2. The Glass City
When Dorothy recovered her senses they were still falling, but not sofast. The top of the buggy caught the air like a parachute or anumbrella filled with wind, and held them back so that they floateddownward with a gentle motion that was not so very disagreeable tobear. The worst thing was their terror of reaching the bottom of thisgreat crack in the earth, and the natural fear that sudden death wasabout to overtake them at any moment. Crash after crash echoed farabove their heads, as the earth came together where it had split, andstones and chunks of clay rattled around them on every side. Thesethey could not see, but they could feel them pelting the buggy top, andJim screamed almost like a human being when a stone overtook him andstruck his boney body. They did not really hurt the poor horse,because everything was falling together; only the stones and rubbishfell faster than the horse and buggy, which were held back by thepressure of the air, so that the terrified animal was actually morefrightened than he was injured.
How long this state of things continued Dorothy could not even guess,she was so greatly bewildered. But bye and bye, as she stared aheadinto the black chasm with a beating heart, she began to dimly see theform of the horse Jim--his head up in the air, his ears erect and hislong legs sprawling in every direction as he tumbled through space.Also, turning her head, she found that she could see the boy besideher, who had until now remained as still and silent as she herself.
Dorothy sighed and commenced to breathe easier. She began to realizethat death was not in store for her, after all, but that she had merelystarted upon another adventure, which promised to be just as queer andunusual as were those she had before encountered.
With this thought in mind the girl took heart and leaned her head overthe side of the buggy to see where the strange light was coming from.Far below her she found six great glowing balls suspended in the air.The central and largest one was white, and reminded her of the sun.Around it were arranged, like the five points of a star, the other fivebrilliant balls; one being rose colored, one violet, one yellow, oneblue and one orange. This splendid group of colored suns sent raysdarting in every direction, and as the horse and buggy--with Dorothyand Zeb--sank steadily downward and came nearer to the lights, the raysbegan to take on all the delicate tintings of a rainbow, growing moreand more distinct every moment until all the space was brilliantlyilluminated.
Dorothy was too dazed to say much, but she watched one of Jim's bigears turn to violet and the other to rose, and wondered that his tailshould be yellow and his body striped with blue and orange like thestripes of a zebra. Then she looked at Zeb, whose face was blue andwhose hair was pink, and gave a little laugh that sounded a bit nervous.
"Isn't it funny?" she said.
The boy was startled and his eyes were big. Dorothy had a green streakthrough the center of her face where the blue and yellow lights cametogether, and her appearance seemed to add to his fright.
"I--I don't s-s-see any-thing funny--'bout it!" he stammered.
Just then the buggy tipped slowly over upon its side, the body of thehorse tipping also. But they continued to fall, all together, and theboy and girl had no difficulty in remaining upon the seat, just as theywere before. Then they turned bottom side up, and continued to rollslowly over until they were right side up again. During this time Jimstruggled frantically, all his legs kicking the air; but on findinghimself in his former position the horse said, in a relieved tone ofvoice:
"Well, that's better!"
Dorothy and Zeb looked at one another in wonder.
"Can your horse talk?" she asked.
"Never knew him to, before," replied the boy.
"Those were the first words I ever said," called out the horse, who hadoverheard them, "and I can't explain why I happened to speak then.This is a nice scrape you've got me into, isn't it?"
"As for that, we are in the same scrape ourselves," answered Dorothy,cheerfully. "But never mind; something will happen pretty soon."
"Of course," growled the horse, "and then we shall be sorry ithappened."
Zeb gave a shiver. All this was so terrible and unreal that he couldnot understand it at all, and so had good reason to be afraid.
Swiftly they drew near to the flaming colored suns, and passed closebeside them. The light was then so bright that it dazzled their eyes,and they covered their faces with their hands to escape being blinded.There was no heat in the colored suns, however, and after they hadpassed below them the top of the buggy shut out many of the piercingrays so that the boy and girl could open their eyes again.
"We've got to come to the bottom some time," remarked Zeb, with a deepsigh. "We can't keep falling forever, you know."
"Of course not," said Dorothy. "We are somewhere in the middle of theearth, and the chances are we'll reach the other side of it beforelong. But it's a big hollow, isn't it?"
"Awful big!" answered the boy.
"We're coming to something now," announced the horse.
At this they both put their heads over the side of the buggy and lookeddown. Yes; there was land below them; and not so very far away,either. But they were floating very, very slowly--so slowly that itcould no longer be called a fall--and the children had ample time totake heart and look about them.
They saw a landscape with mountains and plains, lakes and rivers, verylike those upon the earth's surface; but all the scene was splendidlycolored by the variegated lights from the six suns. Here and therewere groups of houses that seemed made of clear glass, because theysparkled so brightly.
"I'm sure we are in no danger," said Dorothy, in a sober voice. "Weare falling so slowly that we can't be dashed to pieces when we land,and this country that we are coming to seems quite pretty."
