Next morning they pushed the
raft into the water and all got
aboard. The Quadling man had
to hold the log craft fast while
they took their places, and the
flow of the river was so powerful
that it nearly tore the raft
from his hands. As soon as they
were all seated upon the logs
he let go and away it floated
and the adventurers had begun
their voyage toward the Winkie
Country.
The little
house of the Quadlings was
out of sight almost before
they had cried their good- byes,
and the Scarecrow said in a pleased
voice: "It won't take us long
to get to the Winkie Country,
at this rate."
They had floated several miles
down the stream and were enjoying
the ride when suddenly the raft
slowed up, stopped short, and
then began to float back the
way it had come.
"Why, what's wrong?" asked
Dorothy, in astonishment; but
they were all just as bewildered
as she was and at first no one
could answer the question. Soon,
however, they realized the truth:
that the current of the river
had reversed and the water was
now flowing in the opposite direction--
toward the mountains.
They began to recognize the
scenes they had passed, and by
and by they came in sight of
the little house of the Quadlings
again. The man was standing on
the river bank and he called
to them:
"How do you
do? Glad to see you again.
I forgot to tell you
that the river changes its direction
every little while. Sometimes
it flows one way, and sometimes
the other."
They had no time to answer
him, for the raft was swept past
the house and a long distance
on the other side of it.
"We're going just the way we
don't want to go," said Dorothy, "and
I guess the best thing we can
do is to get to land before we're
carried any farther."
But they could not get to land.
They had no oars, nor even a
pole to guide the raft with.
The logs which bore them floated
in the middle of the stream and
were held fast in that position
by the strong current.
So they sat still and waited
and, even while they were wondering
what could be done, the raft
slowed down, stopped, and began
drifting the other way--in the
direction it had first followed.
After a time they repassed the
Quadling house and the man was
still standing on the bank. He
cried out to them:
"Good day!
Glad to see you again. I expect
I shall see you
a good many times, as you go
by, unless you happen to swim
ashore."
By that time they had left
him behind and were headed once
more straight toward the Winkie
Country.
"This is pretty hard luck," said
Ojo in a discouraged voice. "The
Trick River keeps changing, it
seems, and here we must float
back and forward forever, unless
we manage in some way to get
ashore."
"Can you swim?" asked
Dorothy.
"No; I'm Ojo
the Unlucky."
"Neither can
I. Toto can swim a little,
but that won't help
us to get to shore."
"I don't know whether I could
swim, or not," remarked Scraps; "but
if I tried it I'd surely ruin
my lovely patches."
"My straw would get soggy in
the water and I would sink," said
the Scarecrow.
So there seemed no way out
of their dilemma and being helpless
they simply sat still. Ojo, who
was on the front of the raft,
looked over into the water and
thought he saw some large fishes
swimming about. He found a loose
end of the clothesline which
fastened the logs together, and
taking a gold nail from his pocket
he bent it nearly double, to
form a hook, and tied it to the
end of the line. Having baited
the hook with some bread which
he broke from his loaf, he dropped
the line into the water and almost
instantly it was seized by a
great fish.
They knew it was a great fish,
because it pulled so hard on
the line that it dragged the
raft forward even faster than
the current of the river had
carried it. The fish was frightened,
and it was a strong swimmer.
As the other end of the clothesline
was bound around the logs he
could not get it away, and as
he had greedily swallowed the
gold hook at the first bite he
could not get rid of that, either.
When they reached the place
where the current had before
changed, the fish was still swimming
ahead in its wild attempt to
escape. The raft slowed down,
yet it did not stop, because
the fish would not let it. It
continued to move in the same
direction it had been going.
As the current reversed and rushed
backward on its course it failed
to drag the raft with it. Slowly,
inch by inch, they floated on,
and the fish tugged and tugged
and kept them going.
"I hope he won't give up," said
Ojo anxiously. "If the fish can
hold out until the current changes
again, we'll be all right."
The fish did not give up, but
held the raft bravely on its
course, till at last the water
in the river shifted again and
floated them the way they wanted
to go. But now the captive fish
found its strength failing. Seeking
a refuge, it began to drag the
raft toward the shore. As they
did not wish to land in this
place the boy cut the rope with
his pocket-knife and set the
fish free, just in time to prevent
the raft from grounding.
The next time the river backed
up the Scarecrow managed to seize
the branch of a tree that overhung
the water and they all assisted
him to hold fast and prevent
the raft from being carried backward.
While they waited here, Ojo spied
a long broken branch lying upon
the bank, so he leaped ashore
and got it. When he had stripped
off the side shoots he believed
he could use the branch as a
pole, to guide the raft in case
of emergency.
They clung to the tree until
they found the water flowing
the right way, when they let
go and permitted the raft to
resume its voyage. In spite of
these pauses they were really
making good progress toward the
Winkie Country and having found
a way to conquer the adverse
current their spirits rose considerably.
They could see little of the
country through which they were
passing, because of the high
banks, and they met with no boats
or other craft upon the surface
of the river.
