L. Frank Baum_Oz 12 (15 page)

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the voice of the Tin Woodman.

"Mercy me!" cried the voice of the Tin Soldier.

"Why didn't you look where you were going?" asked the Tin Woodman
reproachfully.

"I did, but I couldn't see you," said the Tin Soldier. "Something has
happened to my tin eyes. I can't see you, even now, nor can I see
anyone else!"

"It's the same way with me," admitted the Tin Woodman.

Woot couldn't see either of them, although he heard them plainly, and
just then something smashed against him unexpectedly and knocked him
over; but it was only the straw-stuffed body of the Scarecrow that fell
upon him and while he could not see the Scarecrow he managed to push
him off and rose to his feet just as Polychrome whirled against him and
made him tumble again.

Sitting upon the ground, the boy asked:

"Can you see us, Poly?"

"No, indeed," answered the Rainbow's Daughter; "we've all become
invisible."

"How did it happen, do you suppose?" inquired the Scarecrow, lying
where he had fallen.

"We have met with no enemy," answered Poly-chrome, "so it must be that
this part of the country has the magic quality of making people
invisible—even fairies falling under the charm. We can see the grass,
and the flowers, and the stretch of plain before us, and we can still
see Mount Munch in the distance; but we cannot see ourselves or one
another."

"Well, what are we to do about it?" demanded Woot.

"I think this magic affects only a small part of the plain," replied
Polychrome; "perhaps there is only a streak of the country where an
enchantment makes people become invisible. So, if we get together and
hold hands, we can travel toward Mount Munch until the enchanted streak
is passed."

"All right," said Woot, jumping up, "give me your hand, Polychrome.
Where are you?"

"Here," she answered. "Whistle, Woot, and keep whistling until I come
to you."

So Woot whistled, and presently Polychrome found him and grasped his
hand.

"Someone must help me up," said the Scarecrow, lying near them; so they
found the straw man and sat him upon his feet, after which he held fast
to Polychrome's other hand.

Nick Chopper and the Tin Soldier had managed to scramble up without
assistance, but it was awkward for them and the Tin Woodman said:

"I don't seem to stand straight, somehow. But my joints all work, so I
guess I can walk."

Guided by his voice, they reached his side, where Woot grasped his tin
fingers so they might keep together.

The Tin Soldier was standing near by and the Scarecrow soon touched him
and took hold of his arm.

"I hope you're not wobbly," said the straw man, "for if two of us walk
unsteadily we will be sure to fall."

"I'm not wobbly," the Tin Soldier assured him, "but I'm certain that
one of my legs is shorter than the other. I can't see it, to tell
what's gone wrong, but I'll limp on with the rest of you until we are
out of this enchanted territory."

They now formed a line, holding hands, and turning their faces toward
Mount Munch resumed their journey. They had not gone far, however, when
a terrible growl saluted their ears. The sound seemed to come from a
place just in front of them, so they halted abruptly and remained
silent, listening with all their ears.

"I smell straw!" cried a hoarse, harsh voice, with more growls and
snarls. "I smell straw, and I'm a Hip-po-gy-raf who loves straw and
eats all he can find. I want to eat this straw! Where is it? Where is
it?"

The Scarecrow, hearing this, trembled but kept silent. All the others
were silent, too, hoping that the invisible beast would be unable to
find them. But the creature sniffed the odor of the straw and drew
nearer and nearer to them until he reached the Tin Woodman, on one end
of the line. It was a big beast and it smelled of the Tin Woodman and
grated two rows of enormous teeth against the Emperor's tin body.

"Bah! that's not straw," said the harsh voice, and the beast advanced
along the line to Woot.

"Meat! Pooh, you're no good! I can't eat meat," grumbled the beast, and
passed on to Polychrome.

"Sweetmeats and perfume—cobwebs and dew! Nothing to eat in a fairy
like you," said the creature.

Now, the Scarecrow was next to Polychrome in the line, and he realized
if the beast devoured his straw he would be helpless for a long time,
because the last farmhouse was far behind them and only grass covered
the vast expanse of plain. So in his fright he let go of Polychrome's
hand and put the hand of the Tin Soldier in that of the Rainbow's
Daughter. Then he slipped back of the line and went to the other end,
where he silently seized the Tin Woodman's hand.

