Oz 04: Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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gone mad . even the kitten gave adreadfully shrill scream and at_the same time Jim the cab- horse neighed loudly . this daunted the enemy for a time, but the defenders were soon out of breath .Perceiving this, as_well as_the fact that there were no more of_the awful "bangs" to_come from_the revolvers, the Gargoyles advanced in a swarm as thick as bees, so that_the air was filled with_them .

Dorothy squatted upon_the ground and put up her parasol, which nearly covered her and proved a great protection . the wizard's sword- blade snapped into a dozen pieces at_the first blow he struck against the wooden people .Zeb pounded away with_the gargoyle he_was using as a club until he had knocked down dozens of foes; but at_the last they clustered so thickly about him that he no longer had room in_which to swing his arms . the horse performed some wonderful kicking and even eureka assisted when she leaped bodily upon_the Gargoyles and scratched and bit at them like a wild-cat .

but all this bravery amounted to nothing at all . the wooden things wound their long arms around Zeb and_the wizard and held them fast . Dorothy was captured in_the same way, and numbers of_the Gargoyles clung to Jim's legs, so weighting him down that_the poor beast was helpless . eureka made a desperate dash to escape and scampered along the ground like a streak; but agrinning gargoyle flew after her and grabbed her before she had gone very far .

all of_them expected nothing less_than instant death; but to_their surprise the wooden creatures flew into_the air with_them and bore them far away, over miles and miles of wooden country, until they came to a wooden city . the houses of_this city had many corners, being square and six- sided and eight- sided . they were tower- like in shape and_the best of_them seemed old and weather- worn; yet all were strong and substantial .

to one_of_these houses which had neither doors nor windows, but only_one broad opening far up underneath the roof, the prisoners were brought by their captors . the Gargoyles roughly pushed them into_the opening, where there_was a platform, and then flew away and left them . as_they had no wings the strangers could_not fly away, and if_they jumped down from such a height they_would surely be killed . the creatures had sense enough to reason that way, and_the only mistake they made was in supposing the earth people were unable to overcome such ordinary difficulties .

Jim was brought with_the others, although it took a good_many Gargoyles to carry the big beast through_the air and land him on_the high platform, and_the buggy was thrust in after him because it belonged to_the party and_the wooden folks had no idea what it_was used for or whether it_was alive or not . when eureka's captor had thrown the kitten after_the others the last gargoyle silently disappeared, leaving our friends to breathe freely once more .

" what an awful fight ! " said Dorothy, catching her breath in little gasps .

"Oh, I don't know," purred eureka, smoothing her ruffled fur with her paw; " we didn't manage to hurt anybody, and nobody managed to hurt us ."

" thank goodness we_are together again, even if_we_are prisoners," sighed the little girl .

"I wonder why they didn't kill us on_the spot," remarked Zeb, who had lost his king in_the struggle .

" they_are probably keeping us for some ceremony," the wizard answered, reflectively; " but there_is no_doubt they intend to kill us as dead as possible in a short time ."

" as dead as poss'ble would_be pretty dead, wouldn't it ? " asked Dorothy .

" yes, my dear . but we_have no need to worry about_that just now . let_us examine our prison and_see what it_is like ."

the space underneath the roof, where they stood, permitted them to_see on all sides of_the tall building, and_they looked with much curiosity at_the city spread out beneath them . everything visible was_made of wood, and_the scene seemed stiff and extremely unnatural .

from their platform a stair descended into_the house, and_the children and_the wizard explored it after lighting a lantern to show them the way . several stories of empty rooms rewarded their search, but nothing more; so after a time they came back to_the platform again . had there been any doors or windows in_the lower rooms, or had_not the boards of_the house been so thick and stout, escape could_have_been easy; but to remain down below was like being in a cellar or the hold of a ship, and they_did_not like the darkness or the damp smell .

in_this country, as in all others they had visited underneath the earth's surface, there_was no night, a constant and strong light coming from some unknown source . looking out, they_could see into some_of_the houses near them, where there were open windows in abundance, and were able to mark the forms of_the wooden Gargoyles moving about in their dwellings .

" this seems_to_be their time of rest," observed the wizard ." all people need rest, even if_they_are made of wood, and as there_is no night here they select a certain time of_the day in_which to sleep or doze ."

" I_feel sleepy myself," remarked Zeb, yawning .

" why, where's eureka ? " cried Dorothy, suddenly .

they all looked around, but the kitten was no place to_be seen .

" she's gone out for a walk," said Jim, gruffly .

" where ? on_the roof ? " asked the girl .

" no; she just dug her claws into_the wood and climbed down the sides of_this house to_the ground ."

" she couldn't climb down, Jim," said Dorothy ." to climb means to_go up ."

" who said so ? " demanded the horse .

" my school- teacher said so; and she knows alot, Jim ."

" to ' climb down' is sometimes used as a figure of speech," remarked the wizard .

" well, this_was a figure of acat," said Jim, " and she went down, anyhow, whether she climbed or crept ."

" dear me ! how careless eureka is," exclaimed the girl, much distressed ." the Gurgles will get her, sure ! "

"Ha, ha ! " chuckled the old cab- horse; " they're not 'Gurgles,' little maid; they're Gargoyles ."

" never mind; they'll get eureka, whatever they're called ."

" no they won't," said the voice of_the kitten, and eureka herself crawled over the edge of_the platform and sat down quietly upon_the floor .

" wherever have_you been, eureka ? " asked Dorothy, sternly .

"Watching the wooden folks . they're too funny for anything, Dorothy . just now they_are all going to bed, and-- what do_you_think ? -- they unhook the hinges of_their wings and put them in a corner until they wake up again ."

