she walked through all the rooms once more, and examined with care all the objects they contained; but there were so many, they bewildered her, and she decided, after all, as ozma had done, that it could be only guess work at the best, and that the chances were much against her guessing aright.timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: ev.thats one failure, anyhow, she thought.but how am i to know which thing is enchanted, and which is not? next she touched the image of a purple kitten that stood on the corner of a mantel, and as she pronounced the word ev the kitten disappeared, and a pretty, fairhaired boy stood beside her.at the same time a bell rang somewhere in the distance, and as dorothy started back, partly in surprise and partly in joy, the little one exclaimed: where am i? and who are you? and what has happened to me? well, i declare! said dorothy.ive really done it.done what? asked the boy.[illustration] saved myself from being an ornament, replied the girl, with a laugh, and saved you from being forever a purple kitten.a purple kitten? he repeated.there _is_ no such thing.i know, she answered.but there was, a minute ago.dont you remember standing on a corner of the mantel? of course not.i am a prince of ev, and my name is evring, the little one announced, proudly.but my father, the king, sold my mother and all her children to the cruel ruler of the nomes, and after that i remember nothing at all.a purple kitten cant be spected to remember, evring, said dorothy.but now you are yourself again, and im going to try to save some of your brothers and sisters, and perhaps your mother, as well.so come with me.she seized the childs hand and eagerly hurried here and there, trying to decide which object to choose next.the third guess was another failure, and so was the fourth and the fifth.little evring could not imagine what she was doing, but he trotted along beside her very willingly, for he liked the new companion he had found.dorothys further quest proved unsuccessful; but after her first disappointment was over, the little girl was filled with joy and thankfulness to think that after all she had been able to save one member of the royal family of ev, and could restore the little prince to his sorrowing country.now she might return to the terrible nome king in safety, carrying with her the prize she had won in the person of the fairhaired boy.so she retraced her steps until she found the entrance to the palace, and as she approached, the massive doors of rock opened of their own accord, allowing both dorothy and evring to pass the portals and enter the throne room.[illustration] billina frightens the nome king [illustration] now when dorothy had entered the palace to make her guesses and the scarecrow was left with the nome king, the two sat in moody silence for several minutes.then the monarch exclaimed, in a tone of satisfaction: very good! who is very good? asked the scarecrow.the machine man.he wont need to be wound up any more, for he has now become a very neat ornament.very neat, indeed.how about dorothy? the scarecrow enquired.oh, she will begin to guess, pretty soon, said the king, cheerfully.and then she will join my collection, and it will be your turn.the good scarecrow was much distressed by the thought that his little friend was about to suffer the fate of ozma and the rest of their party; but while he sat in gloomy reverie a shrill voice suddenly cried: kut, kut, kutkadawkutt! kut, kut, kutkadawkutt! the nome king nearly jumped off his seat, he was so startled.good gracious! whats that? he yelled.why, its billina, said the scarecrow.what do you mean by making a noise like that? shouted the king, angrily, as the yellow hen came from under the throne and strutted proudly about the room.ive got a right to cackle, i guess, replied billina.ive just laid my egg.what! laid an egg! in my throne room! how dare you do such a thing? asked the king, in a voice of fury.i lay eggs wherever i happen to be, said the hen, ruffling her feathers and then shaking them into place.butthunderation! dont you know that eggs are poison? roared the king, while his rockcolored eyes stuck out in great terror.poison! well, i declare, said billina, indignantly.ill have you know all my eggs are warranted strictly fresh and up to date.poison, indeed! you dont understand, retorted the little monarch, nervously.eggs belong only to the outside worldto the world on the earths surface, where you came from.here, in my underground kingdom, they are rank poison, as i said, and we nomes cant bear them around.well, youll have to bear this one around, declared billina; for ive laid it.where? asked the king.under your throne, said the hen.the king jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away from the throne