“Must we turn back?” asked Twink anxiously.
“Don’t you worry, Twink,” said Tom. “Even if we can’t get to the Land of Oz, we’ll find our way home.”
“Yes, I think we must turn back,” announced the beaver King. “Let us retreat in the tunnel to the point where the Barrier of Invisibility begins. It should be only a few feet from where we are now, since we just entered it.” “But we have turned about and lost all sense of direction since becoming invisible,” said the Shaggy Man. “Since we cannot see the tunnel, it looks the same in every direction, so how are we to know which way to turn to go back?”
“Walk ten steps in one direction, and if you are still invisible, then turn
about and walk twenty feet in the other direction,” instructed the beaver King. This they all did, and after a bit of experimentation and several minor collisions, they were relieved to find themselves visible once more and standing on the edge of the Barrier of Invisibility. At the King’s order the young beavers had remained where they were until the others had found their way out of the Barrier. Now the beaver King uttered a series of calls that quickly guided the animals beyond the Barrier of Invisibility. Shaggy and his friends stood about in the tunnel gazing from one to another almost despairingly, wondering what to do next. “There is still hope that we may not have to go back and may be able to use the tunnel to reach Oz, my friends,” began the beaver King quietly. “Last night and far into the morning, while you were sleeping, I was busy in my fairy workshop studying the problem. I believe I have solved it, although of course we cannot be quite sure until we make the test.”
With that, the little animal unstrapped from his back the small bundle he had been carrying. Laying it on the tunnel floor, he carefully unfolded it. The bundle seemed to consist of a number of shimmering pieces of silver cloth so light they might have been spun from spiderwebs. The beaver King selected one of the folds of gossamer cloth and handed it to Twink. “Unfold it and put it about you, my dear,” he said. “I think you will find it just your size.”
Twink did as instructed and found the cloth fitted about her like a fairy cloak. “Oh, it’s lovely,” she exclaimed.
“It’s more than that, I hope,” said the beaver King. “It is a Cloak of Visibility.”
“A cloak of what?” exclaimed the Shaggy Man.
“You have all heard and read tales of cloaks of invisibility,” explained the beaver King. “Cloaks that make the wearer invisible are famous in the fairy tales of all lands. Well, I knew that we would become invisible today against our wishes, so I have attempted to create a Cloak of Visibility C4 a cloak that would overcome the spell of invisibility.” “Do you think it will work?” asked the Shaggy Man hopefully. “I do not know,” confessed the beaver King. “I am sure it wouldn’t work above ground where Glinda’s Barrier of Invisibility is full strength. Underground, Glinda’s spell is much less intense because the earth and sands absorb and destroy the fairy spell. Glinda is a fairy just as Ozma is, and fairies, you know, are creatures of the light and air, and it is there that their powers are the strongest.” The beaver King then handed out Cloaks of the shimmering material to all of them. There was a tiny one that fitted Twiffle perfectly. The twenty young beavers opened their knapsacks and drew from them their own Cloaks of Visibility, which they adjusted about themselves. “We are now ready to test the power of the Cloaks,” said the beaver King. “They should not only make us visible, but should enable us to see the invisible.” Twink thought she detected the slightest tremor in the King’s voice. It was no wonder, she thought, for so much depended on those cloaks he had made.
Once again they proceeded into the tunnel, this time holding their breaths with excitement. Would the Cloaks of Visibility work? One, two, three, four, five steps and they found themselves watching one another to see if they were still visible.20Six, seven, eight, nine, ten steps, but no one breathed freely until they had covered twenty steps. They all were still
visible! And they could see the tunnel walls. The Cloaks of Visibility worked perfectly. Eagerly, the twenty young beavers took the lead again.
CHAPTER 20
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
“Seems to me,” remarked the Shaggy Man after they had progressed for some distance, “that by now we may have crossed the Barrier of Invisibility.” “You’re right,” agreed the beaver King. “And that means we are now journeying underground in the Land of Oz. It also means that the Cloaks of Visibility are no longer necessary for our journey, so I propose that we discard them here, and I will destroy them so that they may never be used by anyone else for reaching the Land of Oz.”
