acknowledged the Nome King to be his master and was ready to obey his
commands. Therefore he repeated Shaggy's speech to the King, who at
once realized that his Kingdom was in grave danger. For Ruggedo knew of
the Love Magnet and its powers and was horrified at the thought that
Shaggy might show him the magic talisman and turn all the hatred in his
heart into love. Ruggedo was proud of his hatred and abhorred love of
any sort.
"Really," said he, "I'd rather be conquered and lose my wealth and my
Kingdom than gaze at that awful Love Magnet. What can I do to prevent
the Shaggy Man from taking it out of his pocket?"
Kaliko returned to the cavern in time to overhear this question, and
being a loyal nome and eager to serve his King, he answered by saying:
"If we can manage to bind the Shaggy Man's arms, tight to his body, he
could not get the Love Magnet out of his pocket."
"True!" cried the King in delight at this easy solution of the problem.
"Get at once a dozen nomes, with ropes, and place them in the passage
where they can seize and bind Shaggy as soon as he enters."
This Kaliko did, and meanwhile the watchers outside the entrance were
growing more and more uneasy about their friends.
"I don't worry so much about the Oogaboo people," said Polychrome, who
had grown sober with waiting, and perhaps a little nervous, "for they
could not be killed, even though Ruggedo might cause them much
suffering and perhaps destroy them utterly. But we should not have
allowed Betsy and Hank to go alone into the caverns. The little girl is
mortal and possesses no magic powers whatever, so if Ruggedo captures
her she will be wholly at his mercy."
"That is indeed true," replied Shaggy. "I wouldn't like to have
anything happen to dear little Betsy, so I believe I'll go in right
away and put an end to all this worry."
"We may as well go with you," asserted Files, "for by means of the Love
Magnet, you can soon bring the Nome King to reason."
So it was decided to wait no longer. Shaggy walked through the entrance
first, and after him came the others. They had no thought of danger to
themselves, and Shaggy, who was going along with his hands thrust into
his pockets, was much surprised when a rope shot out from the darkness
and twined around his body, pinning down his arms so securely that he
could not even withdraw his hands from the pockets. Then appeared
several grinning nomes, who speedily tied knots in the ropes and then
led the prisoner along the passage to the cavern. No attention was paid
to the others, but Files and the Princess followed on after Shaggy,
determined not to desert their friend and hoping that an opportunity
might arise to rescue him.
As for Polychrome, as soon as she saw that trouble had overtaken Shaggy
she turned and ran lightly back through the passage and out of the
entrance. Then she easily leaped from rock to rock until she paused
beside the great dragon, who lay fast asleep.
"Wake up, Quox!" she cried. "It is time for you to act."
But Quox did not wake up. He lay as one in a trance, absolutely
motionless, with his enormous eyes tight closed. The eyelids had big
silver scales on them, like all the rest of his body.
Polychrome might have thought Quox was dead had she not known that
dragons do not die easily or had she not observed his huge body
swelling as he breathed. She picked up a piece of rock and pounded
against his eyelids with it, saying:
"Wake up, Quox--wake up!" But he would not waken.
"Dear me, how unfortunate!" sighed the lovely Rainbow's Daughter. "I
wonder what is the best and surest way to waken a dragon. All our
friends may be captured and destroyed while this great beast lies
asleep."
She walked around Quox two or three times, trying to discover some
tender place on his body where a thump or a punch might be felt; but he
lay extended along the rocks with his chin flat upon the ground and his
legs drawn underneath his body, and all that one could see was his
thick sky-blue skin--thicker than that of a rhinoceros--and his silver
scales.
Then, despairing at last of wakening the beast, and worried over the
fate of her friends, Polychrome again ran down to the entrance and
hurried along the passage into the Nome King's cavern.
Here she found Ruggedo lolling in his throne and smoking a long pipe.
Beside him stood General Guph and Kaliko, and ranged before the King
were the Rose Princess, Files and the Shaggy Man. Tik-Tok still lay
upon the floor, weighted down by the big diamond.
Ruggedo was now in a more contented frame of mind. One by one he had
met the invaders and easily captured them. The dreaded Love Magnet was
indeed in Shaggy's pocket, only a few feet away from the King, but
Shaggy was powerless to show it and unless Ruggedo's eyes beheld the
talisman it could not affect him. As for Betsy Bobbin and her mule, he
believed Kaliko had placed them in the Slimy Cave, while Ann and her
officers he thought safely imprisoned in the pit. Ruggedo had no fear
of Files or Ozga, but to be on the safe side he had ordered golden
handcuffs placed upon their wrists. These did not cause them any great
annoyance but prevented them from making an attack, had they been
inclined to do so.
The Nome King, thinking himself wholly master of the situation, was
laughing and jeering at his prisoners when Polychrome, exquisitely
beautiful and dancing like a ray of light, entered the cavern.
"Oho!" cried the King; "a Rainbow under ground, eh?" and then he stared
hard at Polychrome, and still harder, and then he sat up and pulled the
wrinkles out of his robe and arranged his whiskers. "On my word," said
he, "you are a very captivating creature; moreover, I perceive you are
a fairy."
"I am Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter," she said proudly.
"Well," replied Ruggedo, "I like you. The others I hate. I hate
everybody--but you! Wouldn't you like to live always in this beautiful
cavern, Polychrome? See! the jewels that stud the walls have every tint
and color of your Rainbow--and they are not so elusive. I'll have fresh
dewdrops gathered for your feasting every day and you shall be Queen of
all my nomes and pull Kaliko's nose whenever you like."
"No, thank you," laughed Polychrome. "My home is in the sky, and I'm
only on a visit to this solid, sordid earth. But tell me, Ruggedo, why
my friends have been wound with cords and bound with chains?"
"They threatened me," answered Ruggedo. "The fools did not know how
powerful I am."
"Then, since they are now helpless, why not release them and send them
back to the earth's surface?"
"Because I hate 'em and mean to make 'em suffer for their invasion. But
I'll make a bargain with you, sweet Polly. Remain here and live with me
and I'll set all these people free. You shall be my daughter or my wife
or my aunt or grandmother--whichever you like--only stay here to
brighten my gloomy kingdom and make me happy!"
Polychrome looked at him wonderingly. Then she turned to Shaggy and
asked:
"Are you sure he hasn't seen the Love Magnet?"
"I'm positive," answered Shaggy. "But you seem to be something of a
Love Magnet yourself, Polychrome."
She laughed again and said to Ruggedo: "Not even to rescue my friends
would I live in your kingdom. Nor could I endure for long the society
of such a wicked monster as you."
"You forget," retorted the King, scowling darkly, "that you also are in
my power."
"Not so, Ruggedo. The Rainbow's Daughter is beyond the reach of your
spite or malice."
"Seize her!" suddenly shouted the King, and General Guph sprang forward
to obey. Polychrome stood quite still, yet when Guph attempted to
clutch her his hands met in air, and now the Rainbow's Daughter was in
another part of the room, as smiling and composed as before.
Several times Guph endeavored to capture her and Ruggedo even came down
from his throne to assist his General; but never could they lay hands
upon the lovely sky fairy, who flitted here and there with the
swiftness of light and constantly defied them with her merry laughter
as she evaded their efforts.
So after a time they abandoned the chase and Ruggedo returned to his
throne and wiped the perspiration from his face with a finely-woven
handkerchief of cloth-of-gold.
"Well," said Polychrome, "what do you intend to do now?"
"I'm going to have some fun, to repay me for all my bother," replied
the Nome King. Then he said to Kaliko: "Summon the executioners."
Kaliko at once withdrew and presently returned with a score of nomes,
all of whom were nearly as evil looking as their hated master. They
bore great golden pincers, and prods of silver, and clamps and chains
and various wicked-looking instruments, all made of precious metals and
set with diamonds and rubies.
"Now, Pang," said Ruggedo, addressing the leader of the executioners,
"fetch the Army of Oogaboo and their Queen from the pit and torture
them here in my presence--as well as in the presence of their friends.
It will be great sport."
"I hear Your Majesty, and I obey Your Majesty," answered Pang, and went
with his nomes into the passage. In a few minutes he returned and bowed
to Ruggedo.
"They're all gone," said he.
"Gone!" exclaimed the Nome King. "Gone where?"
"They left no address, Your Majesty; but they are not in the pit."
"Picks and puddles!" roared the King; "who took the cover off?"
"No one," said Pang. "The cover was there, but the prisoners were not
under it."
"In that case," snarled the King, trying to control his disappointment,
"go to the Slimy Cave and fetch hither the girl and the donkey. And
while we are torturing them Kaliko must take a hundred nomes and search
for the escaped prisoners--the Queen of Oogaboo and her officers. If he
does not find them, I will torture Kaliko."
