The strangers took their seats
at the table willingly enough,
for they were all hungry and
the platters were now heaped
with good things to eat. In
front of each place was a plate
bearing one of the delicious
dama-fruit, and the perfume
that rose from these was so
enticing and sweet that they
were sorely tempted to eat
of them and become invisible.
But Dorothy satisfied her
hunger with other things, and
her companions did likewise,
resisting the temptation.
"Why do you not eat the damas?" asked
the woman's voice.
"We don't want to get invis'ble," answered
the girl.
"But if you remain visible
the bears will see you and
devour you," said a girlish
young voice, that belonged
to one of the children. "We
who live here much prefer to
be invisible; for we can still
hug and kiss one another, and
are quite safe from the bears."
"And we do not have to be
so particular about our dress," remarked
the man.
"And mama can't tell whether
my face is dirty or not!" added
the other childish voice, gleefully.
"But I make you wash it,
every time I think of it," said
the mother; "for it stands
to reason your face is dirty,
Ianu, whether I can see it
or not."
Dorothy laughed and stretched
out her hands.
"Come here, please--Ianu
and your sister--and let me
feel of you," she requested.
They came to her willingly,
and Dorothy passed her hands
over their faces and forms
and decided one was a girl
of about her own age and the
other a boy somewhat smaller.
The girl's hair was soft and
fluffy and her skin as smooth
as satin. When Dorothy gently
touched her nose and ears and
lips they seemed to be well
and delicately formed.
"If I could see you I am
sure you would be beautiful," she
declared.
The girl laughed, and her
mother said:
"We
are not
vain in
the Valley
of Voe, because we can not
display our beauty, and good
actions and pleasant ways are
what make us lovely to our
companions. Yet we can see
and appreciate the beauties
of nature, the dainty flowers
and trees, the green fields
and the clear blue of the sky."
"How about the birds and
beasts and fishes?" asked Zeb.
"The
birds we
cannot
see, because
they love
to eat
of
the damas as much as we do;
yet we hear their sweet songs
and enjoy them. Neither can
we see the cruel bears, for
they also eat the fruit. But
the fishes that swim in our
brooks we can see, and often
we catch them to eat."
"It occurs to me you have
a great deal to make you happy,
even while invisible," remarked
the Wizard. "Nevertheless,
we prefer to remain visible
while we are in your valley."
Just then Eureka came in,
for she had been until now
wandering outside with Jim;
and when the kitten saw the
table set with food she cried
out:
"Now
you must
feed me,
Dorothy,
for I'm half starved."
The children were inclined
to be frightened by the sight
of the small animal, which
reminded them of the bears;
but Dorothy reassured them
by explaining that Eureka was
a pet and could do no harm
even if she wished to. Then,
as the others had by this time
moved away from the table,
the kitten sprang upon the
chair and put her paws upon
the cloth to see what there
was to eat. To her surprise
an unseen hand clutched her
and held her suspended in the
air. Eureka was frantic with
terror, and tried to scratch
and bite, so the next moment
she was dropped to the floor,
"Did you see that, Dorothy?" she
gasped.
"Yes, dear," her mistress
replied; "there are people
living in this house, although
we cannot see them. And you
must have better manners, Eureka,
or something worse will happen
to you."
She placed a plate of food
upon the floor and the kitten
ate greedily.
"Give me that nice-smelling
fruit I saw on the table," she
begged, when she had cleaned
the plate.
"Those are damas," said Dorothy, "and
you must never even taste them,
Eureka, or you'll get invis'ble,
and then we can't see you at
all."
The kitten gazed wistfully
at the forbidden fruit.
"Does it hurt to be invis'ble?" she
asked.
"I don't know," Dorothy answered; "but
it would hurt me dre'fully
to lose you."
"Very well, I won't touch
it," decided the kitten; "but
you must keep it away from
me, for the smell is very tempting."
"Can you tell us, sir or
ma'am," said the Wizard, addressing
the air because he did not
quite know where the unseen
people stood, "if there is
any way we can get out of your
beautiful Valley, and on top
of the Earth again."
"Oh, one can leave the Valley
easily enough," answered the
man's voice; "but to do so
you must enter a far less pleasant
country. As for reaching the
top of the earth, I have never
heard that it is possible to
do that, and if you succeeded
in getting there you would
probably fall off."
"Oh, no," said Dorothy, "we've
been there, and we know."
"The Valley of Voe is certainly
a charming place," resumed
the Wizard; "but we cannot
be contented in any other land
than our own, for long. Even
if we should come to unpleasant
places on our way it is necessary,
in order to reach the earth's
surface, to keep moving on
toward it."
