King Ticket arose and, banging with a silver fork against a drinking goblet, obtained the attention and silence of the merrymakers.
"My dear friends," began the King, beaming on his audience, "good Queen Curtain and I have been discussing a proposal which we are sure will meet with your approval. You are well aware that although we did not know it, we, the people of the Valley of Romance, have been living in a bondage that was even greater than that which we cast over the poor unfortunates who wandered into the castle. For we lived without knowing the meaning of true romance and love. We found our only pleasure in artificial romance as we saw it on the stage. We had no love for each other—no romance among ourselves.
"Now all that is changed. Not only do we now appreciate and know the true meaning of real love—but the people whom we enslaved are freed and happy once more.
"We have one person to thank for this—Tom, who, with the Love Magnet, brought us our present joy and happiness. Queen Curtain and I propose that we yield our thrones and that Tom become the new King of the Valley of Romance."
The applause was tremendous. Apparently everyone in the Grand Dining Room favored King Ticket's startling plan.
But Tom leaped to his feet and exclaimed:
"Your Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen—Thank you for this great honor, but I cannot be your King. Maybe I'll never get the chance to be a king again. But the important thing for Twink and me is to find our way home. The Shaggy Man has promised that Ozma of Oz will send us home if we can only reach Oz. That is the thing we want most. Anyway, I have no right to be your King—I don't know anything about the job, and you should really be grateful to the Love Magnet for making you happy—not me. Now that you folks know the meaning of real love, I'm sure King Ticket will make you a fine King and Queen Curtain will be a real Queen."