The country wasn't so pretty
now. Before the travelers appeared
a rocky plain covered with
hills on which grew nothing
green. They were nearing some
low mountains, too, and the
road, which before had been
smooth and pleasant to walk
upon, grew rough and uneven.
Button-Bright's little feet
stumbled more than once, and
Polychrome ceased her dancing
because the walking was now
so difficult that she had no
trouble to keep warm.
It had become afternoon,
yet there wasn't a thing for
their luncheon except two apples
which the shaggy man had taken
from the breakfast table. He
divided these into four pieces
and gave a portion to each
of his companions. Dorothy
and Button-Bright were glad
to get theirs; but Polly was
satisfied with a small bite,
and Toto did not like apples.
"Do you know," asked the
Rainbow's Daughter, "if this
is the right road to the Emerald
City?"
"No, I don't," replied Dorothy, "but
it's the only road in this
part of the country, so we
may as well go to the end of
it."
"It looks now as if it might
end pretty soon," remarked
the shaggy man; "and what shall
we do if it does?"
"Don't know," said
Button-Bright.
"If I had my Magic Belt," replied
Dorothy, thoughtfully, "it
could do us a lot of good just
now."
"What is your Magic Belt?" asked
Polychrome.
"It's
a thing
I captured
from the Nome King one day,
and it can do 'most any wonderful
thing. But I left it with Ozma,
you know; 'cause magic won't
work in Kansas, but only in
fairy countries."
"Is this a fairy country?" asked
Button-Bright.
"I should think you'd know," said
the little girl, gravely. "If
it wasn't a fairy country you
couldn't have a fox head and
the shaggy man couldn't have
a donkey head, and the Rainbow's
Daughter would be invis'ble."
"What's that?" asked
the boy.
"You
don't seem
to know
anything,
Button-Bright. Invis'ble is
a thing you can't see."
"Then Toto's invis'ble," declared
the boy, and Dorothy found
he was right. Toto had disappeared
from view, but they could hear
him barking furiously among
the heaps of grey rock ahead
of them.
They moved forward a little
faster to see what the dog
was barking at, and found perched
upon a point of rock by the
roadside a curious creature.
It had the form of a man, middle-sized
and rather slender and graceful;
but as it sat silent and motionless
upon the peak they could see
that its face was black as
ink, and it wore a black cloth
costume made like a union suit
and fitting tight to its skin.
Its hands were black, too,
and its toes curled down, like
a bird's. The creature was
black all over except its hair,
which was fine, and yellow,
banged in front across the
black forehead and cut close
at the sides. The eyes, which
were fixed steadily upon the
barking dog, were small and
sparkling and looked like the
eyes of a weasel.
"What in the world do you
s'pose that is?" asked Dorothy
in a hushed voice, as the little
group of travelers stood watching
the strange creature.
"Don't know," said
Button-Bright.
The thing gave a jump and
turned half around, sitting
in the same place but with
the other side of its body
facing them. Instead of being
black, it was now pure white,
with a face like that of a
clown in a circus and hair
of a brilliant purple. The
creature could bend either
way, and its white toes now
curled the same way the black
ones on the other side had
done.
"It has a face both front
and back," whispered Dorothy,
wonderingly; "only there's
no back at all, but two fronts."
Having made the turn, the
being sat motionless as before,
while Toto barked louder at
the white man than he had done
at the black one.
"Once," said the shaggy man, "I
had a jumping jack like that,
with two faces."
"Was it alive?" asked
Button-Bright.
"No," replied the shaggy
man; "it worked on strings
and was made of wood."
"Wonder if this works with
strings," said Dorothy; but
Polychrome cried "Look!" for
another creature just like
the first had suddenly appeared
sitting on another rock, its
black side toward them. The
two twisted their heads around
and showed a black face on
the white side of one and a
white face on the black side
of the other.
"How curious," said Polychrome; "and
how loose their heads seem
to be! Are they friendly to
us, do you think?"
"Can't tell, Polly," replied
Dorothy. "Let's ask 'em."
The creatures flopped first
one way and then the other,
showing black or white by turns;
and now another joined them,
appearing on another rock.
Our friends had come to a little
hollow in the hills, and the
place where they now stood
was surrounded by jagged peaks
of rock, except where the road
ran through.
"Now there are four of them," said
the shaggy man.
"Five," declared
Polychrome.
"Six," said
Dorothy.
"Lots of 'em!" cried
Button-Bright;
and so there were--quite a
row of the two-sided black
and white creatures sitting
on the rocks all around.
Toto stopped barking and
ran between Dorothy's feet,
where he crouched down as if
afraid. The creatures did not
look pleasant or friendly,
to be sure, and the shaggy
man's donkey face became solemn,
indeed.
"Ask 'em who they are, and
what they want," whispered
Dorothy; so the shaggy man
called out in a loud voice:
"Who
are you?"
"Scoodlers!" they
yelled
in chorus,
their voices
sharp
and shrill.
"What do you want?" called
the shaggy man.
"You!" they
yelled,
pointing
their thin fingers at the group;
and they all flopped around,
so they were white, and then
all flopped back again, so
they were black.
"But what do you want us
for?" asked the shaggy man,
uneasily.
"Soup!" they
all shouted,
as if with one voice.
"Goodness me!" said Dorothy,
trembling a little; "the Scoodlers
must be reg'lar cannibals."
"Don't want to be soup," protested
Button-Bright, beginning to
cry.
"Hush, dear," said the little
girl, trying to comfort him; "we
don't any of us want to be
soup. But don't worry; the
shaggy man will take care of
us."
"Will he?" asked
Polychrome,
who did not like the Scoodlers
at all, and kept close to Dorothy.
"I'll try," promised
the shaggy
man; but
he looked
worried.
Happening just then to feel
the Love Magnet in his pocket,
he said to the creatures, with
more confidence:
"Don't
you love
me?"
"Yes!" they
shouted,
all together.
"Then you mustn't harm me,
or my friends," said the shaggy
man, firmly.
"We love you in soup!" they
yelled, and in a flash turned
their white sides to the front.
"How dreadful!" said Dorothy. "This
is a time, Shaggy Man, when
you get loved too much."
"Don't want to be soup!" wailed
Button-Bright again; and Toto
began to whine dismally, as
if he didn't want to be soup,
either.
"The only thing to do," said
the shaggy man to his friends,
in a low tone, "is to get out
of this pocket in the rocks
as soon as we can, and leave
the Scoodlers behind us. Follow
me, my dears, and don't pay
any attention to what they
do or say."
With this, he began to march
along the road to the opening
in the rocks ahead, and the
others kept close behind him.
But the Scoodlers closed up
in front, as if to bar their
way, and so the shaggy man
stooped down and picked up
a loose stone, which he threw
at the creatures to scare them
from the path.
At this the Scoodlers raised
a howl. Two of them picked
their heads from their shoulders
and hurled them at the shaggy
man with such force that he
fell over in a heap, greatly
astonished. The two now ran
forward with swift leaps, caught
up their heads, and put them
on again, after which they
sprang back to their positions
on the rocks.
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