Oz 09: The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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the SCARECROW of OZ

dedicated to

" the uplifters" of Los_Angeles, California, in grateful appreciation of_the pleasure I_have derived from association with_them, and in recognition of_their sincere endeavor to uplift humanity through kindness, consideration and good- fellowship . they_are big men-- all of_them-- and all with_the generous hearts of little children .

L . frank Baum

the SCARECROW of OZ by L . frank Baum

"TWIXT you and me

the army of children which besieged the Postoffice, conquered the Postmen and delivered to_me its imperious Commands, insisted that trot and Cap'n bill be admitted to_the land of Oz, where trot could enjoy the society of Dorothy, Betsy bobbin and Ozma, while the one- legged sailor- man might become a comrade of_the tin woodman, the shaggy man, Tik-Tok and all the other quaint people who inhabit this wonderful fairyland .

it_was no easy task to obey this order and land trot and Cap'n bill safely in Oz, as_you_will discover by reading this book . indeed, it required the best efforts of_our dear old friend, the Scarecrow, to save them from a dreadful fate on_the journey; but the story leaves them happily located in Ozma's splendid palace and Dorothy has promised me that button- bright and_the three girls are_sure to encounter, in_the near future, some marvelous adventures in_the land of Oz, which I_hope to_be permitted to relate to_you in_the next Oz book .

meantime, I_am deeply grateful to my little readers for their continued enthusiasm over the Oz stories, as evinced in_the many letters they send me, all of_which are lovingly cherished . it takes more and more Oz Books every year to satisfy the demands of old and new readers, and there_have been formed many "Oz Reading Societies," where the Oz Books owned by different members are read aloud . all this_is very gratifying to_me and encourages me to write more stories . when_the children have_had enough of_them, I_hope they_will let me know, and then I'll try to write something different .

L . frank Baum " royal historian of Oz ." "OZCOT" at Hollywood in California, 1915 .

list of CHAPTERS
1 - the great whirlpool
2 - the cavern under the sea
3 - daylight at last:
4 - the little old man of_the island
5 - the flight of_the Midgets
6 - the Dumpy man
7 - button- bright is lost, and found again
8 - the kingdom of Jinxland
9 - pan, the gardener's boy
10 - the wicked king and Googly-Goo
11 - the wooden-Legged grasshopper
12 - Glinda the good and_the Scarecrow of Oz
13 - the frozen heart
14 - trot Meets the Scarecrow
15 - Pon Summons the king to surrender
16 - the Ork Rescues button- bright
17 - the Scarecrow Meets an enemy
18 - the conquest of_the witch
19 - queen Gloria
20 - Dorothy, Betsy and Ozma
21 - the waterfall
22 - the land of Oz
23 - the royal reception

chapter one

the great whirlpool

"Seems to_me," said Cap'n bill, as he sat beside trot under the big acacia tree, looking out over the blue ocean, "seems to_me, trot, as how the more we_know, the more we_find we don't know ."

" I_can't quite make that out, Cap'n bill," answered the little girl in a serious voice, after a moment's thought, during which her eyes followed those of_the old sailor- man across the glassy surface of_the sea ."Seems to_me that all we learn is jus' so_much gained ."

" I_know; it looks that way at first sight," said the sailor, nodding his head; " but those as knows the least have a habit of thinkin' they know all there_is to_know, while them as knows the most admits what aturr'ble big world this_is . it's the knowing ones that realize one lifetime ain't long enough to git more'n a few dips o' the oars of knowledge ."

trot didn't answer . she was a very little girl, with big, solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner .Cap'n bill had_been her faithful companion for years and had taught her almost everything she knew .

he_was a wonderful man, this Cap'n bill . not so very old, although his hair was grizzled -- what there_was of it . most of_his head was bald as an egg and as shiny as oilcloth, and this made his big ears stick out in a funny way . his eyes had a gentle look and were pale blue in color, and_his round face was rugged and bronzed .Cap'n bill's left leg was missing, from_the knee down, and_that was why the sailor no longer sailed the seas . the wooden leg he wore was good enough to stump around with on land, or even to_take trot out for a row or a sail on_the ocean, but when it came to "runnin' up aloft" or performing active duties on shipboard, the old sailor was not equal to_the task . the loss of_his leg had ruined his career and_the old sailor found comfort in devoting himself to_the education and companionship of_the little girl .

the accident to Cap'n bill's leg bad happened at about_the_time trot was born, and ever_since that he had lived with trot's mother as "a star boarder," having enough money saved up to_pay for_his weekly " keep ." he loved the baby and often held her on_his lap; her first ride was on Cap'n bill's shoulders, for she had no baby- carriage; and when she began to toddle around, the child and_the sailor became close comrades and enjoyed many strange adventures together . it_is said the fairies had_been present at trot's birth and had marked her forehead with their invisible mystic signs, so_that she was able to_see and do many wonderful things .

the acacia tree was on top of a high bluff, but a path ran down the bank in a zigzag way to_the water's edge, where Cap'n bill's boat was moored to a rock by_means of a stout cable . it had_been a hot, sultry afternoon, with scarcely a breath of air stirring, so Cap'n bill and trot had_been quietly sitting beneath the shade of_the tree, waiting for_the sun to_get low enough for_them to_take a row .

they had decided to visit one_of_the great caves which the waves had washed out_of_the rocky coast during many years of steady effort . the caves were a source of continual delight to both the girl and_the sailor, who loved to explore their awesome depths .

"I b'lieve, Cap'n," remarked trot, at last, " that_it's time for_us to start ."

the old man cast a shrewd glance at_the sky, the sea and_the motionless boat . then he shook his head .

"Mebbe it's time, trot," he answered, " but I don't jes' like the looks o' things this afternoon ."

