Before they left the grove, Shaggy walked in the air to the upper branches of the biggest apple tree in the orchard and filled his pockets with the largest and ruddiest of the fruit. "Can't tell where we'll find our next meal," he explained.
Knowing the area that was freed from the force of gravity was of very small extent, Shaggy and his friends walked steadily in one direction, treading several feet in the air, since that was easier than walking on the earth. As there was no difference in the appearance of the countryside, where gravity exerted itself again, they had no way of telling when they would suddenly emerge from the gravity-less land.
Shaggy was in the lead when he suddenly experienced that curious sensation that comes when you step unexpectedly into a hole. The result was that Shaggy toppled forward and found himself sprawled on the grass. Following him came Twink, Tom and Twiffle. Only Tom managed to maintain his balance. What he had realized in time, was simply that the others had stepped off the air, on which they had been walking, to the earth a foot or two below them.
The Shaggy Man sighed. "Give me the earth to crawl around on any day, as our friend the Lord High Mayor would put it, even though it does mean an occasional tumble."
Before the travelers lay one of the most beautiful valleys they had ever seen. Gently sloping hills led down to green fields. Through the middle of the valley flowed a stream that looked like a shimmering blue ribbon stretched out on a green carpet. On the near bank of the stream, in the very center of the valley, stood a castle. Its spires, turrets, and towers were so delicately formed that they glistened like lace-filigree in the sunlight.
Twink's eyes glowed. "Isn't it just the most beautiful sight you ever saw!" she exclaimed.
"It certainly is elegant," admitted the Shaggy Man. "But what we want to know is, what kind of folks live in it."
"Oh, I'm sure they must be very happy and contented," said Twink. "They justmustbe to live in a place like that."
"Then we are going to visit the castle?" asked Twiffle a bit doubtfully.
"It seems the only thing to do," replied the Shaggy Man. "I admit I have no idea where we are, and there is just the possibility that whoever lives in that castle may be able to help us get to Oz, or at least give us directions to the Deadly Desert."
Tom was already on his way, running happily down the green slope toward the stream and the castle.
A ten-minute walk in the bright sunlight brought the little group of adventurers to the doors of the castle. So far they had seen no living persons. Birds sang in the trees, and once a white rabbit had bounded across Tom's path, but there were no signs of human beings.
The Shaggy Man stepped forward and knocked boldly on the heavy door. Instantly it swung silently open. As the adventurers stepped inside, Twink gasped and even the Shaggy Man, accustomed as he was to the splendour of Ozma's Royal Palace, was impressed with the magnificence of his surroundings.
The floor and walls of the castle were of the whitest alabaster, polished so that the creamy depths of the stone mirrored the luxurious furnishings, casting a luster that enhanced the woven richness of the deep-hued draperies in the paneled walls.
Who had built such a castle? Each of the travelers tried to picture in his own mind the kind of people who might live here. Would they be friendly or unfriendly, helpful or dangerous?
Still there was no sign of people. The only sound that broke the stillness of the foyer in which Shaggy and his friends stood was the tinkling of water as it flowed from a small fountain in the center of the room. This fountain was fashioned like an ordinary drinking fountain, the stream of water that rose from it being not more than three or four inches in height. Around the rim of the alabaster fountain was a metal plate with writing inscribed upon it.
Her curiosity aroused, Twink advanced to the fountain and read:
This is a Phontain.Any visitors arerequested to speaktheir messages into it.Signed: Rex Ticket & Regina Curtain.
"What in the world can it mean?" whispered Twink. Her companions had gathered about her and were reading the metal plate with wonder.
"Rex and Regina," ventured the Shaggy Man, "are King and Queen—that's Latin. So evidently the head-folks of this castle are King Ticket and Queen Curtain. Hmmmm—certainly odd names for a King and Queen."
"A Phontain—and we're supposed to talk into it!" sniffed Twiffle with disgust. "Whoever heard of such nonsense!"
"Well," observed the Shaggy Man, "I've heard of babbling brooks, so why not a talking fountain that will carry our words?"
"A phoney fountain, I suppose," said Tom, grinning.
Shaggy stooped over the Phontain and spoke clearly and distinctly:
"This is the Shaggy Man of Oz speaking. In behalf of my friends, Twink and Tom of the United States of America, Twiffle, late of the Isle of Conjo, and myself, I request an audience with King Ticket and Queen Curtain."
