"Now," said Dorothy, as they
stood on the mountain path, having
left behind them the cave in
which dwelt the Hoppers and the
Horners, "I think we must find
a road into the Country of the
Winkies, for there is where Ojo
wants to go next."
"Is there such a road?" asked
the Scarecrow.
"I don't know," she replied. "I
s'pose we can go back the way
we came, to Jack Pumpkinhead's
house, and then turn into the
Winkie Country; but that seems
like running 'round a haystack,
doesn't it?"
"Yes," said the Scarecrow. "What
is the next thing Ojo must get?"
"A yellow butterfly," answered
the boy.
"That means the Winkie Country,
all right, for it's the yellow
country of Oz," remarked Dorothy. "I
think, Scarecrow, we ought to
take him to the Tin Woodman,
for he's the Emp'ror of the Winkies
and will help us to find what
Ojo wants."
"Of course," replied the Scarecrow,
brightening at the suggestion. "The
Tin Woodman will do anything
we ask him, for he's one of my
dearest friends. I believe we
can take a crosscut into his
country and so get to his castle
a day sooner than if we travel
back the way we came."
"I think so, too," said the
girl; "and that means we must
keep to the left."
They were obliged to go down
the mountain before they found
any path that led in the direction
they wanted to go, but among
the tumbled rocks at the foot
of the mountain was a faint trail
which they decided to follow.
Two or three hours walk along
this trail brought them to a
clear, level country, where there
were a few farms and some scattered
houses. But they knew they were
still in the Country of the Quadlings,
because everything had a bright
red color. Not that the trees
and grasses were red, but the
fences and houses were painted
that color and all the wild-flowers
that bloomed by the wayside had
red blossoms. This part of the
Quadling Country seemed peaceful
and prosperous, if rather lonely,
and the road was more distinct
and easier to follow.
But just as they were congratulating
themselves upon the progress
they had made they came upon
a broad river which swept along
between high banks, and here
the road ended and there was
no bridge of any sort to allow
them to cross.
"This is queer," mused Dorothy,
looking at the water reflectively. "Why
should there be any road, if
the river stops everyone walking
along it?"
"Wow!" said
Toto, gazing earnestly into
her face.
"That's the best answer you'll
get," declared the Scarecrow,
with his comical smile, "for
no one knows any more than Toto
about this road."
Said Scraps:
"Ev'ry time
I see a river, I have chills
that make me shiver,
For I never can forget All the
water's very wet. If my patches
get a soak It will be a sorry
joke; So to swim I'll never try
Till I find the water dry."
"Try to control yourself, Scraps," said
Ojo; you re getting crazy again.
No one intends to swim that river."
"No," decided Dorothy, "we
couldn't swim it if we tried.
It's too big a river, and the
water moves awful fast."
"There ought to be a ferryman
with a boat," said the Scarecrow; "but
I don't see any."
"Couldn't we make a raft?" suggested
Ojo.
"There's nothing to make one
of," answered Dorothy.
"Wow!" said
Toto again, and Dorothy saw
he was looking along
the bank of the river.
"Why, he sees a house over
there!" cried the little girl. "I
wonder we didn't notice it ourselves.
Let's go and ask the people how
to get 'cross the river."
A quarter of a mile along the
bank stood a small, round house,
painted bright red, and as it
was on their side of the river
they hurried toward it. A chubby
little man, dressed all in red,
came out to greet them, and with
him were two children, also in
red costumes. The man's eyes
were big and staring as he examined
the Scarecrow and the Patchwork
Girl, and the children shyly
hid behind him and peeked timidly
at Toto.
"Do you live here, my good
man?" asked the Scarecrow.
"I think I do, Most Mighty
Magician," replied the Quadling,
bowing low; "but whether I'm
awake or dreaming I can't be
positive, so I'm not sure where
I live. If you'll kindly pinch
me I'll find out all about it!'
"You're awake," said Dorothy, "and
this is no magician, but just
the Scarecrow."
"But he's alive," protested
the man, "and he oughtn't to
be, you know. And that other
dreadful person--the girl who
is all patches--seems to be alive,
too."
"Very much so," declared Scraps,
making a face at him. "But that
isn't your affair, you know."
"I've a right to be surprised,
haven't I?" asked the man meekly.
"I'm not sure; but anyhow you've
no right to say I'm dreadful.
