heels together. Speedy and Sir Hokus both rushed forward, but there was
nary a dragon to be seen. As they turned questioningly back to Peter,
the jester burst out laughing and rolled over and over on the grass.
"'Tis a snap-dragon," roared Peter, pointing to a tall blue flower.
"Ho, ho, Hokus, I caught you then."
"Bother you and your punning," fumed the Knight angrily. "One more pun
and I'll----"
"Well, what's the punishment for puns?" asked Peter, sitting up with an
interested expression.
"A punch!" supplied Speedy, winking at Marygolden.
"A punch for a pun, and a punch for a punner--
But the lad with the punch better be a good runner--"
sputtered Peter, hopping up; but Speedy had no intention of chasing him
and was already talking seriously to the Knight.
"You know," said the boy earnestly, "I'd sorta like to help you help
this King before I go back to America, and I believe I will!"
"Bravo!" roared Sir Hokus, giving Speedy a thump on the back that made
him blink. "And when we have found and disenchanted this King, I will
take you and Marygolden back to the Emerald City, and Ozma with her
magic belt will transport you both to America. How will that be?"
"Just fine," beamed Speedy, seizing the Knight's hand and shaking it
heartily.
"And now," put in Peter Pun, cartwheeling up to Sir Hokus, "if all the
speechifying's over, let me tell you something. This steed belongs to
the King's son at whose court I was jester. I remember him distinctly
now."
"Then that King's son must be the Yellow Knight!" cried Speedy
jubilantly. "Did you say you had found his father's castle, Sir Hokus?
Where? How? When?"
"A pretty tale it is and now,
Hokus Pokus, tell him how,"
chuckled Peter. As Speedy drew closer to the Knight and motioned for
Stampedro to come nearer, too, Sir Hokus told his story and all that
had happened since he left the capital. He hurried a bit over his
adventures in Marshland and on the flying field, but described the
deserted city in great detail, and the finding of the package of dates
in Camy's saddle sack, the strange changing of the funnysuckle vine
into Peter Pun when he flung the date seed, and finally of the sudden
theft of the Comfortable Camel by the fat owner of the yellow boat. As
he finished, Speedy started up in great excitement. "Why, everything,"
puffed the boy earnestly, "everything depends on that Camel! Don't you
see? The magic dates were in the Camel's saddle sack. Whoever stole the
Camel knew about the dates; whoever knew the dates must have enchanted
Stampedro and Peter and this King and all his subjects."
[Illustration: "EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THAT CAMEL."]
"Dirks and daggers!" thundered the Knight. "You are right! What a head
you have, young man." Stampedro, who had listened attentively to all
this, whinnied his agreement to the Knight's statement, touching Speedy
gently on the shoulder with his soft nose and tossing his mane to
express his satisfaction.
"Speedy can do anything," smiled Marygolden, jumping up and clapping
her hands in delight. "Just try him!" Speedy looked a little
uncomfortable at all this praise.
"Tell me," he asked quickly, for he had thought of something else, "did
this Comfortable Camel always live in the Emerald City?"
"Yes--no--let me see!" Sir Hokus, already on his feet and ready to
start, paused explosively. "Why, I discovered him and the Doubtful
Dromedary myself," he explained thoughtfully. "Dorothy, the Cowardly
Lion, and I found them about ten years ago on the edge of the Deadly
Desert, but as far as I can remember, they never spoke of their former
country or master."
"Do you think anyone in the Emerald City knew about those dates, or
would anyone there be mean enough to transform a whole kingdom?"
"No," decided Sir Hokus, with a positive shake of his head. "And now
that I think of it, the figs and dates were so uncommonly stale and
hard that, had I not been starved and famished, I'd never have been
able to swallow them at all."
"Oh sad to relate, the poor fellow ate
A date that was ancient and quite out of date!"
"Hold your tongue," snapped the Knight, for he was trying to think,
and Peter's nonsense disturbed him. "Those packages must have been
in Camy's sack when he first came to the Emerald City," he declared
finally. "And now to find the Comfortable Camel!"
"Right!" cried Speedy, and Stampedro, to show his approval, reared
right up on his hind legs and trumpeted with impatience.
"Will you ride?" asked the little boy, turning politely to the Knight.
"No, no. You and Marygolden ride," answered Sir Hokus, looking
longingly at the splendid horse. "Shall I lift you up, Princess?"
"Oh, don't call her Princess," begged Speedy, as Sir Hokus placed
Marygolden carefully in the saddle. "She's through with all that stuff,
and she's going to be plain Mary when we get back to the United States.
