table.
He found a great many missing things, but he did
not consider them of enough note to write down. They
were the usual batch of missing buttons, stray cats,
and lost sheep.
"So far, nothing-" began Number Nine, when sud-
denly music seemed to come from the teletable. "Ah-
hoz! We've found something!"
"What chime is it?" asked the startled clock.
The boy carefully tuned to the right and the left,
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until he had the right focus for his eyes and ears. He
gave a whistle of astonishment.
A cloud of little men was floating across the screen.
The men had long beards, and bells for caps. Music
was coming from these bells, filling the wizard's work-
room with clear sound.
"A lot of lost chords !" said the clock. "Aren't you
going to record them in your notebook?"
"Certainly, this is a matter of note," said the boy.
"What a breezy tune they play," said the clock, lean-
ing forward so far that he almost tumbled through the
transom. The clock seemed to enjoy the spectacle of
the singing bells.
"They're in high spirits-sky-high," chuckled the
clock. And with that it leaned so close to Number Nine
that it lost its balance and fell with a loud BONG!
For an instant all its machinery whirred, and the
ticks came fast and unevenly.
"Do you need any help? Wait-said Number Nine.
But the clock scrambled to its feet and said with
dignity, "Time waits for no one! Thank you, I'm quite
niyself now."
"Good!" said the boy, turning back to the teletable.
The clock came up close to him. In that moment, Jenny
Jump floated into the picture on the screen.
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"Well, well! Is Jenny lost, too?" exclaimed the boy.
"Now, this calls for action!"
"What can we do about it?" asked the clock eagerly.
"Did you say WE?"
"Certainly," said the clock. "For I'm going with
you."
"You're always going! Well, come on."
The boy and the clock ran to a small door at the side
of the room. It was quite an ordinary-looking door,
but the boy spoke to it:
"Ambassa-door, take us to Jenny!"
The door suddenly bent down.
SWISH!
The Wizard's workroom was empty!
CHAPTER 11
Tik-Tok Is Rescued
HIGH in the sky, Jenny was enjoying the rhythm
of the Nota-bells. As she flew, leading them, they
played Oz opera, Munchkin Blues, Quadling quartets,
and Winkie lullabies. They kept the music up, play-
ing it as soft as down.
"This is lovely," thought Jenny. "And now, if only
we'd find a new adventure."
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Scarcely had she thought this, when a commotion
sounded at the rear of the bell-men.
"What's up?" said Jenny, looking around.
"Something that hasn't any businesss to be up," re-
plied a deep-voiced bell.
And then Jenny saw Number Nine struggling in
the hands of a bell-man, who riad captured him.
"Let him go! He's a friend of mine," called Jenny.
"What about this monster?" asked the bell-men,
ringing about the long hall clock.
"Kindly leave me alone," said the clock sharply.
"I'm accustomed to keeping my affairs in my own
hands."
"Isn't he rude? Shall we drop him?" called the bells.
"Spare him," cried Number Nine. "I brought him
with me."
"And, pray, what brought you here?" asked Jenny.
"I knew you were lost and came to rescue you."
At that all the bells pealed forth in laughter.
"Now, what are they laughing at?" the boy said
appealingly.
"The idea of my being lost," answered Jenny. "I'm
not lost, only in search of the lost scalawagons or any
good adventure.
At that moment two cars dashed furiously beneath
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them across the desert and were soon out of sight.
"Don't try to follow the scalawagons," Number Nine
called in alarm. "They are in the Sandy Waste. Res-
cuing Tik-Tok is much easier."
"Tik-Tok?" said Jenny in surprise. "Is he in trou-
ble?"
"Yes, indeed. He's lying at the foot of Carrot Moun-
tain with a lot of Lollies popping him on the head."
"I don't know the way to the Carrot Mountain," said
Jenny.
"Neither do I," said Number Nine.
"We'll take you," said several bells. "It is to the
south."
The bells formed a ring around Jenny, Number
Nine, and the clock. In this circular formation, they
proceeded southward.
Looking down, Number Nine soon saw that they
were flying over the dismal desert. He saw a dark
spot of agitated objects that might have been the
scalawagons. But he had no wish to descend.
"Fly higher," he begged the Nota-bells. The bell-
men sailed upward, and soon passed over the red glass
dome of Carrot Mountain.
"Hm. Something has broken the dome to pieces,"
observed Number Nine. "I wonder if all is well inside
the Scalawagon Factory."
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He did not have much time to wonder. At that mo-
ment the Nota-bells began to descend. They flew down
very gently, wafting the boy and the girl and the clock
earthward. When they came to rest, they were on a
red road outside the village of the Lolly-Pops.
"Farewell, we cannot remain," called the leader of
the bells. "Go straight on, and you will come to this
Tik-Tok."
"Must you leave us?" Jenny said regretfully. She
had become fond of the little bell-topped men.
"We'll meet again," promised the leader with a
smile. And then he and his band rose up, flew high
into the sky, and disappeared from view.
"They might have watched us rescue Tik-Tok," said
Number Nine.
"What if they had?" retorted the clock "They had
no clappers to applaud!"
"I really don't care for applause. Poor Tik-Tok must
be saved," said Jenny.
She hurried forward over the broad red road On
either side lay the red Quadling country. Red hedges
bordered the road, covered with red leaves and red
blossoms. The red clouds drifted slowly overhead in
the peaceful afternoon.
"What a lovely day for saving someone," said Jenny.
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"Yes, everything looks rosy," remarked Number
Nine.
The clock, stalking beside them, said practically,
"You ought to be arming yourselves. Those Lollies
may resist you!"
"Trust to my fairy gifts," said Jenny with a smile.
In a few more ticks of the clock, they had arrived
at the north side of Carrot Mountain. Circling the
base, they came upon an extraordinary scene. There
lay a pile of squirming bodies, the whole population
of Lolly-Pop Village. They were piled on top of each
other, struggling with something underneath. Jenny
saw a glint of copper.
"It's Tik-Tok! He'll be crushed!" cried Jenny,
springing forward. Number Nine and the clock ran
after her.
All she could see of Tik-Tok beneath the struggling
heap of Lollies were his copper legs. At a little distance
the lazy old Pops leaned upon one another, looking on.
Jenny flew at the Lollies and waved her hand with the
fairy glove. Instantly the Lollies popped aside, ex-
posing the helpless form of Tik-Tok.
The clock stepped forward, peering down with in-
terest. Then it said in disgust,
"Hm. No wonder he runs down. Hasn't any crank." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]