by Ojo In Oz
“Well, anyway, we’re down !” exclaimed Ojo, hurrying across the field toward the sparkling highway that ran like a broad white ribbon round the base of the mountain.
“Look out! Look out!” bellowed Snuffer, whose ars were keener than those of his companions. With one leg over the fence, Ojo stopped and at what he saw nearly froze with terror. Flashing and thrashing along the highway faster than the Chicago express, was an enormous blue dragon, clouds of frosty vapor rising from its nostrils and its purple fangs darting in and out in a truly frightening manner. So tremendously long was the creature that it took several moments for its scaly, curving body to
thunder by. And scarcely had they glimpsed the end of its tail before its ugly head reappeared around the bend in the roadway.
“Bluenblackberries !” shivered Snuffer, leaning weakly against the fence. “I don’t believe I’ll wait for breakfast after all!”
“why not?” inquired Realbad, recklessly drawing his sword. “Some cities have walls, some cities have dragons. I have scaled walls before this and I guess I can scale a dragon without too much trouble.”
“Bu~bu~it might hurt you,” stuttered Ojo, hanging on to Realbad’s leather coat as the bandit prepared to vault the fence. “Wait! Stop! I’ve thought of another way. Look, as soon as the dragon’s tail goes by, let’s dash across the road before the head appears. There’s just about time if we hurry. I suppose it runs round and round the city like this to keep strangers out.”
“Them why bother to go in?” shuddered Snuffer, turning his back as the horrid blue monster roared by for the fourth time.”
“In the first place, we’re cold, in the second place, we’re hungry, in the third place, we’re lost. Yonder we shall find warmth, food and perchance some important treasure.” Raising his sword, Realbad started forward and seeing that the boy was determined
to follow him, the bear heaved himself morosely over the fence and with pounding hearts, all three waited for the dragon’s tail to go by.
“How do you know it’ll stay on the road?” wheezed Snuffer uncomfortably.
“We don’t, we don’t, that’s what makes it so exciting. Tails, we win! Heads, we lose!” whispered the bandit, seizing Ojo’s hand. “Hah, tails! Ready, steady, GO
And go they did, racing like rabbits across the icy highway and sprawling on their noses on the opposite side just as the blue dragon again came snorting into view. It let out such a whistle and scream and cast such a baleful glare in their direction that Ojo had no memory at all of how he reached or dashed through the gates of the Crystal City. To tell the truth, he had almost flown, arriving there just three puffs and a pant ahead of Snufferbux and Realbad Slamming the gates and shooting the bolts, Realbad swung round prepared to face the city’s soldiers ‘or guards. And guards there were, in tens and dozens, drawn up stiffly on each side of the road, but they looked neither to the left nor to the right and paid no attention to the travelers at all.
“Why-why, they’re frozen! Everybody’s frozen,
Realbad,” Ojo said, looking around with a little shiver; and he was perfectly right about that. A strange, uneasy hush hung over the glittering city. Its tall buildings and houses of crystal were uncannily soundless and still. The citizens themselves in various attitudes and postures stood motionless in the streets and by-ways. An old woman, her broom still poised for sweeping, was in the doorway of a shop. A boy whistling along on his way to the shop had been frozen with his lips still puckered and one foot upraised.
“Cold cheer,” muttered Realbad, blowing on his fingers. “This must have happened in a hurry, boys. There’s a fellow caught in the middle of a sneeze. What a face!”
“They’re funny enough looking without being frozen,” grunted Snuffer, lumbering down the street after Ojo. “They’re all crystal. You can see right through their heads.”
“That’s because they had trans-parents,” laughed Realbad, striding rapidly toward the crystal palace at the end of the tree-lined avenue.
“Well, if I had nothing in my head I’d rather no one knew it,” grumbled Snuffer, staring morosely at a crystal policeman.
“What’s the difference? They’d know it anyway
as soon as you opened your mouth.” Realbad looked back over his shoulder and laughed provokingly. Then, dodging the crystal flower pot Snuffer snatched from a window ledge and flung after him, he dashed through the swinging doors into the palace itself. Ojo and the bear were not far behind, for the streets of the frozen city were bitterly cold and they hoped for a little warmth inside. But the same icy silence greeted them. It was so frigid, in fact, that Snuffer forgot his anger and began to beat his breast with both arms and dance a brisk gypsy fandango down the long, blue, velvet-carpeted hallway.