Aren't you?" Marygolden nodded her head soberly.
"Mary, but never plain Mary," teased Peter Pun. "Why, just to look at
her takes my breath away completely."
"But still you talk on," sighed Sir Hokus, taking Stampedro's bridle.
"Come, my fine fellow, let's be starting." But the big chestnut planted
all four feet, and shook his head stubbornly. "What now?" puffed the
Knight in surprise. "Do you not wish to find your master?" Stampedro
shook his head for "yes" but refused to budge an inch. Sir Hokus
stepped back and looked at him questioningly.
"Mayhap he wishes me to ride," announced the jester, bouncing up
like a rubber ball behind Marygolden. Stampedro, looking around, nodded
his approval; but when the Knight gave the bridle another tug he still
refused to move.
"Why, Stampedro, aren't you going to help us?" asked Speedy
reproachfully. Instead of answering, the horse took Sir Hokus' mailed
shirt-tail in his teeth and swung the Knight around toward the stirrup.
"He wants us all to ride," gasped Speedy. "What do you think of that?"
"I think it's a grand idea," said Peter Pun merrily. "We three scarce
weigh as much as one. The Knight is nothing but bones and armor, and
any horse in the good old days could carry two for a stretch. So mount
up, Hokus, and let's be going. Let's be galloping!"
"Is that what you really want?" questioned Speedy, leaning forward to
whisper in Stampedro's ear. The chestnut nodded his head vigorously,
and after a little more coaxing Sir Hokus sprang into the saddle.
The Knight took Marygolden in his lap and Speedy squeezed in behind
him. Peter clung to the boy's coat, perched precariously just above the
horse's tail. Then, with a glance over his shoulder to assure him that
everyone was settled, the great charger, like an arrow released from
its bow, shot along the bank of the yellow river, his golden mane and
tail streaming out like banners in the wind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SPEEDY IN SAMANDRA
And so it happened that the Sultan of Samandra, crouched sullenly on
his cushioned throne, did not have long to wait for the approach of
Knight. Knight was approaching by leaps and bounds. Indeed, so swiftly
did the chestnut charger bear Sir Hokus and his three comrades that
they came to the Sultan's city before the last of the sun's rays had
faded from the sky. Catching a glimpse of the yellow boat tied up at
the dock, the Knight gave a husky cheer.
"On!" cried Sir Hokus, rising in the stirrups. "On to the palace!
The King of this country is the rascal we are seeking." Sparks flew
from the stones as Stampedro galloped up the steep streets, and the
Samandrans, noting the fierce aspect of Sir Hokus, who was swinging his
battle-axe wildly round his head, fled in every direction. Speedy and
Marygolden, though shaken and breathless, could not help exclaiming
at the splendor of the gold-domed buildings, and tall, spired castle;
but Stampedro, without a pause, clattered up the fifty golden steps,
pushed through the swinging doors, and burst like a bomb-shell into the
magnificent throne room itself. The Sultan, hearing the great clamor
without, had already risen, and when the panting steed and his four
riders suddenly catapulted into his presence, he clutched Confido to
his breast and with bulging eyes confronted his unexpected visitors.
His first feeling was fright. Then, as he recognized the jester and war
horse of a King he thought transformed and silenced forever, he gave a
loud scream of anguish.
"Robbers!" shrieked the Sultan, throwing caution to the winds. "How
dare you steal my magic dates and ruin my strongest enchantment?"
"Thief!" roared Sir Hokus, alighting with one bound. "How dare you
steal our Comfortable Camel?" In his excitement he did not notice the
difference between Tuzzle, whom he had seen on the yellow boat, and
the fat ruler of the Samandrans. "R-r-restore the Comfortable Camel at
once, and tell us what you have done with the King of the Golden City
and all his subjects!"
"N-n-never!" shrilled the Sultan, holding Confido tight up under his
chin. And pointing to first one and then another of the intruders, he
began to talk in a fierce undertone to the little dog.
"Why do you talk to a dog when guests are present?" drawled Peter Pun,
sliding down from Stampedro's back and snapping his fingers under the
Sultan's nose. "Is that the pleasant custom in this country?"
"You are a fool!" hissed the Sultan, "both by profession and nature.
This is no common dog. This is Confido, the Imperial Peke of the realm.
I speak to Confido because he knows all and tells nothing. Nothing, do
you hear? But you, wretched plunderers, you shall tell what you have
done with the magic dates, or be pounded to a powder and pulverized.
