Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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a magical word which only a few of_the nomes know . therefore Ruggedo and_his followers had very_good cause to shudder at_the mere mention of eggs .

" but Dorothy," said the king, " is_not with_this band of invaders; nor is_the yellow Hen . as for Tititi-Hoochoo, he has no means of knowing that we_are afraid of eggs ."

" you mustn't be too sure of_that," Kaliko warned him ."Tititi-Hoochoo knows a great_many things, being a fairy, and_his powers are far superior to any we_can boast ."

Ruggedo shrugged impatiently and turned to_the hearer .

" listen," said he, " and tell me if_you hear any eggs coming through_the tube ."

the long-Eared one listened and then shook his head . but Kaliko laughed at_the king .

" no one can hear an egg, your majesty," said he ." the only way to discover the truth is to look through_the magic spyglass ."

" that's it ! " cried the king ." why didn't i_think of it before ? look at once, Kaliko ! "

so Kaliko went to_the spyglass and by uttering a mumbled charm he caused the other end of it to twist around, so_that it pointed down the opening of_the tube . then he put his eye to_the glass and was able to gaze along all the turns and windings of_the magic spyglass and then deep into_the tube, to where our friends were at_that_time falling .

" dear me ! " he exclaimed ." here comes a dragon ."

"A big one ? " asked Ruggedo .

"A monster . he has an electric light on_the end of_his tail, so I_can_see him very plainly . and_the other people are all riding upon his back ."

" how about_the eggs ? " inquired the king .

Kaliko looked again .

" I_can_see no eggs at all," said he; " but I imagine that_the dragon is as dangerous as eggs . probably Tititi-Hoochoo has sent him here to punish you for dropping those strangers into_the forbidden tube .I warned you not to_do_it, your majesty ."

this news made the Nome king anxious . for_a_few_minutes he paced up and down, stroking his long beard and thinking with all his might . after_this he turned to Kaliko and said:

" all the harm a dragon can do is to scratch with_his claws and bite with_his teeth ."

" that_is_not all, but it's quite enough," returned Kaliko earnestly ." on_the other hand, no one can hurt a dragon, because he's the toughest creature alive . one flop of_his huge tail could smash a hundred nomes to pancakes, and with teeth and claws he_could tear even you or me into small bits, so_that it would_be almost impossible to_put us together again . once, a few hundred years_ago, while wandering through some deserted caverns, I_came upon a small piece of anome lying on_the rocky floor .I asked the piece of nome what had happened to_it .Fortunately the mouth was a part of_this piece-- the mouth and_the left eye-- so it_was able to_tell me that a fierce dragon was_the cause . it had attacked the poor nome and scattered him in every direction, and as_there_was no friend near to collect his pieces and put him together, they had_been separated for a great_many years . so you_see, your majesty, it_is_not in good taste to sneer at a dragon ."

the king had listened attentively to Kaliko . said he:

" it_will only be necessary to chain this dragon which Tititi-Hoochoo has sent here, in_order to_prevent his reaching us with_his claws and teeth ."

" he also breathes flames," Kaliko reminded him .

" my nomes are_not afraid of fire, nor am I," said Ruggedo .

" well, how about_the army of Oogaboo ? "

"Sixteen cowardly officers and Tik-Tok ! why, I_could defeat them single- handed; but I won't try to .I'll summon my army of nomes to drive the invaders out of_my territory, and if_we catch any of_them I intend to stick needles into them until they hop with pain ."

" I_hope you won't hurt any of_the girls," said Kaliko .

"I'll hurt 'em all ! " roared the angry metal monarch ." and_that braying mule I'll make into hoof- soup, and feed it to my nomes, that_it may add to_their strength ."

" why_not be good to_the strangers and release your prisoner, the shaggy man's brother ? " suggested Kaliko .

" never ! "

" it may save you alot of annoyance . and you don't want the ugly one ."

