  Omby Amby had returned to his post at the Gates of the Emerald City and Ozma and the Shaggy Man had retired to the Chamber of Magic. Here were kept many of the most valuable magical instruments in all the Land of Oz. "There is only one thing to be done," the Shaggy Man was saying. "I must take the broken Love Magnet to this Conjo and ask him to repair it." "I am not sure at all that Conjo will agree to repair the Love Magnet for you," Ozma replied with a troubled expression. "You see, we know very little about this Conjo. He lives alone on this tiny island in the middle of the Nonestic Ocean and practices magic. There is no record of his actually misusing his magical powers. Nor, so far as we know, has he caused trouble for anyone. However, we have reason to believe he is rather selfish and thoughtless and that he might cause harm, without really meaning to, just to satisfy his vanity. Also, it might not suit his whim to mend the Love Magnet." "What is the name of the island on which Conjo lives?" asked the Shaggy Man musingly. "It is called the Isle of Conjo, and since it is many miles from the Land of Oz, I have no power over the Wizard at all. In fact," concluded Ozma, "that is the reason we here in the Land of Oz know so little about Conjo." "Nevertheless," maintained the Shaggy Man, "I think I should go as soon as possible to this island and do everything I can to persuade Conjo to make the Love Magnet whole." "Even after you crossed the Deadly Desert, you would have several days' journey through the Land of Ev, and then you would only be on the shores of the Nonestic Ocean. So, I think it would be best, since you are determined to make the journey, for me to use the Magic Belt to transport you directly to the Isle of Conjo." The Shaggy Man willingly agreed to this plan, stating that he was ready to leave at once. "First," said Ozma, "let us have a look at the Isle of Conjo in the Magic Picture." The girl Ruler swept aside the velvet curtain that hung over the Magic Picture when it was not in use. The picture appeared to be a peaceful, country farmland scene with purple hills rising in the distance. "Show us the Isle of Conjo in the Nonestic Ocean," said Ozma. Immediately the picture shifted and changed. It now reflected a gently rolling meadowland with a great castle in the distance. Approaching the castle were a young girl and a boy, accompanied by the figure of a little wooden clown. Ozma gasped in surprise. "Those are human children, Shaggy Man! What can they be doing there when my Magic Record Books state that Conjo is the only human being on the island? We can see that the clown accompanying them is a puppet, evidently brought to life by Conjo." "Perhaps they are lost," ventured the Shaggy Man. "But how would they get to the island? It is surrounded by miles and miles of ocean." "I don't know," admitted the Shaggy Man, "but it is one more good reason for me to go there as quickly as possible—those children may be in need of help." "I agree with you," said Ozma quickly. "You must find out what the children are doing on the island and see that they are returned to their homes. If you cannot do that, then you must bring them with you to the Land of Oz." "Will you use the Magic Belt to transport us back to the Land of Oz?" asked the Shaggy Man. "That will be impossible," stated Ozma, "since I must leave this afternoon to visit Glinda the Good. We are working on some extremely important magic charms in which the powers of the Magic Belt are needed. I am not sure how long I will be gone—perhaps for several weeks. "However," Ozma went on, as she stepped to a heavy wooden chest, opened one of its drawers, and withdrew a small object, "I want you to take this with you. It will enable you to return to the Land of Oz anytime you wish." "What is it?" asked the Shaggy Man curiously. "It is a Magic Compass," explained Ozma. "You will notice that it is not round in shape like ordinary compasses, but is formed like a rectangle, as is the Land of Oz." Shaggy looked at the Magic Compass and found that instead of being marked, North, South, East, and West as is the usual compass, it bore the words, Gillikin, Quadling, Winkie, and Munchkin, which are the four countries making up the Land of Oz. "Should you wish to return to any one of the four countries," Ozma went on, "just set the compass needle to the one to which you wish to journey. If you want to come directly to the Emerald City, you have only to spin the needle of the compass, and you will be here as quickly as the Magic Belt could bring you." The Shaggy Man inspected the Magic Compass more closely and found that the pivot on which the needle rested, rose from a spot of green in the very center of the compass. This green spot, he knew, represented the Emerald City. "But what about the children?" the Shaggy Man asked. "If I can find no way to send them home, I cannot simply leave them on the island." "Of course not," replied Ozma. "If you think it necessary to bring them to Oz with you, just have them put their arms in yours; then spin the compass needle, and all three of you will be transported to the Emerald City." The Shaggy Man placed the Magic Compass carefully in his pocket and said: "Perhaps it would be well for me to be on my way. There's no telling what will happen on that island and those two children may need help." Ozma slipped on the Magic Belt. "Goodbye, dear friend," she said, smiling fondly at the Shaggy Man. "Return as quickly as you can." Then she made the magic signal, and the Shaggy Man was no longer in the Chamber of Magic. |
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