Oz 10: Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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and most savory dishes for_them, which Rinkitink ate with much appetite and found so delicious that he ordered the royal chef brought into_the banquet hall and presented him with a gilt button which the king cut from_his own jacket .

" you_are welcome to_it," said he to_the chef, " because I_have eaten so_much that I_cannot use that lower button at all ."

Rinkitink was mightily pleased to live in a comfortable palace again and to dine at a well spread table . his joy grew every moment, so_that he_came in_time to_be as merry and cheery as before Pingaree was despoiled . and, although he had_been much frightened during Inga's Defiance of_the army of king Gos, he now began to_turn the matter into a joke .

" why, my boy," said he, " you whipped the big black- bearded king exactly as_if he were aschoolboy, even though you used no warlike weapon at all upon him . he_was cowed through fear of your magic, and_that reminds me to demand from_you an explanation . how did you_do it, Inga ? and where did the wonderful magic come from ? "

perhaps it would_have_been wise for_the prince to_have explained about_the magic pearls, but at_that moment he_was not inclined to_do_so . instead, he replied:

" be patient, your majesty . the secret is_not my own, so please do_not ask me to divulge it . is_it not enough, for_the_present, that_the magic saved you from death to- day ? "

" do_not think me ungrateful," answered the king earnestly ."A million spears fell on me from_the wall, and several stones as big as mountains, yet none_of_them hurt me ! "

" the stones were_not as big as mountains, sire," said the prince with a smile ." they were, indeed, no larger than your head ."

" are_you sure about_that ? " asked Rinkitink .

" quite_sure, your majesty ."

" how deceptive those things are ! " sighed the king ." this argument reminds me of_the story of Tom tick, which my father used to_tell ."

" I_have never heard that story," Inga answered .

" well, as he_told it, it ran like this:

" when Tom walked out, the sky to spy, a naughty gnat flew in_his eye; but Tom knew not it_was a gnat -- he thought, at first, it_was acat .

" and then, it felt so very big, he thought it surely was a Pig till, standing still to hear it grunt, he cried: ' why, it's an elephunt ! '

" but -- when_the gnat flew out again and Tom was free from all his pain, he_said: ' there flew into my eye aleetle, teenty- tiny fly .'"

" indeed," said Inga, laughing, " the gnat was much like your stones that seemed as big as mountains ."

after their dinner they inspected the palace, which_was filled with valuable goods stolen by king Gos from many nations . but the day's events had tired them and_they retired early to_their big sleeping apartment .

" in_the morning," said the boy to Rinkitink, as he_was undressing for bed, " I_shall begin the search for_my father and mother and_the people of Pingaree . and, when_they are found and rescued, we_will all go home again, and be as happy as_we were before ."

they carefully bolted the door of_their room, that no one might enter, and then got into their beds, where Rinkitink fell asleep in an instant . the boy lay awake for a while thinking over the day's adventures, but presently he fell sound asleep also, and so weary was he that nothing disturbed his slumber until he awakened next morning with a ray of sunshine in_his eyes, which had crept into_the room through_the open window by king Rinkitink's bed .

Resolving to_begin the search for_his parents without any unnecessary delay, Inga at once got out of bed and began to dress himself, while Rinkitink, in_the other bed, was still sleeping peacefully . but when_the boy had put on both his stockings and began looking for_his shoes, he_could find but one_of_them . the left shoe, that containing the pink pearl, was missing .

filled with anxiety at_this discovery, Inga searched through_the entire room, looking underneath the beds and divans and chairs and behind the draperies and in_the corners and every_other possible place a shoe might_be . he tried the door, and found it still bolted; so, with growing uneasiness, the boy was forced to admit that_the precious shoe was not in_the room .

with athrobbing heart he aroused his companion .

" king Rinkitink," said he, " do_you_know what has become of_my left shoe ? "

" your shoe ! " exclaimed the king, giving a wide yawn and rubbing his eyes to_get the sleep out_of_them ." have_you lost a shoe ? "

" yes," said Inga ." I_have searched everywhere in_the room, and cannot find it ."

" but why bother me about such a small thing ? " inquired Rinkitink ."A shoe is only a shoe, and you_can easily get another one . but, stay ! perhaps it_was your shoe which I threw at_the cat last night ."

" the cat ! " cried Inga ." what do_you_mean ? "

" why, in_the night," explained Rinkitink, sitting up and beginning to dress himself, " i_was wakened by_the mewing of acat that sat upon a wall of_the palace, just outside my window . as_the noise disturbed me, I reached out in_the dark and caught up something and threw it at_the cat, to frighten the creature away . I_did_not know what it was_that I threw, and i_was too sleepy to care; but probably it_was your shoe, since it_is now missing ."

" then," said the boy, in adespairing tone of voice, " your carelessness has ruined me, as_well as yourself, king Rinkitink, for in_that shoe was concealed the magic power which protected us from danger ."

the king's face became very serious when he heard this and he uttered a low whistle of surprise and regret .

" why on earth did you not warn me of_this ? " he demanded ." and why did you keep such a precious power in an old shoe ? and why didn't you put the shoe under a pillow ? you were very wrong, my lad, in not confiding to_me, your faithful friend, the secret, for in_that case the shoe would_not now be lost ."

to all this Inga had no answer . he sat on_the side of_his bed, with hanging head, utterly disconsolate, and seeing this, Rinkitink had pity for_his sorrow .

