Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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except Tubekins, of_course, who was not astonished because he had seen Quox so often .

Betsy had thought a" young" dragon must_be a small dragon, yet here was one so enormous that_the girl decided he_must_be full grown, if_not overgrown . his body was a lovely sky- blue in color and it_was thickly set with glittering silver scales, each_one as big as aserving- tray . around his neck was a pink ribbon with a bow just under his left ear, and below the ribbon appeared a chain of pearls to which_was attached a golden locket about as large around as_the end of a bass drum . this locket was set with many large and beautiful jewels .

the head and face of Quox were_not especially ugly, when_you consider that he_was a dragon; but his eyes were so large that_it took him a long_time to wink and_his teeth seemed very sharp and terrible when_they showed, which they_did whenever the beast smiled . also his nostrils were quite large and wide, and those who stood near him were liable to smell brimstone-- especially when he breathed out fire, as it_is_the nature of dragons to_do . to_the end of_his long tail was attached a big electric light .

perhaps the most singular thing about_the dragon's appearance at_this_time was_the fact that he had a row of seats attached to_his back, one seat for each member of_the party . these seats were double, with curved backs, so_that two could sit in_them, and there were twelve of_these double seats, all strapped firmly around the dragon's thick body and placed one behind the other, in a row that extended from_his shoulders nearly to_his tail .

"Aha ! " exclaimed Tubekins; " I_see that Tititi- Hoochoo has transformed Quox into acarryall ."

"I'm glad of_that," said Betsy ." I_hope, Mr dragon, you won't mind our riding on_your back ."

" not a bit," replied Quox ."I'm in disgrace just now, you_know, and_the only way to redeem my good name is to obey the orders of_the Jinjin . if he makes me a beast of burden, it_is only a part of_my punishment, and I_must bear it like a dragon .I don't blame you people at all, and I_hope you'll enjoy the ride .Hop on, please . all aboard for_the other side of_the world ! "

silently they took their places .Hank sat in_the front seat with Betsy, so_that he_could rest his front hoofs upon_the dragon's head . behind them were shaggy and polychrome, then Files and_the princess, and queen Ann and Tik-Tok . the officers rode in_the rear seats . when all had mounted to_their places the dragon looked very like one of_those sightseeing wagons so common in big cities-- only he had legs instead of wheels .

" all ready ? " asked Quox, and when_they said they were he crawled to_the mouth of_the tube and put his head in .

" good-bye, and good luck to_you ! " called Tubekins; but no one thought to reply, because just then the dragon slid his great body into_the tube and_the journey to_the other side of_the world had begun .

at first they went so fast that they_could scarcely catch their breaths, but presently Quox slowed up and said with a sort of cackling laugh:

" my scales ! but that_is some tumble . i_think I_shall take it easy and fall slower, or I'm likely to_get dizzy . is_it very far to_the other side of_the world ? "

" haven't you ever been through_this tube before ? " inquired shaggy .

" never . nor has anyone else in_our country; at_least, not since i_was born ."

" how long_ago was_that ? " asked Betsy .

" that i_was born ? Oh, not very long_ago .I'm only amere child . if I had_not_been sent on_this journey, i_would_have celebrated my three thousand and fifty- sixth birthday next Thursday . mother was going to_make me a birthday cake with three thousand and fifty-six candles on_it; but now, of_course, there_will_be no celebration, for I_fear I_shall_not get home in_time for_it ."

" three thousand and fifty-six years ! " cried Betsy ." why, I had no idea anything could live that long ! "

" my respected ancestor, whom i_would call a stupid old humbug if I had_not reformed, is so old that I_am amere baby compared with_him," said Quox ." he dates from_the beginning of_the world, and insists on telling us stories of things that happened fifty thousand years_ago, which are of no interest at all to youngsters like me . in_fact, Grandpa isn't up_to_date . he lives altogether in_the_past, so I_can't see any good reason for_his being alive to- day .. .. are_you people able to_see your way, or shall I turn on more light ? "

"Oh, we_can_see very nicely, thank_you; only there's nothing to_see but ourselves," answered Betsy .

this_was true . the dragon's big eyes were like headlights on an automobile and illuminated the tube far ahead of_them . also he curled his tail upward so that_the electric light on_the end of it enabled them to_see one another quite clearly . but the tube itself was only dark metal, smooth as glass but exactly the same from one of_its ends to_the other . therefore there_was no scenery of interest to beguile the journey .

they were now falling so gently that_the trip was proving entirely comfortable, as_the Jinjin had promised it would_be; but this meant a longer journey and_the only way they_could make time pass was to engage in conversation . the dragon seemed awilling and persistent talker and he_was of so_much interest to_them that_they encouraged him to chatter . his voice was a little gruff but not unpleasant when one became used to_it .

