2015년 1월 29일 목요일

Glinda of Oz 2

Glinda of Oz 2

"No, no, Dorothy, that wouldn't do at all. Instead of happiness your
plan would bring weariness to the world. If every one could wave a wand
and have his wants fulfilled there would be little to wish for. There
would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for nothing would
then be difficult, and the pleasure of earning something longed for,
and only to be secured by hard work and careful thought, would be
utterly lost. There would be nothing to do you see, and no interest in
life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that makes life worth our
while--to do good deeds and to help those less fortunate than
ourselves."

"Well, you're a fairy, Ozma. Aren't you happy?" asked Dorothy.

"Yes, dear, because I can use my fairy powers to make others happy. Had
I no kingdom to rule, and no subjects to look after, I would be
miserable. Also, you must realize that while I am a more powerful fairy
than any other inhabitant of Oz, I am not as powerful as Glinda the
Sorceress, who has studied many arts of magic that I know nothing of.
Even the little Wizard of Oz can do some things I am unable to
accomplish, while I can accomplish things unknown to the Wizard. This
is to explain that I'm not all-powerful, by any means. My magic is
simply fairy magic, and not sorcery or wizardry."

"All the same," said Dorothy, "I'm mighty glad you could make this tent
appear, with our dinners and beds all ready for us."

Ozma smiled.

"Yes, it is indeed wonderful," she agreed. "Not all fairies know that
sort of magic, but some fairies can do magic that fills me with
astonishment. I think that is what makes us modest and unassuming--the
fact that our magic arts are divided, some being given each of us. I'm
glad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that there still are things
in both nature and in wit for me to marvel at."

Dorothy couldn't quite understand this, so she said nothing more on the
subject and presently had a new reason to marvel. For when they had
quite finished their meal table and contents disappeared in a flash.

"No dishes to wash, Ozma!" she said with a laugh. "I guess you'd make a
lot of folks happy if you could teach 'em just that one trick."

For an hour Ozma told stories, and talked with Dorothy about various
people in whom they were interested. And then it was bedtime, and they
undressed and crept into their soft beds and fell asleep almost as soon
as their heads touched their pillows.




Chapter Five

The Magic Stairway


The flat mountain looked much nearer in the clear light of the morning
sun, but Dorothy and Ozma knew there was a long tramp before them, even
yet. They finished dressing only to find a warm, delicious breakfast
awaiting them, and having eaten they left the tent and started toward
the mountain which was their first goal. After going a little way
Dorothy looked back and found that the fairy tent had entirely
disappeared. She was not surprised, for she knew this would happen.

"Can't your magic give us a horse an' wagon, or an automobile?"
inquired Dorothy.

"No, dear; I'm sorry that such magic is beyond my power," confessed her
fairy friend.

"Perhaps Glinda could," said Dorothy thoughtfully.

"Glinda has a stork chariot that carries her through the air," said
Ozma, "but even our great Sorceress cannot conjure up other modes of
travel. Don't forget what I told you last night, that no one is
powerful enough to do everything."

"Well, I s'pose I ought to know that, having lived so long in the Land
of Oz," replied Dorothy; "but I can't do any magic at all, an' so I
can't figure out e'zactly how you an' Glinda an' the Wizard do it."

"Don't try," laughed Ozma. "But you have at least one magical art,
Dorothy: you know the trick of winning all hearts."

"No, I don't," said Dorothy earnestly. "If I really can do it, Ozma, I
am sure I don't know how I do it."

It took them a good two hours to reach the foot of the round, flat
mountain, and then they found the sides so steep that they were like
the wall of a house.

"Even my purple kitten couldn't climb 'em," remarked Dorothy, gazing
upward.

"But there is some way for the Flatheads to get down and up again,"
declared Ozma; "otherwise they couldn't make war with the Skeezers, or
even meet them and quarrel with them."

"That's so, Ozma. Let's walk around a ways; perhaps we'll find a ladder
or something."

They walked quite a distance, for it was a big mountain, and as they
circled around it and came to the side that faced the palm trees, they
suddenly discovered an entrance way cut out of the rock wall. This
entrance was arched overhead and not very deep because it merely led to
a short flight of stone stairs.

