"This," said
the Gump, in a squeaky voice
not at all proportioned to the
size of its great body, "is the
most novel experience I ever
heard of. The last thing I remember
distinctly is walking through
the forest and hearing a loud
noise. Something probably killed
me then, and it certainly ought
to have been the end of me. Yet
here I am, alive again, with
four monstrous wings and a body
which I venture to say would
make any respectable animal or
fowl weep with shame to own.
What does it all mean? Am I a
Gump, or am I a
juggernaut?" The creature, as it spoke, wiggled its chin whiskers in a very comical
manner.
"You're just a Thing," answered
Tip, "with a Gump's head on it.
And we have made you and brought
you to life so that you may carry
us through the air wherever we
wish to go."
"Very good!" said the Thing. "As
I am not a Gump, I cannot have
a Gump's pride or independent
spirit. So I may as well become
your servant as anything else.
My only satisfaction is that
I do not seem to have a very
strong constitution, and am not
likely to live long in a state
of slavery."
"Don't say that, I beg of you!" cried
the Tin Woodman, whose excellent
heart was strongly affected by
this sad speech." Are you not
feeling well today?"
"Oh, as for that," returned
the Gump, "it is my first day
of existence; so I cannot Judge
whether I am feeling well or
ill." And it waved its broom
tail to and fro in a pensive
manner.
"Come, come!" said the Scarecrow,
kindly. "do try, to be more cheerful
and take life as you find it.
We shall be kind masters, and
will strive to render your existence
as pleasant as possible. Are
you willing to carry us through
the air wherever we wish to go?"
"Certainly," answered the Gump. "I
greatly prefer to navigate the
air. For should I travel on the
earth and meet with one of my
own species, my embarrassment
would be something awful!"
"I can appreciate that," said
the Tin Woodman, sympathetically.
"And yet," continued the Thing, "when
I carefully look you over, my
masters, none of you seems to
be constructed much more artistically
than I am."
"Appearances are deceitful," said
the Woggle-Bug, earnestly. "I
am both Highly Magnified and
Thoroughly Educated."
"Indeed!" murmured
the Gump, indifferently.
"And my brains are considered
remarkably rare specimens," added
the Scarecrow, proudly.
"How strange!" remarked
the Gump.
"Although I am of tin," said
the Woodman, "I own a heart altogether
the warmest and most admirable
in the whole world."
"I'm delighted to hear it," replied
the Gump, with a slight cough.
"My smile," said Jack Pumpkinhead, "is
worthy your best attention. It
is always the same."
"Semper idem," explained
the Woggle-Bug,
pompously;
and the
Gump turned to stare at him.
"And I," declared the Saw-Horse,
filling in an awkward pause, "am
only remarkable because I can't
help it."
"I am proud, indeed, to meet
with such exceptional masters," said
the Gump, in a careless tone. "If
I could but secure so complete
an introduction to myself, I
would be more than satisfied."
"That will come in time," remarked
the Scarecrow. "To 'Know Thyself'
is considered quite an accomplishment,
which it has taken us, who are
your elders, months to perfect.
But now," he added, turning to
the others, "let us get aboard
and start upon our journey."
"Where shall we go?" asked
Tip, as he clambered to a seat
on the sofas and assisted the
Pumpkinhead to follow him.
"In the South Country rules
a very delightful Queen called
Glinda the Good, who I am sure
will gladly receive us," said
the Scarecrow, getting into the
Thing clumsily. "Let us go to
her and ask her advice."
"That is cleverly thought of," declared
Nick Chopper, giving the Woggle-Bug
a boost and then toppling the
Saw-Horse into the rear end of
the cushioned seats." I know
Glinda the Good, and believe
she will prove a friend indeed."
"Are we all ready?" asked
the boy.
"Yes," announced
the Tin Woodman,
seating himself beside the Scarecrow.
"Then," said Tip, addressing
the Gump, "be kind enough to
fly with us to the Southward;
and do not go higher than to
escape the houses and trees,
for it makes me dizzy to be up
so far."
