Just then a man came running into the hall and addressed the Prince after making a low bow.
'More wonders in the air, my Lord,' said he.
Immediately the Prince and all of his people flocked out of the hall into the street, that they might see what was about to happen. Dorothy and Zeb jumped out of the buggy and ran after them, but the Sorcerer remained calmly in his throne.
Far up in the air was an object that looked like a balloon. It was not so high as the glowing star of the six colored suns, but was descending slowly through the air—so slowly that at first it scarcely seemed to move.
The throng stood still and waited. It was all they could do, for to go away and leave that strange sight was impossible; nor could they hurry its fall in any way. The earth children were not noticed, being so near the average size of the Mangaboos, and the horse had remained in the House of the Sorcerer, with Eureka curled up asleep on the seat of the buggy.
Gradually the balloon grew bigger, which was proof that it was settling down upon the Land of the Mangaboos. Dorothy was surprised to find how patient the people were, for her own little heart was beating rapidly with excitement. A balloon meant to her some other arrival from the surface of the earth, and she hoped it would be some one able to assist her and Zeb out of their difficulties.
In an hour the balloon had come near enough for her to see a basket suspended below it; in two hours she could see a head looking over the side of the basket; in three hours the big balloon settled slowly into the great square in which they stood and came to rest on the glass pavement.
Then a little man jumped out of the basket, took off his tall hat, and bowed very gracefully to the crowd of Mangaboos around him. He was quite an old little man and his head was long and entirely bald.
'Why,' cried Dorothy, in amazement, 'it's Oz!'
The little man looked toward her and seemed as much surprised as she was. But he smiled and bowed as he answered:
'Yes, my dear; I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Eh? And you are little Dorothy, from Kansas. I remember you very well.'
'Who did you say it was?' whispered Zeb to the girl.
'It's the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Haven't you heard of him?'
Just then the man with the star came and stood before the Wizard.
'Sir,' said he, 'why are you here, in the Land of the Mangaboos?'
'Didn't know what land it was, my son,' returned the other, with a pleasant smile; 'and, to be honest, I didn't mean to visit you when I started out. I live on top of the earth, your honor, which is far better than living inside it; but yesterday I went up in a balloon, and when I came down I fell into a big crack in the earth, caused by an earthquake. I had let so much gas out of my balloon that I could not rise again, and in a few minutes the earth closed over my head. So I continued to descend until I reached this place, and if you will show me a way to get out of it, I'll go with pleasure. Sorry to have troubled you; but it couldn't be helped.'
The Prince had listened with attention. Said he:
'This child, who is from the crust of the earth, like yourself, called you a Wizard. Is not a Wizard something like a Sorcerer?'
'It's better,' replied Oz, promptly. 'One Wizard is worth three Sorcerers.'
'Ah, you shall prove that,' said the Prince. 'We Mangaboos have, at the present time, one of the most wonderful Sorcerers that ever was picked from a bush; but he sometimes makes mistakes. Do you ever make mistakes?'
'Never!' declared the Wizard, boldly.
'Oh, Oz!' said Dorothy; 'you made a lot of mistakes when you were in the marvelous Land of Oz.'
'Nonsense!' said the little man, turning red—although just then a ray of violet sunlight was on his round face.
'Come with me,' said the Prince to him. 'I wish to meet our Sorcerer.'
The Wizard did not like this invitation, but he could not refuse to accept it. So he followed the Prince into the great domed hall, and Dorothy and Zeb came after them, while the throng of people trooped in also.
There sat the thorny Sorcerer in his chair of state, and when the Wizard saw him he began to laugh, uttering comical little chuckles.
'What an absurd creature!' he exclaimed.
'He may look absurd,' said the Prince, in his quiet voice; 'but he is an excellent Sorcerer. The only fault I find with him is that he is so often wrong.'
'I am never wrong,' answered the Sorcerer.
'Only a short time ago you told me there would be no more Rain of Stones or of People,' said the Prince.
'Well, what then?'
'Here is another person descended from the air to prove you were wrong.'
'One person cannot be called 'people,'' said the Sorcerer. 'If two should come out of the sky you might with justice say I was wrong; but unless more than this one appears I will hold that I was right.'
'Very clever,' said the Wizard, nodding his head as if pleased. 'I am delighted to find humbugs inside the earth, just the same as on top of it. Were you ever with a circus, brother?'
'No,' said the Sorcerer.
'You ought to join one,' declared the little man seriously. 'I belong to Bailum & Barney's Great Consolidated Shows—three rings in one tent and a menagerie on the side. It's a fine aggregation, I assure you.'
'What do you do?' asked the Sorcerer.
'I go up in a balloon, usually, to draw the crowds to the circus. But I've just had the bad luck to come out of the sky, skip the solid earth, and land lower down than I intended. But never mind. It isn't everybody who gets a chance to see your Land of the Gabazoos.'
'Mangaboos,' said the Sorcerer, correcting him. 'If you are a Wizard you ought to be able to call people by their right names.'
'Oh, I'm a Wizard; you may be sure of that. Just as good a Wizard as you are a Sorcerer.'
'That remains to be seen,' said the other.
'If you are able to prove that you are better,' said the Prince to the little man, 'I will make you the Chief Wizard of this domain. Otherwise—'
'What will happen otherwise?' asked the Wizard.
'I will stop you from living and forbid you to be planted,' returned the Prince.
'That does not sound especially pleasant,' said the little man, looking at the one with the star uneasily. 'But never mind. I'll beat Old Prickly, all right.'
'My name is Gwig,' said the Sorcerer, turning his heartless, cruel eyes upon his rival. 'Let me see you equal the sorcery I am about to perform.'
He waved a thorny hand and at once the tinkling of bells was heard, playing sweet music. Yet, look where she would, Dorothy could discover no bells at all in the great glass hall.
The Mangaboo people listened, but showed no great interest. It was one of the things Gwig usually did to prove he was a sorcerer.
Now was the Wizard's turn, so he smiled upon the assemblage and asked:
'Will somebody kindly loan me a hat?'
No one did, because the Mangaboos did not wear hats, and Zeb had lost his, somehow, in his flight through the air.
'Ahem!' said the Wizard, 'will somebody please loan me a handkerchief?'
But they had no handkerchiefs, either.
'Very good,' remarked the Wizard. 'I'll use my own hat, if you please. Now, good people, observe me carefully. You see, there is nothing up my sleeve and nothing concealed about my person. Also, my hat is quite empty.' He took off his hat and held it upside down, shaking it briskly.
'Let me see it,' said the Sorcerer.
He took the hat and examined it carefully, returning it afterward to the Wizard.
'Now,' said the little man, 'I will create something out of nothing.'
