Skamperoo in Oz
In the company of Scraps, the Scarecrow, the Royal Visitors, and all
the amusing members of Ozma's court, the Emperor and Chalk passed a gay
and hilarious morning. The tableaux and pageants proceeded without a
single hitch and no one seemed to miss Dorothy or Pigasus at all, nor
did anyone notice the omission of the carefully planned groups showing
the Wizard's arrival in Oz, Dorothy's first visit to the Emerald City
or the victory of Nick Chopper over the wolves. These interesting
and historical events might just as well never have happened. Notta's
circus later in the afternoon went off with a bang, even without
Pigasus to jump through hoops and fly round the ring waving flags while
Scraps did her balance-defying acts on the trapeze and tight rope. The
picnic supper was even more fun than the circus, and the fireworks, set
off by Tik Tok, who was in no danger of scorching himself, the best of
all. Indeed, Skamperoo's first day in the Emerald City had been so full
and so interesting he had not made a single wish or once thought of his
magic emeralds.
"Funny we never had jolly times like this at home," mused Skamperoo,
putting out the emerald stars in the ceiling that pleasantly lighted
his green apartment, and burrowing happily down into his splendid green
bed. "Oh, Chalk! Are you asleep there, old horse?" As no answer came
from the other bed, Skamperoo let himself sink a bit deeper into the
luxurious nest of silken covers and soon was asleep himself, puffing
and whistling like a steamboat.
But the strange and frightful snoring of the Emperor did not seem to
stop nor scare away the shadowy figure that presently came stealing
into the Royal Chamber. Once--twice--three times, long skinny fingers
reached out toward the thick neck of the snoring ruler of Oz. The
fourth time there were three distinct little clips, and when the
curving talon-like claw withdrew, it had in its clutching grasp the
three powerful wishing chains. Then, without waking the occupant of
either bed, the thief stole quietly into the shadows.
Now the Scarecrow, delighted with the success of the celebration so
far, had suggested a series of athletic contests and obstacle races
for next day and Skamperoo had heartily agreed to his plans. His first
thought on waking was the race to be run by the straw man and himself,
the Scarecrow on the wooden saw horse, he on his splendid white charger.
"I'll wear the white leather breeches and shirt," puffed Skamperoo,
bounding out of bed like a school boy. He had taken a shower and donned
his showy riding clothes before he missed his magic emeralds. Then,
all at once, as he stood before the mirror to comb his hair, he gave a
loud squall of anguish. "Chalk! Chalk!" roared the distracted Emperor,
racing over to the balcony and leaning so far out over the railing he
nearly fell on his crown. "They're gone! They're gone! My emeralds! My
necklaces! My necklaces! My emeralds!"
Now Chalk, who had risen early to nibble the clover while it was still
fresh with morning dew, looked up in alarm, then as his Master's voice
grew louder and louder and his gestures more spectacular and desperate,
the white horse rose up on his hind legs and shook his head in violent
warning and displeasure.
"Hush!" he directed in a low voice. "I'll be right up." Making his way
quickly but cautiously so as not to arouse the curiosity of any of the
palace servants, already at work in the lower hallways, Chalk hurried
up to the agitated Emperor.
"They're g-g--gone!" blubbered Skamperoo, sitting on the edge of the
bed and crying like a baby. "G--g-g-gone! Now everything is ruined and
I'll have nothing left at all!"
"Well, you still have me," murmured Chalk, resting his head
affectionately on Skamperoo's shoulder. "Brace up, Kingaling, and for
_oats_ sake be quiet! No one here knows about the necklaces and until
the rascal who has stolen them learns how to use them we are as safe
as soap. That rascal, of course, is Matiah. Somehow he has managed to
cross the Deadly Desert. Yes," Chalk shook his mane wrathfully, "I am
convinced that Matiah has the necklaces, but what good are they to him
when we alone know the secret that makes them work? He'll have to come
to us in the end and when he does! Hah!" Chalk expelled the air from
his nose in a terrific snort. "Just let me take care of him."
"But shouldn't we give the alarm, have a search made for him, and try
to recover the emeralds?"
"Let him alone," counseled the wishing horse firmly. "The thing for you
to do is to sit tight on the throne of Oz. Remember you are _still_ the
Emperor!"