"Oh, we've found a way to the top at last," announced Ozma, and the two
girls turned and walked straight toward the entrance. Suddenly they
bumped against something and stood still, unable to proceed farther.

"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, rubbing her nose, which had struck
something hard, although she could not see what it was; "this isn't as
easy as it looks. What has stopped us, Ozma? Is it magic of some sort?"

Ozma was feeling around, her bands outstretched before her.

"Yes, dear, it is magic," she replied. "The Flatheads had to have a way
from their mountain top from the plain below, but to prevent enemies
from rushing up the stairs to conquer them, they have built, at a small
distance before the entrance a wall of solid stone, the stones being
held in place by cement, and then they made the wall invisible."

"I wonder why they did that?" mused Dorothy. "A wall would keep folks
out anyhow, whether it could be seen or not, so there wasn't any use
making it invisible. Seems to me it would have been better to have left
it solid, for then no one would have seen the entrance behind it. Now
anybody can see the entrance, as we did. And prob'bly anybody that
tries to go up the stairs gets bumped, as we did."

Ozma made no reply at once. Her face was grave and thoughtful.

"I think I know the reason for making the wall invisible," she said
after a while. "The Flatheads use the stairs for coming down and going
up. If there was a solid stone wall to keep them from reaching the
plain they would themselves be imprisoned by the wall. So they had to
leave some place to get around the wall, and, if the wall was visible,
all strangers or enemies would find the place to go around it and then
the wall would be useless. So the Flatheads cunningly made their wall
invisible, believing that everyone who saw the entrance to the mountain
would walk straight toward it, as we did, and find it impossible to go
any farther. I suppose the wall is really high and thick, and can't be
broken through, so those who find it in their way are obliged to go
away again."

"Well," said Dorothy, "if there's a way around the wall, where is it?"

"We must find it," returned Ozma, and began feeling her way along the
wall. Dorothy followed and began to get discouraged when Ozma had
walked nearly a quarter of a mile away from the entrance. But now the
invisible wall curved in toward the side of the mountain and suddenly
ended, leaving just space enough between the wall and the mountain for
an ordinary person to pass through.

The girls went in, single file, and Ozma explained that they were now
behind the barrier and could go back to the entrance. They met no
further obstructions.

"Most people, Ozma, wouldn't have figured this thing out the way you
did," remarked Dorothy. "If I'd been alone the invisible wall surely
would have stumped me."

Reaching the entrance they began to mount the stone stairs. They went
up ten stairs and then down five stairs, following a passage cut from
the rock. The stairs were just wide enough for the two girls to walk
abreast, arm in arm. At the bottom of the five stairs the passage
turned to the right, and they ascended ten more stairs, only to find at
the top of the flight five stairs leading straight down again. Again
the passage turned abruptly, this time to the left, and ten more stairs
led upward.

The passage was now quite dark, for they were in the heart of the
mountain and all daylight had been shut out by the turns of the
passage. However, Ozma drew her silver wand from her bosom and the
great jewel at its end gave out a lustrous, green-tinted light which
lighted the place well enough for them to see their way plainly.

Ten steps up, five steps down, and a turn, this way or that. That was
the program, and Dorothy figured that they were only gaining five
stairs upward each trip that they made.

"Those Flatheads must be funny people," she said to Ozma. "They don't
seem to do anything in a bold straightforward manner. In making this
passage they forced everyone to walk three times as far as is
necessary. And of course this trip is just as tiresome to the Flatheads
as it is to other folks."

"That is true," answered Ozma; "yet it is a clever arrangement to
prevent their being surprised by intruders. Every time we reach the
tenth step of a flight, the pressure of our feet on the stone makes a
bell ring on top of the mountain, to warn the Flatheads of our coming."

"How do you know that?" demanded Dorothy, astonished.

"I've heard the bell ever since we started," Ozma told her. "You could
not hear it, I know, but when I am holding my wand in my hand I can
hear sounds a great distance off."

"Do you hear anything on top of the mountain 'cept the bell?" inquired
Dorothy.

"Yes. The people are calling to one another in alarm and many footsteps
are approaching the place where we will reach the flat top of the
mountain."

