Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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all were cordial in their greetings to_the strangers and seemed to regard the queen of light with much affection, for they fluttered around her in aflashing, radiant group as she led the way to her regal drawing- room .

this apartment was richly and cosily furnished, the upholstery being of many tints, and both Betsy and polychrome enjoyed resting themselves upon_the downy divans after their strenuous adventures of_the day .

the queen sat down to chat with her guests, who noticed that daylight was_the only maiden now seated beside Erma . the others had retired to another part of_the room, where they sat modestly with entwined arms and did_not intrude themselves at all .

the queen told the strangers all about_this beautiful land, which_is one_of_the chief residences of fairies who minister to_the needs of mankind . so_many important fairies lived there that, to avoid rivalry, they had elected as their ruler the only important personage in_the country who had no duties to mankind to perform and was, in effect, a private citizen . this ruler, or Jinjin, as was his title, bore the name of Tititi- Hoochoo, and_the most singular thing about him was_that he had no heart . but instead of_this he possessed a high degree of reason and justice and while he showed no mercy in_his judgments he never punished unjustly or without reason . to wrong- doers Tititi-Hoochoo was as terrible as he_was heartless, but those who were innocent of evil had nothing to fear from_him .

all the Kings and Queens of_this fairyland paid reverence to Jinjin, for as_they expected to_be obeyed by others they were willing to obey the one in authority over them .

the inhabitants of_the land of Oz had heard many tales of_this fearfully just Jinjin, whose punishments were always equal to_the faults committed . polychrome also knew of him, although this_was the first time she had ever seen him face_to_face . but to Betsy the story was all new, and she was greatly interested in Tititi-Hoochoo, whom she no longer feared .

time sped swiftly during their talk and suddenly Betsy noticed that moonlight was sitting beside the queen of light, instead of daylight .

" but tell me, please," she pleaded, " why do_you all wear a dragon's head embroidered on_your gowns ? "

Erma's pleasant face became grave as she answered:

" the dragon, as_you_must know, was_the first living creature ever made; therefore the dragon is_the oldest and wisest of living things . by good fortune the original dragon, who still lives, is a resident of_this land and supplies us with wisdom whenever we_are in need of it . he_is old as_the world and remembers everything that has happened since_the world was created ."

" did he ever have any children ? " inquired the girl .

" yes, many_of_them . some wandered into other lands, where men, not understanding them, made war upon them; but many still reside in_this country . none, however, is as wise as_the original dragon, for whom we_have great respect . as he was_the first resident here, we wear the emblem of_the dragon's head to show that we_are the favored people who alone have the right to inhabit this fairyland, which in beauty almost equals the fairyland of Oz, and in power quite surpasses it ."

"I understand about_the dragon, now," said polychrome, nodding her lovely head .Betsy did_not quite understand, but she was at present interested in observing the changing lights . as daylight had given way to moonlight, so now starlight sat at_the right hand of Erma the queen, and with her coming a spirit of peace and content seemed to_fill the room . polychrome, being herself a fairy, had many questions to ask about_the various Kings and Queens who lived in_this far- away, secluded place, and before Erma had finished answering them a rosy glow filled the room and Firelight took her place beside the queen .

Betsy liked Firelight, but to gaze upon her warm and glowing features made the little girl sleepy, and presently she began to nod . thereupon Erma rose and took Betsy's hand gently in her own .

" come," said she; " the feast time has arrived and_the feast is spread ."

" that's nice," exclaimed the small mortal ." now that i_think of it, I'm awful hungry . but p'raps I_can't eat your fairy food ."

the queen smiled and led her to a doorway . as she pushed aside a heavy drapery a flood of silvery light greeted them, and Betsy saw before her a splendid banquet hall, with a table spread with snowy linen and crystal and silver . at one side was a broad, throne- like seat for Erma and beside her now sat the brilliant maid Electra . polychrome was placed on_the queen's right hand and Betsy upon her left . the other five messengers of light now waited upon them, and each person was supplied with just the food she liked best . polychrome found her dish of dewdrops, all fresh and sparkling, while Betsy was so lavishly served that she decided she had never in her life eaten a dinner half so good .

