Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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his majesty into giving up his slaves, since he_is too great a magician to oppose ."

" this_is_the most sensible thing any of you_have suggested," declared the Nome king ." it_is folly to threaten me, but I'm so kind-hearted that I_cannot stand coaxing or wheedling . if_you really wish to accomplish anything by your journey, my dear Ozma, you_must coax me ."

" very_well," said Ozma, more cheerfully ." let_us be friends, and talk this over in a friendly manner ."

" to_be_sure," agreed the king, his eyes twinkling merrily .

" I_am very anxious," she continued, " to liberate the queen of Ev and her children who_are now ornaments and bric-a-brac in your majesty's palace, and to restore them to_their people . tell me, sir, how this_may_be accomplished ."

the king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he asked:

" are_you willing to_take a few chances and risks yourself, in_order to set free the people of Ev ? "

" yes, indeed ! " answered Ozma, eagerly .

" then," said the Nome king, " i_will make you this offer: you shall go alone and unattended into my palace and examine carefully all that_the rooms contain . then you_shall_have permission to touch eleven different objects, pronouncing at_the_time the word 'Ev,' and if any_one_of_them, or more than one, proves to_be the transformation of_the queen of Ev or any of her ten children, then they_will instantly be restored to_their true forms and may leave my palace and my kingdom in your company, without any objection whatever . it_is possible for_you, in_this_way, to free the entire eleven; but if_you_do_not guess all the objects correctly, and some_of_the slaves remain transformed, then each_one of your friends and followers may, in turn, enter the palace and_have the same privileges I grant you ."

"Oh, thank_you ! thank_you_for this kind offer ! " said Ozma, eagerly .

"I make but one condition," added the Nome king, his eyes twinkling .

" what_is it ? " she enquired .

" if none_of_the eleven objects you touch proves to_be the transformation of any of_the royal family of Ev, then, instead of freeing them, you_will yourself become enchanted, and transformed into an article of bric-a-brac or an ornament . this_is only fair and just, and is_the risk you declared you were willing to_take ."

12 . the Eleven Guesses

Hearing this condition imposed by_the Nome king, Ozma became silent and thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her uneasily .

"Don't you_do it ! " exclaimed Dorothy ." if_you guess wrong, you_will_be enslaved yourself ."

" but I_shall_have eleven guesses," answered Ozma ." surely I ought to guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if I_do, I_shall rescue one_of_the royal family and be safe myself . then the rest of you_may attempt it, and soon we_shall free all those who_are enslaved ."

" what if_we fail ? " enquired the Scarecrow ."I'd look nice as a piece of bric-a-brac, wouldn't I ? "

" we_must not fail ! " cried Ozma, courageously ."Having come all this distance to free these poor people, it would_be weak and cowardly in us to abandon the adventure . therefore i_will accept the Nome king's offer, and go at once into_the royal palace ."

" come along, then, my dear," said the king, climbing down from_his throne with some difficulty, because he_was so fat; "I'll show you the way ."

he approached a wall of_the cave and waved his hand . instantly an opening appeared, through which Ozma, after asmiling farewell to her friends, boldly passed .

she found herself in a splendid hall that was more beautiful and grand than anything she had ever beheld . the ceilings were composed of great arches that rose far above her head, and all the walls and floors were of polished marble exquisitely tinted in many colors . thick velvet carpets were on_the floor and heavy silken draperies covered the arches leading to_the various rooms of_the palace . the furniture was_made of rare old woods richly carved and covered with delicate satins, and_the entire palace was lighted by a mysterious rosy glow that seemed to_come from no particular place but flooded each apartment with its soft and pleasing radiance .

