"Well," said Queen Ann, when all were again seatedin Kaliko's royal cavern, "I wonder what we shalldo next. If I could find my way back to OogabooI'd take my army home at once, for I'm sick andtired of these dreadful hardships."

"Don't you want to conquer the world?" asked Betsy.

"No; I've changed my mind about that," admittedthe Queen. "The world is too big for one person toconquer and I was happier with my own people inOogaboo. I wish--Oh, how earnestly I wish--that Iwas back there this minute!"

"So do I!" yelled every officer in a ferventtone.

Now, it is time for the reader to know that inthe far-away Land of Oz the lovely Ruler, Ozma,had been following the adventures of her ShaggyMan, and Tik-Tok, and all the others they had met.Day by day Ozma, with the wonderful Wizard of Ozseated beside her, had gazed upon a Magic Picturein a radium frame, which occupied one side of theRuler's cosy boudoir in the palace of the EmeraldCity. The singular thing about this Magic Picturewas that it showed whatever scene Ozma wished tosee, with the figures all in motion, just as itwas taking place. So Ozma and the Wizard hadwatched every action of the adventurers from thetime Shaggy had met shipwrecked Betsy and Hank inthe Rose Kingdom, at which time the Rose Princess,a distant cousin of Ozma, had been exiled by herheartless subjects.

When Ann and her people so earnestly wished toreturn to Oogaboo, Ozma was sorry for them andremembered that Oogaboo was a corner of the Landof Oz. She turned to her attendant and asked:

"Can not your magic take these unhappy people totheir old home, Wizard?"

"It can, Your Highness," replied the littleWizard.

"I think the poor Queen has suffered enough inher misguided effort to conquer the world," saidOzma, smiling at the absurdity of the undertaking,"so no doubt she will hereafter be contented inher own little Kingdom. Please send her there,Wizard, and with her the officers and Files."

"How about the Rose Princess?" asked the Wizard.

"Send her to Oogaboo with Files," answered Ozma."They have become such good friends that I am sureit would make them unhappy to separate them."

"Very well," said the Wizard, and without anyfuss or mystery whatever he performed a magicalrite that was simple and effective. Thereforethose seated in the Nome King's cavern were bothstartled and amazed when all the people of Oogaboosuddenly disappeared from the room, and with themthe Rose Princess. At first they could notunderstand it at all; but presently Shaggysuspected the truth, and believing that Ozma wasnow taking an interest in the party he drew fromhis pocket a tiny instrument which he placedagainst his ear.

Ozma, observing this action in her MagicPicture, at once caught up a similar instrumentfrom a table beside her and held it to her ownear. The two instruments recorded the samedelicate vibrations of sound and formed a wirelesstelephone, an invention of the Wizard. Thoseseparated by any distance were thus enabled toconverse together with perfect ease and withoutany wire connection.

"Do you hear me, Shaggy Man?" asked Ozma.

"Yes, Your Highness," he replied.

"I have Sent the people of Oogaboo back to theirown little valley," announced the Ruler of Oz; "sodo not worry over their disappearance."

"That was very kind of you," said Shaggy. "ButYour Highness must permit me to report that my ownmission here is now ended. I have found my lostbrother, and he is now beside me, freed from theenchantment of ugliness which Ruggedo cast uponhim. Tik-Tok has served me and my comradesfaithfully, as you requested him to do, and I hopeyou will now transport the Clockwork Man back toyour fairyland of Oz."

"I will do that," replied Ozma. "But howabout yourself, Shaggy?"

"I have been very happy in Oz," he said, "but myduty to others forces me to exile myself from thatdelightful land. I must take care of my new-foundbrother, for one thing, and I have a new comradein a dear little girl named Betsy Bobbin, who hasno home to go to, and no other friends but me anda small donkey named Hank. I have promised Betsynever to desert her as long as she needs a friend,and so I must give up the delights of the Land ofOz forever."

