“I was? Oh dear, this is confusing,” said Lady Cue.
“Have you no idea where our rooms are, Madame?” asked Twiffle.
“I wouldn’t say that,” replied Lady Cue. “I did have a very good idea, but
it seems I mislaid it somewhere. There are so very many rooms, you know,
and any one of them might be yours, if only there weren’t so many other
people in the castle. That’s what we must be careful about, you know. I
don’t think you would want to share rooms with someone else, would you,
maybe?”
All the time they were wandering from corridor to corridor while Lady Cue became more and more unsure of her bearings. At last she stopped and said hopelessly, “You’ll have to pardon me, my friends, but I am afraid I am lost. I haven’t the faintest idea where we are.” “What shall we do?” asked Twink.
“I have it,” said Lady Cue. “I will pin my handkerchief to this door,” and she indicated a door opposite them, “so that we can’t get more lost. Whenever we pass this door with the handkerchief on it, we will know exactly where we are.” “And where will that be?” asked Twiffle.
“Why, where the handkerchief is, of course,” replied Lady Cue. With that,
Lady Cue reached in her pocket and pulled out a large linen napkin that
bore traces of food on it. “Oh dear,” she exclaimed. “I seem to have picked
this up at luncheon. How thoughtless of me.” She advanced to the door and,
removing a large safety pin from the front of her dress, carefully pinned
the napkin to the door.
“Whose rooms are these?” asked Twiffle.
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” replied Lady Cue.
“Why not open the door and find out?” pursued Twiffle.
“Why not?” echoed Lady Cue as she turned the knob and pushed open the door.
They all stepped inside. There was no sign of any occupants of the room.
The closets were all empty, and there were no personal articles about. The
suite consisted of a large, beautifully furnished living room with doors
leading to two comfortable bedrooms with baths.
“Why can’t we use these rooms?” asked Twiffle.
“What a wonderful idea,” exclaimed Lady Cue. “Then we won’t have to hunt any longer for your rooms, because these will be your rooms. But are you sure it’s all right? It sounds much too simple.” And with a worried look, the
poor lady started to take down the napkin from the door. “No, no,” said Twiffle. “Leave the napkin there. Then you will be able to find us again. Remember now, just look for the napkin on the door and you’ll know which is our room.”
Lady Cue nodded and extracted a large, old-fashioned watch from the depths of her sewing basket. She squinted at it, and said, “You have just one half hour to prepare for dinner. I will call for you and take you to the, the C4 oh yes, the dining room. That,” she confided, “is where they are serving dinner tonight.” With that, the befuddled Lady Cue closed the door, only to find she was still in the room. So she opened it, stepped outside, and then carefully closed it again.
Twink, Tom and Twiffle, in spite of their troubles, burst out laughing. If anything went right with the play tonight, they were sure it wouldn’t be due to Lady Cue’s efforts. While Twiffle waited patiently, the children bathed, scrubbed their faces and hands, and reappeared much refreshed and quite ready for the dinner that had been promised them. Twink was fascinated with the long rows of books on one side of the luxuriously furnished room, but she hardly had time to do more than glance at a few pictures when there came a gentle rapping on their door. Twiffle opened it. There stood Lady Cue. Her dress was on backwards, and she had forgotten to do her hair. Solemnly she counted Twink, Tom and Twiffle C4 one, two, three. “Is that right?” she asked them anxiously. “Were there just three of you? So often when I count I have something left over. This time it seems to come out even. That’s very odd.”
“Three would be odd,” muttered Twiffle. Fortunately, Lady Cue didn’t hear
him, or she might have become even more confused. She was already on her way through the corridors, so the children and the clown followed her. After several false starts and wandering through a number of corridors, they finally found their way to the great staircase.
