Eggs may seem to you to be a queer weapon with which to fight, but the little girl well knew their value. The nomes are immortal; that is, they do not perish, as mortals do, unless they happen to come in contact with an egg. If an egg touches them--either the outer sh.e.l.l or the inside of the egg--the nomes lose their charm of perpetual life and thereafter are liable to die through accident or old age, just as all humans are.
For this reason the sight of an egg fills a nome with terror and he will do anything to prevent an egg from touching him, even for an instant. So, when Dorothy took her basket of eggs with her, she knew that she was more powerfully armed than if she had a regiment of soldiers at her back.
Chapter Twenty-One
The Wizard Finds an Enchantment
After Kaliko had failed in his attempts to destroy his guests, as has been related, the Nome King did nothing more to injure them but treated them in a friendly manner. He refused, however, to permit Inga to see or to speak with his father and mother, or even to know in what part of the underground caverns they were confined.
"You are able to protect your lives and persons, I freely admit," said Kaliko; "but I firmly believe you have no power, either of magic or otherwise, to take from me the captives I have agreed to keep for King Gos."
Inga would not agree to this. He determined not to leave the caverns until he had liberated his father and mother, although he did not then know how that could be accomplished. As for Rinkitink, the jolly King was well fed and had a good bed to sleep upon, so he was not worrying about anything and seemed in no hurry to go away.
Kaliko and Rinkitink were engaged in pitching a game with solid gold quoits, on the floor of the royal chamber, and Inga and Bilbil were watching them, when Klik came running in, his hair standing on end with excitement, and cried out that the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy were approaching.
Kaliko turned pale on hearing this unwelcome news and, abandoning his game, went to sit in his ivory throne and try to think what had brought these fearful visitors to his domain.
"Who is Dorothy?" asked Inga.
"She is a little girl who once lived in Kansas," replied Klik, with a shudder, "but she now lives in Ozma"s palace at the Emerald City and is a Princess of Oz--which means that she is a terrible foe to deal with."
"Doesn"t she like the nomes?" inquired the boy.
"It isn"t that," said King Kaliko, with a groan, "but she insists on the nomes being goody-goody, which is contrary to their natures.
Dorothy gets angry if I do the least thing that is wicked, and tries to make me stop it, and that naturally makes me downhearted. I can"t imagine why she has come here just now, for I"ve been behaving very well lately. As for that Wizard of Oz, he"s chock-full of magic that I can"t overcome, for he learned it from Glinda, who is the most powerful sorceress in the world. Woe is me! Why didn"t Dorothy and the Wizard stay in Oz, where they belong?"
Inga and Rinkitink listened to this with much joy, for at once the idea came to them both to plead with Dorothy to help them. Even Bilbil p.r.i.c.ked up his ears when he heard the Wizard of Oz mentioned, and the goat seemed much less surly, and more thoughtful than usual.
A few minutes later a nome came to say that Dorothy and the Wizard had arrived and demanded admittance, so Klik was sent to usher them into the royal presence of the Nome King.
As soon as she came in the little girl ran up to the boy Prince and seized both his hands.
"Oh, Inga!" she exclaimed, "I"m so glad to find you alive and well."
Inga was astonished at so warm a greeting. Making a low bow he said:
"I don"t think we have met before, Princess."
"No, indeed," replied Dorothy, "but I know all about you and I"ve come to help you and King Rinkitink out of your troubles." Then she turned to the Nome King and continued: "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, King Kaliko, to treat an honest Prince and an honest King so badly."
"I haven"t done anything to them," whined Kaliko, trembling as her eyes flashed upon him.
"No; but you tried to, an" that"s just as bad, if not worse," said Dorothy, who was very indignant. "And now I want you to send for the King and Queen of Pingaree and have them brought here immejitly!"
"I won"t," said Kaliko.
"Yes, you will!" cried Dorothy, stamping her foot at him. "I won"t have those poor people made unhappy any longer, or separated from their little boy. Why, it"s dreadful, Kaliko, an" I"m su"prised at you. You must be more wicked than I thought you were."
"I can"t do it, Dorothy," said the Nome King, almost weeping with despair. "I promised King Gos I"d keep them captives. You wouldn"t ask me to break my promise, would you?"
"King Gos was a robber and an outlaw," she said, "and p"r"aps you don"t know that a storm at sea wrecked his boat, while he was going back to Regos, and that he and Queen Cor were both drowned."
"Dear me!" exclaimed Kaliko. "Is that so?"
"I saw it in Glinda"s Record Book," said Dorothy. "So now you trot out the King and Queen of Pingaree as quick as you can."
"No," persisted the contrary Nome King, shaking his head. "I won"t do it. Ask me anything else and I"ll try to please you, but I can"t allow these friendly enemies to triumph over me.
"In that case," said Dorothy, beginning to remove the cover from her basket, "I"ll show you some eggs."
"Eggs!" screamed the Nome King in horror. "Have you eggs in that basket?"
"A dozen of "em," replied Dorothy.
"Then keep them there--I beg--I implore you!--and I"ll do anything you say," pleaded Kaliko, his teeth chattering so that he could hardly speak.
"Send for the King and Queen of Pingaree," said Dorothy.
"Go, Klik," commanded the Nome King, and Klik ran away in great haste, for he was almost as much frightened as his master.
It was an affecting scene when the unfortunate King and Queen of Pingaree entered the chamber and with sobs and tears of joy embraced their brave and adventurous son. All the others stood silent until greetings and kisses had been exchanged and Inga had told his parents in a few words of his vain struggles to rescue them and how Princess Dorothy had finally come to his a.s.sistance.
Then King Kitticut shook the hands of his friend King Rinkitink and thanked him for so loyally supporting his son Inga, and Queen Garee kissed little Dorothy"s forehead and blessed her for restoring her husband and herself to freedom.
The Wizard had been standing near Bilbil the goat and now he was surprised to hear the animal say:
"Joyful reunion, isn"t it? But it makes me tired to see grown people cry like children."
"Oho!" exclaimed the Wizard. "How does it happen, Mr. Goat, that you, who have never been to the Land of Oz, are able to talk?"
"That"s my business," returned Bilbil in a surly tone.
The Wizard stooped down and gazed fixedly into the animal"s eyes. Then he said, with a pitying sigh: "I see; you are under an enchantment.
Indeed, I believe you to be Prince Bobo of Boboland."
Bilbil made no reply but dropped his head as if ashamed.
"This is a great discovery," said the Wizard, addressing Dorothy and the others of the party. "A good many years ago a cruel magician transformed the gallant Prince of Boboland into a talking goat, and this goat, being ashamed of his condition, ran away and was never after seen in Boboland, which is a country far to the south of here but bordering on the Deadly Desert, opposite the Land of Oz. I heard of this story long ago and know that a diligent search has been made for the enchanted Prince, without result. But I am well a.s.sured that, in the animal you call Bilbil, I have discovered the unhappy Prince of Boboland."
"Dear me, Bilbil," said Rinkitink, "why have you never told me this?"
"What would be the use?" asked Bilbil in a low voice and still refusing to look up.
"The use?" repeated Rinkitink, puzzled.