Each of the travelers removed his shimmering cloak and placed it on a little pile in the center of the tunnel. When all the cloaks were there, the beaver King waved his beechwood wand over the little heap of silvery material, and in a flash it had vanished. “Seems a shame,” murmured Twink. “They were so beautiful.” But Twink forgot the Cloaks as they journeyed on. She and Tom could scarcely believe it C4 just over their heads was the marvelous Land of Oz. They began talking of all the famous people who lived in Oz, and the boy and girl would probably have walked all night had not the King of the Fairy Beavers announced after they had been trudging steadily for more than six hours, “My fairy powers tell me it is dark in the land above. That means we have been walking all day. I propose we stop and sleep here and resume our journey in the morning. We should reach the Emerald City shortly after noon.”
The Shaggy Man looked a bit ruefully at the hard stone floor of the tunnel. “Well,” he sighed, “in my wanderings I have slept in less comfortable places. Twink can have my coat to rest her head on.” The beaver King chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, Shaggy Man,” he said. “I will provide beds for us. First let us enjoy a good dinner so that we will sleep the more soundly.” After the dinner two small beds and a large one magically appeared for Twink, Tom and Shaggy. Although he did not need to sleep, Twiffle was provided with a little bed just his size. The beaver King curled up on a silken cushion. Other cushions were provided for the young beaver torchbearers, who took turns throughout the night sleeping and standing guard. The next morning found them refreshed and eager to be on their way toward the Emerald City. The tunnel was cool now, and they advanced rapidly. They were all weary of the sameness of the rocky tunnel walls and eager to reach the Land of Oz.
At last the young beavers who were leading the way came to a halt. For some distance the travelers had noticed that the tunnel had been gently sloping upward. Now they had arrived at its end. Just before them was a round patch of earth C4 a sort of “cork” of earth that Ozma had set in the end of the tunnel where it emerged in her garden. The young beavers knew exactly what to do. They set to work digging and burrowing around the rim of this patch of earth. When they had loosened it sufficiently, it would roll back into the tunnel, leaving free the exit for the Shaggy Man and his friends to emerge from the underground passage.
Twink and Tom watched in fascinated silence while the beavers worked. They were amazingly fast and skillful. Their paws fairly flew as they scooped out the earth and then brushed it from behind them with their wide, flat tails. In a few more seconds the beavers would be through the earth. The beaver King warned his comrades to step back in the tunnel, as the earth was about to come tumbling down.
There was a creaking and crashing of earth and stones, and the beavers dashed to safety. Suddenly loud roars of mingled anger and fright filled the tunnel. Sitting on the pile of earth that had crashed down into the tunnel and glaring at them frightfully while he roared was an enormous beast.
CHAPTER 21
THE WIZARD IS EXCITED
The great beast that had plunged into the tunnel suddenly stopped roaring, shook the gravel and dirt from his mane and back and said calmly, “I’m surprised at you, Shaggy Man! What do you mean by digging holes in Ozma’s garden and leaving them open for unsuspecting folks to fall into? I might very easily have broken a leg or fractured a paw.”
The Shaggy Man was grinning broadly. “Ten to one you were running away from something in an effort to work up your well-known but careful courage to the point of fighting.” The huge lion looked down at the ground in embarrassment.
“You seem to know this great beast,” said the beaver King, who had been regarding the sudden entrant into the tunnel with intense curiosity. “Indeed I do!” replied the Shaggy Man. “He’s an old friend of mine and quite harmless C4 if he is your friend. For this, you see, is the famous Cowardly Lion of Oz.”
Twink and Tom had been staring with fascination at the huge lion. It was the first time they had ever come face to face with so great a beast, and although they had read so much about the famous Cowardly Lion of Oz that they recognized him, he had looked so fierce when he had fallen into the tunnel that they would surely have been frightened had it not been for Shaggy’s reassuring words. “I don’t know what this is all about, Shaggy,” sighed the lion. “I was told Ozma had sent you out of the country on an errand for her, and now you turn up in a hole in her garden with a group of strange people and animals.”
