After a short walk through very beautiful gardensthey came to the castle and followed Tubekinsthrough the entrance and into a great domedchamber, where he commanded them to be seated.

From the crown which he wore, Betsy had thoughtthis man must be the King of the country they werein, yet after he had seated all the strangers uponbenches that were ranged in a semicircle before ahigh throne, Tubekins bowed humbly before thevacant throne and in a flash became invisible anddisappeared.

The hall was an immense place, but there seemedto be no one in it beside themselves. Presently,however, they heard a low cough near them, andhere and there was the faint rustling of a robeand a slight patter as of footsteps. Then suddenlythere rang out the clear tone of a bell and at thesound all was changed.

Gazing around the hall in bewilderment they sawthat it was filled with hundreds of men and women,all with beautiful faces and staring blue eyes andall wearing scarlet robes and jeweled crowns upontheir heads. In fact, these people seemed exactduplicates of Tubekins and it was difficult tofind any mark by which to tell them apart.

"My! what a lot of Kings and Queens!" whisperedBetsy to Polychrome, who sat beside her andappeared much interested in the scene but not abit worried.

"It is certainly a strange sight," wasPolychrome's reply; "but I cannot see how therecan be more than one King, or Queen, in any onecountry, for were these all rulers, no one couldtell who was Master."

One of the Kings who stood near and overheardthis remark turned to her and said: "One who isMaster of himself is always a King, if only tohimself. In this favored land all Kings and Queensare equal, and it is our privilege to bow beforeone supreme Ruler--the Private Citizen."

"Who's he?" inquired Betsy.

As if to answer her, the clear tones of the bellagain rang out and instantly there appearedseated in the throne the man who was lord andmaster of all these royal ones. This fact wasevident when with one accord they fell upon theirknees and touched their foreheads to the floor.

The Private Citizen was not unlike the others,except that his eyes were black instead of blueand in the centers of the black irises glowed redsparks that seemed like coals of fire. But hisfeatures were very beautiful and dignified andhis manner composed and stately. Instead of theprevalent scarlet robe, he wore one of white,and the same dragon's head that decorated theothers was embroidered upon its bosom.

"What charge lies against these people,Tubekins?" he asked in quiet, even tones.

"They came through the forbidden Tube, O MightyCitizen," was the reply.

"You see, it was this way," said. Betsy. "Wewere marching to the Nome King, to conquer him andset Shaggy's brother free, when on a sudden--"

"Who are you?" demanded the Private Citizensternly.

"Me? Oh, I'm Betsy Bobbin, and--"

"Who is the leader of this party?" asked theCitizen.

"Sir, I am Queen Ann of Oogaboo, and--"

"Then keep quiet," said the Citizen. "Who is theleader?"

No one answered for a moment. Then General Bunnstood up.

"Sit down!" commanded the Citizen. "I can seethat sixteen of you are merely officers, and of noaccount."

"But we have an Army," said General Clock,blusteringly, for he didn't like to be told he wasof no account.

"Where is your Army?" asked the Citizen.

"It's me," said Tik-Tok, his voice sounding alittle rusty. "I'm the on-ly Pri-vate Sol-dier inthe par-ty."

Hearing this, the Citizen rose and bowedrespectfully to the Clockwork Man.

"Pardon me for not realizing your importancebefore," said he. "Will you oblige me by takinga seat beside me on my throne?"

Tik-Tok rose and walked over to the throne, allthe Kings and Queens making way for him. Then withclanking steps he mounted the platform and sat onthe broad seat beside the Citizen.

Ann was greatly provoked at this mark of favorshown to the humble Clockwork Man, but Shaggyseemed much pleased that his old friend'simportance had been recognized by the ruler ofthis remarkable country. The Citizen now began toquestion Tik-Tok, who told in his mechanical voiceabout Shaggy's quest of his lost brother, and howOzma of Oz had sent the Clockwork Man to assisthim, and how they had fallen in with Queen Ann andher people from Oogaboo. Also he told how Betsyand Hank and Polychrome and the Rose Princess hadhappened to join their party.