Meantime, the beast had smelled the Tin Soldier and found he was the
last of the line.

"That's funny!" growled the Hip-po-gy-raf; "I can smell straw, but I
can't find it. Well, it's here, somewhere, and I must hunt around until
I do find it, for I'm hungry."

His voice was now at the left of them, so they started on, hoping to
avoid him, and traveled as fast as they could in the direction of Mount
Munch.

"I don't like this invisible country," said Woot with a shudder. "We
can't tell how many dreadful, invisible beasts are roaming around us,
or what danger we'll come to next."

"Quit thinking about danger, please," said the Scarecrow, warningly.

"Why?" asked the boy.

"If you think of some dreadful thing, it's liable to happen, but if you
don't think of it, and no one else thinks of it, it just can't happen.
Do you see?"

"No," answered Woot. "I won't be able to see much of anything until we
escape from this enchantment."

But they got out of the invisible strip of country as suddenly as they
had entered it, and the instant they got out they stopped short, for
just before them was a deep ditch, running at right angles as far as
their eyes could see and stopping all further progress toward Mount
Munch.

"It's not so very wide," said Woot, "but I'm sure none of us can jump
across it."

Polychrome began to laugh, and the Scarecrow said: "What's the matter?"

"Look at the tin men!" she said, with another burst of merry laughter.

Woot and the Scarecrow looked, and the tin men looked at themselves.

"It was the collision," said the Tin Woodman regretfully. "I knew
something was wrong with me, and now I can see that my side is dented
in so that I lean over toward the left. It was the Soldier's fault; he
shouldn't have been so careless."

"It is your fault that my right leg is bent, making it shorter than the
other, so that I limp badly," retorted the Soldier. "You shouldn't have
stood where I was walking."

"You shouldn't have walked where I was standing," replied the Tin
Woodman.

It was almost a quarrel, so Polychrome said soothingly:

"Never mind, friends; as soon as we have time I am sure we can
straighten the Soldier's leg and get the dent out of the Woodman's
body. The Scarecrow needs patting into shape, too, for he had a bad
tumble, but our first task is to get over this ditch."

"Yes, the ditch is the most important thing, just now," added Woot.

They were standing in a row, looking hard at the unexpected barrier,
when a fierce growl from behind them made them all turn quickly. Out of
the invisible country marched a huge beast with a thick, leathery skin
and a surprisingly long neck. The head on the top of this neck was
broad and flat and the eyes and mouth were very big and the nose and
ears very small. When the head was drawn down toward the beast's
shoulders, the neck was all wrinkles, but the head could shoot up very
high indeed, if the creature wished it to.

"Dear me!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, "this must be the Hip-po-gy-raf."

"Quite right," said the beast; "and you're the straw which I'm to eat
for my dinner. Oh, how I love straw! I hope you don't resent my
affectionate appetite?"

With its four great legs it advanced straight toward the Scarecrow, but
the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier both sprang in front of their
friend and flourished their weapons.

"Keep off!" said the Tin Woodman, warningly, "or I'll chop you with my
axe."

"Keep off!" said the Tin Soldier, "or I'll cut you with my sword."

"Would you really do that?" asked the Hip-po-gy-raf, in a disappointed
voice.

"We would," they both replied, and the Tin Woodman added: "The
Scarecrow is our friend, and he would be useless without his straw
stuffing. So, as we are comrades, faithful and true, we will defend our
friend's stuffing against all enemies."

The Hip-po-gy-raf sat down and looked at them sorrowfully.

"When one has made up his mind to have a meal of delicious straw, and
then finds he can't have it, it is certainly hard luck," he said. "And
what good is the straw man to you, or to himself, when the ditch keeps
you from going any further?"

"Well, we can go back again," suggested Woot.

"True," said the Hip-po; "and if you do, you'll be as disappointed as I
am. That's some comfort, anyhow."

The travelers looked at the beast, and then they looked across the
ditch at the level plain beyond. On the other side the grass had grown
tall, and the sun had dried it, so there was a fine crop of hay that
only needed to be cut and stacked.

