"Why
don't you raise an army and conquer them, and be
Queen of all Oz?" she asked, trying to taunt Ann
and so to anger her. Then she made a face at her
sister and went into the back yard to swing in the
hammock.
Her jeering words, however, had given Queen Ann
an idea. She reflected that Oz was reported to be
a peaceful country and Ozma a mere girl who ruled
with gentleness to all and was obeyed because her
people loved her. Even in Oogaboo the story was
told that Ozma's sole army consisted of twenty-
seven fine officers, who wore beautiful uniforms
but carried no weapons, because there was no one
to fight. Once there had been a private soldier,
besides the officers, but Ozma had made him a
Captain-General and taken away his gun for fear it
might accidentally hurt some one.
The more Ann thought about the matter the more
she was convinced it would be easy to conquer the
Land of Oz and set herself up as Ruler in Ozma's
place, if she but had an Army to do it with.
Afterward she could go out into the world and
conquer other lands, and then perhaps she could
find a way to the moon, and conquer that. She had
a warlike spirit that preferred trouble to
idleness.
It all depended on an Army, Ann decided. She
carefully counted in her mind all the men of her
kingdom. Yes; there were exactly eighteen of them,
all told. That would not make a very big Army, but
by surprising Ozma's unarmed officers her men
might easily subdue them. "Gentle people are
always afraid of those that bluster," Ann told
herself.
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