Oz 10: Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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. perhaps this_was the woman the boy was seeking .

Inga at once commanded him to lead the way to_the butter house, but when_they arrived there queen Garee was nowhere in_the place, although the boy found a silk scarf which he recognized as one that his mother used to wear . then they began a search throughout_the island of Coregos, but could_not find Inga's mother anywhere .

when_they returned to_the palace of queen Cor, Rinkitink discovered that_the bridge of boats had again been removed, separating them from Regos, and from_this they suspected that queen Cor had fled to her husband's island and had taken queen Garee with her .Inga was much perplexed what to_do and returned with_his friends to_the palace to_talk the matter over .

Zella was now crying because she had_not sold her honey and was unable to return to her parents on_the island of Regos, but the boy prince comforted her and promised she should_be protected until she_could be restored to her home .Rinkitink found queen Cor's purse, which she had had no time to_take with her, and gave Zella several gold pieces for_the honey . then Inga ordered the palace servants to_prepare a feast for all the women and children of Pingaree and to_prepare for_them beds in_the great palace, which_was large enough to accommodate them all .

then the boy and_the goat and Rinkitink and Zella went into a private room to consider what should_be_done next .

chapter Fourteen

the escape

" our fault," said Rinkitink, " is_that we conquer only_one_of_these twin islands at_a_time . when we conquered Regos, our foes all came to Coregos, and now that we_have conquered Coregos, the queen has fled to Regos . and each_time they removed the bridge of boats, so_that we_could_not follow them ."

" what has become of_our own boat, in_which we came from Pingaree ? " asked Bilbil .

" we left it on_the shore of Regos," replied the prince, " but I wonder if we_could_not get it again ."

" why don't you ask_the white pearl ? " suggested Rinkitink .

" that_is a good idea," returned the boy, and at once he drew the white pearl from its silken bag and held it to_his ear . then he asked: " how may I regain our boat ? "

the voice of_the pearl replied: " go to_the south end of_the island of Coregos, and clap your hands three times and_the boat will come to_you .

" very_good ! " cried Inga, and then he turned to_his companions and said: " we_shall_be_able to_get our boat whenever we please; but what then shall we_do ? "

" take me home in_it ! " pleaded Zella .

" come with me to my city of Gilgad," said the king, " where you_will_be very welcome to remain forever ."

" no," answered Inga, " I_must rescue my father and mother, as_well as my people . already I_have the women and children of Pingaree, but the men are with my father in_the mines of Regos, and my dear mother has_been taken away by queen Cor . not until all are rescued will I consent to leave these islands ."

" quite right ! " exclaimed Bilbil .

" on second thought," said Rinkitink, "I agree with_you . if_you_are careful to sleep in your shoes, and never take them off again, I believe you_will_be_able to perform the task you_have undertaken ."

they counseled together for_a_long_time as to_their mode of action and it_was finally considered best to make_the attempt to liberate king Kitticut first of all, and with_him the men from Pingaree . this_would give them an army to assist them and afterward they_could march to Regos and compel queen Cor to_give up the queen of Pingaree .Zella told them that they_could go in their boat along the shore of Regos to a point opposite the mines, thus avoiding any conflict with_the warriors of king Gos .

this being considered the best course to pursue, they resolved to start on_the following morning, as night was even now approaching . the servants being all busy in caring for_the women and children, Zella undertook to_get a dinner for Inga and Rinkitink and herself and soon prepared a fine meal in_the palace kitchen, for she was a good little cook and had often helped her mother . the dinner was served in a small room overlooking the gardens and Rinkitink thought the best part of it was_the sweet honey, which he spread upon_the biscuits that Zella had made . as for Bilbil, he wandered through_the palace grounds and found some grass that made him a good dinner .

during the evening Inga talked with_the women and cheered them, promising soon to reunite them with their husbands who were working in_the mines and to send_them back to_their own island of Pingaree .

next morning the boy rose bright and early and found that Zella had already prepared a nice breakfast . and after_the meal they went to_the most southern point of_the island, which_was not very far away, Rinkitink riding upon Bilbil's back and Inga and Zella following behind them, hand in hand .

when_they reached the water's edge the boy advanced and clapped his hands together three times, as_the white pearl had told him to_do . and in a few_moments they saw in_the distance the black boat with_the silver lining, coming swiftly toward them from_the sea . presently it grounded on_the beach and_they all got into_it .

Zella was delighted with_the boat, which_was the most beautiful she had ever seen, and_the marvel of_its coming to_them through_the water without anyone to row it, made her a little afraid of_the fairy craft . but Inga picked up the oars and began to row and at once the boat shot swiftly in_the direction of Regos . they rounded the point of_that island where the city was built and noticed that_the shore was lined with warriors who had discovered their boat but seemed undecided whether to pursue it or not . this_was probably because they had received no commands what to_do, or perhaps they had learned to fear the magic powers of_these adventurers from Pingaree and were unwilling to attack them unless their king ordered them to .

the coast on_the western side of_the island of Regos was very uneven and Zella, who knew fairly well the location of_the mines from_the inland forest path, was puzzled to decide which mountain they now viewed from_the sea was_the one where the entrance to_the underground caverns was located . first she thought it was_this peak, and then she guessed it was_that; so considerable time was lost through her uncertainty .

they finally decided to land and explore the country, to_see where they were, so Inga ran the boat into a little rocky cove where they all disembarked . for an hour they searched for_the path without finding any trace of it and now Zella believed they had gone too far to_the north and must return to another mountain that was nearer to_the city .

