By and by, when they drew near
to the mountain that blocked
their path and which was the
furthermost edge of the Kingdom
of Ev, the way grew dark and
gloomy for the reason that the
high peaks on either side shut
out the sunshine. And it was
very silent, too, as there were
no birds to sing or squirrels
to chatter, the trees being left
far behind them and only the
bare rocks remaining.
Ozma and Dorothy were a little
awed by the silence, and all
the others were quiet and grave
except the Sawhorse, which, as
it trotted along with the Scarecrow
upon his back, hummed a queer
song, of which this was the chorus:
"Would a wooden
horse in a woodland go? Aye,
aye! I sigh,
he would, although Had he not
had a wooden head He'd mount
the mountain top instead."
But no one paid any attention
to this because they were now
close to the Nome King's dominions,
and his splendid underground
palace could not be very far
away.
Suddenly they heard a shout
of jeering laughter, and stopped
short. They would have to stop
in a minute, anyway, for the
huge mountain barred their further
progress and the path ran close
up to a wall of rock and ended.
"Who was that laughing?" asked
Ozma.
There was no reply, but in
the gloom they could see strange
forms flit across the face of
the rock. Whatever the creations
might be they seemed very like
the rock itself, for they were
the color of rocks and their
shapes were as rough and rugged
as if they had been broken away
from the side of the mountain.
They kept close to the steep
cliff facing our friends, and
glided up and down, and this
way and that, with a lack of
regularity that was quite confusing.
And they seemed not to need places
to rest their feet, but clung
to the surface of the rock as
a fly does to a window-pane,
and were never still for a moment.
"Do not mind them," said Tiktok,
as Dorothy shrank back. "They
are on-ly the Nomes."
"And what are Nomes?" asked
the girl, half frightened.
"They are rock fair-ies, and
serve the Nome King," replied
the machine. "But they will do
us no harm. You must call for
the King, be-cause with-out him
you can ne-ver find the en-trance
to the pal-ace."
"YOU call," said
Dorothy to Ozma.
Just then the
Nomes laughed again, and the
sound was so weird
and disheartening that the twenty-six
officers commanded the private
to "right-about-face!" and they
all started to run as fast as
they could.
The Tin Woodman
at once pursued his army and
cried "halt!" and
when they had stopped their flight
he asked: "Where are you going?"
"I--I find I've forgotten the
brush for my whiskers," said
a general, trembling with fear. "S-s-so
we are g-going back after it!"
"That is impossible," replied
the Tin Woodman. "For the giant
with the hammer would kill you
all if you tried to pass him."
"Oh! I'd forgotten the giant," said
the general, turning pale.
"You seem to forget a good
many things," remarked the Tin
Woodman. "I hope you won't forget
that you are brave men."
"Never!" cried
the general, slapping his gold-embroidered
chest.
"Never!" cried
all the other officers, indignantly
slapping
their chests.
"For my part," said the private,
meekly, "I must obey my officers;
so when I am told to run, I run;
and when I am told to fight,
I fight."
"That is right," agreed the
Tin Woodman. "And now you must
all come back to Ozma, and obey
HER orders. And if you try to
run away again I will have her
reduce all the twenty-six officers
to privates, and make the private
your general."
This terrible threat so frightened
them that they at once returned
to where Ozma was standing beside
the Cowardly Lion.
Then Ozma cried out in a loud
voice:
"I demand that
the Nome King appear to us!"
There was no reply, except
that the shifting Nomes upon
the mountain laughed in derision.
"You must not command the Nome
King," said Tiktok, "for you
do not rule him, as you do your
own peo-ple."
So Ozma called again, saying:
"I request
the Nome King to appear to
us."
Only the mocking laughter replied
to her, and the shadowy Nomes
continued to flit here and there
upon the rocky cliff.
"Try en-treat-y," said Tiktok
to Ozma. "If he will not come
at your re-quest, then the Nome
King may list-en to your plead-ing."
Ozma looked around her proudly.
"Do you wish your ruler to
plead with this wicked Nome King?" she
asked. "Shall Ozma of Oz humble
herself to a creature who lives
in an underground kingdom?"
"No!" they
all shouted, with big voices;
and the Scarecrow
added:
"If he will
not come, we will dig him out
of his hole, like
a fox, and conquer his stubbornness.
But our sweet little ruler must
always maintain her dignity,
just as I maintain mine."
"I'm not afraid to plead with
him," said Dorothy. "I'm only
a little girl from Kansas, and
we've got more dignity at home
than we know what to do with.
I'LL call the Nome King."
"Do," said the Hungry Tiger; "and
if he makes hash of you I'll
willingly eat you for breakfast
tomorrow morning."
So Dorothy stepped forward
and said:
"PLEASE Mr.
Nome King, come here and see
us."
The Nomes started to laugh
again; but a low growl came from
the mountain, and in a flash
they had all vanished from sight
and were silent.