This made Dorothy feel somewhat anxious. "I'd thought we were going to
visit just common, ordinary people," she remarked, "but they're pretty
clever, it seems, and they know some kinds of magic, too. They may be
dangerous, Ozma. P'raps we'd better stayed at home."

Finally the upstairs-and-downstairs passage seemed coming to an end,
for daylight again appeared ahead of the two girls and Ozma replaced
her wand in the bosom of her gown. The last ten steps brought them to
the surface, where they found themselves surrounded by such a throng of
queer people that for a time they halted, speechless, and stared into
the faces that confronted them.

Dorothy knew at once why these mountain people were called Flatheads.
Their heads were really flat on top, as if they had been cut off just
above the eyes and ears. Also the heads were bald, with no hair on top
at all, and the ears were big and stuck straight out, and the noses
were small and stubby, while the mouths of the Flatheads were well
shaped and not unusual. Their eyes were perhaps their best feature,
being large and bright and a deep violet in color.

The costumes of the Flatheads were all made of metals dug from their
mountain. Small gold, silver, tin and iron discs, about the size of
pennies, and very thin, were cleverly wired together and made to form
knee trousers and jackets for the men and skirts and waists for the
women. The colored metals were skillfully mixed to form stripes and
checks of various sorts, so that the costumes were quite gorgeous and
reminded Dorothy of pictures she had seen of Knights of old clothed
armor.

Aside from their flat heads, these people were not really bad looking.
The men were armed with bows and arrows and had small axes of steel
stuck in their metal belts. They wore no hats nor ornaments.




Chapter Six

Flathead Mountain


When they saw that the intruders on their mountain were only two little
girls, the Flatheads grunted with satisfaction and drew back,
permitting them to see what the mountain top looked like. It was shaped
like a saucer, so that the houses and other buildings--all made of
rocks--could not be seen over the edge by anyone standing in the plain
below.

But now a big fat Flathead stood before the girls and in a gruff voice
demanded:

"What are you doing here? Have the Skeezers sent you to spy upon us?"

"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all the Land of Oz."

"Well, I've never heard of the Land of Oz, so you may be what you
claim," returned the Flathead.

"This is the Land of Oz--part of it, anyway," exclaimed Dorothy. "So
Princess Ozma rules you Flathead people, as well as all the other
people in Oz."

The man laughed, and all the others who stood around laughed, too. Some
one in the crowd called:

"She'd better not tell the Supreme Dictator about ruling the Flatheads.
Eh, friends?"

"No, indeed!" they all answered in positive tones.

"Who is your Supreme Dictator?" answered Ozma.

"I think I'll let him tell you that himself," answered the man who had
first spoken. "You have broken our laws by coming here; and whoever you
are the Supreme Dictator must fix your punishment. Come along with me."

He started down a path and Ozma and Dorothy followed him without
protest, as they wanted to see the most important person in this queer
country. The houses they passed seemed pleasant enough and each had a
little yard in which were flowers and vegetables. Walls of rock
separated the dwellings, and all the paths were paved with smooth slabs
of rock. This seemed their only building material and they utilized it
cleverly for every purpose.

Directly in the center of the great saucer stood a larger building
which the Flathead informed the girls was the palace of the Supreme
Dictator. He led them through an entrance hall into a big reception
room, where they sat upon stone benches and awaited the coming of the
Dictator. Pretty soon he entered from another room--a rather lean and
rather old Flathead, dressed much like the others of this strange race,
and only distinguished from them by the sly and cunning expression of
his face. He kept his eyes half closed and looked through the slits of
them at Ozma and Dorothy, who rose to receive him.

"Are you the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads?" inquired Ozma.

"Yes, that's me," he said, rubbing his hands slowly together. "My word
is law. I'm the head of the Flatheads on this flat headland."

"I am Princess Ozma of Oz, and I have come from the Emerald City to--"

"Stop a minute," interrupted the Dictator, and turned to the man who
had brought the girls there. "Go away, Dictator Felo Flathead!" he
commanded. "Return to your duty and guard the Stairway. I will look
after these strangers." The man bowed and departed, and Dorothy asked
wonderingly:

"Is he a Dictator, too?"