Almost immediately a red neon sign lighted up over two large double doors at the opposite end of the foyer. The sign flashed the single word "entrance."
"I guess this is where we go in," remarked the Shaggy Man as he walked to the door and pushed the large metal handle.
They were in a small, brightly lighted theater containing about one hundred seats. On the stage, seated on two thrones, were a man and a woman—evidently King Ticket and Queen Curtain.
All about the King and Queen on the stage there was a bustle of the most frenzied activity. There sounded the clash and clatter of hammers, the ripping of saws and the whirring of drills and bits. Perhaps fifteen or twenty men were hard at work knocking together and erecting a bewildering array of scenery. Calmly seated about the stage on three-cornered stools, their sewing baskets at their sides, were a number of ladies sewing on costumes. Others were apparently sewing together large pieces of canvas. Still other ladies were engaged in painting artistic pictures on the canvas which was then stretched on wooden frameworks to serve as backdrops for the stage.
After Shaggy and his friends had watched this display of industry for several minutes, they advanced down the middle aisle of the theater.
The King and Queen had been doing no actual work. They merely issued directions to the others who seemed not to pay them the slightest heed, but continued with their tasks.
King Ticket looked up. "Well," he said to the Shaggy Man, "you certainly took your time getting here. It was at least three minutes ago that you announced yourselves on the Phontain."
"Do you mean you really heard us through that water fountain?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Water hath a limpid tongue with which to lave the naked ear," said King Ticket in a voice which was meant to be impressive. "Of course we heard you through the Phontain. There are Phontains in all the rooms of the Castle—even in the theater, here—which repeat messages when we speak into them."
Twink thought this was much nicer than telephones which rudely jangling bells, although probably not as private.
"You didn't think," commented Queen Curtain, as though she had read Twink's thoughts, "that we would use ordinary means of communication, such as telephones, in the Valley of Romance, did you?"
"Oh," said the Shaggy Man, "is this the Valley of Romance?"
"It is, and since you are from the Land of Oz," said King Ticket, "you must surely have heard of the Valley of Romance."
The Shaggy Man reflected. It seemed he could recall Ozma mentioning something about some such valley, but he couldn't remember anything that she had said about it.
"How far are we from the Land of Oz?" asked Twiffle.
"Dear me!" exclaimed King Ticket staring at Twiffle. "For a moment I thought you were real!"
"I am real," stated Twiffle with dignity. "I just don't happen to be made of flesh and blood and bones, that's all."
"And as for the Land of Oz," remarked Queen Curtain meditatively, "it is indeed very far away—over the stream and over the hill—far, far away to the desert, and then over that, too. In fact, it isn't even in the Valley of Romance, so that means it must be quite some distance off. Too far even to think of," she added as though to say that closed the subject.
The Shaggy Man shrugged. Evidently these two weren't going to be of much help to the travelers in finding their way back to Oz. Well, they would make a lunch of the apples he carried in his pockets and then continue on their journey.
Shaggy and his friends made themselves comfortable in the deeply upholstered seats in the front row of the theater. Shaggy divided the apples between Twink, Tom, and himself. He offered several to King Ticket and Queen Curtain, who refused them rather disdainfully.
Shaggy and his friends ate in silence while they watched the activity on the stage. Not one of the busily working men and women seemed even to be aware of the presence of the strangers.
Finishing his apples, the Shaggy Man arose and said, "Looks like you folks are getting ready for quite a play. What's the name of it?"
Unexpectedly one of the workers on a ladder stopped his task of hammering together a bit of framework for the scenery and replied to Shaggy's question: "That we won't know until the curtain goes up tonight. Tonight's the First Night of this new play, and I shall be in charge." The fellow added impressively, "For I am the First Knight of the Realm, you know."
"No," replied the Shaggy Man, "I didn't know." Shaggy was a little angry for he thought the man was making fun of him.
"Oh, yes," Queen Curtain went on placidly. "He is the First Knight of the Realm—in fact all these people are Lords and Ladies of the Royal Theater."
"And do you always build your own scenery and make your own costumes?" asked the Shaggy Man.
