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I'm ready for the talk, your Majesty," he said.

The King coughed and looked at his new General fiercely.

Do you not tremble to take such liberties with your monarch?" he asked.

Oh no," replied Guph, calmly, and he blew a wreath of smoke that

curled around the King's nose and made him sneeze. "You want to

conquer the Emerald City, and I'm the only Nome in all your dominions

who can conquer it. So you will be very careful not to hurt me until I

have carried out your wishes. After that--"

Well, what then?" inquired the King.

Then you will be so grateful to me that you won't care to hurt me,"

replied the General.

That is a very good argument," said Roquat. "But suppose you fail?"

Then it's the slicing machine. I agree to that," announced Guph. "But if

you do as I tell you there will be no failure. The trouble with you,

Roquat, is that you don't think carefully enough. I do. You would go

ahead and march through your tunnel into Oz, and get defeated and

driven back. I won't. And the reason I won't is because when I march I'll

have all my plans made, and a host of allies to assist my Nomes."

What do you mean by that?" asked the King.

I'll explain, King Roquat. You're going to attack a fairy country, and a

mighty fairy country, too. They haven't much of an army in Oz, but the

Princess who ruled them has a fairy wand; and the little girl Dorothy has

your Magic Belt; and at the North of the Emerald City lives a clever

sorceress called Glinda the Good, who commands the spirits of the air.

Also I have heard that there is a wonderful Wizard in Ozma's palace, who

is so skillful that people used to pay him money in America to see him

perform. So you see it will be no easy thing to overcome all this magic."

We have fifty thousand soldiers!" cried the King proudly.

Yes; but they are Nomes," remarked Guph, taking a silk handkerchief

from the King's pocket and wiping his own pointed shoes with it. "Nomes

are immortals, but they are not strong on magic. When you lost your

famous Belt the greater part of your own power was gone from you.

Against Ozma you and your Nomes would have no show at all."

The Emerald City of Oz