THROUGH THE BLACK PIT.
Dorothy hopped inside the opening to escape being pricked, and Zeb and the Wizard, after enduring a few stabs from the thorns, were glad to follow her. At once the Mangaboos began piling up the rocks of glass again, and as the little man realized that they were all about to be entombed in the mountain he said to the children:
“My dears, what shall we do? Jump out and fight?”
“What’s the use?” replied Dorothy. “I’d as soon die here as live much longer among those cruel and heartless people.”
“That’s the way I feel about it,” remarked Zeb, rubbing his wounds. “I’ve had enough of the Mangaboos.”
“All right,” said the Wizard; “I’m with you, whatever you decide. But we can’t live long in this cavern, that’s certain.”
Noticing that the light was growing dim he picked up his nine piglets, patted each one lovingly on its fat little head, and placed them carefully in his inside pocket.
Zeb struck a match and lighted one of the lanterns. The rays of the colored suns were now shut out from them forever, for the last chinks had been filled up in the wall that separated their prison from the Land of the Mangaboos.
“How big is this hole?” asked Dorothy.
“I’ll explore it and see,” replied the boy.
So he carried the lantern back for quite a distance, while Dorothy and the Wizard followed at his side. The cavern did not come to an end, as they had expected it would, but slanted upward through the great glass mountain, running in a direction that promised to lead them to the side opposite the Mangaboo country.
“It isn’t a bad road,” observed the Wizard, “and if we followed it it might lead us to some place that is more comfortable than this black pocket we are now in. I suppose the vegetable folk were always afraid to enter this cavern because it is dark; but we have our lanterns to light the way, so I propose that we start out and discover where this tunnel in the mountain leads to.”
The others agreed readily to this sensible suggestion, and at once the boy began to harness Jim to the buggy. When all was in readiness the three took their seats in the buggy and Jim started cautiously along the way, Zeb driving while the Wizard and Dorothy each held a lighted lantern so the horse could see where to go.
Sometimes the tunnel was so narrow that the wheels of the buggy grazed the sides; then it would broaden out as wide as a street; but the floor was usually smooth, and for a long time they travelled on without any accident. Jim stopped sometimes to rest, for the climb was rather steep and tiresome.
“We must be nearly as high as the six colored suns, by this time,” said Dorothy. “I didn’t know this mountain was so tall.”
“We are certainly a good distance away from the Land of the Mangaboos,” added Zeb; “for we have slanted away from it ever since we started.”
But they kept steadily moving, and just as Jim was about tired out with his long journey the way suddenly grew lighter, and Zeb put out the lanterns to save the oil.
To their joy they found it was a white light that now greeted them, for all were weary of the colored rainbow lights which, after a time, had made their eyes ache with their constantly shifting rays. The sides of the tunnel showed before them like the inside of a long spy-glass, and the floor became more level. Jim hastened his lagging steps at this assurance of a quick relief from the dark passage, and in a few moments more they had emerged from the mountain and found themselves face to face with a new and charming country.
CHAPTER 8.
THE VALLEY OF VOICES
BY journeying through the glass mountain they had reached a delightful valley that was shaped like the hollow of a great cup, with another rugged mountain showing on the other side of it, and soft and pretty green hills at the ends. It was all laid out into lovely lawns and gardens, with pebble paths leading through them and groves of beautiful and stately trees dotting the landscape here and there. There were orchards, too, bearing luscious fruits that are all unknown in our world. Alluring brooks of crystal water flowed sparkling between their flower-strewn banks, while scattered over the valley were dozens of the quaintest and most picturesque cottages our travelers had ever beheld. None of them were in clusters, such as villages or towns, but each had ample grounds of its own, with orchards and gardens surrounding it.
As the new arrivals gazed upon this exquisite scene they were enraptured by its beauties and the fragrance that permeated the soft air, which they breathed so gratefully after the confined atmosphere of the tunnel. Several minutes were consumed in silent admiration before they noticed two very singular and unusual facts about this valley. One was that it was lighted from some unseen source; for no sun or moon was in the arched blue sky, although every object was flooded with a clear and perfect light. The second and even more singular fact was the absence of any inhabitant of this splendid place. From their elevated position they could overlook the entire valley, but not a single moving object could they see. All appeared mysteriously deserted.
The mountain on this side was not glass, but made of a stone similar to granite. With some difficulty and danger Jim drew the buggy over the loose rocks until he reached the green lawns below, where the paths and orchards and gardens began. The nearest cottage was still some distance away.
“Isn’t it fine?” cried Dorothy, in a joyous voice, as she sprang out of the buggy and let Eureka run frolicking over the velvety grass.
“Yes, indeed!” answered Zeb. “We were lucky to get away from those dreadful vegetable people.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad,” remarked the Wizard, gazing around him, “if we were obliged to live here always. We couldn’t find a prettier place, I’m sure.”
He took the piglets from his pocket and let them run on the grass, and Jim tasted a mouthful of the green blades and declared he was very contented in his new surroundings.
