As they were
preparing to leave, Dorothy
asked: "Can you tell
us where there is a dark well?"
"Never heard of such a thing," said
the Tottenhot. "We live our lives
in the dark, mostly, and sleep
in the day-time; but we've never
seen a dark well, or anything
like one."
"Does anyone live on those
mountains beyond here?" asked
the Scarecrow.
"Lots of people. But you'd
better not visit them. We never
go there," was the reply.
"What are the people like?" Dorothy
inquired.
"Can't say. We've been told
to keep away from the mountain
paths, and so we obey. This sandy
desert is good enough for us,
and we're not disturbed here," declared
the Tottenhot.
So they left the man snuggling
down to sleep in his dusky dwelling,
and went out into the sunshine,
taking the path that led toward
the rocky places. They soon found
it hard climbing, for the rocks
were uneven and full of sharp
points and edges, and now there
was no path at all. Clambering
here and there among the boulders
they kept steadily on, gradually
rising higher and higher until
finally they came to a great
rift in a part of the mountain,
where the rock seemed to have
split in two and left high walls
on either side.
"S'pose we go this way," suggested
Dorothy; it's much easier walking
than to climb over the hills."
"How about that sign?" asked
Ojo.
"What sign?" she
inquired.
The Munchkin boy pointed to
some words painted on the wall
of rock beside them, which Dorothy
had not noticed. The words read:
"LOOK OUT FOR
YOOP."
The girl eyed this sign a moment
and turned to the Scarecrow,
asking:
"Who is Yoop;
or what is Yoop?"
The straw man
shook his head. Then looked
at Toto and the dog
said "Woof!"
"Only way to
find out is to go on, Scraps."
This being quite true, they
went on. As they proceeded, the
walls of rock on either side
grew higher and higher. Presently
they came upon another sign which
read:
"BEWARE THE
CAPTIVE YOOP."
"Why, as for that," remarked
Dorothy, "if Yoop is a captive
there's no need to beware of
him. Whatever Yoop happens to
be, I'd much rather have him
a captive than running around
loose."
"So had I," agreed
the Scarecrow, with a nod of
his painted head.
"Still," said
Scraps, reflectively:
"Yoop-te-hoop-te-loop-te-goop!
Who put noodles in the soup?
We may beware but we don't care,
And dare go where we scare the
Yoop."
"Dear me! Aren't you feeling
a little queer, just now?" Dorothy
asked the Patchwork Girl.
"Not queer, but crazy," said
Ojo. "When she says those things
I'm sure her brains get mixed
somehow and work the wrong way.
"I don't see why we are told
to beware the Yoop unless he
is dangerous," observed the Scarecrow
in a puzzled tone.
"Never mind; we'll find out
all about him when we get to
where he is," replied the little
girl.
The narrow canyon turned and
twisted this way and that, and
the rift was so small that they
were able to touch both walls
at the same time by stretching
out their arms. Toto had run
on ahead, frisking playfully,
when suddenly he uttered a sharp
bark of fear and came running
back to them with his tail between
his legs, as dogs do when they
are frightened.
"Ah," said the Scarecrow, who
was leading the way, "we must
be near Yoop."
Just then, as he rounded a
sharp turn, the Straw man stopped
so suddenly that all the others
bumped against him.
"What is it?" asked Dorothy,
standing on tip-toes to look
over his shoulder. But then she
saw what it was and cried "Oh!" in
a tone of astonishment.
In one of the rock walls--that
at their left-- was hollowed
a great cavern, in front of which
was a row of thick iron bars,
the tops and bottoms being firmly
fixed in the solid rock. Over
this cavern was a big sign, which
Dorothy read with much curiosity,
speaking the words aloud that
all might know what they said:
"MISTER YOOP--HIS
CAVE
The Largest Untamed Giant in
Captivity. Height, 21 Feet.--(And
yet he has but 2 feet.) Weight,
1640 Pounds.--(But he waits all
the time.) Age, 400 Years 'and
Up' (as they say in the
Department Store advertisements).
Temper, Fierce and Ferocious.--(Except
when asleep.) Appetite, Ravenous.--(Prefers
Meat People and Orange Marmalade.)
P. S.--Don't
feed the Giant yourself."
"Very well," said Ojo, with
a sigh; "let's go back."
"It's a long way back," declared
Dorothy.
"So it is," remarked the Scarecrow, "and
it means a tedious climb over
those sharp rocks if we can t
use this passage. I think it
will be best to run by the Giant's
cave as fast as we can go. Mister
Yoop seems to be asleep just
now."
But the Giant wasn't asleep.
He suddenly appeared at the front
of his cavern, seized the iron
bars in his great hairy hands
and shook them until they rattled
in their sockets. Yoop was so
tall that our friends had to
tip their heads way back to look
into his face, and they noticed
he was dressed all in pink velvet,
with silver buttons and braid.
