"M—agic?" stuttered Potaroo, his eyes growing glassy at the mere thought of parting with any of his magic treasures. "Well—er—I could lend them a box of my famous triple action stumbling blocks. They will overthrow any enemy, no matter how numerous."
"Splendid!" beamed Kalico, rubbing his hands briskly together, "and don't forget, in the course of your journey north, if you find a King willing to lend his army, my army also will be ready and at your service."
"Oh, Kalico, how kind you are!" Running up the steps of the throne again, Dorothy gave the Gnome King an impulsive hug.
"Come on, COME on!" squealed Pigasus, who had seen the various winks between Kalico and Shoofenwaller and was convinced that the little Gnome King was doing as little as he possibly could. "Give us our lunch and our stumbling blocks and we'll be off, and I must say they'll be an enormous help when we reach Thunder Mountain." Spreading his wings, Pigasus began to fly in angry circles round the Gnome King's head.
"Humph, pork's going up!" sniffed Shoofenwaller as he hurried away to see about packing the lunch basket.
"He ought to be dried, smoked and salted," muttered Potaroo, going sulkily off to fetch the blocks. Dorothy, in earnest consultation with Kalico, heard neither of these remarks, and when a few moments later the two returned with two boxes and Dorothy's hat and coat, she thanked them politely, called Pigasus down from a rocky ledge where he had flown and climbed happily on his back. Then Pigasus, not giving her time for any lengthy farewells, zipped through the tunneled caverns and corridors of the Gnome King's Underground Dominions and burst thankfully out the back door of South Mountain.
"Now, let's see, which way is north?" mused Pigasus, twirling his curly tail around like a propeller. "All we have to do is to fly north to Thunder Mountain, unlock its thunder bolts, restore the rulers of Oz, toss tumbling blocks at all enemies, raise a grand army and then, THEN King Kalico will help us. Isn't it just too magniferous!"
"Why Piggins, how mean of you, surely you know