"
"Do you suppose they are likely to fail?" asked
the Rose Princess.
"I do, indeed," replied Shaggy. "This Nome King
is really a powerful fellow and has a legion of
nomes to assist him, whereas our bold Queen
commands a Clockwork Man and a band of faint-
hearted officers."
"She ought to have let Quox do the conquering,"
said Polychrome, dancing lightly upon a point of
rock and fluttering her beautiful draperies. "But
perhaps the dragon was wise to let her go first,
for when she fails to conquer Ruggedo she may
become more modest in her ambitions."
"Where is the dragon now?" inquired Ozga.
"Up there on the rocks," replied Files. "Look,
my dear; you may see him from here. He said he
would take a little nap while we were mixing up
with Ruggedo, and he added that after we had
gotten into trouble he would wake up and conquer
the Nome King in a jiffy, as his master the Jinjin
has ordered him to do."
"Quox means well," said Shaggy, "but I do not
think we shall need his services; for just as soon
as I am satisfied that Queen Ann and her army have
failed to conquer Ruggedo, I shall enter the
caverns and show the King my Love Magnet. That he
cannot resist; therefore the conquest will be made
with ease."
This speech of Shaggy Man's was overheard by the
Long-Eared Hearer, who was at that moment standing
by Ruggedo's side. For when the King and Guph had
recovered from Hank's kick and had picked
themselves up, their first act was to turn Tik-Tok
on his back and put a heavy diamond on top of him,
so that he could not get up again.
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