Kaliko went away looking sad and disturbed, for he knew the King was
cruel and unjust enough to carry out this threat. Pang and the
executioners also went away, in another direction, but when they came
back Betsy Bobbin was not with them, nor was Hank.
"There is no one in the Slimy Cave, Your Majesty," reported Pang.
"Jumping jellycakes!" screamed the King. "Another escape? Are you sure
you found the right cave?"
"There is but one Slimy Cave, and there is no one in it," returned Pang
positively.
Ruggedo was beginning to be alarmed as well as angry. However, these
disappointments but made him the more vindictive and he cast an evil
look at the other prisoners and said:
"Never mind the girl and the donkey. Here are four, at least, who
cannot escape my vengeance. Let me see; I believe I'll change my mind
about Tik-Tok. Have the gold crucible heated to a white, seething heat,
and then we'll dump the copper man into it and melt him up."
"But, Your Majesty," protested Kaliko, who had returned to the room
after sending a hundred nomes to search for the Oogaboo people, "you
must remember that Tik-Tok is a very curious and interesting machine.
It would be a shame to deprive the world of such a clever contrivance."
"Say another word, and you'll go into the furnace with him!" roared the
King. "I'm getting tired of you, Kaliko, and the first thing you know
I'll turn you into a potato and make Saratoga-chips of you! The next to
consider," he added more mildly, "is the Shaggy Man. As he owns the
Love Magnet, I think I'll transform him into a dove, and then we can
practice shooting at him with Tik-Tok's gun. Now, this is a very
interesting ceremony and I beg you all to watch me closely and see that
I've nothing up my sleeve."
He came out of his throne to stand before the Shaggy Man, and then he
waved his hands, palms downward, in seven semicircles over his victim's
head, saying in a low but clear tone of voice the magic wugwa:
"Adi, edi, idi, odi, udi, oo-i-oo!
Idu, ido, idi, ide, ida, woo!"
The effect of this well-known sorcery was instantaneous. Instead of the
Shaggy Man, a pretty dove lay fluttering upon the floor, its wings
confined by tiny cords wound around them. Ruggedo gave an order to
Pang, who cut the cords with a pair of scissors. Being freed, the dove
quickly flew upward and alighted on the shoulder of the Rose Princess,
who stroked it tenderly.
"Very good! Very good!" cried Ruggedo, rubbing his hands gleefully
together. "One enemy is out of my way, and now for the others."
(Perhaps my readers should be warned not to attempt the above
transformation; for, although the exact magical formula has been
described, it is unlawful in all civilized countries for anyone to
transform a person into a dove by muttering the words Ruggedo used.
There were no laws to prevent the Nome King from performing this
transformation, but if it should be attempted in any other country, and
the magic worked, the magician would be severely punished.)
When Polychrome saw Shaggy Man transformed into a dove and realized
that Ruggedo was about to do something as dreadful to the Princess and
Files, and that Tik-Tok would soon be melted in a crucible, she turned
and ran from the cavern, through the passage and back to the place
where Quox lay asleep.
Chapter Eighteen
A Clever Conquest
The great dragon still had his eyes closed and was even snoring in a
manner that resembled distant thunder; but Polychrome was now
desperate, because any further delay meant the destruction of her
friends. She seized the pearl necklace, to which was attached the great
locket, and jerked it with all her strength.
The result was encouraging. Quox stopped snoring and his eyelids
flickered. So Polychrome jerked again--and again--till slowly the great
lids raised and the dragon looked at her steadily. Said he, in a sleepy
tone:
"What's the matter, little Rainbow?"
"Come quick!" exclaimed Polychrome. "Ruggedo has captured all our
friends and is about to destroy them."
"Well, well," said Quox, "I suspected that would happen. Step a little
out of my path, my dear, and I'll make a rush for the Nome King's
cavern."
She fell back a few steps and Quox raised himself on his stout legs,
whisked his long tail and in an instant had slid down the rocks and
made a dive through the entrance.
Along the passage he swept, nearly filling it with his immense body,
and now he poked his head into the jeweled cavern of Ruggedo.
But the King had long since made arrangements to capture the dragon,
whenever he might appear. No sooner did Quox stick his head into the
room than a thick chain fell from above and encircled his neck. Then
the ends of the chain were drawn tight--for in an adjoining cavern a
thousand nomes were pulling on them--and so the dragon could advance no
further toward the King. He could not use his teeth or his claws and as
his body was still in the passage he had not even room to strike his
foes with his terrible tail.
