CHAPTER 18
DOROTHY FINDS THE SCARECROW!
The next thing Dorothy knew, she was sitting on the hard floor of agreat, dark hall. One lantern burned feebly, and in the dim, silverylight she could just make out the Comfortable Camel scramblingawkwardly to his feet.
"I smell straw," sniffed the Camel softly.
"I doubt very much whether I am going to like this place." The voiceof the Doubtful Dromedary came hesitatingly through the gloom.
"By sword and scepter!" gasped the Knight, "Are you there, SirCowardly?"
"Thank goodness, they are!" said Dorothy. Wishing other people aboutis a risky and responsible business. "They're all here, but I wonderwhere here is." She jumped up, but at a shuffle of feet drew back.
"Pigs! Weasels!" shrilled an angry voice, and a fat little man hurledhimself at Sir Hokus, who happened to have fallen in the lead.
"Uds trudgeons and bludgeons and maugre thy head!" roared the Knight,shaking him off like a fly.
"Tappy, Tappy, my dear boy. Caution! What's all this?" At the soundof that dear, familiar voice Dorothy's heart gave a skip of joy, andwithout stopping to explain she rushed forward.
"Dorothy!" cried the Scarecrow, stepping on his kimona and fallingoff his silvery throne. "Lights, Tappy! More lights, at once!" ButTappy was too busy backing away from Sir Hokus of Pokes.
"Approach, vassal!" thundered the Knight, who under-stood not a wordof Tappy's speech. "Approach! I think I've been insulted!" He drewhis sword and glared angrily through the darkness, and Tappy, havingbacked as far as possible, fell heels over pigtail into the silverfountain. At the loud splash, Dorothy hastened to the rescue.
"They're friends, and we've found the Scarecrow, we've found theScarecrow!" She seized Sir Hokus and shook him till his armorrattled.
"Tappy! Tappy!" called the Scarecrow. "Where in the world did hepagota?" That's exactly what he said, but to Dorothy it sounded likeno language at all.
"Why," she cried in dismay, "it's the Scarecrow, but I can'tunderstand a word he's saying!"
"I think he must be talking Turkey," droned the Comfortable Camel,"or donkey! I knew a donkey once, a very uncomfortable party, I--"
"I doubt it's donkey," put in the Dromedary importantly, but no onepaid any attention to the two beasts. For Happy Toko had at lastdragged himself out of the fountain and set fifteen lanterns glowing.
"Oh!" gasped Dorothy as the magnificent silver throne room wasflooded with light, "Where are we?"
The Scarecrow had picked himself up, and with outstretched arms camerunning toward her talking a perfect Niagara of Silver Islandish.
"Have you forgotten your Ozish so soon?" rumbled the Cowardly Lionreproachfully as Dorothy flung her arms around the Scarecrow. TheScarecrow, seeing the Cowardly Lion for the first time, fairly fellupon his neck. Then he brushed his clumsy hand across his forehead.
"Wasn't I talking Ozish?" he asked in a puzzled voice.
"Oh, now you are!" exclaimed Dorothy. And sure enough, the Scarecrowwas talking plain Ozish again. (Which I don't mind telling you isalso plain English.)
The Knight had been watching this little reunion with hardlyrepressed emotion. Advancing hastily, he dropped on one knee.
"My good sword and lance are ever at thy service, my Lord Scarecrow!"he exclaimed feelingly.
"Who is this impulsive person?" gulped the Scarecrow, staring inundisguised astonishment at the kneeling figure of the Sir Hokus ofPokes.
"He's my Knight Errant, and he's taken such good care of me,"explained Dorothy eagerly.
"Splendid fellow," hissed the Cowardly Lion in the Scarecrow's otherpainted ear, "if he does talk odds and ends."
"Any friend of little Dorothy's is my friend," said the Scarecrow,shaking hands with Sir Hokus warmly. "But what I want to know is howyou all got here."