The Giant's boots were of pink
leather and had tassels on them
and his hat was decorated with
an enormous pink ostrich feather,
carefully curled.
"Yo--ho!" he said in a deep
bass voice; "I smell dinner."
"I think you are mistaken," replied
the Scarecrow. "There is no orange
marmalade around here."
"Ah, but I eat other things," asserted
Mister Yoop. "That is, I eat
them when I can get them. But
this is a lonely place, and no
good meat has passed by my cave
for many years; so I'm hungry."
"Haven't you eaten anything
in many years?" asked Dorothy.
"Nothing except
six ants and a monkey. I thought
the monkey
would taste like meat people,
but the flavor was different.
I hope you will taste better,
for you seem plump and tender."
"Oh, I'm not going to be eaten," said
Dorothy.
"Why not?"
"I shall keep out of your way," she
answered.
"How heartless!" wailed the
Giant, shaking the bars again. "Consider
how many years it is since I've
eaten a single plump little girl!
They tell me meat is going up,
but if I can manage to catch
you I'm sure it will soon be
going down. And I'll catch you
if I can."
With this the Giant pushed
his big arms, which looked like
tree-trunks (except that tree-
trunks don't wear pink velvet)
between the iron bars, and the
arms were so long that they touched
the opposite wall of the rock
passage. Then he extended them
as far as he could reach toward
our travelers and found he could
almost touch the Scarecrow--but
not quite.
"Come a little nearer, please," begged
the Giant.
"I'm a Scarecrow."
"A Scarecrow?
Ugh! I don't care a straw for
a scarecrow.
Who is that bright-colored delicacy
behind you?"
"Me?" asked Scraps. "I'm
a Patchwork Girl, and I'm stuffed
with cotton."
"Dear me," sighed the Giant
in a disapointed tone; "that
reduces my dinner from four to
two-- and the dog. I'll save
the dog for dessert."
Toto growled, keeping a good
distance away.
"Back up," said the Scarecrow
to those behind him. "Let us
go back a little way and talk
this over.
So they turned and went around
the bend in the passage, where
they were out of sight of the
cave and Mister Yoop could not
hear them.
"My idea," began the Scarecrow,
when they had halted, "is to
make a dash past the cave, going
on a run.
"He'd grab us," said
Dorothy.
"Well, he can't
grab but one at a time, and
I'll go first.
As soon as he grabs me the rest
of you can slip past him, out
of his reach, and he will soon
let me go because I am not fit
to eat."
They decided to try this plan
and Dorothy took Toto in her
arms, so as to protect him. She
followed just after the Scarecrow.
Then came Ojo, with Scarps the
last of the four. Their hearts
beat a little faster than usual
as they again approached the
Giant's cave, this time moving
swiftly forward.
It turned out about the way
the Scarecrow had planned. Mister
Yoop was quite astonished to
see them come flying toward him,
and thrusting his arms between
the bars he seized the Scarecrow
in a firm grip. In the next instant
he realized, from the way the
straw crunched between his fingers,
that he had captured the non-eatable
man, but during that instant
of delay Dorothy and Ojo had
slipped by the Giant and were
out of reach. Uttering a howl
of rage the monster threw the
Scarecrow after them with one
hand and grabbed Scraps with
the other.
The poor Scarecrow went whirling
through the air and so cleverly
was he aimed that he struck Ojo's
back and sent the boy tumbling
head over heels, and he tripped
Dorothy and sent her, also, sprawling
upon the ground. Toto flew out
of the little girl's arms and
landed some distance ahead, and
all were so dazed that it was
a moment before they could scramble
to their feet again. When they
did so they turned to look toward
the Giant's cave, and at that
moment the ferocious Mister Yoop
threw the Patchwork Girl at them.
Down went all three again,
in a heap, with Scraps on top.
The Giant roared so terribly
that for a time they were afraid
he had broken loose; but he hadn't.
So they sat in the road and looked
at one another in a rather bewildered
way, and then began to feel glad.
"We did it!" exclaimed the
Scarecrow, with satisfaction. "And
now we are free to go on our
way.
"Mister Yoop is very impolite," declared
Scraps. "He jarred me terribly.
It's lucky my stitches are so
fine and strong, for otherwise
such harsh treatment might rip
me up the back."
"Allow me to apologize for
the Giant," said the Scarecrow,
raising the Patchwork Girl to
her feet and dusting her skirt
with his stuffed hands. "Mister
Yoop is a perfect stranger to
me, but I fear, from the rude
manner in which he has acted,
that he is no gentleman."
Dorothy and Ojo laughed at
this statement and Toto barked
as if he understood the joke,
after which they all felt better
and resumed the journey in high
spirits.
"Of course," said the little
girl, when they had walked a
way along the passage, "it was
lucky for us the Giant was caged;
for, if he had happened to be
loose, he--he--"
"Perhaps, in that case, he
wouldn't be hungry any more," said
Ojo gravely.
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