" my only fear," said he presently, " is that_this constant sliding over the surface of_the tube will dull my claws . you_see, this hole isn't straight down, but on a steep slant, and so instead of tumbling freely through_the air I_must skate along the tube .Fortunately, there_is a file in my tool- kit, and if_my claws get dull they_can_be sharpened again ."

" why do_you_want sharp claws ? " asked Betsy .

" they_are my natural weapons, and you_must not forget that I_have_been sent to conquer Ruggedo ."

"Oh, you needn't mind about_that," remarked queen Ann, in her most haughty manner; " for when we get to Ruggedo I and my invincible army can conquer him without your assistance ."

" very_good," returned the dragon, cheerfully ." that_will save me alot of bother-- if_you succeed . but i_think I_shall file my claws, just the same ."

he_gave a long sigh, as he_said this, and a sheet of flame, several feet in length, shot from_his mouth .Betsy shuddered and Hank said "Hee-haw ! " while some_of_the officers screamed in terror . but the dragon did_not notice that he had done anything unusual .

" is_there fire inside of you ? " asked shaggy .

" of_course," answered Quox ." what sort of a dragon would I be if_my fire went out ? "

" what keeps it going ? " Betsy inquired .

"I've no idea .I only know it's there," said Quox ." the fire keeps me alive and enables me to move; also to_think and speak ."

"Ah ! you_are ver-y much like my- self," said Tik-Tok ." the on-ly dif-fer-ence is_that I move by clock- work, while you move by fire ."

"I don't see a particle of likeness between_us, I_must confess," retorted Quox, gruffly ." you_are_not a live thing; you're a dummy ."

" but I_can do things, you_must ad-mit," said Tik-Tok .

" yes, when_you_are wound up," sneered the dragon ." but if_you run down, you_are helpless ."

" what would happen to_you, Quox, if_you ran out of gasoline ? " inquired shaggy, who did_not like this attack upon his friend .

"I don't use gasoline ."

" well, suppose you ran out of fire ."

" what's the use of supposing that ? " asked Quox ." my great- great- great- grandfather has lived since_the world began, and he has never once run out of fire to_keep him going . but i_will confide to_you that as he gets older he shows more smoke and less fire . as for Tik-Tok, he's well enough in_his way, but he's merely copper . and_the metal monarch knows copper through and through .I wouldn't be surprised if Ruggedo melted Tik-Tok in one of_his furnaces and made copper pennies of him ."

" in_that case, i_would still keep going," remarked Tik-Tok, calmly .

"Pennies do," said Betsy regretfully .

" this_is all nonsense," said the queen, with irritation ."Tik-Tok is my great army-- all but the officers-- and I believe he_will_be_able to conquer Ruggedo with ease . what do_you_think, polychrome ? "

" you_might let him try," answered the rainbow's daughter, with her sweet ringing laugh, that sounded like the tinkling of tiny bells ." and if Tik-Tok fails, you_have still the big fire- breathing dragon to_fall back on ."

"Ah ! " said the dragon, another sheet of flame gushing from_his mouth and nostrils; " it's a wise little girl, this polychrome . anyone would know she_is a fairy ."

chapter Fourteen

the long-Eared hearer Learns by Listening

during this_time Ruggedo, the metal monarch and king of_the Nomes, was trying to amuse himself in_his splendid jeweled cavern . it_was hard work for Ruggedo to_find amusement to- day, for all the nomes were behaving well and there_was no one to scold or to punish . the king had thrown his sceptre at Kaliko six times, without hitting him once . not that Kaliko had done anything wrong . on_the contrary, he had obeyed the king in every way but one: he_would_not stand still, when commanded to_do_so, and let the heavy sceptre strike him .

