CHAPTER 20
Queen Gloria
Next morning the Scarecrow called upon all the courtiers and the peopleto assemble in the throne room of the castle, where there was room enoughfor all that were able to attend. They found the straw man seated uponthe velvet cushions of the throne, with the King's glittering crown stillupon his stuffed head. On one side of the throne, in a lower chair, satGloria, looking radiantly beautiful and fresh as a new-blown rose. On theother side sat Pon, the gardener's boy, still dressed in his old smockfrock and looking sad and solemn; for Pon could not make himself believethat so splendid a Princess would condescend to love him when she hadcome to her own and was seated upon a throne. Trot and Cap'n Bill sat atthe feet of the Scarecrow and were much interested in the proceedings.Button-Bright had lost himself before breakfast, but came into the throneroom before the ceremonies were over. Back of the throne stood a row ofthe great Orks, with their leader in the center, and the entrance to thepalace was guarded by more Orks, who were regarded with wonder and awe.
When all were assembled, the Scarecrow stood up and made a speech. Hetold how Gloria's father, the good King Kynd, who had once ruled them andbeen loved by everyone, had been destroyed by King Phearse, the fatherof Pon, and how King Phearse had been destroyed by King Krewl. This lastKing had been a bad ruler, as they knew very well, and the Scarecrowdeclared that the only one in all Jinxland who had the right to sit uponthe throne was Princess Gloria, the daughter of King Kynd.
"But," he added, "it is not for me, a stranger, to say who shall ruleyou. You must decide for yourselves, or you will not be content. Sochoose now who shall be your future ruler."
And they all shouted: "The Scarecrow! The Scarecrow shall rule us!"
Which proved that the stuffed man had made himself very popular by hisconquest of King Krewl, and the people thought they would like him fortheir King. But the Scarecrow shook his head so vigorously that it becameloose, and Trot had to pin it firmly to his body again.
"No," said he, "I belong in the Land of Oz, where I am the humble servantof the lovely girl who rules us all the royal Ozma. You must choose oneof your own inhabitants to rule over Jinxland. Who shall it be?"
They hesitated for a moment, and some few cried: "Pon!" but many moreshouted: "Gloria!"
So the Scarecrow took Gloria's hand and led her to the throne, where hefirst seated her and then took the glittering crown off his own head andplaced it upon that of the young lady, where it nestled prettily amongsther soft curls. The people cheered and shouted then, kneeling beforetheir new Queen; but Gloria leaned down and took Pon's hand in both herown and raised him to the seat beside her.
"You shall have both a King and a Queen to care for you and to protectyou, my dear subjects," she said in a sweet voice, while her face glowedwith happiness; "for Pon was a King's son before he became a gardener'sboy, and because I love him he is to be my Royal Consort."
That pleased them all, especially Pon, who realized that this was themost important moment of his life. Trot and Button-Bright and Cap'nBill all congratulated him on winning the beautiful Gloria; but the Orksneezed twice and said that in his opinion the young lady might have donebetter.
Then the Scarecrow ordered the guards to bring in the wicked Krewl,King no longer, and when he appeared, loaded with chains and dressedin fustian, the people hissed him and drew back as he passed so theirgarments would not touch him.
Krewl was not haughty or overbearing any more; on the contrary he seemedvery meek and in great fear of the fate his conquerors had in store forhim. But Gloria and Pon were too happy to be revengeful and so theyoffered to appoint Krewl to the position of gardener's boy at the castle,Pon having resigned to become King. But they said he must promise toreform his wicked ways and to do his duty faithfully, and he must changehis name from Krewl to Grewl. All this the man eagerly promised to do,and so when Pon retired to a room in the castle to put on princelyraiment, the old brown smock he had formerly worn was given to Grewl,who then went out into the garden to water the roses.