CHAPTER 11
WHAT HAPPENED TO SHAGGY
The Grand Dining Room of the castle was brilliantly lighted by three huge crystal chandeliers. Each of the chandeliers flamed with more than a score of tapering lights which were reflected shimmeringly in the alabaster ceiling and walls. As soon as Twink, Tom and Twiffle entered the dining room, they were espied by Queen Curtain, who motioned them to seat themselves at her right. Queen Curtain and King Ticket occupied the head of the table. The Lords and Ladies of the Castle were filing into the dining room, chattering spiritedly, and all handsomely gowned and garbed. In a few minutes all were seated. There were a few curious glances at the three strangers at the table, but for the most part the Lords and Ladies of the Valley of Romance were far too excited over the play they were to witness that evening to give more than a passing glance to the children and the little clown.
The meal passed through many delicious and elaborate courses with no incidents. Queen Curtain played the charming host, occasionally tossing pleasant remarks to the children and Twiffle. Poor Lady Cue put salt in her tea instead of sugar, but she drank the entire cup without seeming to notice her mistake. “Perhaps she really likes it that way,” Twink whispered to Tom.
At the end of the meal, King Ticket rose and addressed the assemblage solemnly. “The moment has come for which we have prepared these many days. We will now pass into the theater for the first performance of the new play.” No one spoke. This apparently was an important moment. The only sound in the vast dining room was the rustling of the ladies’ skirts and the patter of footsteps on the alabaster floor.
Queen Curtain took Twink by the hand, and Tom and Twiffle followed into the theater. It was brilliantly lighted as the Lords and Ladies settled into their seats. A few of them hurried backstage C4 they were the ones who worked the scenery and otherwise aided in the presentation of the play. Twink, Tom and Twiffle found themselves seated in the Royal Box with King Ticket and Queen Curtain. The houselights dimmed, the curtains went up, and with no preliminaries the play was under way.
Two actors walked woodenly forward on the stage. They were dressed in what Twink and Tom could tell was supposed to be armor, but was obviously kitchen utensils strung together and about to fall off. From the words they were saying, the two knights seemed to be getting very angry with one another. But they looked at the audience instead of looking at each other, and spoke their lines in a dazed, unexcited way as though they were talking in their sleep. Impossible as it seemed from their lack of action, it became apparent that they were so enraged they had decided to fight out in a tournament their quarrel over a lady. Oh yes, there she was at the side of the stage, paying no attention at all to the knights. The tournament scene came next. The knights in their pots and pans were mounted on extraordinary horses. Each was made up of two men covered with
tufted candlewick bedspreads. They too moved about the stage in a slow and sleepy way. The lady who had inspired the fight looked on from her box seat at the side of the stage, waving her handkerchief. But it had slipped her mind apparently that it was the tournament she was watching, and she looked straight at the audience and listlessly waved her handkerchief as if trying to attract the attention of anyone who might care to wave back at her. When the knights supposedly rushed their horses at each other and aimed their spears, the steeds ambled slowly in opposite directions so far apart that they seemed not to be aware of each other at all. When they did finally get together, the horse of the knight who was to be winner slipped and fell down, and the bedspread slid to the floor. The horse and the knight who was to be victorious had to be re-assembled befor
e he could triumph over his victim, who had been watching him pick himself up off the floor.
Twink and Tom had to clap their hands over their mouths to keep from bursting out with laughter. They did this because it was apparent that King Ticket, Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies took the play quite seriously. Indeed, they were wildly enthusiastic. Throughout the entire play the scenery kept toppling over. Lord Props provided the wrong sound effects and stage furniture at every opportunity, and Lady Cue became so interested in a book of poetry that she read from this instead of giving the actors and actresses their proper lines.
Twink and Tom thought it strange that the people on the stage should mumble their lines so badly and behave altogether as though they were only half awake and were moving by clockwork. Act after act continued in this fashion. But the audience saw only the drama as it was intended. The Queen
and the Ladies wept openly, applying delicate lace handkerchiefs to their eyes. King Ticket and the Lords, being men, contented themselves with brushing away a furtive tear and repeatedly blowing their noses loudly in their spotless white linen kerchiefs. “Magnificent!” exclaimed King Ticket.
