“Fine!” cried the King, rubbing his hands together. “Let everything be made ready for the ceremony, and in the meantime”—Pompus glared about fiercely—“I forbid anyone’s disappearing. I am still the King! Set a guard around the castle, Pumper, to watch for any signs of disappearance, and if so much as a fence paling disappears”—he drew himself up—“notify me _at once_!” Then turning to the throne Pompus gave his arm to Queen Pozy and together they started for the garden. “Do you mean to say you are going to pay no attention to the mirror or door knob?” cried Kabumpo, planting himself in the King’s path. “Go away,” said Pompus crossly. “Oyez! Oyez! Way for their Majesties!” cried the Prime Pumper, running ahead with his silver staff, and the royal couple swept out of the banquet hall. “Never mind, Kabumpo,” said the Prince, flinging his arm affectionately around the Elegant Elephant’s trunk, “I dare say Faleero has her good points—and we cannot let the old Kingdom disappear, you know!” [Illustration: “Flinging his arms affectionately around the Elegant Elephant’s trunk”] “Fiddlesticks!” choked Kabumpo. “She’ll make a door mat of you, Pompa—Prince Pompadormat—that’s what you’ll be! Let’s run away!” he proposed, his little eyes twinkling anxiously. “I couldn’t do that and let the Kingdom disappear, it wouldn’t be right,” sighed the Prince, and sadly he followed his parents into the royal gardens. “The King’s a Gooch!” gulped the Elegant Elephant unhappily. Then, all at once he flung up his trunk. “Somebody’s going to disappear around here,” he wheezed darkly, “that’s certain!” With a mighty rustling of his silk robe, Kabumpo hurried off to his own royal quarters in the palace. Left alone, Prince Pompa threw himself down at the foot of the throne, and gazed sadly into space. [Illustration: (unlabelled)] Chapter 3 Kabumpo and Pompa Disappear Once in his own apartment, Kabumpo pulled the bell rope furiously. “My pearls and my purple plush robe! Bring them at once!” he puffed when his personal attendant appeared in the doorway. “Yes, Sir! Are you going out, Sir?” murmured the little Pumperdinkian, hastening to a great chest in the corner of the big marble room, to get out of the robe. “Not unless disappearing is going out,” said Kabumpo more mildly, for he was quite fond of this little man who waited on him. “But I’m liable to disappear any minute. So are you. So is everybody, and I, for my part, wish to do the thing well and disappear with as much elegance as possible. Have you heard about the magic scroll, Spezzle?” “Yes, Sir!” quavered Spezzle, mounting a ladder to adjust the Elegant Elephant’s pearls and gorgeous robe of state. “Yes, Sir, and my head’s going round and round like—” “Like what?” asked Kabumpo, looking approvingly at his reflection in the long mirror.