Tip slipped away from the girls
and followed swiftly after the
Soldier with the Green Whiskers.
The invading army entered the
City more slowly, for they
stopped to dig emeralds out of the walls and paving-stones with the points
of their knitting-needles. So the Soldier and the boy reached the palace
before the news had spread that the City was conquered.
The Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead
were still playing at quoits
in the courtyard when the game
was interrupted by the abrupt
entrance of the Royal Army of
Oz, who came flying in without
his hat or gun, his clothes in
sad disarray and his long beard
floating a yard behind him as
he ran.
"Tally one for me," said the
Scarecrow, calmly "What's wrong,
my man?" he added, addressing
the Soldier.
"Oh! your Majesty -- your Majesty!
The City is conquered!" gasped
the Royal Army, who was all out
of breath.
"This is quite sudden," said
the Scarecrow. "But please go
and bar all the doors and windows
of the palace, while I show this
Pumpkinhead how to throw a quoit."
The Soldier hastened to do
this, while Tip, who had arrived
at his heels, remained in the
courtyard to look at the Scarecrow
with wondering eyes.
His Majesty continued to throw
the quoits as coolly as if no
danger threatened his throne,
but the Pumpkinhead, having caught
sight of Tip, ambled toward the
boy as fast as his wooden legs
would go.
"Good afternoon, noble parent!" he
cried, delightedly." I'm glad
to see you are here. That terrible
Saw-Horse ran away with me."
"I suspected it," said Tip. "Did
you get hurt? Are you cracked
at all?"
"No, I arrived safely," answered
Jack, "and his Majesty has been
very kind indeed to me.
At this moment the Soldier
with the Green Whiskers returned,
and the Scarecrow asked:
"By
the way, who
has conquered
me?"
"A regiment of girls, gathered
from the four corners of the
Land of Oz," replied the Soldier,
still pale with fear.
"But where was my Standing
Army at the time?" inquired his
Majesty, looking at the Soldier,
gravely.
"Your Standing Army was running," answered
the fellow, honestly; "for no
man could face the terrible weapons
of the invaders."
"Well," said the Scarecrow,
after a moment's thought, "I
don't mind much the loss of my
throne, for it's a tiresome job
to rule over the Emerald City.
And this crown is so heavy that
it makes my head ache. But I
hope the Conquerors have no intention
of injuring me, just because
I happen to be the King."
"I heard them, say" remarked
Tip, with some hesitation, "that
they intend to make a rag carpet
of your outside and stuff their
sofa-cushions with your inside."
"Then I am really in danger," declared
his Majesty, positively, "and
it will be wise for me to consider
a means to escape."
"Where can you go?" asked
Jack Pumpkinhead.
"Why, to my friend the Tin
Woodman, who rules over the Winkies,
and calls himself their Emperor," was
the answer. "I am sure he will
protect me."
Tip was looking out the window.
"The palace is surrounded by
the enemy," said he "It is too
late to escape. They would soon
tear you to pieces."
The Scarecrow sighed.
"In an emergency," he announced, "it
is always a good thing to pause
and reflect. Please excuse me
while I pause and reflect."
"But we also are in danger," said
the Pumpkinhead, anxiously." If
any of these girls understand
cooking, my end is not far off!"
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "they're
too busy to cook, even if they
know how!"
"But should I remain here a
prisoner for any length of time," protested
Jack," I'm liable to spoil."
"Ah! then you would not be
fit to associate with," returned
the Scarecrow. "The matter is
more serious than I suspected."
"You," said the Pumpkinhead,
gloomily, "are liable to live
for many years. My life is necessarily
short. So I must take advantage
of the few days that remain to
me."
"There, there! Don't worry," answered
the Scarecrow soothingly; "if
you'll keep quiet long enough
for me to think, I'll try to
find some way for us all to escape."
So the others waited in patient
silence while the Scarecrow walked
to a corner and stood with his
face to the wall for a good five
minutes. At the end of that time
he faced them with a more cheerful
expression upon his painted face.
"Where is the Saw-Horse you
rode here?" he asked the Pumpkinhead.
"Why, I said he was a jewel,
and so your man locked him up
in the royal treasury," said
Jack.
"It was the only place I could
think of your Majesty," added
the Soldier, fearing he had made
a blunder.
"It pleases me very much," said
the Scarecrow. "Has the animal
been fed?"
"Oh,
yes; I gave
him a heaping
peck of sawdust."