“Glorious!” proclaimed Queen Curtain through her tears. “This play will run
for years. It is one of the greatest romances we have ever staged!” “Romance!” sighed King Ticket. “Ah, sublime romance. There is nothing in the
world so touching and beautiful!”
It was near the end of the last act. Twink and Tom were nodding. Suddenly a new actor appeared upon the stage. Twink’s half-shut eyes flew open. She grasped Tom by the arms and shook him awake. Twiffle leaned forward, holding on to the rail of the box. None of them said a word. For a few seconds they merely stared unbelievingly. The new character who had come on the stage and was even then mumbling his lines in a mechanical voice was the Shaggy Man!
CHAPTER 12
A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE
At the sight of the Shaggy Man on the stage, Twink couldn’t contain herself. She leaned far out of the box and called, “Shaggy Man! Here we are. It’s Tom, Twiffle and Twink!”
If the Shaggy Man heard, he gave no indication of it. His eyes stared straight ahead of him, and he mumbled the words of his lines as though he were speaking in a dream in which he was only half awake. But King Ticket
and Queen Curtain as well as the audience of Lords and Ladies heard. A wave of annoyed “Sshhhhhs” arose from the audience, while Queen Curtain grabbed Twink by the arm, pulling her back into her seat and saying angrily, “How dare you interrupt the play? For that you shall join your precious Shaggy Man on the stage tomorrow night.”
Tom started from his seat indignantly at the Queen’s threatening words, but Twiffle, who looked worried, pulled him back. The three unwilling playgoers fell into an uneasy silence. A few moments later the curtain came down with a crash and the play was over. “Dear, dear me,” remarked King ticket. “There go the curtain ropes again. We shall have to repair them tomorrow.” Queen Curtain turned to Twiffle and the children. “Go to your rooms immediately,” she ordered sternly. “You know where they are. Don’t try to escape. That is impossible. All the doors leading out of the castle are securely locked. And as for you,” she said, shooting Twink an angry glance, “you will be taken care of tomorrow. Now be gone, all of you!” Twink shivered. Tom took her hand, and with Twiffle following they made their way out of the theater to their rooms. They passed unnoticed through the Lords and Ladies, who were noisily discussing the play, exclaiming over its excellence and looking forward to the next night’s performance C4 of the same play.
As soon as they were in their rooms, Twiffle quickly closed the door and silently motioned the children to his side. The little clown was plainly excited. “Listen,” he whispered to the children. “I believe I have figured out what has happened to the Shaggy Man and all the rest of the actors and actresses, for that matter. They have been enchanted. King Ticket and Queen Curtain have cast some kind of spell upon them so that they are only half
awake. The only existence they have is their dreamlike life on the stage as they go through their parts in the play.”
“I see,” nodded Twink. “I believe you’re right. Otherwise Shaggy would surely have answered when I called to him from the box.” “Of course,” said Twiffle.
“Then you don’t think,” surmised Tom, “that any of the actors and actresses are Lords and Ladies of the castle?”
“Not a bit of it,” stated Twiffle firmly. “It is my belief that they are people from adjoining countries who, like ourselves, have wandered unwittingly into the castle and have been enchanted for the pleasure of King Ticket, Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies who have always lived there.”
“You must be right,” murmured Twink, recalling how King Ticket had brushed aside their question as to the identity of the actors and actresses.
“Of course I am right,” asserted Twiffle. “It is the only solution that answers all the questions. What we must do now is find a way to rescue the Shaggy Man tonight before King Ticket and Queen Curtain have a chance to cast their disgusting old spell on Twink tomorrow.”
“Then let’s get started,” said Tom. “What do we do, Twiffle?”
“Nothing now,” replied Twiffle. “We must wait until everyone in the castle is asleep. Only then will it be safe for us to act.”
Twink and Tom tried to be calm during the next hour as they discussed with Twiffle their chances of rescuing the Shaggy Man and making an escape from the castle. At last Twiffle went quietly to the door and slowly opened it, peering up and down the hall corridor. The entire castle seemed to be
wrapped in deep silence. There was not a sound. “Come,” whispered Twiffle. “I believe it is safe to proceed now. Everyone seems to be asleep. You must walk on your tiptoes so your steps won’t be heard.” “Where are we going, Twiffle?” whispered Tom.