All the furnishings in this stately palace were of crystal, crystal chairs, sofas, tables, crystal chandeliers and ornaments. Blue damask hangings and blue velvet carpets toned in well with these glittering appurtenances, but the three cold and hungry adventurers were by this time too frozen and uncomfortable to appreciate the castle’s magnificence. With chattering teeth they ran past the frozen footmen and serving maids to the throne room.
The king and queen, splendidly clothed in blue velvet and ermine, were seated on their crystal thrones staring with glassy-eyed indifference straight ahead of them. The court musicians had congealed
in the middle of a waltz, some with fiddle bows upraised, others with cheeks puffed out for a good blow at the horns. The crystal courtiers stood or sat around in rigid groups, scowls, smiles and even yawns frozen on their handsome faces. Their costumes Ojo thought exceedingly fine with their lacy ruffs, slashed sleeves and long lengths of silk and velvet. Seizing a cloak from a stiff and frozen page, wrapped it around his own shivering body and tiptoed over to an old sage who was gazing fixedly into a huge crystal ball. Looking over the old fellow’s shoulder, Ojo was astonished to see words forming in the ball.
“Ojo, beware! You are in great danger!” announced the crystal ball in flashing blue letters. Snufferbux, just behind Ojo, gave a bounce of terror.
“Of course you’re in danger!” sneezed the bear bitterly. “Traveling around with a good-for-nothing robber. We’re all in danger. It’s worse than dangerous to be as cold as this.” Snuffer wrathfully broke the icicle that had formed on the end of his nose and threw it angrily on the floor. “Now that you’re here, perhaps you’ll tell us what you intend to do,” he sputtered, facing Realbad with clenched paws.
“Bear to the right,” directed the bandit calmly.
He too had read the message in the crystal ball, and grasping Ojo by the arm hurried him along to the castle kitchens. “There ought to be something to eat in here,” puffed the bandit, pushing aside a stiff and sour-looking serving maid and leaning her up against the wall. But in the ice box they found nothing but glass fruit, and the cook in his tall cap still bending over the stove had his spoon in a mixture that turned out to be ground glass soup.
“Ooh-let-t-t’s make a fire;” shivered Ojo, pointing to a box of kindling beside the shining porcelain stove. And as this seemed a sensible suggestion, Realbad proceeded to carry it out and soon had a crackling blaze going. Crowding close to the stove, they were all beginning to thaw out a bit, when Ojo, who was standing nearest to the crystal cook, screamed sharply. The cook after turning upon them a mellow and despairing glance was dissolving be-fo?e their eyes.
“Oh! Oh! Get a mop! Put out the fire! Do something quick!” wailed the boy, as the stiff white suit of the luckless chef collapsed into the pool of water on the floor, all that was now left of the poor fellow.
“It’s all my fault!” groaned Realbad, snatching a cloth from a nail and beginning to mop up the cook
and squeeze him into a bucket. “All my fault. I’ve taken whatever I needed, but I’ve never reduced anyone to such a pass as this before!”
“Put out the fire,” coughed Snufferbux, whirling round like a dervish. “Help! The kitchen maid’s beginning to go. Quick, w
ater! water!” While Ojo was hurriedly filling a dishpan at the sink, Snuffer wildly seized the pail from Realbad and dashed it over the stove.
“Now, now you’ve done it!” sputtered Realbad. “That was the cook, you big donkey. Not satisfied to have melted him, you must throw him on the fire.”
“Well, he’s fired now all right,” murmured Snuffer, backing uneasily away from the steaming stove.
“Mm-mm! What’ll the king say?” breathed Ojo, holding on to the edge of the table.
“Well,” answered Realbad, straightening up with an anxious frown. “Judging from present indications, he won’t say anything. No use crying over spilt milk, er, cooks. Just keep cool, both of you, and wait here till I see what I can pick up.”
“It seems sort of a shame to leave them all enchanted like this,” said Ojo, wrapping the page’s cloak a little more tightly around him.