"All right," answered
the Gump, briefly.
It flopped its four huge wings
and rose slowly into the air;
and then, while our little band
of adventurers clung to the backs
and sides of the sofas for support,
the Gump turned toward the South
and soared swiftly and majestically
away.
"The scenic effect, from this
altitude, is marvelous," commented
the educated Woggle-Bug, as they
rode along.
"Never mind the scenery," said
the Scarecrow. "Hold on tight,
or you may get a tumble. The
Thing seems to rock badly.'
"It will be dark soon," said
Tip, observing that the sun was
low on the horizon. "Perhaps
we should have waited until morning.
I wonder if the Gump can fly
in the night."
"I've been wondering that myself," returned
the Gump quietly. "You see, this
is a new experience to me. I
used to have legs that carried
me swiftly over the ground. But
now my legs feel as if they were
asleep."
"They are," said Tip. "We
didn't bring
'em to life."
"You're expected to fly," explained
the Scarecrow. "not to walk."
"We can walk ourselves," said
the Woggle-Bug."
I
begin to understand
what is required
of me," remarked
the Gump; "so I will do my best
to please you," and he flew on
for a time in silence.
Presently Jack Pumpkinhead
became uneasy.
"I wonder if riding through
the air is liable to spoil pumpkins," he
said.
"Not unless you carelessly
drop your head over the side," answered
the Woggle-Bug. "In that event
your head would no longer be
a pumpkin, for it would become
a squash."
"Have I not asked you to restrain
these unfeeling jokes?" demanded
Tip, looking at the Woggle-Bug
with a severe expression.
"You have; and I've restrained
a good many of them," replied
the insect. "But there are opportunities
for so many excellent puns in
our language that, to an educated
person like myself, the temptation
to express them is almost irresistible."
"People with more or less education
discovered those puns centuries
ago," said Tip.
"Are you sure?" asked
the Woggle-Bug,
with a startled look.
"Of course I am," answered
the boy. "An educated Woggle-Bug
may be a new thing; but a Woggle-Bug
education is as old as the hills,
judging from the display you
make of it."
The insect seemed much impressed
by this remark, and for a time
maintained a meek silence.
The Scarecrow, in shifting
his seat, saw upon the cushions
the pepper-box which Tip had
cast aside, and began to examine
it.
"Throw it overboard," said
the boy; "it's quite empty now,
and there's no use keeping it."
"Is it really empty?" asked
the Scarecrow, looking curiously
into the box.
"Of course it is," answered
Tip. "I shook out every grain
of the powder.
"Then the box has two bottoms," announced
the Scarecrow, "for the bottom
on the inside is fully an inch
away from the bottom on the outside."
"Let me see," said the Tin
Woodman, taking the box from
his friend. "Yes," he declared,
after looking it over, "the thing
certainly has a false bottom.
Now, I wonder what that is for?"
"Can't you get it apart, and
find out?" enquired Tip, now
quite interested in the mystery.
"Why, yes; the lower bottom
unscrews," said the Tin Woodman. "My
fingers are rather stiff; please
see if you can open it."
He handed the pepper-box to
Tip, who had no difficulty in
unscrewing the bottom. And in
the cavity below were three silver
pills, with a carefully folded
paper lying underneath them.
This paper the boy proceeded
to unfold, taking care not to
spill the pills, and found several
lines clearly written in red
ink.
"Read it aloud," said
the Scarecrow.
so Tip read, as follows:
"DR.
NIKIDIK'S CELEBRATED
WISHING PILLS.
"Directions
for Use: Swallow
one pill; count seventeen by
twos; then make a Wish. -The
Wish will immediately be granted.
CAUTION: Keep in a Dry and Dark
Place."
"Why, this is a very valuable
discovery!" cried the Scarecrow.
"It is, indeed," replied Tip,
gravely. "These pills may be
of great use to us. I wonder
if old Mombi knew they were in
the bottom of the pepper-box.
