L. Frank Baum - Oz 35 - The Scalawagons Of Oz

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The Scalawagons Of Oz – Oz 35
L. Frank Baum
CHAPTER 1
In the Wizard's Workroom
IN the Emerald City of Oz stands Ozma's palace. In
a high tower of the palace is a workshop. Here the
Wizard of Oz, a great magician, makes the tools for
his magic. His helper is Number Nine, a bright blue--
faced boy from the land of the Munchkins.
The sun was already up, sparkling on the many
gems and precious stones of theEmeraldCity, when
Number Nine came up the palace stairs. The large
emeralds set in the walls and towers of the city made
a soft green glow.
Number Nine began to pant as he climbed the pal-
ace stairs to the highest tower. Reaching the top, he
paused for breath. A voice came at him:
"Three minutes, four-and-a-half seconds late!"
Number Nine turned to see who was scolding him.
It was a tall clock that stood in the hallway.
"You'll have to be more prompt!" the Clock went
on, pointing its hands at Number Nine. "You're al-
ways late, and it's got to stop1"
"Why don't you stop?" Number Nine said good-
naturedly.
"What good would I be if I stopped?" answered
the Clock crossly.
Number Nine said, "You can't alarm me. You aren't
an alarm clock!"
T he boy started toward the door of the Wizard's
workroom. But the Clock thumped after him, remain-
ing at his heels and continuing its scolding.
"Three minutes, four-and-a-half seconds! The Wiz-
ard won't stand for it!"
Number Nine was already taking off his coat and
rolling up his sleeves. He tried to slip through the
workroom door, but the angry clock pushed at him.
"Get out of my way," cried the boy. "I have work
to do."
"Not until you promise to be like me--right up to
the minute!"
"Instead of talking, you should be ticking," Num-
ber Nine said. Then he quickly opened the workroom
door and shut it in the clock's face.
Inside, the boy saw the Wizard quietly at work.
The room was filled with apparatus, magical tools,
vials, and other paraphernalia. In the center stood
one of the Wizard's most important inventions. It
was a large teletable, equipped with a compound ga-
zabo, goggle-optics, and a trumpet eye. With this
machine, one could see and hear to any part of the
Land of Oz, and the stars beyond. It was very useful
in locating missing things and people.
"Good morning," the Wizard said. He was a short,
round man with a bald head and a remarkable twin-
kle in his eye.
"I'm a little late," Number Nine apologized. "But
I couldn't get my blue mule to walk fast"
The Wizard chuckled. "Still riding that slowpoke?"
"He's a good mule," Number Nine said. "But the
trouble is, he stops to talk to everyone on the way."
"A regular blue freak, eh?" said the Wizard.
Just then the clock's face appeared at the open
transom above the door.
"Three minutes, four-and-a-half seconds late!"
"Go away!" Number Nine called. "What makes you
so cranky?"
"I'm wound with a crank," the clock answered
proudly. "A tick-lish business, too."
Tired of talking with the clock, the boy turned back
to the Wizard. But the little man no longer there.
He had vanished quietly through the window.
"Get to work," advised the clock. "I'll stay here
and oversee you."
"Why don't you just overlook me?" said Number
Nine, as he began to work.
First he took a broom and swept the floor. There
was a litter of star-and-diamond dust left from one
of the Wizard's experiments. As the boy worked, a
shiny wastebasket jumped out of the corner and fol-
lowed him around. From time to time it lay on its
side to allow Number Nine to sweep the dust into it.
In a few minutes the floor was clean.
The wastebasket returned to its corner and Num-
ber Nine took up a dust cloth. He went to the tele-
table and carefully dusted the fine gear wheels and
levers, the dials, and the wonderful trumpet eye. When
one placed his ear to it, one could see far-off. And
by putting one's eye to it, one could hear far-off. He
dusted and polished the swinging telescope mirrors.
He tightened the silencer caps on the loud-speaker
tanks, so no noise could leak out.
All this time the clock watched the worker. But
Number Nine was doing his work faithfully. At last
the clock yawned loudly, slid down from the door,
and marched back to its corner.
Just then Number Nine noticed an ozmic ray ly-
ing on the teletable. It was a short line of light not
coming from anywhere. "I'll take this home for my
thirteen sisters and brothers to play with," Number
Nine said, reaching for the ray. But it jumped from
his hand. At the same time the trumpet eye began
to buzz.
Dropping everything, the boy placed his ear to the
trumpet and watched the screen of the teletable. An
image appeared there. It became clearer. He saw a
high, carrot-shaped mountain. The top appeared cov-
ered with a red glass dome. Everything around was
red, so Number Nine knew that he was looking at
