On leaving the Growleywogs General
Guph had to recross the Ripple
Lands, and he did not find it
a pleasant thing to do. Perhaps
having his whiskers pulled out
one by one and being used as
a pin-cushion for the innocent
amusement of a good natured jailer
had not improved the quality
of Guph's temper, for the old
Nome raved and raged at the recollection
of the wrongs he had suffered,
and vowed to take vengeance upon
the Growleywogs after he had
used them for his purposes and
Oz had been conquered. He went
on in this furious way until
he was half across the Ripple
Land. Then he became seasick,
and the rest of the way this
naughty Nome was almost as miserable
as he deserved to be.
But when he
reached the plains again and
the ground was firm
under his feet he began to feel
better, and instead of going
back home he turned directly
west. A squirrel, perched in
a tree, saw him take this road
and called to him warningly: "Look
out!" But he paid no attention.
An eagle paused in its flight
through the air to look at him
wonderingly and say: "Look out!" But
on he went.
No one can say that Guph was
not brave, for he had determined
to visit those dangerous creatures
the Phanfasms, who resided upon
the very top of the dread Mountain
of Phantastico. The Phanfasms
were Erbs, and so dreaded by
mortals and immortals alike that
no one had been near their mountain
home for several thousand years.
Yet General Guph hoped to induce
them to join in his proposed
warfare against the good and
happy Oz people.
Guph knew very well that the
Phanfasms would be almost as
dangerous to the Nomes as they
would to the Ozites, but he thought
himself so clever that he believed
he could manage these strange
creatures and make them obey
him. And there was no doubt at
all that if he could enlist the
services of the Phanfasms, their
tremendous power, united to the
strength of the Growleywogs and
the cunning of the Whimsies would
doom the Land of Oz to absolute
destruction.
So the old Nome climbed the
foothills and trudged along the
wild mountain paths until he
came to a big gully that encircled
the Mountain of Phantastico and
marked the boundary line of the
dominion of the Phanfasms. This
gully was about a third of the
way up the mountain, and it was
filled to the brim with red-hot
molten lava in which swam fire-serpents
and poisonous salamanders. The
heat from this mass and its poisonous
smell were both so unbearable
that even birds hesitated to
fly over the gully, but circled
around it. All living things
kept away from the mountain.
Now Guph had heard, during
his long lifetime, many tales
of these dreaded Phanfasms; so
he had heard of this barrier
of melted lava, and also he had
been told that there was a narrow
bridge that spanned it in one
place. So he walked along the
edge until he found the bridge.
It was a single arch of gray
stone, and lying flat upon the
bridge was a scarlet alligator,
seemingly fast asleep.
When Guph stumbled over the
rocks in approaching the bridge
the creature opened its eyes,
from which tiny flames shot in
all directions, and after looking
at the intruder very wickedly
the scarlet alligator closed
its eyelids again and lay still.
Guph saw there was no room
for him to pass the alligator
on the narrow bridge, so he called
out to it:
"Good morning,
friend. I don't wish to hurry
you, but please
tell me if you are coming down,
or going up?"
"Neither," snapped
the alligator, clicking its
cruel jaws together.
The General hesitated.
"Are you likely to stay there
long?" he asked.
"A few hundred years or so," said
the alligator.
Guph softly rubbed the end
of his nose and tried to think
what to do.
"Do you know whether the First
and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico
is at home or not?" he presently
inquired.
"I expect he is, seeing he
is always at home," replied the
alligator.
"Ah; who is that coming down
the mountain?" asked the Nome,
gazing upward.
The alligator turned to look
over its shoulder, and at once
Guph ran to the bridge and leaped
over the sentinel's back before
it could turn back again. The
scarlet monster made a snap at
the Nome's left foot, but missed
it by fully an inch.
"Ah ha!" laughed the General,
who was now on the mountain path. "I
fooled you that time."
"So you did; and perhaps you
fooled yourself," retorted the
alligator. "Go up the mountain,
if you dare, and find out what
the First and Foremost will do
to you!"
"I will," declared
Guph, boldly; and on he went
up the path.
At first the scene was wild
enough, but gradually it grew
more and more awful in appearance.
All the rocks had the shapes
of frightful beings and even
the tree trunks were gnarled
and twisted like serpents.