He said this with a sigh of regret, and Ozmamade no reply but laid the tiny instrument on hertable, thus cutting off all further communicationwith the Shaggy Man. But the lovely Ruler of Ozstill watched her magic picture, with a thoughtfulexpression upon her face, and the little Wizard ofOz watched Ozma and smiled softly to himself.

In the cavern of the Nome King Shaggy replacedthe wireless telephone in his pocket and turningto Betsy said in as cheerful a voice as he couldmuster:

"Well, little comrade, what shall we do next?"

"I don't know, I'm sure," she answered with apuzzled face. "I'm kind of sorry our adventuresare over, for I enjoyed them, and now that QueenAnn and her people are gone, and Polychrome isgone, and--dear me!--where's Tik-Tok, Shaggy?"

"He also has disappeared," said Shaggy, lookingaround the cavern and nodding wisely. "By thistime he is in Ozma's palace in the Land of Oz,which is his home."

"Isn't it your home, too?" asked Betsy.

"It used to be, my dear; but now my home iswherever you and my brother are. We are wanderers,you know, but if we stick together I am sure weshall have a good time."

"Then," said the girl, "let us get out of thisstuffy, underground cavern and go in search ofnew adventures. I'm sure it has stopped raining."

"I'm ready," said Shaggy, and then they badegood-bye to King Kaliko, and thanked him forhis assistance, and went out to the mouth ofthe passage.

The sky was now clear and a brilliant blue incolor; the sun shone brightly and even thisrugged, rocky country seemed delightful aftertheir confinement underground. There were but fourof them now--Betsy and Hank, and Shaggy and hisbrother--and the little party made their way downthe mountain and followed a faint path that ledtoward the southwest.

During this time Ozma had been holding aconference with the Wizard, and later with Tik-Tok, whom the magic of the Wizard had quicklytransported to Ozma's palace. Tik-Tok had onlywords of praise for Betsy Bobbin, "who," he said,"is al-most as nice as Dor-o-thy her-self."

"Let us send for Dorothy," said Ozma, andsummoning her favorite maid, who was named JelliaJamb, she asked her to request Princess Dorothy toattend her at once. So a few moments later Dorothyentered Ozma's room and greeted her and the Wizardand Tik-Tok with the same gentle smile and simplemanner that had won for the little girl the loveof everyone she met.

"Did you want to see me, Ozma?" she asked.

"Yes, dear. I am puzzled how to act, and I wantyour advice."

"I don't b'lieve it's worth much," repliedDorothy, "but I'll do the best I can. What is itall about, Ozma?"

"You all know," said the girl Ruler, addressingher three friends, "what a serious thing it is toadmit any mortals into this fairyland of Oz. It istrue I have invited several mortals to make theirhome here, and all of them have proved true andloyal subjects. Indeed, no one of you three was anative of Oz. Dorothy and the Wizard came herefrom the United States, and Tik-Tok came from theLand of Ev. But of course he is not a mortal.Shaggy is another American, and he is the cause ofall my worry, for our dear Shaggy will not returnhere and desert the new friends he has found inhis recent adventures, because he believes theyneed his services."

"Shaggy Man was always kind-hearted," remarkedDorothy. "But who are these new friends he hasfound?"

"One is his brother, who for many years has beena prisoner of the Nome King, our old enemyRuggedo. This brother seems a kindly, honestfellow, but he has done nothing to entitle him toa home in the Land of Oz."

"Who else?" asked Dorothy.

"I have told you about Betsy Bobbin, the littlegirl who was shipwrecked--in much the same way youonce were--and has since been following the ShaggyMan in his search for his lost brother. Youremember her, do you not?"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I've oftenwatched her and Hank in the Magic Picture, youknow. She's a dear little girl, and old Hank is adarling! Where are they now?"

"Look and see," replied Ozma with a smile ather friend's enthusiasm.

