The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Jack Pumpkinhead all sat at the
dinner table, although none of them was made so he could eat. Usually
they served to enliven the meal with their merry talk, but to-night
all seemed strangely silent and uneasy.
As soon as the dinner was finished Ozma led the company to her own
private room in which hung the Magic Picture. When they had seated
themselves the Scarecrow was the first to speak.
"Is the Nome King's tunnel finished, Ozma?" he asked.
"It was completed to-day," she replied. "They have built it right
under my palace grounds, and it ends in front of the Forbidden
Fountain. Nothing but a crust of earth remains to separate our
enemies from us, and when they march here, they will easily break
through this crust and rush upon us."
"Who will assist the Nome King?" inquired the Scarecrow.
"The Whimsies, the Growleywogs and the Phanfasms," she replied. "I
watched to-day in my Magic Picture the messengers whom the Nome King
sent to all these people to summon them to assemble in his great caverns."
"Let us see what they are doing now," suggested the Tin Woodman.
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