Oz, the Wonderful Wizard, come back again!"

The little man looked at her closely and then took both the maiden's
hands in his and shook them cordially.

"On my word," he exclaimed, "it's little Jellia Jamb--as pert and
pretty as ever!"

"Why not, Mr. Wizard?" asked Jellia, bowing low. "But I'm afraid you
cannot rule the Emerald City, as you used to, because we now have a
beautiful Princess whom everyone loves dearly."

"And the people will not willingly part with her," added a tall soldier
in a Captain-General's uniform.

The Wizard turned to look at him.

"Did you not wear green whiskers at one time?" he asked.

"Yes," said the soldier; "but I shaved them off long ago, and since
then I have risen from a private to be the Chief General of the Royal
Armies."

"That's nice," said the little man. "But I assure you, my good people,
that I do not wish to rule the Emerald City," he added, earnestly.

"In that case you are very welcome!" cried all the servants, and it
pleased the Wizard to note the respect with which the royal retainers
bowed before him. His fame had not been forgotten in the Land of Oz,
by any means.

"Where is Dorothy?" enquired Zeb, anxiously, as he left the buggy and
stood beside his friend the little Wizard.

"She is with the Princess Ozma, in the private rooms of the palace,"
replied Jellia Jamb. "But she has ordered me to make you welcome and
to show you to your apartments."

The boy looked around him with wondering eyes. Such magnificence and
wealth as was displayed in this palace was more than he had ever
dreamed of, and he could scarcely believe that all the gorgeous glitter
was real and not tinsel.

"What's to become of me?" asked the horse, uneasily. He had seen
considerable of life in the cities in his younger days, and knew that
this regal palace was no place for him.

It perplexed even Jellia Jamb, for a time, to know what to do with the
animal. The green maiden was much astonished at the sight of so
unusual a creature, for horses were unknown in this Land; but those who
lived in the Emerald City were apt to be astonished by queer sights, so
after inspecting the cab-horse and noting the mild look in his big eyes
the girl decided not to be afraid of him.

"There are no stables here," said the Wizard, "unless some have been
built since I went away."

"We have never needed them before," answered Jellia; "for the Sawhorse
lives in a room of the palace, being much smaller