Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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indeed true," replied shaggy ."I wouldn't like to_have anything happen to dear little Betsy, so I believe I'll go in right away and put an end to all this worry ."

" we_may as_well go with_you," asserted Files, " for by_means of_the love magnet, you_can soon bring the Nome king to reason ."

so it_was decided to wait no longer . shaggy walked through_the entrance first, and after him came the others . they had no thought of danger to themselves, and shaggy, who was going along with_his hands thrust into his pockets, was much surprised when a rope shot out from_the darkness and twined around his body, pinning down his arms so securely that he_could_not even withdraw his hands from_the pockets . then appeared several grinning nomes, who speedily tied knots in_the ropes and then led the prisoner along the passage to_the cavern . no attention was paid to_the others, but Files and_the princess followed on after shaggy, determined not to desert their friend and hoping that an opportunity might arise to rescue him .

as for polychrome, as_soon_as she saw that trouble had overtaken shaggy she turned and ran lightly back through_the passage and out_of_the entrance . then she easily leaped from rock to rock until she paused beside the great dragon, who lay fast asleep .

" wake up, Quox ! " she cried ." it_is time for_you to act ."

but Quox did_not wake up . he lay as one in a trance, absolutely motionless, with_his enormous eyes tight closed . the eyelids had big silver scales on them, like all the rest of_his body .

polychrome might_have thought Quox was dead had she not known that dragons do_not die easily or had she not observed his huge body swelling as he breathed . she picked up a piece of rock and pounded against his eyelids with it, saying:

" wake up, Quox-- wake up ! " but he_would_not waken .

" dear me, how unfortunate ! " sighed the lovely rainbow's daughter ."I wonder what_is the best and surest way to waken a dragon . all our friends may_be captured and destroyed while this great beast lies asleep ."

she walked around Quox two_or_three times, trying to discover some tender place on_his body where a thump or a punch might he_felt; but he lay extended along the rocks with_his chin flat upon_the ground and_his legs drawn underneath his body, and all that one could_see was his thick sky- blue skin-- thicker than that of a rhinoceros-- and_his silver scales .

then, despairing at last of wakening the beast, and worried over the fate of her friends, polychrome again ran down to_the entrance and hurried along the passage into_the Nome king's cavern .

here she found Ruggedo lolling in_his throne and smoking a long pipe . beside him stood general Guph and Kaliko, and ranged before_the king were the rose princess, Files and_the shaggy man .Tik-Tok still lay upon_the floor, weighted down by_the big diamond .

Ruggedo was now in a more contented frame of mind . one by one he had met the invaders and easily captured them . the dreaded love magnet was indeed in shaggy's pocket, only a few feet away from_the king, but shaggy was powerless to show it and unless Ruggedo's eyes beheld the talisman it could_not affect him . as for Betsy bobbin and her mule, he believed Kaliko had placed them in_the slimy cave, while Ann and her officers he thought safely imprisoned in_the pit .Ruggedo had no fear of Files or Ozga, but to_be on_the safe side he had ordered golden handcuffs placed upon their wrists . these did_not cause them any great annoyance but prevented them from making an attack, had they been inclined to_do_so .

the Nome king, thinking himself wholly master of_the situation, was laughing and jeering at his prisoners when polychrome, exquisitely beautiful and dancing like a ray of light, entered the cavern .

"Oho ! " cried the king; "a rainbow under ground, eh ? " and then he stared hard at polychrome, and still harder, and then he sat up and pulled the wrinkles out of_his robe and arranged his whiskers ." on my word," said he, " you_are a very captivating creature; moreover, I perceive you_are a fairy ."

" I_am polychrome, the rainbow's daughter," she said proudly .

" well," replied Ruggedo, "I like you . the others I hate .I hate everybody-- but you ! Wouldn't you like to live always in_this beautiful cavern, polychrome ? see ! the jewels that stud the walls have every tint and color of your rainbow-- and they_are_not so elusive .I'll have fresh dewdrops gathered for your feasting every day and you shall be queen of all my nomes and pull Kaliko's nose whenever you like ."