"I s' pose," she said to_the queen, " that miss Electra is_the youngest of all these girls ."

" why do_you suppose that ? " inquired Erma, with a smile .

"' cause electric'ty is_the newest light we_know of .Didn't Mr Edison discover it ? "

" perhaps he was_the first mortal to discover it," replied the queen ." but electricity was a part of_the world from its creation, and therefore my Electra is as old as daylight or moonlight, and equally beneficent to mortals and fairies alike ."

Betsy was thoughtful for a time . then she remarked, as she looked at_the six messengers of light:

" we couldn't very_well do without any of 'em; could we ? "

Erma laughed softly ."I couldn't, I'm sure," she replied, " and i_think mortals would miss any_one of_my maidens, as_well . daylight cannot take_the place of sunlight, which gives us strength and energy . moonlight is of value when daylight, worn out with her long watch, retires to rest . if_the moon in its course is hidden behind the earth's rim, and my sweet moonlight cannot cheer us, starlight takes her place, for_the skies always lend her power . without Firelight we_should miss much of_our warmth and comfort, as_well as_much cheer when_the walls of houses encompass us . but always, when other lights forsake us, our glorious Electra is ready to flood us with bright rays . as queen of light, I love all my maidens, for I_know them to_be faithful and true ."

"I love 'em too ! " declared Betsy ." but sometimes, when I'm real sleepy, I_can get along without any light at all ."

" are_you sleepy now ? " inquired Erma, for_the feast had ended .

"A little," admitted the girl .

so Electra showed her to a pretty chamber where there_was a soft, white bed, and waited patiently until Betsy had undressed and put on a shimmery silken nightrobe that lay beside her pillow . then the light- maid bade her good night and opened the door .

when she closed it after her Betsy was in darkness . in six winks the little girl was fast asleep .

chapter Thirteen

the Jinjin's just judgment

all the adventurers were reunited next morning when_they were brought from various palaces to_the residence of Tititi-Hoochoo and ushered into_the great hall of state .

as before, no one was visible except our friends and their escorts until the first bell sounded . then in a flash the room was seen to_be filled with_the beautiful Kings and Queens of_the land . the second bell marked the appearance in_the throne of_the mighty Jinjin, whose handsome countenance was as composed and expressionless as ever .

all bowed low to_the ruler . their voices softly murmured: " we greet the private citizen, mightiest of Rulers, whose word is law and whose law is just ."

Tititi-Hoochoo bowed in acknowledgment . then, looking around the brilliant assemblage, and at_the little group of adventurers before him, he_said:

" an unusual thing has happened .Inhabitants of other lands than ours, who_are different from ourselves in many ways, have_been thrust upon us through_the forbidden tube, which one_of_our people foolishly made years_ago and was properly punished for_his folly . but these strangers had no desire to_come here and were wickedly thrust into_the tube by a cruel king on_the other side of_the world, named Ruggedo . this king is an immortal, but he_is_not good . his magic powers hurt mankind more than they benefit them . because he had unjustly kept the shaggy man's brother a prisoner, this little band of honest people, consisting of both mortals and immortals, determined to conquer Ruggedo and to punish him .Fearing they_might succeed in_this, the Nome king misled them so that_they fell into_the tube .

" now, this same Ruggedo has_been warned by me, many_times, that if ever he used this forbidden tube in any_way he_would_be severely punished . I_find, by referring to_the fairy Records, that_this king's servant, anome named Kaliko, begged his master not to_do such a wrong act as_to drop these people into_the tube and send_them tumbling into our country . but Ruggedo defied me and my orders .