I remember hearing her say that
she got the Powder of Life from
this same Nikidik."
"He must be a powerful Sorcerer!" exclaimed
the Tin Woodman; "and since the
powder proved a success we ought
to have confidence in the pills."
"But how," asked the Scarecrow, "can
anyone count seventeen by twos?
Seventeen is an odd number."
"That is true," replied Tip,
greatly disappointed. "No one
can possibly count seventeen
by twos."
"Then the pills are of no use
to us," wailed the Pumpkinhead; "and
this fact overwhelms me with
grief. For I had intended wishing
that my head would never spoil."
"Nonsense!" said the Scarecrow,
sharply. "If we could use the
pills at all we would make far
better wishes than that."
"I do not see how anything
could be better," protested poor
Jack. "If you were liable to
spoil at any time you could understand
my anxiety."
"For my part," said the Tin
Woodman, "I sympathize with you
in every respect. But since we
cannot count seventeen by twos,
sympathy is all you are liable
to get."
By this time it had become
quite dark, and the voyagers
found above them a cloudy sky,
through which the rays of the
moon could not penetrate.
The Gump flew steadily on,
and for some reason the huge
sofa-body rocked more and more
dizzily every hour.
The Woggle-Bug declared he
was sea-sick; and Tip was also
pale and somewhat distressed.
But the others clung to the backs
of the sofas and did not seem
to mind the motion as long as
they were not tipped out.
Darker and darker grew the
night, and on and on sped the
Gump through the black heavens.
The travelers could not even
see one another, and an oppressive
silence settled down upon them.
After a long time Tip, who
had been thinking deeply, spoke.
"How are we to know when we
come to the pallace of Glinda
the Good?" he asked.
"It's a long way to Glinda's
palace," answered the Woodman; "I've
traveled it."
"But how are we to know how
fast the Gump is flying?" persisted
the boy. "We cannot see a single
thing down on the earth, and
before morning we may be far
beyond the place we want to reach."
"That is all true enough," the
Scarecrow replied, a little uneasily. "But
I do not see how we can stop
just now; for we might alight
in a river, or on, the top of
a steeple; and that would be
a great disaster."
So they permitted the Gump
to fly on, with regular flops
of its great wings, and waited
patiently for morning.
Then Tip's fears were proven
to be well founded; for with
the first streaks of gray dawn
they looked over the sides of
the sofas and discovered rolling
plains dotted with queer villages,
where the houses, instead of
being dome- shaped -- as they
all are in the Land of Oz --
had slanting roofs that rose
to a peak in the center. Odd
looking animals were also moving
about upon the open plains, and
the country was unfamiliar to
both the Tin Woodman and the
Scarecrow, who had formerly visited
Glinda the Good's domain and
knew it well.
"We are lost!" said the Scarecrow,
dolefully. "The Gump must have
carried us entirely out of the
Land of Oz and over the sandy
deserts and into the terrible
outside world that Dorothy told
us about."
"We must get back," exclaimed
the Tin Woodman, earnestly. "we
must get back as soon as possible!"
"Turn around!" cried Tip to
the Gump. "turn as quickly as
you can!"
"If I do I shall upset," answered
the Gump. "I'm not at all used
to flying, and the best plan
would be for me to alight in
some place, and then I can turn
around and take a fresh start."
Just then, however, there seemed
to be no stopping-place that
would answer their purpose. They
flew over a village so big that
the Woggle-Bug declared it was
a city. and then they came to
a range of high mountains with
many deep gorges and steep cliffs
showing plainly.
"Now is our chance to stop," said
the boy, finding they were very
close to the mountain tops. Then
he turned to the Gump and commanded: "Stop
at the first level place you
see!"
"Very well," answered
the Gump, and settled down
upon a table
of rock that stood between two
cliffs.
