I suppose that Polychrome, and perhaps Queen Annand her Army, might have been able to dispel theenchantment of Ruggedo's Chief Magician had theyknown that danger lay in their pathway; for theRainbow's Daughter was a fairy and as Oogaboo isa part of the Land of Oz its inhabitants cannoteasily be deceived by such common magic as theNome King could command. But no one suspected anyespecial danger until after they had enteredRuggedo's cavern, and so they were journeyingalong in quite a contented manner when Tik-Tok,who marched ahead, suddenly disappeared.

The officers thought he must have turned acorner, so they kept on their way and all of themlikewise disappeared--one after another. Queen Annwas rather surprised at this, and in hasteningforward to learn the reason she also vanished fromsight.

Betsy Bobbin had tired her feet by walking, soshe was now riding upon the back of the stoutlittle mule, facing backward and talking to Shaggyand Polychrome, who were just behind. SuddenlyHank pitched forward and began falling and Betsywould have tumbled over his head had she notgrabbed the mule's shaggy neck with both arms andheld on for dear life.

All around was darkness, and they were notfalling directly downward but seemed to be slidingalong a steep incline. Hank's hoofs were restingupon some smooth substance over which he slid withthe swiftness of the wind. Once Betsy's heels flewup and struck a similar substance overhead. Theywere, indeed, descending the "Hollow Tube" thatled to the other side of the world.

"Stop, Hank-stop!" cried the girl; but Hankonly uttered a plaintive "Hee-haw!" for it wasimpossible for him to obey.

After several minutes had passed and no harm hadbefallen them, Betsy gained courage. She could seenothing at all, nor could she hear anything exceptthe rush of air past her ears as they plungeddownward along the Tube. Whether she and Hank werealone, or the others were with them, she could nottell. But had some one been able to take aflashlight photograph of the Tube at that time amost curious picture would have resulted. Therewas Tik-Tok, flat upon his back and slidingheadforemost down the incline. And there were theOfficers of the Army of Oogaboo, all tangled up ina confused crowd, flapping their arms and tryingto shield their faces from the clanking swords,which swung back and forth during the swiftjourney and pommeled everyone within their reach.Now followed Queen Ann, who had struck the Tube ina sitting position and went flying along with adash and abandon that thoroughly bewildered thepoor lady, who had no idea what had happened toher. Then, a little distance away, but unseen bythe others in the inky darkness, slid Betsy andHank, while behind them were Shaggy and Polychromeand finally Files and the princess.

When first they tumbled into the Tube, all weretoo dazed to think clearly, but the trip was along one, because the cavity led straight throughthe earth to a place just opposite the Nome King'sdominions, and long before the adventurers got tothe end they had begun to recover their wits.

"This is awful, Hank!" cried Betsy in a loudvoice, and Queen Ann heard her and called out:"Are you safe, Betsy?"

"Mercy, no!" answered the little girl. "Howcould anyone be safe when she's going aboutsixty miles a minute?" Then, after a pause, sheadded: "But where do you s'pose we're goingto, Your Maj'sty?"

"Don't ask her that, please don't!" saidShaggy, who was not too far away to overhearthem. "And please don't ask me why, either."

"Why?" said Betsy.

"No one can tell where we are going untilwe get there," replied Shaggy, and then heyelled "Ouch!" for Polychrome had overtakenhim and was now sitting on his head.

The Rainbow's Daughter laughed merrily,and so infectious was this joyous laugh thatBetsy echoed it and Hank said "Hee haw!" in amild and sympathetic tone of voice.

"I'd like to know where and when we'll arrive,just the same," exclaimed the little girl.

"Be patient and you'll find out, my dear," saidPolychrome. "But isn't this an odd experience?Here am I, whose home is in the skies, makinga journey through the center of the earth--whereI never expected to be!"

"How do you know we're in the center of theearth?" asked Betsy, her voice trembling a littlethrough nervousness.

