Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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and I'll go back and get it ."

so she went into_the room where she had seen the grasshopper, and presently Ozma of Oz, as lovely and dainty as ever, entered and approached the queen of Ev, greeting her as one high born princess greets another .

" but where are my friends, the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman ? " asked the girl ruler, when these courtesies had_been exchanged .

"I'll hunt them up," replied Billina ." the Scarecrow is solid gold, and so is Tiktok; but I don't exactly know what the tin woodman is, because the Nome king said he had_been transformed into something funny ."

Ozma eagerly assisted the hen in her quest, and soon the Scarecrow and_the machine man, being ornaments of shining gold, were discovered and restored to_their accustomed forms . but, search as they_might, in no place could they find a funny ornament that might_be the transformation of_the tin woodman .

" only one_thing can_be_done," said Ozma, at last, " and_that is to return to_the Nome king and oblige him to_tell us what has become of_our friend ."

" perhaps he won't," suggested Billina .

" he_must," returned Ozma, firmly ." the king has_not treated us honestly, for under the mask of fairness and good nature he entrapped us all, and we would_have_been forever enchanted had_not our wise and clever friend, the yellow hen, found a way to save us ."

" the king is a villain," declared the Scarecrow .

" his laugh is worse than another man's frown," said the private, with a shudder .

" i_thought he_was hon- EST, but i_was mis-tak-en," remarked Tiktok ." my thoughts are us-u-al-ly cor-rect, but it_is smith & tin-ker's fault if_they some-times go wrong or do_not work prop-er-ly ."

" smith & tinker made a very_good job of you," said Ozma, kindly ." I_do_not_think they should_be blamed if you_are_not quite perfect ."

" thank_you," replied Tiktok .

" then," said Billina, in her brisk little voice, " let_us all go back to_the Nome king, and_see what he has_to say for himself ."

so they started for_the entrance, Ozma going first, with_the queen and her train of little princes and Princesses following . then came Tiktok, and_the Scarecrow with Billina perched upon his straw- stuffed shoulder . the twenty-seven officers and_the private brought up the rear .

as_they reached the hall the doors flew open before them; but then they all stopped and stared into_the domed cavern with faces of astonishment and dismay . for_the room was filled with_the mail-clad warriors of_the Nome king, rank after rank standing in orderly array . the electric lights upon their brows gleamed brightly, their battle-axes were poised as_if to strike down their foes; yet they remained motionless as statues, awaiting the word of command .

and in_the center of_this terrible army sat the little king upon his throne of rock . but he neither smiled nor laughed . instead, his face was distorted with rage, and most dreadful to behold .

17 . the Scarecrow Wins the fight

after Billina had entered the palace Dorothy and Evring sat down to await the success or failure of her mission, and_the Nome king occupied his throne and smoked his long pipe for a while in a cheerful and contented mood .

then the bell above the throne, which sounded whenever an enchantment was broken, began to ring, and_the king gave a start of annoyance and exclaimed, "Rocketty-ricketts ! "

when_the bell rang a second time the king shouted angrily, " smudge and blazes ! " and at a third ring he screamed in a fury, "Hippikaloric ! " which_must be a dreadful word because we don't know what it means .

after_that the bell went on ringing time after time; but the king was now so violently enraged that he_could_not utter a word, but hopped out of_his throne and all around the room in a mad frenzy, so_that he reminded Dorothy of ajumping- jack .

the girl was, for her part, filled with joy at every peal of_the bell, for_it announced the fact that Billina had transformed one more ornament into aliving person . Dorothy was also amazed at Billina's success, for she_could_not imagine how the yellow hen was able to guess correctly from all the bewildering number of articles clustered in_the rooms of_the palace . but after she had counted ten, and_the bell continued to ring, she knew that not_only the royal family of Ev, but Ozma and her followers also, were being restored to_their natural forms, and she was so delighted that_the antics of_the angry king only made her laugh merrily .

perhaps the little monarch could_not_be more furious than he_was before, but the girl's laughter nearly drove him frantic, and he roared at her like a savage beast . then, as he_found that all his enchantments were likely to_be dispelled and_his victims every_one set free, he suddenly ran to_the little door that opened upon_the balcony and gave the shrill whistle that summoned his warriors .

at once the army filed out_of_the gold and silver doors in great numbers, and marched up awinding stairs and into_the throne room, led by a stern featured Nome who was their captain . when_they had nearly filled the throne room they formed ranks in_the big underground cavern below, and then stood still until they were told what to_do next .

