up my Army, and then I cannot conquer the world." She now turned to the
officers and said: "I must ask you to do me a favor. I know it is
undignified in officers to fight, but unless you immediately capture
Private Files and force him to obey my orders there will be no plunder
for any of us. Also it is likely you will all suffer the pangs of
hunger, and when we meet a powerful foe you are liable to be captured
and made slaves."
The prospect of this awful fate so frightened the officers that they
drew their swords and rushed upon Files, who stood beside Shaggy, in a
truly ferocious manner. The next instant, however, they halted and
again fell upon their knees; for there, before them, was the glistening
Love Magnet, held in the hand of the smiling Shaggy Man, and the sight
of this magic talisman at once won the heart of every Oogabooite. Even
Ann saw the Love Magnet, and forgetting all enmity and anger threw
herself upon Shaggy and embraced him lovingly.
Quite disconcerted by this unexpected effect of the Magnet, Shaggy
disengaged himself from the Queen's encircling arms and quickly hid the
talisman in his pocket. The adventurers from Oogaboo were now his firm
friends, and there was no more talk about conquering and binding any of
his party.
"If you insist on conquering anyone," said Shaggy, "you may march with
me to the underground Kingdom of Ruggedo. To conquer the world, as you
have set out to do, you must conquer everyone under its surface as well
as those upon its surface, and no one in all the world needs conquering
so much as Ruggedo."
"Who is he?" asked Ann.
"The Metal Monarch, King of the Nomes."
"Is he rich?" inquired Major Stockings in an anxious voice.
"Of course," answered Shaggy. "He owns all the metal that lies
underground--gold, silver, copper, brass and tin. He has an idea he
also owns all the metals above ground, for he says all metal was once a
part of his kingdom. So, by conquering the Metal Monarch, you will win
all the riches in the world."
"Ah!" exclaimed General Apple, heaving a deep sigh, "that would be
plunder worth our while. Let's conquer him, Your Majesty."
The Queen looked reproachfully at Files, who was sitting next to the
lovely Princess and whispering in her ear.
"Alas," said Ann, "I have no longer an Army. I have plenty of brave
officers, indeed, but no private soldier for them to command. Therefore
I cannot conquer Ruggedo and win all his wealth."
"Why don't you make one of your officers the Private?" asked Shaggy;
but at once every officer began to protest and the Queen of Oogaboo
shook her head as she replied:
"That is impossible. A private soldier must be a terrible fighter, and
my officers are unable to fight. They are exceptionally brave in
commanding others to fight, but could not themselves meet the enemy and
conquer."
"Very true, Your Majesty," said Colonel Plum, eagerly. "There are many
kinds of bravery and one cannot be expected to possess them all. I
myself am brave as a lion in all ways until it comes to fighting, but
then my nature revolts. Fighting is unkind and liable to be injurious
to others; so, being a gentleman, I never fight."
"Nor I!" shouted each of the other officers.
"You see," said Ann, "how helpless I am. Had not Private Files proved
himself a traitor and a deserter, I would gladly have conquered this
Ruggedo; but an Army without a private soldier is like a bee without a
stinger."
"I am not a traitor, Your Majesty," protested Files. "I resigned in a
proper manner, not liking the job. But there are plenty of people to
take my place. Why not make Shaggy Man the private soldier?"
"He might be killed," said Ann, looking tenderly at Shaggy, "for he is
mortal, and able to die. If anything happened to him, it would break my
heart."
"It would hurt me worse than that," declared Shaggy. "You must admit,
Your Majesty, that I am commander of this expedition, for it is my
brother we are seeking, rather than plunder. But I and my companions
would like the assistance of your Army, and if you help us to conquer
Ruggedo and to rescue my brother from captivity we will allow you to
keep all the gold and jewels and other plunder you may find."
This prospect was so tempting that the officers began whispering
together and presently Colonel Cheese said: "Your Majesty, by combining
our brains we have just evolved a most brilliant idea. We will make the
Clockwork Man the private soldier!"
"Who? Me?" asked Tik-Tok. "Not for a sin-gle sec-ond! I can-not fight,
and you must not for-get that it was Rug-ge-do who threw me in the
well."
"At that time you had no gun," said Polychrome. "But if you join the
Army of Oogaboo you will carry the gun that Mr. Files used."
"A sol-dier must be a-ble to run as well as to fight," protested
Tik-Tok, "and if my works run down, as they of-ten do, I could nei-ther
run nor fight."
"I'll keep you wound up, Tik-Tok," promised Betsy.