Pulverized, do you understand? Tuzzle! Chinda! Blufferroo! Where
is everybody?" Dropping Confido, the Sultan thumped on the golden
gong beside the throne and began yelling at the top of his lungs. At
this, Speedy, who had been all ears, jumped off Stampedro, and in
the excitement and confusion following the arrival of the very Grand
Vizier, the Grand Bozzywoz, the Grand Counter of the Imperial Spoons,
and seventy Samandran spearmen, picked up Confido and tucked him
quickly inside his leather jacket. Then, taking his place sturdily
beside Sir Hokus, he prepared to defend himself and Marygolden.
"Seize this Knight," commanded the Sultan. "Knight--Knight?" All at
once he remembered the prophecy of Chinda: _You will find part of what
you seek in the middle of the night._ "This Knight has eaten the magic
dates," choked the Sultan, clutching his turban desperately. "Woe is
me, us, you, her, it, him, and them! Slice him in two! Slice them all
in two! Seize these villains, do you hear?" The spearmen evidently
heard, and they moved forward, their spears pointed menacingly. Peter
Pun, in one jump, regained the back of the Yellow Knight's horse.
Marygolden, sliding forward, clasped both arms around his neck, and
Stampedro, breathing fire and smoke, leapt clear over the heads of
the advancing spearmen, through a side window, and away. With a gasp
of relief, Speedy realized that Marygolden, at least, was safe. Sir
Hokus, swinging his battle-axe, knocked down two of the spearmen in the
center, and dashed through the opening before they could turn about.
Speedy, seeing it was too late to follow, sprang for a spiral stair
back of the throne, and tore upward three steps at a time, followed by
all the spearmen except the two Sir Hokus had felled. Confido, inside
his leather coat, barked and scratched, but paying no heed, the boy
sped upward, up, up, up, till he grew faint and dizzy and his heart
beat with loud, suffocating thumps. Reaching the top, ten steps ahead
of the spearmen, Speedy rushed into a great glass-enclosed room and
slammed the door. Pulling off his leather helmet he flung it on the
sill, opened the window, and after a quick look round jumped into a big
oak chest and closed the lid. The spearmen, panting and furious, burst
into the room just as the lid settled into place. They stamped angrily
about and then, catching sight of Speedy's helmet on the ledge, began
sticking their heads out of the window and chattering away in the
utmost excitement.
"The young monkey's jumped to the ground," puffed the leader, "and
that's the end of his impudence, but we'd better go down and pick up
the pieces to satisfy the Sultan. Come on!" If they had not made so
much noise themselves, they might have heard Confido barking inside
the oak chest, but quite satisfied that their prisoner was lying at
the bottom of the tower, they clattered noisily down the spiral stair.
Speedy waited until their footsteps and voices died away, then crept
cautiously out of the chest. He had run, as luck would have it, to the
tower room of Chinda, the Seer, and gazed in surprise and bewilderment
at the magical appliances of the prophet. The Grand Bozzywoz,
fortunately, was below, and tiptoeing nervously about, Speedy tried to
think of some way to escape. The tall telescope that pointed skyward
interested him especially, and even in the midst of his worry and
anxiety he could not resist one peek.
[Illustration: HE COULD NOT RESIST ONE PEEK.]
"If we could just find that date seed and the rest of the package,
everything would be easy," sighed the boy, peering absently through
the long tube. "Where could it have fallen?" he worried, screwing up
his eye and scarcely noticing what he was looking at. Then he gave a
great start, for clear and distinct in the lens of the telescope he saw
a bit of the enchanted forest. As he stared in fascination, it narrowed
down till there was only one tree, a hollow tree he remembered seeing
next to the horse chestnut. Now the lens showed the inside of the tree,
and there, among a little hoard of nuts hidden away by some thrifty
squirrel, Speedy saw a bright and gleaming stone.
"The date seed!" gasped Speedy, pressing his eye closer and closer as
the picture faded away. "Gosh! If I can just get out of this palace
and find my way back to the forest. Be quiet!" he directed, fiercely
tapping the lump under his coat that was Confido. Then, relenting a
little, he unbuttoned his coat and allowed the dog to stick out its
head. "Can't you be still?" he pleaded earnestly. "Nothing's going to
happen to you." With a little whimper, the Peke stopped barking and
fixed its bulging, near-sighted eyes anxiously on the boy. "There,
that's the fellow." Giving him a hasty pat, Speedy looked out the
window to see how far it was to the ground, for it would never do to
risk the spiral stair. With a shiver he drew in his head, and as he
did, the heavy boots and rough voices of the spearmen came echoing
upward. Not finding him senseless in the garden, they were coming
back to search the tower. Trembling between the chest and the window,
Speedy's glance flew round the prophet's workshop and came frantically
to rest on a coil of rope hanging on a hook near the door. Snatching
the rope he regained the window and tied the rope to a hook on the sill.