Suddenly there appeared before
the Nome a man with the head
of an owl. His body was hairy
like that of an ape, and his
only clothing was a scarlet scarf
twisted around his waist. He
bore a huge club in his hand
and his round owl eyes blinked
fiercely upon the intruder.
"What are you doing here?" he
demanded, threatening Guph with
his club.
"I've come to see the First
and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico," replied
the General, who did not like
the way this creature looked
at him, but still was not afraid.
"Ah; you shall see him!" the
man said, with a sneering laugh. "The
First and Foremost shall decide
upon the best way to punish you."
"He will not punish me," returned
Guph, calmly, "for I have come
here to do him and his people
a rare favor. Lead on, fellow,
and take me directly to your
master."
The owl-man raised his club
with a threatening gesture.
"If you try to escape," he
said, "beware--"
But here the General interrupted
him.
"Spare your threats," said
he, "and do not be impertinent,
or I will have you severely punished.
Lead on, and keep silent!"
This Guph was really a clever
rascal, and it seems a pity he
was so bad, for in a good cause
he might have accomplished much.
He realized that he had put himself
into a dangerous position by
coming to this dreadful mountain,
but he also knew that if he showed
fear he was lost. So he adopted
a bold manner as his best defense.
The wisdom of this plan was soon
evident, for the Phanfasm with
the owl's head turned and led
the way up the mountain.
At the very top was a level
plain upon which were heaps of
rock that at first glance seemed
solid. But on looking closer
Guph discovered that these rock
heaps were dwellings, for each
had an opening.
Not a person was to be seen
outside the rock huts. All was
silent.
The owl-man
led the way among the groups
of dwellings to one
standing in the center. It seemed
no better and no worse than any
of the others. Outside the entrance
to this rock heap the guide gave
a low wail that sounded like "Lee-ow-ah!"
Suddenly there bounded from
the opening another hairy man.
This one wore the head of a bear.
In his hand he bore a brass hoop.
He glared at the stranger in
evident surprise.
"Why have you captured this
foolish wanderer and brought
him here?" he demanded, addressing
the owl-man.
"I did not capture him," was
the answer. "He passed the scarlet
alligator and came here of his
own free will and accord."
The First and Foremost looked
at the General.
"Have you tired of life, then?" he
asked.
"No indeed," answered Guph. "I
am a Nome, and the Chief General
of King Roquat the Red's great
army of Nomes. I come of a long-lived
race, and I may say that I expect
to live a long time yet. Sit
down, you Phanfasms--if you can
find a seat in this wild haunt--and
listen to what I have to say."
With all his knowledge and
bravery General Guph did not
know that the steady glare from
the bear eyes was reading his
inmost thoughts as surely as
if they had been put into words.
He did not know that these despised
rock heaps of the Phanfasms were
merely deceptions to his own
eyes, nor could he guess that
he was standing in the midst
of one of the most splendid and
luxurious cities ever built by
magic power. All that he saw
was a barren waste of rock heaps,
a hairy man with an owl's head
and another with a bear's head.
The sorcery of the Phanfasms
permitted him to see no more.
Suddenly the First and Foremost
swung his brass hoop and caught
Guph around the neck with it.
The next instant, before the
General could think what had
happened to him, he was dragged
inside the rock hut. Here, his
eyes still blinded to realities,
he perceived only a dim light,
by which the hut seemed as rough
and rude inside as it was outside.
Yet he had a strange feeling
that many bright eyes were fastened
upon him and that he stood in
a vast and extensive hall.
The First and Foremost now
laughed grimly and released his
prisoner.
"If you have anything to say
that is interesting," he remarked, "speak
out ,before I strangle you."
So Guph spoke out. He tried
not to pay any attention to a
strange rustling sound that he
heard, as of an unseen multitude
drawing near to listen to his
words. His eyes could see only
the fierce bear-man, and to him
he addressed his speech. First
he told of his plan to conquer
the Land of Oz and plunder the
country of its riches and enslave
its people, who, being fairies,
could not be killed. After relating
all this, and telling of the
tunnel the Nome King was building,
he said he had come to ask the
First and Foremost to join the
Nomes, with his band of terrible
warriors, and help them to defeat
the Oz people.
The General spoke very earnestly
and impressively, but when he
had finished the bear-man began
to laugh as if much amused, and
his laughter seemed to be echoed
by a chorus of merriment from
an unseen multitude. Then, for
the first time, Guph began to
feel a trifle worried.
