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curious and comical. But as they all kept their thoughts to themselves, Scrapper noticed nothing amiss.
"Kindly entertain this customer until I return," ordered Scrapper and, with a curt nod at the
Queen, went out and locked the door behind him. For a second longer Scraps and the Gnome King
stared fixedly at one another. Then the Patchwork Girl, snatching off her steel-rimmed spectacles,
groaned:
"Ruggedo, as I live, oh my land! How'd he get off of that island?"
"That's my affair," answered the Gnome King in a surly voice. "How do you happen to be
Queen of Patch, I should like to know?"
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"That's my affair," sniffed Scraps haughtily. "But I know you are up to some mischief. Boy,"
she demanded, turning severely to Peter, "where did you meet this robber and what is he planning to
do?"
Peter shuffled his feet uncomfortably, hardly knowing what to say. He was anxious for the
magic cloak to be mended, for how else was he to reach the Emerald City and warn Ozma of her
danger. If he told the whole truth they might both be thrown into prison, or so thought Peter then.
Ruggedo was waiting nervously for his reply, and as the little boy mumbled out a few words about being
lost and trying to find his way back home, the Gnome King sighed with relief.
"Why get so excited?" wheezed Ruggedo in a conciliatory voice. "I merely want to have my
cloak mended and was told it could be done here better than anywhere else. What's wrong about that?"
"It's wrong for you to be off the island," insisted Scraps. "You know perfectly well you were
banished forever. Oh, for an egg! For a dozen eggs!" At the mention of eggs, Ruggedo turned quite pale
under his wrinkled gray skin and, as Peter looked at the two in perplexity, Scrapper returned bringing an
old Quilty grandame with him. She was angry to be summoned at so late an hour and, grumbling crossly,
snatched the cloak from Ruggedo's hand. Seating herself in a low chair by the candle, she opened her
sewing box and began to stitch so rapidly that her needle fairly flashed through the air.
"Now then," murmured Scrapper, smiling in satisfaction, "as to the price?"
"I command you to arrest this creature, interrupted the Patchwork Girl, rushing up to the Chief
Scrapper. "Don't you realize that he is the former King of the Gnomes and that he has tried to capture Oz
at least a dozen times?"
"A king?" exclaimed Scrapper, clasping his hands rapturously. "Why, how we are honored!
Have a chair, your Majesty! Have a cushion! Have-"
"Oh, have some sense!" screamed Scraps, while Ruggedo sidled closer to the old woman who
was mending his cloak. "If you let him go he'll try to capture the Emerald City. He always does.
"He's mean, he's cruel, he's dangerous, He'll ruin Oz and all of us!"
"Nonsense!" sniffed Scrapper, giving the Patchwork girl a push. "He is our honored customer, and you
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may be the Queen here, but remember, I'm the boss. Keep quiet or I'll send for the Scissor Bird."
"Wouldn't this make your ear ache?" Peter jumped at the new voice and, peering around in the
direction it had come from, saw a little bear peeking out of a chest. It was Grumpy, of course, and, as
Peter continued to stare at him, he retired into the chest and closed the lid. But the Gnome King,
encouraged by Scrapper's treatment of the Patchwork Girl, puffed out his cheeks quite cheerfully.
"You are a man of judgment," he observed in a flattering tone. "Be assured that I will
remember this kindness, but what can I do to repay you for mending the cloak?" Scrapper looked
thoughtful for a moment while the Patchwork Girl continued to mutter and scold under her breath.
"Is this your slave?" he inquired at last, turning inquisitively to Peter. Ruggedo seemed a little
surprised, but to Peter's disgust and astonishment immediately nodded briskly.
"Well, then," said Scrapper, "suppose you give us the boy in payment for mending the cloak.
Our Queen is not quick enough to do all the work here and he looks strong and willing."
"I'm not his slave!" burst out Peter wrathfully. "I'll not stay here, you old simpleton." But the
more he shouted the more Ruggedo nodded and smiled at Scrapper.
"Never mind," whispered the Patchwork Girl as Peter, on his way to the door bumped Into
her, "never mind, I'll help you." And with this assurance he was forced to be satisfied. Realizing that
Ruggedo meant to keep none of his promises, Peter tried to plan a way to get hold of the cloak first. But
the Gnome King, pressing close to the old Quilty seamstress, waved him jealously away, and Scrapper,
jerking him roughly by the arm, whirled him off into a corner.
And now the cloak was mended. Shaking the threads from its folds the old grandame held it
out to Ruggedo. As she did so, Peter rushed forward impetuously, but the gnome was too quick for him.
Flinging on the magic garment, Ruggedo vanished from view, only the blue patch on the back of the cloak [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]