“Well, we didn’t enchant them,” grumbled Snufferbux, who felt so upset about the cook that he wished
to leave as soon as possible, “and it won’t do any good for us to stand around and congeal. I feel like a frozen custard already.”
“Just the same, I believe Realbad could help them,” insisted Ojo, looking hopefully up at the bronzed outlaw. “And then the king might give you half of the kingdom for a reward and you wouldn’t have to steal anything.”
“And don’t forget the princess,” put in Snuffer sarcastically. “You will probably have to marry that big, empty-headed, glassy-eyed daughter standing behind their Majesties and then where’ll you be?”
“I am married,” answered Realbad quietly.
“Then where is your wife?” demanded Ojo. He just could not understand this big robber chief at all. Instead of answering, Realbad stared somberly at the floor, apparently lost in unhappy memories. Then, pulling himself together with a great effort, he grasped his sword.
“Come, now,” he exclaimed, smiling thoughtfully at Ojo. “Since you think I am such a stout fellow, I’ll have a try at this enchantment breaking and I have a notion that crystal ball will help.” So, forgetting their cold and discomfort, they hurried back to the throne room and stared intently into the clear
glass ball.
“How shall I release Crystal City from this icy spell?” inquired Realbad in a commanding voice.
“Kill the blue dragon,” flashed the crystal immediately.
“That’s what I should have done in the first place,” exclaimed the bandit, slapping his knee. “Wait here, you two, and leave the rest to me.”
“Good-bye, then,” choked Snuffer, thrusting out his huge brown paw. “I know you’re a robber and an outlaw, but I’ll never forget that dinner you gave me.”
“Why, Snuffer, you talk as if he were never coming back,” cried Ojo in alarm.
“Well, you saw the dragon!” Snuffer shrugged his shoulders and shuffling over to the window looked mournfully over the frozen city. But Realbad, with a reassuring grin at Ojo, rushed out of the throne room.
“Let’s go help him,” said Ojo, staring after the bandit, but Snuffer was too quick for him and seizing the boy held him tightly.
“Wait!” he panted coaxingly. “Do you want to be a dragon’s breakfast and lunch? Wait! Keep still, do you hear me?” Under the circumstances there was nothing else for Ojo to do, as it was perfectly impossible to escape from the bear’s grasp. Fuming, kicking and scolding, Ojo passed ten of the most uncomfortable moments of his life. As he loudly and indignantly and for the twentieth time shouted for Snufferbux to let him go, he became suddenly aware of music. Then,
“Silence-‘ called a harsh voice. Silence!” Squirming round in the bear’s arms, Ojo saw the crystal king pointing an angry finger in his direction. “Be quiet!” commanded the king, shaking his scepter threateningly.
The whole court had come to life. The musicians were finishing their waltz, the courtiers their smiles, yawns, or bits of bored conversation.
“Oh, be quiet yourself,” rumbled Snufferbux, losing his temper. “If it hadn’t been for us you’d be quiet enough. If it hadn’t been for Realbad, you’d still be frozen stiff and proper.”
“Realbad?” queried the crystal queen, leaning forward languidly as the musicians finished up their piece with a stately flourish. “Who is he?”
“A bandit,” Snuffer told her with strange satisfaction. “A bandit, an outlaw and a robber chief.”
“A bandit! Oh, help!” quavered the queen, waving her arms gracefully from side to side and trying to
catch a glimpse of herself in the long mirror opposite as she did so. “Oh, help!”
“He has helped you already!” said Snuffer, stamping his foot impatiently. “He has killed the blue dragon and broken the enchantment.”
“What enchantment?” sniffed the king, fitting a monocle in his eye and staring haughtily down at Ojo.
“Great Gillikens, didn’t you know you were enchanted?” gasped Ojo in huge disgust.
“The boy speaks truth,” announced the old wise man, who had been staring all this while into the crystal ball. “It says here that we have been frozen for fifty years.”
“Fifty years!” grunted the king fretfully. “Impossible!” During the confusion following this statement, Realbad tiptoed quietly and unconcernedly back into the room and took his place between Snuffer and Ojo.
“Well, how are the chances for a reward?” he whispered merrily, looking around with twinkling blue eyes. “I see they are all unfrizzed.”
Before Ojo could answer the glassy eye of the king for the first time caught a glimpse of the bandit.
