Oz 11: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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find a shadow of Ozma anywhere in_the Em'rald city, and wherever she's gone, she's taken her magic picture with her ." she was standing in_the courtyard of_the palace with Betsy and trot, while Scraps, the patchwork girl, danced around the group, her hair flying in_the wind .

"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, " someone has stolen Ozma ."

"Oh, they'd never dare do_that ! " exclaimed tiny trot .

" and stolen the magic picture, too, so the thing can't tell where she_is," added the patchwork girl .

" that's nonsense," said Dorothy ." why, ev'ryone loves Ozma . there isn't a person in_the land of Oz who_would steal a single thing she owns ."

"Huh ! " replied the patchwork girl ." you don't know ev'ry person in_the land of Oz ."

" why don't I ? "

" it's a big country," said Scraps ." there_are cracks and corners in_it that even Ozma doesn't know of ."

" the patchwork girl's just daffy," declared Betsy .

" no, she's right about_that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully ." there_are lots of queer people in_this fairyland who never come near Ozma or the Em'rald city .I've seen some of 'em myself, girls . but I haven't seen all, of_course, and there_might_be some wicked persons left in Oz yet, though i_think the wicked witches have all been destroyed ."

just then the wooden sawhorse dashed into_the courtyard with_the wizard of Oz on_his back ." have_you found Ozma ? " cried the wizard when_the sawhorse stopped beside them .

" not yet," said Dorothy ."Doesn't Glinda the good know where she_is ? "

" no .Glinda's book of Records and all her magic instruments are gone . someone must_have stolen them ."

" goodness me ! " exclaimed Dorothy in alarm ." this_is_the biggest steal I ever heard of . who do_you_think did it, wizard ? "

"I've no idea," he answered .

" but I_have come to_get my own bag of magic tools and carry them to Glinda . she_is so_much more powerful than I that she may_be_able to discover the truth by_means of_my magic quicker and better than I_could myself ."

" hurry, then," said Dorothy, " for we've all gotten terr'bly worried ."

the wizard rushed away to_his rooms but presently came back with a long, sad face ." it's gone ! " he_said .

" what's gone ? " asked Scraps .

" my black bag of magic tools . someone must_have stolen it ! "

they looked at one another in amazement .

" this thing is getting desperate," continued the wizard ." all the magic that belongs to Ozma or to Glinda or to_me has_been stolen ."

" do_you suppose Ozma could_have taken them, herself, for some purpose ? " asked Betsy .

" no indeed," declared the wizard ."I suspect some enemy has stolen Ozma and for fear we_would follow and recapture her has taken all our magic away from_us ."

" how dreadful ! " cried Dorothy ." the idea of anyone wanting to injure our dear Ozma ! can't we_do anything to_find her, wizard ? "

"I'll ask Glinda . I_must go straight back to her and tell her that my magic tools have also disappeared . the good sorceress will_be greatly shocked, I_know ."

with_this, he jumped upon_the back of_the sawhorse again, and_the quaint steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed . the three girls were very_much disturbed in mind . even the patchwork girl seemed to realize_that a great calamity had overtaken them all .Ozma was a fairy of considerable power, and all the creatures in Oz as_well as_the three mortal girls from_the outside world looked upon her as their protector and friend . the idea of_their beautiful girl ruler's being overpowered by an enemy and dragged from her splendid palace a captive was too astonishing for_them to comprehend at first . yet what other explanation of_the mystery could there be ?

"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting_us know about_it," asserted Dorothy, " and she wouldn't steal Glinda's great book of Records or the wizard's magic, ' cause she_could get them any_time just by asking for 'em .I'm sure some wicked person has_done all this ."

" someone in_the land of Oz ? " asked trot .

" of_course .

no one could get across the deadly desert, you_know, and no one but an Oz person could know about_the magic picture and_the book of Records and_the wizard's magic or where they were kept, and so be_able to steal the whole outfit before we_could stop 'em . it must_be someone who lives in_the land of Oz ."

" but who-- who-- who ? " asked Scraps ." that's the question . who ? "

" if we_knew," replied Dorothy severely, " we wouldn't be standing here doing nothing ."

just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group of girls . one boy was dressed in_the fantastic Munchkin costume--a blue jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with a high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim-- and this_was Ojo the lucky, who had once come from_the Munchkin country of Oz and now lived in_the emerald city . the other boy was an American from Philadelphia and had lately found his way to Oz in_the company of trot and Cap'n bill . his name was button- bright; that_is, everyone called him by_that name and knew no other . button- bright was not quite as big as_the Munchkin boy, but he wore the same kind of clothes, only they were of different colors . as_the two came up_to_the girls, arm in arm, button- bright remarked, "Hello, Dorothy . they say Ozma is lost ."

" who says so ? " she asked .

."Ev'rybody's talking about_it in_the city," he replied .

"I wonder how the people found it out," Dorothy asked .

" I_know," said Ojo ."Jellia Jamb told them . she has_been asking everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma ."

" that's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning .

" why ? " asked button- bright .

" there wasn't any use making all our people unhappy till we were dead certain that Ozma can't be found ."

"Pshaw," said button- bright, " it's nothing to_get lost .I've been lost lots of times ."

" that's true," admitted trot, who knew that_the boy had a habit of getting lost and then finding himself again, " but it's diff' rent with Ozma . she's the ruler of all this big fairyland, and we're 'fraid that_the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away ."

" only wicked people steal," said Ojo ." do_you_know of any wicked people in Oz, Dorothy ? "

" no," she replied .

