When Samuel reached the castle, he found Ato and Roger had set a small cozy table in the Throne Room, and Tandy was anxiously looking out of one of the gold-framed windows for his return. The whiffs from the covered dishes were so appetizing the Royal Explorer of Oz was almost inclined to let his news wait till afterward. But thinking better of it, he blurted out the whole story of what had happened to the Ozamandarins.
"Then they're all gone and done for," sniffed Ato, seating himself at the head of the table. "Well, a couple of hundred years at the bottom of the sea should soak all the sin and wickedness out of 'em! And you say it was an umbrellaphant that carried Tandy off? My! and MY! Dear, dear and DEAR! Just pour me a cup of coffee, Roger. I'm feeling weaker than soup!"
"Well, how do you suppose I feel," grumbled Samuel Salt, throwing his hat up on a bronze figure, "to lose an elegant specimen like that? Why, I'll wager we'll never see another creature like it!"
"There! There! Always talking about the elephant that got away instead of appreciating your good fortune!" scolded Ato, throwing a corn muffin down to Nikobo and lifting the gold cover off the roast fowl.
"Yes, and you'd better listen to OUR news, Master Salt!" Roger said, pouring a cup of coffee for all hands.
"News? NEWS? Has anything happened here?" Samuel looked more anxious than interested.
"Oh, YES!" cried Tandy, running round to his side of the table and pressing eagerly against Samuel's knee. "Roger has a wonderful plan and I as King of Ozamaland have agreed to it, and oh, Samuel, SAMUEL!" Forgetting he usually called the tremendous seaman "Captain," Tandy flung both arms round his neck and almost squeezed the breath out of him. "I'm going straight back on the Crescent Moon, and I'm not coming ashore for years and years. I'm going with you to Ev, Oz, Elbow Island and everywhere!"
"What?" spluttered Samuel Salt, disentangling himself with great difficulty and holding Tandy off at arm's length. "Are you joking? Are you crazy? Have you abdicated or what? Why, this is too good to be true!"
"But it is true!" insisted Roger, strutting up and down the table and illy concealing his pride and satisfaction.
"Oh, tell him, tell him," begged Tandy, too happy to speak for himself.