"I don't give three slams for anyone ! " announced Scraps, snapping her fingers under Shampoozle's nose "Show us the way Out of here "

"What ! " snorted the Sultan, rising shakily throne "You refuse to salaam ? Caka ! Bara ! " He clapped his hands sharply "Salaam her ! " At his command, the two slaves behind Scraps seized her arms and, forcing her downward, touched her cotton nose floor three times

While Scraps was still choking and spluttering with rage, Peter and Grumpy regained their footing and stared curiously at Shampoozle sitting on an ivory soap throne with red sponge cushions made of green soap towel turban was twice as high turbans other Suds

" teach you how to treat Sultan," sniffed Shampoozle, shaking finger severely Patchwork Girl

"Sultan ! " cried Scraps, giving Caka and Bara each push "You're not Sultan, you're an Insultan "

Shampoozle's eyes grew round with displeasure and Peter and Grumpy had some difficulty to conceal their mirth

"There, there ! " said the Sultan testily, "don't be impertinent Kindly answer my questions, so put you in your proper places What kind of soap are of, hard or soft, laundry or tub- floaters or sinkers ? "

"We're not soap at all," declared Peter indignantly " think-"

"Tut ! Tut ! " interrupted Shampoozle loftily, " thinking Don't talk so fast, we'll soon make good soap of you Why, make soap of anything, even rubbish," he finished proudly "Caka ! Bara ! Just see how they lather "

Before Peter or the others had time to object, the two slaves, with three wet sponges, were rubbing vigorously at their cheeks

"No lather at all," sighed Shampoozie in evident disappointment Never mind, I'll use you somehow That creature," he pointed contemptuously at Grumpy, "that creature, flattened out and rolled down, will make an excellent bath mat The rag girl ripped up into wash cloths boy boiled down to soap fat "

"Bath mat ! " roared the little bear, putting back his ears "Why, 't make bath mat out of me Don't I'm pet ? You'd better not touch Scraps either, she's Queen and Peter's pitcher ! "

"Pause ! " commanded the Sultan, extending his arm wearily

"I'll pause and claw you ! " threatened Grumpy, doubling up his furry fists "We're way Emerald City to save the Queen and you daren't stop us ! " While Grumpy was saying, or rather growling all this, Peter had noticed an open window back throne room Signaling to Scraps, he pushed aside the soap slaves and, seizing Grumpy's paw, made grand slide for freedom Scraps reached the window first and recklessly jumped Then Peter and Grumpy, without one look, jumped down after her Fortunately, Scraps landed first so little bear little boy had something soft upon The drop window was nearly thirty feet looked around rather breathlessly

"Did we hurt you ? " asked Peter, hopping up quickly and pulling Grumpy feet

"No ! " puffed the Patchwork Girl, raising her head experimentally, "but rather flat Shake me up, boys, and then we'd better run So Grumpy took one of her arms and Peter the other shook with all their might Scrap's cotton stuffing was still damp rubber tree's shower and her face had wrinkled and rough-dry look but, quite cheerfully, she patted herself into shape They had fallen on flat gray beach and, leaning down to examine the soil, Peter discovered sand soap Without stopping to discover anything more, they started to run along the shore of deep blue lake waves broke shore, they frothed and foamed beautifully and dancing soap bubbles formed and floated over the waves At time Peter liked to stop and admire the view but, fearing pursuit, they all ran along as fast as Cliffs of soap stone rose steeply in places and there seemed no way to cross the lake nor to escape slippery clutches Sultan of Suds Finally rounding large cliff, they came to an abandoned soap building White soap bricks were lying about in orderly piles and stacked against the building itself were several huge slabs of soap, evidently intended for doors Picking up soap bricks, Peter hurled it lake and, as it floated jauntily off, threw his cap air

" it ! " cried Peter gaily "This soap floats We'll drag big pieces down edge lake and float across

hard work, slab they chose was both thick and heavy, but at last, after much pulling, tugging, grunting and pushing, they managed to launch their queer raft Peter and Grumpy carried Scraps out so not get wet again, then, climbing carefully aboard themselves, sat down slippery surface Peter had sensibly brought along long bar of green soap and, using this as pole, he pushed the raft out current

"Good-bye to Suds ! " yelled Scraps, slipped smoothly over the blue waters lake, "Good-bye to soap and water, too, Shampoozle, you're sham-shampooh ! "

CHAPTER 12

Friend Oztrich Offers to Help

THEY were half way across the sudsy lake before any Suds themselves appeared Then whole company rushed down shore Peter waved his cap cheerfully and, redoubling his efforts soap bar, pushed their raft toward the opposite bank

"I'm afraid we've wasted lot ," puffed Peter, raft slid in toward the beach

"Never mind," grinned Scraps, "we've something new about I'm glad we met the Suds, Peter "