the land of the Quadlings, to the south of Oz. Mov-
ing the lever, he brought the image close. Now he
could see inside the red glass dome. There was the
Wizard, talking to Tik-Tok, a copper mechanical man.
Tik-Tok seemed pleased, for there was a bright smile
on his copper face.
Number Nine didn't want to listen to other peo-
ple's conversation. He was just lowering the lever to
shut out the image, when he saw something peculiar
on the screen. He heard his own name mentioned.
"Number Nine won't be late to work any more,"
the Wizard was saying. "For he won't have to ride
his blue mule. This new invention of mine will put
all mules out of work."
As Number Nine tuned out this scene, he could not
believe his trumpet eye.
The Wizard's newest invention was the strangest
thing he had ever seen.
CHAPTER 2
The Scalawagons of Oz
THEY'RE better than blue mules, don't you think?"
the Wizard went on to Tik-Tok, as the two stood
under the glass dome of the Carrot Mountain.
"Bet-ter-and-more-beau-ti-ful," tocked the mechan-
ical man. There was joy in his voice.
The two were standing in a large room. All around
them stood brightly colored little motor cars.
"Yes," said the Wizard, "these scalawagons can do
more than blue mules. Just think, there'll be a free
taxi for everyone in Oz!"
"And-those-with-spiked-wheels-will-be-trac-tors-
for-the-farm-ers," said Tik-Tok.
"What's more," went on the Wizard, rubbing his
hands with satisfaction, "when you extend their run-
ning boards to the breeze, you have excellent glid-
ers!"
"Mar-vel-ous," ticked the copper man.
"But that isn't all," the Wizard continued, opening
the door of one of the scalawagons. "Look here."
Tik-Tok bent to see what the Wizard was pointing
at. "With this rubber foam on the inside, they'll be
comfortable on rough roads. They're absolutely un-
breakable. And their motors are no bigger than
goose eggs."
"Con-grat-u-la-tions!"
The Wizard's eyes were sparkling. "Look at this
center button. Just push it, and out comes LUNCH!
Think of it! People will go on picnics in lunch wag-
ons!"
"Re-mark-able!"
The little Wizard was beaming so hard that his
bald head glistened. "I've explained how to pound
sense into them. Then they'll know enough to obey
traffic rules. And they won't need garages, for they'll
understand how to keep out of danger."
"In-deed!"
"Tik-Tok, I appoint you Superintendent of this
Scalawagon Factory. For with your mechanical brain,
you understand such things."
"I-am-proud-of-my-re-spon-Si-bil-i-ty," Tik-Tok
said, lifting his metal chest.
"Promptly at six o'clock tomorrow, our gracious
Queen Ozma, will see our surprise," said the Wizard
happily.
"This~will-please-her-bet-ter-than-all-your-for-mer-
in-ven-tions."
"It was really Number Nine who gave me the idea,
though he-doesn't know it. That slow blue mule of
his-"
"Look-out!" warned Tik-Tok.
The Wizard looked up in time to see a dark, bird-
shaped object winging around his head.
"It's nothing to get in a flutter about," he said
quietly. "Only a peli-can trying to fill the tank with
motor-fluid."
As he spoke, the peli-can swooped down and thrust
its straight beak into a scalawagon's tank. As the tank
filled, the scalawagon reared up on its hind wheels,
its engine spitting.
"You're getting it too full," the Wizard said to the
peli-can; whereupon the creature flew back to its
shelf.
"Great-bolts-and-riv-ets!" exclaimed the mechani-
cal man.
"Now you know how the tanks are filled," said the
Wizard. He pointed to a large drum in the corner.
"But let me warn you: NEVER TOUGH THE FLAB-
BER-GAS!"
"Why?" asked the mechanical man.
But there was no answer.
The Wizard had vanished.
CHAPTER 3
Tik-Tok Sets to Work
NOW, let me see," said Tik-Tok to himself. "What-
sign-is-there-that-I-am-Sup-er-in-tend-ent-of-
this-Scalawagon-Factory? Hm-that's-what-I-need: a-
sign."
He looked around, every little wheel in him click-
ing with excitement. Near the desk he found painting
materials---a brush, some colors, and a drawing board.
With green paint he lettered a sign:
TIK-TOK,
MANAGER-IN-CHIEF
"I-guess-that's-on-the-right-tack," he said, as he
hung it on the factory door. Then, remembering what
the Wizard had told him, he made a second sign:
HANDS OFF-DON'T TOUCH
He placed this sign near the drum filled with the
dangerous flabber-gas.
"I~don't-know-just-what-can-hap-pen-and-I'm-not-
go-ing-to-find-out," he said, backing away from the
drum.
Meanwhile, more scalawagons came rolling out
from a door marked PRODUCTION ROOM at the
side of the factory. The floor was soon covered with
摘要:

        TheScalawagonsOfOz–Oz35 L.FrankBaum          CHAPTER1 IntheWizard'sWorkroom INtheEmeraldCityofOzstandsOzma'spalace.Inahightowerofthepalaceisaworkshop.HeretheWizardofOz,agreatmagician,makesthetoolsforhismagic.HishelperisNumberNine,abrightblue--facedboyfromthelandoftheMunchkins.Thesunwasalread...

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