"Of course," was the answer. "Everybody here is a dictator of something
or other. They're all office holders. That's what keeps them contented.
But I'm the Supreme Dictator of all, and I'm elected once a year. This
is a democracy, you know, where the people are allowed to vote for
their rulers. A good many others would like to be Supreme Dictator, but
as I made a law that I am always to count the votes myself, I am always
elected."

"What is your name?" asked Ozma.

"I am called the Su-dic, which is short for Supreme Dictator. I sent
that man away because the moment you mentioned Ozma of Oz, and the
Emerald City, I knew who you are. I suppose I'm the only Flathead that
ever heard of you, but that's because I have more brains than the rest."

Dorothy was staring hard at the Su-dic.

"I don't see how you can have any brains at all," she remarked,
"because the part of your head is gone where brains are kept."

"I don't blame you for thinking that," he said. "Once the Flatheads had
no brains because, as you say, there is no upper part to their heads,
to hold brains. But long, long ago a band of fairies flew over this
country and made it all a fairyland, and when they came to the
Flatheads the fairies were sorry to find them all very stupid and quite
unable to think. So, as there was no good place in their bodies in
which to put brains the Fairy Queen gave each one of us a nice can of
brains to carry in his pocket and that made us just as intelligent as
other people. See," he continued, "here is one of the cans of brains
the fairies gave us." He took from a pocket a bright tin can having a
pretty red label on it which said: "Concentrated Brains, Extra Quality."

"And does every Flathead have the same kind of brains?" asked Dorothy.

"Yes, they're all alike. Here's another can." From another pocket he
produced a second can of brains.

"Did the fairies give you a double supply?" inquired Dorothy.

"No, but one of the Flatheads thought he wanted to be the Su-dic and
tried to get my people to rebel against me, so I punished him by taking
away his brains. One day my wife scolded me severely, so I took away
her can of brains. She didn't like that and went out and robbed several
women of their brains. Then I made a law that if anyone stole another's
brains, or even tried to borrow them, he would forfeit his own brains
to the Su-dic. So each one is content with his own canned brains and my
wife and I are the only ones on the mountain with more than one can. I
have three cans and that makes me very clever--so clever that I'm a
good Sorcerer, if I do say it myself. My poor wife had four cans of
brains and became a remarkable witch, but alas! that was before those
terrible enemies, the Skeezers, transformed her into a Golden Pig."

"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy; "is your wife really a Golden Pig?"

"She is. The Skeezers did it and so I have declared war on them. In
revenge for making my wife a Pig I intend to ruin their Magic Island
and make the Skeezers the slaves of the Flatheads!"

The Su-dic was very angry now; his eyes flashed and his face took on a
wicked and fierce expression. But Ozma said to him, very sweetly and in
a friendly voice:

"I am sorry to hear this. Will you please tell me more about your
troubles with the Skeezers?  Then perhaps I can help you."

She was only a girl, but there was dignity in her pose and speech which
impressed the Su-dic.

"If you are really Princess Ozma of Oz," the Flathead said, "you are
one of that band of fairies who, under Queen Lurline, made all Oz a
Fairyland. I have heard that Lurline left one of her own fairies to
rule Oz, and gave the fairy the name of Ozma."

"If you knew this why did you not come to me at the Emerald City and
tender me your loyalty and obedience?" asked the Ruler of Oz.

"Well, I only learned the fact lately, and I've been too busy to leave
home," he explained, looking at the floor instead of into Ozma's eyes.
She knew he had spoken a falsehood, but only said:

"Why did you quarrel with the Skeezers?"

"It was this way," began the Su-dic, glad to change the subject. "We
Flatheads love fish, and as we have no fish on this mountain we would
sometimes go to the Lake of the Skeezers to catch fish. This made the
Skeezers angry, for they declared the fish in their lake belonged to
them and were under their protection and they forbade us to catch them.
That was very mean and unfriendly in the Skeezers, you must admit, and
when we paid no attention to their orders they set a guard on the shore
of the lake to prevent our fishing.