“To the theater and then backstage. That is where I am almost sure we will find the Shaggy Man and all the rest of the unfortunate actors and actresses.” The lights of the castle were dimmed to a soft glow, but this was enough for the adventurers to find their way to the theater with no trouble. Here the same soft light glowed, filling the theater with a thin, ghostly luminescence.
Twiffle quickly led the way down the aisle, then up the small flight of stairs to the stage. Beckoning the children to follow him, Twiffle darted through the wings to the back of the stage. Here an amazing sight greeted them. Lined up in two rows like soldiers on a drill field were about fifty men, women and children. Some of them Twink and Tom recalled having seen on the stage earlier that evening. They ranged in age from small children to elderly men and women. They stood stiffly, as though they were at attention. Their eyes were tight shut. So still were these figures that Twink couldn’t tell whether or not they were breathing. In the front row stood the Shaggy Man.
“Every type for every part,” muttered Twiffle to himself. Then, turning to the children, he whispered, “Here they are, just as I suspected, the unfortunate victims of King Ticket and Queen Curtain. They have no more life than mere dummies until the curtain goes up and they walk on the stage to play their parts in that absurd drama.”
Twiffle approached the Shaggy Man and studied him intently. At last he
sighed and shook his head. “I am afraid there is nothing we can do just now,” he admitted. “I learned a little magic from Conjo, and I hoped that I might be able to release the Shaggy Man, but the spell that is upon him is a strange one. I have no power to break it.”
“There must surely be $$something&& we can do,” said Tom, thinking of Queen Curtain’s threatening speech to Twink.
“I must have time to think,” said Twiffle. “At least we have discovered the whereabouts of the Shaggy Man, and we know what has happened to him and all these other poor people. There must be some way to release them, if only I can hit upon it. I suggest we return to our rooms. We certainly don’t want to be discovered here.”
“But what about Twi
nk?” asked Tom with dismay.
“I am hoping I can prevent Queen Curtain from making good her threat,”
replied Twiffle grimly.
“Oh, don’t worry about me,” said Twink bravely. “If worst comes to worst and I don’t make a better actress than the rest of these folks, I’ll be awfully disappointed in myself.”
CHAPTER 13
TOM GOES TO THE RESCUE
Despite the late hour at which they had gone to bed, Tom awakened bright and early in the morning, hurried into his clothes and bounded into Twink’s room. The bed was empty! Thinking that Twink might have risen before him, Tom dashed into the living room. There he found Twiffle alone, deep in thought.
“Twiffle! Twiffle! Twink is gone!” exclaimed Tom. Twiffle nodded his head gravely. “I know,” he said. “I looked for her about half an hour ago, and she was gone. I was afraid this would happen.” “But this is terrible!” protested Tom. “Think of poor Twink C4 one of those senseless dummies just for the amusement of these wicked people.” The boy was thoroughly incensed as he went on. “They call this the Valley of Romance! Why, they must be heartless. They don’t even know what real romance or love is!”
Twiffle let out a shout and leaped to his feet. “My boy, you’ve done it!” he cried.
“Done what?” gasped the astonished Tom.
“You’ve just given me the solution of all our problems. I now know how we
can save not only Twink and the Shaggy Man, but all the other people
enslaved by King Ticket and Queen Curtain!” “You do?” said Tom wonderingly.
“Yes,” responded Twiffle. “You were wrong about only one thing: King Ticket, Queen Curtain and the Lords and Ladies are not heartless. They have hearts, all right. But you were very right when you said they don’t know what real romance or love is. They don’t. We’re going to show them, and in the process we will rescue Twink and Shaggy!” Twiffle excitedly unfolded his plan. As Tom listened, he grew more and more cheerful. When Twiffle finished, Tom picked up the little clown and danced exuberantly about the room with him.
L. Frank Baum - Oz 38 Page 6