The remainder of that famous day, which was long remembered in Jinxland,was given over to feasting and merrymaking. In the evening there was agrand dance in the courtyard, where the brass band played a new piece ofmusic called the "Ork Trot" which was dedicated to "Our Glorious Gloria,the Queen."
While the Queen and Pon were leading this dance, and all the Jinxlandpeople were having a good time, the strangers were gathered in a groupin the park outside the castle. Cap'n Bill, Trot, Button-Bright and theScarecrow were there, and so was their old friend the Ork; but of all thegreat flock of Orks which had assisted in the conquest but three remainedin Jinxland, besides their leader, the others having returned to theirown country as soon as Gloria was crowned Queen. To the young Ork who hadaccompanied them in their adventures Cap'n Bill said:
"You've surely been a friend in need, and we're mighty grateful to youfor helping us. I might have been a grasshopper yet if it hadn't been foryou, an' I might remark that bein' a grasshopper isn't much fun."
"If it hadn't been for you, friend Ork," said the Scarecrow, "I fear Icould not have conquered King Krewl."
"No," agreed Trot, "you'd have been just a heap of ashes by this time."
"And I might have been lost yet," added Button-Bright. "Much obliged, Mr.Ork."
"Oh, that's all right," replied the Ork. "Friends must stand together,you know, or they wouldn't be friends. But now I must leave you and beoff to my own country, where there's going to be a surprise party on myuncle, and I've promised to attend it."
"Dear me," said the Scarecrow, regretfully. "That is very unfortunate."
"Why so?" asked the Ork.
"I hoped you would consent to carry us over those mountains, into theLand of Oz. My mission here is now finished and I want to get back to theEmerald City."
"How did you cross the mountains before?" inquired the Ork.
"I scaled the cliffs by means of a rope, and crossed the Great Gulf ona strand of spider web. Of course I can return in the same manner, butit would be a hard journey and perhaps an impossible one for Trot andButton-Bright and Cap'n Bill. So I thought that if you had the time youand your people would carry us over the mountains and land us all safelyon the other side, in the Land of Oz."
The Ork thoughtfully considered the matter for a while. Then he said:
"I mustn't break my promise to be present at the surprise party; but,tell me, could you go to Oz to-night?"
"What, now?" exclaimed Trot.
"It is a fine moonlight night," said the Ork, "and I've found in myexperience that there's no time so good as right away. The fact is," heexplained, "it's a long journey to Orkland and I and my cousins here areall rather tired by our day's work. But if you will start now, and becontent to allow us to carry you over the mountains and dump you on theother side, just say the word and--off we go!"
Cap'n Bill and Trot looked at one another questioningly. The little girlwas eager to visit the famous fairyland of Oz and the old sailor hadendured such hardships in Jinxland that he would be glad to be out of it.
"It's rather impolite of us not to say good-bye to the new King andQueen," remarked the Scarecrow, "but I'm sure they're too happy to missus, and I assure you it will be much easier to fly on the backs of theOrks over those steep mountains than to climb them as I did."
"All right; let's go!" Trot decided. "But where's Button-Bright?"
Just at this important moment Button-Bright was lost again, and they allscattered in search of him. He had been standing beside them just a fewminutes before, but his friends had an exciting hunt for him before theyfinally discovered the boy seated among the members of the band, beatingthe end of the bass drum with the bone of a turkey-leg that he had takenfrom the table in the banquet room.
"Hello, Trot," he said, looking up at the little girl when she found him."This is the first chance I ever had to pound a drum with a regular drumstick. And I ate all the meat off the bone myself."
"Come quick. We're going to
the Land of Oz."
"Oh, what's the hurry?" said Button-Bright; but she seized his arm anddragged him away to the park, where the others were waiting.
Trot climbed upon the back of her old friend, the Ork leader, and theothers took their seats on the backs of his three cousins. As soon asall were placed and clinging to the skinny necks of the creatures, therevolving tails began to whirl and up rose the four monster Orks andsailed away toward the mountains. They were so high in the air that whenthey passed the crest of the highest peak it seemed far below them. Nosooner were they well across the barrier than the Orks swooped downwardand landed their passengers upon the ground.
"Here we are, safe in the Land of Oz!' cried the Scarecrow joyfully.
"Oh, are we?" asked Trot, looking around her curiously.
She could see the shadows of stately trees and the outlines of rollinghills; beneath her feet was soft turf, but otherwise the subdued light ofthe moon disclosed nothing clearly.
"Seems jus' like any other country," was Cap'n Bill's comment.
"But it isn't," the Scarecrow assured him. "You are now within theborders of the most glorious fairyland in all the world. This part ofit is just a corner of the Quadling Country, and the least interestingportion of it. It's not very thickly settled, around here, I'll admit,but--"
He was interrupted by a sudden whir and a rush of air as the four Orksmounted into the sky.
"Good night!" called the shrill voices of the strange creatures, andalthough Trot shouted "Good night!" as loudly as she could, the littlegirl was almost ready to cry because the Orks had not waited to beproperly thanked for all their kindness to her and to Cap'n Bill.
But the Orks were gone, and thanks for good deeds do not amount to muchexcept to prove one's politeness.
"Well, friends," said the Scarecrow, "we mustn't stay here in the meadowsall night, so let us find a pleasant place to sleep. Not that it mattersto me, in the least, for I never sleep; but I know that meat people liketo shut their eyes and lie still during the dark hours."
"I'm pretty tired," admitted Trot, yawning as she followed the straw manalong a tiny path, "so, if you don't find a house handy, Cap'n Bill and Iwill sleep under the trees, or even on this soft grass."
But a house was not very far off, although when the Scarecrow stumbledupon it there was no light in it whatever. Cap'n Bill knocked on the doorseveral times, and there being no response the Scarecrow boldly liftedthe latch and walked in, followed by the others. And no sooner had theyentered than a soft light filled the room. Trot couldn't tell where itcame from, for no lamp of any sort was visible, but she did not wastemuch time on this problem, because directly in the center of the roomstood a table set for three, with lots of good food on it and several ofthe dishes smoking hot.
The little girl and Button-Bright both uttered exclamations of pleasure,but they looked in vain for any cook stove or fireplace, or for anyperson who might have prepared for them this delicious feast.
"It's fairyland," muttered the boy, tossing his cap in a corner andseating himself at the table. "This supper smells 'most as good as thatturkey-leg I had in Jinxland. Please pass the muffins, Cap'n Bill."
Trot thought it was strange that no people but themselves were in thehouse, but on the wall opposite the door was a gold frame bearing in bigletters the word:
"WELCOME."
So she had no further hesitation in eating of the food so mysteriouslyprepared for them.
"But there are only places for three!' she exclaimed.
"Three are quite enough," said the Scarecrow. "I never eat, because I amstuffed full already, and I like my nice clean straw better than I dofood."
Trot and the sailor-man were hungry and made a hearty meal, for not sincethey had left home had they tasted such good food. It was surprising thatButton-Bright could eat so soon after his feast in Jinxland, but the boyalways ate whenever there was an opportunity. "If I don't eat now," hesaid, "the next time I'm hungry I'll wish I had."
"Really, Cap'n," remarked Trot, when she found a dish of ice-cream appearbeside her plate, "I b'lieve this is fairyland, sure enough."
"There's no doubt of it, Trot," he answered gravely.
"I've been here before," said Button-Bright, "so I know."
After supper they discovered three tiny bedrooms adjoining the big livingroom of the house, and in each room was a comfortable white bed withdowny pillows. You may be sure that the tired mortals were not long inbidding the Scarecrow good night and creeping into their beds, where theyslept soundly until morning.
For the first time since they set eyes on the terrible whirlpool, Trotand Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright neverworried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, lookedout of the window and tried to count the stars.
The Scarecrow of Oz Page 22