"We'll never get home again, though!" declared Zeb, with a groan.
"Oh, I'm not so sure of that," replied the girl. "But don't let usworry over such things, Zeb; we can't help ourselves just now, youknow, and I've always been told it's foolish to borrow trouble."
The boy became silent, having no reply to so sensible a speech, andsoon both were fully occupied in staring at the strange scenes spreadout below them. They seemed to be falling right into the middle of abig city which had many tall buildings with glass domes andsharp-pointed spires. These spires were like great spear-points, andif they tumbled upon one of them they were likely to suffer seriousinjury.
Jim the horse had seen these spires, also, and his ears stood straightup with fear, while Dorothy and Zeb held their breaths in suspense.But no; they floated gently down upon a broad, flat roof, and came to astop at last.
When Jim felt something firm under his feet the poor beast's legstrembled so much that he could hardly stand; but Zeb at once leaped outof the buggy to the roof, and he was so awkward and hasty that hekicked over Dorothy's bird-cage, which rolled out upon the roof so thatthe bottom came off. At once a pink kitten crept out of the upsetcage, sat down upon the glass roof, and yawned and blinked its roundeyes.
"Oh," said Dorothy. "There's Eureka."
"First time I ever saw a pink cat," said Zeb.
"Eureka isn't pink; she's white. It's this queer light that gives herthat color."
"Where's my milk?" asked the kitten, looking up into Dorothy's face."I'm 'most starved to death."
"Oh, Eureka! Can you talk?"
"Talk! Am I talking? Good gracious, I believe I am. Isn't it funny?"asked the kitten.
"It's all wrong," said Zeb, gravely. "Animals ought not to talk. Buteven old Jim has been saying things since we had our accident."
"I can't see that it's wrong," remarked Jim, in his gruff tones. "Atleast, it isn't as wrong as some other things. What's going to becomeof us now?"
"I don't know," answered the boy, looking around him curiously.
The houses of the city were all made of glass, so clear and transparentthat one could look through the walls as easily as through a window.Dorothy saw, underneath the roof on which she stood, several rooms usedfor rest chambers, and e
ven thought she could make out a number ofqueer forms huddled into the corners of these rooms.
The roof beside them had a great hole smashed through it, and pieces ofglass were lying scattered in every direction. A nearby steeple hadbeen broken off short and the fragments lay heaped beside it. Otherbuildings were cracked in places or had corners chipped off from them;but they must have been very beautiful before these accidents hadhappened to mar their perfection. The rainbow tints from the coloredsuns fell upon the glass city softly and gave to the buildings manydelicate, shifting hues which were very pretty to see.
But not a sound had broken the stillness since the strangers hadarrived, except that of their own voices. They began to wonder ifthere were no people to inhabit this magnificent city of the innerworld.
Suddenly a man appeared through a hole in the roof next to the one theywere on and stepped into plain view. He was not a very large man, butwas well formed and had a beautiful face--calm and serene as the faceof a fine portrait. His clothing fitted his form snugly and wasgorgeously colored in brilliant shades of green, which varied as thesunbeams touched them but was not wholly influenced by the solar rays.
The man had taken a step or two across the glass roof before he noticedthe presence of the strangers; but then he stopped abruptly. There wasno expression of either fear or surprise upon his tranquil face, yet hemust have been both astonished and afraid; for after his eyes hadrested upon the ungainly form of the horse for a moment he walkedrapidly to the furthest edge of the roof, his head turned back over hisshoulder to gaze at the strange animal.
"Look out!" cried Dorothy, who noticed that the beautiful man did notlook where he was going; "be careful, or you'll fall off!"
But he paid no attention to her warning. He reached the edge of thetall roof, stepped one foot out into the air, and walked into space ascalmly as if he were on firm ground.
The girl, greatly astonished, ran to lean over the edge of the roof,and saw the man walking rapidly through the air toward the ground.Soon he reached the street and disappeared through a glass doorway intoone of the glass buildings.
"How strange!" she exclaimed, drawing a long breath.
"Yes; but it's lots of fun, if it IS strange," remarked the small voiceof the kitten, and Dorothy turned to find her pet walking in the air afoot or so away from the edge of the roof.
"Come back, Eureka!" she called, in distress, "you'll certainly bekilled."
"I have nine lives," said the kitten, purring softly as it walkedaround in a circle and then came back to the roof; "but I can't loseeven one of them by falling in this country, because I really couldn'tmanage to fall if I wanted to."
"Does the air bear up your weight?" asked the girl.
"Of course; can't you see?" and again the kitten wandered into the airand back to the edge of the roof.
"It's wonderful!" said Dorothy.
"Suppose we let Eureka go down to the street and get some one to helpus," suggested Zeb, who had been even more amazed than Dorothy at thesestrange happenings.
"Perhaps we can walk on the air ourselves," replied the girl.
Zeb drew back with a shiver.
"I wouldn't dare try," he said.