"In that case," said the
man, "it will be best for you
to cross our Valley and mount
the spiral staircase inside
the Pyramid Mountain. The top
of that mountain is lost in
the clouds, and when you reach
it you will be in the awful
Land of Naught, where the Gargoyles
live."
"What are Gargoyles?" asked
Zeb.
"I
do not
know, young
sir. Our
greatest
Champion,
Overman-Anu,
once climbed the spiral stairway
and fought nine days with the
Gargoyles before he could escape
them and come back; but he
could never be induced to describe
the dreadful creatures, and
soon afterward a bear caught
him and ate him up."
The wanders were rather discouraged
by this gloomy report, but
Dorothy said with a sigh:
"If
the only
way to
get home
is to meet the Gurgles, then
we've got to meet 'em. They
can't be worse than the Wicked
Witch or the Nome King."
"But you must remember you
had the Scarecrow and the Tin
Woodman to help you conquer
those enemies," suggested the
Wizard. "Just now, my dear,
there is not a single warrior
in your company."
"Oh, I guess Zeb could fight
if he had to. Couldn't you,
Zeb?" asked the little girl.
"Perhaps; if I had to," answered
Zeb, doubtfully.
"And you have the jointed
sword that you chopped the
veg'table Sorcerer in two with," the
girl said to the little man.
"True," he replied; "and
in my satchel are other useful
things to fight with."
"What the Gargoyles most
dread is a noise," said the
man's voice. "Our Champion
told me that when he shouted
his battle-cry the creatures
shuddered and drew back, hesitating
to continue the combat. But
they were in great numbers,
and the Champion could not
shout much because he had to
save his breath for fighting."
"Very good," said the Wizard; "we
can all yell better than we
can fight, so we ought to defeat
the Gargoyles."
"But tell me," said Dorothy, "how
did such a brave Champion happen
to let the bears eat him? And
if he was invis'ble, and the
bears invis'ble, who knows
that they really ate him up?"
"The Champion had killed
eleven bears in his time," returned
the unseen man; "and we know
this is true because when any
creature is dead the invisible
charm of the dama-fruit ceases
to be active, and the slain
one can be plainly seen by
all eyes. When the Champion
killed a bear everyone could
see it; and when the bears
killed the Champion we all
saw several pieces of him scattered
about, which of course disappeared
again when the bears devoured
them."
They now bade farewell to
the kind but unseen people
of the cottage, and after the
man had called their attention
to a high, pyramid-shaped mountain
on the opposite side of the
Valley, and told them how to
travel in order to reach it,
they again started upon their
journey.
They followed the course
of a broad stream and passed
several more pretty cottages;
but of course they saw no one,
nor did any one speak to them.
Fruits and flowers grew plentifully
all about, and there were many
of the delicious damas that
the people of Voe were so fond
of.
About noon they stopped to
allow Jim to rest in the shade
of a pretty orchard, and while
they plucked and ate some of
the cherries and plums that
grew there a soft voice suddenly
said to them:
"There
are bears
near by.
Be careful."
The Wizard got out his sword
at once, and Zeb grabbed the
horse-whip. Dorothy climbed
into the buggy, although Jim
had been unharnessed from it
and was grazing some distance
away.
The owner of the unseen voice
laughed lightly and said:
"You
cannot
escape
the bears
that way."
"How CAN we 'scape?" asked
Dorothy, nervously, for an
unseen danger is always the
hardest to face.
"You must take to the river," was
the reply. "The bears will
not venture upon the water."
"But we would be drowned!" exclaimed
the girl.
"Oh, there is no need of
that," said the voice, which
from its gentle tones seemed
to belong to a young girl. "You
are strangers in the Valley
of Voe, and do not seem to
know our ways; so I will try
to save you."
The next moment a broad-leaved
plant was jerked from the ground
where it grew and held suspended
in the air before the Wizard.
"Sir," said the voice, "you
must rub these leaves upon
the soles of all your feet,
and then you will be able to
walk upon the water without
sinking below the surface.
It is a secret the bears do
not know, and we people of
Voe usually walk upon the water
when we travel, and so escape
our enemies."
"Thank you!" cried
the Wizard,
joyfully, and at once rubbed
a leaf upon the soles of Dorothy's
shoes and then upon his own.
The girl took a leaf and rubbed
it upon the kitten's paws,
and the rest of the plant was
handed to Zeb, who, after applying
it to his own feet, carefully
rubbed it upon all four of
Jim's hoofs and then upon the
tires of the buggy-wheels.
