Evening star. [volume], November 09, 1919, Page 12, Image 82

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Stories ,<? QZ
By L. Frank Baura
Sl
DOROTHY passed several very
happy weeks in the Land of
Oz as the guest of the royal
Ozma. who delighted to please
and interest the little Kansas girl.
Many new acquaintances were formed
and many old ones renewed, and wher
??er she went Dorothy found herself
among friends.
One day, however, as she sat In
Oima'a private room, she noticed hang
ing upon the wall a picture which con
atantly changed in appearance, at one
time showing a meadow and at another
time a forest, a lake or a village.
^"How curious!" she exclaimed, after
watching the shifting scenes for a few
moments.
"Yes," said Ozma, "that is really a
wonderful invention in magic. If I wish
to see any part of the world or any per
son living, I need only express the wish
and it is shown in the picture."
* * * ?
"May I use it?" asked Dorothy,
eagerly.
"Of course, my dear."
"Then I'd like to see the old Kansas
farm and Aunt Em," said the girL
Instantly the well remembered farm
house appeared in the picture and Aunt
Em could be seen quite plainly. She
was engaged in washing dishea by the
kitchen window and seemed quite well
and contented. The hired men and the
teams were in the harvest fields behind
the house, and the corn and wheat
teemed to the child to be in prime con
dition. On the side porch Dorothy's pet
dog, Toto, was lying fast asleep in the
gun, and to her surprise old Speckles
was running around with a brood of
twelve new chickens trailing after her.
"Everything seems all right at home,"
said Dorothy, with a sigh of relief.
m "Now, I wonder what Uncle Henry is
doing."
The scene in the picture at once
shifted to Australia, where, in a pleas
ant room in Sydney, Uncle Henry was
seated in an easy chair, solemnly smok
ing his briar pipe. He looked sad and
lonely, and his hair was now quite white
and his hands and face thin and wasted.
"Oh!" cried Dorothy, in an anxious
voice, "I'm sure Uncle Henry isn't get
ting any better, and it's because he is
worried about me. Ozma, dear, I "must
go to him at once!"
"How can you?" asked Ozma.
"I don't know," replied Dorothy; "but
let us go to Gllnda the Good. I'm sure
she will help me, and advise me how to
rat to Uncle Henry."
"Ozma readily agreed to this plan and
caused the Sawhorse to be harnessed to
a pretty green and pink phaeton, and
the two girls rode away to visit the fa
mous sorceress.
Glinda received them graciously and
listened to Dorothy's story with atten
tion.
"I have the magic belt, you know,"
?aid the little girl. "If I buckled it
around my waist and commanded it to
take me to Uncle Henry, wouldn't it do
ltr*
"I think so," replied Glinda, with a
?mile.
? "And then," continued Dorothy, "if I
ever wanted to come back here again,
the belt would bring me."
"In that you are wrong," said the
sorceress. "The belt has magical powers
only white it is In some fairy country,
such as the Land of Oz or the Land of
Ev. Indeed, my little friend were you
to wear it and wish yourself in Aus
tralia, with your uncle, the wish would
doubtless be fulfilled, because it was
made in fairyland. Hut you would not
find the magic belt around you when
you arrived at your destination."
"What would become of it?" asked
the girl.
'It would be lost, as were your silver
shoes when you visited Oz before, and
no one would ever see it again. It
wema too ' bad to destroy the use of the
magic belt in that way, doesn't it?"
* * ? *
"Then," said Dorothy, after a mo
ment's thought, "I will give the magio
belt to Ozma, for she' can use it In her
own country. And she can wish me
transported to L'ncle Henry without
losing the belt."
"That is a wise plan," replied Glinda.
So they rode back to the Emerald
C3ty, and on the way it was arranged
that every Saturday morning Ozma
would look at Dorothy In her magio
picture, wherever the little girl might
chance to be. And, if she saw Dorothy
make a certain signal then Ozma would
know that the little Kansas girl wanted
to re-visit the Land of Oz, and by
means of .the Nome King's magic belt
Would wish that she might instantly re
turn.
This having been agreed upon Dor
othy bade, good-by to all her friends.
Tlktok wanted to go to Australia, too;
bat Dorothy knew that the machine
man would never do for a servant In a
civilized country, and the chances were
that his machinery wouldn't work at all.
, Bo she left him In Ozma's care.
* * * *
Bflllna, on the contrary, preferred the
Laad of Os to any other country, and
M(liaail to accompany Dorothy.
*?f ** ?. aad. aats, that I Pad tier#
|p?ttMMit4?vor?4 In th?w?rW)da?
DOROTHY'S MAGIC BELT
v ^^
"THAT 19 A WISE PLAN," REPLIED GUSTDA.
clared the yellow hen. "and there are
plenty of them. So here I shall end my
days; and I must say, Dorothy, my dear,
that you are very foolish to go back Into
that stupid, humdrum world again."
"Uncle Henry needs me," said Dor
othy, simply; and every one except
Bllllna thought it was right that she
Aould go.
All Dorothy's friends of the Land ot
Oz?both old and new?gathered in a
group in front of the palace to bid her
a sorrowful good-by and to wish her
long life and happiness. After much
handshaking, Dorothy kissed Ozma once
more, and then handed her the Nome
King's belt, saying:
"Now, dear Princess, when I wave
my handkerchief, pleas* wl?h me with
Uncle Henry. I'm aw*fly sorry to leave
you?and the Scarecrow?and the Tin
Woodman?and the Cowardly Lion?and
Tlktok?and?and everybody?but I do
want my Uncle Henry! So good-by, all
of you."
Then the little girl stood on one of
the big emeralds which decorated the
courtyard, and after looking once again
at each of her friends, she waved her
handkerchief.