" no, thank_you," laughed polychrome ." my home is in_the sky, and I'm only on a visit to_this solid, sordid earth . but tell me, Ruggedo, why my friends have_been wound with cords and bound with chains ? "

" they threatened me," answered Ruggedo ." the fools did_not know how powerful I_am ."

" then, since they_are now helpless, why_not release them and send_them back to_the earth's surface ? "

" because I hate 'em and mean to_make 'em suffer for their invasion . but I'll make a bargain with_you, sweet Polly . remain here and live with me and I'll set all these people free . you shall be my daughter or my wife or my aunt or grandmother-- whichever you like-- only stay here to brighten my gloomy kingdom and make me happy ! "

polychrome looked at him wonderingly . then she turned to shaggy and asked:

" are_you sure he hasn't seen the love magnet ? "

"I'm positive," answered shaggy ." but you seem_to_be something of a love magnet yourself, polychrome ."

she laughed again and said to Ruggedo: " not even to rescue my friends would I live in your kingdom . nor could I endure for long the society of_such a wicked monster as_you ."

" you forget," retorted the king, scowling darkly, " that you also are in my power ."

" not so, Ruggedo . the rainbow's daughter is beyond the reach of your spite or malice ."

" seize her ! " suddenly shouted the king, and general Guph sprang forward to obey . polychrome stood quite still, yet when Guph attempted to clutch her his hands met in air, and now the rainbow's daughter was in another part of_the room, as smiling and composed as before .

several_times Guph endeavored to capture her and Ruggedo even came down from_his throne to assist his general; but never could they lay hands upon_the lovely sky fairy, who flitted here and there with_the swiftness of light and constantly defied them with her merry laughter as she evaded their efforts .

so after a time they abandoned the chase and Ruggedo returned to_his throne and wiped the perspiration from_his face with a finely- woven handkerchief of cloth- of- gold .

" well," said polychrome, " what do_you intend to_do now ? "

"I'm going to_have some fun, to repay me for all my bother," replied the Nome king . then he_said to Kaliko: " summon the executioners ."

Kaliko at once withdrew and presently returned with a score of nomes, all of whom were nearly as evil looking as their hated master . they bore great golden pincers, and prods of silver, and clamps and chains and various wicked- looking instruments, all made of precious metals and set with diamonds and rubies .

" now, pang," said Ruggedo, addressing the leader of_the executioners, " fetch the army of Oogaboo and their queen from_the pit and torture them here in my presence-- as_well as in_the presence of_their friends . it_will_be great sport ."

"I hear your majesty, and I obey your majesty," answered pang, and went with_his nomes into_the passage . in_a_few_minutes he returned and bowed to Ruggedo .

" they're all gone," said he .

" gone ! " exclaimed the Nome king ." gone where ? "

" they left no address, your majesty; but they_are_not in_the pit ."

"Picks and puddles ! " roared the king; " who took the cover off ? "

" no one," said pang ." the cover was there, but the prisoners were_not under it ."

" in_that case," snarled the king, trying to control his disappointment, " go to_the slimy cave and fetch hither the girl and_the donkey . and while we_are torturing them Kaliko must take a hundred nomes and search for_the escaped prisoners-- the queen of Oogaboo and her officers . if he_does_not find them, i_will torture Kaliko ."

Kaliko went away looking sad and disturbed, for he_knew the king was cruel and unjust enough to carry out this threat . pang and_the executioners also went away, in another direction, but when_they came back Betsy bobbin was not with_them, nor was Hank .

" there_is no one in_the slimy cave, your majesty," reported pang .

"Jumping jellycakes ! " screamed the king ." another escape ? are_you sure you found the right cave ? "

" there_is but one slimy cave, and there_is no one in_it," returned pang positively .

Ruggedo was beginning to_be alarmed as_well as angry . however, these disappointments but made him the more vindictive and he cast an evil look at_the other prisoners and said:

" never mind the girl and_the donkey . here are four, at_least, who_cannot escape my vengeance . let me see; I believe I'll change my mind about Tik-Tok . have the gold crucible heated to a white, seething heat, and then we'll dump the copper man into_it and melt him up ."

