Prisoners in Rash
Betsy never had been destroyed in her life, so she was not at all sure
how it would feel. A hot dry wind whistled through her hair, and above
the rumble of the wheels she could hear the sharp gasps of Carter
Green. Then everything stopped at once, the cart, the burning wind and
the hoarse breathing of the Vegetable Man.
"He's destroyed," cried Betsy despairingly, "and now it's my turn."
Closing her eyes and trying hard to be brave, Betsy waited for
destruction. But nothing at all happened, and after a few terrible
moments, she sat up and peered timidly around her. On a pink mile
stone, beside the cart, sat the Vegetable Man, staring across the
Deadly Desert. Following his startled gaze, Betsy saw two white
objects, skipping merrily toward the sky line. It was the sandals. Just
as she had made sure of it, they disappeared in a final spurt of speed
and sand.
"Why, how did they get off?" stammered Betsy, blinking with
astonishment.
"Took themselves," groaned the Vegetable Man, rubbing his shins, "and
glad I am that they did. But they've brought us safely across the quick
sand and Deadly Desert and here we are!"
"Yes," agreed Betsy resignedly, "here we are, but where are we?
_I_ didn't know they were quick sandals. Did they really run away
with you?" Carter nodded and rose stiffly to his feet.
"I must say Betsy," grunted the Vegetable Man, "I prefer to run myself
and not be carried off by a frisky pair of shoes. After this I'll do
my own kicking, my own stopping and my own starting, thank you! And
we'd better start right away or everything will be spoiled." He looked
anxiously into the cart and, jumping out, Betsy began to help him dust
and rearrange the vegetables. They had been sadly jolted about by the
trip.
As it was impossible to go back across the desert without the quick
sandals, they sensibly decided to go forward. There were two roads,
stretching invitingly ahead and after a short debate they took the left
one.
"This reminds me a little of the Rose Kingdom," mused Betsy, as they
walked along under the flowering trees. "Everything is pink, Carter,
have you noticed, even the clouds."
"Why there's a pink castle!" cried Carter, with an excited wave. "Maybe
we can sell the King of this country some cabbages and maybe he can
tell us the way back to the Emerald City."
"Perhaps we'd better try some of the cottages first," suggested Betsy
uneasily. In her many adventures she had discovered that kings were not
always safe nor agreeable persons to deal with.
"No! No!" insisted Carter, "Kings make the best customers, Betsy.
Compliment and flatter 'em and sell 'em the whole cart load, that's my
way. Jump in and I'll run you right up to the castle."
Lifting her gaily into the cart, he started briskly down the pink lane
calling, "Cabbages! fresh cabbages!" at the top of his vegetable voice.
The lane led straight into a bright pink city and Betsy soon grew so
interested in its tall turbaned citizens and queer cottages and shops
that she forgot to worry about the King. She remembered afterward the
scared glances of some of the townsmen, as they went rattling by, but
at the time neither she nor Carter noticed anything amiss and the
Vegetable Man never stopped till he reached the pink palace itself.
As Carter paused under a balcony and began lustily calling his wares,
a window just below was flung up violently and a turbaned head wagged
warningly over the sill.
"Go away! Go away!" quavered an old man, in a frightened voice. "The
Pasha is in a terrible temper. Go away! Go away, rash mortals, I beg of
you!"
But the Vegetable Man only laughed. "Wait till he's seen my cabbages,"
called Carter, holding one up proudly. "Wait--" And they did not have
long to wait, let me tell you, for at that precise moment the Pasha of
Rash rushed out upon the balcony--the Pasha, himself, and Ippty, Chief
Scribe of the Realm, for Betsy and the Vegetable Man had, as you have
probably guessed already, run straight into that peppery country.
"Good morning!" cried Carter, pleasantly, in no wise alarmed by the
fearful frown of the Rash Ruler. "Permit me to observe that your
Highness is beautiful as a banana and fragrant as an onion. And I
am here to serve you. Let me serve your Majesty with a fresh young
cauliflower, a bunch of beets or this handsome cabbage!" Carter held up
the cabbage coaxingly.
"A cabbage! A cabbage!" choked Irashi, turning perfectly pink with
passion. "How dare you offer me a cabbage?" So angry that further
speech was impossible, he turned furiously to Ippty, waving his arms
and sputtering like a motor cycle.
"Begone, pernicious peddlers," ordered the Chief Scribe, pointing his
fountain pen finger sternly at the two travellers. "Begone at once from
Rash."
Three drops of ink fell upon Betsy's upturned nose and, thoroughly
alarmed, the little girl sprang out of the cart and tried to pull
Carter away.