“We can’t walk in the air here, though,” called Eureka, who had tried it and failed; but the others were satisfied to walk on the ground, and the Wizard said they must be nearer the surface of the earth than they had been in the Mangaboo country, for everything was more homelike and natural.
“But where are the people?” asked Dorothy.
The little man shook his bald head.
“Can’t imagine, my dear,” he replied.
They heard the sudden twittering of a bird, but could not find the creature anywhere. Slowly they walked along the path toward the nearest cottage, the piglets racing and gambolling beside them and Jim pausing at every step for another mouthful of grass.
Presently they came to a low plant which had broad, spreading leaves, in the center of which grew a single fruit about as large as a peach. The fruit was so daintily colored and so fragrant, and looked so appetizing and delicious that Dorothy stopped and exclaimed:
“What is it, do you s’pose?”
The piglets had smelled the fruit quickly, and before the girl could reach out her hand to pluck it every one of the nine tiny ones had rushed in and commenced to devour it with great eagerness.
“It’s good, anyway,” said Zeb, “or those little rascals wouldn’t have gobbled it up so greedily.”
“Where are they?” asked Dorothy, in astonishment.
They all looked around, but the piglets had disappeared.
“Dear me!” cried the Wizard; “they must have run away. But I didn’t see them go; did you?”
“No!” replied the boy and the girl, together.
“Here, — piggy, piggy, piggy!” called their master, anxiously.
Several squeals and grunts were instantly heard at his feet, but the Wizard could not discover a single piglet.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Why, right beside you,” spoke a tiny voice. “Can’t you see us?”
“ARE THERE REALLY PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM?”
“No,” answered the little man, in a puzzled tone.
“We can see you,” said another of the piglets.
The Wizard stooped
down and put out his hand, and at once felt the small fat body of one of his pets. He picked it up, but could not see what he held.
“It is very strange,” said he, soberly. “The piglets have become invisible, in some curious way.”
“I’ll bet it’s because they ate that peach!” cried the kitten.
“It wasn’t a peach, Eureka,” said Dorothy. “I only hope it wasn’t poison.”
“It was fine, Dorothy,” called one of the piglets.
“We’ll eat all we can find of them,” said another.
“But we mus’n’t eat them,” the Wizard warned the children, “or we too may become invisible, and lose each other. If we come across another of the strange fruit we must avoid it.”
Calling the piglets to him he picked them all up, one by one, and put them away in his pocket; for although he could not see them he could feel them, and when he had buttoned his coat he knew they were safe for the present.
The travellers now resumed their walk toward the cottage, which they presently reached. It was a pretty place, with vines growing thickly over the broad front porch. The door stood open and a table was set in the front room, with four chairs drawn up to it. On the table were plates, knives and forks, and dishes of bread, meat and fruits. The meat was smoking hot and the knives and forks were performing strange antics and jumping here and there in quite a puzzling way. But not a single person appeared to be in the room.
“How funny!” exclaimed Dorothy, who with Zeb and the Wizard now stood in the doorway.
A peal of merry laughter answered her, and the knives and forks fell to the plates with a clatter. One of the chairs pushed back from the table, and this was so astonishing and mysterious that Dorothy was almost tempted to run away in fright.
“Here are strangers, mama!” cried the shrill and childish voice of some unseen person.
“So I see, my dear,” answered another voice, soft and womanly.
“What do you want?” demanded a third voice, in a stern, gruff accent.
“Well, well!” said the Wizard; “are there really people in this room?”
“Of course,” replied the man’s voice.
“And — pardon me for the foolish question — but, are you all invisible?”
“Surely,” the woman answered, repeating her low, rippling laughter. “Are you surprised that you are unable to see the people of Voe?”
“Why, yes,” stammered the Wizard. “All the people I have ever met before were very plain to see.”
“Where do you come from, then?” asked the woman, in a curious tone.
“We belong upon the face of the earth,” explained the Wizard, “but recently, during an earthquake, we fell down a crack and landed in the Country of the Mangaboos.”
“Dreadful creatures!” exclaimed the woman’s voice. “I’ve heard of them.”
“They walled us up in a mountain,” continued the Wizard; “but we found there was a tunnel through to this side, so we came here. It is a beautiful place. What do you call it?”
“It is the Valley of Voe.”
“Thank you. We have seen no people since we arrived, so we came to this house to enquire our way.”
“Are you hungry?” asked the woman’s voice.
“I could eat something,” said Dorothy.
“So could I,” added Zeb.
“But we do not wish to intrude, I assure you,” the Wizard hastened to say.
“That’s all right,” returned the man’s voice, more pleasantly than before. “You are welcome to what we have.”
As he spoke the voice came so near to Zeb that he jumped back in alarm. Two childish voices laughed merrily at this action, and Dorothy was sure they were in no danger among such light-hearted folks, even if those folks couldn’t be seen.
“What curious animal is that which is eating the grass on my lawn?” enquired the man’s voice.
“That’s Jim,” said the girl. “He’s a horse.”
“What is he good for?” was the next question.
“He draws the buggy you see fastened to him, and we ride in the buggy instead of walking,” she explained.
“Can he fight?” asked the man’s voice.
