“Does your old father know you’re a bandit?” shouted Grampa sternly, “holding up honest adventurers and getting your living by breaking the law?”
“Father always told me to take things easy,” replied the chief, popping one of Grampa’s gum drops into his mouth. “‘Vaga,’ he said to me over and over again, ‘always take things easy, my boy,’ and I do,” grinned the robber wickedly. “But business is mighty slow in this forest lately. Kings and Princes are getting poorer and poorer every day. Look at him!” He waved scornfully at Tatters. “Not worth a shoe button and the whole week it has been the same story. All we got to-day was a wizard, but he was as false as his whiskers—couldn’t even change leaves to gold or sticks to precious stones. All he had with him was a bottle of patent medicine. Now medicine,” yawned Vaga, touching with his boot a long green bottle that lay with a heap of rubbish near the fire, “is something I never take.”
“But I thought wizards were not allowed to practice magic in Oz,” put in Tatters, surprised into speech by the bandit’s last statement. “It’s against the law isn’t it?”
“So are bandits!” roared Yaga. “But I’m here just the same, my boy, taking things easy, and when I’ve saved up enough I’m going to open an Inn and take things easier still.”
“Another way to rob honest travellers,” groaned the old soldier, “but now, as you’ve taken our four-pence and our time, untie these bonds and we’ll return to our camp.”
“Let him tell his story,” suggested Skally, “it might entertain us and they certainly owe us something for all this trouble.”
“No, I’ve decided to make outlaws of them,” announced Yaga calmly. “The old one is a fine fighter and can be a father to me; the young one would frighten anybody; as for the cast iron bird it can be melted up into bullets.”
“What shall we do now?” whispered Tatters, seizing Grampa’s arm. The old soldier winked encouragingly.
“Not bad at all,” he murmured aloud, as if he were half pleased at the idea of being a bandit. “Plenty of fighting and it’s as good a way as any to make a fortune. Swear us in Mr Vagabandit, swear us in my son!”
The bandit chief was surprised and overjoyed at Grampa’s change of heart. He immediately ordered Skally to untie the captives. Each was given a black mask and a dagger and, having raised their hands and solemnly agreed to break every law in Oz, they were welcomed with cheers and shouts into the outlaw band. After the excitement had died down, they all gathered about the fire and Grampa told them the history of Ragbad, how he had got his game leg and of the nine hundred and eighty great battles he had fought in. The bandits listened attentively at first, but the old soldier’s recital was so long that presently one and then another of the bandits fell asleep, and by the time Grampa had reached the nine hundredth battle the whole company lay sprawled about the fire, snoring like good fellows instead of bad ones. Prince Tatters, his head on the skin of the old thread bear, was asleep too.