He had nearly finished this
last task when a low growling
was suddenly heard and the
horse began to jump around
and kick viciously with his
heels.
"Quick! To the water or you
are lost!" cried their unseen
friend, and without hesitation
the Wizard drew the buggy down
the bank and out upon the broad
river, for Dorothy was still
seated in it with Eureka in
her arms. They did not sink
at all, owing to the virtues
of the strange plant they had
used, and when the buggy was
in the middle of the stream
the Wizard returned to the
bank to assist Zeb and Jim.
The horse was plunging madly
about, and two or three deep
gashes appeared upon its flanks,
from which the blood flowed
freely.
"Run for the river!" shouted
the Wizard, and Jim quickly
freed himself from his unseen
tormenters by a few vicious
kicks and then obeyed. As soon
as he trotted out upon the
surface of the river he found
himself safe from pursuit,
and Zeb was already running
across the water toward Dorothy.
As the little Wizard turned
to follow them he felt a hot
breath against his cheek and
heard a low, fierce growl.
At once he began stabbing at
the air with his sword, and
he knew that he had struck
some substance because when
he drew back the blade it was
dripping with blood. The third
time that he thrust out the
weapon there was a loud roar
and a fall, and suddenly at
his feet appeared the form
of a great red bear, which
was nearly as big as the horse
and much stronger and fiercer.
The beast was quite dead from
the sword thrusts, and after
a glance at its terrible claws
and sharp teeth the little
man turned in a panic and rushed
out upon the water, for other
menacing growls told him more
bears were near.
On the river, however, the
adventurers seemed to be perfectly
safe. Dorothy and the buggy
had floated slowly down stream
with the current of the water,
and the others made haste to
join her. The Wizard opened
his satchel and got out some
sticking-plaster with which
he mended the cuts Jim had
received from the claws of
the bears.
"I think we'd better stick
to the river, after this," said
Dorothy. "If our unknown friend
hadn't warned us, and told
us what to do, we would all
be dead by this time."
"That is true," agreed the
Wizard, "and as the river seems
to be flowing in the direction
of the Pyramid Mountain it
will be the easiest way for
us to travel."
Zeb hitched Jim to the buggy
again, and the horse trotted
along and drew them rapidly
over the smooth water. The
kitten was at first dreadfully
afraid of getting wet, but
Dorothy let her down and soon
Eureka was frisking along beside
the buggy without being scared
a bit. Once a little fish swam
too near the surface, and the
kitten grabbed it in her mouth
and ate it up as quick as a
wink; but Dorothy cautioned
her to be careful what she
ate in this valley of enchantments,
and no more fishes were careless
enough to swim within reach.
After a journey of several
hours they came to a point
where the river curved, and
they found they must cross
a mile or so of the Valley
before they came to the Pyramid
Mountain. There were few houses
in this part, and few orchards
or flowers; so our friends
feared they might encounter
more of the savage bears, which
they had learned to dread with
all their hearts.
"You'll have to make a dash,
Jim," said the Wizard, "and
run as fast as you can go."
"All right," answered the
horse; "I'll do my best. But
you must remember I'm old,
and my dashing days are past
and gone."
All three got into the buggy
and Zeb picked up the reins,
though Jim needed no guidance
of any sort. The horse was
still smarting from the sharp
claws of the invisible bears,
and as soon as he was on land
and headed toward the mountain
the thought that more of those
fearsome creatures might be
near acted as a spur and sent
him galloping along in a way
that made Dorothy catch her
breath.
Then
Zeb, in
a spirit
of mischief,
uttered
a growl
like
that of the bears, and Jim
pricked up his ears and fairly
flew. His boney legs moved
so fast they could scarcely
be seen, and the Wizard clung
fast to the seat and yelled "Whoa!" at
the top of his voice.
"I--I'm 'fraid he's--he's
running away!" gasped Dorothy.
"I KNOW he is," said Zeb; "but
no bear can catch him if he
keeps up that gait--and the
harness or the buggy don't
break."
Jim did not make a mile a
minute; but almost before they
were aware of it he drew up
at the foot of the mountain,
so suddenly that the Wizard
and Zeb both sailed over the
dashboard and landed in the
soft grass--where they rolled
over several times before they
stopped. Dorothy nearly went
with them, but she was holding
fast to the iron rail of the
seat, and that saved her. She
squeezed the kitten, though,
until it screeched; and then
the old cab-horse made several
curious sounds that led the
little girl to suspect he was
laughing at them all.
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