“It can all be explained,” soothed the Shaggy Man. “Meanwhile, do you think you can help us out of here?”
“Of course,” replied the Cowardly Lion. “Any friends of yours are friends of mine. Just climb on my back and you will have no difficulty in pulling yourselves to level ground. Those little animals don’t bite, do they?” The great lion looked anxiously at the beaver’s sharp teeth. With a laugh, Shaggy assured him he had nothing to fear.
The beavers and their King went first, followed by Twink and Tom, who found the lion’s coat to be delightfully thick and soft, and finally be Twiffle and the Shaggy Man. The Cowardly Lion leaped from the tunnel and surveyed Shaggy and his friends. “Children, animals, a wooden clown C4 all popping up from what I now perceive is the Nome King’s tunnel and not just a hole in the ground as I thought when I first tumbled into it. Tell me, Shaggy, have you had trouble with the Nome King again?”
Shaggy started to relate his adventures, but after a few words the Cowardly Lion interrupted him. “That can wait. You can tell me all about it later.
The important thing is that you are here safely and C4 I almost forgot C4 there is plenty going on here!” “What do you mean?” asked the Shaggy Man. “Well, to tell the truth, I was running because I was frightened. Then the ground gave way beneath me and I fell into the tunnel.” “But why were you frightened?” persisted the Shaggy Man. “Something is going on in the Royal Palace that I don’t understand. The Wizard is very excited. He claims someone has stolen his Black Bag of Magic Tools and locked the door of the tower that leads to his magic workshop so he can’t get in. I overheard him telling Dorothy about it, and they both seemed very upset. I decided I had better hide somewhere until I had gathered enough courage to lead an attack on the enemy.” The Shaggy Man smiled to himself. “You come with us,” he said to the Lion. “First, I want you to meet my friends, Twink, Tom, Twiffle and the King of the Fairy Beavers. Then we must find the Wizard and Dorothy and see what this is all about.”
The Cowardly Lion acknowledged the introduction so cordially that Twink and Tom felt as if they had been friends for years. They all walked through the beautiful gardens of Ozma’s Royal Palace until they came to a large French door leading into a study. Here, by a stroke of good luck, they found Princess Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz deep in conversation. Dorothy and the Wizard looked up in amazement as Shaggy and his strangely assorted band of followers trailed into the study. Introductions were made again, and this time Twink and Tom were very nearly tongue-tied as they realized they were actually in the company of a real Princess of the Fairyland of Oz and the one and only Wizard of Oz. But Dorothy was so friendly and sweet that the
little boy and girl felt quite at ease almost at once. Shaggy told his story as briefly as possible and then asked the Wizard for an explanation of what had been happening in the Palace. “I wish I could tell you more definitely,” said the Wizard ruefully. “But I am as mystified as anyone. Here is all I know: I had ordered the Royal Stables to have the Sawhorse saddled so that I might ride him to the College of Natural History, where I wished to consult some of the books written by Professor Wogglebug. I had placed on the ground my Black Bag of Magic Tools, which I needed for some experiments I planned to make at the College. I was about to mount the Sawhorse and pick up the bag when suddenly from out of nowhere a wild-eyed little man appeared. He gave me one stare, picked up my Black Bag, and dashed into the Palace. I was so startled that it was several minutes before I called to him to stop. Then I went dashing into the Palace after him. But the little man was nowhere to be seen. I hurried to Dorothy’s rooms, and she accompanied me to the throne room. Just as we entered the throne room, the little man whisked past us and was up the tower stairs that lead to my magic workroom.” “Did he have the Black Bag then?” asked Shaggy. “No, that’s the strange part of it. He did not,” replied the Wizard. “He locked the tower door securely after him, so Dorothy and I couldn’t follow. We have searched everywhere, but there just is not a single trace of the Black Bag.”
Twink and Tom listened, spellbound by the Wizard’s story. Here they were C4 not only in the Emerald City of Oz, but in the midst of an adventure that excited even the famous Wizard of Oz!
