Oz 11: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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just what the little pink bear said . will_you let me ask him one more question ? "

the lavender bear king was a good-natured bear, considering how he was_made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's apology and turned the crank and allowed the little girl to question his wee pink bear .

" is Ozma really in_this hole ? " asked Dorothy .

" no," said the little pink bear .

this surprised everybody . even the bear king was now puzzled by_the contradictory statements of_his oracle .

" where is she ? " asked the king .

" here, among you," answered the little pink bear .

" well," said Dorothy, " this beats me entirely ! I guess the little pink bear has gone crazy ."

" perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cartwheels" all around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible ."

" of_course ! " cried Betsy . that_would account for_it ."

" well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when_they've been made invisible," said the wizard . and then he looked all around him and said in a solemn voice, "Ozma, are_you here ? "

there_was no reply . Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did button- bright and trot and Betsy, but none received any reply at all .

" it's strange, it's terrible strange ! " muttered Cayke the Cookie Cook ." i_was sure that_the little pink bear always tells the truth ."

"I still believe in_his honesty," said the Frogman, and this tribute so pleased the bear king that he_gave these last speakers grateful looks, but still gazed sourly on_the others .

" come to_think of it," remarked the wizard, "Ozma couldn't be invisible, for she_is a fairy, and fairies cannot_be made invisible against their will . of_course, she_could be imprisoned by_the magician or enchanted or transformed, in_spite of her fairy powers, but Ugu could_not render her invisible by any magic at his command ."

"I wonder if she's been transformed into button- bright ? " said Dorothy nervously . then she looked steadily at_the boy and asked, " are_you Ozma ? tell me truly ! "

button- bright laughed .

" you're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied ." nothing ever enchants me . if I were Ozma, do_you_think I'd have tumbled into that hole ? "

"Anyhow," said the wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive her friends or prevent them from recognizing her in whatever form she happened to_be . the puzzle is still a puzzle, so let_us go on to_the wicker castle and question the magician himself . since it_was he who stole our Ozma, Ugu is_the one who_must tell us where to_find her ."

chapter 21

magic against magic

the wizard's advice was good, so again they started in_the direction of_the low mountain on_the crest of_which the wicker castle had_been built . they had_been gradually advancing uphill, so now the elevation seemed to_them more like a round knoll than amountaintop . however, the sides of_the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, so there_was a stiff climb before them yet . undaunted, they plodded on and had almost reached the knoll when_they suddenly observed that_it_was surrounded by a circle of flame . at first, the flames barely rose above the ground, but presently they grew higher and higher until a circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any of_their heads quite surrounded the hill on_which the wicker castle stood . when_they approached the flames, the heat was so intense that_it drove them back again .

" this_will never do for_me ! " exclaimed the patchwork girl ."I catch fire very easily ."

" it won't do for_me either," grumbled the sawhorse, prancing to_the rear .

"I also strongly object to fire," said the bear king, following the sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little pink bear with_his paws .

"I suppose the foolish shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us," remarked the wizard with a smile of scorn for Ugu ." but I_am able to inform you that_this_is merely a simple magic trick which the robber stole from Glinda the good, and by good fortune I_know how to destroy these flames as_well as how to_produce them . will some one of you kindly give_me a match ? "

you_may_be_sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman or any of_the animals . but button- bright, after searching carefully through his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and useless things, finally produced a match and handed it to_the wizard, who tied it to_the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree growing near them . then the little wizard carefully lighted the match, and running forward thrust it into_the nearest flame . instantly, the circle of fire began to die away, and soon vanished completely leaving the way clear for_them to_proceed .

" that was funny ! " laughed button- bright .

" yes," agreed the wizard, " it seems odd that a little match could destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented this trick, she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedy for fire .I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench the flames of_his barrier, for only Glinda and I_know the secret .Glinda's book of magic which Ugu stole told how to make_the flames, but not how to_put them out ."

they now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up the slope of_the hill, but had_not gone far when before them rose a wall of steel, the surface of which_was thickly covered with sharp, gleaming points resembling daggers . the wall completely surrounded the wicker castle, and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbing it . even the patchwork girl might_be ripped to pieces if she dared attempt it ."Ah ! " exclaimed the wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now using one of_my own tricks against me . but this_is more serious than_the barrier of fire, because the only way to destroy the wall is to_get on_the other side of it ."

" how can that be_done ? " asked Dorothy .

the wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party, and_his face grew troubled ." it's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked ."I'm pretty sure the cowardly lion could_not leap over it ."

"I'm sure of_that, too ! " said the lion with a shudder of fear ." if I foolishly tried such a leap, i_would_be caught on those dreadful spikes ."

" i_think I_could do_it, sir," said the Frogman with a bow to_the wizard ." it_is an uphill jump as_well as being a high jump, but I'm considered something of a jumper by my friends in_the Yip country, and I believe a good, strong leap will carry me to_the other side ."

"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook .

"Leaping, you_know, is afroglike accomplishment," continued the Frogman modestly, " but please tell me what I_am to_do when I reach the

" you're a brave creature," said the wizard admiringly ." has anyone a pin ? "

Betsy had one, which she gave him ." all you_need do," said the wizard to_the Frogman, giving him the pin, " is to stick this into_the other side of_the wall ."

" but the wall is of steel ! " exclaimed the big frog .

" I_know . at_least, it seems_to_be steel, but do as I tell you . stick the pin into_the wall, and it_will disappear ."

the Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it and laid it on_the grass . then he removed his hat and laid it together with_his gold- headed cane beside the coat . he then went back a way and made three powerful leaps in rapid succession . the first two leaps took him to_the wall, and_the third leap carried him well over it, to_the amazement of all . for a short time, he disappeared from their view, but when he had obeyed the wizard's injunction and had thrust the pin into_the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed them the form of_the Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay and put it on again .

" we_thank_you very_much," said the delighted wizard .

" that was_the most wonderful leap I ever saw, and it has saved us from defeat by our enemy . let_us now hurry on to_the castle before Ugu the shoemaker thinks up some other means to stop us ."

" we_must_have surprised him so_far," declared Dorothy .

" yes indeed . the fellow knows alot of magic-- all of_our tricks and some of_his own," replied the wizard ." so if he_is half as clever as he ought_to_be, we_shall_have trouble with_him yet ."

he had scarcely spoken these words when out from_the gates of_the wicker castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and all bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle axes . these soldiers were girls, and_the uniforms were short skirts of yellow and black satin, golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads and necklaces of glittering jewels . their jackets were scarlet, braided with silver cords . there were hundreds of_these girl-soldiers, and_they were more terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce in appearance . they formed a circle all around the castle and faced outward, their spears pointed toward the invaders, and their battle axes held over their shoulders, ready to strike . of_course, our friends halted at once, for they had_not expected this dreadful array of soldiery . the wizard seemed puzzled, and_his companions exchanged discouraged looks .

"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as_that," said Dorothy ." the castle doesn't look big enough to hold them all ."

" it isn't," declared the wizard .

" but they all marched out of it ."

" they seemed to, but I don't believe it_is a real army at all . if Ugu the shoemaker had so_many people living with_him, I'm sure the Czarover of Herku would_have mentioned the fact to_us ."

" they're only girls ! " laughed Scraps .

"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman ." they_are more brave than men, and they_have better nerves . that_is probably why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them to oppose us ."

no one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at_the line of soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remained motionless .

" here_is a trick of magic new to_me," admitted the wizard after a time ." I_do_not believe the army is real, but the spears may_be sharp enough to prick us, nevertheless, so we_must_be cautious . let_us take time to consider how to meet this difficulty ."

while they were thinking it over, Scraps danced closer to_the line of girl soldiers . her button eyes sometimes saw more than did the natural eyes of her comrades, and so after staring hard at_the magician's army, she boldly advanced and danced right through_the threatening line ! on_the other side, she waved her stuffed arms and called out, " come on, folks . the spears can't hurt you ." said the wizard gaily ." an optical illusion, as i_thought . let_us all follow the patchwork girl ." the three little girls were somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the spears and battle axes, but after_the others had safely passed the line, they ventured to_follow . and when all had passed through_the ranks of_the girl army, the army itself magically disappeared from view .

all this_time our friends had_been getting farther up the hill and nearer to_the wicker castle . now, continuing their advance, they expected something else to oppose their way, but to_their astonishment nothing happened, and presently they arrived at_the wicker gates, which stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu the shoemaker .

chapter 22

no sooner were the wizard of Oz and_his followers well within_the castle entrance when_the big gates swung to with a clang and heavy bars dropped across them . they looked at one another uneasily, but no one cared to_speak of_the incident . if_they were indeed prisoners in_the wicker castle, it_was evident they_must find a way to escape, but their first duty was to attend to_the errand on_which they had come and seek the royal Ozma, whom they believed to_be a prisoner of_the magician, and rescue her .

they found they had entered a square courtyard, from_which an entrance led into_the main building of_the castle . no person had appeared to greet them so_far, although a gaudy peacock perched upon_the wall cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill voice, " poor fools ! poor fools ! "

" I_hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no one else paid any attention to_the bird . they were a little awed by_the stillness and loneliness of_the place . as_they entered the doors of_the castle, which stood invitingly open, these also closed behind them and huge bolts shot into place . the animals had all accompanied the party into_the castle because they felt it would_be dangerous for_them to separate . they were forced to_follow a zigzag passage, turning this_way and_that, until finally they entered a great central hall, circular in form and with a high dome from_which was suspended an enormous chandelier .

the wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and trot followed him, Toto keeping at_the heels of_his little mistress . then came the lion, the woozy and_the sawhorse, then Cayke the Cookie Cook and button- bright, then the lavender bear carrying the pink bear, and finally the Frogman and_the patchwork girl, with Hank the mule tagging behind . so it was_the wizard who caught the first glimpse of_the big, domed hall, but the others quickly followed and gathered in awondering group just within_the entrance .

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