"Hurry up! Hurry up!" she begged breathlessly, "Let's run." But already
the Vegetable Man had tarried too long and was firmly rooted to the
spot. And while he tugged wildly at one foot and then the other and
Betsy jumped up and down with fright and impatience, Ippty leaned
over the balcony. A closer inspection of the Vegetable Man proved so
astonishing to the Chief Scribe that he nearly fell over the railing.
"He has corn ears!" yelled Ippty shrilly, "and a turnip nose. Look!
Look at the monstrous creature!" Thus urged, Irashi, himself, peered
over the railing. Perceiving in a moment what had happened to Carter,
he began to stamp and shriek with anger.
"How dare you plant your feet in my best flower beds," howled Irashi.
"Call out the Guards! Throw them to the tiger. Salt! Vinegar! Mustard!
Pepper!" At each shriek a Rash Guardsman dashed out of the palace, and
before Carter could jerk himself loose he and Betsy were overpowered.
"He can't help taking root," protested Betsy indignantly. "He's a
Vegetable Man."
"Aha! Now we are getting to the root of the matter," snickered Ippty
harshly. "And what right has a Vegetable Man in Rash, young lady?"
"Root him up! Throw him to the tiger. Vegetable Man! Vegetable Man,
indeed!" roared Irashi, stamping one foot and then the other.
"Tiger!" groaned Carter. "How perfectly carnivorous. Of course," he
added turning quickly to Betsy. "It wouldn't hurt me, for I have no
feelings, but it will ruin my business. Spare me!" he cried, waving his
arms imploringly up at the balcony. "And if you cannot spare me, spare
my potatoes, my cabbages and fresh young beets. And spare this lovely
little lady from Oz!"
"We'll spare you, all right," wheezed Irashi grimly.
"He'd make excellent soup, your Highness!" suggested Ippty, glancing
down sideways at the Vegetable Man, but Irashi shook his head.
"No! No! The tiger shall have him," declared Irashi stubbornly. "It'll
be a nice change for him Ippty, a little green with his dinner." Irashi
was so pleased with his joke that he winked down at Betsy. But the
little girl stamped her foot angrily.
"You'd better let us go, or Ozma of Oz will capture your whole kingdom.
We're important people back in Oz!" shouted Betsy defiantly.
"Perhaps the girl is right," ventured Fizzenpop, who had stolen
anxiously out upon the balcony. "What harm have they done? Let them go,
I beg!"
"No!" With a determined wag of his turban, Irashi signaled to the Guard
and flounced back into the palace.
"Don't cry, Betsy," begged the Vegetable Man. The Guards had at last
jerked him loose and were marching the two across the gardens. "This
tiger will probably eat me first and I'm so tough he'll choke to death
and you can run away."
"Well, I wish I had never found those quick sandals," wailed the little
girl. "It was the quick sandals that brought us here, Carter, and I
don't believe Ozma knows about this dreadful country at all. Couldn't
you please let us go Mr. Pepper?" she begged tearfully of the Guard.
The tall Rasher looked down at her doubtfully, but Salt, who had hold
of Carter, and was just behind, shook his turban violently.
"If we fail to obey the Pasha, we, ourselves, will be thrown to this
tiger," sputtered Salt grimly.
"That's right," chimed in Vinegar and Mustard, who were bringing up the
procession with the Vegetable Man's cart. "Let's hurry through with
it!" And turning a deaf ear to the pleas of the prisoners, the Rash
Guardsmen rushed them across the lawn, up the steep steps and threw
them over the prison wall. Then, without one backward glance, they
marched off to the palace.
Too breathless to run, Betsy picked herself up and looked fearfully
around for the tiger. Ugh! There he was and growling frightfully,
for the vegetable cart and all the vegetables had hit him on the
head. Slashing right and left and shaking himself so violently, that
potatoes, beets and apples flew in every direction, he rose and started
toward her. This, after all the other frightful happenings of the
morning, was too much and covering her face, Betsy burst into tears.
But if Betsy was frightened, the Hungry Tiger was perfectly petrified.
"Betsy! Betsy!" panted the astonished beast. "How in Oz did you get
here?" And rubbing his soft nose against her cheek, he began to dry
her tears with his tongue. At the first sound of that familiar voice,
Betsy's eyes flew open and next instant she had both arms round the
Hungry Tiger's neck, hugging him for dear life.
"Carter! Carter!" called the little girl excitedly, "Don't be scared.
It's the Hungry Tiger, the Hungry Tiger of Oz!" She fairly sang out
the name, in her relief and happiness. The Vegetable Man had dropped
head first into the tiger's tub of water. At Betsy's cries, he made a
valiant attempt to rise, but when he saw her actually embracing the
tiger he was so startled and horrified that he fell back with a splash.
"Hungry Tiger!" gurgled Carter, bobbing up and down like a cork,
"Hungry Tiger! Then so much the worse for us!"