"First tell us where we are," begged the little girl, for theScarecrow's silver hat and queue filled her with alarm.
"You are on the Silver Island," said the Scarecrow slowly. "And I amthe Emperor--or his good-for-nothing spirit--and tomorrow," theScarecrow glared around wildly, "tomorrow I'll be eighty-five goingon eighty-six." His voice broke and ended in a barely controlled sob.
"Doubt that," drawled the Doubtful Dromedary sleepily.
"Eighty-five years old!" gasped Dorothy. "Why, no one in Oz grows anyolder!"
"We are no longer in Oz." The Scarecrow shook his head sadly. Then,fixing the group with a puzzled stare, he exclaimed, "But how did youget here?"
"On a _wish_," said the Knight in a hollow voice.
"Yes," said Dorothy, "we've been hunting you all over Oz, and at lastwe came to Wish Way, and I said 'I wish we were all with theScarecrow,' just like that--and next minute--"
"We fell and fell--and fell--and fell," wheezed the ComfortableCamel.
"And fell--and fell--and fell--and fell," droned the Dromedary,"And--"
"Here you are," finished the Scarecrow hastily, for the Dromedaryshowed signs of going on forever.
"Now tell us every single thing that has happened to you," demandedDorothy eagerly.
Happy Toko had recognized Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion from theScarecrow's description, and he now approached with an arm full ofcushions. These he set in a circle on the floor, with one for theScarecrow in the center, and with a warning finger on his lips placedhimself behind his Master.
"Tappy is right!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "We must be as quiet aspossible, for a great danger hangs over me."
Without more ado, he told them of his amazing fall down thebeanstalk; of his adventures on Silver Island; of his sons andgrandsons and the Gheewizard's elixir which would turn him from alively Scarecrow into an old, old Emperor. All that I have told you,he told Dorothy, up to the very point where his eldest son had boundhim to the bean pole and tied up poor, faithful Happy Toko. Happy, itseems, had at last managed to free himself, and they were about tomake their escape when Dorothy and her party had fallen into thethrone room. The Comfortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary lis-tenedpolitely at first, but worn out by their exciting adventures, fellasleep in the middle of the story.
Nothing could have exceeded Dorothy's dismay to learn that the jollyScarecrow of Oz, whom she had discovered herself, was in realityChang Wang Woe, Emperor of Silver Island.
"Oh, this spoils everything!" wailed the little girl. (The thought ofOz without the Scarecrow was unthinkable.) "It spoils everything! Wewere going to adopt you and be your truly family. Weren't we?"
The Cowardly Lion nodded. "I was going to be your cousin," he mumbledin a choked voice, "but now that you have a family of your own--" Thelion miserably slunk down beside Dorothy.
Sir Hokus looked fierce and rattled his sword, but he could think ofnothing that would help them out of their trouble.
"To-morrow there won't be any Scarecrow in Oz!" wailed Dorothy. "Oh,dear! Oh, dear!" And the little girl began to cry as if her heartwould break.
"Stop! Stop!" begged the Scarecrow, while Sir Hokus awkwardly pattedDorothy on the back. "I'd rather have you for my family any day. Idon't care a Kinkajou for being Emperor, and as for my sons, they areunnatural villains who make my life miserable by telling me how old Iam!"
"Just like a poem I once read," said Dorothy, brightening up:
"You are old, Father William," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white, And yet you incessantly stand on your head! Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"That's it, that's it exactly!" exclaimed the Scarecrow as Dorothyfinished repeating the verse. "'You are old, Father Scarecrow!'That's all I hear. I did stand on my head, too. And Dorothy, I can'tseem to get used to being a grandparent," added the Scarecrow in amelancholy voice. "It's turning my straws gray." He plucked severalfrom his chest and held them out to her. "Why, those little villainsdon't even believe in Oz! 'It's not on the map, oldGrandpapapapapah!'" he mumbled, imitating the tones of his littlegrandsons so cleverly that Dorothy laughed in spite of herself.
