If there were any shifting,
rock-colored Nomes on the mountain
side now, they were silent and
respectful, for our adventurers
were not annoyed, as before,
by their impudent laughter. Really
the Nomes had nothing to laugh
at, since the defeat of their
King.
On the other side they found
Ozma's golden chariot, standing
as they had left it. Soon the
Lion and the Tiger were harnessed
to the beautiful chariot, in
which was enough room for Ozma
and the Queen and six of the
royal children.
Little Evring preferred to
ride with Dorothy upon the Sawhorse,
which had a long back. The Prince
had recovered from his shyness
and had become very fond of the
girl who had rescued him, so
they were fast friends and chatted
pleasantly together as they rode
along. Billina was also perched
upon the head of the wooden steed,
which seemed not to mind the
added weight in the least, and
the boy was full of wonder that
a hen could talk, and say such
sensible things.
When they came to the gulf,
Ozma's magic carpet carried them
all over in safety; and now they
began to pass the trees, in which
birds were singing; and the breeze
that was wafted to them from
the farms of Ev was spicy with
flowers and new-mown hay; and
the sunshine fell full upon them,
to warm them and drive away from
their bodies the chill and dampness
of the underground kingdom of
the Nomes.
"I would be quite content," said
the Scarecrow to Tiktok, "were
only the Tin Woodman with us.
But it breaks my heart to leave
him behind."
"He was a fine fel-low," replied
Tiktok, "al-though his ma-ter-i-al
was not ve-ry du-ra-ble."
"Oh, tin is an excellent material," the
Scarecrow hastened to say; "and
if anything ever happened to
poor Nick Chopper he was always
easily soldered. Besides, he
did not have to be wound up,
and was not liable to get out
of order."
"I some-times wish," said Tiktok, "that
I was stuffed with straw, as
you are. It is hard to be made
of cop-per."
"I have no reason to complain
of my lot," replied the Scarecrow. "A
little fresh straw, now and then,
makes me as good as new. But
I can never be the polished gentleman
that my poor departed friend,
the Tin Woodman, was."
You may be sure the royal children
of Ev and their Queen mother
were delighted at seeing again
their beloved country; and when
the towers of the palace of Ev
came into view they could not
forbear cheering at the sight.
Little Evring, riding in front
of Dorothy, was so overjoyed
that he took a curious tin whistle
from his pocket and blew a shrill
blast that made the Sawhorse
leap and prance in sudden alarm.
"What is that?" asked
Billina, who had been obliged
to flutter
her wings in order to keep her
seat upon the head of the frightened
Sawhorse.
"That's my whistle," said
Prince Evring, holding it out
upon his
hand.
It was in the shape of a little
fat pig, made of tin and painted
green. The whistle was in the
tail of the pig.
"Where did you get it?" asked
the yellow hen, closely examining
the toy with her bright eyes.
"Why, I picked it up in the
Nome King's palace, while Dorothy
was making her guesses, and I
put it in my pocket," answered
the little Prince.
Billina laughed; or at least
she made the peculiar cackle
that served her for a laugh.
"No wonder I couldn't find
the Tin Woodman," she said; "and
no wonder the magic belt didn't
make him appear, or the King
couldn't find him, either!"
"What do you mean?" questioned
Dorothy.
"Why, the Prince had him in
his pocket," cried Billina, cackling
again.
"I did not!" protested little
Evring. "I only took the whistle."
"Well, then, watch me," returned
the hen, and reaching out a claw
she touched the whistle and said "Ev."
Swish!
"Good afternoon," said the
Tin Woodman, taking off his funnel
cap and bowing to Dorothy and
the Prince. "I think I must have
been asleep for the first time
since I was made of tin, for
I do not remember our leaving
the Nome King."
"You have been enchanted," answered
the girl, throwing an arm around
her old friend and hugging him
tight in her joy. "But it's all
right, now."
"I want my whistle!" said
the little Prince, beginning
to cry.
"Hush!" cautioned Billina. "The
whistle is lost, but you may
have another when you get home."
The Scarecrow had fairly thrown
himself upon the bosom of his
old comrade, so surprised and
delighted was he to see him again,
and Tiktok squeezed the Tin Woodman's
hand so earnestly that he dented
some of his fingers. Then they
had to make way for Ozma to welcome
the tin man, and the army caught
sight of him and set up a cheer,
and everybody was delighted and
happy.
For the Tin Woodman was a great
favorite with all who knew him,
and his sudden recovery after
they had thought he was lost
to them forever was indeed a
pleasant surprise.
Before long the cavalcade arrived
at the royal palace, where a
great crowd of people had gathered
to welcome their Queen and her
ten children. There was much
shouting and cheering, and the
people threw flowers in their
path, and every face wore a happy
smile.
They found the Princess Langwidere
in her mirrored chamber, where
she was admiring one of her handsomest
heads--one with rich chestnut
hair, dreamy walnut eyes and
a shapely hickorynut nose. She
was very glad to be relieved
of her duties to the people of
Ev, and the Queen graciously
permitted her to retain her rooms
and her cabinet of heads as long
as she lived.
Then the Queen took her eldest
son out upon a balcony that overlooked
the crowd of subjects gathered
below, and said to them:
"Here is your
future ruler, King Evardo Fifteenth.
He is
fifteen years of age, has fifteen
silver buckles on his jacket
and is the fifteenth Evardo to
rule the land of Ev."
The people shouted their approval
fifteen times, and even the Wheelers,
some of whom were present, loudly
promised to obey the new King.
So the Queen placed a big crown
of gold, set with rubies, upon
Evardo's head, and threw an ermine
robe over his shoulders, and
proclaimed him King; and he bowed
gratefully to all his subjects
and then went away to see if
he could find any cake in the
royal pantry.
Ozma of Oz and her people,
as well as Dorothy, Tiktok and
Billina, were splendidly entertained
by the Queen mother, who owed
all her happiness to their kind
offices; and that evening the
yellow hen was publicly presented
with a beautiful necklace of
pearls and sapphires, as a token
of esteem from the new King.
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