" what's wrong ? " she asked wonderingly .

" can't say as_to_that . things is too quiet to suit me, that's all . no breeze, not a ripple a- top the water, nary a gull a-flyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottest day o' the year .I ain't no weather- prophet, trot, but any sailor would know the signs is ominous ."

" there's nothing wrong that I_can_see," said trot .

" if there_was a cloud in_the sky even as big as my thumb, we_might worry about_it; but -- look, Cap'n ! -- the sky is as clear as can_be ."

he looked again and nodded .

"P'r'aps we_can make_the cave, all right," he agreed, not wishing to disappoint her ." it's only a little way out, an' we'll be on_the watch; so come along, trot ."

together they descended the winding path to_the beach . it_was no trouble for_the girl to_keep her footing on_the steep way, but Cap'n bill, because of_his wooden leg, had to hold on to rocks and roots now_and_then to save himself from tumbling . on a level path he_was as spry as anyone, but to climb up hill or down required some care .

they reached the boat safely and while trot was untying the rope Cap'n bill reached into a crevice of_the rock and drew out several tallow candles and a box of wax matches, which he thrust into_the capacious pockets of_his "sou'wester ." this sou'wester was a short coat of oilskin which the old sailor wore on all occasions -- when he wore a coat at all -- and_the pockets always contained a variety of objects, useful and ornamental, which made even trot wonder where they all came from and why Cap'n bill should treasure them . the jackknives -- a big one and a little one -- the bits of cord, the fishhooks, the nails: these were handy to_have on certain occasions . but bits of shell, and tin boxes with unknown contents, buttons, pincers, bottles of curious stones and_the like, seemed quite unnecessary to carry around . that was Cap'n bill's business, however, and now that he added the candles and_the matches to_his collection trot made no comment, for she knew these last were to light their way through_the caves . the sailor always rowed the boat, for he handled the oars with strength and skill . trot sat in_the stern and steered . the place where they embarked was a little bight or circular bay, and_the boat cut across a much larger bay toward a distant headland where the caves were located, right at_the water's edge . they were nearly a mile from shore and about halfway across the bay when trot suddenly sat up straight and exclaimed: " what's that, Cap'n ? "

he stopped rowing and turned half around to look .

" that, trot," he slowly replied, "looks to_me mighty like a whirlpool ."

" what makes it, Cap'n ? "

"A whirl in_the air makes the whirl in_the water . i_was afraid as_we'd meet with trouble, trot . things didn't look right . the air was too still ."

" it's coming closer," said the girl .

the old man grabbed the oars and began rowing with all his strength .

"'Tain't comin' closer to_us, trot," he gasped; " it's we that_are comin' closer to_the whirlpool . the thing is drawin' us to_it like a magnet ! "

trot's sun- bronzed face was a little paler as she grasped the tiller firmly and tried to steer the boat away; but she said not a word to indicate fear .

the swirl of_the water as_they came nearer made aroaring sound that was fearful to listen to . so fierce and powerful was_the whirlpool that_it drew the surface of_the sea into_the form of a great basin, slanting downward toward the center, where a big hole had_been made in_the ocean -- a hole with walls of water that were kept in place by_the rapid whirling of_the air .

the boat in_which trot and Cap'n bill were riding was just on_the outer edge of_this saucer- like slant, and_the old sailor knew very_well that unless he_could quickly force the little craft away from_the rushing current they_would soon be drawn into_the great black hole that yawned in_the middle . so he exerted all his might and pulled as he had never pulled before . he pulled so hard that_the left oar snapped in two and sent Cap'n bill sprawling upon_the bottom of_the boat .

he scrambled up quickly enough and glanced over the side . then he looked at trot, who sat quite still, with a serious, far- away look in her sweet eyes . the boat was now speeding swiftly of_its own accord, following the line of_the circular basin round and round and gradually drawing nearer to_the great hole in_the center . any further effort to escape the whirlpool was useless, and realizing this fact Cap'n bill turned toward trot and put an arm around her, as_if to shield her from_the awful fate before them . he_did_not try to_speak, because the roar of_the waters would_have drowned the sound of_his voice .

these two faithful comrades had faced dangers before, but nothing to equal that which now faced them . yet Cap'n bill, noting the look in trot's eyes and remembering how often she had_been protected by unseen powers, did_not quite give way to despair .

the great hole in_the dark water -- now growing nearer and nearer -- looked very terrifying; but they were both brave enough to_face it and await the result of_the adventure .

chapter two

the cavern under the sea

the circles were so_much smaller at_the bottom of_the basin, and_the boat moved so_much more swiftly, that trot was beginning to_get dizzy with_the motion, when suddenly the boat made a leap and dived headlong into_the murky depths of_the hole .Whirling like tops, but still clinging together, the sailor and_the girl were separated from their boat and plunged down -- down -- down -- into_the farthermost recesses of_the great ocean .

at first their fall was swift as an arrow, but presently they seemed to_be going more moderately and trot was almost sure that unseen arms were about her, supporting her and protecting her . she_could see nothing, because the water filled her eyes and blurred her vision, but she clung fast to Cap'n bill's sou'wester, while other arms clung fast to her, and so they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was_made, when_they began to ascend again .

but it seemed to trot that_they were_not rising straight to_the surface from where they had come . the water was no longer whirling them and_they seemed to_be drawn in aslanting direction through still, cool ocean depths . and then -- in much quicker time than I_have told it -- up they popped to_the surface and were cast at full length upon a sandy beach, where they lay choking and gasping for breath and wondering what had happened to_them .

trot was_the first to recover .Disengaging herself from Cap'n bill's wet embrace and sitting up, she rubbed the water from her eyes and then looked around her .a soft, bluish- green glow lighted the

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