This smoke
was so pungent that it made both Ozma and Dorothy
rub their eyes for a moment.
"You must pardon these disagreeable fumes," said
the Wizard. "I assure you the smoke is a very
necessary part of my wizardry."
"Look!" cried Dorothy, pointing to the Magic
Picture; "they're gone! All of them are gone."
Indeed, the picture now showed the same rocky
landscape as before, but the three people and the
mule had disappeared from it.
"They are gone," said the Wizard, polishing the
silver plate and wrapping it in a fine cloth,
"because they are here."
At that moment Jellia Jamb entered the room.
"Your Highness," she said to Ozma, "the Shaggy
Man and another man are in the waiting room and
ask to pay their respects to you. Shaggy is crying
like a baby, but he says they are tears of joy."
"Send them here at once, Jellia!" commanded Ozma.
"Also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small-
sized mule have mysteriously arrived, but they
don't seem to know where they are or how they came
here. Shall I send them here, too?"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping up
from her chair; "I'll go to meet Betsy myself,
for she'll feel awful strange in this big palace."
And she ran down the stairs two at a time to
greet her new friend, Betsy Bobbin.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Land of Love
"Well, is 'hee-haw' all you are able to say?"
inquired the Sawhorse, as he examined Hank with
his knot eyes and slowly wagged the branch that
served him for a tail.
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