The Lost Princess of Oz | Page 4

another named Trot, who had been invited, together
with her faithful companion Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this

wonderful fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and
were great chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious
Ruler and only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal
apartments. For Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other
girls and had been made a Princess of the realm.
Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet
the three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to
have nice times together. It was while the three were talking together
one morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a
journey into the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great
countries of the Land of Oz ruled by Ozma. "I've never been there yet,"
said Betsy Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow once told me it is the prettiest
country in all Oz."
"I'd like to go, too," added Trot.
"All right," said Dorothy. "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will let us
take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer for
us than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty big
place when you get to all the edges of it."
So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until
she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second floor.
In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was busily
sewing. "Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy.
"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from her
this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her breakfast, and it
is far past her usual time for them."
"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl.
"Yes," agreed the maid, "but of course no harm could have happened to
her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz, and Ozma is herself
a powerful fairy, and she has no enemies so far as we know. Therefore
I am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her silence is
unusual."

"Perhaps," said Dorothy thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may
be reading or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her
people."
"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't
dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged
character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if you
went in to see her."
"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer
chamber, she went in. All was still here. She walked into another room,
which was Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery
richly broidered with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the
sleeping-room of the fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was
vacant; the room was vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found.
Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened
to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms
of the suite. the bath, the wardrobe, and even into the great throne room,
which adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places could she
find Ozma.
So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia
Jamb, and said, "She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone
out."
"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her,"
replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible."
"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy.
"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a
little uneasy. So they went into the corridors, and there Dorothy almost
stumbled over a queer girl who was dancing lightly along the passage.
"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called, "Have you seen Ozma this
morning?"
"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer."I lost both my eyes in a

tussle with the Woozy last night, for the creature scraped 'em both off
my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket, and this
morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed 'em on again.
So I've seen nothing at all today, except during the last five minutes. So
of course I haven't seen Ozma."
"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, which
were merely two round, black buttons sewed upon the girl's face.
There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious
to one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly