Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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swiftly-- never touching the ground -- that he_was gone before Betsy had time to wink .

but the mule's attack frightened the girl .

" come," she whispered, approaching the shaggy man and taking his hand; " let's go somewhere else . they'll surely kill us if_we stay here ! "

"Don't worry, my dear," replied shaggy, patting the child's head ."I'm not afraid of anything, so_long as I_have the love magnet ."

" the love magnet ! why, what_is that ? " asked Betsy .

" it's acharming little enchantment that wins the heart of everyone who looks upon it," was_the reply ." the love magnet used to hang over the gateway to_the emerald city, in_the land of Oz; but when I started on_this journey our beloved ruler, Ozma of Oz, allowed me to_take it with me ."

"Oh ! " cried Betsy, staring hard at him; " are_you really from_the wonderful land of Oz ? "

" yes . ever been there, my dear ? "

" no; but I've heard about_it . and do_you_know princess Ozma ? "

" very_well indeed ."

" and-- and princess Dorothy ? "

" Dorothy's an old chum of_mine," declared shaggy .

" dear me ! " exclaimed Betsy ." and why did you ever leave such a beautiful land as Oz ? "

" on an errand," said shaggy, looking sad and solemn ."I'm trying to_find my dear little brother ."

"Oh ! is he_lost ? " questioned Betsy, feeling very sorry for_the poor man .

" been lost these ten years," replied shaggy, taking out a handkerchief and wiping a tear from_his eye ."I didn't know it until lately, when I_saw it recorded in_the magic record book of_the sorceress Glinda, in_the land of Oz . so now I'm trying to_find him ."

" where was he_lost ? " asked the girl sympathetically .

" back in Colorado, where I used to live before I went to Oz . brother was a miner, and dug gold out of a mine . one day he went into his mine and never came out . they searched for him, but he_was not there . disappeared entirely," shaggy ended miserably .

" for goodness sake ! what do_you s' pose became of him ? " she asked .

" there_is only_one explanation," replied shaggy, taking another apple from_his pocket and eating it to relieve his misery ." the Nome king probably got him ."

" the Nome king ! who_is he ? "

" why, he's sometimes called the metal monarch, and_his name is Ruggedo .Lives in some underground cavern .Claims to own all the metals hidden in_the earth .Don't ask me why ."

" why ? "

" cause I don't know . but this Ruggedo gets wild with anger if anyone digs gold out_of_the earth, and my private opinion is_that he captured brother and carried him off to_his underground kingdom . no--don't ask me why . I_see you're dying to ask me why . but I don't know ."

" but-- dear me ! -- in_that case you_will never find your lost brother ! " exclaimed the girl .

" maybe not; but it's my duty to_try," answered shaggy ."I've wandered so_far without finding him, but that only proves he_is_not where I've been looking . what I seek now is_the hidden passage to_the underground cavern of_the terrible metal monarch ."

" well," said Betsy doubtfully, " it strikes me that if_you ever manage to_get there the metal monarch will make you, too, his prisoner ."

" nonsense ! " answered shaggy, carelessly ." you mustn't forget the love magnet ."

" what about_it ? " she asked .

" when_the fierce metal monarch sees the love magnet, he_will love me dearly and do anything I ask ."

" it must_be wonderful," said Betsy, with awe .

" it_is," the man assured her ." shall I show it to_you ? "

"Oh, do ! " she cried; so shaggy searched in_his shaggy pocket and drew out a small silver magnet, shaped like a horseshoe .

the moment Betsy saw it she began to like the shaggy man better than before .Hank also saw the magnet and crept up_to shaggy to rub his head lovingly against the man's knee .

but they were interrupted by_the royal gardener, who stuck his head into_the greenhouse and shouted angrily:

" you_are all condemned to death ! your only chance to escape is to leave here instantly ."

this startled little Betsy, but the shaggy man merely waved the magnet toward the gardener, who, seeing it, rushed forward and threw himself at shaggy's feet, murmuring in honeyed words:

"Oh, you lovely, lovely man ! how fond I_am of you ! every shag and bobtail that decorates you is dear to_me-- all I_have is yours ! but for goodness' sake get out of here before_you die the death ."

