Oz 19: The Lost King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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and trot .

" fetch the green book of magic from_the library," ordered the wizard, giving sir Hokus a push ." fetch the book and_I_will put an end to_this nonsense ! "

sir Hokus made haste to obey and, before Dorothy could explain all that had happened or introduce her friends the knight came back with_the green book .

" here, give_me my ears," cried the tailor, who had missed most of_the excitement .Snatching them from Humpy, he clapped them quickly in place and turned toward the wizard . the wizard looked slightly cross- eyed from astonishment, but swallowing quickly and, determined not to delay the king's restoration another minute, began to flip over the leaves of_the book .

" this_is it, incantation no .980 ! " panted the little man joyfully ." two ought_to_be eaten before seven .

" that's not an incantation, that's Humpy's number," cried Dorothy, pulling out the white tag on_the dummy's collar .

" why, that's what Mombi tried," put in snip anxiously ." look out ! something else awful will happen ! "

but the wizard waved them impatiently aside and, throwing the royal robe he had carried all the way from morrow about Humpy's shoulders, pushed him down upon_the throne .

" all but seven leave the room," he ordered crisply and after a short delay the order was carried out . the seven who remained watched tensely as_the wizard approached the stuffed king .Popping two small crackers into his mouth, he gazed fixedly at_the dummy ."I command you to assume your natural shape," choked the wizard, throwing up his arms impressively .

' the king's himself ! long live the king ! " shrieked Pajuka, falling flat upon his bill .

everyone crowded forward to_see what happened to Humpy- but the dummy remained as he_was .

" why he's not changed at all," cried Scraps scornfully, and_the patch work girl was perfectly right . except for a slight slump to_the left, Humpy had_not even changed his position .

" two ought_to_be eaten before seven ! two ought_to_be eaten before seven ! " muttered the wizard, beginning to pace anxiously up and down .

" two what ? " asked snip ." are_you sure you've eaten the right thing ? Mombi swallowed buttons ."

" well, I'm no ostrich and_the foot note says two of anything," answered the little man, keeping his place in_the book with_his forefinger and gazing at_the dummy in exasperation .

chapter 20

the lost king is found

the wizard of Oz was puzzled and mortified . his magic seemed to_be no magic at all . the little man was silent . he_could think of nothing but his failure .

" let's all sit down in a circle and think," proposed the Scarecrow, taking Ozma's hand, for he could_see the little fairy was ready to cry with disappointment ." the goose feather said the king was in_the castle, so he_must_be here," he insisted cheerfully ." let Dorothy tell her story and we'll tell ours and then perhaps we_can find out what's wrong with_our magic ."

" now you're talking sense," approved Scraps, plumping down beside the straw man ." have Dorothy explain this old goose, this button- button- who's- got- the- button boy and_the fellow with_the fluttering ears ."

"I guess that_would_be best," sighed Dorothy . so in less_than a wink that whole strange company, with Humpy in_the center, dropped down in a circle upon_the floor .Kabumpo, holding Mombi fast in_his trunk, stood just behind Dorothy, putting in a word now_and_then or giving Mombi a shake when she objected to any part of_the story .

Ozma and her friends could scarcely repress their astonishment and surprise as Dorothy recounted her wonderful adventures with_the dummy and told of snip's exciting journey with_the goose and_the old witch . indeed, as_the story proceeded, they began to regard snip and Pajuka with growing admiration and respect, for certainly these two had played an unforgetable part in_the history of Oz .

when Dorothy told how snip had raised the castle with Mombi's baking powder, the company burst into such loud cheers and cries of approval that_the little button boy tried to hide behind the tailor .Tora, himself, came in for a goodly share of_the interest too, and he smiled pleasantly as Dorothy explained his singular ears and described his escape from_the Blanks . when Dorothy had finished, Ozma quickly related all that had happened in_the emerald city and in morrow . she told of_the deserted castle and_the mysterious messages, and_the Scarecrow gravely passed around the golden quill

"I seem to remember this," puffed Pajuka when it had come to him ."Ah, I_know ! it_is_the magic quill the king gave_me on my last birthday in_the castle . it always warned one or the other when either was in danger and I had it in my pocket when Mombi turned me to a goose .