"Why, we can t be anywhere else," repliedPolychrome. "I have often heard of this passage,which was once built by a Magician who was agreat traveler. He thought it would save him thebother of going around the earth's surface, buthe tumbled through the Tube so fast that heshot out at the other end and hit a star in the sky,which at once exploded."

"The star exploded?" asked Betsy wonderingly.

"Yes; the Magician hit it so hard."

"And what became of the Magician?" inquired thegirl.

"No one knows that," answered Polychrome. "But Idon't think it matters much."

"It matters a good deal, if we also hit thestars when we come out," said Queen Ann, with amoan.

"Don't worry," advised Polychrome. "I believethe Magician was going the other way, and probablyhe went much faster than we are going."

"It's fast enough to suit me," remarkedShaggy, gently removing Polychrome's heelfrom his left eye. "Couldn't you manage to fallall by yourself, my dear?"

"I'll try," laughed the Rainbow's Daughter.

All this time they were swiftly falling throughthe Tube, and it was not so easy for them to talkas you may imagine when you read their words. Butalthough they were so helpless and altogether inthe dark as to their fate, the fact that they wereable to converse at all cheered them,considerably.

Files and Ozga were also conversing as theyclung tightly to one another, and the youngfellow bravely strove to reassure the Princess,although he was terribly frightened, both on heraccount and on his own.

An hour, under such trying circumstances, isa very long time, and for more than an hour theycontinued their fearful journey. Then, just asthey began to fear the Tube would never end,Tik-Tok popped out into broad daylight and,after making a graceful circle in the air, fellwith a splash into a great marble fountain.

Out came the officers, in quick succession,tumbling heels over head and striking theground in many undignified attitudes.

"For the love of sassafras!" exclaimed aPeculiar Person who was hoeing pink violets in agarden. "What can all this mean?"

For answer, Queen Ann sailed up from theTube, took a ride through the air as high as thetreetops, and alighted squarely on top of thePeculiar Person's head, smashing a jeweledcrown over his eyes and tumbling him to theground.

The mule was heavier and had Betsy clinging tohis back, so he did not go so high up. Fortunatelyfor his little rider he struck the ground upon hisfour feet. Betsy was jarred a trifle but not hurtand when she looked around her she saw the Queenand the Peculiar Person struggling together uponthe ground, where the man was trying to choke Annand she had both hands in his bushy hair and waspulling with all her might. Some of the officers,when they got upon their feet, hastened toseparate the combatants and sought to restrain thePeculiar Person so that he could not attack theirQueen again.

By this time, Shaggy, Polychrome, Ozga and Fileshad all arrived and were curiously examining thestrange country in which they found themselves andwhich they knew to be exactly on the opposite sideof the world from the place where they had falleninto the Tube. It was a lovely place, indeed, andseemed to be the garden of some great Prince, forthrough the vistas of trees and shrubbery could beseen the towers of an immense castle. But as yetthe only inhabitant to greet them was the PeculiarPerson just mentioned, who had shaken off thegrasp of the officers without effort and was nowtrying to pull the battered crown from off hiseyes.

Shaggy, who was always polite, helped him todo this and when the man was free and couldsee again he looked at his visitors with evidentamazement.

"Well, well, well!" he exclaimed. "Where didyou come from and how did you get here?"

Betsy tried to answer him, for Queen Ann wassurly and silent.

"I can't say, exac'ly where we came from,cause I don't know the name of the place," saidthe girl, "but the way we got here was throughthe Hollow Tube."

"Don't call it a 'hollow' Tube, please,"exclaimed the Peculiar Person in an irritated toneof voice. "If~it's a tube, it's sure to behollow."

"Why?" asked Betsy.

"Because all tubes are made that way. But thisTube is private property and everyone is forbiddento fall into it."

"We didn't do it on purpose," explained Betsy,and Polychrome added: "I am quite sure thatRuggedo, the Nome King, pushed us down that Tube."