“Seize that robber! Lock up that outlaw! Call out the guard!” thundered his Majesty in a cracked and
furious voice.
CHAPTER 7
Realbad’s Reward
“Well, that’s gratitude for you,” murmured Realbad, raising Qne eyebrow, as the pages ran off to fetch the crystal guardsmen. “Let’s not wait for the reward, boys. I don’t believe we’re going to like it.”
“But how did you kill the dragon?” breathed Ojo, for even their present danger could not quench his curiosity.
“Shh-h!” murmured Snufferbux. “The king seems to be changing his mind. The ugly princess has taken a fancy to you, Realbad!” Sure enough, the king’s tall and angular daughter was talking earnestly to her royal parent, and after a few gloomy nods the king stepped down from his throne and raising his hand for silence began to speak:
“These odd-looking travelers have undoubtedly broken the spell cast upon us by the Snow Dwarfs,” declared his Majesty solemnly. “Walking at the foot of Snow Mountain, which you all know is on the
other side of Crystal Mountain, our royal daughter, Crystobel, was accosted by the dwarf king. He insisted that she marry him at once and spend the rest of her days in his underground ice palace. When the princess coldly refused his offer the Snow Dwarf flew into a terrible passion and, promising to be revenged upon the princess, disappeared between the roots of an oak tree. Hurrying home, Crystobel rushed into the throne room to explain the whole affair to us, but as the court musicians were playing my favorite waltz our thoughtful daughter decided to wait till the piece was finished.”
“Well, the dwarf king did not wait,” put in Realbad, swinging his broad sword carelessly. “He sent his pet dragon to freeze up your town. This monster breathes frost instead of flames and has been circling Crystal City for fifty years, keeping you all at freezing point and preventing anyone from getting in.”
“Then how did you manage to get in?” inquired the king in an annoyed voice.
“Oh, a bandit always manages,” drawled Realbad, with a provoking wink. “And now, since I have destroyed this monster and restored your fair city, I beg that your Majesty will give us some breakfast, a fitting reward, and allow us to continue our journey.”
“A bandit is an outlaw and therefore not entitled to a reward,” whispered the old wise man craftily. “Why should King Christopher and Queen Christine reward you for breaking the enchantm
ent? You did it of your own free will.”
“Yes, why should I reward you?” sniffed the king, motioning sternly for the guards to approach.
“Because I ask you to,” stated the ugly princess, rolling her glittering eyes greedily at Realbad. “This fellow pleases me and I shall marry him forthwith. The boy shall be my page. And what can you do?” inquired the princess, looking speculatively at Snufferbux.
“Why, he can dance,” explained Realbad obligingly, and before Snufferbux had time to growl for himself.
“How splendid!” murmured the queen, leaning forward eagerly. you know, my dear, no one has ever been able to keep step with you. No one ever asks you to dance at court balls and this bear would save us all so much embarrassment.”
“Mother!” Flashing her stony eyes and stamping her tremendous glass slipper, the princess succeeded in silencing the queen and turned again to her royal father. “Well?” she demanded haughtily.
“Well!” repeated the king, looking terribly put out. “Since you wish it, I suppose I must consent, but I can’t say I’ll relish a robber for a son-in-law, and a bear at court will be dreadfully awkward-dreadfully awkward!” Tapping his foot irritably on the floor, King Chris stuck out his under lip and looked crossly at his three rescuers. “Of course, they will have to be crystallized,” he finished unhappily.
“Crystallized!” whistled Realbad, who had been listening to the conversation with an amused grin. “Oh, that wouldn’t suit us at all!”
“Let’s shove along,” wheezed Snufferbux. The bear had been looking anxiously at the enormous feet of the ugly princess and had no desire or intention of dancing with her. “Too bad we bothered with them at all, cold-hearted, empty-headed lumps.” But before Snuffer and Realbad, with Ojo between them, could push past their Majesties, they were rudely seized by the royal guards.
“Crystallize the boy first,” directed the king in a bored voice. While Realbad and Snuffer struggled with the guards, Ojo was jerked forward. Now the old sage, taking a small instrument that looked like a blow-gun from his sleeve, sprayed the boy with a sparkling shower of crystal flakes. In the horrid moment that followed, Ojo imagined he could feel