"I don't want him; that's true . but I won't allow anybody to order me around .I'm king of_the Nomes and I'm the metal monarch, and I_shall do as I please and what I please and when I please ! "

with_this speech Ruggedo threw his sceptre at Kaliko's head, aiming it so_well that_the royal chamberlain had to_fall flat upon_the floor in_order to escape it . but the hearer did_not see the sceptre coming and it swept past his head so closely that_it broke off the tip of one of_his long ears . he_gave a dreadful yell that quite startled Ruggedo, and_the king was sorry for_the accident because those long ears of_the hearer were really valuable to him .

so the Nome king forgot to_be angry with Kaliko and ordered his chamberlain to summon general Guph and_the army of nomes and_have them properly armed . they were then to march to_the mouth of_the tube, where they_could seize the travelers as_soon_as they appeared .

chapter Fifteen

the dragon Defies danger

although the journey through_the tube was longer, this_time, than before, it_was so_much more comfortable that none of_our friends minded it at all . they talked together most of_the time and as_they found the dragon good-natured and fond of_the sound of_his own voice they soon became well acquainted with_him and accepted him as a companion .

" you_see," said shaggy, in_his frank way, "Quox is on_our side, and therefore the dragon is a good fellow . if he happened to_be an enemy, instead of a friend, I_am_sure i_should dislike him very_much, for_his breath smells of brimstone, he_is very conceited and he_is so strong and fierce that he_would prove a dangerous foe ."

" yes, indeed," returned Quox, who had listened to_this speech with pleasure; "I suppose I_am about as terrible as any living thing . I_am_glad you find me conceited, for_that proves I_know my good qualities . as for_my breath smelling of brimstone, I really can't help it, and I once met a man whose breath smelled of onions, which I consider far worse ."

"I don't," said Betsy; "I love onions .

" and I love brimstone," declared the dragon, " so don't let_us quarrel over one another's peculiarities ."

Saying this, he breathed a long breath and shot a flame fifty feet from_his mouth . the brimstone made Betsy cough, but she remembered about_the onions and said nothing .

they had no idea how far they had gone through_the center of_the earth, nor when to expect the trip to end . at one_time the little girl remarked:

"I wonder when we'll reach the bottom of_this hole . and isn't it funny, shaggy man, that what_is the bottom to_us now, was_the top when we fell the other way ? "

" what puzzles me," said Files, " is_that we_are able to_fall both ways ."

" that," announced Tik-Tok, " is be- cause the world is round ."

" exactly," responded shaggy ." the machinery in your head is in fine working order, Tik-Tok . you_know, Betsy, that_there_is such a thing as_the attraction of gravitation, which draws everything toward the center of_the earth . that_is why we fall out of bed, and why everything clings to_the surface of_the earth ."

" then why doesn't everyone go on down to_the center of_the earth ? " inquired the little girl .

" i_was afraid you were going to ask me that," replied shaggy in a sad tone ." the reason, my dear, is that_the earth is so solid that other solid things can't get through it . but when there's a hole, as there_is in this_case, we drop right down to_the center of_the world ."

" why don't we stop there ? " asked Betsy .

" because we go so fast that we acquire speed enough to carry us right up_to_the other end ."

"I don't understand that, and it makes my head ache to_try to figure it out," she said after some thought ." one_thing draws us to_the center and another thing pushes us away from_it . but--"

"Don't ask me why, please," interrupted the shaggy man ." if_you_can't understand it, let it go at_that ."

" do_you understand it ? " she inquired .

" all the magic isn't in fairyland," he_said gravely ." there's lots of magic in all nature, and you_may see it as_well in_the United_States, where you and I once lived, as_you_can here ."

"I never did," she replied .

