Captain Salt in Oz

by Ruth Plumly Thompson

"The vines will not unwind for two days and before THEN—HAH!" Samuel expelled his breath in a mighty blast and sprang purposefully to his feet. "Before then we shall put those fellows in a very safe place for Tandy and for them too, shiver my timbers!" Taking Chunum by the shoulder, Samuel started toward the door, and seeing the two intended to leave the castle, Nikobo climbed out of the fountain and offered to carry them. Tandy nodded absently as the two left the castle, his thoughts still far away on the Crescent Moon, and considering the work they had to do, Samuel and Chunum were well pleased to leave him behind.

With surprising speed the hippopotamus made the return trip to the cliffs. The effects of the tumbleweed had evidently worn off and the guards and their mounts had fled with the rest of the inhabitants of White City to the hills. But the nine Ozamandarins still lay in their curious cradles in the deep coarse sand. As Samuel and Chunum, in absolute agreement as to what should be done, rolled off Nikobo's back, a furious bellow and screech brought them up short. Nikobo, startled out of her usual calm, fell back on her haunches and after one horrified look upward buried her head in the sand.

"It can't be!" cried Samuel, clutching Chunum's sleeve. "It can't be, but it is!"

"An elephant, a flying elephant!" panted Chunum, dragging Samuel from under the immense shadow. "Flatten yourself in the sand, seaman, and we may yet be spared." As Samuel, more amazed than scared at so strange and curious a specimen, and even vaguely hopeful of capturing the unwieldy creature, made no move, Chunum dragged him down by main force. The elephant meanwhile lighted like some gigantic butterfly on the edge of the cliff. Fairly bleating with fright and terror, the nine Ozamandarins watched him swooping toward them with a sinister and soundless speed. Just behind his ear perched Boglodore, the Old Man of the Jungle, looking cruel and ugly as the genie of all evil.

"Revenge! Revenge!" shrilled the turbaned native, clenching his fists. "Now shall Boglodore have his reward!" Addressing himself to Chunum and Samuel Salt, the Old Man of the Jungle began screaming out the story of his wrongs. "For these scheming rascals I carried away on Umbo, my great and useful umbrellaphant, the young King of this country. For this I was to receive one-tenth of the Kingdom, the Ozamandarins themselves to divide the rest of the country among them. But Hah! What happened?" Dancing up and down on the elephant's head, Boglodore again clenched his fists, his face distorted with rage and fury. "What happened? Why, these miserable cheats refused to pay me, intending to keep the whole country for themselves. But hearken well, you and YOU!" Jerking his thumb contemptuously toward his rigid and helpless enemies, the Old Man continued his story.

"All along I have suspected these thieving Zamans; all along I intended to fool them and return the little King to his castle, keeping only the jungle for my own. That is why I built the boy his cage in the jungle and set Nikobo, the great hippopotamus, to watch over him, giving her the power of speech and the desire to seek out and protect this unfortunate child of an unfortunate country. I am a magician and could well bring about these things. You, whoever you are, who found and brought him back to Ozamaland did no more than I myself intended to do and intend to do now. After restoring Tandy to his throne, I meant to deal with his enemies, and now as they are so neatly bound up and ready, I shall reward them well for their pains and treachery."

"Stop! Stop! Avast there and belay!" shouted Samuel Salt as the umbrellaphant, obeying an order from the terrible Old Man, picked up Didjabo in his trunk and flew swiftly toward the cliff's edge. But Chunum, again dragging Samuel down, whispered fiercely in his ear.

"It is justice, seaman, and only what we ourselves planned to do. The vines will keep these rogues afloat for two days, then haply they will sink—not to die, as death comes not to the people of my country, but to lie for long forgotten ages at the bottom of the sea, harmless and sodden, and unable to do any more harm to the country they have so dishonorably served and betrayed!"

Shuddering and in a tense silence, Samuel and the Sheik watched the umbrellaphant toss the wretched Ozamandarins one after the other into the sea. The immense zooming monster fascinated the Captain of the Crescent Moon. Not wings, but a balloon-like structure of its own tough skin billowing over its back like a howdah, enabled Umbo to navigate in the air. Samuel was anxious for further talk with the Old Man of the Jungle, but as the last Ozamandarin fell over the cliff the umbrellaphant, with a trumpet of defiance, headed rapidly for the open sea.