"Who else has promised to help
you?" finally asked the First
and Foremost.
"The Whimsies," replied
the General.
Again the bear-headed Phanfasm
laughed.
"Any others?" he
inquired.
"Only the Growleywogs," said
Guph.
This answer set the First and
Foremost laughing anew.
"What share of the spoils am
I to have?" was the next question.
"Anything you like, except
King Roquat's Magic Belt," replied
Guph.
At this the Phanfasm set up
a roar of laughter, which had
its echo in the unseen chorus,
and the bear-man seemed so amused
that he actually rolled upon
the ground and shouted with merriment.
"Oh, these blind and foolish
Nomes!" he said. "How big they
seem to themselves and how small
they really are!"
Suddenly he arose and seized
Guph's neck with one hairy paw,
dragging him out of the hut into
the open.
Here he gave a curious wailing
cry, and, as if in answer, from
all the rocky huts on the mountain-top
came flocking a horde of Phanfasms,
all with hairy bodies, but wearing
heads of various animals, birds
and reptiles. All were ferocious
and repulsive-looking to the
deceived eyes of the Nome, and
Guph could not repress a shudder
of disgust as he looked upon
them.
The First and Foremost slowly
raised his arms, and in a twinkling
his hairy skin fell from him
and he appeared before the astonished
Nome as a beautiful woman, clothed
in a flowing gown of pink gauze.
In her dark hair flowers were
entwined, and her face was noble
and calm.
At the same instant the entire
band of Phanfasms was transformed
into a pack of howling wolves,
running here and there as they
snarled and showed their ugly
yellow fangs.
The woman now raised her arms,
even as the man-bear had done,
and in a twinkling the wolves
became crawling lizards, while
she herself changed into a huge
butterfly.
Guph had only time to cry out
in fear and take a step backward
to avoid the lizards when another
transformation occurred, and
all returned instantly to the
forms they had originally worn.
Then the First and Foremost,
who had resumed his hairy body
and bear head, turned to the
Nome and asked
"Do you still
demand our assistance?"
"More than ever," answered
the General, firmly.
"Then tell me: what can you
offer the Phanfasms that they
have not already?" inquired the
First and Foremost.
Guph hesitated. He really did
not know what to say. The Nome
King's vaunted Magic Belt seemed
a poor thing compared to the
astonishing magical powers of
these people. Gold, jewels and
slaves they might secure in any
quantity without especial effort.
He felt that he was dealing with
powers greatly beyond him. There
was but one argument that might
influence the Phanfasms, who
were creatures of evil.
"Permit me to call your attention
to the exquisite joy of making
the happy unhappy," said he at
last. "Consider the pleasure
of destroying innocent and harmless
people."
"Ah! you have answered me," cried
the First and Foremost. "For
that reason alone we will aid
you. Go home, and tell your bandy-legged
king that as soon as his tunnel
is finished the Phanfasms will
be with him and lead his legions
to the conquest of Oz. The deadly
desert alone has kept us from
destroying Oz long ago, and your
underground tunnel is a clever
thought. Go home, and prepare
for our coming!"
Guph was very glad to be permitted
to go with this promise. The
owl-man led him back down the
mountain path and ordered the
scarlet alligator to crawl away
and allow the Nome to cross the
bridge in safety.
After the visitor had gone
a brilliant and gorgeous city
appeared upon the mountain top,
clearly visible to the eyes of
the gaily dressed multitude of
Phanfasms that lived there. And
the First and Foremost, beautifully
arrayed, addressed the others
in these words:
"It is time
we went into the world and
brought sorrow and
dismay to its people. Too long
have we remained for ourselves
upon this mountain top, for while
we are thus secluded many nations
have grown happy and prosperous,
and the chief joy of the race
of Phanfasms is to destroy happiness.
So I think it is lucky that this
messenger from the Nomes arrived
among us just now, to remind
us that the opportunity has come
for us to make trouble. We will
use King Roquat's tunnel to conquer
the Land of Oz. Then we will
destroy the Whimsies, the Growleywogs
and the Nomes, and afterward
go out to ravage and annoy and
grieve the whole world."
The multitude of evil Phanfasms
eagerly applauded this plan,
which they fully approved.
I am told that the Erbs are
the most powerful and merciless
of all the evil spirits, and
the Phanfasms of Phantastico
belong to the race of Erbs.
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