Approaching the gateway of the
Emerald City the travelers found it guarded by two girls of the Army of
Revolt, who opposed their entrance by drawing the knitting-needles from
their hair and threatening to prod the first that came near.
But the Tin Woodman was not
afraid."
At the worst they can but
scratch my beautiful nickel-plate," he said. "But there will be no
'worst,' for I think I can manage to frighten these absurd soldiers very
easily. Follow me closely, all of you!"
Then, swinging his axe in a
great circle to right and left before him, he advanced upon the gate,
and the others followed him without hesitation.
The girls, who had expected no
resistance whatever, were terrified by the sweep of the glittering axe
and fled screaming into the city; so that our travelers passed the gates
in safety and marched down the green marble pavement of the wide street
toward the royal palace.
"At this rate we will soon have
your Majesty upon the throne again," said the Tin Woodman, laughing at
his easy conquest of the guards.
"Thank you, friend Nick,"
returned the Scarecrow, gratefully. "Nothing can resist your kind heart
and your sharp axe."
|
As they passed the rows
of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping
and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in
groups, gossiping and laughing.
"What has happened?"
the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who
wore an apron and was wheeling a baby-carriage along the
sidewalk.
"Why, we've had a
revolution, your Majesty as you ought to know very well,"
replied the man; "and since you went away the women have been
running things to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to
come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the
children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald
City."
"Hm!" said the
Scarecrow, thoughtfully. "If it is such hard work as you say,
how did the women manage it so easily?"
"I really do not know"
replied the man, with a deep sigh. "Perhaps the women are made
of castiron."
No movement was made,
as they passed along the street, to oppose their progress.
Several of the women stopped their gossip long enough to cast
curious looks upon our friends, but immediately they would turn
away with a laugh or a sneer and resume their chatter. And when
they met with several girls belonging to the Army of Revolt,
those soldiers, instead of being alarmed or appearing surprised,
merely stepped out of the way and allowed them to advance
without protest. |
|
This action rendered the Scarecrow
uneasy."
I'm afraid we are walking into a
trap," said he.
"Nonsense!" returned Nick Chopper,
confidently; "the silly creatures are conquered already!"
But the Scarecrow shook his head in
a way that expressed doubt, and Tip said:
"It's too easy, altogether. Look
out for trouble ahead."
"I will," returned his Majesty.
Unopposed they reached the royal palace and marched up the marble steps,
which had once been thickly crusted with emeralds but were now filled with
tiny holes where the jewels had been ruthlessly torn from their settings by
the Army of Revolt. And so far not a rebel barred their way.
Through the arched hallways and
into the magnificent throne room marched the Tin Woodman and his followers,
and here, when the green silken curtains fell behind them, they saw a
curious sight.
Seated within the glittering throne
was General Jinjur, with the Scarecrow's second-best crown upon her head,
and the royal sceptre in her right hand. A box of caramels, from which she
was eating, rested in her lap, and the girl seemed entirely at ease in her
royal surroundings.
The Scarecrow stepped forward and
confronted her, while the Tin Woodman leaned upon his axe and the others
formed a half-circle back of his Majesty's person.
"How dare you sit in my throne?"
demanded the Scarecrow, sternly eyeing the intruder. "Don't you know you are
guilty of treason, and that there is a law against treason?"
"The throne belongs to whoever is
able to take it," answered Jinjur, as she slowly ate another caramel. "I
have taken it, as you see; so just now I am the Queen, and all who oppose me
are guilty of treason, and must be punished by the law you have just
mentioned."
This view of the case puzzled the
Scarecrow.
"How is it, friend Nick?" he asked,
turning to the Tin Woodman.
"Why, when it comes to Law, I have
nothing to, say" answered that personage. "for laws were never meant to be
understood, and it is foolish to make the attempt."
"Then what shall we do?" asked the
Scarecrow, in dismay.
"Why don't you marry the Queen? And
then you can both rule," suggested the Woggle-Bug.
Jinjur glared at the insect
fiercely. "Why don't you send her back to her mother, where she belongs?"
asked Jack Pumpkinhead.
Jinjur frowned.
