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Princess they all sprang forward and thrust out their sharp thorns.
Dorothy hopped inside the opening to escape being pricked, and Zeb and the Wizard,
after enduring a few stabs from the thorns, were glad to follow her. At once the
Mangaboos began piling up the rocks of glass again, and as the little man realized that
they were all about to be entombed in the mountain he said to the children:
"My dears, what shall we do? Jump out and fight?"
"What's the use?" replied Dorothy. "I'd as soon die here as live much longer among these
cruel and heartless people."
"That's the way I feel about it," remarked Zeb, rubbing his wounds. "I've had enough of
the Mangaboos."
"All right," said the Wizard; "I'm with you, whatever you decide. But we can't live long
in this cavern, that's certain."
Noticing that the light was growing dim he picked up his nine piglets, patted each one
lovingly on its fat little head, and placed them carefully in his inside pocket.
Zeb struck a match and lighted one of the lanterns. The rays of the colored suns were now
shut out from them forever, for the last chinks had been filled up in the wall that
separated their prison from the Land of the Mangaboos.
"How big is this hole?" asked Dorothy.
"I'll explore it and see," replied the boy.
So he carried the lantern back for quite a distance, while Dorothy and the Wizard
followed at his side. The cavern did not come to an end, as they had expected it would,
but slanted upward through the great glass mountain, running in a direction that promised
to lead them to the side opposite the Mangaboo country.
"It isn't a bad road," observed the Wizard, "and if we followed it it might lead us to some
place that is more comfortable than this black pocket we are now in. I suppose the
vegetable folk were always afraid to enter this cavern because it is dark; but we have our
lanterns to light the way, so I propose that we start out and discover where this tunnel in
the mountain leads to."
The others agreed readily to this sensible suggestion, and at once the boy began to
harness Jim to the buggy. When all was in readiness the three took their seats in the
buggy and Jim started cautiously along the way, Zeb driving while the Wizard and
Dorothy each held a lighted lantern so the horse could see where to go.
Sometimes the tunnel was so narrow that the wheels of the buggy grazed the sides; then it
would broaden out as wide as a street; but the floor was usually smooth, and for a long
time they travelled on without any accident. Jim stopped sometimes to rest, for the climb
was rather steep and tiresome.
"We must be nearly as high as the six colored suns, by this time," said Dorothy. "I didn't
know this mountain was so tall."
"We are certainly a good distance away from the Land of the Mangaboos," added Zeb;
"for we have slanted away from it ever since we started."
But they kept steadily moving, and just as Jim was about tired out with his long journey
the way suddenly grew lighter, and Zeb put out the lanterns to save the oil.
To their joy they found it was a white light that now greeted them, for all were weary of
the colored rainbow lights which, after a time, had made their eyes ache with their
constantly shifting rays. The sides of the tunnel showed before them like the inside of a
long spy-glass, and the floor became more level. Jim hastened his lagging steps at this
assurance of a quick relief from the dark passage, and in a few moments more they had
emerged from the mountain and found themselves face to face with a new and charming
country.
8. The Valley of Voices
By journeying through the glass mountain they had reached a delightful valley that was
shaped like the hollow of a great cup, with another rugged mountain showing on the other
side of it, and soft and pretty green hills at the ends. It was all laid out into lovely lawns
and gardens, with pebble paths leading through them and groves of beautiful and stately
trees dotting the landscape here and there. There were orchards, too, bearing luscious
fruits that are all unknown in our world. Alluring brooks of crystal water flowed
sparkling between their flower-strewn banks, while scattered over the valley were dozens
of the quaintest and most picturesque cottages our travelers had ever beheld. None of
them were in clusters, such as villages or towns, but each had ample grounds of its own,
with orchards and gardens surrounding it.
As the new arrivals gazed upon this exquisite scene they were enraptured by its beauties
and the fragrance that permeated the soft air, which they breathed so gratefully after the
confined atmosphere of the tunnel. Several minutes were consumed in silent admiration
before they noticed two very singular and unusual facts about this valley. One was that it
was lighted from some unseen source; for no sun or moon was in the arched blue sky,
although every object was flooded with a clear and perfect light. The second and even
more singular fact was the absence of any inhabitant of this splendid place. From their
elevated position they could overlook the entire valley, but not a single moving object
could they see. All appeared mysteriously deserted.
The mountain on this side was not glass, but made of a stone similar to granite. With
some difficulty and danger Jim drew the buggy over the loose rocks until he reached the
green lawns below, where the paths and orchards and gardens began. The nearest cottage
was still some distance away.
"Isn't it fine?" cried Dorothy, in a joyous voice, as she sprang out of the buggy and let
Eureka run frolicking over the velvety grass. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]