The Lost Princess of Oz
Page 19
The Conference
CHAPTER 18
"Now, then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and decidewhat to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubtthat the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have beenincreased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, theMagic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery and my own blackbag--which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob us ofthose things, and the man with all their powers at his command, is onewho may prove somewhat difficult to conquer; therefore we should planour actions well before we venture too near to his castle."
"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do yousuppose Ugu has done with her?"
"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" askedButton-Bright.
"To be sure," replied the Lavender King; "I'll ask him."
So he turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired:
"Did Ugu the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?"
"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear.
"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King.
"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear.
"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "Howdreadful!"
"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is what wecame for and of course we must rescue Ozma. But--how?"
Each one looked at some other one for an answer and all shook theirheads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced aroundthem gleefully.
"You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so many things canhurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and go home? How can youfight a great magician when you have nothing to fight with?"
Dorothy looked at her reflectively.
"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you, a bit,whatever he did; nor could he hurt me, 'cause I wear the Nome King'sMagic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together, and leave the others hereto wait for us?"
"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. Ozma ismore powerful than either of you, yet she could not defeat the wickedUgu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker inone mighty band, for only in union is there strength."
"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear, approvingly.
"But what can we do, when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie Cookanxiously.
"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," replied theWizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. Ugu knows, ofcourse, that we are after him, for he has seen our approach in the MagicPicture, and he has read of all we have done up to the present moment inthe Great Book of Records. Therefore we cannot expect to take him bysurprise."
"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. "If weexplained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think he'd let poorOzma go?"
"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly.
"Yes, yes; won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and beg ourpardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her scorn of thesuggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the frontdoor and let me know."
The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air.
"I'm quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we mustconquer this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to be rude toanyone. But none of you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't theLittle Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the Bear King.
"No, for that is something that is _going_ to happen," replied theLavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already _has_ happened."
Again they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time Betsy said in ahesitating voice:
"Hank is a great fighter; perhaps _he_ could conquer the magician."
The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old friend, theyoung girl.
"Who can fight against magic?" he asked.
"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy.
The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his chin on hispaws, raised his shaggy head.
"I can fight when I'm not afraid," said he calmly; "but the mere mentionof a fight sets me to trembling."
"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot.
"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that woodenanimal.
"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl."
"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman.His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wickedMagician and restore to me my dishpan."
All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding himselfthe center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, adjusted hisbig spectacles and after swelling out his chest, sighed and said in amodest tone of voice:
"Respect for truth obliges me to confess that Cayke is mistaken inregard to my superior wisdom. I am not very wise. Neither have I had anypractical experience in conquering magicians. But let us consider thiscase. What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade shoemakerand a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned how to do magicaltricks, considers himself above his fellows. In this case, the Shoemakerhas been naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools and things thatdid not belong to him, and it is more wicked to steal than to be amagician. Yet, with all the arts at his command, Ugu is still a man, andsurely there are ways in which a man may be conquered. How, do you say,how? Allow me to state that I don't know. In my judgment we cannotdecide how best to act until we get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to itand take a look at it. After that we may discover an idea that willguide us to victory."
"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said Dorothyapprovingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, but he's awicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be conquered. We mustn't haveany mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his castle, asthe Frogman says, and see what the place looks like."
No one offered an objection to this plan and so it was adopted. Theybroke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's castle whenthey discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and theWizard shouted his name and the Lion roared and the Donkey brayed andthe Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender Bear growled (to the envy ofToto, who couldn't growl but barked his loudest) yet none of them couldmake Button-Bright hear. So, after vainly searching for the boy a fullhour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction of thewicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker.
"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. "And, if he wasn'talways getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may have gone ahead ofus, and he may have gone back; but, wherever he is, we'll find himsometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure."