"But first we must have that magic belt," chuckled the hammer elf. Giving Ruggedo, who was struggling frantically to get his belt from around the Silver King's waist, a quick push, Himself unbuckled the clasps and tossed the magic girdle to the Goat Girl. Then grabbing the howling gnome and senseless wizard, each by his neck, the efficient dwarf vanished in a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder that shook the castle to its foundations. Nox dropped to his knees. Kerry, still stunned by the hammer blow that had carried them to the Emerald City, and Handy, herself, with her arms still upraised, stared in dumb astonishment at the quivering vacuum where the two Kings and Himself, the elf, had been whirling a moment before.
"Oh, Handy, HANDY, you've really done it!" shouted Kerry, finding his voice at last. "Why, you've saved the whole of Ozma's Kingdom and struck only one blow! But watch out—are those beasts alive or just statues?"
"Statues, I hope," grunted the Royal Ox, lurching dizzily to his feet. "Well, here we are in the capital, m'lass, and I must say you have handled everything beautifully, beautifully!"
"Halt! Who goes there! Whoa! HO! Halt and Surrender!" piped a frightened voice. "Here they are, your Majesty, the robbers themselves, caught red-handed in the act of robbing our royal safe!"
"Red—white—and—blue handed, if you ask me!" cried the Patchwork Girl, blinking her shoe button eyes at the red rubber hand with which Handy grasped the Gnome King's belt, the white hand she had reached out to hold on to Kerry, the iron hand still clutching the silver hammer. All the rest of her hands the Goat Girl held stiffly before her. Brushing aside the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, who promptly dived behind a sofa, Scraps jerked the Gnome King's belt out of Handy's rubber hand and gave her a shove that sent her flying over backwards. "Take that, you Monster!" yelled Scraps.
"Well," sputtered the Goat Girl, sprawling flat on her back, "here's gratitude for you!"
"How dare you call Handy a Monster?" bellowed Nox, charging angrily after the Patchwork Girl.
"Oh! Do be careful!" called Ozma with a little scream, as Nox almost caught up with Scraps, and Kerry began to belabor the Soldier with Green Whiskers over the head with a candlestick. "Oh! Oh! My poor Lion! My poor Tiger! My SAFE! Why, I—just—can't believe it!" wailed the little Fairy Ruler, staring sorrowfully down at the Goat Girl, who had made no attempt to rise nor explain her embarrassing position.
"Then don't believe it!" cried Kerry breathlessly. "For it isn't true! This brave girl and Nox have got the best of Wutz and the Gnome King and saved your whole bally Kingdom and here you've gone and had her knocked down. Shame on you! Get away from me, you cotton stuffed horror!" screamed the little King, as Scraps, eluding the Ox, made a determined jump in his direction.