That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the
powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the
Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a
splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the
Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of
Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well as
from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place
where the four countries cornered.
It was considered a great honor to be allowed to serve the good
Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used only to benefit the Oz people.
Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was
wonderful and she could accomplish almost anything that her mistress,
the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her to.
Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle there
was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of
this Record Book were constantly being inscribed--day by day and hour by
hour--all the important events that happened anywhere in the known
world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the
events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big
outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of,
were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake
and stated only the exact truth. For that reason nothing could be
concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of the
Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That was
one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her
wiser than any other living person.
This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the
middle of Glinda's drawing-room. The legs of the table, which were
incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor
and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout
golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was
secured around her own neck.
The pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an
American newspaper and although they were exceedingly thin there were so
many of them that they made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold
cover and gold clasps the book was so heavy that three men could
scarcely have lifted it. Yet this morning, when Glinda entered her
drawing-room after breakfast, with all her maidens trailing after her,
the good Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records
had mysteriously disappeared.
[Illustration]
Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some
sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle
slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this
wicked, bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great Book
of Records?
The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences of
her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm that
would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But, when she unlocked
her cupboards and threw open the doors, all of her magical instruments
and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the shelves.
The Sorceress was now both angry and alarmed. She sat down in a chair
and tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could have taken
place. It was evident that the thief was some person of very great
power, or the theft could never have been accomplished without her
knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful
enough to do this awful thing? And who, having the power, could also
have an object in defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the
world has ever known?
[Illustration]
Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end of
which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although her
instruments and chemicals were gone her _knowledge_ of magic had not
been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can rob one
of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest
treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather
more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical
instruments she would be able to discover who the robber was, and what
had become of her precious Book of Records.
"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very foolish
person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be severely
punished."
She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers
to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to
her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little Wizard
of Oz, who was mounted on the back of the famous live Sawhorse and was
clinging to its neck with both his arms; for the Sawhorse was speeding
to Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the news that
Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly disappeared
and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her.
"Also," said the Wizard, as he stood before the astonished Sorceress,
"Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover where
she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized our loss.
Let us look in the Great Book of Records."
"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do that, for the
Great Book of Records has also disappeared!"
[Illustration]
Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook
[Illustration]