"You almost stepped on my Diamond Palace," replied the voice, and a
duck with gorgeously colored feathers appeared before them. "Beasts
and men are terribly clumsy," continued the Duck in an irritated tone,
"and you've no business on this side of the River, anyway. What are
you doing here?"
"We've come to rescue some friends of ours who are stuck fast on the
Magic Isle in this river," explained Dorothy.
"I know 'em," said the Duck. "I've been to see 'em, and they're stuck
fast, all right. You may as well go back home, for no power can save
them."
"This is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz," said Dorothy, pointing to the
little man.
"Well, I'm the Lonesome Duck," was the reply, as the fowl strutted up
and down to show its feathers to best advantage. "I'm the great Forest
Magician, as any beast can tell you, but even I have no power to
destroy the dreadful charm of the Magic Isle."
"Are you lonesome because you're a magician?" inquired Dorothy.
"No; I'm lonesome because I have no family and no friends. But I like
to be lonesome, so please don't offer to be friendly with me. Go away,
and try not to step on my Diamond Palace."
"Where is it?" asked the girl.
"Behind this bush."
Dorothy hopped off the lion's back and ran around the bush to see the
Diamond Palace of the Lonesome Duck, although the gaudy fowl protested
in a series of low quacks. The girl found, indeed, a glistening dome
formed of clearest diamonds, neatly cemented together, with a doorway
at the side just big enough to admit the duck.
"Where did you find so many diamonds?" asked Dorothy, wonderingly.
"I know a place in the mountains where they are thick as pebbles," said
the Lonesome Duck, "and I brought them here in my bill, one by one and
put them in the river and let the water run over them until they were
brightly polished. Then I built this palace, and I'm positive it's the
only Diamond Palace in all the world."
"It's the only one I know of," said the little girl; "but if you live
in it all alone, I don't see why it's any better than a wooden palace,
or one of bricks or cobble-stones."
"You're not supposed to understand that," retorted the Lonesome Duck.
"But I might tell you, as a matter of education, that a home of any
sort should be beautiful to those who live in it, and should not be
intended to please strangers. The Diamond Palace is my home, and I
like it. So I don't care a quack whether YOU like it or not."
"Oh, but I do!" exclaimed Dorothy. "It's lovely on the outside, but--"
Then she stopped speaking, for the Lonesome Duck had entered his palace
through the little door without even saying good-bye. So Dorothy
returned to her friends and they resumed their journey.
"Do you think, Wizard, the Duck was right in saying no magic can rescue
Trot and Cap'n Bill?" asked the girl in a worried tone of voice.
"No, I don't think the Lonesome Duck was right in saying that,"
answered the Wizard, gravely, "but it is possible that their
enchantment will be harder to overcome than I expected. I'll do my
best, of course, and no one can do more than his best."
That didn't entirely relieve Dorothy's anxiety, but she said nothing
more, and soon, on turning the bend in the river, they came in sight of
the Magic Isle.
"There they are!" exclaimed Dorothy eagerly.
"Yes, I see them," replied the Wizard, nodding. "They are sitting on
two big toadstools."
"That's queer," remarked the Glass Cat. "There were no toadstools
there when I left them."
"What a lovely flower!" cried Dorothy in rapture, as her gaze fell on
the Magic Plant.
"Never mind the Flower, just now," advised the Wizard. "The most
important thing is to rescue our friends."
By this time they had arrived at a place just opposite the Magic Isle,
and now both Trot and Cap'n Bill saw the arrival of their friends and
called to them for help.
"How are you?" shouted the Wizard, putting his hands to his mouth so
they could hear him better across the water.
"We're in hard luck," shouted Cap'n Bill, in reply. "We're anchored
here and can't move till you find a way to cut the hawser."
"What does he mean by that?" asked Dorothy.
"We can't move our feet a bit!" called Trot, speaking as loud as she
could.
"Why not?" inquired Dorothy.
"They've got roots on 'em," explained Trot.
It was hard to talk from so great a distance, so the Wizard said to the
Glass Cat:
"Go to the island and tell our friends to be patient, for we have come
to save them. It may take a little time to release them, for the Magic
of the Isle is new to me and I shall have to experiment. But tell them
I'll hurry as fast as I can."
So the Glass Cat walked across the river under the water to tell Trot
and Cap'n Bill not to worry, and the Wizard at once opened his black
bag and began to make his preparations.