But not being experienced in
such matters, the Gump did not
judge his speed correctly; and
instead of coming to a stop upon
the flat rock he missed it by
half the width of his body, breaking
off both his right wings against
the sharp edge of the rock and
then tumbling over and over down
the cliff.
Our friends held on to the
sofas as long as they could,
but when the Gump caught on a
proJecting rock the Thing stopped
suddenly -- bottom side up --
and all were immediately dumped
out.
By good fortune they fell only
a few feet; for underneath them
was a monster nest, built by
a colony of Jackdaws in a hollow
ledge of rock; so none of them
-- not even the Pumpkinhead --
was injured by the fall. For
Jack found his precious head
resting on the soft breast of
the Scarecrow, which made an
excellent cushion; and Tip fell
on a mass of leaves and papers,
which saved him from injury.
The Woggle-Bug had bumped his
round head against the Saw-Horse,
but without causing him more
than a moment's inconvenience.
The Tin Woodman was at first
much alarmed; but finding he
had escaped without even a scratch
upon his beautiful nickle-plate
he at once regained his accustomed
cheerfulness and turned to address
his comrades.
"Our Journey had ended rather
suddenly," said he; "and we cannot
justly blame our friend the Gump
for our accident, because he
did the best he could under the
circumstances. But how we are
ever to escape from this nest
I must leave to someone with
better brains than I possess."
Here he gazed at the Scarecrow;
who crawled to the edge of the
nest and looked over. Below them
was a sheer precipice several
hundred feet in depth. Above
them was a smooth cliff unbroken
save by the point of rock where
the wrecked body of the Gump
still hung suspended from the
end of one of the sofas. There
really seemed to be no means
of escape, and as they realized
their helpless plight the little
band of adventurers gave way
to their bewilderment.
"This is a worse prison than
the palace," sadly remarked the
Woggle-Bug.
"I wish we had stayed there," moaned
Jack.
"I'm afraid
the mountain air isn't good
for pumpkins."
"It won't be when the Jackdaws
come back," growled the Saw-Horse,
which lay waving its legs in
a vain endeavor to get upon its
feet again. "Jackdaws are especially
fond of pumpkins."
"Do you think the birds will
come here?" asked Jack, much
distressed.
"Of course they will," said
Tip; "for this is their nest.
And there must be hundreds of
them," he continued, "for see
what a lot of things they have
brought here!"
Indeed, the nest was half filled
with a most curious collection
of small articles for which the
birds could have no use, but
which the thieving Jackdaws had
stolen during many years from
the homes of men. And as the
nest was safely hidden where
no human being could reach it,
this lost property would never
be recovered.
The Woggle-Bug, searching among
the rubbish -- for the Jackdaws
stole useless things as well
as valuable ones -- turned up
with his foot a beautiful diamond
necklace. This was so greatly
admired by the Tin Woodman that
the Woggle-Bug presented it to
him with a graceful speech, after
which the Woodman hung it around
his neck with much pride, rejoicing
exceedingly when the big diamonds
glittered in the sun's rays.
But now they heard a great
jabbering and flopping of wings,
and as the sound grew nearer
to them Tip exclaimed:
"The Jackdaws
are coming! And if they find
us here they will
surely kill us in their anger."
"I was afraid of this!" moaned
the Pumpkinhead. "My time has
come!"
"And mine, also!" said the
Woggle-Bug; "for Jackdaws are
the greatest enemies of my race."
The others were not at all
afraid; but the Scarecrow at
once decided to save those of
the party who were liable to
be injured by the angry birds.
So he commanded Tip to take off
Jack's head and lie down with
it in the bottom of the nest,
and when this was done he ordered
the Woggle-Bug to lie beside
Tip. Nick Chopper, who knew from
past experience Just what to
do, then took the Scarecrow to
pieces (all except his head)
and scattered the straw over
Tip and the Woggle-Bug, completely
covering their bodies.
Hardly had this been accomplished
when the flock of Jackdaws reached
them. Perceiving the intruders
in their nest the birds flew
down upon them with screams of
rage.
|