Ozma passed from one room to another, greatly delighted by all she saw . the lovely palace had no other occupant, for_the Nome king had left her at_the entrance, which closed behind her, and in all the magnificent rooms there appeared to_be no other person .

upon_the mantels, and on many shelves and brackets and tables, were clustered ornaments of every description, seemingly made out of all sorts of metals, glass, china, stones and marbles . there were vases, and figures of men and animals, and graven platters and bowls, and mosaics of precious gems, and many_other things .Pictures, too, were on_the walls, and_the underground palace was quite a museum of rare and curious and costly objects .

after her first hasty examination of_the rooms Ozma began to wonder which of all the numerous ornaments they contained were the transformations of_the royal family of Ev . there_was nothing to guide her, for everything seemed without a spark of life . so she_must guess blindly; and for_the first time the girl came to realize how dangerous was her task, and how likely she was to lose her own freedom in striving to free others from_the bondage of_the Nome king . no wonder the cunning monarch laughed good naturedly with_his visitors, when he_knew how easily they_might_be entrapped .

but Ozma, having undertaken the venture, would_not abandon it . she looked at a silver candelabra that had ten branches, and thought: " this_may_be the queen of Ev and her ten children ." so she touched it and uttered aloud the word "Ev," as_the Nome king had instructed her to_do when she guessed . but the candelabra remained as it_was before .

then she wandered into another room and touched a china lamb, thinking it might_be one_of_the children she sought . but again she was unsuccessful . three guesses; four guesses; five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten she made, and still not one_of_them was right !

the girl shivered a little and grew pale even under the rosy light; for now but one guess remained, and her own fate depended upon_the result .

she resolved not to_be hasty, and strolled through all the rooms once more, gazing earnestly upon_the various ornaments and trying to decide which she_would touch . finally, in despair, she decided to leave it entirely to chance . she faced the doorway of a room, shut her eyes tightly, and then, thrusting aside the heavy draperies, she advanced blindly with her right arm outstretched before her .

slowly, softly she crept forward until her hand came in contact with an object upon a small round table . she did_not know what it_was, but in a low voice she pronounced the word "Ev ."

the rooms were quite empty of life after_that . the Nome king had gained a new ornament . for upon_the edge of_the table rested a pretty grasshopper, that seemed to_have_been formed from a single emerald . it_was all that remained of Ozma of Oz .

in_the throne room just beyond the palace the Nome king suddenly looked up and smiled .

" next ! " he_said, in_his pleasant voice .

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and_the tin woodman, who had_been sitting in anxious silence, each gave a start of dismay and stared into one another's eyes .

" has she failed ? " asked Tiktok .

" so it seems," answered the little monarch, cheerfully ." but that_is no reason one of you_should_not succeed . the next may_have twelve guesses, instead of eleven, for there_are now twelve persons transformed into ornaments . well, well ! which of you goes next ? "

"I'll go," said Dorothy .

" not so," replied the tin woodman ." as commander of Ozma's army, it_is my privilege to_follow her and attempt her rescue ."

" away you go, then," said the Scarecrow ." but be careful, old friend ."

" i_will," promised the tin woodman; and then he followed the Nome king to_the entrance to_the palace and_the rock closed behind him .

13 . the Nome king Laughs

in a moment the king returned to_his throne and relighted his pipe, and_the rest of_the little band of adventurers settled themselves for another long wait . they were greatly disheartened by_the failure of_their girl ruler, and_the knowledge that she was now an ornament in_the Nome king's palace--a dreadful, creepy place in_spite of all its magnificence . without their little leader they_did_not know what to_do next, and each_one, down to_the trembling private of_the army, began to fear he_would soon be more ornamental than useful .

suddenly the Nome king began laughing .

"Ha, ha, ha ! he, he, he ! Ho, ho, ho ! "

" what's happened ? " asked the Scarecrow .

" why, your friend, the tin woodman, has become the funniest thing you_can imagine," replied the king, wiping the tears of merriment from_his eyes ." no one would ever believe he_could make such an amusing ornament . next ! "

they gazed at each_other with sinking hearts . one_of_the generals began to weep dolefully .

" what_are you crying for ? " asked the Scarecrow, indignant at such a display of weakness .

" he owed me six weeks back pay," said the general, " and I hate to lose him ."

" then you shall go and find him," declared the Scarecrow .