Dorothy turned to the Picture, which showedBetsy and Hank, with Shaggy and his brother,trudging along the rocky paths of a barrencountry.

"Seems to me," she said, musingly, "thatthey're a good way from any place to sleep, orany nice things to eat."

"You are right," said Tik-Tok. "I have been inthat coun-try, and it is a wilder-ness."

"It is the country of the nomes," explained theWizard, "who are so mischievous that no one caresto live near them. I'm afraid Shaggy and hisfriends will endure many hardships before they getout of that rocky place, unless--"

He turned to Ozma and smiled.

"Unless I ask you to transport them all here?"she asked.

"Yes, your Highness."

"Could your magic do that?" inquired Dorothy.

"I think so," said the Wizard.

"Well," said Dorothy, "as far as Betsy and Hankare concerned, I'd like to have them here in Oz.It would be such fun to have a girl playmate of myown age, you see. And Hank is such a dear littlemule!"

Ozma laughed at the wistful expression in thegirl's eyes, and then she drew Dorothy to her andkissed her.

"Am I not your friend and playmate?" she asked.

Dorothy flushed.

"You know how dearly I love you, Ozma!" shecried. "But you're so busy ruling all this Land ofOz that we can't always be together."

"I know, dear. My first duty is to my subjects,and I think it would be a delight to us all tohave Betsy with us. There's a pretty suite ofrooms just opposite your own where she can live,and I'll build a golden stall for Hank in thestable where the Sawhorse lives. Then we'llintroduce the mule to the Cowardly Lion and theHungry Tiger, and I'm sure they will soon becomefirm friends. But I cannot very well admit Betsyand Hank into Oz unless I also admit Shaggy'sbrother."

"And, unless you admit Shaggy's brother, youwill keep out poor Shaggy, whom we are all veryfond of," said the Wizard.

"Well, why not ad-mit him?" demanded Tik-Tok.

"The Land of Oz is not a refuge for all mortalsin distress," explained Ozma. "I do not wish to beunkind to Shaggy Man, but his brother has no claimon me."

"The Land of Oz isn't crowded," suggestedDorothy.

"Then you advise me to admit Shaggy's brother?"inquired Ozma.

"Well, we can't afford to lose our Shaggy Man,can we?"

"No, indeed!" returned Ozma. "What do you say,Wizard?"

"I'm getting my magic ready to transport themall."

"And you, Tik-Tok?"

"Shag-gy's broth-er is a good fel-low, and wecan't spare Shag-gy."

"So, then; the question is settled," decidedOzma. "Perform your magic, Wizard!"

He did so, placing a silver plate upon a smallstandard and pouring upon the plate a smallquantity of pink powder which was contained in acrystal vial. Then he muttered a rather difficultincantation which the sorceress Glinda the Goodhad taught him, and it all ended in a puff ofperfumed smoke from the silver plate. This smokewas so pungent that it made both Ozma and Dorothyrub their eyes for a moment.

"You must pardon these disagreeable fumes," saidthe Wizard. "I assure you the smoke is a verynecessary part of my wizardry."

"Look!" cried Dorothy, pointing to the MagicPicture; "they're gone! All of them are gone."

Indeed, the picture now showed the same rockylandscape as before, but the three people and themule had disappeared from it.

"They are gone," said the Wizard, polishing thesilver plate and wrapping it in a fine cloth,"because they are here."

At that moment Jellia Jamb entered the room.

"Your Highness," she said to Ozma, "the ShaggyMan and another man are in the waiting room andask to pay their respects to you. Shaggy is cryinglike a baby, but he says they are tears of joy."

"Send them here at once, Jellia!" commanded Ozma"Also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small-sized mule have mysteriously arrived, but theydon't seem to know where they are or how they camehere. Shall I send them here, too?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping upfrom her chair; "I'll go to meet Betsy myself,for she'll feel awful strange in this big palace."

And she ran down the stairs two at a time togreet her new friend, Betsy Bobbin.