"But how can I be, without those emeralds?" Skamperoo dabbed at his
eyes with the satin bed sheet.
"We got along all right yesterday," said Chalk calmly. "Come, cheer up,
Skamper, everything will be ALL right."
"I rather counted on beating the Scarecrow in that race this morning,"
muttered Skamperoo wistfully. "How can you run as fast as that tireless
wooden creature who was magically brought to life?"
"Well, wasn't I magically brought to life?" The white horse shook his
mane roguishly. "Come along, Kingaling, we'll not only win that race,
but we'll have back our necklaces and chase Matiah out of Oz before we
are through."
"I--I really believe you can do anything," sighed Skamperoo, getting
almost cheerfully to his feet. "But just the same, I shall keep a sharp
outlook for Matiah. He might start a revolution."
"He'll revolute pretty rapidly if I once get my heels on him," promised
Chalk with a wicked grin. "Come on--heads up, and who's afraid?"
However, in spite of the white horse's valiant attempts to comfort him,
Skamperoo spent a troubled and uneasy day, casting fearful glances
behind him when no one was looking, searching the happy holiday crowds
with haggard glances for a glimpse of the long, thin face of Matiah the
merchant. Even when Chalk beat the Sawhorse in their long, exciting
race through the park, and the crowds cheered themselves hoarse with
delight and approval, the victory was spoiled by the knowledge that
somewhere in the Emerald City lurked his most dangerous and relentless
foe.
Chalk, too, though he pretended to regard the matter lightly, was
almost as worried as his Master and spent every free moment poking his
head into doorways and peering down side streets and rearing up over
walls. And while Skamperoo was having his afternoon nap, the white
horse systematically searched the palace from top to bottom, even the
cellar.
But in the cellar Chalk did not go quite far enough, for it was in a
hollowed out chamber under the cellar that the merchant of Skampavia
was really hidden. Here, with a goodly supply of food, stolen from the
pantry, Matiah had seriously settled down to work out the problem of
the emerald necklace. He had meant to conceal himself in the cellar
itself, but when his foot brushed against an iron ring in the floor, he
had lifted it up and discovered to his delight and satisfaction this
still more secluded and safe retreat.
The tunnels and rocky chambers below the Palace had been constructed
and used by Ruggedo, the old Gnome King, when he was plotting to
capture the Emerald City. Ruggedo himself had been captured, but
the underground caves and passageways had been left pretty much as
they were. There were a number of chairs, a rough bed and table, and
numerous candles and lamps. Altogether it made an ideal workshop
for the merchant to try out his experiments. In the cellar he might
easily have been discovered by any of the kitchen boys sent down for
supplies, but in Ruggedo's old hideout he could be sure of complete
privacy. Lighting the largest of the lamps that hung on its rusty
chain over the table, Matiah seated himself on a rickety old chair
and prepared to concentrate with all his will power on the glittering
emeralds. In the sickly green light he made a strange and sinister
figure as he bent over the table, mumbling and chattering to himself.
But after a whole day, during which he tried every known formula and
combination, touching each gem in succession as he made his wish and
counted to a hundred, he was still no nearer the solution of the
mystery than he had been in Skampavia. First he had tried the diamond
clasp of the third necklace, sure that that was the key to their
power. But nothing at all had happened and the trick of the magic
emeralds continued to elude him. To have in his fingers the means to
immense power and good fortune and still be unable to benefit was
so infuriating, Matiah began to stamp, splutter, and beat his chest
with rage and disappointment. Was it for this he had bribed a red
eagle with the promise of three wishes to carry him across the Deadly
Desert? Even now the mammoth bird was waiting impatiently on the edge
of a little wood near the City ready to tear him to pieces if he
failed to fulfill his part of the bargain. No daylight penetrated into
the tunneled chamber, and hardly realizing that it was now midnight,
Matiah from sheer weariness and exasperation finally gave up and fell
asleep, his head on the table, his hands still clutching the provoking
chains. Footsteps pattering overhead wakened him at last, and also told
him someone had come to the cellar for supplies. Stretching wearily,
he rose and, going over to the stone steps, cautiously ascended and
lifted the trapdoor. Now thoroughly convinced that the necklaces would
not work unless worn by someone else, he determined to seize the first
person entering the cellar and compel him to help.