King Ticket shifted uneasily on his throne. "Yes, and it always seems to turn out rather badly. I suppose all we were really meant to do was to enjoy the magnificent performances on the stage. And," the King brightened, "that is all we truly have any desire to do. That is a full life for us and quite enough—to sit in the theater and watch great drama unfold. What need have we for any lives of our own, when the stage is a world in itself and therein we are content to dwell." The King's voice gently subsided to a whisper, and his eyes stared dreamily into space.
Queen Curtain took up the story. "During the performances Lord Props and Lady Cue help the actors, although none too well, I must admit. Lord Props seldom gets things right: when a gun shot is called for there is very likely to be a bell ringing. Once when the scene required a bowl of goldfish, Lord Props actually managed to cram a whole live lobster into a soup tureen. Lady Cue does, however, manage to do a bit better with her cues. She is seldom more than two lines behind the actors."
"How long do your plays run?" asked Shaggy.
"Night after night after glorious night for years and years and years—sometimes as long as we can remember there has been the same wonderful play for us to see on the stage at night," said the King who had awakened from his dream.
"And what do you do the rest of the time?" queried the Shaggy Man.
"Nothing—nothing but sleep," answered King Ticket. "Why should we? We have the glorious stage for our lives." The King looked about him at the work going on.
"Who are your actors?" asked Tom.
For a moment King Ticket seemed embarrassed. Then he replied vaguely with a wave of his hand as if to dismiss the matter as of little importance: "Oh, just actors—you know, the usual thing, leading man, leading lady, villain, comedian, and so forth."
"Come," said the Shaggy Man, "we're wasting time here. We should be on our way if we ever hope to reach the Land of Oz."
Queen Curtain looked up. "You won't stay for dinner and the theater?"
"No, thank you," replied Shaggy. "We have a long journey ahead of us and we really must be going on our way now."
With this, Shaggy and his friends walked up the aisle toward the door by which they had entered the theater. King Ticket had been staring intently at the Shaggy Man and now he whispered something in a low voice to Queen Curtain. The Queen considered for a moment and then nodded her head.
Twink and Tom, who were directly behind the Shaggy Man, stopped and stared at each other. They were only half way up the aisle. The Shaggy Man had been only a step ahead of them.
Now he was gone—vanished completely!
Twink and Tom were utterly bewildered at their friend's disappearance. They didn't know what to do next.
Twiffle turned to King Ticket and Queen Curtain on the stage and demanded: "Where is the Shaggy Man?"
King Ticket looked up innocently. "Why, has he gone somewhere?"
"Certainly he has gone somewhere," said Twiffle, who was becoming angry. "And you had better tell us where. Don't forget that the Shaggy Man is an important personage of the Land of Oz. If anything happens to him you will be sorry."
"Pooh!" sniffed King Ticket. "We know all about the Land of Oz and its silly girl ruler, Ozma. But your famous Shaggy Man had not even heard of the Valley of Romance. What can anyone in Oz do? They don't even know of our existence."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," declared Twiffle with more courage than he felt.
"Anyway," continued King Ticket musingly, "the Land of Oz is vastly over-rated. Why, as far as I know, there isn't a single theater in all the country!"
"And so," began Queen Curtain quietly, "why don't you children just make yourselves comfortable until dinner time? Then you may join us for the meal and afterwards you shall be our guests in the Royal Box to witness the performance of our new play."
Twiffle was aroused now. He climbed right up on the arm of King Ticket's chair. "We don't want your dinner. We don't want to see your play. All we want is the Shaggy Man and then we shall continue our journey."
"Tut, tut," admonished King Ticket. "What a violent disposition the little puppet has."
"I am afraid," said Queen Curtain, "that you really have no choice. You must stay here until we are ready for you to depart. After all, you came of your own accord, you know."
Twiffle was silent. He was at a loss to know what to say or do. Twink and Tom felt suddenly alone and a little bit frightened, now that the Shaggy Man was gone. Even in the brief time they had known him, they had grown very fond of him, and had come to rely upon him.
Seeing this, Twiffle returned to stand by the children and said: "Never you mind. We'll find the Shaggy Man all right. Perhaps it would be wise to remain here tonight as these people wish us to do. That will give us a chance to find out what they have done with Shaggy."