"Excellent!" cried the Scarecrow. "Bring
the horse here at once."
The Soldier hastened away,
and presently they heard the
clattering of the horse's wooden
legs upon the pavement as he
was led into the courtyard.
His
Majesty regarded
the steed critically. "He doesn't seem
especially graceful!" he remarked,
musingly. "but I suppose he can
run?"
"He can, indeed," said
Tip, gazing
upon the Saw-Horse
admiringly.
"Then, bearing us upon his
back, he must make a dash through
the ranks of the rebels and carry
us to my friend the Tin Woodman," announced
the Scarecrow.
"He can't carry four!" objected
Tip.
"No, but he may be induced
to carry three," said his Majesty. "I
shall therefore leave my Royal
Army Behind. For, from the ease
with which he was conquered,
I have little confidence in his
powers."
"Still, he can run," declared
Tip, laughing.
"I expected this blow" said
the Soldier, sulkily; "but I
can bear it. I shall disguise
myself by cutting off my lovely
green whiskers. And, after all,
it is no more dangerous to face
those reckless girls than to
ride this fiery, untamed wooden
horse!"
"Perhaps you are right," observed
his Majesty. "But, for my part,
not being a soldier, I am fond
of danger. Now, my boy, you must
mount first. And please sit as
close to the horse's neck as
possible."
Tip climbed quickly to his
place, and the Soldier and the
Scarecrow managed to hoist the
Pumpkinhead to a seat just behind
him. There remained so little
space for the King that he was
liable to fall off as soon as
the horse started.
"Fetch a clothesline," said
the King to his Army, "and tie
us all together. Then if one
falls off we will all fall off."
And
while the Soldier
was gone for
the clothesline
his Majesty
continued, "it is well for me
to be careful, for my very existence
is in danger."
"I have to be as careful as
you do," said Jack.
"Not exactly," replied the
Scarecrow. "for if anything happened
to me, that would be the end
of me. But if anything happened
to you, they could use you for
seed."
The Soldier now returned with
a long line and tied all three
firmly together, also lashing
them to the body of the Saw-Horse;
so there seemed little danger
of their tumbling off.
"Now throw open the gates," commanded
the Scarecrow, "and we will make
a dash to liberty or to death."
The courtyard in which they
were standing was located in
the center of the great palace,
which surrounded it on all sides.
But in one place a passage led
to an outer gateway, which the
Soldier had barred by order of
his sovereign. It was through
this gateway his Majesty proposed
to escape, and the Royal Army
now led the Saw-Horse along the
passage and unbarred the gate,
which swung backward with a loud
crash.
"Now," said Tip to the horse, "you
must save us all. Run as fast
as you can for the gate of the
City, and don't let anything
stop you."
"All right!" answered
the Saw-Horse,
gruffly, and dashed away so suddenly
that Tip had to gasp for breath
and hold firmly to the post he
had driven into the creature's
neck.
Several of the girls, who stood
outside guarding the palace,
were knocked over by the Saw-Horse's
mad rush. Others ran screaming
out of the way, and only one
or two jabbed their knitting-needles
frantically at the escaping prisoners.
Tip got one small prick in his
left arm, which smarted for an
hour afterward; but the needles
had no effect upon the Scarecrow
or Jack Pumpkinhead, who never
even suspected they were being
prodded.
As for the Saw-Horse, he made
a wonderful record upsetting
a fruit cart, overturning several
meek looking men, and finally
bowling over the new Guardian
of the Gate -- a fussy little
fat woman appointed by General
Jinjur.
Nor did the impetuous charger
stop then. Once outside the walls
of the Emerald City he dashed
along the road to the West with
fast and violent leaps that shook
the breath out of the boy and
filled the Scarecrow with wonder.
Jack had ridden at this mad
rate once before, so he devoted
every effort to holding, with
both hands, his pumpkin head
upon its stick, enduring meantime
the dreadful jolting with the
courage of a philosopher.
"Slow him up! Slow him up!" shouted
the Scarecrow. "My straw is all
shaking down into my legs."
But Tip had no breath to speak,
so the Saw-Horse continued his
wild career unchecked and with
unabated speed.
Presently they came to the
banks of a wide river, and without
a pause the wooden steed gave
one final leap and launched them
all in mid-air.
A second later they were rolling,
splashing and bobbing about in
the water, the horse struggling
frantically to find a rest for
its feet and its riders being
first plunged beneath the rapid
current and then floating upon
the surface like corks.
|