"Humph ! " sniffed Grumpy, balancing himself carefully "I'm glad they met us Now they'll have something new about, something worth while " Peter chuckled little and, seizing Scrap's hands, helped her to rise, for little waves were rippling aboard and want the Patchwork Girl to fade or shrink But without any accidents or spills the raft washed up beach all jumped off

" you still know which direction ? " asked Peter anxiously "Which direction , which direction , I lost my direction out there lake ! We'll have to start on and just trust to good luck; What kind of desert struck ? "

Throwing up her arms, Scraps looked around in dismay

"A wilderness ! " quavered the little bear, sitting down resignedly on tree stump Shading his eyes, Peter stared off distance As far as he , nothing but barren stretch of desert, with here and there tree or jagged rock

"Let's start toward that tall pine," suggested Peter, pulling his cap down hard over his left eye and waving toward pine tree just visible sky line " keep walking we're bound out somewhere, but I'm afraid we'll never catch up with Ruggedo now

"Maybe he's lost, too," said Grumpy, ambling along beside Scraps on all fours

"Yes, but he has magic cloak to help him," sighed Peter, "and all is an emerald we don't know how to work "

"Which tree are we walking toward ? " asked Scraps, blinking her suspender button eyes rapidly "I don't see any pine tree now, Peter "

"Neither do I," growled Grumpy, rising up hind legs, and neither did Peter when he looked again As he strained his eyes for glimpse missing tree, all the stumps and stones around them began places as naturally it were quite the usual thing , while the sand beneath their feet began to slip and slide uncomfortably

"Wouldn't this make your hair curl ? " Breathing hard, Grumpy edged closed to Scraps As , whole cluster of bushes jumped up and, seizing branches, danced madly three travellers

"Here we go 'round the mulberry bush-mulberry bush-mulberry bush ! " chanted Scraps, putting her hands her eyes

"You mean, here they go 'round us ! " mumbled Peter dizzily "Stop ! Stop ! Go away, I never saw anything so silly "

The bushes, however, went gaily on with their dance, but had circled around the travellers hundred times, they seemed to tire sport and all skipped off together

"This makes me cross, growled Grumpy, scowling terribly

"Well, it makes me cross-eyed," acknowledged Scraps, starting forward uncertainly "Look out tree, Peter, it's going to trip you can I'll tell you, let's shut our eyes and run ! " Trying to walk straight ahead with trees, rocks and bushes jumping about like colts begin to run But young tree, dropping across their path, soon put stop all fell sprawling together Rubbing his knees, Peter sat up

"Wish we had Kuma's hand to guide us place," muttered the little boy, brushing his hand wearily across his forehead

"What is blinkers," sniffed Grumpy "Hello, something that hasn't moved for whole minute "

"Where ? " Peter and Scraps spoke same breath Swallowing hard, Grumpy waved his paw toward great feathery bush, with three main branches Without word they kept their eyes fixed upon it for several minutes Then Peter, jumping up determinedly and giving no heed skipping stones and slipping sands, ran straight bush As fast as , Grumpy Patchwork Girl followed him quite distance and Scraps was tripped up way, but at last they stood only stationary object whole whirling wilder-ness

"Feathers ! " gasped Peter, pushing back his cap

"And it's alive," cautioned Grumpy, moving back few steps "See, it has feet "

"It looks like- it why-, ! " Rushing forward, Scraps tapped the strange creature smartly leg Peter had supposed it had three legs and no head, but sandy soil and, rearing its long neck, an Oztrich looked at them inquiringly Now an Oztrich, I don't mind telling you, is quite like an ostrich, except has green feathers and blue eyes

"Well ? " hissed the oztrich, looking sadly from one other "Where you're going ? "

"That's what ," cried Scraps, for Peter was too surprised "Where are we going, how do we get there and ? "

"My name is Ozwold," answered the great bird gently "How feel ? "

"Dizzy ! " groaned Grumpy weakly "Bewildered," sighed Scraps, jumping aside to let three rocks roll by

" so " The Oztrich shook its head in satisfied manner " Bewilderness, Bury your heads like ," he advised calmly

"But Emerald City," put in Peter, "and bury our heads we'd smother Couldn't you carry us Emerald City back ? " he asked daringly

"Oh, Ozzy, only would ! " Clasping her hands, Scraps rolled her suspender button eyes pleadingly huge bird

"Who'd take care child ? " objected the Oztrich, blinking its eyes very fast and indicating with its bill an enormous egg lying beside it sand

"Haven't you wife ? " asked Peter in surprise

"She's gone home to visit her mother," explained the Oztrich in an embarrassed tone " stay here till the egg hatches "

"Couldn't we take it ? " proposed Peter eagerly "Think how proud you'd be your child hatch out capital ! "

"Ozma would give it hatchday present, too," added Scraps coaxingly