"Why, it isn't a bad idea," said Shaggy. "Tik-Tok will make an ideal
soldier, for nothing can injure him except a sledge hammer. And, since
a private soldier seems to be necessary to this Army, Tik-Tok is the
only one of our party fitted to undertake the job."
"What must I do?" asked Tik-Tok.
"Obey orders," replied Ann. "When the officers command you to do
anything, you must do it; that is all."
"And that's enough, too," said Files.
"Do I get a salary?" inquired Tik-Tok.
"You get your share of the plunder," answered the Queen.
"Yes," remarked Files, "one-half of the plunder goes to Queen Ann, the
other half is divided among the officers, and the Private gets the
rest."
"That will be sat-is-fac-tor-y," said Tik-Tok, picking up the gun and
examining it wonderingly, for he had never before seen such a weapon.
Then Ann strapped the knapsack to Tik-Tok's copper back and said: "Now
we are ready to march to Ruggedo's Kingdom and conquer it. Officers,
give the command to march."
"Fall--in!" yelled the Generals, drawing their swords.
"Fall--in!" cried the Colonels, drawing their swords.
"Fall--in!" shouted the Majors, drawing their swords.
"Fall--in!" bawled the Captains, drawing their swords.
Tik-Tok looked at them and then around him in surprise.
"Fall in what? The well?" he asked.
"No," said Queen Ann, "you must fall in marching order."
"Can-not I march without fall-ing in-to it?" asked the Clockwork Man.
"Shoulder your gun and stand ready to march," advised Files; so Tik-Tok
held the gun straight and stood still.
"What next?" he asked.
The Queen turned to Shaggy.
"Which road leads to the Metal Monarch's cavern?"
"We don't know, Your Majesty," was the reply.
"But this is absurd!" said Ann with a frown. "If we can't get to
Ruggedo, it is certain that we can't conquer him."
"You are right," admitted Shaggy; "but I did not say we could not get
to him. We have only to discover the way, and that was the matter we
were considering when you and your magnificent Army arrived here."
"Well, then, get busy and discover it," snapped the Queen.
That was no easy task. They all stood looking from one road to another
in perplexity. The paths radiated from the little clearing like the
rays of the midday sun, and each path seemed like all the others.
Files and the Rose Princess, who had by this time become good friends,
advanced a little way along one of the roads and found that it was
bordered by pretty wild flowers.
"Why don't you ask the flowers to tell you the way?" he said to his
companion.
"The flowers?" returned the Princess, surprised at the question.
"Of course," said Files. "The field-flowers must be second-cousins to a
Rose Princess, and I believe if you ask them they will tell you."
She looked more closely at the flowers. There were hundreds of white
daisies, golden buttercups, bluebells and daffodils growing by the
roadside, and each flower-head was firmly set upon its slender but
stout stem. There were even a few wild roses scattered here and there
and perhaps it was the sight of these that gave the Princess courage to
ask the important question.
She dropped to her knees, facing the flowers, and extended both her
arms pleadingly toward them.
"Tell me, pretty cousins," she said in her sweet, gentle voice, "which
way will lead us to the Kingdom of Ruggedo, the Nome King?"
At once all the stems bent gracefully to the right and the flower heads
nodded once--twice--thrice in that direction.
"That's it!" cried Files joyfully. "Now we know the way."
Ozga rose to her feet and looked wonderingly at the field-flowers,
which had now resumed their upright position.
"Was it the wind, do you think?" she asked in a low whisper.
"No, indeed," replied Files. "There is not a breath of wind stirring.
But these lovely blossoms are indeed your cousins and answered your
question at once, as I knew they would."
Chapter Nine
Ruggedo's Rage is Rash and Reckless
The way taken by the adventurers led up hill and down dale and wound
here and there in a fashion that seemed aimless. But always it drew
nearer to a range of low mountains and Files said more than once that
he was certain the entrance to Ruggedo's cavern would be found among
these rugged hills.
In this he was quite correct. Far underneath the nearest mountain was a
gorgeous chamber hollowed from the solid rock, the walls and roof of
which glittered with thousands of magnificent jewels. Here, on a throne
of virgin gold, sat the famous Nome King, dressed in splendid robes and
wearing a superb crown cut from a single blood-red ruby.