"This i
s what becomes of pride!" The Scarecrow extended his handsexpressively. "Most people who hunt up their family trees are in fora fall, and I've had mine."
"But who do you want to be?" asked the Knight gravely. "A Scarecrowin Oz--or the--er--Emperor that you were?"
"I don't care who I were!" In his excitement, the Scarecrow lost hisgrammar completely. "I want to be who I am. I want to be myself."
"But which one?" asked the Cowardly Lion, who was still a bitconfused.
"Why, my best self, of course," said the Scarecrow with a brightsmile. The sight of his old friends had quite restored hischeerfulness. "I've been here long enough to know that I am a betterScarecrow than an Emperor."
"Why, how simple it is!" sighed Dorothy contentedly. "ProfessorWogglebug was all wrong. It's not what you were, but what you are--it's being yourself that counts."
"By my Halidom, the little maid is right!" said Sir Hokus, slappinghis knee in delight. "Let your Gheewizard but try histransformations! Out on him! But what says yon honest henchman?"Happy Toko, although he understood no word of the conversation, hadbeen watching the discussion with great interest. He had been tryingto attract the Scarecrow's attention for some time, but the Knightwas the only one who had noticed him.
"What is it, Tappy?" asked the Scarecrow, dropping easily back intoSilver Islandish.
"Honored Master, the dawn approaches and with it the Royal Princesand the Grand Gheewizard--and your bride!" Happy pausedsignificantly. The Scarecrow shuddered.
"Let's go back to Oz!" said the Cowardly Lion uneasily.
The Scarecrow was feeling in the pocket of his old Munchkin suitwhich he always wore under his robes of state. "Here!" said he,giving a little pill to Happy Toko. "It's one of ProfessorWogglebug's language pills," he exclaimed to Dorothy, "and willenable him to speak and understand Ozish." Happy swallowed the pillgravely.
"Greetings, honorable Ozites!" he said politely as soon as the pillwas down. Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, for it was socomfortable to have him speak their own language.
"I could never have stood it here without Tappy Oko!" The Scarecrowlooked fondly at his Imperial Punster.
"Queer name he has," rumbled the Cowardly Lion, looking at Happy Tokoas if he had thoughts of eating him.
"Methinks he should be knighted," rumbled Sir Hokus, beaming on thelittle Silverman. "Rise, Sir Pudding!"
"The sun will do that in a minute or more, and then, then we shallall be thrown into prison!" wailed Happy Toko dismally.
"We were going to escape in a small boat," explained the Scarecrow,"but--" It was not necessary for him to finish. A boat large enoughto hold Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Happy Toko, thecamel and the dromedary could not very well be launched in secret.
"Oh, dear!" sighed Dorothy, "If I'd only wished you and all of usback in the Emerald City!"
"You wished very well, Lady Dot," said the Knight. "When I think ofwhat I was going to wish for--"
"What were you going to wish, Hokus?" asked the Cowardly Lioncuriously.
"For a dragon!" faltered the Knight, looking terribly ashamed.
"A dragon!" gasped Dorothy. "Why, what good would that have done us?"
"Wait!" interrupted the Scarecrow. "I have thought of something! Whynot climb my family tree? It is a long, long way, but at the top liesOz!"
"Grammercy, a pretty plan!" exclaimed Sir Hokus, peering up at thebean pole.
"Wouldn't that be social climbing?" chuckled Happy Toko, recoveringhis spirits with a bound. The Cowardly Lion said nothing, but heaveda mighty sigh which no one heard, for they were all running towardthe bean pole. It was a good family tree to climb, sure enough, forthere were handy little notches in the stalk.
"You go first!" Sir Hokus helped Dorothy up. When she had gone a fewsteps, the Scarecrow, holding his robes carefully, followed, thenhonest Happy Toko.
"I'll go last," said Sir Hokus bravely, and had just set his foot onthe first notch when a hoarse scream rang through the hall.
The Royal Book of Oz Page 18