"Now, my wife, Rora Flathead, having four cans of brains, had become a
wonderful witch, and fish being brain food, she loved to eat fish
better than any one of us. So she vowed she would destroy every fish in
the lake, unless the Skeezers let us catch what we wanted. They defied
us, so Rora prepared a kettleful of magic poison and went down to the
lake one night to dump it all in the water and poison the fish. It was
a clever idea, quite worthy of my dear wife, but the Skeezer Queen--a
young lady named Coo-ee-oh--hid on the bank of the lake and taking Rora
unawares, transformed her into a Golden Pig. The poison was spilled on
the ground and wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh, not content with her cruel
transformation, even took away my wife's four cans of brains, so she is
now a common grunting pig without even brains enough to know her own
name."

"Then," said Ozma thoughtfully, "the Queen of the Skeezers must be a
Sorceress."

"Yes," said the Su-dic, "but she doesn't know much magic, after all.
She is not as powerful as Rora Flathead was, nor half as powerful as I
am now, as Queen Coo-ee-oh will discover when we fight our great battle
and destroy her."

"The Golden Pig can't be a witch any more, of course," observed Dorothy.

"No; even had Queen Coo-ee-oh left her the four cans of brains, poor
Rora, in a pig's shape, couldn't do any witchcraft. A witch has to use
her fingers, and a pig has only cloven hoofs."

"It seems a sad story," was Ozma's comment, "and all the trouble arose
because the Flatheads wanted fish that did not belong to them."

"As for that," said the Su-dic, again angry, "I made a law that any of
my people could catch fish in the Lake of the Skeezers, whenever they
wanted to. So the trouble was through the Skeezers defying my law."

"You can only make laws to govern your own people," asserted Ozma
sternly. "I, alone, am empowered to make laws that must be obeyed by
all the peoples of Oz."

"Pooh!" cried the Su-dic scornfully. "You can't make me obey your laws,
I assure you. I know the extent of your powers, Princess Ozma of Oz,
and I know that I am more powerful than you are. To prove it I shall
keep you and your companion prisoners in this mountain until after we
have fought and conquered the Skeezers. Then, if you promise to be
good, I may let you go home again."

Dorothy was amazed by this effrontery and defiance of the beautiful
girl Ruler of Oz, whom all until now had obeyed without question. But
Ozma, still unruffled and dignified, looked at the Su-dic and said:

"You did not mean that. You are angry and speak unwisely, without
reflection. I came here from my palace in the Emerald City to prevent
war and to make peace between you and the Skeezers. I do not approve of
Queen Coo-ee-oh's action in transforming your wife Rora into a pig, nor
do I approve of Rora's cruel attempt to poison the fishes in the lake.
No one has the right to work magic in my dominions without my consent,
so the Flatheads and the Skeezers have both broken my laws--which must
be obeyed."

"If you want to make peace," said the Su-dic, "make the Skeezers
restore my wife to her proper form and give back her four cans of
brains. Also make them agree to allow us to catch fish in their lake."

"No," returned Ozma, "I will not do that, for it would be unjust. I
will have the Golden Pig again transformed into your wife Rora, and
give her one can of brains, but the other three cans must be restored
to those she robbed. Neither may you catch fish in the Lake of the
Skeezers, for it is their lake and the fish belong to them. This
arrangement is just and honorable, and you must agree to it."

"Never!" cried the Su-dic. Just then a pig came running into the room,
uttering dismal grunts. It was made of solid gold, with joints at the
bends of the legs and in the neck and jaws. The Golden Pig's eyes were
rubies, and its teeth were polished ivory.

"There!" said the Su-dic, "gaze on the evil work of Queen Coo-ee-oh,
and then say if you can prevent my making war on the Skeezers. That
grunting beast was once my wife--the most beautiful Flathead on our
mountain and a skillful witch. Now look at her!"

"Fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers!" grunted
the Golden Pig.

"I will fight the Skeezers," exclaimed the Flathead chief, "and if a
dozen Ozmas of Oz forbade me I would fight just the same."

"Not if I can prevent it!" asserted Ozma.

"You can't prevent it. But since you threaten me, I'll have you
confined in the bronze prison until the war is over," said the Su-dic.
He whistled and four stout Flatheads, armed with axes and spears,
entered the room and saluted him. Turning to the men he said: "Take
these two girls, bind them with wire ropes and cast them into the
bronze prison."

The four men bowed low and one of them asked:

"Where are the two girls, most noble Su-dic?"