"I'm not going to die," declared shaggy man .

" you_must . it's the law," exclaimed the gardener, beginning to weep real tears ." it breaks my heart to_tell you this bad news, but the law says that all strangers must_be condemned by_the ruler to die the death ."

" no ruler has condemned us yet," said Betsy .

" of_course not," added shaggy ." we haven't even seen the ruler of_the rose kingdom ."

" well, to_tell the truth," said the gardener, in a perplexed tone of voice, " we haven't any real ruler, just now . you_see, all our Rulers grow on bushes in_the royal Gardens, and_the last one we had got mildewed and withered before his time . so we had to plant him, and at_this_time there_is no one growing on_the royal Bushes who_is ripe enough to pick ."

" how do_you_know ? " asked Betsy .

" why, I'm the royal gardener . plenty of royalties are growing, I admit; but just now they_are all green . until one ripens, I_am supposed to rule the rose kingdom myself, and_see that its Laws are obeyed . therefore, much as I love you, shaggy, I_must put you to death ."

" wait a minute," pleaded Betsy ."I'd like to_see those royal Gardens before I die ."

" so would I," added shaggy man ." take us there, gardener ."

"Oh, I_can't do_that," objected the gardener . but shaggy again showed him the love magnet and after one glance at it the gardener could no longer resist .

he led shaggy, Betsy and Hank to_the end of_the great greenhouse and carefully unlocked a small door .Passing through_this they came into_the splendid royal garden of_the rose kingdom .

it_was all surrounded by a tall hedge and within_the enclosure grew several enormous rosebushes having thick green leaves of_the texture of velvet . upon these bushes grew the members of_the royal family of_the rose kingdom-- men, women and children in all stages of maturity . they all seemed to_have a light green hue, as_if unripe or not fully developed, their flesh and clothing being alike green . they stood perfectly lifeless upon their branches, which swayed softly in_the breeze, and their wide open eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing and unintelligent .

while examining these curious growing people, Betsy passed behind a big central bush and at once uttered an exclamation of surprise and pleasure . for there, blooming in perfect color and shape, stood a royal princess, whose beauty was amazing .

" why, she's ripe ! " cried Betsy, pushing aside some_of_the broad leaves to observe her more clearly .

" well, perhaps so," admitted the gardener, who had come to_the girl's side; " but she's a girl, and so we_can't use her for a ruler ."

" no, indeed ! " came a chorus of soft voices, and looking around Betsy discovered that all the Roses had followed them from_the greenhouse and were now grouped before_the entrance .

" you_see," explained the gardener, " the subjects of rose kingdom don't want a girl ruler . they_want a king ."

"A king ! we_want a king ! " repeated the chorus of Roses .

"Isn't she royal ? " inquired shaggy, admiring the lovely princess .

" of_course, for she grows on a royal bush . this princess is named Ozga, as she_is a distant cousin of Ozma of Oz; and, were she but a man, we_would joyfully hail her as our ruler ."

the gardener then turned away to_talk with_his Roses and Betsy whispered to her companion: " let's pick her, shaggy ."

" all right," said he ." if she's royal, she has_the right to rule this kingdom, and if_we pick her she will surely protect us and prevent our being hurt, or driven away ."

so Betsy and shaggy each took an arm of_the beautiful rose princess and a little twist of her feet set her free of_the branch upon_which she grew . very gracefully she stepped down from_the bush to_the ground, where she bowed low to Betsy and shaggy and said in a delightfully sweet voice: " i_thank_you ."

but at_the sound of_these words the gardener and_the Roses turned and discovered that_the princess had_been picked, and was now alive . over every face flashed an expression of resentment and anger, and one_of_the Roses cried aloud .

" audacious mortals ! what have_you done ? "

" picked a princess for_you, that's all," replied Betsy, cheerfully .

" but we won't have her ! we_want a king ! " exclaimed aJacque rose, and another added with a voice of scorn: " no girl shall rule over us ! "

the newly- picked princess looked from one to another of her rebellious subjects in astonishment .a grieved look came over her exquisite features .