Ruggedo was delighted with the success of his stratagem. He had just
transformed the Rose Princess into a fiddle and was about to transform
Files into a fiddle bow, when the dragon appeared to interrupt him. So
he called out:
"Welcome, my dear Quox, to my royal entertainment. Since you are here,
you shall witness some very neat magic, and after I have finished with
Files and Tik-Tok I mean to transform you into a tiny lizard--one of
the chameleon sort--and you shall live in my cavern and amuse me."
"Pardon me for contradicting Your Majesty," returned Quox in a quiet
voice, "but I don't believe you'll perform any more magic."
"Eh? Why not?" asked the King in surprise.
"There's a reason," said Quox. "Do you see this ribbon around my neck?"
"Yes; and I'm astonished that a dignified dragon should wear such a
silly thing."
"Do you see it plainly?" persisted the dragon, with a little chuckle of
amusement.
"I do," declared Ruggedo.
"Then you no longer possess any magical powers, and are as helpless as
a clam," asserted Quox. "My great master, Tititi-Hoochoo, the Jinjin,
enchanted this ribbon in such a way that whenever Your Majesty looked
upon it all knowledge of magic would desert you instantly, nor will any
magical formula you can remember ever perform your bidding."
"Pooh! I don't believe a word of it!" cried Ruggedo, half frightened,
nevertheless. Then he turned toward Files and tried to transform him
into a fiddle bow. But he could not remember the right words or the
right pass of the hands and after several trials he finally gave up the
attempt.
By this time the Nome King was so alarmed that he was secretly shaking
in his shoes.
"I told you not to anger Tititi-Hoochoo," grumbled Kaliko, "and now you
see the result of your disobedience."
Ruggedo promptly threw his sceptre at his Royal Chamberlain, who dodged
it with his usual cleverness, and then he said with an attempt to
swagger:
"Never mind; I don't need magic to enable me to destroy these invaders;
fire and the sword will do the business and I am still King of the
Nomes and lord and master of my Underground Kingdom!"
"Again I beg to differ with Your Majesty," said Quox. "The Great Jinjin
commands you to depart instantly from this Kingdom and seek the earth's
surface, where you will wander for all time to come, without a home or
country, without a friend or follower, and without any more riches than
you can carry with you in your pockets. The Great Jinjin is so generous
that he will allow you to fill your pockets with jewels or gold, but
you must take nothing more."
Ruggedo now stared at the dragon in amazement.
"Does Tititi-Hoochoo condemn me to such a fate?" he asked in a hoarse
voice.
"He does," said Quox.
"And just for throwing a few strangers down the Forbidden Tube?"
"Just for that," repeated Quox in a stern, gruff voice.
"Well, I won't do it. And your crazy old Jinjin can't make me do it,
either!" declared Ruggedo. "I intend to remain here, King of the Nomes,
until the end of the world, and I defy your Tititi-Hoochoo and all his
fairies--as well as his clumsy messenger, whom I have been obliged to
chain up!"
The dragon smiled again, but it was not the sort of smile that made
Ruggedo feel very happy. Instead, there was something so cold and
merciless in the dragon's expression that the condemned Nome King
trembled and was sick at heart.
There was little comfort for Ruggedo in the fact that the dragon was
now chained, although he had boasted of it. He glared at the immense
head of Quox as if fascinated and there was fear in the old King's eyes
as he watched his enemy's movements.
For the dragon was now moving; not abruptly, but as if he had something
to do and was about to do it. Very deliberately he raised one claw,
touched the catch of the great jeweled locket that was suspended around
his neck, and at once it opened wide.
Nothing much happened at first; half a dozen hen's eggs rolled out upon
the floor and then the locket closed with a sharp click. But the effect
upon the nomes of this simple thing was astounding. General Guph,
Kaliko, Pang and his band of executioners were all standing close to
the door that led to the vast series of underground caverns which
constituted the dominions of the nomes, and as soon as they saw the
eggs they raised a chorus of frantic screams and rushed through the
door, slamming it in Ruggedo's face and placing a heavy bronze bar
across it.
Ruggedo, dancing with terror and uttering loud cries, now leaped upon
the seat of his throne to escape the eggs, which had rolled steadily
toward him. Perhaps these eggs, sent by the wise and crafty
Tititi-Hoochoo, were in some way enchanted, for they all rolled
directly after Ruggedo and when they reached the throne where he had
taken refuge they began rolling up the legs to the seat.
