they confined?"

"No one knows, exactly," replied the Princess. "For the king, whose
name is Roquat of the Rocks, owns a splendid palace underneath the
great mountain which is at the north end of this kingdom, and he has
transformed the queen and her children into ornaments and bric-a-brac
with which to decorate his rooms."

"I'd like to know," said Dorothy, "who this Nome King is?"

"I will tell you," replied Ozma. "He is said to be the Ruler of the
Underground World, and commands the rocks and all that the rocks
contain. Under his rule are many thousands of the Nomes, who are
queerly shaped but powerful sprites that labor at the furnaces and
forges of their king, making gold and silver and other metals which
they conceal in the crevices of the rocks, so that those living upon
the earth's surface can only find them with great difficulty. Also
they make diamonds and rubies and emeralds, which they hide in the
ground; so that the kingdom of the Nomes is wonderfully rich, and all
we have of precious stones and silver and gold is what we take from the
earth and rocks where the Nome King has hidden them."

"I understand," said Dorothy, nodding her little head wisely.

"For the reason that we often steal his treasures," continued Ozma,
"the Ruler of the Underground World is not fond of those who live upon
the earth's surface, and never appears among us. If we wish to see
King Roquat of the Rocks, we must visit his own country, where he is
all powerful, and therefore it will be a dangerous undertaking."

"But, for the sake of the poor prisoners," said Dorothy, "we ought to
do it."

"We shall do it," replied the Scarecrow, "although it requires a lot of
courage for me to go near to the furnaces of the Nome King. For I am
only stuffed with straw, and a single spark of fire might destroy me
entirely."

"The furnaces may also melt my tin," said the Tin Woodman; "but I am
going."

"I can't bear heat," remarked the Princess Langwidere, yawning lazily,
"so I shall stay at home. But I wish you may have success in your
undertaking, for I am heartily tired of ruling this stupid kingdom, and
I need more leisure in which to admire my beautiful heads."

"We do not need you," said Ozma. "For, if with the aid of my brave
followers I cannot accomplish my purpose, then it would be useless for
you to undertake the journey."

"Quite true," sighed the Princess. "So, if you'll excuse me, I will
now retire to my cabinet. I'