L. Frank Baum_Oz 12 (18 page)

"As for that, I'm pretty sure it is my body, or a part of it, anyway,"
remarked the Emperor of the Winkies. "But never mind, friend Soldier;
let us be willing to donate our cast-off members to insure the
happiness of Nimmie Amee, and be thankful it is not our fate to hoe
cabbages and draw water—and be chided—in the place of this creature
Chopfyt."

"Yes," agreed the Soldier, "we have much to be thankful for."

Polychrome, who had wandered outside, now poked her pretty head through
an open window and exclaimed in a pleased voice:

"It's getting cloudy. Perhaps it is going to rain!"

It didn't rain just then, although the clouds in the sky grew thicker
and more threatening. Polychrome hoped for a thunder-storm, followed by
her Rainbow, but the two tin men did not relish the idea of getting
wet. They even preferred to remain in Nimmie Amee's house, although
they felt they were not welcome there, rather than go out and face the
coming storm. But the Scarecrow, who was a very thoughtful person, said
to his friends:

"If we remain here until after the storm, and Polychrome goes away on
her Rainbow, then we will be prisoners inside the Wall of Solid Air; so
it seems best to start upon our return journey at once. If I get wet,
my straw stuffing will be ruined, and if you two tin gentlemen get wet,
you may perhaps rust again, and become useless. But even that is better
than to stay here. Once we are free of the barrier, we have Woot the
Wanderer to help us, and he can oil your joints and restuff my body, if
it becomes necessary, for the boy is made of meat, which neither rusts
nor gets soggy or moldy."

"Come along, then!" cried Polychrome from the window, and the others,
realizing the wisdom of the Scarecrow's speech, took leave of Nimmie
Amee, who was glad to be rid of them, and said good-bye to her husband,
who merely scowled and made no answer, and then they hurried from the
house.

"Your old parts are not very polite, I must say," remarked the
Scarecrow, when they were in the garden.

"No," said Woot, "Chopfyt is a regular grouch. He might have wished us
a pleasant journey, at the very least."

"I beg you not to hold us responsible for that creature's actions,"
pleaded the Tin Woodman. "We are through with Chopfyt and shall have
nothing further to do with him."

Polychrome danced ahead of the party and led them straight to the
burrow of the Blue Rabbit, which they might have had some difficulty in
finding without her. There she lost no time in making them all small
again. The Blue Rabbit was busy nibbling cabbage leaves in Nimmie
Amee's garden, so they did not ask his permission but at once entered
the burrow.

Even now the raindrops were beginning to fall, but it was quite dry
inside the tunnel and by the time they had reached the other end,
outside the circular Wall of Solid Air, the storm was at its height and
the rain was coming down in torrents.

"Let us wait here," proposed Polychrome, peering out of the hole and
then quickly retreating. "The Rainbow won't appear until after the
storm and I can make you big again in a jiffy, before I join my sisters
on our bow."

"That's a good plan," said the Scarecrow approvingly. "It will save me
from getting soaked and soggy."

"It will save me from rusting," said the Tin Soldier.

"It will enable me to remain highly polished," said the Tin Woodman.

"Oh, as for that, I myself prefer not to get my pretty clothes wet,"
laughed the Rainbow's daughter.

"But while we wait I will bid you all adieu. I must also thank you for
saving me from that dreadful Giantess, Mrs. Yoop. You have been good
and patient comrades and I have enjoyed our adventures together, but I
am never so happy as when on my dear Rainbow."

"Will your father scold you for getting left on the earth?" asked Woot.

"I suppose so," said Polychrome gaily; "I'm always getting scolded for
my mad pranks, as they are called. My sisters are so sweet and lovely
and proper that they never dance off our Rainbow, and so they never
have any adventures. Adventures to me are good fun, only I never like
to stay too long on earth, because I really don't belong here. I shall
tell my Father the Rainbow that I'll try not to be so careless again,
and he will forgive me because in our sky mansions there is always joy
and happiness."