"Why don't you cross over and eat hay?" the boy asked the beast.

"I'm not fond of hay," replied the Hip-po-gy-raf; "straw is much more
delicious, to my notion, and it's more scarce in this neighborhood,
too. Also I must confess that I can't get across the ditch, for my body
is too heavy and clumsy for me to jump the distance. I can stretch my
neck across, though, and you will notice that I've nibbled the hay on
the farther edge—not because I liked it, but because one must eat, and
if one can't get the sort of food he desires, he must take what is
offered or go hungry."

"Ah, I see you are a philosopher," remarked the Scarecrow.

"No, I'm just a Hip-po-gy-raf," was the reply.

Polychrome was not afraid of the big beast. She danced close to him and
said:

"If you can stretch your neck across the ditch, why not help us over?
We can sit on your big head, one at a time, and then you can lift us
across."

"Yes; I can, it is true," answered the Hip-po; "but I refuse to do it.
Unless—" he added, and stopped short.

"Unless what?" asked Polychrome.

"Unless you first allow me to eat the straw with which the Scarecrow is
stuffed."

"No," said the Rainbow's Daughter, "that is too high a price to pay.
Our friend's straw is nice and fresh, for he was restuffed only a
little while ago."

"I know," agreed the Hip-po-gy-raf. "That's why I want it. If it was
old, musty straw, I wouldn't care for it."

"Please lift us across," pleaded Polychrome.

"No," replied the beast; "since you refuse my generous offer, I can be
as stubborn as you are."

After that they were all silent for a time, but then the Scarecrow said
bravely:

"Friends, let us agree to the beast's terms. Give him my straw, and
carry the rest of me with you across the ditch. Once on the other side,
the Tin Soldier can cut some of the hay with his sharp sword, and you
can stuff me with that material until we reach a place where there is
straw. It is true I have been stuffed with straw all my life and it
will be somewhat humiliating to be filled with common hay, but I am
willing to sacrifice my pride in a good cause. Moreover, to abandon our
errand and so deprive the great Emperor of the Winkies—or this noble
Soldier—of his bride, would be equally humiliating, if not more so."

"You're a very honest and clever man!" exclaimed the Hip-po-gy-raf,
admiringly. "When I have eaten your head, perhaps I also will become
clever."

"You're not to eat my head, you know," returned the Scarecrow hastily.
"My head isn't stuffed with straw and I cannot part with it. When one
loses his head he loses his brains."

"Very well, then; you may keep your head," said the beast.

The Scarecrow's companions thanked him warmly for his loyal sacrifice
to their mutual good, and then he laid down and permitted them to pull
the straw from his body. As fast as they did this, the Hip-po-gy-raf
ate up the straw, and when all was consumed Polychrome made a neat
bundle of the clothes and boots and gloves and hat and said she would
carry them, while Woot tucked the Scarecrow's head under his arm and
promised to guard its safety.

"Now, then," said the Tin Woodman, "keep your promise, Beast, and lift
us over the ditch."

"M-m-m-mum, but that was a fine dinner!" said the Hip-po, smacking his
thick lips in satisfaction, "and I'm as good as my word. Sit on my
head, one at a time, and I'll land you safely on the other side."

He approached close to the edge of the ditch and squatted down.
Polychrome climbed over his big body and sat herself lightly upon the
flat head, holding the bundle of the Scarecrow's raiment in her hand.
Slowly the elastic neck stretched out until it reached the far side of
the ditch, when the beast lowered his head and permitted the beautiful
fairy to leap to the ground.

Woot made the queer journey next, and then the Tin Soldier and the Tin
Woodman went over, and all were well pleased to have overcome this
serious barrier to their progress.

"Now, Soldier, cut the hay," said the Scarecrow's head, which was still
held by Woot the Wanderer.

"I'd like to, but I can't stoop over, with my bent leg, without
falling," replied Captain Fyter.

"What can we do about that leg, anyhow?" asked Woot, appealing to
Polychrome.

She danced around in a circle several times without replying, and the
boy feared she had not heard him; but the Rainbow's Daughter was merely
thinking upon the problem, and presently she paused beside the Tin
Soldier and said: