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King over, and while Roquat lay sprawling upon the ground the General

drank heartily of the Water of Oblivion.

This rude act of his General made the Nome King so angry that for a

moment he forgot he was thirsty and rose to his feet to glare upon the

group of terrible warriors he had brought here to assist him. He saw

Ozma and her people, too, and yelled out:

Why don't you capture them? Why don't you conquer Oz, you idiots?

Why do you stand there like a lot of dummies?"

But the great warriors had become like little children. They had

forgotten all their enmity against Ozma and against Oz. They had even

forgotten who they themselves were, or why they were in this strange and

beautiful country. As for the Nome King, they did not recognize him, and

wondered who he was.

The sun came up and sent its flood of silver rays to light the faces of the

invaders. The frowns and scowls and evil looks were all gone. Even the

most monstrous of the creatures there assembled smiled innocently and

seemed light-hearted and content merely to be alive.

Not so with Roquat, the Nome King. He had not drunk from the

Forbidden Fountain and all his former rage against Ozma and Dorothy

now inflamed him as fiercely as ever. The sight of General Guph

babbling like a happy child and playing with his hands in the cool waters

of the fountain astonished and maddened Red Roquat. Seeing that his

terrible allies and his own General refused to act, the Nome King turned

to order his great army of Nomes to advance from the tunnel and seize

the helpless Oz people.

But the Scarecrow suspected what was in the King's mind and spoke a

word to the Tin Woodman. Together they ran at Roquat and grabbing

him up tossed him into the great basin of the fountain.

The Nome King's body was round as a ball, and it bobbed up and down

in the Water of Oblivion while he spluttered and screamed with fear lest

he should drown. And when he cried out, his mouth filled with water,

which ran down his throat, so that straightway he forgot all he had

formerly known just as completely as had all the other invaders.

Ozma and Dorothy could not refrain from laughing to see their dreaded

enemies become as harmless as babies. There was no danger now that

The Emerald City of Oz