are not bad people; they do not care to quarrel and
fight, even with their enemies the Flatheads; but they
are so cowed and fearful of Coo-ee-oh that they obey
her slightest word, rather than suffer her anger."

"Hasn't she any heart, then?" asked Dorothy.

"She never displays mercy. She loves no one but
herself," asserted Lady Aurex, but she trembled as she
said it, as if afraid even yet of her terrible Queen.

"That's pretty bad," said Dorothy, shaking her head
gravely. "I see you've a lot to do here, Ozma, in this
forsaken corner of the Land of Oz. First place, you've
got to take the magic away from Queen Coo-ee-oh, and
from that awful Su-dic, too. My idea is that neither of
them is fit to rule anybody, 'cause they're cruel and
hateful. So you'll have to give the Skeezers and
Flatheads new rulers and teach all their people that
they're part of the Land of Oz and must obey, above
all, the lawful Ruler, Ozma of Oz. Then, when you've
done that, we can go back home again."

Ozma smiled at her little friend's earnest counsel,
but Lady Aurex said in an anxious tone:

"I am surprised that you suggest these reforms while
you are yet prisoners on this island and in Coo-ee-oh's
power. That these things should be done, there is no
doubt, but just now a dreadful war is likely to break