Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling mountains, she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the nearest hill to fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot was so dizzy she couldn't stand at first, but she wasn't at all hurt, and presently Betsy came flying to them and would have bumped into the others had they not retreated in time to avoid her. Then, in quick succession, came the Lion, Hank and the Sawhorse, bounding from mountain to mountain to fall safely upon the greensward. Only the Wizard was now left behind, and they waited so long for him that Dorothy began to be worried.
But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and tumbled heels over head beside them. Then they saw that he had wound two of their blankets around his body to keep the bumps from hurting him and had fastened the blankets with some of the spare straps from the harness of the Sawhorse.
Chapter 8
THE MYSTERIOUS CITY
There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from their dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm and collected, and the Lion said with a sigh of relief, 'Who would have thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of rubber?'
'Are they really rubber?' asked Trot.
'They must be,' replied the Lion, 'for otherwise we would not have bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt.'
'That is all guesswork,' declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets from his body, 'for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to discover what they are made of. But where are we?'
'That's guesswork,' said Scraps. 'The shepherd said the Thistle-Eaters live this side of the mountains and are waited on by giants.'
'Oh no,' said Dorothy, 'it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots.'
'How could they do that?' asked the Woozy. 'Dragons have long tails, which would get in the way of the chariot wheels.'
'And if the Herkus have conquered the giants,' said Trot, 'they must be at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the biggest people in all the world!'
'Perhaps they are,' assented the Wizard in a thoughtful tone of voice. 'And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let us travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the people of this country are like.'
It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and peaceful when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling mountains. There were trees here and there and green bushes, while throughout the thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers. About a mile away was a low hill that hid from them all the country beyond it, so they realized they could not tell much about the country until they had crossed the hill. The Red Wagon having been left behind, it was now necessary to make other arrangements for traveling. The Lion told Dorothy she could ride upon his back as she had often done before, and the Woozy said he could easily carry both Trot and the Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, Hank, and Button-Bright and the Wizard could sit together upon the long, thin back of the Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their seat with a pad of blankets before they started. Thus mounted, the adventurers started for the hill, which was reached after a brief journey.
As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill, they discovered not far away a walled city, from the towers and spires of which gay banners were flying. It was not a very big city, indeed, but its walls were very high and thick, and it appeared that the people who lived there must have feared attack by a powerful enemy, else they would not have surrounded their dwellings with so strong a barrier. There was no path leading from the mountains to the city, and this proved that the people seldom or never visited the whirling hills, but our friends found the grass soft and agreeable to travel over, and with the city before them they could not well lose their way. When they drew nearer to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the sound of music – dim at first, but growing louder as they advanced.
'That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place,' remarked Dorothy.
'Well, it LOOKS all right,' replied Trot from her seat on the Woozy, 'but looks can't always be trusted.'
'MY looks can,' said Scraps. 'I LOOK patchwork, and I AM patchwork, and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm the Patchwork Girl.' Saying which, she turned a somersault off the Woozy and, alighting on her feet, began wildly dancing about.
'Are owls ever blind?' asked Trot.
'Always, in the daytime,' said Button-Bright. 'But Scraps can see with her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?'
'It's queer that buttons can see at all,' answered Trot. 'But good gracious! What's become of the city?'
'I was going to ask that myself,' said Dorothy. 'It's gone!'
'It's gone!'
The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really disappeared, walls and all, and before them lay the clear, unbroken sweep of the country. 'Dear me!' exclaimed the Wizard. 'This is rather disagreeable. It is annoying to travel almost to a place and then find it is not there.'
'Where can it be, then?' asked Dorothy. 'It cert'nly was there a minute ago.'
'I can hear the music yet,' declared Button-Bright, and when they all listened, the strains of music could plainly be heard.
'Oh! There's the city over at the left,' called Scraps, and turning their eyes, they saw the walls and towers and fluttering banners far to the left of them.
'We must have lost our way,' suggested Dorothy.
'Nonsense,' said the Lion.
'I, and all the other animals, have been tramping straight toward the city ever since we first saw it.'
'Then how does it happen – '
'Never mind,' interrupted the Wizard, 'we are no farther from it than we were before. It is in a different direction, that's all, so let us hurry and get there before it again escapes us.'
So on they went directly toward the city, which seemed only a couple of miles distant. But when they had traveled less than a mile, it suddenly disappeared again. Once more they paused, somewhat discouraged, but in a moment the button eyes of Scraps again discovered the city, only this time it was just behind them in the direction from which they had come. 'Goodness gracious!' cried Dorothy. 'There's surely something wrong with that city. Do you s'pose it's on wheels, Wizard?'
'It may not be a city at all,' he replied, looking toward it with a speculative glance.
'What COULD it be, then?'
'Just an illusion.'
'What's that?' asked Trot.
'Something you think you see and don't see.'
'I can't believe that,' said Button-Bright. 'If we only saw it, we might be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, it must be there.'
'Where?' asked the Patchwork Girl.
'Somewhere near us,' he insisted.
We will have to go back, I suppose,' said the Woozy with a sigh.
So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it disappeared again, only to reappear at the right of them. They were constantly getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their faces turned toward it as it flitted here and there to all points of the compass. Presently the Lion, who was leading the procession, halted abruptly and cried out, 'Ouch!'
'What's the matter?' asked Dorothy.
