_How_ GUPH VISITED THE WHIMSIES
CHAPTER SIX
The new General of the Nome King's army knew perfectly well that to failin his plans meant death for him. Yet he was not at all anxious orworried. He hated every one who was good and longed to make all who werehappy unhappy. Therefore he had accepted this dangerous position asGeneral quite willingly, feeling sure in his evil mind that he would beable to do a lot of mischief and finally conquer the Land of Oz.
Yet Guph determined to be careful, and to lay his plans well, so as notto fail. He argued that only careless people fail in what they attemptto do.
The mountains underneath which the Nome King's extensive caverns werelocated lay grouped just north of the Land of Ev, which lay directlyacross the deadly desert to the east of the Land of Oz. As the mountainswere also on the edge of the desert the Nome King found that he hadonly to tunnel underneath the desert to reach Ozma's dominions. He didnot wish his armies to appear above ground in the Country of theWinkies, which was the part of the Land of Oz nearest to King Roquat'sown country, as then the people would give the alarm and enable Ozma tofortify the Emerald City and assemble an army. He wanted to take all theOz people by surprise; so he decided to run the tunnel clear through tothe Emerald City, where he and his hosts could break through the groundwithout warning and conquer the people before they had time to defendthemselves.
Roquat the Red began work at once upon his tunnel, setting a thousandminers at the task and building it high and broad enough for his armiesto march through it with ease. The Nomes were used to making tunnels, asall the kingdom in which they lived was under ground; so they made rapidprogress.
While this work was going on General Guph started out alone to visit theChief of the Whimsies.
These Whimsies were curious people who lived in a retired country oftheir own. They had large, strong bodies, but heads so small that theywere no bigger than door-knobs. Of course, such tiny heads could notcontain any great amount of brains, and the Whimsies were so ashamed oftheir personal appearance and lack of commonsense that they wore bigheads, made of pasteboard, which they fastened over their own littleheads. On these pasteboard heads they sewed sheep's wool for hair, andthe wool was colored many tints--pink, green and lavender being thefavorite colors.
The faces of these false heads were painted in many ridiculous ways,according to the whims of the owners, and these big, burly creatureslooked so whimsical and absurd in their queer masks that they werecalled "Whimsies." They foolishly imagined that no one would suspect thelittle heads that were inside the imitation ones, not knowing that it isfolly to try to appear otherwise than as nature has made us.
The Chief of the Whimsies had as little wisdom as the others, and hadbeen chosen chief merely because none among them was any wiser or morecapable of ruling. The Whimsies were evil spirits and could not bekilled. They were hated and feared by every one and were known asterrible fighters because they were so strong and muscular and had notsense enough to know when they were defeated.
General Guph thought the Whimsies would be a great help to the Nomes inthe conquest of Oz, for under his leadership they could be induced tofight as long so they could stand up. So he traveled to their countryand asked to see the Chief, who lived in a house that had a picture ofhis grotesque false head painted over the doorway.
The Chief's false head had blue hair, a turned-up nose, and a mouth thatstretched half across the face. Big green eyes had been painted upon it,but in the center of the chin were two small holes made in thepasteboard, so that the Chief could see through them with his own tinyeyes; for when the big head was fastened upon his shoulders the eyes inhis own natural head were on a level with the false chin.
Said General Guph to the Chief of the Whimsies:
"We Nomes are going to conquer the Land of Oz and capture our King'sMagic Belt, which the Oz people stole from him. Then we are going toplunder and destroy the whole country. And we want the Whimsies to helpus."
"Will there be any fighting?" asked the Chief.
"Plenty," replied Guph.
That must have pleased the Chief, for he got up and danced around theroom three times. Then he seated himself again, adjusted his false head,and said:
"We have no quarrel with Ozma of Oz."
"But you Whimsies love to fight, and here is a splendid chance to doso," urged Guph.
"Wait till I sing a song," said the Chief. Then he lay back in his chairand sang a foolish song that did not seem to the General to meananything, although he listened carefully. When he had finished, theChief Whimsie looked at him through the holes in his chin and asked:
"What reward will you give us if we help you?"
The General was prepared for this question, for he had been thinking thematter over on his journey. People often do a good deed without hope ofreward, but for an evil deed they always demand payment.
"When we get our Magic Belt," he made reply, "our King, Roquat the Red,will use its power to give every Whimsie a natural head as big and fineas the false head he now wears. Then you will no longer be ashamedbecause your big strong bodies have such teenty-weenty heads."
"Oh! Will you do that?" asked the Chief, eagerly.
"We surely will," promised the General.
"I'll talk to my people," said the Chief.
So he called a meeting of all the Whimsies and told them of the offermade by the Nomes. The creatures were delighted with the bargain, and atonce agreed to fight for the Nome King and help him to conquer Oz.
One Whimsie alone seemed to have a glimmer of sense, for he asked:
"Suppose we fail to capture the Magic Belt? What will happen then, andwhat good will all our fighting do?"
But they threw him into the river for asking foolish questions, andlaughed when the water ruined his pasteboard head before he could swimout again.
So the compact was made and General Guph was delighted with his successin gaining such powerful allies.
But there were other people, too, just as important as the Whimsies,whom the clever old Nome had determined to win to his side.
The Emerald City of Oz Page 7