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Is all ready?" demanded the First and Foremost, haughtily.

The tunnel is finally completed," replied General Guph.

How long will it take us to march to the Emerald City?" asked the Grand

Gallipoot of the Growleywogs.

If we start at midnight," replied the Nome King, "we shall arrive at the

Emerald City by daybreak. Then, while all the Oz people are sleeping, we

will capture them and make them our slaves. After that we will destroy

the city itself and march through the Land of Oz, burning and

devastating as we go."

Good!" cried the First and Foremost. "When we get through with Oz it

will be a desert wilderness. Ozma shall be my slave."

She shall be MY slave!" shouted the Grand Gallipoot, angrily.

We'll decide that by and by," said King Roquat hastily. "Don't let us

quarrel now, friends. First let us conquer Oz, and then we will divide the

spoils of war in a satisfactory manner."

The First and Foremost smiled wickedly; but he only said:

I and my Phanfasms go first, for nothing on earth can oppose our

power."

They all agreed to that, knowing the Phanfasms to be the mightiest of the

combined forces. King Roquat now invited them to attend a banquet he

had prepared, where they might occupy themselves in eating and

drinking until midnight arrived.

As they had now seen and heard all of the plot against them that they

cared to, Ozma allowed her Magic Picture to fade away. Then she turned

to her friends and said:

Our enemies will be here sooner than I expected. What do you advise

me to do?"

It is now too late to assemble our people," said the Tin Woodman,

despondently. "If you had allowed me to arm and drill my Winkies, we

might have put up a good fight and destroyed many of our enemies

before we were conquered."

The Emerald City of Oz