"And you intended to conquer Ruggedo, the MetalMonarch and King of the Nomes?" asked the Citizen.

"Yes. That seemed the on-ly thing for us to do,"was Tik-Tok's reply. "But he was too cle-ver forus. When we got close to his cav-ern he made ourpath lead to the Tube, and made the op-en-ing in-vis-i-ble, so that we all fell in-to it be-fore weknew it was there. It was an eas-y way to get ridof us and now Rug-gedo is safe and we are far a-way in a strange land."

The Citizen was silent a moment and seemed to bethinking. Then he said:

"Most noble Private Soldier, I must inform youthat by the laws of our country anyone who comesthrough the Forbidden Tube must be tortured fornine days and ten nights and then thrown back intothe Tube. But it is wise to disregard laws whenthey conflict with justice, and it seems that youand your followers did not disobey our lawswillingly, being forced into the Tube by Ruggedo.Therefore the Nome King is alone to blame, and healone must be punished."

"That suits me," said Tik-Tok. "But Rug-ge-dois on the o-ther side of the world where he isa-way out of your reach."

The Citizen drew himself up proudly.

"Do you imagine anything in the world or upon itcan be out of the reach of the Great Jinjin?" heasked.

"Oh! Are you, then, the Great Jinjin?" inquiredTik-Tok.

"I am."

"Then your name is Ti-ti-ti-Hoo-choo?"

"It is."

Queen Ann gave a scream and began to tremble.Shaggy was so disturbed that he took out ahandkerchief and wiped the perspiration from hisbrow. Polychrome looked sober and uneasy for thefirst time, while Files put his arms around theRose Princess as if to protect her. As for theofficers, the name of the great Jinjin set themmoaning and weeping at a great rate and every onefell upon his knees before the throne, begging formercy. Betsy was worried at seeing her companionsso disturbed, but did not know what it was allabout. Only Tik-Tok was unmoved at the discovery.

"Then," said he, "if you are Ti-ti-ti-Hoo-choo,and think Rug-ge-do is to blame, I am sure thatsome-thing queer will hap-pen to the King of theNomes."

"I wonder what 'twill be," said Betsy.

The Private Citizen--otherwise known as Tititi-Hoochoo, the Great Jinjin--looked at the littlegirl steadily.

"I will presently decide what is to happen toRuggedo," said he in a hard, stern voice. Then,turning to the throng of Kings and Queens, hecontinued: "Tik-Tok has spoken truly, for hismachinery will not allow him to lie, nor will itallow his thoughts to think falsely. Thereforethese people are not our enemies and must betreated with consideration and justice. Take themto your palaces and entertain them as guests untilto-morrow, when I command that they be broughtagain to my Residence. By then I shall have formedmy plans."

No sooner had Tititi-Hoochoo spoken than hedisappeared from sight. Immediately after, most ofthe Kings and Queens likewise disappeared. Butseveral of them remained visible and approachedthe strangers with great respect. One of thelovely Queens said to Betsy:

"I trust you will honor me by being my guest. Iam Erma, Queen of Light."

"May Hank come with me?" asked the girl.

"The King of Animals will care for your mule,"was the reply. "But do not fear for him, for hewill be treated royally. All of your party will bereunited on the morrow."

"I--I'd like to have some one with me," saidBetsy, pleadingly.

Queen Erma looked around and smiled uponPolychrome.

"Will the Rainbow's Daughter be an agreeablecompanion?" she asked.

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the girl.

So Polychrome and Betsy became guests of theQueen of Light, while other beautiful Kings andQueens took charge of the others of the party.

The two girls followed Erma out of the halland through the gardens of the Residence to avillage of pretty dwellings. None of these was solarge or imposing as the castle of the PrivateCitizen, but all were handsome enough to becalled palaces--as, in fact, they really were.