" therefore these strangers are innocent of any wrong . it_is only Ruggedo who deserves punishment, and_I_will punish him ." he paused a moment and then continued in_the same cold, merciless voice:

" these strangers must return through_the tube to_their own side of_the world; but i_will make their fall more easy and pleasant than it_was before . also I_shall send with_them an instrument of vengeance, who in my name will drive Ruggedo from_his underground caverns, take away his magic powers and make him ahomeless wanderer on_the face of_the earth--a place he detests ."

there_was a little murmur of horror from_the Kings and Queens at_the severity of_this punishment, but no one uttered a protest, for all realized that_the sentence was just .

" in selecting my instrument of vengeance," went on Tititi-Hoochoo, " I_have realized that this_will_be an unpleasant mission . therefore no one of us who_is blameless should_be forced to undertake it . in_this wonderful land it_is seldom one is guilty of wrong, even in_the slightest degree, and on examining the Records I_found no king or queen had erred . nor had any among their followers or servants done any wrong . but finally I_came to_the dragon family, which we highly respect, and then it was_that I discovered the error of Quox .

"Quox, as_you well know, is a young dragon who has_not_yet acquired the wisdom of_his race . because of_this lack, he has_been disrespectful toward his most ancient ancestor, the original dragon, telling him once to mind his own business and again saying that_the ancient one had grown foolish with age . we_are aware that dragons are_not the same as fairies and cannot_be altogether guided by our laws, yet such disrespect as Quox has shown should_not_be unnoticed by_us . therefore I_have selected Quox as my royal instrument of vengeance and he shall go through_the tube with_these people and inflict upon Ruggedo the punishment I_have decreed ."

all had listened quietly to_this speech and now the Kings and Queens bowed gravely to signify their approval of_the Jinjin's judgment .

Tititi-Hoochoo turned to Tubekins .

"I command you," said he, " to escort these strangers to_the tube and_see that_they all enter it ."

the king of_the tube, who had first discovered our friends and brought them to_the private citizen, stepped forward and bowed . as he_did so, the Jinjin and all the Kings and Queens suddenly disappeared and only Tubekins remained visible .

" all right," said Betsy, with a sigh; "I don't mind going back so very_much, ' cause the Jinjin promised to_make it easy for_us ."

indeed, queen Ann and her officers were the only ones who looked solemn and seemed to fear the return journey . one_thing that bothered Ann was her failure to conquer this land of Tititi- Hoochoo . as_they followed their guide through_the gardens to_the mouth of_the tube she said to shaggy:

" how can I conquer the world, if I go away and leave this rich country unconquered ? "

" you_can't," he replied ."Don't ask me why, please, for if_you don't know I_can't inform you ."

" why_not ? " said Ann; but shaggy paid no attention to_the question .

this end of_the tube had a silver rim and around it_was a gold railing to which_was attached a sign that read .

" if_you_are out, stay there . if_you_are in, DON'T come out ."

on a little silver plate just inside the tube was engraved the words:

" burrowed and built by Hiergargo the magician, in_the year of_the world 1 9 6 2 5 4 7 8 for_his own exclusive uses ."

" he_was some builder, I_must say," remarked Betsy, when she had read the inscription; " but if he had known about_that star I guess he'd have spent his time playing solitaire ."

" well, what_are we waiting for ? " inquired shaggy, who was impatient to start .

"Quox," replied Tubekins ." but i_think I hear him coming ."

" is_the young dragon invisible ? " asked Ann, who had never seen a live dragon and was a little fearful of meeting one .

" no, indeed," replied the king of_the tube ." you'll see him in a minute; but before_you part company I'm sure you'll wish he_was invisible ."

" is he dangerous, then ? " questioned Files .

" not at all . but Quox tires me dreadfully," said Tubekins, " and I prefer his room to_his company .

at_that instant ascraping sound was heard, drawing nearer and nearer until from between two big bushes appeared a huge dragon, who approached the party, nodded his head and said: " good morning ."

had Quox been at all bashful I_am_sure he_would_have felt uncomfortable at_the astonished stare of every eye in_the group-- except Tubekins,

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