" have I no welcome here, pretty subjects ? " she asked gently ." have I not come from my royal bush to_be your ruler ? "

" you were picked by mortals, without our consent," replied the moss rose, coldly; " so we refuse to allow you to rule us ."

" turn her out, gardener, with_the others ! " cried the tea rose .

" just a second, please ! " called shaggy, taking the love magnet from_his pocket ."I guess this_will win their love, princess . here-- take it in your hand and let the roses see it ."

princess Ozga took the magnet and held it poised before_the eyes of her subjects; but the Roses regarded it with calm disdain .

" why, what's the matter ? " demanded shaggy in surprise ." the magnet never failed to work before ! "

" I_know," said Betsy, nodding her head wisely ." these Roses have no hearts ."

" that's it," agreed the gardener ." they're pretty, and sweet, and alive; but still they_are Roses . their stems have thorns, but no hearts ."

the princess sighed and handed the magnet to_the shaggy man .

" what shall I_do ? " she asked sorrowfully .

" turn her out, gardener, with_the others ! " commanded the Roses ." we_will_have no ruler until a man- rose--a king-- is ripe enough to pick ."

" very_well," said the gardener meekly ." you_must excuse me, my dear shaggy, for opposing your wishes, but you and_the others, including Ozga, must get out of rose kingdom immediately, if_not before ."

"Don't you love me, Gardy ? " asked shaggy, carelessly displaying the magnet .

" I_do .I dote on thee ! " answered the gardener earnestly; " but no true man will neglect his duty for_the sake of love . my duty is to drive you out, so-- out you go ! "

with_this he seized a garden fork and began jabbing it at_the strangers, in_order to force them to leave .Hank the mule was not afraid of_the fork and when he got his heels near to_the gardener the man fell back to avoid a kick .

but now the Roses crowded around the outcasts and it_was soon discovered that beneath their draperies of green leaves were many sharp thorns which were more dangerous than Hank's heels . neither Betsy nor Ozga nor shaggy nor the mule cared to brave those thorns and when_they pressed away from_them they found themselves slowly driven through_the garden door into_the greenhouse . from there they were forced out at_the entrance and so through_the territory of_the flower- strewn rose kingdom, which_was not of very great extent .

the rose princess was sobbing bitterly; Betsy was indignant and angry; Hank uttered defiant "Hee-haws" and_the shaggy man whistled softly to himself .

the boundary of_the rose kingdom was a deep gulf, but there_was a drawbridge in one place and this the royal gardener let down until the outcasts had passed over it . then he drew it up again and returned with_his Roses to_the greenhouse, leaving the four queerly assorted comrades to wander into_the bleak and unknown country that lay beyond .

"I don't mind, much," remarked shaggy, as he led the way over the stony, barren ground ."I've got to search for_my long- lost little brother, anyhow, so it won't matter where I go ."

"Hank and_I_will help_you find your brother," said Betsy in her most cheerful voice ."I'm so_far away from home now that I don't s' pose I'll ever find my way back; and, to_tell the truth, it's more fun traveling around and having adventures than sticking at home .Don't you_think so, Hank ? "

"Hee-haw ! " said Hank, and_the shaggy man thanked them both .

" for_my part," said princess Ozga of Roseland, with a gentle sigh, " I_must remain forever exiled from my kingdom . so I, too, will_be_glad to help the shaggy man find his lost brother ."

" that's very kind of you, MA'am," said shaggy ." but unless I_can find the underground cavern of Ruggedo, the metal monarch, I_shall never find poor brother ."

( this king was formerly named "Roquat," but after he drank of_the "Waters of oblivion" he forgot his own name and had to_take another .)

"Doesn't anyone know where it_is ? " inquired Betsy .

" some one must know, of_course," was shaggy's reply ." but we_are_not the ones . the only way to succeed is for_us to_keep going until we_find a person who_can direct us to Ruggedo's cavern ."

" we_may find it ourselves, without any help," suggested Betsy ." who knows ? "

" no one knows that, except the person who's writing this story," said shaggy ." but we won't find anything-- not even supper-- unless we travel on . here's a path . let's take it and_see where it leads

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