" what, the hinges ? "

" no; the wings ."

" that," said Zeb, "explains why this house is used by_them for a prison . if any of_the Gargoyles act badly, and_have to_be put in jail, they_are brought here and their wings unhooked and taken away from_them until they promise to_be good ."

the wizard had listened intently to what eureka had said .

" i_wish we had some_of_those loose wings," he_said .

" could we fly with_them ? " asked Dorothy .

" i_think so . if_the Gargoyles can unhook the wings then the power to fly lies in_the wings themselves, and not in_the wooden bodies of_the people who wear them . so, if_we had the wings, we_could probably fly as_well as they_do-- as least while we_are in their country and under the spell of_its magic ."

" but how would it help_us to_be_able to fly ? " questioned the girl .

" come here," said the little man, and took her to one_of_the corners of_the building ." do you_see that big rock standing on_the hillside yonder ? " he continued, pointing with_his finger .

" yes; it's a good way off, but I_can_see it," she replied .

" well, inside that rock, which reaches up into_the clouds, is an archway very_much like the one we entered when we climbed the spiral stairway from_the valley of Voe .I'll get my spy- glass, and then you_can see it more plainly ."

he fetched a small but powerful telescope, which had_been in_his satchel, and by its aid the little girl clearly saw the opening .

" where does it lead to ? " she asked .

" that I_cannot tell," said the wizard; " but we_cannot now be far below the earth's surface, and_that entrance may lead to another stairway that_will bring us on top of_our world again, where we belong . so, if_we had the wings, and could escape the Gargoyles, we_might fly to_that rock and be saved ."

"I'll get you the wings," said Zeb, who had thoughtfully listened to all this ." that_is, if_the kitten will show me where they_are ."

" but how can_you get down ? " enquired the girl, wonderingly .

for answer Zeb began to unfasten Jim's harness, strap by strap, and to buckle one piece to another until he had made a long leather strip that_would reach to_the ground .

" I_can climb down that, all right," he_said .

" no you_can't," remarked Jim, with a twinkle in_his round eyes ." you_may go down, but you_can only climb up ."

" well, I'll climb up when I get back, then," said the boy, with a laugh ." now, eureka, you'll have to show me the way to_those wings ."

" you_must_be very quiet," warned the kitten; " for if_you make_the least noise the Gargoyles will wake up . they_can hear a pin drop ."

"I'm not going to drop a pin," said Zeb .

he had fastened one end of_the strap to a wheel of_the buggy, and now he let the line dangle over the side of_the house .

" be careful," cautioned Dorothy, earnestly .

" i_will," said the boy, and let himself slide over the edge .

the girl and_the wizard leaned over and watched Zeb work his way carefully downward, hand over hand, until he stood upon_the ground below . eureka clung with her claws to_the wooden side of_the house and let herself down easily . then together they crept away to enter the low doorway of aneighboring dwelling .

the watchers waited in breathless suspense until the boy again appeared, his arms now full of_the wooden wings .

when he_came to where the strap was hanging he tied the wings all in a bunch to_the end of_the line, and_the wizard drew them up . then the line was let down again for Zeb to climb up by . eureka quickly followed him, and soon they were all standing together upon_the platform, with eight of_the much prized wooden wings beside them .

the boy was no longer sleepy, but full of energy and excitement . he put the harness together again and hitched Jim to_the buggy . then, with_the wizard's help, he tried to fasten some_of_the wings to_the old cab- horse .

this_was no easy task, because half of each one_of_the hinges of_the wings was missing, it being still fastened to_the body of_the gargoyle who had used it . however, the wizard went once more to_his satchel-- which seemed to contain asurprising variety of odds and ends-- and brought out a spool of strong wire, by_means of_which they managed to fasten four of_the wings to Jim's harness, two near his head and two near his tail . they were a bit wiggley, but secure enough if only the harness held together .

the other four wings were then fastened to_the buggy, two on each side, for_the buggy must bear the weight of_the children and_the wizard as it flew through_the air .

these preparations had_not consumed a great deal of_time, but the sleeping Gargoyles were beginning to wake up and move around, and soon some_of_them would_be hunting for their missing wings . so the prisoners resolved to leave their prison at once .

they mounted into_the buggy, Dorothy holding eureka safe in her lap . the girl sat in_the middle of_the seat, with Zeb and_the wizard on each side of her . when all was ready the boy shook the reins and said:

" fly away, Jim ! "

" which wings must I flop first ? " asked the cab- horse, undecidedly .

"Flop them all together," suggested the wizard .

" some_of_them are crooked," objected the horse .

" never mind; we_will steer with_the wings on_the buggy," said Zeb ." just you light out and make for_that rock, Jim; and don't waste any_time about_it, either ."

so the horse gave a groan, flopped its four wings all together, and flew away from_the platform . Dorothy was a little anxious about_the success of_their trip, for_the way Jim arched his long neck and spread out his bony legs as he fluttered and floundered through_the air was enough to_make anybody nervous . he groaned, too, as_if frightened, and_the wings creaked dreadfully because the wizard had forgotten to oil them; but they kept fairly good_time with_the wings of_the buggy, so that_they made excellent progress from_the start . the_only_thing that anyone could complain of with justice was_the fact that_they wobbled first up and then down, as if_the road were rocky instead of being as smooth as_the air could make it .

the main point, however, was that_they flew, and flew swiftly, if a bit unevenly, toward the rock for_which they had headed .

some_of_the Gargoyles saw them, presently, and lost no time in collecting a band to pursue the escaping prisoners; so_that when Dorothy happened to look back she saw them coming in

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