They were indeed sorry to part with their dainty and beautiful
companion and assured her of their devotion if they ever chanced to
meet again. She shook hands with the Scarecrow and the Tin Men and
kissed Woot the Wanderer lightly upon his forehead.

And then the rain suddenly ceased, and as the tiny people left the
burrow of the Blue Rabbit, a glorious big Rainbow appeared in the sky
and the end of its arch slowly descended and touched the ground just
where they stood.

Woot was so busy watching a score of lovely maidens—sisters of
Polychrome—who were leaning over the edge of the bow, and another
score who danced gaily amid the radiance of the splendid hues, that he
did not notice he was growing big again. But now Polychrome joined her
sisters on the Rainbow and the huge arch lifted and slowly melted away
as the sun burst from the clouds and sent its own white beams dancing
over the meadows.

"Why, she's gone!" exclaimed the boy, and turned to see his companions
still waving their hands in token of adieu to the vanished Polychrome.

Well, the rest of the story is quickly told, for the return Journey of
our adventurers was without any important incident. The Scarecrow was
so afraid of meeting the Hip-po-gy-raf, and having his straw eaten
again, that he urged his comrades to select another route to the
Emerald City, and they willingly consented, so that the Invisible
Country was wholly avoided.

Of course, when they reached the Emerald City their first duty was to
visit Ozma's palace, where they were royally entertained. The Tin
Soldier and Woot the Wanderer were welcomed as warmly as any strangers
might be who had been the traveling companions of Ozma's dear old
friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

At the banquet table that evening they related the manner in which they
had discovered Nimmie Amee, and told how they had found her happily
married to Chopfyt, whose relationship to Nick Chopper and Captain
Fyter was so bewildering that they asked Ozma's advice what to do about
it.

"You need not consider Chopfyt at all," replied the beautiful girl
Ruler of Oz. "If Nimmie Amee is content with that misfit man for a
husband, we have not even just cause to blame Ku-Klip for gluing him
together."

"I think it was a very good idea," added little Dorothy, "for if
Ku-Klip hadn't used up your castoff parts, they would have been wasted.
It's wicked to be wasteful, isn't it?"

"Well, anyhow," said Woot the Wanderer, "Chopfyt, being kept a prisoner
by his wife, is too far away from anyone to bother either of you tin
men in any way. If you hadn't gone where he is and discovered him, you
would never have worried about him."

"What do you care, anyhow," Betsy Bobbin asked the Tin Woodman, "so
long as Nimmie Amee is satisfied?"

"And just to think," remarked Tiny Trot, "that any girl would rather
live with a mixture like Chopfyt, on far-away Mount Munch, than to be
the Empress of the Winkies!"

"It is her own choice," said the Tin Woodman contentedly; "and, after
all, I'm not sure the Winkies would care to have an Empress."

It puzzled Ozma, for a time, to decide what to do with the Tin Soldier.
If he went with the Tin Woodman to the Emperor's castle, she felt that
the two tin men might not be able to live together in harmony, and
moreover the Emperor would not be so distinguished if he had a double
constantly beside him. So she asked Captain Fyter if he was willing to
serve her as a soldier, and he promptly declared that nothing would
please him more. After he had been in her service for some time, Ozma
sent him into the Gillikin Country, with instructions to keep order
among the wild people who inhabit some parts of that unknown country of
Oz.

As for Woot, being a Wanderer by profession, he was allowed to wander
wherever he desired, and Ozma promised to keep watch over his future
journeys and to protect the boy as well as she was able, in case he
ever got into more trouble.

All this having been happily arranged, the Tin Woodman returned to his
tin castle, and his chosen comrade, the Scarecrow, accompanied him on
the way. The two friends were sure to pass many pleasant hours together
in talking over their recent adventures, for as they neither ate nor
slept they found their greatest amusement in conversation.