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The General hesitated.
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"Are you likely to stay there long?" he asked.
"A few hundred years or so," said the alligator.
Guph softly rubbed the end of his nose and tried to think what to do.
"Do you know whether the First and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico is
at home or not?" he presently inquired.
"I expect he is, seeing he is always at home," replied the alligator.
"Ah; who is that coming down the mountain?" asked the Nome,
gazing upward.
The alligator turned to look over its shoulder, and at once Guph ran
to the bridge and leaped over the sentinel's back before it could turn
back again. The scarlet monster made a snap at the Nome's left foot,
but missed it by fully an inch.
"Ah ha!" laughed the General, who was now on the mountain path.
"I fooled you that time."
"So you did; and perhaps you fooled yourself," retorted the alligator.
"Go up the mountain, if you dare, and find out what the First and
Foremost will do to you!"
"I will," declared Guph, boldly; and on he went up the path.
At first the scene was wild enough, but gradually it grew more and
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more awful in appearance. All the rocks had the shapes of frightful
beings and even the tree trunks were gnarled and twisted like serpents.
Suddenly there appeared before the Nome a man with the head of an owl.
His body was hairy like that of an ape, and his only clothing was a
scarlet scarf twisted around his waist. He bore a huge club in his
hand and his round owl eyes blinked fiercely upon the intruder.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, threatening Guph with his club.
"I've come to see the First and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico,"
replied the General, who did not like the way this creature looked at
him, but still was not afraid.
"Ah; you shall see him!" the man said, with a sneering laugh. "The
First and Foremost shall decide upon the best way to punish you."
"He will not punish me," returned Guph, calmly, "for I have come here
to do him and his people a rare favor. Lead on, fellow, and take me
directly to your master."
The owl-man raised his club with a threatening gesture.
"If you try to escape," he said, "beware--"
But here the General interrupted him.
"Spare your threats," said he, "and do not be impertinent, or I will
have you severely punished. Lead on, and keep silent!"
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This Guph was really a clever rascal, and it seems a pity he was so
bad, for in a good cause he might have accomplished much. He realized
that he had put himself into a dangerous position by coming to this
dreadful mountain, but he also knew that if he showed fear he was
lost. So he adopted a bold manner as his best defense. The wisdom of
this plan was soon evident, for the Phanfasm with the owl's head
turned and led the way up the mountain.
At the very top was a level plain upon which were heaps of rock that
at first glance seemed solid. But on looking closer Guph discovered
that these rock heaps were dwellings, for each had an opening.
Not a person was to be seen outside the rock huts. All was silent.
The owl-man led the way among the groups of dwellings to one standing
in the center. It seemed no better and no worse than any of the
others. Outside the entrance to this rock heap the guide gave a low
wail that sounded like "Lee-ow-ah!"
Suddenly there bounded from the opening another hairy man. This one
wore the head of a bear. In his hand he bore a brass hoop. He glared
at the stranger in evident surprise.
"Why have you captured this foolish wanderer and brought him here?"
he demanded, addressing the owl-man.
"I did not capture him," was the answer. "He passed the scarlet
alligator and came here of his own free will and accord."
The First and Foremost looked at the General.
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"Have you tired of life, then?" he asked.
"No indeed," answered Guph. "I am a Nome, and the Chief General of
King Roquat the Red's great army of Nomes. I come of a long-lived
race, and I may say that I expect to live a long time yet. Sit down,
you Phanfasms--if you can find a seat in this wild haunt--and listen
to what I have to say."
With all his knowledge and bravery General Guph did not know that the
steady glare from the bear eyes was reading his inmost thoughts as
surely as if they had been put into words. He did not know that these
despised rock heaps of the Phanfasms were merely deceptions to his own
eyes, nor could he guess that he was standing in the midst of one of
the most splendid and luxurious cities ever built by magic power. All
that he saw was a barren waste of rock heaps, a hairy man with an
owl's head and another with a bear's head. The sorcery of the
Phanfasms permitted him to see no more.
Suddenly the First and Foremost swung his brass hoop and caught Guph
around the neck with it. The next instant, before the General could
think what had happened to him, he was dragged inside the rock hut.
Here, his eyes still blinded to realities, he perceived only a dim
light, by which the hut seemed as rough and rude inside as it was
outside. Yet he had a strange feeling that many bright eyes were
fastened upon him and that he stood in a vast and extensive hall.
The First and Foremost now laughed grimly and released his prisoner.
"If you have anything to say that is interesting," he remarked,
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"speak out ,before I strangle you."
So Guph spoke out. He tried not to pay any attention to a strange
rustling sound that he heard, as of an unseen multitude drawing near to
listen to his words. His eyes could see only the fierce bear-man, and
to him he addressed his speech. First he told of his plan to conquer
the Land of Oz and plunder the country of its riches and enslave its
people, who, being fairies, could not be killed. After relating all
this, and telling of the tunnel the Nome King was building, he said he
had come to ask the First and Foremost to join the Nomes, with his band
of terrible warriors, and help them to defeat the Oz people.
The General spoke very earnestly and impressively, but when he had
finished the bear-man began to laugh as if much amused, and his laughter
seemed to be echoed by a chorus of merriment from an unseen multitude.
Then, for the first time, Guph began to feel a trifle worried.
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