"Why don't you shut her up in a
closet until she behaves herself, and promises to be good?" enquired Tip.
Jinjur's lip curled scornfully.
"Or give her a good shaking!" added
the Saw-Horse.
"No," said the Tin Woodman, "we
must treat the poor girl with gentleness. Let us give her all the Jewels she
can carry, and send her away happy and contented."
At this Queen Jinjur laughed aloud,
and the next minute clapped her pretty hands together thrice, as if for a
signal.
"You are very absurd creatures,"
said she; "but I am tired of your nonsense and have no time to bother with
you longer."
While the monarch and his friends
listened in amazement to this impudent speech, a startling thing happened.
The Tin Woodman's axe was snatched from his grasp by some person behind him,
and he found himself disarmed and helpless. At the same instant a shout of
laughter rang in the ears of the devoted band, and turning to see whence
this came they found themselves surrounded by the Army of Revolt, the girls
bearing in either hand their glistening knitting-needles. The entire throne
room seemed to be filled with the rebels, and the Scarecrow and his comrades
realized that they were prisoners.
"You see how foolish it is to
oppose a woman's wit," said Jinjur, gaily; "and this event only proves that
I am more fit to rule the Emerald City than a Scarecrow. I bear you no ill
will, I assure you; but lest you should prove troublesome to me in the
future I shall order you all to be destroyed. That is, all except the boy,
who belongs to old Mombi and must be restored to her keeping. The rest of
you are not human, and therefore it will not be wicked to demolish you. The
Saw-Horse and the Pumpkinhead's body I will have chopped up for
kindling-wood; and the pumpkin shall be made into tarts. The Scarecrow will
do nicely to start a bonfire, and the tin man can be cut into small pieces
and fed to the goats. As for this immense Woggle-Bug -- "
"Highly Magnified, if you please!"
interrupted the insect.
"I think I will ask the cook to
make green-turtle soup of you," continued the Queen, reflectively.
The Woggle-Bug shuddered.
"Or, if that won't do, we might use
you for a Hungarian goulash, stewed and highly spiced," she added, cruelly.
This programme of extermination was
so terrible that the prisoners looked upon one another in a panic of fear.
The Scarecrow alone did not give way to despair. He stood quietly before the
Queen and his brow was wrinkled in deep thought as he strove to find some
means to escape.
While thus engaged he felt the
straw within his breast move gently. At once his expression changed from
sadness to joy, and raising his hand he quickly unbuttoned the front of his
jacket.
This action did not pass unnoticed
by the crowd of girls clustering about him, but none of them suspected what
he was doing until a tiny grey mouse leaped from his bosom to the floor and
scampered away between the feet of the Army of Revolt. Another mouse quickly
followed; then another and another, in rapid succession. And suddenly such a
scream of terror went up from the Army that it might easily have filled the
stoutest heart with consternation. The flight that ensued turned to a
stampede, and the stampede to a panic.
For while the startled mice rushed
wildly about the room the Scarecrow had only time to note a whirl of skirts
and a twinkling of feet as the girls disappeared from the palace -- pushing
and crowding one another in their mad efforts to escape.
The Queen, at the first alarm,
stood up on the cushions of the throne and began to dance frantically upon
her tiptoes. Then a mouse ran up the cushions, and with a terrified leap
poor Jinjur shot clear over the head of the Scarecrow and escaped through an
archway -- never pausing in her wild career until she had reached the city
gates.
So, in less time than I can
explain, the throne room was deserted by all save the Scarecrow and his
friends, and the Woggle-Bug heaved a deep sigh of relief as he exclaimed:
"Thank goodness, we are saved!"
"For a time, yes;" answered the Tin
Woodman. "But the enemy will soon return, I fear."
"Let us bar all the entrances to
the palace!" said the Scarecrow. "Then we shall have time to think what is
best to be done."
So all except Jack Pumpkinhead, who
was still tied fast to the Saw-Horse, ran to the various entrances of the
royal palace and closed the heavy doors, bolting and locking them securely.
Then, knowing that the Army of Revolt could not batter down the barriers in
several days, the adventurers gathered once more in the throne room for a
council of war.
Next chapter...
( The Scarecrow Takes Time to Think
)
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