"Curses!" puffed Speedy, tossing the rope over the edge. "Curses,
Mickonionjuice! Here they are!" Dropping over the ledge, Speedy began
his perilous downward descent hand over hand. He dared not look up nor
down, and as he was wondering whether the rope would be long enough to
reach to the bottom of the tower, it fell in a dozen stinging coils
upon his head. A spearman, looking out of the window, had cut it with
his scimiter, and like a log Speedy fell into the garden. Luckily he
was only a few feet from the ground and though somewhat jarred and
shocked, he jumped immediately to his feet and started to run. In the
right direction, too, fortunately, and before the spearmen in the tower
could give the alarm he had reached the dock and was scampering along
the bank of the yellow river. "If I follow the river," he panted,
"I'll get back to the forest. Then I'll find that date seed and try
to find the others. Whew!" Steadying Confido with one hand, he flew
along faster than he had ever run in the track events at home and soon
had the satisfaction of hearing the voices of his pursuers grow fainter
and fainter. As he paused at length to catch his breath, a great shadow
moved silently out from the trees, a soft nose was thrust suddenly into
his hand and two glad cries rang through the dusk. It was the horse of
the Yellow Knight, and leaning down with eager hands to help him up,
Marygolden and Peter Pun.
[Illustration: SPEEDY BEGAN HIS PERILOUS DESCENT.]
"I knew you'd get away from that old scalawag," chuckled the jester.
"We've been watching for you. Seen Hokus since he pokused the spearmen?"
"No," admitted Speedy, settling with a tired groan into the saddle
between his two friends. "But I know where the magic date seed is
hidden!"
"You do!" cried Peter, and Marygolden looked at him in round-eyed
admiration, while Stampedro pricked up both ears and began to prance
sideways.
"Uh-huh!" wheezed Speedy, still out of breath from his long run.
"Do you think you could carry us back to your horse chestnut tree,
Stampedro?" The horse hastily shook his head for "yes," and as Speedy,
between jounces and bounces, told all that had happened, he galloped
headlong through the Sultan's orange groves away toward the enchanted
forest of Oz.
"Wasn't it lucky I happened to mention the date seed while I was
looking through that magic telescope? Won't Sir Hokus be surprised?
Curses! I hope the Sultan hasn't caught him, though."
"Yon Knight knows his Sultans, never fear. But why have you brought the
Sultan's dog?" inquired Peter, looking inquisitively at Confido, whom
he now spied for the first time.
"That," smiled Speedy mysteriously, "is my secret."
"But isn't he perfectly precious? Can I hold him?" begged Marygolden,
turning round to have a better view.
"Yes, but hold him tight," cautioned Speedy, and bade Stampedro stop
while he transferred the little dog to Marygolden's arms. "He's a
girl's dog anyway," he announced condescendingly, "and you can have him
if you wish."
"Oh, Speedy!" Hugging Confido with one arm and putting the other
around Speedy to keep from falling off, Marygolden fairly squealed
with delight, and Stampedro, with an impatient snort, bounded forward.
Dusk had deepened into night, and long afterward Speedy remembered
that thrilling gallop through the shadowy forest with only the faint
moonlight and an occasional star to show them a path between the trees.
But Stampedro, without one false turn or unnecessary step, brought them
at last to the great horse chestnut tree.
"Here we are! And better still, I can talk again," he cried, shaking
his head until all the gold tassels on his armor danced in the wind.
"Hurray!" shouted Speedy. "That's more like!" And patting Stampedro's
curving neck, he slid to the ground and hurried over to the hollow tree.
"Will'st alight, maiden?" said Peter Pun, tumbling after Speedy, and
reaching up to help Marygolden. "Will'st alight in the dark, and
shed the radiance of your beauty upon the gloomy scene?" Marygolden
laughingly gave Peter her hand, and soon all three were peering into
the hollow tree. Speedy, on his hands and knees, was feeling around
with his flashlight for the magic stone.
"It's here!" he cried, springing up so suddenly that he bumped his
head. "It's here, and here it is!" Stepping out of the hollow tree, he
placed the shining yellow stone in the palm of his hand and held it
out to the others. Stampedro, who had dropped to his knees so that
he could see into the tree better, bounded up with an excited little
whinny.
