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pointed beard and hair that rose to a tall curl on top
of his head. He was dressed in silken robes, richly
embroidered, which had large buttons of cut rubies. On
his head was a diamond crown and in his hand he held a
golden sceptre with a big jeweled ball at one end of
it. This was Kaliko, the King and ruler of all the
nomes. He nodded pleasantly enough to his visitors and
said in a cheery voice:
"Well, Your Majesties, what can I do for you?"
"It is my desire," answered King Gos, respectfully,
"to place in your care two prisoners, whom you now see
before you. They must be carefully guarded, to prevent
them from escaping, for they have the cunning of foxes
and are not to be trusted. In return for the favor I am
asking you to grant, I have brought Your Majesty
valuable presents of gold and precious gems.
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He then commanded Kitticut and Garee to lay before
the Nome King the bags of gold and jewels, and they
obeyed, being helpless.
"Very good," said King Kaliko, nodding approval, for
like all the nomes he loved treasures of gold and
jewels. "But who are the prisoners you have brought
here, and why do you place them in my charge instead of
guarding them, yourself? They seem gentle enough, I'm
sure."
"The prisoners," returned King Gos, "are the King and
Queen of Pingaree, a small island north of here. They
are very evil people and came to our islands of Regos
and Coregos to conquer them and slay our poor people.
Also they intended to plunder us of all our riches, but
by good fortune we were able to defeat and capture
them. However, they have a son who is a terrible wizard
and who by magic art is trying to find this awful King
and Queen of Pingaree, and to set them free, that they
may continue their wicked deeds. Therefore, as we have
no magic to defend ourselves with, we have brought the
prisoners to you for safe keeping."
"Your Majesty," spoke up King Kitticut, addressing
the Nome King with great indignation, "do not believe
this tale, I implore you. It is all a lie!"
"I know it," said Kaliko. "I consider it a clever
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lie, though, because it is woven without a thread of
truth. However, that is none of my business. The fact
remains that my good friend King Gos wishes to put you
in my underground caverns, so that you will be unable
to escape. And why should I not please him in this
little matter? Gos is a mighty King and a great
warrior, while your island of Pingaree is desolated and
your people scattered. In my heart, King Kitticut, I
sympathize with you, but as a matter of business policy
we powerful Kings must stand together and trample the
weaker ones under our feet."
King Kitticut was surprised to find the King of the
nomes so candid and so well informed, and he tried to
argue that he and his gentle wife did not deserve their
cruel fate and that it would be wiser for Kaliko to
side with them than with the evil King of Regos. But
Kaliko only shook his head and smiled, saying:
"The fact that you are a prisoner, my poor Kitticut,
is evidence that you are weaker than King Cos, and I
prefer to deal with the strong. By the way," he added,
turning to the King of Regos, "have these prisoners any
connection with the Land of Oz?"
"Why do you ask?" said Gos.
"Because I dare not offend the Oz people," was the
reply. "I am very powerful, as you know, but Ozma of Oz
is far more powerful than I; therefore, if this King
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and Queen of Pingaree happened to be under Ozma's
protection, I would have nothing to do with them."
"I assure Your Majesty that the prisoners have
nothing to do with the Oz people," Gos hastened to say.
And Kitticut, being questioned, admitted that this was
true.
"But how about that wizard you mentioned?" asked the
Nome King.
"Oh, he is merely a boy; but he is very ferocious and
obstinate and he is assisted by a little fat sorcerer
called Rinkitink and a talking goat."
"Oho! A talking goat, do you say? That certainly
sounds like magic; and it also sounds like the Land of
Oz, where all the animals talk," said Kaliko, with a
doubtful expression.
But King Gos assured him the talking goat had never
been to Oz.
"As for Rinkitink, whom you call a sorcerer,"
continued the Nome King, "he is a neighbor of mine, you
must know, but as we are cut off from each other by
high mountains beneath which a powerful river runs, I
have never yet met King Rinkitink. But I have heard of
him, and from all reports he is a jolly rogue, and
perfectly harmless. However, in spite of your false
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statements and misrepresentations, I will earn the
treasure you have brought me, by keeping your prisoners
safe in my caverns.
"Make them work," advised Queen Cor. "They are rather
delicate, and to make them work will make them suffer
delightfully."
"I'll do as I please about that," said the Nome King
sternly. "Be content that I agree to keep them safe."
The bargain being thus made and concluded, Kaliko
first examined the gold and jewels and then sent it
away to his royal storehouse, which was well filled
with like treasure. Next the captives were sent away in
charge of the nome with the golden collar and keys,
whose name was Klik, and he escorted them to a small
cavern and gave them a good supper.
"I shall lock your door," said Klik, "so there is no [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]