" me ! " cried the general, greatly alarmed .

" certainly . it_is your duty to_follow your commander . march ! "

"I won't," said the general ."I'd like to, of_course; but I just simply won'T ."

the Scarecrow looked enquiringly at_the Nome king .

" never mind," said the jolly monarch ." if he doesn't care to enter the palace and make his guesses I'll throw him into one of_my fiery furnaces ."

"I'll go ! -- of_course I'm going," yelled the general, as quick as scat ." where is_the entrance-- where is_it ? let me go at once ! "

so the Nome king escorted him into_the palace, and again returned to await the result . what the general did, no one can tell; but it_was not long before_the king called for_the next victim, and a colonel was forced to_try his fortune .

thus, one after another, all of_the twenty-six officers filed into_the palace and made their guesses-- and became ornaments .

meantime the king ordered refreshments to_be served to_those waiting, and at his command a rudely shaped Nome entered, bearing a tray . this Nome was not unlike the others that Dorothy had seen, but he wore a heavy gold chain around his neck to show that he was_the chief steward of_the Nome king, and he assumed an air of much importance, and even told his majesty not to eat too_much cake late at night, or he_would_be ill .

Dorothy, however, was hungry, and she was not afraid of being ill; so she ate several cakes and found them good, and also she drank a cup of excellent coffee made of a richly flavored clay, browned in_the furnaces and then ground fine, and found it most refreshing and not at all muddy .

of all the party which had started upon_this adventure, the little Kansas girl was now left alone with_the Scarecrow, Tiktok, and_the private for counsellors and companions . of_course the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger were still there, but they, having also eaten some_of_the cakes, had gone to sleep at one side of_the cave, while upon_the other side stood the sawhorse, motionless and silent, as became amere thing of wood .Billina had quietly walked around and picked up the crumbs of cake which had_been scattered, and now, as it_was long after bed- time, she tried to_find some dark place in_which to_go to sleep .

presently the hen espied a hollow underneath the king's rocky throne, and crept into_it unnoticed . she_could still hear the chattering of_those around her, but it_was almost dark underneath the throne, so_that soon she had fallen fast asleep .

" next ! " called the king, and_the private, whose turn it_was to enter the fatal palace, shook hands with Dorothy and_the Scarecrow and bade them a sorrowful good-bye, and passed through_the rocky portal .

they waited a long_time, for_the private was in no hurry to_become an ornament and made his guesses very slowly . the Nome king, who seemed to_know, by some magical power, all that took place in_his beautiful rooms of_his palace, grew impatient finally and declared he_would sit up no longer .

"I love ornaments," said he, " but I_can wait until tomorrow to_get more of_them; so, as_soon_as that stupid private is transformed, we_will all go to bed and leave the job to_be finished in_the morning ."

" is_it so very late ? " asked Dorothy .

" why, it_is after midnight," said the king, " and_that strikes me as being late enough . there_is neither night nor day in my kingdom, because it_is under the earth's surface, where the sun does_not shine . but we_have to sleep, just the same as_the up-stairs people do, and for_my part I'm going to bed in_a_few_minutes ."

indeed, it_was not long after_this that_the private made his last guess . of_course he guessed wrongly, and of_course he at once became an ornament . so the king was greatly pleased, and clapped his hands to summon his chief steward .

" show these guests to some_of_the sleeping apartments," he commanded, " and be quick about_it, too, for I'm dreadfully sleepy myself ."

" you've no business to sit up so late," replied the steward, gruffly ." you'll be as cross as a griffin tomorrow morning ."

his majesty made no answer to_this remark, and_the chief steward led Dorothy through another doorway into a long hall, from_which several plain but comfortable sleeping rooms opened . the little girl was given the first room, and_the Scarecrow and Tiktok the next-- although they never slept-- and_the lion and_the tiger the third . the sawhorse hobbled after_the steward into a fourth room, to stand stiffly in_the center of it until morning . each night was rather a bore to_the Scarecrow, Tiktok and_the sawhorse; but they had learned

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