"You are a real wizard, Herby," admitted the Scarecrow, noting admiringly the effect of the pills, "and ought to make a great hit at the capital."
"Do you think so?" puffed Herby breathlessly, as he bounced up and down. "Are we almost there?" It was hard to see, for it was night and only a few stars twinkled in the sky. But presently Trot gave a little shout of relief and satisfaction.
"See that green glow?" cried the little girl with an excited wave. "They're the tower lights of the castle. Hurry up, High Boy. We're almost there!" At Trot's words, High Boy gathered his long legs together and fairly flew over hills and across fields, so that in less than an hour they reached the Emerald City itself. It was still fairly early, and the lovely capital of Oz shimmered as only a jeweled city can.
CHAPTER 16
The Lost Queen Returns
On the same evening that Trot and her companions were arriving at the Emerald City, Cheeriobed and his councilors sat talking in the great blue throne room of the palace. All day the King had watched for the coming of Ozma and the return of Philador, and as the hours dragged on he had become more and more restless and uneasy. Shortly after lunch, as he was pacing anxiously up and down one of the garden paths, he was amazed to see Orpah hobbling rapidly toward him.
It was nearly twenty years since the keeper of the King's sea horses had been carried off by Quiberon, and Cheeriobed had never expected to see his faithful servitor again. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming, the astounded monarch rushed forward to greet the old mer-man. After a hearty embrace, which wet His Majesty considerably, Orpah having stepped directly out of the water, they sat down on a sapphire bench and the King begged Orpah to tell him at once all that had happened.
Brushing over his long weary imprisonment in Cave City, Orpah hurried on to the coming of Trot and her strange friends. His lively description of their encounter with the Cave Men, the way they had outwitted and trapped Quiberon in the narrow passageway, filled Cheeriobed with wonder and relief. And when the mer-man went on to tell him of the explosion of the blue ray that had carried them across the bottom of the lake to the mainland, Cheeriobed smiled for the first time since Quiberon had threatened his kingdom.