Then she pulled a strand of string from her sash, and drawing the edges of the hole together. she tied them fast with the string, thus making one of those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on so many Loons. Having done this, Til Loon tossed the bit of skin to the other Loons and was about to go away when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect them.
'Dear me!' said Til; 'what dreadful creatures. Where did they come from?'
'We captured them,' replied one of the Loons.
'And what are we going to do with them?' inquired the girl Loon.
'Perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em,' answered the King.
'Well,' said she, still eyeing the 'I'm not sure they'll puncture. Let's try it, and see.'
One of the Loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly returned with a long, sharp thorn. He glanced at the King, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow merely smiled and said nothing, for the thorn didn't hurt him at all.
Then the Loon tried to prick the Tin Woodman's leg, but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn.
'Just as I thought,' said Til, blinking her purple eyes and shaking her puffy head; but just then the Loon stuck the thorn into the leg of Woot the Wanderer, and while it had been blunted somewhat, it was still sharp enough to hurt.
'Ouch!' yelled Woot, and kicked out his leg with so much energy that the frail bonds that tied him burst apart. His foot caught the Loon – who was leaning over him – full on his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting up into the air. When he was high over their heads he exploded with a loud 'pop' and his skin fell to the ground.
'I really believe,' said the King, rolling his spotlike eyes in a frightened way, 'that Panta was right in claiming these prisoners are dangerous. Is the pump ready?'
Some of the Loons had wheeled a big machine in front of the throne and now took Panta's skin and began to pump air into it. Slowly it swelled out until the King cried 'Stop!'
'No, no!' yelled Panta, 'I'm not big enough yet.' 'You're as big as you're going to be,' declared the King. 'Before you exploded you were bigger than the rest of us, and that caused you to be proud and overbearing. Now you're a little smaller than the rest, and you will last longer and be more humble.'
'Pump me up – pump me up!' wailed Panta 'If you don't you'll break my heart.'
'If we do we'll break your skin,' replied the King.
So the Loons stopped pumping air into Panta, and pushed him away from the pump. He was certainly more humble than before his accident, for he crept into the background and said nothing more.
'Now pump up the other one,' ordered the King. Til had already mended him, and the Loons set to work to pump him full of air.
During these last few moments none had paid much attention to the prisoners, so Woot, finding his legs free, crept over to the Tin Woodman and rubbed the bonds that were still around his arms and body against the sharp edge of the axe, which quickly cut them.
The boy was now free, and the thorn which the Loon had stuck into his leg was lying unnoticed on the ground, where the creature had dropped it when he exploded. Woot leaned forward and picked up the thorn, and while the Loons were busy watching the pump, the boy sprang to his feet and suddenly rushed upon the group.
'Pop' – 'pop' – 'pop!' went three of the Loons, when the Wanderer pricked them with his thorn, and at the sounds the others looked around and saw their danger. With yells of fear they bounded away in all directions, scattering about the clearing, with Woot the Wanderer in full chase. While they could run much faster than the boy, they often stumbled and fell, or got in one another's way, so he managed to catch several and prick them with his thorn.
It astonished him to see how easily the Loons exploded. When the air was let out of them they were quite helpless. Til Loon was one of those who ran against his thorn and many others suffered the same fate. The creatures could not escape from the enclosure, but in their fright many bounded upward and caught branches of the trees, and then climbed out of reach of the dreaded thorn.
Woot was getting pretty tired chasing them, so he stopped and came over, panting, to where his friends were sitting, still bound.
'Very well done, my Wanderer,' said the Tin Woodman. 'It is evident that we need fear these puffed-up creatures no longer, so be kind enough to unfasten our bonds and we will proceed upon our journey.'
Woot untied the bonds of the Scarecrow and helped him to his feet. Then he freed the Tin Woodman, who got up without help. Looking around them, they saw that the only Loon now remaining within reach was Bal Loon, the King, who had remained seated in his throne, watching the punishment of his people with a bewildered look in his purple eyes.
'Shall I puncture the King?' the boy asked his companions.
King Bal must have overheard the question, for he fumbled with the cord that fastened him to the throne and managed to release it. Then he floated upward until he reached the leafy dome, and parting the branches he disappeared from sight. But the string that was tied to his body was still connected with the arm of the throne, and they knew they could pull his Majesty down again, if they wanted to.
'Let him alone,' suggested the Scarecrow. 'He seems a good enough king for his peculiar people, and after we are gone, the Loons will have something of a job to pump up all those whom Woot has punctured.'
'Every one of them ought to be exploded,' declared Woot, who was angry because his leg still hurt him.
'No,' said the Tin Woodman, 'that would not be just fair. They were quite right to capture us, because we had no business to intrude here, having been warned to keep away from Loonville. This is their country, not ours, and since the poor things can't get out of the clearing, they can harm no one save those who venture here out of curiosity, as we did.'
'Well said, my friend,' agreed tile Scarecrow. 'We really had no right to disturb their peace and comfort; so let us go away.'
They easily found the place where they had forced their way into the enclosure, so the Tin Woodman pushed aside the underbrush and started first along the path. The Scarecrow followed next and last came Woot, who looked back and saw that the Loons were still clinging to their perches on the trees and watching their former captives with frightened eyes.
'I guess they're glad to see the last of us,' remarked the boy, and laughing at the happy ending of the adventure, he followed his comrades along the path.
Chapter Five
Mrs. Yoop, the Giantess
When they had reached the end of the path, where they had first seen the warning sign, they set off across the country in an easterly direction. Before long they reached Rolling Lands, which were a succession of hills and valleys where constant climbs and descents were required, and their journey now became tedious, because on climbing each hill, they found before them nothing in the valley below it except grass, or weeds or stones.
Up and down they went for hours, with nothing to relieve the monotony of the landscape, until finally, when they had topped a higher hill than usual, they discovered a cup-shaped valley before them in the center of which stood an enormous castle, built of purple stone. The castle was high and broad and long, but had no turrets and towers. So far as they could see, there was but one small window and one big door on each side of the great building.
'This is strange!' mused the Scarecrow. 'I'd no idea such a big castle existed in this Gillikin Country. I wonder who lives here?'
'It seems to me, from this distance,' remarked the Tin Woodman, 'that it's the biggest castle I ever saw. It is really too big for any use, and no one could open or shut those big doors without a stepladder.'
'Perhaps, if we go nearer, we shall find out whether anybody lives there or not,' suggested Woot. 'Looks to me as if nobody lived there.'
On they went, and when they reached the center of the valley, where the great stone castle stood, it was
