It was a lovely place, indeed, and seemed to be the garden of some great Prince, for through the vistas of trees and shrubbery could be seen the towers of an immense castle.

But as yet the only inhabitant to greet them was the Peculiar Person just mentioned, who had shaken off the grasp of the officers without effort and was now trying to pull the battered crown from off his eyes.
Shaggy, who was always polite, helped him to do this and when the man was free and could see again he looked at his visitors with evident amazement.
"Well, well, well!" he exclaimed.

"Where did you come from and how did you get here ?" Betsy tried to answer him, for Queen Ann was surly and silent.
"I can't say, exac'ly where we came from, cause I don't know the name of the place," said the girl, "but the way we got here was through the Hollow Tube." "Don't call it a 'hollow' Tube, please," exclaimed the Peculiar Person in an irritated tone of voice.

"If it's a tube, it's sure to be hollow." "Why ?" asked Betsy.
"Because all tubes are made that way.

But this Tube is private property and everyone is forbidden to fall into it." "We didn't do it on purpose," explained Betsy, and Polychrome added: "I am quite sure that Ruggedo, the Nome King, pushed us down that Tube." "Ha! Ruggedo! Did you say Ruggedo ?" cried the man, becoming much excited.
"That is what she said," replied Shaggy, "and I believe she is right.
We were on our way to conquer the Nome King when suddenly we fell into the Tube." "Then you are enemies of Ruggedo ?" inquired the peculiar Person.
"Not exac'ly enemies," said Betsy, a little puzzled by the question, "'cause we don't know him at all; but we started out to conquer him, which isn't as friendly as it might be." "True," agreed the man.