Ruggedo laughed. He drank the water, threw the cup on the ground
and said fiercely:
"And now--and now--and--"
His voice grew gentle. He rubbed his forehead with a puzzled air
and stroked his long beard.
"What was I going to say?" he asked, pleadingly.
"Don't you remember?" said the Wizard.
"No; I've forgotten."
"Who ARE you?" asked Dorothy.
He tried to think. "I--I'm sure I don't know," he stammered.
"Don't you know who WE are, either?" questioned the girl.
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Nome.
"Tell us who this Munchkin boy is," suggested Ozma.
Ruggedo looked at the boy and shook his head.
"He's a stranger to me. You are all strangers. I--I'm a stranger
to myself," he said.
Then he patted the Lion's head and murmured, "Good doggie!" and the
Lion growled indignantly.
"What shall we do with him?" asked the Wizard, perplexed.
"Once before the wicked old Nome came here to conquer us, and then,
as now, he drank of the Water of Oblivion and became harmless. But we
sent him back to the Nome Kingdom, where he soon learned the old evil
ways again.
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