Ruggedo, the Monarch of all the Metals and Precious Stones of the
Underground World, was a round little man with a flowing white beard, a
red face, bright eyes and a scowl that covered all his forehead. One
would think, to look at him, that he ought to be jolly; one might
think, considering his enormous wealth, that he ought to be happy; but
this was not the case. The Metal Monarch was surly and cross because
mortals had dug so much treasure out of the earth and kept it above
ground, where all the power of Ruggedo and his nomes was unable to
recover it. He hated not only the mortals but also the fairies who live
upon the earth or above it, and instead of being content with the
riches he still possessed he was unhappy because he did not own all the
gold and jewels in the world.
Ruggedo had been nodding, half asleep, in his chair when suddenly he
sat upright, uttered a roar of rage and began pounding upon a huge gong
that stood beside him.
The sound filled the vast cavern and penetrated to many caverns beyond,
where countless thousands of nomes were working at their unending
tasks, hammering out gold and silver and other metals, or melting ores
in great furnaces, or polishing glittering gems. The nomes trembled at
the sound of the King's gong and whispered fearfully to one another
that something unpleasant was sure to happen; but none dared pause in
his task.
The heavy curtains of cloth-of-gold were pushed aside and Kaliko, the
King's High Chamberlain, entered the royal presence.
"What's up, Your Majesty?" he asked, with a wide yawn, for he had just
wakened.
"Up?" roared Ruggedo, stamping his foot viciously. "Those foolish
mortals are up, that's what! And they want to come down."
"Down here?" inquired Kaliko.
"Yes!"
"How do you know?" continued the Chamberlain, yawning again.
"I feel it in my bones," said Ruggedo. "I can always feel it when those
hateful earth-crawlers draw near to my Kingdom. I am positive, Kaliko,
that mortals are this very minute on their way here to annoy me--and I
hate mortals more than I do catnip tea!"
"Well, what's to be done?" demanded the nome.
"Look through your spyglass, and see where the invaders are," commanded
the King.
So Kaliko went to a tube in the wall of rock and put his eye to it. The
tube ran from the cavern up to the side of the mountain and turned
several curves and corners, but as it was a magic spyglass Kaliko was
able to see through it just as easily as if it had been straight.
"Ho--hum," said he. "I see 'em, Your Majesty."
"What do they look like?" inquired the Monarch.
"That's a hard question to answer, for a queerer assortment of
creatures I never yet beheld," replied the nome. "However, such a
collection of curiosities may prove dangerous. There's a copper man,
worked by machinery--"
"Bah! that's only Tik-Tok," said Ruggedo. "I'm not afraid of him. Why,
only the other day I met the fellow and threw him down a well."
"Then some one must have pulled him out again," said Kaliko. "And
there's a little girl--"
"Dorothy?" asked Ruggedo, jumping up in fear.
"No; some other girl. In fact, there are several girls, of various
sizes; but Dorothy is not with them, nor is Ozma."
"That's good!" exclaimed the King, sighing in relief.
Kaliko still had his eye to the spyglass.
"I see," said he, "an army of men from Oogaboo. They are all officers
and carry swords. And there is a Shaggy Man--who seems very
harmless--and a little donkey with big ears."
"Pooh!" cried Ruggedo, snapping his fingers in scorn. "I've no fear of
such a mob as that. A dozen of my nomes can destroy them all in a
jiffy."
"I'm not so sure of that," said Kaliko. "The people of Oogaboo are hard
to destroy, and I believe the Rose Princess is a fairy. As for
Polychrome, you know very well that the Rainbow's Daughter cannot be
injured by a nome."
"Polychrome! Is she among them?" asked the King.
"Yes; I have just recognized her."
"Then these people are coming here on no peaceful errand," declared
Ruggedo, scowling fiercely. "In fact, no one ever comes here on a
peaceful errand. I hate everybody, and everybody hates me!"
"Very true," said Kaliko.
"I must in some way prevent these people from reaching my dominions.
Where are they now?"
"Just now they are crossing the Rubber Country, Your Majesty."
"Good! Are your magnetic rubber wires in working order?"
"I think so," replied Kaliko. "Is it your Royal Will that we have some
fun with these invaders?"
"It is," answered Ruggedo. "I want to teach them a lesson they will
never forget."
Now, Shaggy had no idea that he was in a Rubber Country, nor had any of
his companions. They noticed that everything around them was of a dull
gray color and that the path upon which they walked was soft and
springy, yet they had no suspicion that the rocks and trees were rubber
and even the path they trod was made of rubber.
Presently they came to a brook where sparkling water dashed through a
deep channel and rushed away between high rocks far down the
mountain-side. Across the brook were stepping-stones, so placed that
travelers might easily leap from one to another and in that manner
cross the water to the farther bank.