"Well, now that we have it, what shall we do with it, Smallfellow?"
"Why, all we have to do is touch all the people who are enchanted,"
explained Peter Pun, hopping round and round on one foot. "Touch that
oak behind you, Speedy. I swear it winked at me just now."
"But we can't go through the whole forest touching trees," objected
Speedy. "Besides, we might miss some."
"Well, what are we going to do?" asked the jester impatiently.
"That's up to Confido," announced Speedy calmly. "Didn't you hear the
Sultan say to-day that Confido knew everything? Like as not he knows
the secret of all these transformations. That's why I brought him
along, for now he can talk as well as listen, and tell us all he knows."
"By the ears of my mother's cow!" sputtered Peter Pun, staring
admiringly at Speedy. "You're a quick one!" Shrugging his shoulders
carelessly but secretly thinking Peter was right, Speedy now turned to
Confido.
"Will you tell us how we can release the King of the Golden City and
his subjects?" he asked coaxingly. "Surely you do not want them to be
imprisoned in this forest forever. Will you tell us how the Sultan's
evil spell may be broken?"
"Woof!" barked the little dog sulkily. "Woof! Woof!"
"Why, he cannot talk at all!" wailed Peter Pun, in bitter
disappointment.
"Oh, yes he can," insisted Speedy. "He just won't."
"Speak, dog, or I'll flatten you under my foot!" trumpeted Stampedro,
flashing his great eyes at the proud little Peke.
"Let me ask him?" begged Marygolden, as Peter and Speedy reached
angrily for the Imperial Puppy.
"Darling," crooned the Princess, "you're going to be mine forever, and
never have to listen to that savage old Sultan again. You shall have
as many saucers of cream and chicken hearts as you wish and do just
as you want, always. Couldn't you tell _me_ the little secret of the
magic dates?" Cuddling the little dog under her chin, Marygolden looked
pleadingly into his eyes. Now if there was one dish Confido relished
above all others it was chicken hearts. Then, too, he had grown
terribly tired of the whispering old Sultan and his eternal secrets,
and now that he was to belong to this pretty girl, he decided there
would be no harm in telling all he knew.
"Yes, I could tell you," drawled the little dog in his condescending
voice, "for I perceive that you are of royal blood. But these
others----!" Sneezing violently to show his contempt for Peter and
Speedy, Confido climbed on Marygolden's shoulder and whispered five
words in her left ear.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE RESTORATION OF CORUMBIA
"What did he say?" begged Speedy, hurrying up to the Princess.
"First plant the date seed!" Solemnly Marygolden repeated the little
dog's instructions.
"That's easy enough," observed Speedy, and taking out his knife cut
a small hole in the ground and dropped the yellow stone in. Covering
the stone with earth, he jumped up expectantly. "What next?" Confido
looked coldly through the boy and again whispered confidingly to
Marygolden.
"Pluck the six dates when they grow," directed the Princess, "for if
any of the magic dates are lost, all will be restored by planting the
seed of any one of them." A little patch of moonlight fell on the spot
where the five watchers stood waiting for the magic seed to sprout.
Speedy, growing impatient, took out his flashlight and knelt directly
over the raised mound of earth. Before he could straighten up, there
came a rip, tear, and rustle, and as Peter, Marygolden, and Stampedro
started back, the heavy fronded head of a date palm, followed by the
straight stout trunk of the tree itself, burst through the soil, and
catching Speedy on the top shot up, up, and out of sight. In vain they
all tried to catch a glimpse of their adventurous young comrade, but it
was no use, for the palm soared above the tallest oaks in the forest.
"Now see what you've done!" panted Stampedro, glaring at Confido, but
Peter Pun held up his hand warningly.
"Hark!" whispered the jester softly. "Hark! Troubles never come singly.
Methinks we are pursued." True enough, heavy steps came thudding
toward them, and the snap and crackle of twigs brushed by some heavy
body.
"Mount up! Mount up and we'll be off!" wheezed the Yellow Knight's
horse. "'Tis the Sultan, no doubt, and all his men! Up with you! Up
with you!"
"And leave Speedy here all by himself?" wailed Marygolden, putting both
arms round the palm tree.
"Let us not fly until we see what manner of creature pursues," murmured
Peter, peering fearfully into the shadows. "Hah, 'tis a camel," he
continued, as a long neck was thrust into the rim of moonlight, "a
camel, and like as not the Sultan."
"It's Sir Hokus!" trilled Marygolden. "It's our very own Good Knight of
Oz."
[Illustration: "WHAT HO, EVERYBODY!"]