In the Cavern of the Doomed
Neither Dorothy nor the Wizard could tell how long they lay in their
cavern prison deep in hollow Mount Illuso, but it is certain that
minutes seemed like hours to them.
While the Wizard had recognized the country to which he and Dorothy
had been carried as the Land of the Phanfasms, he was not aware of the
existence of Mount Illuso and its Mimic dwellers. He was sure, however,
that the creatures who had captured Dorothy and him were not Phanfasms.
He had seen the Phanfasms when those evil creatures had once attempted
to invade Oz, and they bore no resemblance to the beings who had made
Dorothy and him captives.
Dorothy found some comfort in telling herself that as soon as Ozma and
Glinda returned to the Emerald City the imposters would be detected and
she and the Wizard speedily rescued. But what if Ozma and Glinda were
deceived? How long would she and the Wizard be kept in the cave? What
wicked plot was behind all this? And just how powerful and clever were
the creatures who had captured her and the Wizard?
Suddenly something happened that banished all these puzzling questions.
There was a light in the cavern! The two prisoners could see each
other! True, the light was feeble, but it was increasing steadily in
strength.
As the light grew more brilliant, Dorothy felt pleasantly warm and
glowing, as though she were lying in the bright sunlight. And then to
her intense joy the little girl realized that the spell cast on her was
broken. The light had released her. She was free to move about as she
pleased.
Dorothy jumped happily to her feet. The Wizard, too, was freed from
the spell, and a moment later was standing, smiling broadly with
satisfaction.
"Was the light your magic, Wizard?" asked Dorothy eagerly.
"No, my dear, I had nothing to do with the light," replied the Wizard.
"But I wonder who or what turned it on?" said Dorothy. "Could it be a
trick, do you think?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.
"No, I believe not," replied the Wizard. "There would be no point in
our captors' troubling themselves to enchant us and make us prisoners,
and then releasing us from the enchantment. I believe we will find this
light is a part of a greater mystery than we know anything about."
"Well, seems to me there's plenty of mystery about everything that's
happened today," said Dorothy. "What are we going to do now, Wizard?"
"Explore our prison," answered the little man promptly.
Dorothy looked about her. They were entirely surrounded by the solid
stone walls of the cavern, which was about one-hundred feet square. She
could detect no sign of the door by which they had entered.
"Look, Wizard," Dorothy exclaimed. "See how the light shines from one
small point in the far end of the cavern?"
"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it's almost as if someone had built a
powerful flashlight into the stone wall. Come, let's examine the light
more closely."
The two walked to the opposite side of the cavern and found that, as
Dorothy had observed, the flood of light originated from one small
point. This point was a circular bit of stone, round and polished, and
no larger than a small button.
"Why," exclaimed Dorothy, "it looks 'zactly like the button of an
electric light switch! Wonder what would happen if I pressed it?"
Impulsively Dorothy reached out and pressed the button of rock with her
finger. In the deep silence that filled the cave, the two adventurers
detected a far-away humming sound, like the whirring of wheels in
motion. As Dorothy and the Wizard listened, the sound grew louder.
"What do you suppose it is?" whispered Dorothy.
"I haven't the faintest idea," said the Wizard, "but I don't think
we'll have to wait long to find out."
At last the whirring noise seemed to be just opposite them on the other
side of the stone wall. It stopped completely and there was silence. A
second later a section of the stone wall swung outward, and Dorothy and
the Wizard found themselves staring into a small room--much like the
car of an elevator. The car was painted bright blue, trimmed with red
and gold, and sitting on a small stool was a curious little man.