Tik-Tok was marching ahead, followed by his officers and Queen Ann.
After them came Betsy Bobbin and Hank, Polychrome and Shaggy, and last
of all the Rose Princess with Files. The Clockwork Man saw the stream
and the stepping-stones and, without making a pause, placed his foot
upon the first stone.
The result was astonishing. First he sank down in the soft rubber,
which then rebounded and sent Tik-Tok soaring high in the air, where he
turned a succession of flip-flops and alighted upon a rubber rock far
in the rear of the party.
General Apple did not see Tik-Tok bound, so quickly had he disappeared;
therefore he also stepped upon the stone (which you will guess was
connected with Kaliko's magnetic rubber wire) and instantly shot upward
like an arrow. General Cone came next and met with a like fate, but the
others now noticed that something was wrong and with one accord they
halted the column and looked back along the path.
There was Tik-Tok, still bounding from one rubber rock to another, each
time rising a less distance from the ground. And there was General
Apple, bounding away in another direction, his three-cornered hat
jammed over his eyes and his long sword thumping him upon the arms and
head as it swung this way and that. And there, also, appeared General
Cone, who had struck a rubber rock headforemost and was so crumpled up
that his round body looked more like a bouncing-ball than the form of a
man.
Betsy laughed merrily at the strange sight and Polychrome echoed her
laughter. But Ozga was grave and wondering, while Queen Ann became
angry at seeing the chief officers of the Army of Oogaboo bounding
around in so undignified a manner. She shouted to them to stop, but
they were unable to obey, even though they would have been glad to do
so. Finally, however, they all ceased bounding and managed to get upon
their feet and rejoin the Army.
"Why did you do that?" demanded Ann, who seemed greatly provoked.
"Don't ask them why," said Shaggy earnestly. "I knew you would ask them
why, but you ought not to do it. The reason is plain. Those stones are
rubber; therefore they are not stones. Those rocks around us are
rubber, and therefore they are not rocks. Even this path is not a path;
it's rubber. Unless we are very careful, your Majesty, we are all
likely to get the bounce, just as your poor officers and Tik-Tok did."
"Then let's be careful," remarked Files, who was full of wisdom; but
Polychrome wanted to test the quality of the rubber, so she began
dancing. Every step sent her higher and higher into the air, so that
she resembled a big butterfly fluttering lightly. Presently she made a
great bound and bounded way across the stream, landing lightly and
steadily on the other side.
"There is no rubber over here," she called to them. "Suppose you all
try to bound over the stream, without touching the stepping-stones."
Ann and her officers were reluctant to undertake such a risky
adventure, but Betsy at once grasped the value of the suggestion and
began jumping up and down until she found herself bounding almost as
high as Polychrome had done. Then she suddenly leaned forward and the
next bound took her easily across the brook, where she alighted by the
side of the Rainbow's Daughter.
"Come on, Hank!" called the girl, and the donkey tried to obey. He
managed to bound pretty high but when he tried to bound across the
stream he misjudged the distance and fell with a splash into the middle
of the water.
"Hee-haw!" he wailed, struggling toward the far bank. Betsy rushed
forward to help him out, but when the mule stood safely beside her she
was amazed to find he was not wet at all.
"It's dry water," said Polychrome, dipping her hand into the stream and
showing how the water fell from it and left it perfectly dry.
"In that case," returned Betsy, "they can all walk through the water."
She called to Ozga and Shaggy to wade across, assuring them the water
was shallow and would not wet them. At once they followed her advice,
avoiding the rubber stepping stones, and made the crossing with ease.
This encouraged the entire party to wade through the dry water, and in
a few minutes all had assembled on the bank and renewed their journey
along the path that led to the Nome King's dominions.
When Kaliko again looked through his magic spyglass he exclaimed:
"Bad luck, Your Majesty! All the invaders have passed the Rubber
Country and now are fast approaching the entrance to your caverns."
Ruggedo raved and stormed at the news and his anger was so great that
several times, as he strode up and down his jeweled cavern, he paused
to kick Kaliko upon his shins, which were so sensitive that the poor
nome howled with pain. Finally the King said:
"There's no help for it; we must drop these audacious invaders down the
Hollow Tube."
Kaliko gave a jump, at this, and looked at his master wonderingly.
"If you do that, Your Majesty," he said, "you will make Tititi-Hoochoo
very angry."
"Never mind that," retorted Ruggedo. "Tititi-Hoochoo lives on the other
side of the world, so what do I care for his anger?"
