the lost princess of oz-第33章
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followed him; Toto keeping at the heels of his little
mistress。 Then came the Lion; the Woozy and the
Sawhorse; then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button…Bright;
then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear; and
finally the Frogman and the Patchwork Girl; with Hank
the Mule tagging behind。 So it was the Wizard who
caught the first glimpse of the big domed hall; but the
others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering
group just within the entrance。
Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table
on which lay Glinda's Great Book of Records; but the
platform was firmly fastened to the floor and the table
was fastened to the platform and the Book was chained
fast to the table just as it had been when it was
kept in Glinda's palace。 On the wall over the table
hung Ozma's Magic Picture。 On a row of shelves at the
opposite side of the hall stood all the chemicals and
essences of magic and all the magical instruments that
had been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard;
with glass doors covering the shelves so that no one
could get at them。
And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker; his feet
lazily extended; his skinny hands clasped behind his
head。 He was leaning back at his ease and calmly
smoking a long pipe。 Around the magician was a sort of
cage; seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart; and
at his feet also within the cage reposed the
long…sought diamond…studded dishpan of Cayke the Cookie
Cook。
Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen。
〃Well; well;〃 said Ugu; when the invaders had stood
in silence for a moment; staring about them; 〃this
visit is an expected pleasure; I assure you。 I knew you
were coming and I know why you are here。 You are not
welcome; for I cannot use any of you to my advantage;
but as you have insisted on coming I hope you will make
the afternoon call as brief as possible。 It won't take
long to transact your business with me。 You will ask me
for Ozma; and my reply will be that you may find her
if you can。〃
〃Sir;〃 answered the Wizard; in a tone of rebuke; 〃you
are a very wicked and cruel person。 I suppose you
imagine; because you have stolen this poor woman's
dishpan and all the best magic in Oz; that you are more
powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over
us。〃
〃Yes;〃 said Ugu the Shoemaker; slowly filling his
pipe with fresh tobacco from a silver bowl that stood
beside him; 〃that is exactly what I imagine。 It will do
you no good to demand from me the girl who was formerly
the Ruler of Oz; because I will not tell you where I
have hidden her and you can't guess in a thousand
years。 Neither will I restore to you any of the magic I
have captured。 I am not so foolish。 But bear this in
mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself; hereafter;
so I advise you to be careful how you address your
future Monarch。〃
〃Ozma is still Ruler of Oz; wherever you may have
hidden her;〃 declared the Wizard。 〃And bear this in
mind; miserable Shoemaker: We intend to find her and to
rescue her; in time; but our first duty and pleasure
will be to conquer you and then punish you for your
misdeeds。〃
〃Very well; go ahead and conquer;〃 said Ugu。 〃I'd
really like to see how you can do it。〃
Now; although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly;
he had at the moment no idea how they might conquer the
magician。 He had that morning given the Frogman; at his
request; a dose of zosozo from his bottle; and the
Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was
necessary; but the Wizard knew that strength alone
could not avail against magical arts。 The toy Bear King
seemed to have some pretty good magic; however; and the
Wizard depended to an extent on that。 But something
ought to be done right away; and the Wizard didn't know
what it was。
While he considered this perplexing question and the
others stood looking at him as their leader; a queer
thing happened。 The floor of the great circular hall;
on which they were standing; suddenly began to tip。
Instead of being flat and level it became a slant; and
the slant grew steeper and steeper until none of the
party could manage to stand upon it。 Presently they all
slid down to the wall; which was now under them; and
then it became evident that the whole vast room was
slowly turning upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker;
kept in place by the bars of his golden cage; remained
in his former position; and the wicked magician seemed
to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely。
First; they all slid down to the wall back of them;
but as the room continued to turn over they next slid
down the wall and found themselves at the bottom of the
great dome; bumping against the big chandelier which;
like everything else; was now upside…down。
The turning movement now stopped and the room became
stationary。 Looking far up; they saw Ugu suspended in
his cage at the very top; which had once been the floor
〃Ah;〃 said he; grinning down at them; 〃the way to
conquer is to act; and he who acts promptly is sure to
win。 This makes a very good prison; from which I am
sure you cannot escape。 Please amuse yourselves in any
way you like; but I must beg you to excuse me; as I
have business in another part of my castle。〃
Saying this; he opened a trap door in the floor of
his cage (which was now over his head) and climbed
through it and disappeared from their view。 The diamond
dishpan still remained in the cage; but the bars kept
it from falling down on their heads。
〃Well; I declare!〃 said the Patchwork Girl; seizing
one of the bars of the chandelier and swinging from it;
〃we must peg one for the Shoemaker; for he has trapped
us very cleverly。〃
〃Get off my foot; please;〃 said the Lion to the
Sawhorse。
〃And oblige me; Mr。 Mule;〃 remarked the Woozy; 〃by
taking your tail out of my left eye。
〃It's rather crowded down here;〃 explained Dorothy;
〃because the dome is rounding and we have all slid into
the middle of it。 But let us keep as quiet as possible
until we can think what's best to be done。〃
〃Dear; dear!〃 wailed Cayke; 〃I wish I had my darling
dishpan;〃 and she held her arms longingly toward it。
〃I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there;〃
sighed the Wizard。
〃Don't you s'pose we could get to it?〃 asked Trot
anxiously。
〃We'd have to fly;〃 laughed the Patchwork Girl。
But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously; and so
did the Frogman。 They talked it over and soon planned
an attempt to reach the shelves where the magical
instruments were。 First the Frogman lay against the
rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the
chandelier; then the Wizard climbed over him and lay on
the dome with his feet on the Frogman's shoulders; the
Cookie Cook came next; then Button…Bright climbed to
the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up; and
Betsy and Trot; and finally the Patchwork Girl; and all
their lengths made a long line that reached far up the
dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch the
shelves。
〃Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic; called
the Bear King; and began scrambling up the bodies of
the others。 But when he came to the Cookie Cook his
soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and
upset the whole line。