The Scarecrow, who is a gentleman
of great wisdom, thinks I'm beautiful," retorted
Scraps.
"Never mind all that," said
Dorothy. "Tell us, good Quadling,
how we can get across the river."
"I don't know," replied
the Quadling.
"Don't you ever cross it?" asked
the girl.
"Never."
"Don't travelers
cross it?"
"Not to my knowledge," said
he.
They were much
surprised to hear this, and
the man added: "It's
a pretty big river, and the current
is strong. I know a man who lives
on the opposite bank, for I've
seen him there a good many years;
but we've never spoken because
neither of us has ever crossed
over."
"That's queer," said the Scarecrow. "Don't
you own a boat?"
The man shook his head.
"Nor a raft?"
"Where does this river go to?" asked
Dorothy.
"That way," answered the man,
pointing with one hand, "it goes
into the Country of the Winkies,
which is ruled by the Tin Emperor,
who must be a mighty magician
because he's all made of tin,
and yet he's alive. And that
way," pointing with the other
hand, "the river runs between
two mountains where dangerous
people dwell."
The Scarecrow looked at the
water before them.
"The current flows toward the
Winkie Country"' said he; "and
so, if we had a boat, or a raft,
the river would float us there
more quickly and more easily
than we could walk."
"That is true," agreed
Dorothy; and then they all
looked thoughtful
and wondered what could be done.
"Why can't the man make us
a raft?" asked Ojo.
"Will you?" inquired
Dorothy, turning to the Quadling.
The chubby man shook his head.
"I'm too lazy," he said. "My
wife says I'm the laziest man
in all Oz, and she is a truthful
woman. I hate work of any kind,
and making a raft is hard work."
"I'll give you my em'rald ring," promised
the girl.
"No; I don't
care for emeralds. If it were
a ruby, which is the
color I like best, I might work
a little while."
"I've got some Square Meal
Tablets," said the Scarecrow. "Each
one is the same as a dish of
soup, a fried fish, a mutton
pot-pie, lobster salad, charlotte
russe and lemon jelly--all made
into one little tablet that you
can swallow without trouble."
"Without trouble!" exclaimed
the Quadling, much interested; "then
those tablets would be fine for
a lazy man. It's such hard work
to chew when you eat."
"I'll give you six of those
tablets if you'll help us make
a raft," promised the Scarecrow. "They're
a combination of food which people
who eat are very fond of. I never
eat, you know, being straw; but
some of my friends eat regularly.
What do you say to my offer,
Quadling?"
"I'll do it," decided the man. "I'll
help, and you can do most of
the work. But my wife has gone
fishing for red eels to-day,
so some of you will have to mind
the children."
Scraps promised to do that,
and the children were not so
shy when the Patchwork Girl sat
down to play with them. They
grew to like Toto, too, and the
little dog allowed them to pat
him on his head, which gave the
little ones much joy.
There were a number of fallen
trees near the house and the
Quadling got his axe and chopped
them into logs of equal length.
He took his wife's clothesline
to bind these logs together,
so that they would form a raft,
and Ojo found some strips of
wood and nailed them along the
tops of the logs, to render them
more firm. The Scarecrow and
Dorothy helped roll the logs
together and carry the strips
of wood, but it took so long
to make the raft that evening
came just as it was finished,
and with evening the Quadling's
wife returned from her fishing.
The woman proved to be cross
and bad-tempered, perhaps because
she had only caught one red eel
during all the day. When she
found that her husband had used
her clothesline, and the logs
she had wanted for firewood,
and the boards she had intended
to mend the shed with, and a
lot of gold nails, she became
very angry. Scraps wanted to
shake the woman, to make her
behave, but Dorothy talked to
her in a gentle tone and told
the Quadling's wife she was a
Princess of Oz and a friend of
Ozma and that when she got back
to the Emerald City she would
send them a lot of things to
repay them for the raft, including
a new clothesline. This promise
pleased the woman and she soon
became more pleasant, saying
they could stay the night at
her house and begin their voyage
on the river next morning.
This they did, spending a pleasant
evening with the Quadling family
and being entertained with such
hospitality as the poor people
were able to offer them. The
man groaned a good deal and said
he had overworked himself by
chopping the logs, but the Scarecrow
gave him two more tablets than
he had promised, which seemed
to comfort the lazy fellow.
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