Kaliko shuddered and uttered a little groan.
"Remember his terrible powers," he pleaded, "and remember that he
warned you, the last time you slid people through the Hollow Tube, that
if you did it again he would take vengeance upon you."
The Metal Monarch walked up and down in silence, thinking deeply.
"Of two dangers," said he, "it is wise to choose the least. What do you
suppose these invaders want?"
"Let the Long-Eared Hearer listen to them," suggested Kaliko.
"Call him here at once!" commanded Ruggedo eagerly.
So in a few minutes there entered the cavern a nome with enormous ears,
who bowed low before the King.
"Strangers are approaching," said Ruggedo, "and I wish to know their
errand. Listen carefully to their talk and tell me why they are coming
here, and what for."
The nome bowed again and spread out his great ears, swaying them gently
up and down and back and forth. For half an hour he stood silent, in an
attitude of listening, while both the King and Kaliko grew impatient at
the delay. At last the Long-Eared Hearer spoke:
"Shaggy Man is coming here to rescue his brother from captivity," said
he.
"Ha, the Ugly One!" exclaimed Ruggedo. "Well, Shaggy Man may have his
ugly brother, for all I care. He's too lazy to work and is always
getting in my way. Where is the Ugly One now, Kaliko?"
"The last time Your Majesty stumbled over the prisoner you commanded me
to send him to the Metal Forest, which I did. I suppose he is still
there."
"Very good. The invaders will have a hard time finding the Metal
Forest," said the King, with a grin of malicious delight, "for half the
time I can't find it myself. Yet I created the forest and made every
tree, out of gold and silver, so as to keep the precious metals in a
safe place and out of the reach of mortals. But tell me, Hearer, do the
strangers want anything else?"
"Yes, indeed they do!" returned the nome. "The Army of Oogaboo is
determined to capture all the rich metals and rare jewels in your
kingdom, and the officers and their Queen have arranged to divide the
spoils and carry them away."
When he heard this Ruggedo uttered a bellow of rage and began dancing
up and down, rolling his eyes, clicking his teeth together and swinging
his arms furiously. Then, in an ecstasy of anger he seized the long
ears of the Hearer and pulled and twisted them cruelly; but Kaliko
grabbed up the King's sceptre and rapped him over the knuckles with it,
so that Ruggedo let go the ears and began to chase his Royal
Chamberlain around the throne.
The Hearer took advantage of this opportunity to slip away from the
cavern and escape, and after the King had tired himself out chasing
Kaliko he threw himself into his throne and panted for breath, while he
glared wickedly at his defiant subject.
"You'd better save your strength to fight the enemy," suggested Kaliko.
"There will be a terrible battle when the Army of Oogaboo gets here."
"The Army won't get here," said the King, still coughing and panting.
"I'll drop 'em down the Hollow Tube--every man Jack and every girl Jill
of 'em!"
"And defy Tititi-Hoochoo?" asked Kaliko.
"Yes. Go at once to my Chief Magician and order him to turn the path
toward the Hollow Tube, and to make the tip of the Tube invisible, so
they'll all fall into it."
Kaliko went away shaking his head, for he thought Ruggedo was making a
great mistake. He found the Magician and had the path twisted so that
it led directly to the opening of the Hollow Tube, and this opening he
made invisible.
Having obeyed the orders of his master, the Royal Chamberlain went to
his private room and began to write letters of recommendation of
himself, stating that he was an honest man, a good servant and a small
eater.
"Pretty soon," he said to himself, "I shall have to look for another
job, for it is certain that Ruggedo has ruined himself by this reckless
defiance of the mighty Tititi-Hoochoo. And in seeking a job nothing is
so effective as a letter of recommendation."
Chapter Ten
A Terrible Tumble Through a Tube
I suppose that Polychrome, and perhaps Queen Ann and her Army, might
have been able to dispel the enchantment of Ruggedo's Chief Magician
had they known that danger lay in their pathway; for the Rainbow's
Daughter was a fairy and as Oogaboo is a part of the Land of Oz its
inhabitants cannot easily be deceived by such common magic as the Nome
King could command. But no one suspected any especial danger until
after they had entered Ruggedo's cavern, and so they were journeying
along in quite a contented manner when Tik-Tok, who marched ahead,
suddenly disappeared.
The officers thought he must have turned a corner, so they kept on
their way and all of them likewise disappeared--one after another.
Queen Ann was rather surprised at this, and in hastening forward to
learn the reason she also vanished from sight.