once again they entered the boat and followed the winding coast south until they thought they had reached the right place . by_this_time, however, it_was growing dark, for_the entire day had_been spent in_the search for_the entrance to_the mines, and Zella warned them that_it would_be safer to_spend the night in_the boat than on_the land, where wild beasts were_sure to disturb them . none_of_them realized at_this_time how fatal this day of search had_been to_their plans and perhaps if Inga had realized what_was going on he_would_have landed and fought all the wild beasts in_the forest rather than quietly remain in_the boat until morning .

however, knowing nothing of_the cunning plans of queen Cor and king Gos, they anchored their boat in a little bay and cheerfully ate their dinner, finding plenty of food and drink in_the boat's lockers . in_the evening the stars came out in_the sky and tipped the waves around their boat with silver . all around them was delightfully still save for_the occasional snarl of a beast on_the neighboring shore .

they talked together quietly of_their adventures and their future plans and Zella told them her simple history and how hard her poor father was obliged to work, burning charcoal to_sell for enough money to support his wife and child .Nikobob might_be the humblest man in all Regos, but Zella declared he_was a good man, and honest, and it_was not his fault that his country was ruled by so wicked a king .

then Rinkitink, to amuse them, offered to sing a song, and although Bilbil protested in_his gruff way, claiming that his master's voice was cracked and disagreeable, the little king was encouraged by_the others to sing his song, which he_did .

"A red- headed man named Ned was dead;

sing fiddle-cum-faddle-cum-fi- do ! in battle he had lost his head;

sing fiddle-cum-faddl-cum-fi- do ! ' alas, poor Ned,' to him I_said, ' how did you lose your head so red ? '

sing fiddle-cum-faddle-cum-fi- do !

" said Ned: 'I for_my country bled,'

sing fiddle-cum-faddle-cum-fi- do ! ' instead of dying safe in bed',

sing fiddle-cum-faddle-cum-fi- do ! ' if I had only fled, instead, I then had_been a head ahead .'

sing fiddle-cum-faddle-cum-fi- do !

" I_said to Ned --"

" do stop, your majesty ! " pleaded Bilbil ." you're making my head ache ."

" but the song isn't finished," replied Rinkitink, " and as for your head aching, think of poor Ned, who hadn't any head at all ! "

" I_can think of nothing but your dismal singing," retorted Bilbil ." why didn't you choose a cheerful subject, instead of telling how a man who was dead lost his red head ? really, Rinkitink, I'm surprised at you .

" I_know a splendid song about a live man, said the king .

" then don't sing it," begged Bilbil .

Zella was both astonished and grieved by_the disrespectful words of_the goat, for she had quite enjoyed Rinkitink's singing and had_been taught a proper respect for Kings and those high in authority . but as it_was now getting late they decided to_go to sleep, that they_might rise early the following morning, so they all reclined upon_the bottom of_the big boat and covered themselves with blankets which they found stored underneath the seats for just such occasions . they were_not long in falling asleep and did_not waken until daybreak .

after ahurried breakfast, for Inga was eager to liberate his father, the boy rowed the boat ashore and_they all landed and began searching for_the path .Zella found it within_the next half hour and declared they_must_be very close to_the entrance to_the mines; so they followed the path toward the north, Inga going first, and then Zella following him, while Rinkitink brought up the rear riding upon Bilbil's back .

before long they saw a great wall of rock towering before them, in which_was a low arched entrance, and on either side of_this entrance stood a guard, armed with a sword and a spear . the guards of_the mines were_not so fierce as_the warriors of king Gos, their duty being to make_the slaves work at their tasks and guard them from escaping; but they were as cruel as their cruel master wished them to_be, and as cowardly as_they were cruel .

Inga walked up_to_the two men at_the entrance and said:

"Does this opening lead to_the mines of king Gos ? "

" it does," replied one_of_the guards, " but no one is allowed to_pass out who once goes in ."

" nevertheless," said the boy, we intend to_go in and we_shall come out whenever it pleases us to_do_so . I_am the prince of Pingaree, and I_have come to liberate my people, whom king Gos has enslaved ."

now when_the two guards heard this speech they looked at one another and laughed, and one_of_them said: " the king was right, for he_said the boy was likely to_come here and_that he_would try to set his people free . also the king commanded that we_must keep the little prince in_the mines, and set him to work, together with_his companions ."

" then let_us obey the king," replied the other man .

Inga was surprised at hearing this, and asked:

" when did king Gos give_you this order ? "

" his majesty was here in person last night," replied the man, " and went away again but an hour ago . he suspected you were coming here and told us to capture you if_we_could ."

this report made the boy very anxious, not for himself but for_his father, for he feared the king was up_to some mischief . so he hastened to enter the mines and_the guards did nothing to oppose him or his companions, their orders being to allow him to_go in but not to_come out .

the little group of adventurers passed through a long rocky corridor and reached a low, wide cavern where they found a dozen guards and a hundred slaves, the latter being hard at work with picks and shovels digging for gold, while the guards stood over them with long whips .

Inga found many_of_the men from Pingaree among_these slaves, but king Kitticut was not in_this cavern; so they passed through it and entered another corridor that led to a second cavern . here also hundreds of men were working, but the boy did_not find his father amongst them, and so went on to a third cavern .

the corridors all slanted downward, so that_the farther they went the lower into_the earth they descended, and now they found the air hot and close and difficult to breathe .Flaming torches were stuck into_the walls to_give light to_the workers, and these added to_the oppressive heat .

the third and lowest cavern was_the last in_the mines, and here were many scores of slaves and many guards to_keep them at work . so_far, none_of_the guards had paid any attention to Inga's party, but allowed them to_proceed as they_would, and while the slaves cast curious glances at_the boy and girl and man and goat, they dared say nothing . but now the boy walked up_to some_of_the men of Pingaree and asked news of_his father, telling them not

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