The Su-dic turned to where Ozma and Dorothy had stood but they had
vanished!




Chapter Seven

The Magic Isle


Ozma, seeing it was useless to argue with the Supreme Dictator of the
Flatheads, had been considering how best to escape from his power. She
realized that his sorcery might be difficult to overcome, and when he
threatened to cast Dorothy and her into a bronze prison she slipped her
hand into her bosom and grasped her silver wand. With the other hand
she grasped the hand of Dorothy, but these motions were so natural that
the Su-dic did not notice them. Then when he turned to meet his four
soldiers, Ozma instantly rendered both herself and Dorothy invisible
and swiftly led her companion around the group of Flatheads and out of
the room. As they reached the entry and descended the stone steps, Ozma
whispered:

"Let us run, dear! We are invisible, so no one will see us."

Dorothy understood and she was a good runner. Ozma had marked the place
where the grand stairway that led to the plain was located, so they
made directly for it. Some people were in the paths but these they
dodged around. One or two Flatheads heard the pattering of footsteps of
the girls on the stone pavement and stopped with bewildered looks to
gaze around them, but no one interfered with the invisible fugitives.

The Su-dic had lost no time in starting the chase. He and his men ran
so fast that they might have overtaken the girls before they reached
the stairway had not the Golden Pig suddenly run across their path. The
Su-dic tripped over the pig and fell flat, and his four men tripped
over him and tumbled in a heap. Before they could scramble up and reach
the mouth of the passage it was too late to stop the two girls.

There was a guard on each side of the stairway, but of course they did
not see Ozma and Dorothy as they sped past and descended the steps.
Then they had to go up five steps and down another ten, and so on, in
the same manner in which they had climbed to the top of the mountain.
Ozma lighted their way with her wand and they kept on without relaxing
their speed until they reached the bottom. Then they ran to the right
and turned the corner of the invisible wall just as the Su-dic and his
followers rushed out of the arched entrance and looked around in an
attempt to discover the fugitives.

Ozma now knew they were safe, so she told Dorothy to stop and both of
them sat down on the grass until they could breathe freely and become
rested from their mad flight.

As for the Su-dic, he realized he was foiled and soon turned and
climbed his stairs again. He was very angry--angry with Ozma and angry
with himself--because, now that he took time to think, he remembered
that he knew very well the art of making people invisible, and visible
again, and if he had only thought of it in time he could have used his
magic knowledge to make the girls visible and so have captured them
easily. However, it was now too late for regrets and he determined to
make preparations at once to march all his forces against the Skeezers.

"What shall we do next?" asked Dorothy, when they were rested.

"Let us find the Lake of the Skeezers," replied Ozma. "From what that
dreadful Su-dic said I imagine the Skeezers are good people and worthy
of our friendship, and if we go to them we may help them to defeat the
Flatheads."

"I s'pose we can't stop the war now," remarked Dorothy reflectively, as
they walked toward the row of palm trees.

"No; the Su-dic is determined to fight the Skeezers, so all we can do
is to warn them of their danger and help them as much as possible."

"Of course you'll punish the Flatheads," said Dorothy.

"Well, I do not think the Flathead people are as much to blame as their
Supreme Dictator," was the answer. "If he is removed from power and his
unlawful magic taken from him, the people will probably be good and
respect the laws of the Land of Oz, and live at peace with all their
neighbors in the future."

"I hope so," said Dorothy with a sigh of doubt

The palms were not far from the mountain and the girls reached them
after a brisk walk. The huge trees were set close together, in three
rows, and had been planted so as to keep people from passing them, but
the Flatheads had cut a passage through this barrier and Ozma found the
path and led Dorothy to the other side.

Beyond the palms they discovered a very beautiful scene. Bordered by a
green lawn was a great lake fully a mile from shore to shore, the
waters of which were exquisitely blue and sparkling, with little
wavelets breaking its smooth surface where the breezes touched it. In
the center of this lake appeared a lovely island, not of great extent
but almost entirely covered by a huge round building with glass walls
and a high glass dome which glittered brilliantly in the sunshine.
Between the glass building and the edge of the island was no grass,
flowers or shrubbery, but only an expanse of highly polished white
marble. There were no boats on either shore and no signs of life could
be seen anywhere on the island.