“No! he can kick pretty hard with his heels, and bite a little; but Jim can’t ‘zactly fight,” she replied.
“Then the bears will get him,” said one of the children’s voices.
“Bears!” exclaimed Dorothy. “Are these bears here?”
“That is the one evil of our country,” answered the invisible man. “Many large and fierce bears roam in the Valley of Voe, and when they can catch any of us they eat us up; but as they cannot see us, we seldom get caught.”
“Are the bears invis’ble, too?” asked the girl.
“Yes; for they eat of the dama-fruit, as we all do, and that keeps them from being seen by any eye, whether human or animal.”
“Does the dama-fruit grow on a low bush, and look something like a peach?” asked the Wizard.
“Yes,” was the reply.
“If it makes you invis’ble, why do you eat it?” Dorothy enquired.
“For two reasons, my dear,” the woman’s voice answered. “The dama-fruit is the most delicious thing that grows, and when it makes us invisible the bears cannot find us to eat us up. But now, good wanderers, your luncheon is on the table, so please sit down and eat as much as you like.”
CHAPTER 9.
THEY FIGHT THE INVISIBLE BEARS
THE strangers took their seats at the table willingly enough, for they were all hungry and the platters were now heaped with good things to eat. In front of each place was a plate bearing one of the delicious dama-fruit, and the perfume that rose from these was so enticing and sweet that they were sorely tempted to eat of them and become invisible.
But Dorothy satisfied her hunger with other things, and her companions did likewise, resisting the temptation.
“Why do you not eat the damas?” asked the woman’s voice.
“We don’t want to get invis’ble,” answered the girl.
“But if you remain visible the bears will see you and devour you,” said a girlish young voice, that belonged to one of the children. “We who live here much prefer to be invisible; for we can still hug and kiss one another, and are quite safe from the bears.”
“And we do not have to be so particular about our dress,” remarked the man.
“And mama can’t tell whether my face is dirty or not!” added the other childish voice, gleefully.
“But I make you wash it, every time I think of it,” said the mother; “for it stands to reason your face is dirty, Ianu, whether I can see it or not.”
Dorothy laughed and stretched out her hands.
“Come here, please — Ianu and your sister — and let me feel of you,” she requested.
They came to her willingly, and Dorothy passed her hands over their faces and forms and decided one was a girl of about her own age and the other a boy somewhat smaller. The girl’s hair was soft and fluffy and her skin as smooth as satin. When Dorothy gently touched her nose and ears and lips they seemed to be well and delicately formed.
“If I could see you I am sure you would be beautiful,” she declared.
The girl laughed, and her mother said:
“We are not vain in the Valley of Voe, because we can not display our beauty, and good actions and pleasant ways are what make us lovely to our companions. Yet we can see and appreciate the beauties of nature, the dainty flowers and trees, the green fields and the clear blue of the sky.”
“How about the birds and beasts and fishes?” asked Zeb.
“The birds we cannot see, because they love to eat of the damas as much as we do; yet we hear their sweet songs and enjoy them. Neither can we see the cruel bears, for they also eat the fruit. But the fishes that swim in our brooks we can see, and often we catch them to eat.”
“It occurs to me you have a great deal to make you happy, even while invisible,” remarked the Wizard. “Nevertheless, we prefe
r to remain visible while we are in your valley.”
Just then Eureka came in, for she had been until now wandering outside with Jim; and when the kitten saw the table set with food she cried out:
“Now you must feed me, Dorothy, for I’m half starved.”
The children were inclined to be frightened by the sight of the small animal, which reminded them of the bears; but Dorothy reassured them by explaining that Eureka was a pet and could do no harm even if she wished to. Then, as the others had by this time moved away from the table, the kitten sprang upon the chair and put her paws upon the cloth to see what there was to eat. To her surprise an unseen hand clutched her and held her suspended in the air. Eureka was frantic with terror, and tried to scratch and bite, so the next moment she was dropped to the floor.
“Did you see that, Dorothy?” she gasped.
“Yes, dear,” her mistress replied; “there are people living in this house, although we cannot see them. And you must have better manners, Eureka, or something worse will happen to you.”
She placed a plate of food upon the floor and the kitten ate greedily.
“Give me that nice-smelling fruit I saw on the table,” she begged, when she had cleaned the plate.
“Those are damas,” said Dorothy, “and you must never even taste them, Eureka, or you’ll get invis’ble, and then we can’t see you at all.”
The kitten gazed wistfully at the forbidden fruit.
“Does it hurt to be invis’ble?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Dorothy answered; “but it would hurt me dre’fully to lose you.”
“Very well, I won’t touch it,” decided the kitten; “but you must keep it away from me, for the smell is very tempting.”
“Can you tell us, sir or ma’am,” said the Wizard, addressing the air because he did not quite know where the unseen people stood, “if there is any way we can get out of your beautiful Valley, and on top of the Earth again.”
“Oh, one can leave the Valley easily enough,” answered the man’s voice; “but to do so you must enter a far less pleasant country. As for reaching the top of the earth, I have never heard that it is possible to do that, and if you succeeded in getting there you would probably fall off.”
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 45
