"There are more persons like that than would at first be supposed by any one not in this business," said the Banjo. [Illustration: The Twisted Shadow of the King] CHAPTER XXXI THE MESSENGERS OF THE FAIRY QUEEN "My dear friends," said the Fairy Queen after they had arrived once more at the palace, "I must tell you more about this Wicked Fairy Gobo. He was once one of my trusted workmen in the valley where you have seen the Mother of Gold. You know how necessary it is for the greatest of care and secrecy to be observed by every person permitted within those walls; for should any unfaithful servant allow that secret to become known, or should he leave the gate open, or should he do any one of a hundred dangerous things, then all would be lost. "Now this is what the Wicked Fairy Gobo did; he became covetous of the gold which he saw all about him, and began, as mortals do, to think this gold worth more than everything else. In short, he was willing to do anything, if only he might control all this gold. It was he who planned to open the gates and let in wicked persons who would have robbed me. My faithful friend the White Cricket told me of this, and at once I banished Gobo from the Valley of Gold, and changed the mountains all about, and made new gates, and secured new sentinels and guards of the valley; so that Gobo never again could find the way thither. He has been my enemy ever since, although hitherto I have never punished him, beyond confining him to yonder mountain; whence it was his privilege to emerge twice a year. You see what he has done. Jealous that I should hear from the King so often, Gobo has taken the shadow and with it the White Cricket, so that I could telephone no longer. Now in order that I may once more hear from the King, I shall send him back, in your hands, my dears, the Cricket for his telephone; and I shall send him back also his shadow, after I have restored it to its proper shape. And I shall send him also my hope; and I shall send him the message which I have whispered in your ears." "But see the poor shadow, how badly it is bent," said Lulu. "It does not look in the least like the King as we know him." "I shall hope to be able to straighten out the shadow," said the Queen. "It is only the Wicked Fairy who has destroyed its beauty for the time." "But," asked Zuzu curiously, "why do you take so great an interest in the King of the Island of Gee-Whiz? It always seemed to me that he acted very strangely; for sometimes he was friendly toward the Fairies and sometimes not; and often he wanted more gold." "Ah! that is it," said the Queen, sighing, "it was always that gold! It was the Wicked Fairy Gobo who put such notions in his head; but let us hope that all will yet be well. I beseech you now to hold tight to your Wishing Wands, and on no account make another wish until you are in the presence of the King himself.