  The Shaggy Man was awake in an instant. "What is it, Twiffle, what is wrong?" "There is no time to lose," whispered Twiffle. "Quick, get into your clothes, and I will arouse the children." Shaggy dressed as speedily as possible, but no sooner had he finished than Twiffle, followed by Twink and Tom, now wide-eyed with excitement and fully dressed, appeared in the doorway. "Come," Twiffle whispered. Silently Shaggy and the children followed Twiffle down the marble stairway to the elevator. The castle was not entirely dark, thanks to the bright moonlight flowing through the windows. They stepped into the elevator which had a dim light of its own. Once more it shot up to the roof of the tower. Stepping out on the roof, Twiffle beckoned them after him. The clown made his way straight to the Magic Airmobile. He climbed in, motioning for Shaggy and the children to do likewise. They all squeezed into the contraption after him. Twink noted the cushioned seats in each end of the Airmobile were soft and yielding—Conjo certainly liked comfort. "Where are we going? And why?" demanded the Shaggy Man. "There is no time to talk now," retorted Twiffle briefly. "Wait until we are well in the air." "Do you know how to operate this thing?" asked Tom. "I have watched Conjo run it many times. I am sure I can manage it," replied Twiffle. The little clown was busy with the buttons which exposed the gravity resistor plates, and almost before they realized it, the Airmobile had risen gently from the roof and was moving silently through the night. "Ah, that is a relief," sighed Twiffle as he watched Conjo's castle recede in the distance. "But where are we going?" asked Twink, who was thoroughly enjoying the ride through the cool night air. "The main thing," explained Twiffle, "is to get as far away from Conjo as possible." "Then he is a villain, as I suspected," said Shaggy. Twiffle nodded. "Conjo is a curious man. He repaired the Love Magnet because he couldn't bear seeing one of his own charms broken. He is very vain. Actually he doesn't care anything about the Love Magnet, which has no effect on him, since he made it. He doesn't love anyone and he doesn't want anyone to love him. He came to this island many years ago. He wanted to be alone, since he disliked people and desired only to work on his wizard charms and incantations. He brought me to life merely to amuse himself and to have someone to talk to when he felt like boasting. Recently he has become restless. He has found that, after all, he wants someone before whom he can show off his magic tricks. But he hesitated to bring many people to the island, fearing they would steal some of his precious magic tools." Twiffle paused and sighed. He went on, "I had made the mistake of telling him about you, Twink and Tom. Those visits he permitted me to your home, while you slept, were the only kindness Conjo ever showed me, so I don't feel I owe him any allegiance, even though he did bring me to life. Well, yesterday Conjo announced he was going to use his magic to bring you children to his island." "I see," murmured Twink, "And so you have rescued us." "I hope so," replied Twiffle. "After what I found out tonight I couldn't let you stay here. Conjo talks in his sleep a great deal, and tonight he mumbled enough for me to learn completely for the first time what his plans are for you two children." "What do you mean 'plans'?" asked Tom. "Why, Conjo was going to make you drink a magic potion that would wipe out all memory of your home, parents, and former lives. Then you would be content to stay on the island with him." "How dreadful!" exclaimed Twink, shuddering. "And I suppose he never meant for me to return to the Land of Oz," said the Shaggy Man. "Oh, no," replied Twiffle. "Conjo wanted your magic Compass badly, because it possesses a kind of magic that he knows nothing about. I believe he meant to transport you to the Land of Ev, where you could find your way back to Oz as best you could." "But now," said Twink happily, "the Airmobile will take us all to the Land of Oz." Twiffle shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm afraid it won't. Conjo is a clever wizard of sorts, but he is not powerful enough to invent a machine that will fly across the Deadly Desert." "You mean this contraption won't carry us over the desert and back to Oz?" the Shaggy Man asked, greatly disturbed. "No," said Twiffle. "I have heard of powerful birds managing to fly high enough to cross the Deadly Desert, but I know of no magic that can penetrate the barrier of invisibility that Glinda the Good spread across the deadly waste many years ago—certainly not Conjo's magic!" "Then what shall we do?" asked the Shaggy Man. "As I said," reminded Twiffle, "the most important thing was to get out of Conjo's power. The Airmobile will carry us to the edge of the Deadly Desert, but no farther." The Shaggy Man was silent considering. Once he had managed to cross the Deadly Desert in a sandboat—that had been before Glinda had laid down the magic barrier. But even since then, others had crossed the desert. So, the Shaggy Man didn't give up all hope. The Airmobile was carrying them swiftly and silently through the night. Below them the waters of the Nonestic Ocean gleamed silver in the moonlight. There was just the faintest rocking motion as the Airmobile sped along. Perhaps it was this and the fact that Shaggy and the two children were deep in their own thoughts that made them all fall asleep before they knew it. Twiffle smiled and applied himself to the operation of the Airmobile. He had no need for sleep. Twink was the first to awaken. The sun was well up in the sky, and the morning was bright and clear. She shook Tom awake and at the same time the Shaggy Man aroused himself. They looked over the side of the craft and saw below them a pleasant land of hills and rolling farmlands. "The Land of Ev," announced the Shaggy Man. "We shouldn't be so very far from the Deadly Desert now." Twiffle had looked up and was staring ahead of him in amazement. The little clown slowed down the Airmobile. Directly ahead of them was a cluster of little houses and buildings—a good sized village—in the sky. "What in the world can that be?" gasped Twink. The Airmobile was moving very slowly as they approached the sky village. Directly before them, on what would have been the outskirts of the town, had it been on the earth, was a sign reading: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING HIGHTOWN They could see people walking about among the houses, just as though they were on solid ground. The Shaggy Man shook his head. Twink and Tom were staring, fascinated. The Airmobile glided silently a few feet past the sign. Then it jerked several times and came to an abrupt halt. Twiffle looked puzzled. He pushed one button, then another, and another. Nothing happened. Twiffle did it all over again, a bit frantically this time. Still nothing happened. "It's no use," said Twiffle. "The Airmobile won't budge. We're stuck in mid-air!" |
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