“If she’s in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?” inquired the boy.

“Never you mind; we’ll leave that to the Wizard; he’s sure to find a way.”

The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools he could do no more than any other person. But there was no use reminding his companions of that fact; it might discourage them.

“The important thing just now,” he remarked, “is to find Ozma; and, as our party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on.”

As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard the sun was setting and they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under the trees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread the blankets on a bed of soft leaves and presently all of them except Scraps and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his friend the Lion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered his square head with her apron to deaden the sound.

Chapter 12

The Czarover of Herku

Trot wakened just as the sun rose and, slipping out of the blankets, went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across the plain. Something glittered in the far distance.

“That looks like another city,” she said half aloud.

“And another city it is,” declared Scraps, who had crept to Trot’s side unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. “The Sawhorse and I made a journey in the dark, while you were all asleep, and we found over there a bigger city than Thi. There’s a wall around it, too, but it has gates and plenty of pathways.”

“Did you go in?” asked Trot.

“No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. So we came back here again. It isn’t far to the city. We can reach it in two hours after you’ve had your breakfasts.”

Trot went back and, finding the other girls now awake, told them what Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit—there were plenty of plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard—and then they mounted the animals and set out upon the journey to the strange city. Hank the Mule had breakfasted on grass and the Lion had stolen away and found a breakfast to his liking; he never told what it was, but Dorothy hoped the little rabbits and the field mice had kept out of his way. She warned Toto not to chase birds and gave the dog some apple, with which he was quite content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other food, except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all.