Ozma of Oz
Page 14
The Nome King Laughs
In a moment the King returned to his throne and relighted his pipe, andthe rest of the little band of adventurers settled themselves foranother long wait. They were greatly disheartened by the failure oftheir girl Ruler, and the knowledge that she was now an ornament in theNome King's palace--a dreadful, creepy place in spite of all itsmagnificence. Without their little leader they did not know what to donext, and each one, down to the trembling private of the army, began tofear he would soon be more ornamental than useful.
Suddenly the Nome King began laughing.
"Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he! Ho, ho, ho!"
"What's happened?" asked the Scarecrow.
"Why, your friend, the Tin Woodman, has become the funniest thing youcan imagine," replied the King, wiping the tears of merriment from hiseyes. "No one would ever believe he could make such an amusing ornament.Next!"
They gazed at each other with sinking hearts. One of the generals beganto weep dolefully.
"What are you crying for?" asked the Scarecrow, indignant at such adisplay of weakness.
"He owed me six weeks back pay," said the general, "and I hate to losehim."
"Then you shall go and find him," declared the Scarecrow.
"Me!" cried the general, greatly alarmed.
"Certainly. It is your duty to follow your commander. March!"
"I won't," said the general. "I'd like to, of course; but I just simply_won't_."
The Scarecrow looked enquiringly at the Nome King.
"Never mind," said the jolly monarch. "If he doesn't care to enter thepalace and make his guesses I'll throw him into one of my fieryfurnaces."
"I'll go!--of course I'm going," yelled the general, as quick as scat."Where is the entrance--where is it? Let me go at once!"
So the Nome King escorted him into the palace, and again returned toawait the result. What the general did, no one can tell; but it was notlong before the King called for the next victim, and a colonel wasforced to try his fortune.
Thus, one after another, all of the twenty-six officers filed into thepalace and made their guesses--and became ornaments.
Meantime the King ordered refreshments to be served to those waiting,and at his command a rudely shaped Nome entered, bearing a tray. ThisNome was not unlike the others that Dorothy had seen, but he wore aheavy gold chain around his neck to show that he was the Chief Stewardof the Nome King, and he assumed an air of much importance, and eventold his majesty not to eat too much cake late at night, or he would beill.
Dorothy, however, was hungry, and she was not afraid of being ill; soshe ate several cakes and found them good, and also she drank a cup ofexcellent coffee made of a richly flavored clay, browned in the furnacesand then ground fine, and found it most refreshing and not at allmuddy.
Of all the party which had started upon this adventure, the littleKansas girl was now left alone with the Scarecrow, Tiktok, and theprivate for counsellors and companions. Of course the Cowardly Lion andthe Hungry Tiger were still there, but they, having also eaten some ofthe cakes, had gone to sleep at one side of the cave, while upon theother side stood the Sawhorse, motionless and silent, as became a merething of wood. Billina had quietly walked around and picked up thecrumbs of cake which had been scattered, and now, as it was long afterbed-time, she tried to find some dark place in which to go to sleep.
Presently the hen espied a hollow underneath the King's rocky throne,and crept into it unnoticed. She could still hear the chattering ofthose around her, but it was almost dark underneath the throne, so thatsoon she had fallen fast asleep.
"Next!" called the King, and the private, whose turn it was to enter thefatal palace, shook hands with Dorothy and the Scarecrow and bade them asorrowful good-bye, and passed through the rocky portal.
They waited a long time, for the private was in no hurry to become anornament and made his guesses very slowly. The Nome King, who seemed toknow, by some magical power, all that took place in his beautiful roomsof his palace, grew impatient finally and declared he would sit up nolonger.
"I love ornaments," said he, "but I can wait until tomorrow to get moreof them; so, as soon as that stupid private is transformed, we will allgo to bed and leave the job to be finished in the morning."
"Is it so very late?" asked Dorothy.
"Why, it is after midnight," said the King, "and that strikes me asbeing late enough. There is neither night nor day in my kingdom, becauseit is under the earth's surface, where the sun does not shine. But wehave to sleep, just the same as the up-stairs people do, and for my partI'm going to bed in a few minutes."
Indeed, it was not long after this that the private made his last guess.Of course he guessed wrongly, and of course he at once became anornament. So the King was greatly pleased, and clapped his hands tosummon his Chief Steward.
"Show these guests to some of the sleeping apartments," he commanded,"and be quick about it, too, for I'm dreadfully sleepy myself."
"You've no business to sit up so late," replied the Steward, gruffly."You'll be as cross as a griffin tomorrow morning."
SOON SHE HAD FALLEN FAST ASLEEP]
His Majesty made no answer to this remark, and the Chief Steward ledDorothy through another doorway into a long hall, from which severalplain but comfortable sleeping rooms opened. The little girl was giventhe first room, and the Scarecrow and Tiktok the next--although theynever slept--and the Lion and the Tiger the third. The Sawhorse hobbledafter the Steward into a fourth room, to stand stiffly in the center ofit until morning. Each night was rather a bore to the Scarecrow, Tiktokand the Sawhorse; but they had learned from experience to pass the timepatiently and quietly, since all their friends who were made of fleshhad to sleep and did not like to be disturbed.
When the Chief Steward had left them alone the Scarecrow remarked,sadly:
"I am in great sorrow over the loss of my old comrade, the Tin Woodman.We have had many dangerous adventures together, and escaped them all,and now it grieves me to know he has become an ornament, and is lost tome forever."
"He was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty," said Tiktok.
"True; but now the Nome King laughs at him, and calls him the funniestornament in all the palace. It will hurt my poor friend's pride to belaughed at," continued the Scarecrow, sadly.
"We will make rath-er ab-surd or-na-ments, our-selves, to-mor-row,"observed the machine, in his monotonous voice.
Just then Dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great anxiety,crying:
"Where's Billina? Have you seen Billina? Is she here?"
"No," answered the Scarecrow.
"Then what has become of her?" asked the girl.
"Why, I thought she was with you," said the Scarecrow. "Yet I do notremember seeing the yellow hen since she picked up the crumbs of cake."
"We must have left her in the room where the King's throne is," decidedDorothy, and at once she turned and ran down the hall to the doorthrough which they had entered. But it was fast closed and locked on theother side, and the heavy slab of rock proved to be so thick that nosound could pass through it. So Dorothy was forced to return to herchamber.
The Cowardly Lion stuck his head into her room to try to console thegirl for the loss of her feathered friend.
"The yellow hen is well able to take care of herself," said he; "sodon't worry about her, but try to get all the sleep you can. It hasbeen a long and weary day, and you need rest."
"I'll prob'ly get lots of rest tomorrow, when I become an orn'ment,"said Dorothy, sleepily. But she lay down upon her couch, nevertheless,and in spite of all her worries was soon in the land of dreams.