"Ha! Ruggedo! Did you say Ruggedo?" cried theman, becoming much excited.

"That is what she said," replied Shaggy, "and Ibelieve she is right. We were on our way toconquer the Nome King when suddenly we fell intothe Tube."

"Then you are enemies of Ruggedo?" inquired thepeculiar Person.

"Not exac'ly enemies," said Betsy, a littlepuzzled by the question, "'cause we don't know himat all; "but we started out to conquer him, whichisn't as friendly as it might be."

"True," agreed the man. He looked thoughtfullyfrom one to another of them for a while and thenhe turned his head over his shoulder and said:"Never mind the fire and pincers, my goodbrothers. It will be best to take these strangersto the Private Citizen."

"Very well, Tubekins," responded a Voice,deep and powerful, that seemed to come out ofthe air, for the speaker was invisible.

All our friends gave a jump, at this. EvenPolychrome was so startled that her gauzedraperies fluttered like a banner in a breeze.Shaggy shook his head and sighed; Queen Ann lookedvery unhappy; the officers clung to each other,trembling violently.

But soon they gained courage to look moreclosely at the Peculiar Person. As he was a typeof all the inhabitants of this extraordinary landwhom they afterward met, I will try to tell youwhat he looked like.

His face was beautiful, but lacked expression.His eyes were large and blue in color and histeeth finely formed and white as snow. His hairwas black and bushy and seemed inclined to curl atthe ends. So far no one could find any fault withhis appearance. He wore a robe of scarlet, whichdid not cover his arms and extended no lower thanhis bare knees. On the bosom of the robe wasembroidered a terrible dragon's head, as horribleto look at as the man was beautiful. His arms andlegs were left bare and the skin of one arm wasbright yellow and the skin of the other arm avivid green. He had one blue leg and one pink one,while both his feet--which showed through the opensandals he wore--were jet black.

Betsy could not decide whether these gorgeouscolors were dyes or the natural tints of the skin,but while she was thinking it over the man whohad been called "Tubekins" said:

"Follow me to the Residence--all of you!"

But just then a Voice exclaimed: "Here's anotherof them, Tubekins, lying in the water of thefountain."

"Gracious!" cried Betsy; "it must be Tik-Tok,and he'll drown."

"Water is a bad thing for his clockworks,anyway," agreed Shaggy, as with one accord theyall started for the fountain. But before theycould reach it, invisible hands raised Tik-Tokfrom the marble basin and set him upon his feetbeside it, water dripping from every joint of hiscopper body.

"Ma-ny tha-tha-tha-thanks!" he said; andthen his copper jaws clicked together and hecould say no more. He next made an attempt towalk but after several awkward trials found hecould not move his joints.

Peals of jeering laughter from persons unseengreeted Tik-Tok's failure, and the new arrivals inthis strange land found it very uncomfortable torealize that there were many creatures around themwho were invisible, yet could be heard plainly.

"Shall I wind him up?" asked Betsy, feeling verysorry for Tik-Tok.

"I think his machinery is wound; but he needsoiling," replied Shaggy.

At once an oil-can appeared before him, heldon a level with his eyes by some unseen hand.Shaggy took the can and tried to oil Tik-Tok'sjoints. As if to assist him, a strong current ofwarm air was directed against the copper manwhich quickly dried him. Soon he was able tosay "Ma-ny thanks!" quite smoothly and hisjoints worked fairly well.

"Come!" commanded Tubekins, and turning his backupon them he walked up the path toward the castle.

"Shall we go?" asked Queen Ann, uncertainly; butjust then she received a shove that almost pitchedher forward on her head; so she decided to go. Theofficers who hesitated received several energetickicks, but could not see who delivered them;therefore they also decided--very wisely--to go.The others followed willingly enough, for unlessthey ventured upon another terrible journeythrough the Tube they must make the best of theunknown country they were in, and the best seemedto be to obey orders.