“I just can’t understand it,” said the Wizard, rubbing his bald head in perplexity.
“Well, can’t we break down the door to the tower?” asked Dorothy. “Perhaps we could, but there are six other doors after that one before my magic workroom can be reached. And all are protected by my own magic!” groaned the Wizard.
“Are there no other magic tools that can be used?” inquired Shaggy. “None,” said the Wizard despondently. “Ozma took Dorothy’s Magic Belt with her when she went to visit Glinda, so we are helpless for the moment. Twiffle had been listening with great interest. Now he said, “Tell me, was the little man who suddenly appeared quite fat and bald save for a fringe of white hair? And did he have blue eyes and a sort of cherry-like nose?” “Why, yes, that describes him quite well, from the glimpse I had of him,” said the Wizard thoughtfully.
“I think,” Twiffle went on calmly, “that if you had had the opportunity to observe him more closely, you would have seen that he wore on his wrist Ozma’s Magic Compass!”
CHAPTER 22 CONJO IN CONTROL
“Conjo!” exclaimed the Shaggy Man. “Of course that’s who it is. He used Ozma’s Magic Compass to bring him to the Emerald City and then started his mischief!”
“I wonder what he wants, what his purpose is in hiding my Black Bag and then
locking himself in the tower,” mused the Wizard.
“Perhaps,” said Dorothy, “It would be a good thing it Twiffle told us all he
knows about this Conjo, since he seems to be better acquainted with him than anyone else is.”
“A good idea,” agreed the Wizard, and they all turned to Twiffle. The little clown recounted his life with Conjo, telling all he could remember from the time when Conjo brought him to life to his escape with Shaggy and Twink and Tom in the Airmobile. The Wizard considered. “Apparently the only really bad thing Conjo has done is to take these children out of their home and plan to make them prisoners. Outside of that he has been merely selfish, lazy, and foolishly vain. Perhaps if we tried to talk with him we could prove the folly of his latest actions. He must know that as soon as Ozma returns he will be helpless before her fairy powers.”
The Wizard led the way to Ozma’s Grand Throne Room, on one side of which was the door that led to the tower and Magic Workroom. The young beavers and their King hurried along after the Wizard and Shaggy and the rest. “Perhaps Conjo would listen to you,” the Wizard suggested to Twiffle, “If you asked him to come out and talk with us.”
Twiffle walked to the tower door, knocked as loudly as he could on it, and said, “Come out, Conjo. It is foolish of you to hide away in there. These people want to talk with you and try to be
your friends.” Everyone waited with hushed breath. Had Conjo heard? Would he come out? After a few moments the door opened a crack, then slowly farther and farther, until Conjo stood revealed in the doorway. The little man was quivering with excitement. “Yes,” Conjo said with what was meant to be a smile, “I will talk to you. But don’t any one of you come one step nearer to this door. If you do, I will transform you all into doormats and jumping
jacks.”
“What do you want?” asked the Wizard quietly. “Why have you hidden my Black
Bag of Magic Tools and shut me off from my Magic Workroom?” “You should be able to figure that out,” replied Conjo. “I had to do that to
render you helpless. Without your magic you are powerless to defend
yourselves. I now have at my command all of your magic as well as my own.
So I rather think you will be glad enough to do as I say.” “And just what is that?” asked the Wizard.
“From now on,” said Conjo, am the Wizard of Oz, and $$you&&,” Conjo
pointed to the Wizard, “are my assistant.”
Dorothy gasped at the audacity of the little man, while the Shaggy Man laughed aloud. The Wizard could only whisper unbelievingly, “$$You&& want to be $$me&&?”
“No,” said Conjo, who seemed relaxed now and enjoying the consternation he had caused, “I want to be the $$Wizard of Oz&& C4 it’s only a title, you know, and I deserve it just as much as you. I’m tired of being a wizard nobody knows about. Now I have all your magic, so who is there to say I am not the Wizard of Oz? Ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, he, he, he!” The little man seemed vastly amused.
L. Frank Baum - Oz 38 Page 9
