Chapter Twenty
Dorothy to the Rescue
One day when Princess Dorothy of Oz was visiting Glinda the Good, whois Ozma's Royal Sorceress, she was looking through Glinda's Great Bookof Records--wherein is inscribed all important events that happen inevery part of the world--when she came upon the record of thedestruction of Pingaree, the capture of King Kitticut and Queen Gareeand all their people, and the curious escape of Inga, the boy Prince,and of King Rinkitink and the talking goat. Turning over some of thefollowing pages, Dorothy read how Inga had found the Magic Pearls andwas rowing the silver-lined boat to Regos to try to rescue his parents.
The little girl was much interested to know how well Inga succeeded,but she returned to the palace of Ozma at the Emerald City of Oz thenext day and other events made her forget the boy Prince of Pingareefor a time. However, she was one day idly looking at Ozma's MagicPicture, which shows any scene you may wish to see, when the girlthought of Inga and commanded the Magic Picture to show what the boywas doing at that moment.
It was the time when Inga and Rinkitink had followed the King of Regosand Queen of Coregos to the Nome King's country and she saw them hidingbehind the rock as Cor and Gos passed them by after having placed theKing and Queen of Pingaree in the keeping of the Nome King. From thattime Dorothy followed, by means of the Magic Picture, the adventures ofInga and his friend in the Nome King's caverns, and the danger andhelplessness of the poor boy aroused the little girl's pity andindignation.
So she went to Ozma and told the lovely girl Ruler of Oz all about Ingaand Rinkitink.
"I think Kaliko is treating them dreadfully mean," declared Dorothy,"and I wish you'd let me go to the Nome Country and help them out oftheir troubles."
"Go, my dear, if you wish to," replied Ozma, "but I think it would bebest for you to take the Wizard with you."
"Oh, I'm not afraid of the nomes," said Dorothy, "but I'll be glad totake the Wizard, for company. And may we use your Magic Carpet, Ozma?"
"Of course. Put the Magic Carpet in the Red Wagon and have the Sawhorsetake you and the Wizard to the edge of the desert. While you are gone,Dorothy, I'll watch you in the Magic Picture, and if any dangerthreatens you I'll see you are not harmed."
Dorothy thanked the Ruler of Oz and kissed her good-bye, for she wasdetermined to start at once. She found the Wizard of Oz, who wasplanting shoetrees in the garden, and when she told him Inga's story hewillingly agreed to accompany the little girl to the Nome King'scaverns. They had both been there before and had conquered the nomeswith ease, so they were not at all afraid.
The Wizard, who was a cheery little man with a bald head and a winningsmile, harnessed the Wooden Sawhorse to the Red Wagon and loaded onOzma's Magic Carpet. Then he and Dorothy climbed to the seat and theSawhorse started off and carried them swiftly through the beautifulLand of Oz to the edge of the Deadly Desert that separated theirfairyland from the Nome Country.
Even Dorothy and the clever Wizard would not have dared to cross thisdesert without the aid of the Magic Carpet, for it would have quicklydestroyed them; but when the roll of carpet had been placed upon theedge of the sands, leaving just enough lying flat for them to standupon, the carpet straightway began to unroll before them and as theywalked on it continued to unroll, until they had safely passed over thestretch of Deadly Desert and were on the border of the Nome King'sdominions.
This journey had been accomplished in a few minutes, although such adistance would have required several days travel had they not beenwalking on the Magic Carpet. On arriving they at once walked toward theentrance to the caverns of the nomes.
The Wizard carried a little black bag containing his tools of wizardry,while Dorothy carried over her arm a covered basket in which she hadplaced a dozen eggs, with which to conquer the nomes if she had anytrouble with them.
Eggs may seem to you to be a queer weapon with which to fight, but thelittle girl well knew their value. The nomes are immortal; that is,they do not perish, as mortals do, unless they happen to come incontact with an egg. If an egg touches them--either the outer shell orthe inside of the egg--the nomes lose their charm of perpetual life andthereafter are liable to die through accident or old age, just as allhumans are.
For this reason the sight of an egg fills a nome with terror and hewill do anything to prevent an egg from touching him, even for aninstant. So, when Dorothy took her basket of eggs with her, she knewthat she was more powerfully armed than if she had a regiment ofsoldiers at her back.
Rinkitink in Oz Page 20