" and I pulled it out when I fell down the well ! " cried snip excitedly .

" and it returned to_the spot where the old castle had stood," put in_the wizard, leaning forward sagely .

" well, that explains the feather, but who_will explain the king ? " demanded the Scarecrow, looking at_the dummy with_his head on one side .

"I'm about tired of being explained," mumbled Humpy sulkily ." if_you don't pretty soon decide something, I'll go back to America .I've fallen and I've risen and now i_want to sit still ."

" perhaps," suggested the tired tailor timidly, for he_felt shy in_the presence of so_many celebrities, " perhaps Humpy is_not the lost king at all ! the feather said the king was in_the palace, but it did_not say the dummy was king ."

" bless me," cried the scarecrow tossing up his hat, " his brain works as fast as his ears . that_is an idea ! " it had_not occurred to any of_them that Humpy might_not_be the king, but now they began to look at one another questioningly .

" but he's the image of Pastoria ! " insisted Pajuka ."Don't you suppose I_know my own sovereign ? Ozma my dear, is_this dummy not like your father ? "

Ozma nodded ." but it wouldn't do any harm to look around," she added thoughtfully .

" come on," cried the Scarecrow waving his hat, " we'll hunt from cellar to garret ! "

" keep a trunk on_that witch ! " called Scraps to_the elegant elephant, as_they all jumped up and started to_follow the Scarecrow from_the room .

" but wait ! " exclaimed the tired tailor, catching hold of_the straw man's arm ." how do know you_are_not the king yourself ? "

" me the king ! " ejaculated the Scarecrow falling back against a pillar .

" well, Mombi could easily have changed you to aScarecrow," mused Tora, but Dorothy hastily shook her head, for_the Scarecrow's past was well known and though he had_been proved an emperor of silver island, she felt he_could_not be the lost king of Oz .

" well, somebody in_this castle is king," insisted Tora positively .

" but how shall we_know ? " gasped Dorothy, while the others looked equally puzzled .

" find the man who fits the king's robe," cried Tora, waving his tape measure ." try him," he finished, indicating sir Hokus of Pokes .

" how did you ever think of_that ? " asked the wizard admiringly ." find the man who fits the robe ! why it's as simple as arithmetic . but how did you ever think of it ? "

" well, being a tailor, it occurred to_me at once," answered Tora modestly ." the robe fits the dummy perfectly, so i_thought at first he_must_be the king, but when_the magic failed to work I concluded that he wasn't ."

Mombi sniffed scornfully as_the knight stepped forward but Dorothy and Ozma, remembering sir Hokus's strange history, felt that he might easily be the lost king of Oz .

again all but seven left the throne room, and_the tailor placed the king's robes carefully about_the knight's shoulders . then the wizard, taking two more crackers, gravely repeated the magic formula .

Ozma kept her eyes fixed intently on sir Hokus . she rather hoped he_would turn out to_be her father, for she was very fond of_the blustery knight . but nothing at all happened after_the wizard's incantation and sir Hokus stepped down from_the throne with real relief .

"Odds buckles and bonnets, my dear, i_would like to_be your father but not your king," sighed the knight ."I prefer fighting to governing any day ."

the wizard cast his eye about for another candidate of proper size and shape to fit the robe, but no one in_the room seemed to qualify .

" you're wasting time," grunted Kabumpo irritably ." this person," he waved loftily at_the old tailor, " this person had better have kept out of it . what does a tailor know of magic ? "

Dorothy looked reprovingly at_the elegant elephant and just then, catching a glimpse of_the soldier with_the green Whiskers in_the doorway, rushed over and pulled him into_the room . the soldier with_the green Whiskers is_the entire army of Oz and, while not noted for_his bravery, is a great favorite in_the emerald city . ever_since the disappearance of Ozma, he had_been hiding in_the castle cellar, terribly frightened by its fall and rise . finally he had screwed up enough courage to venture forth and investigate . too astonished to move, he had listened to_the proceedings in_the throne room and watched the wizard's magic experiments .

