But no one paid any attention to this because they were now close to the Nome King's dominions, and his splendid underground palace could not be very far away. Suddenly they heard a shout of jeering laughter, and stopped short. They would have to stop in a minute, anyway, for the huge mountain barred their further progress and the path ran close up to a wall of rock and ended. "Who was that laughing?" asked Ozma. There was no reply, but in the gloom they could see strange forms flit across the face of the rock. Whatever the creations might be they seemed very like the rock itself, for they were the color of rocks and their shapes were as rough and rugged as if they had been broken away from the side of the mountain. They kept close to the steep cliff facing our friends, and glided up and down, and this way and that, with a lack of regularity that was quite confusing. And they seemed not to need places to rest their feet, but clung to the surface of the rock as a fly does to a window-pane, and were never still for a moment. "Do not mind them," said Tiktok, as Dorothy shrank back. "They are on-ly the Nomes." "And what are Nomes?" asked the girl, half frightened. "They are rock fair-ies, and serve the Nome King," replied the machine. "But they will do us no harm. You must call for the King, be-cause with-out him you can ne-ver find the en-trance to the pal-ace." "_You_ call," said Dorothy to Ozma. Just then the Nomes laughed again, and the sound was so weird and disheartening that the twenty-six officers commanded the private to "right-about-face!" and they all started to run as fast as they could. The Tin Woodman at once pursued his army and cried "halt!" and when they had stopped their flight he asked: "Where are you going?" "I--I find I've forgotten the brush for my whiskers," said a general, trembling with fear. "S-s-so we are g-going back after it!" "That is impossible," replied the Tin Woodman. "For the giant with the hammer would kill you all if you tried to pass him." "Oh! I'd forgotten the giant," said the general, turning pale. "You seem to forget a good many things," remarked the Tin Woodman. "I hope you won't forget that you are brave men." "Never!" cried the general, slapping his gold-embroidered chest. "Never!" cried all the other officers, indignantly slapping their chests. "For my part," said the private, meekly, "I must obey my officers; so when I am told to run, I run; and when I am told to fight, I fight." "That is right," agreed the Tin Woodman. "And now you must all come back to Ozma, and obey _her_ orders. And if you try to run away again I will have her reduce all the twenty-six officers to privates, and make the private your general." This terrible threat so frightened them that they at once returned to where Ozma was standing beside the Cowardly Lion. Then Ozma cried out in a loud voice: "I demand that the Nome King appear to us!"