"Well," said Dorothy, gazing wistfully at the island, "we've found the
Lake of the Skeezers and their Magic Isle. I guess the Skeezers are in
that big glass palace, but we can't get at 'em."




Chapter Eight

Queen Coo-ee-oh


Princess Ozma considered the situation gravely. Then she tied her
handkerchief to her wand and, standing at the water's edge, waved the
handkerchief like a flag, as a signal. For a time they could observe no
response.

"I don't see what good that will do," said Dorothy. "Even if the
Skeezers are on that island and see us, and know we're friends, they
haven't any boats to come and get us."

But the Skeezers didn't need boats, as the girls soon discovered. For
on a sudden an opening appeared at the base of the palace and from the
opening came a slender shaft of steel, reaching out slowly but steadily
across the water in the direction of the place where they stood. To the
girls this steel arrangement looked like a triangle, with the base
nearest the water. It came toward them in the form of an arch,
stretching out from the palace wall until its end reached the bank and
rested there, while the other end still remained on the island.

Then they saw that it was a bridge, consisting of a steel footway just
broad enough to walk on, and two slender guide rails, one on either
side, which were connected with the footway by steel bars. The bridge
looked rather frail and Dorothy feared it would not bear their weight,
but Ozma at once called, "Come on!" and started to walk across, holding
fast to the rail on either side. So Dorothy summoned her courage and
followed after. Before Ozma had taken three steps she halted and so
forced Dorothy to halt, for the bridge was again moving and returning
to the island.

"We need not walk after all," said Ozma. So they stood still in their
places and let the steel bridge draw them onward. Indeed, the bridge
drew them well into the glass-domed building which covered the island,
and soon they found themselves standing in a marble room where two
handsomely dressed young men stood on a platform to receive them.

Ozma at once stepped from the end of the bridge to the marble platform,
followed by Dorothy, and then the bridge disappeared with a slight
clang of steel and a marble slab covered the opening from which it had
emerged.

The two young men bowed profoundly to Ozma, and one of them said:

"Queen Coo-ee-oh bids you welcome, O Strangers. Her Majesty is waiting
to receive you in her palace."

"Lead on," replied Ozma with dignity.

But instead of "leading on," the platform of marble began to rise,
carrying them upward through a square hole above which just fitted it.
A moment later they found themselves within the great glass dome that
covered almost all of the island.

Within this dome was a little village, with houses, streets, gardens
and parks. The houses were of colored marbles, prettily designed, with
many stained-glass windows, and the streets and gardens seemed well
cared for. Exactly under the center of the lofty dome was a small park
filled with brilliant flowers, with an elaborate fountain, and facing
this park stood a building larger and more imposing than the others.
Toward this building the young men escorted Ozma and Dorothy.

On the streets and in the doorways or open windows of the houses were
men, women and children, all richly dressed. These were much like other
people in different parts of the Land of Oz, except that instead of
seeming merry and contented they all wore expressions of much solemnity
or of nervous irritation. They had beautiful homes, splendid clothes,
and ample food, but Dorothy at once decided something was wrong with
their lives and that they were not happy. She said nothing, however,
but looked curiously at the Skeezers.

At the entrance of the palace Ozma and Dorothy were met by two other
young men, in uniform and armed with queer weapons that seemed about
halfway between pistols and guns, but were like neither. Their
conductors bowed and left them, and the two in uniforms led the girls
into the palace.

In a beautiful throne room, surrounded by a dozen or more young men and
women, sat the Queen of the Skeezers, Coo-ee-oh. She was a girl who
looked older than Ozma or Dorothy--fifteen or sixteen, at least--and
although she was elaborately dressed as if she were going to a ball she
was too thin and plain of feature to be pretty. But evidently Queen
Coo-ee-oh did not realize this fact, for her air and manner betrayed
her as proud and haughty and with a high regard for her own importance.
Dorothy at once decided she was "snippy" and that she would not like
Queen Coo-ee-oh as a companion.

