dorothy took one step and was immediately flung upon her nose .

"Ah, I_see you_do your own falling," mumbled the dummy ." why didn't you wait for_me ? " Humpy was several paces behind Dorothy and as he spoke, he also attempted to enter the woods . but the same hidden force pushed him over backwards . immediately the inhabitants of back began to roar with delight, and if_you_have never heard anyone roaring backwards, you_have no idea how horrid it sounds . it_was something between a, cough and a choke . even the dummy knew that he_was being insulted, and waved his arms about indignantly .

" there's some trick to_it," panted Dorothy, sitting up quickly ." watch ! "

several of_the woodsmen began to move slowly toward her and, observing them closely, the little girl saw that_they were, turned backward but really walking forward ." we_have to_go backward forward ! " cried Dorothy ." hurry up, before_they catch us ."

" this_is worse than dying," groaned Humpy ." how do_you go backwards and forwards at_the same time ? "

" watch me," said Dorothy, springing up determinedly .Turning her back to_the woods, she started to run away from_it, and Humpy, goaded into action by_the threatening appearance of_the terrible woodsmen, did the same . for every step they ran backward forward, they went forward backward two steps, bumping into trees, which had their roots waving muddily in_the air and their leaves underground and crashing into bushes of_the same curious character . without stopping to examine the back scenery at all, they ran for their lives, reaching the edge of_the woods just as_the woodsmen caught up with_them . the wicked fellows had really no intention of letting them go, and howled most awfully as Humpy and Dorothy made their escape . several of_the leaders started in pursuit, but each_time they set foot out of_their

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