The next thing Dorothy knew, she
was standing beside her Uncle Henry.
Uncle Henry rubbed his eyes a moment,
as If he could scarcely believe that she
was really there, then drew her to him
In happiness and kissed her.
Of course, he had to hear all about
how she got to him, and how It had
happened that she was not drowned,
after all, and an about her wonderful
friends. But the next thing they did
was to plan a trip home.
It did not take Uncle Henry long to
Ret well and for them to pack up and
take a steamer for California.
? * * *
"How good It seems to be In one's own
country again!" cried Dorothy, many
days later, when their snip drew Into
port "Shall we start at once for Kansas,
or do you suppose I could stop off In
San Francisco and see a little girl I
know who lives there T I could visit her
mother a few days, couldn't IT"
"Yes, If you like," replied Uncle
Henry, "and I will go direct to Hug
sons Siding for a visit with my friend,
Bill Hugson; you can join me there and
we'll go on together to Kansas."
This Is exactly what happened. Uncle
Henry went on to Hagsons Siding and
left Dorothy In the care of her little
friend's mother. Dorothy had great fun
telling these dear friends all about her
wonderful experiences with the people
of Ox, and the visit passed all too
quickly. Before she knew It, she had
left them and was on the train, headed
for Hugsons Siding.
The train from Frisco was very lato.
It should have arrived at Hugsons Sid
ing at midnight, but It was already 5
o'clock and the gray dawn was break
ing in the east when the little train
slowly -rumbled up to the open shed
that served for the station house. As
It came to a stop the conductor called
out In a loud voice: ?
"Hugsons Sidlngl"
At once a little girt arose from her
Sketches from Life By Temple
A Hew. Who lN&verGp on Strike.
seat and walked to the door of the car,
carrying a wicker suit cane In one hand
and a round bird case covcred up with
newspapers in the other, while a parasol
was tucked under her arm. The con
ductor helped her off the car and then
the engineer started hli train again, so
that it puffed and groaned and moved
slowly away up the track. The reason
he was so late was because all through
the night there were times when the N
solid earth shook and trembled under 7*
him, and the engineer was afraid that J
at any moment the rails might spread
apart and an accident happen to his
passengers. So he moved the cars slowly ^
and with caution. ?? .
* * * *
The little girl stood still to watch ?
until the train had disappeared around
a curve; then Bhe turned to see whera .
she was.
The shed at Hugson Siding was bare
save for an old wooden bench, and did ^
not look very Inviting. As she peered
through tho soft gray light not a house j
of any sort was visible near the station, i
nor was any person In sight; but after ^
a whilo the child discovered a horse and
buggy standing near a group of trees a ^
short distance away. She walked to
ward It and found the horse tied to a
tree and standing motionless, with its ^
head hanging down almost to the
ground. It was a big horse, tall and ^
bony, with long logs and large knees
and feet Sho could count his ribs ;
easily where they showed through the
skin of his body, and his head was long .
and seemed altogether too big for him,
as if It did not flt His tall was short (
and scraggly, and his harness had been
broken In many places and fastened to- '
nether again with cordB and bits of
wire. The buggy Beemod almost new,
for It had a shiny top and side cur
tains. Getting around In front, so
that she could look Inside, the girl -
saw a boy curled up on tho seat fast
asleep.
(Copjrricht, 1919, by U Frank Baum for the
Qco. Matthew Adam? Serried
Didn't Care at All. ,
Representative lonqworth
Is becoming like Abe Lincoln In
that he tells stories to Illustrate
points that he desires to make.
At a recent publlo function "Honey
Fit*" Fitzgerald of Boston sang a
song or two. Including his old favor
ite. "Sweet Adeline." There was much
applause, and then Longworth rose
up and said:
"I used to have an old friend, a
captain on the Ohio river, out In Cin
cinnati, of whom I was quite fo-d.
I went away from Cincinnati and the
old captain dropped out of my life for
about twenty years. Then one day,
wandering back to my old haunts, I
encountered the captain.
"When I approached him he was sit
ting on the dock smoking his pipe.
My arrival did not seem to excite him
In the least. Ho spoke to me In a
friendly enough manner, but that was
all he did except to continue smoking
his pipe. Finally I said to him:
" 'Captain, you don't Beem .to be
overly glad to see mie.'
"Tho captain cogitated for a mo
ment, took his pipo but of his mouth,
gazed* down tho river and subsequent
ly replied:
" 'I ain't sorry to boo you and I ain't
glad to see you. 1 jos' don't give a
hang!' .
"And that," I,ongworth continued,
"is jus! how 1 feel about Fitzgerald
singii'ig another song."
Not by His Light.
mOHODY evor charged Representative
Young of North Pakota With not
being a thorough-going, rip-snorting,
hide-bound republican. Ho just nat
urally can't see any good on earth
in a democrat, and whenever he gets
up to make a political speech tho
things ho says about democrats are
simply awful. ,
During tho last campaign, while
Young wus campaigning In a country
district, ho started to address a meet
ing In tho Bchoolhouse one night
where tho only light was a lantern
owned by a prominent democratic
farmer. Young didn't know this, so
ho started in to lambast the demo
crats right and loft. The owner of
the lantern stood the abuse Just as
long as ho could and Anally he walk
ed up to the platform, lifted his lan
torn off the table and started out the
door. *
"I'll be gosh domed If any man ean
attack the democratic party by the
light of my lantern," he said as he faded'
into the darkness.
Young continued hie apeeeh with
out the aid of a light, and white he
thinks that hie mein(* was well re
ceived, It sometimes ocean to him
ithat possibly -his (wtvm were ul?
HtrHr) wasted. , m- - > '