" because you were so used to_it all that you didn't realize it_was magic . is anything more wonderful than to_see a flower grow and blossom, or to_get light out_of_the electricity in_the air ? the cows that manufacture milk for_us must_have machinery fully as remarkable as_that in Tik-Tok's copper body, and perhaps you've noticed that--"

and then, before shaggy could finish his speech, the strong light of day suddenly broke upon them, grew brighter, and completely enveloped them . the dragon's claws no longer scraped against the metal tube, for he shot into_the open air a hundred feet or more and sailed so_far away from_the slanting hole that when he landed it_was on_the peak of a mountain and just over the entrance to_the many underground caverns of_the Nome king .

some_of_the officers tumbled off their seats when Quox struck the ground, but most of_the dragon's passengers only felt a slight jar . all were glad to_be on solid earth again and_they at once dismounted and began to look about_them .Queerly enough, as_soon_as they had left the dragon, the seats that were strapped to_the monster's back disappeared, and this probably happened because there_was no further use for_them and because Quox looked far more dignified in just his silver scales . of_course he still wore the forty yards of ribbon around his neck, as_well as_the great locket, but these only made him look " dressed up," as Betsy remarked .

now the army of nomes had gathered thickly around the mouth of_the tube, in_order_to_be ready to capture the band of invaders as_soon_as they popped out . there were, indeed, hundreds of nomes assembled, and_they were led by Guph, their most famous general . but they_did_not expect the dragon to fly so high, and he shot out_of_the tube so suddenly that_it took them by surprise . when_the nomes had rubbed the astonishment out of_their eyes and regained their wits, they discovered the dragon quietly seated on_the mountainside far above their heads, while the other strangers were standing in a group and calmly looking down upon them .

general Guph was very angry at_the escape, which_was no one's fault but his own .

" come down here and be captured ! " he shouted, waving his sword at them .

" come up here and capture us-- if_you dare ! " replied queen Ann, who was winding up the clockwork of her private soldier, so he_could fight more briskly .

Guph's first answer was a roar of rage at_the Defiance; then he turned and issued a command to_his nomes . these were all armed with sharp spears and with one accord they raised these spears and threw them straight at their foes, so that_they rushed through_the air in a perfect cloud of flying weapons .

some damage might_have_been done had_not the dragon quickly crawled before_the others, his body being so big that_it shielded every_one_of_them, including Hank . the spears rattled against the silver scales of Quox and then fell harmlessly to_the ground . they were magic spears, of_course, and all straightway bounded back into_the hands of_those who had thrown them, but even Guph could_see that_it_was useless to repeat the attack .

it_was now queen Ann's turn to attack, so the Generals yelled " for-- ward march ! " and_the Colonels and Majors and Captains repeated the command and_the valiant army of Oogaboo, which seemed to_be composed mainly of Tik- Tok, marched forward in single column toward the nomes, while Betsy and polychrome cheered and Hank gave a loud "Hee-haw ! " and shaggy shouted "Hooray ! " and queen Ann screamed: " at 'em, Tik-Tok-- at 'em ! "

the nomes did_not await the clockwork man's attack but in atwinkling disappeared into_the underground caverns . they made a great mistake in being so hasty, for Tik-Tok had_not taken a dozen steps before he stubbed his copper toe on a rock and fell flat to_the ground, where he cried: " pick me up ! pick me up ! pick me up ! " until shaggy and Files ran forward and raised him to_his feet again .

the dragon chuckled softly to himself as he scratched his left ear with_his hind claw, but no one was paying much attention to Quox just then .

it_was evident to Ann and her officers that there could_be no fighting unless the enemy was present, and in_order to_find the enemy they_must boldly enter the underground kingdom of_the nomes . so bold a step demanded a council of war .

"Don't you_think I'd better drop in on Ruggedo and obey the orders of_the Jinjin ? " asked Quox .

" by no means ! " returned queen Ann ." we_have already put the army of nomes to flight and all that yet remains is to force our way into those caverns, and conquer the Nome king and all his people ."

" that seems to_me something of a job," said the dragon, closing his eyes sleepily ." but go ahead, if_you like, and I'll wait here for_you .Don't be in any hurry on my account . to one who lives thousands of years the delay of a few_days means nothing at all, and I_shall probably sleep until the time comes for_me to act ."

Ann was provoked at_this speech .

" you_may as_well go back to Tititi-Hoochoo now," she said, " for_the Nome king is as good as conquered already ."

but Quox shook his head ." no," said he; "I'll wait ."

chapter Sixteen

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