第 二十一 章 · The Three Adepts

. The Three Adepts

The Sorceress looked up from her work as the three maidens entered, and

something in their appearance and manner led her to rise and bow to

them in her most dignified manner. The three knelt an instant before

the great Sorceress and then stood upright and waited for her to speak.

"Whoever you may be," said Glinda, "I bid you welcome."

"My name is Audah," said one.

"My name is Aurah," said another.

"My name is Aujah," said the third.

Glinda had never heard these names before, but looking closely at the

three she asked:

"Are you witches or workers in magic?"

"Some of the secret arts we have gleaned from Nature," replied the

brownhaired maiden modestly, "but we do not place our skill beside that

of the Great Sorceress, Glinda the Good."

"I suppose you are aware it is unlawful to practice magic in the Land

of Oz, without the permission of our Ruler, Princess Ozma?"

"No, we were not aware of that," was the reply. "We have heard of

Ozma, who is the appointed Ruler of all this great fairyland, but her

laws have not reached us, as yet."

Glinda studied the strange maidens thoughtfully; then she said to them:

"Princess Ozma is even now imprisoned in the Skeezer village, for the

whole island with its Great Dome, was sunk to the bottom of the lake by

the witchcraft of Coo-ee-oh, whom the Flathead Su-dic transformed into

a silly swan. I am seeking some way to overcome Coo-ee-oh's magic and

raise the isle to the surface again. Can you help me do this?"

The maidens exchanged glances, and the white-haired one replied:

"We do not know; but we will try to assist you."

"It seems," continued Glinda musingly, "that Coo-ee-oh derived most of

her witchcraft from three Adepts at Magic, who at one time ruled the

Flatheads. While the Adepts were being entertained by Coo-ee-oh at a

banquet in her palace, she cruelly betrayed them and after transforming

them into fishes cast them into the lake.

"If I could find these three fishes and return them to their natural

shapes--they might know what magic Coo-ee-oh used to sink the island. I

was about to go to the shore and call these fishes to me when you

arrived. So, if you will join me, we will try to find them."

The maidens exchanged smiles now, and the golden-haired one, Audah,

said to Glinda:

"It will not be necessary to go to the lake. We are the three fishes."

"Indeed!" cried Glinda. "Then you are the three Adepts at Magic,

restored to your proper forms?"

"We are the three Adepts," admitted Aujah.

"Then," said Glinda, "my task is half accomplished. But who destroyed

the transformation that made you fishes?"

"We have promised not to tell," answered Aurah; "but this young Skeezer

was largely responsible for our release; he is brave and clever, and we

owe him our gratitude."

Glinda looked at Ervic, who stood modestly behind the Adepts, hat in

hand. "He shall be properly rewarded," she declared, "for in helping

you he has helped us all, and perhaps saved his people from being

imprisoned forever in the sunken isle."

The Sorceress now asked her guests to seat themselves and a long talk

followed, in which the Wizard of Oz shared.

"We are quite certain," said Aurah, "that if we could get inside the

Dome we could discover Coo-ee-oh's secrets, for in all her work, after

we became fishes, she used the formulas and incantations and arts that

she stole from us. She may have added to these things, but they were

the foundation of all her work."

"What means do you suggest for our getting into the Dome?" inquired

Glinda.

The three Adepts hesitated to reply, for they had not yet considered

what could be done to reach the inside of the Great Dome. While they

were in deep thought, and Glinda and the Wizard were quietly awaiting

their suggestions, into the tent rushed Trot and Betsy, dragging

between them the Patchwork Girl.

"Oh, Glinda," cried Trot, "Scraps has thought of a way to rescue Ozma

and Dorothy and all of the Skeezers."

The three Adepts could not avoid laughing merrily, for not only were

they amused by the queer form of the Patchwork Girl, but Trot's

enthusiastic speech struck them as really funny. If the Great Sorceress

and the famous Wizard and the three talented Adepts at Magic were

unable as yet to solve the important problem of the sunken isle, there

was little chance for a patched girl stuffed with cotton to succeed.

But Glinda, smiling indulgently at the earnest faces turned toward her,

patted the children's heads and said:

"Scraps is very clever. Tell us what she has thought of, my dear."

"Well," said Trot, "Scraps says that if you could dry up all the water

in the lake the island would be on dry land, an' everyone could come

and go whenever they liked."

Glinda smiled again, but the Wizard said to the girls:

"If we should dry up the lake, what would become of all the beautiful

fishes that now live in the water?"

"Dear me! That's so," admitted Betsy, crestfallen; "we never thought of

that, did we Trot?"

"Couldn't you transform 'em into polliwogs?" asked Scraps, turning a

somersault and then standing on one leg. "You could give them a little,

teeny pond to swim in, and they'd be just as happy as they are as

fishes."

"No indeed!" replied the Wizard, severely. "It is wicked to transform

any living creatures without their consent, and the lake is the home of

the fishes and belongs to them."

"All right," said Scraps, making a face at him; "I don't care."

"It's too bad," sighed Trot, "for I thought we'd struck a splendid

idea."

"So you did," declared Glinda, her face now grave and thoughtful.

"There is something in the Patchwork Girl's idea that may be of real

value to us."

"I think so, too," agreed the golden-haired Adept. "The top of the

Great Dome is only a few feet below the surface of the water. If we

could reduce the level of the lake until the Dome sticks a little above

the water, we could remove some of the glass and let ourselves down

into the village by means of ropes."

"And there would be plenty of water left for the fishes to swim in,"

added the white-haired maiden.

"If we succeed in raising the island we could fill up the lake again,"

suggested the brown-haired Adept.

"I believe," said the Wizard, rubbing his hands together in delight,

"that the Patchwork Girl has shown us the way to success."

The girls were looking curiously at the three beautiful Adepts,

wondering who they were, so Glinda introduced them to Trot and Betsy

and Scraps, and then sent the children away while she considered how to

carry the new idea into effect.

Not much could be done that night, so the Wizard prepared another tent

for the Adepts, and in the evening Glinda held a reception and invited

all her followers to meet the new arrivals. The Adepts were greatly

astonished at the extraordinary personages presented to them, and

marveled that Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman

and Tik-Tok could really live and think and talk just like other

people. They were especially pleased with the lively Patchwork Girl and

loved to watch her antics.

It was quite a pleasant party, for Glinda served some dainty

refreshments to those who could eat, and the Scarecrow recited some

poems, and the Cowardly Lion sang a song in his deep bass voice. The

only thing that marred their joy was the thought that their beloved

Ozma and dear little Dorothy were yet confined in the Great Dome of