The Queen's hair was as black as her skin was white and her eyes were
black, too. The eyes, as she calmly examined Ozma and Dorothy, had a
suspicious and unfriendly look in them, but she said quietly:

"I know who you are, for I have consulted my Magic Oracle, which told
me that one calls herself Princess Ozma, the Ruler of all the Land of
Oz, and the other is Princess Dorothy of Oz, who came from a country
called Kansas. I know nothing of the Land of Oz, and I know nothing of
Kansas."

"Why, this is the Land of Oz!" cried Dorothy. "It's a part of the Land
of Oz, anyhow, whether you know it or not."

"Oh, in-deed!" answered Queen Coo-ee-oh, scornfully. "I suppose you
will claim next that this Princess Ozma, ruling the Land of Oz, rules
me!"

"Of course," returned Dorothy. "There's no doubt of it."

The Queen turned to Ozma.

"Do you dare make such a claim?" she asked.

By this time Ozma had made up her mind as to the character of this
haughty and disdainful creature, whose self-pride evidently led her to
believe herself superior to all others.

"I did not come here to quarrel with your Majesty," said the girl Ruler
of Oz, quietly. "What and who I am is well established, and my
authority comes from the Fairy Queen Lurline, of whose band I was a
member when Lurline made all Oz a Fairyland. There are several
countries and several different peoples in this broad land, each of
which has its separate rulers, Kings, Emperors and Queens. But all
these render obedience to my laws and acknowledge me as the supreme
Ruler."

"If other Kings and Queens are fools that does not interest me in the
least," replied Coo-ee-oh, disdainfully. "In the Land of the Skeezers I
alone am supreme. You are impudent to think I would defer to you--or to
anyone else."

"Let us not speak of this now, please," answered Ozma. "Your island is
in danger, for a powerful foe is preparing to destroy it."

"Pah! The Flatheads. I do not fear them."

"Their Supreme Dictator is a Sorcerer."

"My magic is greater than his. Let the Flatheads come! They will never
return to their barren mountain-top. I will see to that."

Ozma did not like this attitude, for it meant that the Skeezers were
eager to fight the Flatheads, and Ozma's object in coming here was to
prevent fighting and induce the two quarrelsome neighbors to make
peace. She was also greatly disappointed in Coo-ee-oh, for the reports
of Su-dic had led her to imagine the Queen more just and honorable than
were the Flatheads. Indeed Ozma reflected that the girl might be better
at heart than her self-pride and overbearing manner indicated, and in
any event it would be wise not to antagonize her but to try to win her
friendship.

"I do not like wars, your Majesty," said Ozma. "In the Emerald City,
where I rule thousands of people, and in the countries near to the
Emerald City, where thousands more acknowledge my rule, there is no
army at all, because there is no quarreling and no need to fight. If
differences arise between my people, they come to me and I judge the
cases and award justice to all. So, when I learned there might be war
between two faraway people of Oz, I came here to settle the dispute and
adjust the quarrel."

"No one asked you to come," declared Queen Coo-ee-oh. "It is my
business to settle this dispute, not yours. You say my island is a part
of the Land of Oz, which you rule, but that is all nonsense, for I've
never heard of the Land of Oz, nor of you. You say you are a fairy, and
that fairies gave you command over me. I don't believe it! What I do
believe is that you are an impostor and have come here to stir up
trouble among my people, who are already becoming difficult to manage.
You two girls may even be spies of the vile Flatheads, for all I know,
and may be trying to trick me. But understand this," she added, proudly
rising from her jeweled throne to confront them, "I have magic powers
greater than any fairy possesses, and greater than any Flathead
possesses. I am a Krumbic Witch--the only Krumbic Witch in the
world--and I fear the magic of no other creature that exists! You say
you rule thousands. I rule one hundred and one Skeezers. But every one
of them trembles at my word. Now that Ozma of Oz and Princess Dorothy
are here, I shall rule one hundred and three subjects, for you also
shall bow before my power. More than that, in ruling you I also rule
the thousands you say you rule."

Dorothy was very indignant at this speech.

"I've got a pink kitten that sometimes talks like that," she said, "but
after I give her a good whipping she doesn't think she's so high and
mighty after all. If you only knew who Ozma is you'd be scared to death
to talk to her like that!"

Queen Coo-ee-oh gave the girl a supercilious look. Then she turned again to Ozma.

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