Dorothy had pressed back to one side of_the cavern when_the warriors entered, and now she stood holding little prince Evring's hand while the great lion crouched upon one side and_the enormous tiger crouched on_the other side .

" seize that girl ! " shouted the king to_his captain, and a group of warriors sprang forward to obey . but both the lion and tiger snarled so fiercely and bared their strong, sharp teeth so threateningly, that_the men drew back in alarm .

"Don't mind them ! " cried the Nome king; " they_cannot leap beyond the places where they now stand ."

" but they_can bite those who attempt to touch the girl," said the captain .

"I'll fix that," answered the king ."I'll enchant them again, so that_they can't open their jaws ."

he stepped out_of_the throne to do_this, but just then the sawhorse ran up behind him and gave the fat monarch a powerful kick with both his wooden hind legs .

"Ow ! murder ! treason ! " yelled the king, who had_been hurled against several of_his warriors and was considerably bruised ." who did that ? "

" I_did," growled the sawhorse, viciously ." you let Dorothy alone, or I'll kick you again ."

" we'll see about_that," replied the king, and at once he waved his hand toward the sawhorse and muttered a magical word ."Aha ! " he continued; " now let_us_see you move, you wooden mule ! "

but in_spite of_the magic the sawhorse moved; and he moved so quickly toward the king, that_the fat little man could_not get out of_his way . thump-- bang ! came the wooden heels, right against his round body, and_the king flew into_the air and fell upon_the head of_his captain, who let him drop flat upon_the ground .

" well, well ! " said the king, sitting up and looking surprised ." why didn't my magic belt work, I wonder ? "

" the creature is made of wood," replied the captain ." your magic will not work on wood, you_know ."

"Ah, I'd forgotten that," said the king, getting up and limping to_his throne ." very_well, let the girl alone . she_can't escape us, anyway ."

the warriors, who had_been rather confused by_these incidents, now formed their ranks again, and_the sawhorse pranced across the room to Dorothy and took a position beside the hungry tiger .

at_that moment the doors that led to_the palace flew open and_the people of Ev and_the people of Oz were disclosed to view . they paused, astonished, at sight of_the warriors and_the angry Nome king, seated in their midst .

" surrender ! " cried the king, in a loud voice ." you_are my prisoners ."

" go ' long ! " answered Billina, from_the Scarecrow's shoulder ." you promised me that if I guessed correctly my friends and I_might depart in safety . and you always keep your promises ."

" I_said you_might leave the palace in safety," retorted the king; " and so you_may, but you_cannot leave my dominions . you_are my prisoners, and_I_will hurl you all into my underground dungeons, where the volcanic fires glow and_the molten lava flows in every direction, and_the air is hotter than blue blazes ."

" that_will_be the end of me, all right," said the Scarecrow, sorrowfully ." one small blaze, blue or green, is enough to reduce me to an ash- heap ."

" do_you surrender ? " demanded the king .

Billina whispered something in_the Scarecrow's ear that made him smile and put his hands in_his jacket pockets .

" no ! " returned Ozma, boldly answering the king . then she said to her army:

" forward, my brave soldiers, and fight for your ruler and yourselves, unto death ! "

" pardon me, most royal Ozma," replied one of her generals; " but I_find that I and my brother officers all suffer from heart disease, and_the slightest excitement might kill us . if_we fight we_may get excited . would it not be well for_us to avoid this grave danger ? "

"Soldiers should_not have heart disease," said Ozma .

" private soldiers are_not, I believe, afflicted that way," declared another general, twirling his moustache thoughtfully ." if your royal highness desires, we_will order our private to attack yonder warriors ."