"Maybe Jim will go," continued Dorothy, looking at the horse.
"And maybe he won't!" answered Jim. "I've tumbled through the air longenough to make me contented on this roof."
"But we didn't tumble to the roof," said the girl; "by the time wereached here we were floating very slowly, and I'm almost sure we couldfloat down to the street without getting hurt. Eureka walks on the airall right."
"Eureka weights only about half a pound," replied the horse, in ascornful tone, "while I weigh about half a ton."
"You don't weigh as much as you ought to, Jim," remarked the girl,shaking her head as she looked at the animal. "You're dreadfullyskinny."
"Oh, well; I'm old," said the horse, hanging his head despondently,"and I've had lots of trouble in my day, little one. For a good manyyears I drew a public cab in Chicago, and that's enough to make anyoneskinny."
"He eats enough to get fat, I'm sure," said the boy, gravely.
"Do I? Can you remember any breakfast that I've had today?" growledJim, as if he resented Zeb's speech.
"None of us has had breakfast," said the boy; "and in a time of dangerlike this it's foolish to talk about eating."
"Nothing is more dangerous than being without food," declared thehorse, with a sniff at the rebuke of his young master; "and just atpresent no one can tell whether there are any oats in this queercountry or not. If there are, they are liable to be glass oats!"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I can see plenty of nice gardens andfields down below us, at the edge of this city. But I wish we couldfind a way to get to the ground."
"Why don't you walk down?" asked Eureka. "I'm as hungry as the horseis, and I want my milk."
"Will you try it, Zeb?" asked the girl, turning to her companion.
Zeb hesitated. He was still pale and frightened, for this dreadfuladventure had upset him and made him nervous and worried. But he didnot wish the little girl to think him a coward, so he advanced slowlyto the edge of the roof.
Dorothy stretched out a hand to him and Zeb put one foot out and let itrest in the air a little over the edge of the roof. It seemed firmenough to walk upon, so he took courage and put out the other foot.Dorothy kept hold of his hand and followed him, and soon they were bothwalking through the air, with the kitten frisking beside them.
"Come on, Jim!" called the boy. "It's all right."
Jim had crept to the edge of the roof to look over, and being asensible horse and quite experienced, he made up his mind that he couldgo where the others did. So, with a snort and a neigh and a whisk ofhis short tail he trotted off the roof into the air and at once beganfloating downward to the street. His great weight made him fall fasterthan the children walked, and he passed them on the way down; but whenhe came to the glass pavement he alighted upon it so softly that he wasnot even jarred.
"Well, well!" said Dorothy, drawing a long breath, "What a strangecountry this is."
People began to come out of the glass doors to look at the newarrivals, and pretty soon quite a crowd had assembled. There were menand women, but no children at all, and the folks were all beautifullyformed and attractively dressed and had wonderfully handsome faces.There was not an ugly person in all the throng, yet Dorothy was notespecially pleased by the appearance of these people because theirfeatures had no more expression than the faces of dolls. They did notsmile nor did they frown, or show either fear or surprise or curiosityor friendliness. They simply started at the strangers, paying mostattention to Jim and Eureka, for they had never before seen either ahorse or a cat and the children bore an outward resemblance tothemselves.
Pretty soon a man joined the group who wore a glistening star in thedark hair just over his forehead. He seemed to be a person ofauthority, for the others pressed back to give him room. After turninghis composed eyes first upon the animals and then upon the children hesaid to Zeb, who was a little taller than Dorothy:
"Tell me, intruder, was it you who caused the Rain of Stones?"
For a moment the boy did not know what he meant by this question.Then, remembering the stones that had fallen with them and passed themlong before they had reached this place, he answered:
"No, sir; we didn't cause anything. It was the earthquake."
The man with the star stood for a time quietly thinking over thisspeech. Then he asked:
"What is an earthquake?"
"I don't know," said Zeb, who was still confused. But Dorothy, seeinghis perplexity, answered:
"It's a shaking of the earth. In this quake a big crack opened and wefell through--horse and buggy, and all--and the stones got loose andcame down with us."
The man with the star regarded her with his calm, expressionless eyes.
"The Rain of Stones has done much damage to our city," he said; "and weshall hold you
responsible for it unless you can prove your innocence."
"How can we do that?" asked the girl.
"That I am not prepared to say. It is your affair, not mine. You mustgo to the House of the Sorcerer, who will soon discover the truth."
"Where is the House of the Sorcerer?" the girl enquired.
"I will lead you to it. Come!"
He turned and walked down the street, and after a moment's hesitationDorothy caught Eureka in her arms and climbed into the buggy. The boytook his seat beside her and said: "Gid-dap Jim."
As the horse ambled along, drawing the buggy, the people of the glasscity made way for them and formed a procession in their rear. Slowlythey moved down one street and up another, turning first this way andthen that, until they came to an open square in the center of which wasa big glass palace having a central dome and four tall spires on eachcorner.
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz Page 3