we_can hardly blame Kaliko for_this, and even the cruel Ruggedo forgave him; for he_knew very_well that if he mashed his royal chamberlain he_could never find another so intelligent and obedient .Kaliko could make_the nomes work when their king could_not, for_the nomes hated Ruggedo and there were so_many thousands of_the quaint little underground people that they_could easily have rebelled and defied the king had they dared to_do_so .Sometimes, when Ruggedo abused them worse than usual, they grew sullen and threw down their hammers and picks . then, however hard the king scolded or whipped them, they_would not work until Kaliko came and begged them to . for Kaliko was one of themselves and was as_much abused by_the king as any nome in_the vast series of caverns .

but to- day all the little people were working industriously at their tasks and Ruggedo, having nothing to_do, was greatly bored . he sent for_the long-Eared hearer and asked him to listen carefully and report what_was going on in_the big world .

" it seems," said the hearer, after listening for awhile, " that_the women in America have clubs ."

" are there spikes in_them ? " asked Ruggedo, yawning .

" I_cannot hear any spikes, your majesty," was_the reply .

" then their clubs are_not as good as my sceptre . what else do_you hear ? '

" there's a war .

"Bah ! there's always a war . what else ? "

for a time the hearer was silent, bending forward and spreading out his big ears to catch the slightest sound . then suddenly he_said:

" here_is an interesting thing, your majesty . these people are arguing as_to who shall conquer the metal monarch, seize his treasure and drive him from_his dominions ."

" what people ? " demanded Ruggedo, sitting up straight in_his throne .

" the ones you threw down the hollow tube ."

" where are they now ? "

" in_the same tube, and coming back this_way," said the hearer .

Ruggedo got out of_his throne and began to pace up and down the cavern .

"I wonder what can_be_done to stop them," he mused .

" well," said the hearer, " if_you_could turn the tube upside down, they_would_be falling the other way, your majesty ."

Ruggedo glared at him wickedly, for it_was impossible to_turn the tube upside down and he believed the hearer was slyly poking fun at him . presently he asked:

" how far away are those people now ? "

" about nine thousand three hundred and six miles, seventeen furlongs, eight feet and four inches-- as nearly as I_can judge from_the sound of_their voices," replied the hearer .

"Aha ! then it_will_be some_time before_they arrive," said Ruggedo, " and when_they get here I_shall_be ready to receive them ."

he rushed to_his gong and pounded upon it so fiercely that Kaliko came bounding into_the cavern with one shoe off and one shoe on, for he_was just dressing himself after a swim in_the hot bubbling lake of_the underground kingdom .

"Kaliko, those invaders whom we threw down the tube are coming back again ! " he exclaimed .

" i_thought they_would," said the royal chamberlain, pulling on_the other shoe ."Tititi- Hoochoo would_not allow them to remain in_his kingdom, of_course, and so I've been expecting them back for some_time . that was a very foolish action of yours, Rug ."

" what, to throw them down the tube ? "

" yes .Tititi-Hoochoo has forbidden us to throw even rubbish into_the tube ."

"Pooh ! what do I care for_the Jinjin ? " asked Ruggedo scornfully ." he never leaves his own kingdom, which_is on_the other side of_the world ."

" true; but he might send some one through_the tube to punish you," suggested Kaliko .

"I'd like to_see him do_it ! who_could conquer my thousands of nomes ? "

" why, they've been conquered before, if I remember aright," answered Kaliko with a grin ." once I_saw you running from a little girl named Dorothy, and her friends, as if_you were really afraid ."

" well, i_was afraid, that_time," admitted the Nome king, with a deep sigh, " for Dorothy had a yellow Hen that laid eggs ! "

the king shuddered as he_said "eggs," and Kaliko also shuddered, and so did the long-Eared hearer; for eggs are the only things that_the nomes greatly dread . the reason for_this is_that eggs belong on_the earth's surface, where birds and fowl of all sorts live, and there_is something about ahen's egg, especially, that fills anome with horror . if by chance the inside of an egg touches one_of_these underground people, he withers up and blows away and that_is_the end of him-- unless he manages quickly to_speak a

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