Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
Silently Shaggy and the children followed Twiffle down the marble
stairway to the elevator. The castle was not entirely dark, thanks to
the bright moonlight flowing through the windows. They stepped into
the elevator which had a dim light of its own. Once more it shot up to
the roof of the tower. Stepping out on the roof, Twiffle beckoned them
after him. The clown made his way straight to the Magic Airmobile. He
climbed in, motioning for Shaggy and the children to do likewise. They
all squeezed into the contraption after him. Twink noted the cushioned
seats in each end of the Airmobile were soft and yielding--Conjo
certainly liked comfort.
"Where are we going? And why?" demanded the Shaggy Man.
"There is no time to talk now," retorted Twiffle briefly. "Wait until
we are well in the air."
"Do you know how to operate this thing?" asked Tom.
"I have watched Conjo run it many times. I am sure I can manage it,"
replied Twiffle.
The little clown was busy with the buttons which exposed the gravity
resistor plates, and almost before they realized it, the Airmobile had
risen gently from the roof and was moving silently through the night.
"Ah, that is a relief," sighed Twiffle as he watched Conjo's castle
recede in the distance.
"But where are we going?" asked Twink, who was thoroughly enjoying the
ride through the cool night air.
"The main thing," explained Twiffle, "is to get as far away from Conjo
as possible."
"Then he is a villain, as I suspected," said Shaggy.
Twiffle nodded. "Conjo is a curious man. He repaired the Love Magnet
because he couldn't bear seeing one of his own charms broken. He is
very vain. Actually he doesn't care anything about the Love Magnet,
which has no effect on him, since he made it. He doesn't love anyone
and he doesn't want anyone to love him. He came to this island many
years ago. He wanted to be alone, since he disliked people and desired
only to work on his wizard charms and incantations. He brought me to
life merely to amuse himself and to have someone to talk to when he
felt like boasting. Recently he has become restless. He has found that,
after all, he wants someone before whom he can show off his magic
tricks. But he hesitated to bring many people to the island, fearing
they would steal some of his precious magic tools."
Twiffle paused and sighed. He went on, "I had made the mistake of
telling him about you, Twink and Tom. Those visits he permitted me to
your home, while you slept, were the only kindness Conjo ever showed
me, so I don't feel I owe him any allegiance, even though he did bring
me to life. Well, yesterday Conjo announced he was going to use his
magic to bring you children to his island."
"I see," murmured Twink, "And so you have rescued us."
"I hope so," replied Twiffle. "After what I found out tonight I
couldn't let you stay here. Conjo talks in his sleep a great deal, and
tonight he mumbled enough for me to learn completely for the first time
what his plans are for you two children."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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