The merchant did not have long to wait. All unconscious of the part
he was to play in Matiah's dark schemes, a young Kitchen Boy came
whistling his way toward a great golden bin of potatoes. The bin was
just beyond the trapdoor, and lowering it to a mere crack, Matiah let
the boy pass. Then, as he leaned down to fill his basket, the wily
merchant flung up the trapdoor, fell upon the boy and carried him
kicking and screaming down the stairs. Here, with threats, promises
and innumerable shakings, he finally reduced the poor lad to a state
of frightened submission. With the sparkling necklaces round his neck,
he touched one and then another of the emeralds as Matiah wished and
counted and counted and wished. After each unsuccessful trial the
merchant would rage and stamp and shake his fists, till the boy was
quite convinced he was in the presence and power of a mad man, and
frantically waited for someone to overhear Matiah's ravings and come
down to rescue him. But nobody did!
While the unfortunate Kitchen Boy was spending a miserable morning in
the underground chamber, Skamperoo and Chalk were going through the
motions of enjoying themselves above stairs, but without any real zest
or pleasure. Only half-heartedly Skamperoo laughed at the jokes of the
Scarecrow, and Chalk, for all his bright interest in the long recital
of Kabumpo's adventures, was really in a fidget of uneasiness, trying
to keep an eye on all the doors and windows in the Throne Room at
once. Something was going to happen. The white horse felt it in every
bone. And just as the soft musical gong sounded the call for luncheon,
his worst fears were realized. Suddenly, without reason or warning,
the castle was plunged into total darkness. Thumps, bumps, hysterical
shouts and screams followed closely on the heels of this disconcerting
event. Chalk, who had been standing back of Skamperoo, immediately
leaned forward and grasped his impetuous little Master by the seat of
his Royal Breeches.
"Be still!" commanded the white horse through his teeth and the white
leather of Skamperoo's riding pants, and he held on for dear life as
the Emperor, like all the rest of the court and guests tried to rush in
every direction.
"He's done it! He's done it, and everything, is ruined," wailed
Skamperoo, struggling in vain to pull away from Chalk. "Matiah has
discovered the secret of the necklaces and now we are ruined--do you
hear--ruined!"
"I hear," hissed Chalk, giving Skamperoo a little shake, "and so will
everyone else unless you shut your mouth. Be quiet, I tell you, do
nothing till the right moment, unless you want to dash out your brains
against a pillar in the dark." Too frightened to argue or struggle
further, Skamperoo at last subsided. All about courtiers, servants,
and guests were screaming and bumping into each other or the furniture,
and when a stern hand suddenly seized his bridle, Chalk trembled
violently in spite of himself.
"Follow me," directed a firm, stern little voice, "and no harm will
come to you." Now Chalk had been expecting to see or hear Matiah,
and the sound of this small strange voice was a welcome relief and
surprise. Taking a firmer hold on Skamperoo, he thrust out his head in
an endeavor to touch or feel the newcomer. As he did so, the hand on
his bridle began to tug him gently but firmly forward.
"Look out there, mind what you are about, the Emperor of Oz is just
ahead!" whinnied Chalk, now thoroughly alarmed. "We are not used to
taking orders from strangers."
"Oh, we won't be strangers long," promised the strange voice
pleasantly. "So THIS is the Emperor of Oz, and is this the way you
usually carry him?"
"Come on Bitty Bit, what's the use of all this arguing?" put in another
voice impatiently. "Let's get out of that confusion. The Wizard's
laboratory is right across the hall. Tell him to come there."
"A girl!" decided Chalk with another gulp of relief. "Maybe we are
not so badly off, after all!" And lifting his head, in spite of
Skamperoo's great weight, he spoke proudly and confidently, "Whoever
you are, we welcome you to Oz, and if you can explain this unearthly
and unexpected darkness we will gladly follow you and do as you say."
"Good!" chuckled Bitty Bit, tugging manfully at his bridle, "this way,
please." There was still so much screaming and confusion in the Throne
Room no one had overheard the conversation between the newcomers and
the Emperor's horse, and, guided by the invisible hand, Chalk crossed
the room without bumping into anything or anybody. A moment later they
were in the dark, quiet laboratory that had once belonged to the Wizard
of Oz.