ven to the
farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but
nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to
where Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather
solemn and troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without
telling her friends where she was going, or without an escort that
befitted her royal state. She was gone, however, and none had seen her
go. Dorothy had met and questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy
Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard
of Oz, but not one of them had seen Ozma since she parted with her
friends the evening before and had gone to her own rooms.

"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed
little Trot.

"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually
Ozma lets us know of everything she does."

"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That
will tell us where she is in just one second."

"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" And
at once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic
Picture always hung. This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal
Ozma's greatest treasures. There was a large gold frame in the center
of which was a bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes constantly
appeared and disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see
what any person anywhere in the world was doing, it was only necessary
to make the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the
scene where that person was and show exactly what he or she was then
engaged in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish
to see Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she
was.

Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected
by thick satin curtains and pulled the draperies aside. Then she
stared in amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of
disappointment.

The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind the
curtains showed where it had formerly hung.

CHAPTER 2

THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD

That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the
powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in
the Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled,
was a splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here
the Sorce