" they're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to_them and then circling around the group ."Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her; only wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked ! "

there_was no denying the truth of_this statement . the faces of all of_them were now solemn and sorrowful ." one_thing is sure," said button- bright after a time, " if Ozma has_been stolen, someone ought to_find her and punish the thief ."

" there_may_be alot of thieves," suggested trot gravely, " and in_this fairy country they don't seem to_have any soldiers or policemen ."

" there_is one soldier," claimed Dorothy .

" he has green whiskers and a gun and_is a major- general, but no one is afraid of either his gun or his whiskers, ' cause he's so tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a fly ."

" well, a soldier is a soldier," said Betsy, " and perhaps he'd hurt a wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly . where is he ? "

" he went fishing about two_months_ago and hasn't come back yet," explained button- bright .

" then I_can't see that he_will_be of much use to_us in_this trouble," sighed little trot ." but p'raps Ozma, who_is a fairy, can get away from_the thieves without any help from anyone ."

" she might_be able to," answered Dorothy reflectively, " but if she had the power to do_that, it isn't likely she'd have let herself be stolen . so the thieves must_have been even more powerful in magic than our Ozma ."

there_was no denying this argument, and although they talked the matter over all the rest of_that day, they were unable to decide how Ozma had_been stolen against her will or who had committed the dreadful deed . toward evening the wizard came back, riding slowly upon_the sawhorse because he_felt discouraged and perplexed .Glinda came later in her aerial chariot drawn by twenty milk- white swans, and she also seemed worried and unhappy . more of Ozma's friends joined them, and_that evening they all had a big talk together ." i_think," said Dorothy, " we ought to start out right away in search of_our dear Ozma . it seems cruel for_us to live comf'tably in her palace while she_is apris'ner in_the power of some wicked enemy ."

" yes," agreed Glinda the sorceress, " someone ought to search for her . I_cannot go myself, because I_must work hard in_order to create some new instruments of sorcery by_means of_which I_may rescue our fair ruler . but if_you_can find her in_the meantime and let me know who has stolen her, it_will enable me to rescue her much more quickly ."

" then we'll start tomorrow morning," decided Dorothy ."Betsy and trot and I won't waste another minute ."

"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the wizard, " but I'll go with_you to protect you from harm and to_give_you my advice . all my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I_am now really no more a wizard than any of you, but i_will try to protect you from any enemies you_may meet ."

" what harm could happen to_us in Oz ? " inquired trot .

" what harm happened to Ozma ? " returned the wizard .

" if_there_is an evil power abroad in_our fairyland, which_is able to steal not_only Ozma and her magic picture, but Glinda's book of Records and all her magic, and my black bag containing all my tricks of wizardry, then that evil power may yet cause us considerable injury .Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, so no power can kill or destroy them, but you girls are all mortals and so are button- bright and I, so we_must watch out for ourselves ."

" nothing can kill me," said Ojo the Munchkin boy .

" that_is true," replied the sorceress, " and i_think it may_be well to divide the searchers into several parties, that_they may cover all the land of Oz more quickly . so i_will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr .Pipt into_the Munchkin country, which they_are well acquainted with; and_I_will send the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman into_the Quadling country, for they_are fearless and brave and never tire; and to_the Gillikin country, where many dangers lurk, i_will send the shaggy man and_his brother, with Tik-Tok and jack Pumpkinhead . Dorothy may make up her own party and travel into_the Winkie country . all of you_must inquire everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she_is hidden ."

they thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without question . in Ozma's absence, Glinda the good was_the most important person in Oz, and all were glad to_serve under her direction .

chapter 6

the search party

next morning as_soon_as_the sun was up, Glinda flew back to her castle, stopping on_the way to instruct the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman, who were at_that_time staying at_the college of professor H .M .Wogglebug, T .E ., and taking a course of_his patent educational Pills .

on hearing of Ozma's loss, they started at once for_the Quadling country to search for her . as_soon_as Glinda had left the emerald city, Tik-Tok and_the shaggy man and jack Pumpkinhead, who had_been present at_the conference, began their journey into_the Gillikin country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc Nunkie joined Dr .Pipt and together they traveled toward the Munchkin country . when all these searchers were gone, Dorothy and_the wizard completed their own preparations .

the wizard hitched the sawhorse to_the red wagon, which would seat four very comfortably . he_wanted Dorothy, Betsy, trot and_the patchwork girl to ride in_the wagon, but Scraps came up to_them mounted upon_the woozy, and_the woozy said he_would like to join the party . now this woozy was a most peculiar animal, having a square head, square body, square legs and square tail . his skin was very tough and hard, resembling leather, and while his movements were somewhat clumsy, the beast could travel with remarkable swiftness . his square eyes were mild and gentle in expression, and he_was not especially foolish . the woozy and_the patchwork girl were great friends, and so the wizard agreed to let the woozy go with_them .

another great beast now appeared and asked to_go along . this_was none other_than the famous cowardly lion, one_of_the_most interesting creatures in all Oz . no lion that roamed the jungles or plains could compare in size or intelligence with_this cowardly lion, who-- like all animals living in Oz-- could talk and who talked with more shrewdness and wisdom than many_of_the people did . he_said he_was cowardly because he always trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced danger many_times and never refused to fight when it_was necessary . this lion was a great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne on state occasions . he_was also an old companion and friend of_the princess Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to_have him join the party .

"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the cowardly lion in_his deep, rumbling voice, " that_it would make me unhappy to remain behind while you_are trying to_find her . but do_not get into any danger, I beg of you, for danger frightens me terribly ."

" we'll not get into danger if_we_can poss'bly help it," promised Dorothy, " but we_shall do anything to_find Ozma, danger or no danger ."

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