This was said in a whisper, to which Tom answered: "Well, I could enjoy a good meal. We haven't had anything to eat but fruit since yesterday." Actually Tom was as worried about Shaggy as Twink, but, being a boy, he didn't want to let the girl know.
Twink was indignant. "I'm surprised at you, Tom! The idea of talking about food when we've just lost our best friend! But I suppose Twiffle is right."
"Good!" said King Ticket. "Then that is settled and you will be with us for dinner and the theater!"
"Gosh!" exclaimed Tom, "do you suppose he heard everything we said?"
"I don't have any doubt of it," replied Twiffle calmly. "Therefore we might as well converse in our ordinary voices."
"You were indeed fortunate to have arrived just in time for the opening night of our new play," said Queen Curtain pleasantly. "I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. Tell me, have you children seen many plays?"
"Oh, yes," replied Tom, "we have seen lots of our school plays, and last Christmas Twink and I had important parts in the Christmas pageant."
"Well, then, you will certainly enjoy yourselves tonight," said the Queen, smiling happily at the children. "We will work only about an hour more. Then everything will be in readiness. That will give us plenty of time to tidy up, dress in our finest, and enjoy the dinner and the play to the utmost."
The hour passed swiftly. The children apparently were engrossed in the work going on, on the stage, but actually their thoughts were busy puzzling over the mystery of what had happened to the Shaggy Man.
"Lady Cue will show you to your rooms, children," announced Queen Curtain, rising from her throne. The Lords and Ladies were putting away their tools and sewing. A tall, thin, worried-looking woman, sewing basket on her arm, stepped down a short flight of stairs from the stage and smiled rather absent-mindedly at Twink and Tom.
"You will come with me, I think?" she said hesitantly.
Twink and Tom looked at Twiffle, who nodded, and all three followed the tall lady who was proceeding uncertainly up the aisle.
Outside the theater, Lady Cue led Twiffle and the children up a broad staircase leading to the second floor of the castle. Here there was a long corridor, with smaller corridors leading off of it, each with many doors opening into various suites and rooms. Lady Cue had advanced only a short distance down the main corridor when she stopped uncertainly before a door and turned to her charges.
"This is a door," she said, "but do you think it is the right one?"
"I'm sure we wouldn't know, Madame," replied Twiffle. "After all, you live in this castle and should know all about it."
Lady Cue sighed. "Of course, of course. I forgot for the moment that you are the strangers. Well, we shall have to do our best to find the right door."
"Haven't you been in any of these rooms?" asked Tom curiously.
"Inthem?" asked Lady Cue vaguely. "Oh, I must have since I live here, you know. Once inside the rooms I am sure I would be able to find my way with no trouble. But outside them it is most confusing. How is one to know what isinsidewhen one isoutside?"
Lady Cue looked at them beseechingly and wandered down the corridor to another door exactly like the one she had just left. She stared at this one for several minutes, then boldly opened it a crack and peered in.
"Oh, Goodness! I beg your pardon," she said to someone in the room, hastily closing the door. "Well," she said, "that's one that isn't the one. The First Knight of the Realm is in there pressing his breeches for tonight's performance."
"The First Knight of the Realm presses his own clothes?" asked Twink.
"He does, he does," asserted Lady Cue wagging her head. "I did it for him once, but somehow the creases ran zig-zag and he looked like he was corrugated. It is my opinion, though," Lady Cue added in a confidential whisper, "that he wears a poor quality garment."
Lady Cue turned and started off down one of the smaller corridors. Twink, Tom, and Twiffle followed her, at which Lady Cue stopped and looked at them with a puzzled expression. "Did you wish to see me?" she asked.
"You were taking us to our rooms," reminded Twiffle.
"I was?" exclaimed Lady Cue greatly surprised. "Well, then you just show me where your rooms are and I will be glad to take you to them."
"But you were supposed to showusto our rooms," said Tom.
"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. You will want your very own rooms, won't you? 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—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—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.
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—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 at each other. 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 before 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!
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 "Sshhhhhhs" 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 play-goers 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—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 dream-like 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 here."
"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 tip-toes, 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 besomethingwe 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 Twink?" 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."
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—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.
"Twiffle," the boy shouted, "you're a wonder!"