" try him ! " puffed Dorothy, hurrying him toward the throne . as_the tailor carefully adjusted the robe, everyone gasped at_the fit and becomingness of_the green garment . it quite transformed the timid old soldier and, complacently stroking his beard, he waited for_the wizard's formula to_take effect . but again, nothing at all happened and, dashing the green book of magic into a corner, the wizard rushed out_of_the room . at last he had had an idea of_his own . he_would look in_the magic picture and discover at once who was_the missing king .

meanwhile Tora, looking very apologetic, had taken the cloak from_the grand army's shoulders ." i_was wrong," sighed the tailor shaking his head sorrowfully, " and now there_is no one else to_try ."

everyone joined in_the tailor's sigh, for_the afternoon had lengthened into evening and_they were still as far as ever from solving the mystery . at each disappointment Pajuka had grown more gloomy and now, waddling up_to Mombi, he cried angrily, " woman, what have_you done with_the king ? speak ! speak, or I'll peck off your nose ! "

" yes, say something ! " shrilled Kabumpo, shaking her violently .

"I remember nothing ! I remember nothing ! let me go ! " wailed the old witch, howling dismally .

Mombi's screams, Pajuka's threats and Kabumpo's trumpeting almost drowned out another voice that had risen triumphantly above the confusion . it_was snip .Jumping to_his feet and running across the room, the little button boy flung his arms ' round the old tailor .

" you never tried it on yourself ! you never tried it on yourself ! " panted snip, trembling with impatience ." here, give it to_me ! "

while Kabumpo sniffed and_the others watched half heartedly, the little boy wrapped the king's robe around the tired tailor, popped two sugar lumps into his mouth and shouted hoarsely, " two ought_to_be eaten before seven ! I command you to resume your natural shape ! "

for as long as you_could count ten there_was absolute silence . then a deep voice, very rough and husky, called wildly, " the king ! long live the king ! "

"Pajuka ! " cried the tired tailor .Rushing joyously down the steps of_the throne, he threw both arms ' round a fat, jolly old gentleman . the tired tailor, did I_say ? but no ! he was_the tired tailor no longer ! the rounded shoulders had straightened up under the velvet robe, the tired eyes sparkled with pleasure and kindliness .Tora, the tailor, no longer, but Pastoria, the king, stood embracing his prime minister, for_the same green formula that had restored his majesty had also released Pajuka from_his weary enchantment .

"I remember ! I remember ! I turned him to a tailor and flung him down a well ! " squealed Mombi, but in_the excitement no one even heard her . the suddenness of_the king's restoration had taken even snip by surprise, but recovering quickly they all pressed forward .

Humpy was_the first to reach the throne ." glad you got the job," grinned the dummy cheerfully ." but let me be your double, old fellow .I'll fall or die for_you any_time ." Making his word good at once, Humpy tripped over the king's foot and fell flat upon his nose .

" why he_is your double," gasped Dorothy eagerly ." the very image of you ."

" king, king, double king,

never get him back again ! "

screamed the patch work girl, and from then on_the uproar was tremendous . the courtiers and servants, back from_the long day's search, came crowding into_the throne room, and when_they heard the whole story from_the soldier with_the green Whiskers they added their voices to_the general clamor .

" why the names should_have told us," whispered Dorothy to snip, whom she had dragged into a corner for_the confidence ."Tora the tailor and Pastoria, the king . how did we ever miss it ? "

snip shook his head and looked over contentedly at his two best friends . it seemed as_if Ozma and her father would never stop hugging one another but at last, with_his little daughter on_his right and faithful Pajuka on_his left, with Humpy standing importantly behind him and snip in_his lap, the king sat down upon his throne and insisted upon hearing all that had happened during his weary exil -- for_the years he had_been in Blankenburg had_been blank indeed .

Taking turns, Dorothy, trot and Ozma did their best to satisfy him . then Pastoria, himself, told how Lurline, queen of_the fairy band, had come to_his shop, tried to disenchant him and

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