Then a door in the rock opened,
and a voice cried:
"Enter!"
"Isn't it a trick?" asked
the Tin Woodman.
"Never mind," replied Ozma. "We
came here to rescue the poor
Queen of Ev and her ten children,
and we must run some risks to
do so."
"The Nome King is hon-est and
good na-tured," said Tiktok. "You
can trust him to do what is right."
So Ozma led the way, hand in
hand with Dorothy, and they passed
through the arched doorway of
rock and entered a long passage
which was lighted by jewels set
in the walls and having lamps
behind them. There was no one
to escort them, or to show them
the way, but all the party pressed
through the passage until they
came to a round, domed cavern
that was grandly furnished.
In the center of this room
was a throne carved out of a
solid boulder of rock, rude and
rugged in shape but glittering
with great rubies and diamonds
and emeralds on every part of
its surface. And upon the throne
sat the Nome King.
This important monarch of the
Underground World was a little
fat man clothed in gray-brown
garments that were the exact
color of the rock throne in which
he was seated. His bushy hair
and flowing beard were also colored
like the rocks, and so was his
face. He wore no crown of any
sort, and his only ornament was
a broad, jewel-studded belt that
encircled his fat little body.
As for his features, they seemed
kindly and good humored, and
his eyes were turned merrily
upon his visitors as Ozma and
Dorothy stood before him with
their followers ranged in close
order behind them.
"Why, he looks just like Santa
Claus--only he isn't the same
color!" whispered Dorothy to
her friend; but the Nome King
heard the speech, and it made
him laugh aloud.
"'He had a
red face and a round little
belly That shook when
he laughed like a bowl full of
jelly!'"
quoth the monarch, in a pleasant
voice; and they could all see
that he really did shake like
jelly when he laughed.
Both Ozma and Dorothy were
much relieved to find the Nome
King so jolly, and a minute later
he waved his right hand and the
girls each found a cushioned
stool at her side.
"Sit down, my dears," said
the King, "and tell me why you
have come all this way to see
me, and what I can do to make
you happy."
While they seated themselves
the Nome King picked up a pipe,
and taking a glowing red coal
out of his pocket he placed it
in the bowl of the pipe and began
puffing out clouds of smoke that
curled in rings above his head.
Dorothy thought this made the
little monarch look more like
Santa Claus than ever; but Ozma
now began speaking, and every
one listened intently to her
words.
"Your Majesty," said she, "I
am the ruler of the Land of Oz,
and I have come here to ask you
to release the good Queen of
Ev and her ten children, whom
you have enchanted and hold as
your prisoners."
"Oh, no; you are mistaken about
that," replied the King. "They
are not my prisoners, but my
slaves, whom I purchased from
the King of Ev."
"But that was wrong," said
Ozma.
"According to the laws of Ev,
the king can do no wrong," answered
the monarch, eying a ring of
smoke he had just blown from
his mouth; "so that he had a
perfect right to sell his family
to me in exchange for a long
life."
"You cheated him, though," declared
Dorothy; "for the King of Ev
did not have a long life. He
jumped into the sea and was drowned."
"That was not my fault," said
the Nome King, crossing his legs
and smiling contentedly. "I gave
him the long life, all right;
but he destroyed it."
"Then how could it be a long
life?" asked Dorothy.
"Easily enough," was the reply. "Now
suppose, my dear, that I gave
you a pretty doll in exchange
for a lock of your hair, and
that after you had received the
doll you smashed it into pieces
and destroyed it. Could you say
that I had not given you a pretty
doll?"
"No," answered
Dorothy.
"And could
you, in fairness, ask me to
return to you the lock
of hair, just because you had
smashed the doll?"
"No," said
Dorothy, again.
"Of course not," the Nome King
returned. "Nor will I give up
the Queen and her children because
the King of Ev destroyed his
long life by jumping into the
sea. They belong to me and I
shall keep them."
"But you are treating them
cruelly," said Ozma, who was
much distressed by the King's
refusal.
"In what way?" he
asked.
"By making them your slaves," said
she.
"Cruelty," remarked the monarch,
puffing out wreathes of smoke
and watching them float into
the air, "is a thing I can't
abide. So, as slaves must work
hard, and the Queen of Ev and
her children were delicate and
tender, I transformed them all
into articles of ornament and
bric-a-brac and scattered them
around the various rooms of my
palace. Instead of being obliged
to labor, they merely decorate
my apartments, and I really think
I have treated them with great
kindness."
"But what a dreadful fate is
theirs!" exclaimed Ozma, earnestly. "And
the Kingdom of Ev is in great
need of its royal family to govern
it. If you will liberate them,
and restore them to their proper
forms, I will give you ten ornaments
to replace each one you lose."
The Nome King looked grave.
"Suppose I refuse?" he
asked.
"Then," said Ozma, firmly, "I
am here with my friends and my
army to conquer your kingdom
and oblige you to obey my wishes."