Twiffle grinned from ear to ear. "It was you who gave me the idea," he reminded Tom modestly. "But we must plan very carefully," he went on, becoming serious. "Remember, there is only a slim chance that our plan will work. We must take that chance and hope for the best. As there is nothing we can do until tonight when the play is again presented, we should make use of this time to work out every single detail of our plan."
Twiffle and Tom went over their plan again and again. Nevertheless, the day seemed to Tom one of the longest he had ever spent. The long hours of waiting were broken only three times—when Lady Cue brought in Tom's meals.
The food was quite good, but a bit mixed up. For breakfast the befuddled Lady brought Tom a large slice of roast beef with corn flakes and apple pie. Lunch consisted of fried eggs, mashed potatoes, and doughnuts; while dinner was made up of broiled apricots, strawberry shortcake, and graham crackers. But Tom was hungry and didn't mind the strange assortment of foods too much. He managed to eat everything even though Lady Cue brought him six spoons with each meal and no knives or forks.
When Lady Cue appeared with the evening meal, Tom was a bit worried because they had not been asked to dine with the Lords and Ladies in the Royal Dining Room. Could this mean they would not be invited to the play? If so, then their plan of rescue would be ruined.
Twiffle was not worried. He was sure they would be asked to share the King and Queen's Royal Box, if only as a form of punishment, since they would be compelled to see Twink as one of the puppets on the stage.
Twiffle proved to be right. Early in the evening Lady Cue appeared in the doorway and led them again to the theater.
King Ticket and Queen Curtain were already settled in the Royal Box when Tom and Twiffle arrived. Except to give them an icy stare, the monarchs paid no attention to their guests. Twiffle winked at Tom, but both of them were quaking lest Twiffle's plan might not work. If it did not work, they would be worse off than ever.
If possible the play—it was the same one—was even worse than on the previous night. The players went through their parts in a dream-like fashion, chanting their lines woodenly. Scenery fell apart, the curtain came down at the wrong moments and everything possible went wrong. But King Ticket and Queen Curtain were enchanted. Along with the Lords and Ladies they applauded vociferously and reacted to the ridiculous performance with even more enthusiasm than they had displayed the night before.
This night, Tom had no trouble in keeping awake. He squirmed about in his seat with impatience, waiting until Twink and the Shaggy Man would appear. This didn't happen until the play was well into the fourth and last act.
As on the night before, the Shaggy Man wandered blindly onto the stage, speaking the same lines in an almost indistinguishable voice.
A moment later Tom tensed with excitement. A new character had been added. It was Twink. Her eyes stared as she moved mechanically across the stage, murmuring the words of her lines. Tom took a deep breath and glanced at Twiffle. The time had come to act. Twiffle nodded.
In the next instant Tom climbed to the wide rail that encircled the Royal Box. Poised there for a moment, he gave a leap and landed on the stage. Without hesitating a moment he dashed to the Shaggy Man, and to the amazement of everyone in the audience except Twiffle, went through the Shaggy Man's pockets. Tom gave an exultant cry. He had found what he wanted. He held the Love Magnet before him, waving it first at the Shaggy Man and then at Twink.
Shaggy and Twink started, then rubbed their eyes and stared about them unbelievingly. Meanwhile Tom was busy. He didn't hesitate until he had exposed the Love Magnet to the gaze of each of the enchanted actors and actresses. As each one looked at the Love Magnet he lost his glassy stare and came to life. In a few seconds the stage was filled—not with dummies—but with human beings, bewildered, but freed from the thralldom of King Ticket and Queen Curtain's evil spell. As they recovered, several of them threw their arms around Tom, while all gazed at the boy with fondness and love in their eyes. Twink suddenly realized how greatly she loved her brother, and the first thing the Shaggy Man said was, "A great boy, that Tom!"
Meanwhile King Ticket and Queen Curtain, as well as the entire audience of Lords and Ladies had risen to their feet. None of them spoke. The real drama suddenly being lived on the stage held them fascinated.
At this very moment, Tom advanced to the front center of the stage and with all eyes upon him, flashed the Love Magnet before the audience.
A vast sigh went through the theater. And then there was a confused babel as the Lords and Ladies crowded into the aisle, each of them bent upon reaching the stage and embracing Tom, who, they realized suddenly, was quite the most lovable person they had ever beheld.