Once more the trick river reversed
its current, but this time the
Scarecrow was on guard and used
the pole to push the raft toward
a big rock which lay in the water.
He believed the rock would prevent
their floating backward with
the current, and so it did. They
clung to this anchorage until
the water resumed its proper
direction, when they allowed
the raft to drift on.
Floating around a bend they
saw ahead a high bank of water,
extending across the entire river,
and toward this they were being
irresistibly carried. There being
no way to arrest the progress
of the raft they clung fast to
the logs and let the river sweep
them on. Swiftly the raft climbed
the bank of water and slid down
on the other side, plunging its
edge deep into the water and
drenching them all with spray.
As again the raft righted and
drifted on, Dorothy and Ojo laughed
at the ducking they had received;
but Scraps was much dismayed
and the Scarecrow took out his
handkerchief and wiped the water
off the Patchwork Girl's patches
as well as he was able to. The
sun soon dried her and the colors
of her patches proved good, for
they did not run together nor
did they fade.
After passing the wall of water
the current did not change or
flow backward any more but continued
to sweep them steadily forward.
The banks of the river grew lower,
too, permitting them to see more
of the country, and presently
they discovered yellow buttercups
and dandelions growing amongst
the grass, from which evidence
they knew they had reached the
Winkie Country.
"Don't you think we ought to
land?" Dorothy asked the Scarecrow.
"Pretty soon," he replied. "The
Tin Woodman's castle is in the
southern part of the Winkie Country,
and so it can't be a great way
from here."
Fearing they might drift too
far, Dorothy and Ojo now stood
up and raised the Scarecrow in
their arms, as high as they could,
thus allowing him a good view
of the country. For a time he
saw nothing he recognized, but
finally he cried:
"There it is!
There it is!"
"What?" asked
Dorothy.
"The Tin Woodman's
tin castle. I can see its turrets
glittering
in the sun. It's quite a way
off, but we'd better land as
quickly as we can."
They let him down and began
to urge the raft toward the shore
by means of the pole. It obeyed
very well, for the current was
more sluggish now, and soon they
had reached the bank and landed
safely.
The Winkie Country was really
beautiful, and across the fields
they could see afar the silvery
sheen of the tin castle. With
light hearts they hurried toward
it, being fully rested by their
long ride on the river.
By and by they began to cross
an immense field of splendid
yellow lilies, the delicate fragrance
of which was very delightful.
"How beautiful they are!" cried
Dorothy, stopping to admire the
perfection of these exquisite
flowers.
"Yes," said the Scarecrow,
reflectively, "but we must be
careful not to crush or injure
any of these lilies."
"Why not?" asked
Ojo.
"The Tin Woodman is very kind-hearted," was
the reply, "and he hates to see
any living thing hurt in any
way.
"Are flowers alive?" asked
Scraps.
"Yes, of course.
And these flowers belong to
the Tin Woodman.
So, in order not to offend him,
we must not tread on a single
blossom."
"Once," said Dorothy, "the
Tin Woodman stepped on a beetle
and killed the little creature.
That made him very unhappy and
he cried until his tears rusted
his joints, so he couldn't move
'em."
"What did he do then?" asked
Ojo.
"Put oil on
them, until the joints worked
smooth again.
"Oh!" exclaimed
the boy, as if a great discovery
had flashed
across his mind. But he did not
tell anybody what the discovery
was and kept the idea to himself.
It was a long walk, but a pleasant
one, and they did not mind it
a bit. Late in the afternoon
they drew near to the wonderful
tin castle of the Emperor of
the Winkies, and Ojo and Scraps,
who had never seen it before,
were filled with amazement.
Tin abounded in the Winkie
Country and the Winkies were
said to be the most skillful
tinsmiths in all the world. So
the Tin Woodman had employed
them in building his magnificent
castle, which was all of tin,
from the ground to the tallest
turret, and so brightly polished
that it glittered in the sun's
rays more gorgeously than silver.
Around the grounds of the castle
ran a tin wall, with tin gates;
but the gates stood wide open
because the Emperor had no enemies
to disturb him.
When they entered the spacious
grounds our travelers found more
to admire. Tin fountains sent
sprays of clear water far into
the air and there were many beds
of tin flowers, all as perfectly
formed as any natural flowers
might be. There were tin trees,
too, and here and there shady
bowers of tin, with tin benches
and chairs to sit upon. Also,
on the sides of the pathway leading
up to the front door of the castle,
were rows of tin statuary, very
cleverly executed. Among these
Ojo recognized statues of Dorothy,
Toto, the Scarecrow, the Wizard,
the Shaggy Man, Jack Pumpkinhead
and Ozma, all standing upon neat
pedestals of tin.
Toto was well acquainted with
the residence of the Tin Woodman
and, being assured a joyful welcome,
he ran ahead and barked so loudly
at the front door that the Tin
Woodman heard him and came out
in person to see if it were really
his old friend Toto. Next moment
the tin man had clasped the Scarecrow
in a warm embrace and then turned
to hug Dorothy. But now his eye
was arrested by the strange sight
of the Patchwork Girl, and he
gazed upon her in mingled wonder
and admiration.
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