The Nome King laughed until
he choked; and he choked until
he coughed; and he coughed until
his face turned from grayish-brown
to bright red. And then he wiped
his eyes with a rock-colored
handkerchief and grew grave again.
"You are as brave as you are
pretty, my dear," he said to
Ozma. "But you have little idea
of the extent of the task you
have undertaken. Come with me
for a moment."
He arose and took Ozma's hand,
leading her to a little door
at one side of the room. This
he opened and they stepped out
upon a balcony, from whence they
obtained a wonderful view of
the Underground World.
A vast cave extended for miles
and miles under the mountain,
and in every direction were furnaces
and forges glowing brightly and
Nomes hammering upon precious
metals or polishing gleaming
jewels. All around the walls
of the cave were thousands of
doors of silver and gold, built
into the solid rock, and these
extended in rows far away into
the distance, as far as Ozma's
eyes could follow them.
While the little maid from
Oz gazed wonderingly upon this
scene the Nome King uttered a
shrill whistle, and at once all
the silver and gold doors flew
open and solid ranks of Nome
soldiers marched out from every
one. So great were their numbers
that they quickly filled the
immense underground cavern and
forced the busy workmen to abandon
their tasks.
Although this tremendous army
consisted of rock-colored Nomes,
all squat and fat, they were
clothed in glittering armor of
polished steel, inlaid with beautiful
gems. Upon his brow each wore
a brilliant electric light, and
they bore sharp spears and swords
and battle-axes of solid bronze.
It was evident they were perfectly
trained, for they stood in straight
rows, rank after rank, with their
weapons held erect and true,
as if awaiting but the word of
command to level them upon their
foes.
"This," said the Nome King, "is
but a small part of my army.
No ruler upon Earth has ever
dared to fight me, and no ruler
ever will, for I am too powerful
to oppose."
He whistled again, and at once
the martial array filed through
the silver and gold doorways
and disappeared, after which
the workmen again resumed their
labors at the furnaces.
Then, sad and discouraged,
Ozma of Oz turned to her friends,
and the Nome King calmly reseated
himself on his rock throne.
"It would be foolish for us
to fight," the girl said to the
Tin Woodman. "For our brave Twenty-Seven
would be quickly destroyed. I'm
sure I do not know how to act
in this emergency.
"Ask the King where his kitchen
is," suggested the Tiger. "I'm
hungry as a bear."
"I might pounce upon the King
and tear him in pieces," remarked
the Cowardly Lion.
"Try it," said
the monarch, lighting his pipe
with another
hot coal which he took from his
pocket.
The Lion crouched low and tried
to spring upon the Nome King;
but he hopped only a little way
into the air and came down again
in the same place, not being
able to approach the throne by
even an inch.
"It seems to me," said the
Scarecrow, thoughtfully, "that
our best plan is to wheedle his
Majesty into giving up his slaves,
since he is too great a magician
to oppose."
"This is the most sensible
thing any of you have suggested," declared
the Nome King. "It is folly to
threaten me, but I'm so kind-hearted
that I cannot stand coaxing or
wheedling. If you really wish
to accomplish anything by your
journey, my dear Ozma, you must
coax me."
"Very well," said Ozma, more
cheerfully. "Let us be friends,
and talk this over in a friendly
manner."
"To be sure," agreed
the King, his eyes twinkling
merrily.
"I am very anxious," she continued, "to
liberate the Queen of Ev and
her children who are now ornaments
and bric-a-brac in your Majesty's
palace, and to restore them to
their people. Tell me, sir, how
this may be accomplished."
The king remained thoughtful
for a moment, after which he
asked:
"Are you willing
to take a few chances and risks
yourself,
in order to set free the people
of Ev?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered
Ozma, eagerly.
"Then," said the Nome King, "I
will make you this offer: You
shall go alone and unattended
into my palace and examine carefully
all that the rooms contain. Then
you shall have permission to
touch eleven different objects,
pronouncing at the time the word
'Ev,' and if any one of them,
or more than one, proves to be
the transformation of the Queen
of Ev or any of her ten children,
then they will instantly be restored
to their true forms and may leave
my palace and my kingdom in your
company, without any objection
whatever. It is possible for
you, in this way, to free the
entire eleven; but if you do
not guess all the objects correctly,
and some of the slaves remain
transformed, then each one of
your friends and followers may,
in turn, enter the palace and
have the same privileges I grant
you."
"Oh, thank you! thank you for
this kind offer!" said Ozma,
eagerly.
"I make but one condition," added
the Nome King, his eyes twinkling.
"What is it?" she
enquired.
"If none of
the eleven objects you touch
proves to be the transformation
of any of the royal family of
Ev, then, instead of freeing
them, you will yourself become
enchanted, and transformed into
an article of bric-a-brac or
an ornament. This is only fair
and just, and is the risk you
declared you were willing to
take."
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