Tik-Tok of Oz Page 5

  CHAPTER 3

  Magic Mystifies the Marchers

  Princess Ozma was all unaware that the Army of Oogaboo, led by theirambitious Queen, was determined to conquer her Kingdom. The beautifulgirl Ruler of Oz was busy with the welfare of her subjects and had notime to think of Ann Soforth and her disloyal plans. But there was onewho constantly guarded the peace and happiness of the Land of Oz and thiswas the Official Sorceress of the Kingdom, Glinda the Good.

  In her magnificent castle, which stands far north of the Emerald Citywhere Ozma holds her court, Glinda owns a wonderful magic Record Book, inwhich is printed every event that takes place anywhere, just as soon asit happens.

  The smallest things and the biggest things are all recorded in this book.If a child stamps its foot in anger, Glinda reads about it; if a cityburns down, Glinda finds the fact noted in her book.

  The Sorceress always reads her Record Book every day, and so it was sheknew that Ann Soforth, Queen of Oogaboo, had foolishly assembled an armyof sixteen officers and one private soldier, with which she intended toinvade and conquer the Land of Oz.

  There was no danger but that Ozma, supported by the magic arts of Glindathe Good and the powerful Wizard of Oz--both her firm friends--couldeasily defeat a far more imposing army than Ann's; but it would be ashame to have the peace of Oz interrupted by any sort of quarreling orfighting. So Glinda did not even mention the matter to Ozma, or to anyoneelse. She merely went into a great chamber of her castle, known as theMagic Room, where she performed a magical ceremony which caused themountain pass that led from Oogaboo to make several turns and twists. Theresult was that when Ann and her army came to the end of the pass theywere not in the Land of Oz at all, but in an adjoining territory that wasquite distinct from Ozma's domain and separated from Oz by an invisiblebarrier.

  As the Oogaboo people emerged into this country, the pass they hadtraversed disappeared behind them and it was not likely they wouldever find their way back into the valley of Oogaboo. They were greatlypuzzled, indeed, by their surroundings and did not know which way to go.None of them had ever visited Oz, so it took them some time to discoverthey were not in Oz at all, but in an unknown country.

  "Never mind," said Ann, trying to conceal her disappointment; "we havestarted out to conquer the world, and here is part of it. In time, as wepursue our victorious journey, we will doubtless come to Oz; but, untilwe get there, we may as well conquer whatever land we find ourselves in."

  "Have we conquered this place, Your Majesty?" anxiously inquired MajorCake.

  "Most certainly," said Ann. "We have met no people, as yet, but when wedo, we will inform them that they are our slaves."

  "And afterward we will plunder them of all their possessions," addedGeneral Apple.

  "They may not possess anything," objected Private Files; "but I hope theywill fight us, just the same. A peaceful conquest wouldn't be any fun atall."

  "Don't worry," said the Queen. "_We_ can fight, whether our foes do ornot; and perhaps we would find it more comfortable to have the enemysurrender promptly."

  It was a barren country and not very pleasant to travel in. Moreover,there was little for them to eat, and as the officers became hungry theybecame fretful. Many would have deserted had they been able to find theirway home, but as the Oogaboo people were now hopelessly lost in a strangecountry they considered it more safe to keep together than to separate.

  Queen Ann's temper, never very agreeable, became sharp and irritable asshe and her army tramped over the rocky roads without encountering eitherpeople or plunder. She scolded her officers until they became surly, anda few of them were disloyal enough to ask her to hold her tongue. Othersbegan to reproach her for leading them into difficulties and in the spaceof three unhappy days every man was mourning for his orchard in thepretty valley of Oogaboo.

  Files, however, proved a different sort. The more difficulties heencountered the more cheerful he became, and the sighs of the officerswere answered by the merry whistle of the Private. His pleasantdisposition did much to encourage Queen Ann and before long she consultedthe Private Soldier more often than she did his superiors.

  It was on the third day of their pilgrimage that they encountered theirfirst adventure. Toward evening the sky was suddenly darkened and MajorNails exclaimed:

  "A fog is coming toward us."

  "I do not think it is a fog," replied Files, looking with interest at theapproaching cloud. "It seems to me more like the breath of a Rak."

  "What is a Rak?" asked Ann, looking about fearfully.

  "A terrible beast with a horrible appetite," answered the soldier,growing a little paler than usual. "I have never seen a Rak, to be sure,but I have read of them in the story-books that grew in my orchard, andif this is indeed one of those fearful monsters, we are not likely toconquer the world."

  Hearing this, the officers became quite worried and gathered closer abouttheir soldier.

  "What is the thing like?" asked one.

  "The only picture of a Rak that I ever saw in a book was rather blurred,"said Files, "because the book was not quite ripe when it was picked. Butthe creature can fly in the air and run like a deer and swim like a fish.Inside its body is a glowing furnace of fire, and the Rak breathes in airand breathes out smoke, which darkens the sky for miles around, whereverit goes. It is bigger than a hundred men and feeds on any living thing."

  The officers now began to groan and to tremble, but Files tried to cheerthem, saying:

  "It may not be a Rak, after all, that we see approaching us, and you mustnot forget that we people of Oogaboo, which is part of the fairyland ofOz, cannot be killed."

  "Nevertheless," said Captain Buttons, "if the Rak catches us, and chewsus up into small pieces, and swallows us--what will happen then?"

  "Then each small piece will still be alive," declared Files.

  "I cannot see how that would help us," wailed Colonel Banjo. "A hamburgersteak is a hamburger steak, whether it is alive or not!"

  "I tell you, this may not be a Rak," persisted Files. "We will know, whenthe cloud gets nearer, whether it is the breath of a Rak or not. If ithas no smell at all, it is probably a fog; but if it has an odor of saltand pepper, it is a Rak and we must prepare for a desperate fight."

  They all eyed the dark cloud fearfully. Before long it reached thefrightened group and began to envelop them. Every nose sniffed thecloud--and every one detected in it the odor of salt and pepper.

  "The Rak!" shouted Private Files, and with a howl of despair the sixteenofficers fell to the ground, writhing and moaning in anguish. Queen Annsat down upon a rock and faced the cloud more bravely, although her heartwas beating fast. As for Files, he calmly loaded his gun and stood readyto fight the foe, as a soldier should.

  They were now in absolute darkness, for the cloud which covered the skyand the setting sun was black as ink. Then through the gloom appeared tworound, glowing balls of red, and Files at once decided these must be themonster's eyes.

  He raised his gun, took aim and fired.

  There were several bullets in the gun, all gathered from an excellentbullet-tree in Oogaboo, and they were big and hard. They flew toward themonster and struck it, and with a wild, weird cry the Rak came flutteringdown and its huge body fell plump upon the forms of the sixteen officers,who thereupon screamed louder than before.

  "Badness me!" moaned the Rak. "See what you've done with that dangerousgun of yours!"

  "I can't see," replied Files, "for the cloud formed by your breathdarkens my sight!"

  "Don't tell me it was an accident," continued the Rak, reproachfully, asit still flapped its wings in a helpless manner. "Don't claim you didn'tknow the gun was loaded, I beg of you!"

  "I don't intend to," replied Files. "Did the bullets hurt you very badly?"

  "One has broken my jaw, so that I can't open my mouth. You will noticethat my voice sounds rather harsh and husky, because I have to talk withmy teeth set close together. Another bullet
broke my left wing, so that Ican't fly; and still another broke my right leg, so that I can't walk. Itwas the most careless shot I ever heard of!"

  "Can't you manage to lift your body off from my commanding officers?"inquired Files. "From their cries I'm afraid your great weight iscrushing them."

  "I hope it is," growled the Rak. "I want to crush them, if possible, forI have a bad disposition. If only I could open my mouth, I'd eat all ofyou, although my appetite is poorly this warm weather."

  With this the Rak began to roll its immense body sidewise, so as to crushthe officers more easily; but in doing this it rolled completely off fromthem and the entire sixteen scrambled to their feet and made off as fastas they could run.

  Private Files could not see them go but he knew from the sound of theirvoices that they had escaped, so he ceased to worry about them.

  "Pardon me if I now bid you good-bye," he said to the Rak. "The partingis caused by our desire to continue our journey. If you die, do not blameme, for I was obliged to shoot you as a matter of self-protection."

  "I shall not die," answered the monster, "for I bear a charmed life. ButI beg you not to leave me!"

  "Why not?" asked Files.

  "Because my broken jaw will heal in about an hour, and then I shall beable to eat you. My wing will heal in a day and my leg will heal in aweek, when I shall be as well as ever. Having shot me, and so caused meall this annoyance, it is only fair and just that you remain here andallow me to eat you as soon as I can open my jaws."

  "I beg to differ with you," returned the soldier firmly. "I have made anengagement with Queen Ann of Oogaboo to help her conquer the world, andI cannot break my word for the sake of being eaten by a Rak."

  "Oh; that's different," said the monster. "If you've an engagement, don'tlet me detain you."

  So Files felt around in the dark and grasped the hand of the tremblingQueen, whom he led away from the flapping, sighing Rak. They stumbledover the stones for a way but presently began to see dimly the path aheadof them, as they got farther and farther away from the dreadful spotwhere the wounded monster lay.

  By and by they reached a little hill and could see the last rays of thesun flooding a pretty valley beyond, for now they had passed beyond thecloudy breath of the Rak. Here were huddled the sixteen officers, stillfrightened and panting from their run. They had halted only because itwas impossible for them to run any farther.

  Queen Ann gave them a severe scolding for their cowardice, at the sametime praising Files for his courage.

  "We are wiser than he, however," muttered General Clock, "for by runningaway we are now able to assist Your Majesty in conquering the world;whereas, had Files been eaten by the Rak, he would have deserted yourArmy."

  After a brief rest they descended into the valley, and as soon as theywere out of sight of the Rak the spirits of the entire party rosequickly. Just at dusk they came to a brook, on the banks of which QueenAnn commanded them to make camp for the night.

  Each officer carried in his pocket a tiny white tent. This, when placedupon the ground, quickly grew in size until it was large enough topermit the owner to enter it and sleep within its canvas walls. Fileswas obliged to carry a knapsack, in which was not only his own tent butan elaborate pavilion for Queen Ann, besides a bed and chair and a magictable. This table, when set upon the ground in Ann's pavilion, became oflarge size, and in a drawer of the table was contained the Queen's supplyof extra clothing, her manicure and toilet articles and other necessarythings. The royal bed was the only one in the camp, the officers andprivate sleeping in hammocks attached to their tent poles.

  There was also in the knapsack a flag bearing the royal emblem ofOogaboo, and this flag Files flew upon its staff every night, to showthat the country they were in had been conquered by the Queen of Oogaboo.So far, no one but themselves had seen the flag, but Ann was pleased tosee it flutter in the breeze and considered herself already a famousconqueror.