" but, your majesty," protested Kaliko, who had returned to_the room after sending a hundred nomes to search for_the Oogaboo people, " you_must remember that Tik-Tok is a very curious and interesting machine . it would_be a shame to deprive the world of_such a clever contrivance ."

" say another word, and you'll go into_the furnace with_him ! " roared the king ."I'm getting tired of you, Kaliko, and_the first thing you_know I'll turn you into a potato and make Saratoga- chips of you ! the next to consider," he added more mildly, " is_the shaggy man . as he owns the love magnet, i_think I'll transform him into a dove, and then we_can practice shooting at him with Tik- Tok's gun . now, this_is a very interesting ceremony and I beg you all to watch me closely and_see that I've nothing up my sleeve ."

he_came out of_his throne to stand before_the shaggy man, and then he waved his hands, palms downward, in seven semicircles over his victim's head, saying in a low but clear tone of voice the magic wugwa:

"Adi, edi, idi, odi, udi, oo-i-oo ! Idu, ido, idi, ide, ida, woo ! "

the effect of_this well- known sorcery was instantaneous . instead of_the shaggy man, a pretty dove lay fluttering upon_the floor, its wings confined by tiny cords wound around them .Ruggedo gave an order to pang, who cut the cords with a pair of scissors . being freed, the dove quickly flew upward and alighted on_the shoulder of_the rose princess, who stroked it tenderly .

" very_good ! very_good ! " cried Ruggedo, rubbing his hands gleefully together ." one enemy is out of_my way, and now for_the others ."

( perhaps my readers should_be warned not to attempt the above transformation; for, although the exact magical formula has_been described, it_is unlawful in all civilized countries for anyone to transform a person into a dove by muttering the words Ruggedo used . there were no laws to_prevent the Nome king from performing this transformation, but if_it should_be attempted in any_other country, and_the magic worked, the magician would_be severely punished .)

when polychrome saw shaggy man transformed into a dove and realized that Ruggedo was about do something as dreadful to_the princess and Files, and_that Tik-Tok would soon be melted in a crucible, she turned and ran from_the cavern, through_the passage and back to_the place where Quox lay asleep .

chapter Eighteen

a clever conquest

the great dragon still had his eyes closed and was even snoring in a manner that resembled distant thunder; but polychrome was now desperate, because any further delay meant the destruction of her friends . she seized the pearl necklace, to which_was attached the great locket, and jerked it with all her strength .

the result was encouraging .Quox stopped snoring and_his eyelids flickered . so polychrome jerked again-- and again-- till slowly the great lids raised and_the dragon looked at her steadily . said he, in a sleepy tone:

" what's the matter, little rainbow ? "

" come quick ! " exclaimed polychrome ."Ruggedo has captured all our friends and_is about to destroy them ."

" well, well," said Quox, "I suspected that_would happen . step a little out of_my path, my dear, and I'll make a rush for_the Nome king's cavern ."

she fell back a few steps and Quox raised himself on_his stout legs, whisked his long tail and in an instant had slid down the rocks and made a dive through_the entrance .

along the passage he swept, nearly filling it with_his immense body, and now he poked his head into_the jeweled cavern of Ruggedo .

but the king had long since made arrangements to capture the dragon, whenever he might appear . no sooner did Quox stick his head into_the room than a thick chain fell from above and encircled his neck . then the ends of_the chain were drawn tight-- for in an adjoining cavern a thousand nomes were pulling on them-- and so the dragon could advance no further toward the king . he_could_not use his teeth or his claws and as his body was still in_the passage he had_not even room to strike his foes with_his terrible tail .

Ruggedo was delighted with_the success of_his stratagem . he had just transformed the rose princess into a fiddle and was about to transform Files into a fiddle bow, when_the dragon appeared to interrupt him . so he_called out:

" welcome, my dear Quox, to my royal entertainment . since you_are here, you shall witness some very neat magic, and after I_have finished with Files

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