  "Ozma! Where is Ozma? I must see her at once—immediately!" The Soldier with the Green Whiskers had run all the way from the gates of the Emerald City of Oz to the Royal Palace with his whiskers streaming at least six feet behind him. Now that he had arrived at the palace, he was panting and wild-eyed with excitement. "Whatever is the matter with you, Omby Amby?" asked Jellia Jamb, Ozma's dainty little maid, eyeing the distraught Guardian of the Gates with undisguised curiosity. Omby Amby groaned. "Something terrible has happened. I must report it to Ozma at once." "Can't you give me just an inkling of what it is?" coaxed Jellia. "No," replied Omby Amby firmly. The Soldier, who was Ozma's Royal Army, was rapidly regaining his composure—and his breath—after his wild dash through the emerald-studded streets of the city. "Well, then come along," replied Jellia Jamb with a sigh. "I suppose I shall have to wait for Ozma to tell me what has upset you so terribly." The little maid led the way down the corridors of the Royal Palace until she came to a large double door. Here she knocked and a moment later Ozma's voice answered: "Come in." Jellia Jamb opened the door and the Soldier with the Green Whiskers followed her into the room. This was Ozma's library, where the shelves that rose from the floor to the ceiling were filled with Magic Books of Records. The little ruler of Oz was seated at a table, deep in the study of one of the books. She looked up questioningly as Omby Amby stood before her. Jellia Jamb silently departed, closing the door behind her. "Your Highness," began Omby Amby, "it is my painful duty to report a most regrettable misfortune." "What is it, Omby Amby," asked Ozma with a kindly smile. "What has happened?" "It's the Love Magnet, your Highness," gulped the Soldier. "It's been broken!" "Broken!" exclaimed Ozma, rising from her chair. "How could that ever have happened?" "It was the nail," explained Omby Amby miserably. "If your highness will recall the Love Magnet has been hanging from a nail over the Gates of the Emerald City for many years—in fact, ever since the Shaggy Man came to live in the Land of Oz." "Yes, I know," said Ozma. "Well," went on the Soldier, "the nail must have rusted and this morning it snapped. The Love Magnet fell to the bricks of the Yellow Road and broke into two pieces." Ozma's face was grave. "You brought the pieces with you?" she asked. "Yes, your Highness, I did," replied Omby Amby. Delving into one of his pockets, he handed Ozma the two pieces of the Love Magnet, a small bit of metal, shaped like a horseshoe when it was whole. Ozma held the broken Love Magnet in her hand, regarding it sadly. "It is too bad," she said, "that so wonderful a charm should be broken." "Do you mean it can't be repaired, your Highness?" asked Omby Amby. "Of that I am not sure," replied Ozma. "Perhaps the first thing we should do is ask the Shaggy Man to come here and explain to him how the Love Magnet came to be broken, since it does, after all, really belong to him." "I will go for him immediately," said the Soldier, turning to the door. "You will find him in the garden with Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead, who is trying on a new head," said Ozma, as Omby Amby made a low bow and closed the door behind him. By luck, Ozma reflected, the Shaggy Man was in the Emerald City. She knew that Shaggy was fond of making long trips about the Land of Oz, exploring the little-known corners and regions of this most famous of all Fairylands. Now he had just returned from a visit with his brother who was in the Gillikin Country. While she waited, Ozma recalled how the Shaggy Man had befriended Dorothy in the Great Outside World and had found his way to the Land of Oz in the company of little Dorothy. With him he had brought the Love Magnet, a curious magical talisman, which caused whoever carried it to be loved by all he met. Shaggy had gratefully accepted Ozma's invitation to make his home in the Land of Oz, and since he had no further need for the Love Magnet, Ozma had caused it to be hung over the Gates of the Emerald City so that all who entered might be loving and loved. Before she had done this, however, Ozma had wisely altered the powers of the Love Magnet so that the talisman did not automatically cause the person who carried it to be loved by all he met, but must be displayed by its carrier before the eyes of the person or persons whose love he wished to win. Thus, control of the powers of the Magnet were given to its owner. All this had happened so long ago that it was now duly written down in Professor Wogglebug's Chronicles of the Land of Oz. Ozma's reflections were ended by the appearance of Omby Amby and the Shaggy Man who had no idea that anything was the matter. "Dorothy said to tell you, your Highness, that it's one of the best heads Jack ever had," the Shaggy Man announced with satisfaction, as he entered the room. "Dorothy's fitting it on Jack's body now." "Won't you sit down, please, Shaggy Man?" invited Ozma. The little Ruler's expression was so serious that the Shaggy Man asked with concern, "What is it, Ozma? What's wrong?" Ozma answered silently by extending her palm on which lay the halves of the broken Love Magnet. The Shaggy Man's eyes clouded. "Oh, that is too bad. I was very fond of the Love Magnet. It always made me feel happy whenever I entered or left the Emerald City. How did it come to be broken?" Ozma explained in a few words what had happened. "But can't the Love Magnet be repaired?" asked the Shaggy Man. "I should think it would be an easy matter for you or the Wizard or Glinda to put it together again as good as new." "No," Ozma shook her head. "It isn't as simple as that. A long time ago I looked up the history of the Love Magnet in my Magic Record Books and I found that, if broken, it could be made whole only by one person—the person who created it." "And who," asked the Shaggy Man with deep interest, "is that?" "It has been so long ago," admitted Ozma, "that I have forgotten who it was. But I can look it up in a few seconds." Ozma moved to the far side of the library, where she selected one of the Magic Record Books and opened it on a table. After turning the pages until she found the one containing the Love Magnet's history, Ozma ran her finger down the finely printed column. "Here it is," she announced. "The man who made the Love Magnet, and the only person who can repair it, is a Wizard named Conjo, who lives on a tiny island in the middle of the Nonestic Ocean." |
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