The Nome King and his terrible
allies sat at the banquet table
until midnight. There was much
quarreling between the Growleywogs
and Phanfasms, and one of the
wee-headed Whimsies got angry
at General Guph and choked him
until he nearly stopped breathing.
Yet no one was seriously hurt,
and the Nome King felt much relieved
when the clock struck twelve
and they all sprang up and seized
their weapons.
"Aha!" shouted the First and
Foremost. "Now to conquer the
Land of Oz!"
He marshaled his Phanfasms
in battle array and at his word
of command they marched into
the tunnel and began the long
journey through it to the Emerald
City. The First and Foremost
intended to take all the treasures
of Oz for himself; to kill all
who could be killed and enslave
the rest; to destroy and lay
waste the whole country, and
afterward to conquer and enslave
the Nomes, the Growleywogs and
the Whimsies. And he knew his
power was sufficient to enable
him to do all these things easily.
Next marched into the tunnel
the army of gigantic Growleywogs,
with their Grand Gallipoot at
their head. They were dreadful
beings, indeed, and longed to
get to Oz that they might begin
to pilfer and destroy. The Grand
Gallipoot was a little afraid
of the First and Foremost, but
had a cunning plan to murder
or destroy that powerful being
and secure the wealth of Oz for
himself. Mighty little of the
plunder would the Nome King get,
thought the Grand Gallipoot.
The Chief of the Whimsies now
marched his false-headed forces
into the tunnel. In his wicked
little head was a plot to destroy
both the First and Foremost and
the Grand Gallipoot. He intended
to let them conquer Oz, since
they insisted on going first;
but he would afterward treacherously
destroy them, as well as King
Roquat, and keep all the slaves
and treasure of Ozma's kingdom
for himself.
After all his dangerous allies
had marched into the tunnel the
Nome King and General Guph started
to follow them, at the head of
fifty thousand Nomes, all fully
armed.
"Guph," said the King, "those
creatures ahead of us mean mischief.
They intend to get everything
for themselves and leave us nothing."
"I know," replied the General; "but
they are not as clever as they
think they are. When you get
the Magic Belt you must at once
wish the Whimsies and Growleywogs
and Phanfasms all back into their
own countries--and the Belt will
surely take them there."
"Good!" cried the King. "An
excellent plan, Guph. I'll do
it. While they are conquering
Oz I'll get the Magic Belt, and
then only the Nomes will remain
to ravage the country."
So you see there was only one
thing that all were agreed upon--that
Oz should be destroyed.
On, on, on the vast ranks of
invaders marched, filling the
tunnel from side to side. With
a steady tramp, tramp, they advanced,
every step taking them nearer
to the beautiful Emerald City.
"Nothing can save the Land
of Oz!" thought the First and
Foremost, scowling until his
bear face was as black as the
tunnel.
"The Emerald City is as good
as destroyed already!" muttered
the Grand Gallipoot, shaking
his war club fiercely.
"In a few hours Oz will be
a desert!" said the Chief of
the Whimsies, with an evil laugh.
"My dear Guph," remarked the
Nome King to his General, "at
last my vengeance upon Ozma of
Oz and her people is about to
be accomplished."
"You are right!" declared the
General. "Ozma is surely lost."
And now the First and Foremost,
who was in advance and nearing
the Emerald City, began to cough
and to sneeze.
"This tunnel is terribly dusty," he
growled, angrily. "I'll punish
that Nome King for not having
it swept clean. My throat and
eyes are getting full of dust
and I'm as thirsty as a fish!"
The Grand Gallipoot was coughing
too, and his throat was parched
and dry.
"What a dusty place!" he cried. "I'll
be glad when we reach Oz, where
we can get a drink."
"Who has any water?" asked
the Whimsie Chief, gasping and
choking. But none of his followers
carried a drop of water, so he
hastened on to get through the
dusty tunnel to the Land of Oz.
"Where did all this dust come
from?" demanded General Guph,
trying hard to swallow but finding
his throat so dry he couldn't.
"I don't know," answered the
Nome King. "I've been in the
tunnel every day while it was
being built, but I never noticed
any dust before."
"Let's hurry!" cried the General. "I'd
give half the gold in Oz for
a drink of water."
The dust grew thicker and thicker,
and the throats and eyes and
noses of the invaders were filled
with it. But not one halted or
turned back. They hurried forward
more fierce and vengeful than
ever.
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