" come ! " cried the king; " let_us go out at once and look for_the shoe which I threw at_the cat . it must even now be lying in_the yard of_the palace ."

this suggestion roused the boy to action . he at once threw open the door and in_his stocking feet rushed down the staircase, closely followed by Rinkitink . but although they looked on both sides of_the palace wall and in every possible crack and corner where a shoe might lodge, they failed to_find it .

after a half hour's careful search the boy said sorrowfully:

" someone must_have passed by, as_we slept, and taken the precious shoe, not knowing its value . to_us, king Rinkitink, this_will_be a dreadful misfortune, for we_are surrounded by dangers from_which we_have now no protection . luckily I_have the other shoe left, within which_is the magic power that gives me strength; so all is_not lost ."

then he_told Rinkitink, in a few words, the secret of_the wonderful pearls, and how he had recovered them from_the ruins and hidden them in_his shoes, and how they had enabled him to drive king Gos and_his men from Regos and to capture the city . the king was much astonished, and when_the story was concluded he_said to Inga:

" what did you_do with_the other shoe ? "

" why, I left it in_our bedroom," replied the boy .

" then I advise you to_get it at once," continued Rinkitink, " for we_can ill afford to lose the second shoe, as_well as_the one I threw at_the cat ."

" you_are right ! " cried Inga, and_they hastened back to_their bedchamber .

on entering the room they found an old woman sweeping and raising a great deal of dust .

" where is my shoe ? " asked the prince, anxiously .

the old woman stopped sweeping and looked at him in a stupid way, for she was not very intelligent .

" do_you_mean the one odd shoe that was lying on_the floor when I_came in ? " she finally asked .

" yes -- yes ! " answered the boy ." where is_it ? tell me where it_is ! "

" why, I threw it on_the dust- heap, outside the back gate," said she, " for, it being but a single shoe, with no mate, it can_be of no use to anyone ."

" show us the way to_the dust- heap -- at once ! " commanded the boy, sternly, for he_was greatly frightened by_this new misfortune which threatened him .

the old woman hobbled away and_they followed her, constantly urging her to hasten; but when_they reached the dust- heap no shoe was to_be seen .

" this_is terrible ! " wailed the young prince, ready to weep at his loss ." we_are now absolutely ruined, and at_the mercy of_our enemies . nor shall I be_able to liberate my dear father and mother ."

" well," replied Rinkitink, leaning against an old barrel and looking quite solemn, " the thing is certainly unlucky, any_way we look at it .I suppose someone has passed along here and, seeing the shoe upon_the dust- heap, has carried it away . but no one could know the magic power the shoe contains and so will not use it against us .I believe, Inga, we_must now depend upon our wits to_get us out_of_the scrape we_are in .

with saddened hearts they returned to_the palace, and entering a small room where no one could observe them or overhear them, the boy took the white pearl from its silken bag and held it to_his ear, asking:

" what shall I_do now ? "

" tell no one of your loss," answered the voice of_the pearl ." if your enemies do_not know that you_are powerless, they_will fear you as_much as ever . keep your secret, be patient, and fear not ! "

Inga heeded this advice and also warned Rinkitink to_say nothing to anyone of_the loss of_the shoes and_the powers they contained . he sent for_the shoemaker of king Gos, who soon brought him a new pair of red leather shoes that fitted him quite well . when these had_been put upon his feet, the prince, accompanied by_the king, started to walk through_the city .

wherever they went the people bowed low to_the conqueror, although a few, remembering Inga's terrible strength, ran away in fear and trembling . they had_been used to severe masters and did_not yet know how they_would_be treated by king Gos's successor . there being no occasion for_the boy to exercise the powers he had displayed the previous day, his present helplessness was not suspected by any of_the citizens of Regos, who still considered him a wonderful magician .

Inga did_not dare to fight his way to_the mines, at present, nor could he try to conquer the island of Coregos, where his mother was enslaved; so he set about_the regulation of_the city of Regos, and having established himself with great state in_the royal palace he began to govern the people by kindness, having consideration for_the most humble .

the king of Regos and_his followers sent spies across to_the island they had abandoned in their flight, and these spies returned with_the news that_the terrible boy conqueror was still occupying the city . therefore none_of_them ventured to_go back to Regos but continued to live upon_the neighboring island of Coregos, where they passed the days in fear and trembling and sought to plot and plan ways how they_might overcome the prince of Pingaree and_the fat king of Gilgad .

chapter Nine

a present for Zella

now it so happened that on_the morning of_that same day when_the prince of Pingaree suffered the loss of_his priceless shoes, there chanced to_pass along the road that wound beside the royal palace a poor charcoal- burner named Nikobob, who was about to return to_his home in_the forest .

Nikobob carried an ax and a bundle of torches over his shoulder and he walked with_his eyes to_the ground, being deep in thought as_to_the strange manner in_which_the powerful king Gos and_his city had_been conquered by a boy prince who had come from Pingaree .

suddenly the charcoal- burner espied a shoe lying upon_the ground, just beyond the high wall of_the palace and directly in_his path . he picked it up and, seeing it_was a pretty shoe, although much too small for_his own foot, he put it in_his pocket .

soon after, on turning a corner of_the wall, Nikobob came to a dust- heap where, lying amidst a mass of rubbish, was another shoe -- the mate to_the one he had before found . this also he placed in_his pocket, saying to himself:

" I_have now a fine pair of shoes for_my daughter Zella, who_will_be much pleased to_find I_have brought her a present from_the city ."

and while the charcoal- burner turned into_the forest and trudged along the path toward his home, Inga and Rinkitink were still searching for_the missing shoes . of_course, they_could_not know that Nikobob had found them, nor did the honest man think he had taken anything more than a pair of cast- off shoes which nobody wanted .

Nikobob had several miles to travel through_the forest before he_could reach the little log cabin where his wife, as_well as his little daughter Zella, awaited his return, but he_was used to long walks and tramped along the path whistling cheerfully to beguile the time .

few people, as I_said before, ever passed through_the dark and

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