" do_so," replied Ozma .

" for- ward-- march ! " cried all the generals, with one voice ." for- ward-- march ! " yelled the colonels ." for- ward-- march ! " shouted the majors ." for- ward-- march ! " commanded the captains .

and at that_the private leveled his spear and dashed furiously upon_the foe .

the captain of_the Nomes was so surprised by_this sudden onslaught that he forgot to command his warriors to fight, so that_the ten men in_the first row, who stood in front of_the private's spear, fell over like so_many toy soldiers . the spear could_not go through their steel armor, however, so the warriors scrambled to_their feet again, and by_that_time the private had knocked over another row of_them .

then the captain brought down his battle-axe with_such a strong blow that_the private's spear was shattered and knocked from_his grasp, and he_was helpless to fight any longer .

the Nome king had left his throne and pressed through his warriors to_the front ranks, so he could_see what_was going on; but as he faced Ozma and her friends the Scarecrow, as_if aroused to action by_the valor of_the private, drew one of Billina's eggs from_his right jacket pocket and hurled it straight at_the little monarch's head .

it struck him squarely in_his left eye, where the egg smashed and scattered, as eggs will, and covered his face and hair and beard with its sticky contents .

" help, help ! " screamed the king, clawing with_his fingers at_the egg, in a struggle to remove it .

" an egg ! an egg ! run for your lives ! " shouted the captain of_the Nomes, in a voice of horror .

and how they_did run ! the warriors fairly tumbled over one another in their efforts to escape the fatal poison of_that awful egg, and those who_could_not rush down the winding stair fell off the balcony into_the great cavern beneath, knocking over those who stood below them .

even while the king was still yelling for help his throne room became emptied of every_one of_his warriors, and before_the monarch had managed to clear the egg away from_his left eye the Scarecrow threw the second egg against his right eye, where it smashed and blinded him entirely . the king was unable to flee because he could_not_see which_way to run; so he stood still and howled and shouted and screamed in abject fear .

while this_was going on, Billina flew over to Dorothy, and perching herself upon_the lion's back the hen whispered eagerly to_the girl:

" get his belt ! get the Nome king's jeweled belt ! it unbuckles in_the back . quick, Dorothy-- quick ! "

18 . the fate of_the tin woodman

Dorothy obeyed . she ran at once behind the Nome king, who was still trying to free his eyes from_the egg, and in atwinkling she had unbuckled his splendid jeweled belt and carried it away with her to her place beside the tiger and lion, where, because she did_not know what else to_do with it, she fastened it around her own slim waist .

just then the chief steward rushed in with a sponge and a bowl of water, and began mopping away the broken eggs from_his master's face . in_a_few_minutes, and while all the party stood looking on, the king regained the use of_his eyes, and_the first thing he_did was to glare wickedly upon_the Scarecrow and exclaim:

"I'll make you suffer for_this, you hay- stuffed dummy ! Don't you_know eggs are poison to Nomes ? "

" really," said the Scarecrow, " they DON'T seem to agree with_you, although I wonder why ."

" they were strictly fresh and above suspicion," said Billina ." you ought_to_be glad to_get them ."

"I'll transform you all into scorpions ! " cried the king, angrily, and began waving his arms and muttering magic words .

but none_of_the people became scorpions, so the king stopped and looked at them in surprise .

" what's wrong ? " he asked .

" why, you_are_not wearing your magic belt," replied the chief steward, after looking the king over carefully ." where is_it ? what have_you done with it ? "

the Nome king clapped his hand to_his waist, and_his rock colored face turned white as chalk .

" it's gone," he cried, helplessly ." it's gone, and I_am ruined ! "

Dorothy now stepped forward and said:

" royal Ozma, and you, queen of Ev, I welcome you and your people back to_the land of_the living .Billina has saved you from your troubles, and now we_will leave this drea'ful place, and return to Ev as_soon_as poss'ble ."

while the child spoke they_could all see that she wore the magic belt, and a great

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