This was too much for the King to bear. His horror of eggs was real and
absolute and he made a leap from the throne to the center of the room
and then ran to a far corner.
The eggs followed, rolling slowly but steadily in his direction.
Ruggedo threw his sceptre at them, and then his ruby crown, and then he
drew off his heavy golden sandals and hurled these at the advancing
eggs. But the eggs dodged every missile and continued to draw nearer.
The King stood trembling, his eyes staring in terror, until they were
but half a yard distant; then with an agile leap he jumped clear over
them and made a rush for the passage that led to the outer entrance.
Of course the dragon was in his way, being chained in the passage with
his head in the cavern, but when he saw the King making toward him he
crouched as low as he could and dropped his chin to the floor, leaving
a small space between his body and the roof of the passage.
Ruggedo did not hesitate an instant. Impelled by fear, he leaped to the
dragon's nose and then scrambled to his back, where he succeeded in
squeezing himself through the opening. After the head was passed there
was more room and he slid along the dragon's scales to his tail and
then ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the entrance. Not
pausing here, so great was his fright, the King dashed on down the
mountain path, but before he had gone very far he stumbled and fell.
When he picked himself up he observed that no one was following him,
and while he recovered his breath he happened to think of the decree of
the Jinjin--that he should be driven from his Kingdom and made a
wanderer on the face of the earth. Well, here he was, driven from his
cavern in truth; driven by those dreadful eggs; but he would go back
and defy them; he would not submit to losing his precious Kingdom and
his tyrannical powers, all because Tititi-Hoochoo had said he must.
So, although still afraid, Ruggedo nerved himself to creep back along
the path to the entrance, and when he arrived there he saw the six eggs
lying in a row just before the arched opening.
At first he paused a safe distance away to consider the case, for the
eggs were now motionless. While he was wondering what could be done, he
remembered there was a magical charm which would destroy eggs and
render them harmless to nomes. There were nine passes to be made and
six verses of incantation to be recited; but Ruggedo knew them all. Now
that he had ample time to be exact, he carefully went through the
entire ceremony.
But nothing happened. The eggs did not disappear, as he had expected;
so he repeated the charm a second time. When that also failed, he
remembered, with a moan of despair, that his magic power had been taken
away from him and in the future he could do no more than any common
mortal.
And there were the eggs, forever barring him from the Kingdom which he
had ruled so long with absolute sway! He threw rocks at them, but could
not hit a single egg. He raved and scolded and tore his hair and beard,
and danced in helpless passion, but that did nothing to avert the just
judgment of the Jinjin, which Ruggedo's own evil deeds had brought upon
him.
From this time on he was an outcast--a wanderer upon the face of the
earth--and he had even forgotten to fill his pockets with gold and
jewels before he fled from his former Kingdom!
Chapter Nineteen
King Kaliko
After the King had made good his escape Files said to the dragon, in a
sad voice:
"Alas! why did you not come before? Because you were sleeping instead
of conquering, the lovely Rose Princess has become a fiddle without a
bow, while poor Shaggy sits there a cooing dove!"
"Don't worry," replied Quox. "Tititi-Hoochoo knows his business, and I
have my orders from the Great Jinjin himself. Bring the fiddle here and
touch it lightly to my pink ribbon."
Files obeyed and at the moment of contact with the ribbon the Nome
King's charm was broken and the Rose Princess herself stood before them
as sweet and smiling as ever.
The dove, perched on the back of the throne, had seen and heard all
this, so without being told what to do it flew straight to the dragon
and alighted on the ribbon. Next instant Shaggy was himself again and
Quox said to him grumblingly:
"Please get off my left toe, Shaggy Man, and be more particular where
you step."
"I beg your pardon!" replied Shaggy, very glad to resume his natural
form. Then he ran to lift the heavy diamond off Tik-Tok's chest and to
assist the Clockwork Man to his feet.
"Ma-ny thanks!" said Tik-Tok. "Where is the wicked King who want-ed to
melt me in a cru-ci-ble?"
"He has gone, and gone for good," answered Polychrome, who had managed
to squeeze into the room beside the dragon and had witnessed the
occurrences with much interest. "But I wonder where Betsy Bobbin and
Hank can be, and if any harm has befallen them."
"We must search the cavern until we find them," declared Shaggy; but
when he went to the door leading to the other caverns he found it shut
and barred.