"Well, he's not in ," thought Peter almost as interested in Scrap's song Inn Keeper As Daddy Linn was now bowing and smiling and motioning up, they started quite cheerfully up the steps But no sooner had they set foot first one whole flight danced off , they were dance steps, all the steps in Tune Town are, but after dancing three polkas and three-step, they waltzed back porch and somewhat dizzily the travellers jumped off

"Let's run away, let's run away, 't keep dancing here all day,"

puffed Ozwold, proud to up song at last

"Eeney meeney miney mo, first you eat and then you go," answered Scraps Peter and Grumpy quite agreed with her and, shuffling their feet music, they waited impatiently Inn Keeper to reappear When come out he had four leather music rolls on tray and handed them around as were the most delicious morsels imaginable

"Fie ! Fie ! no pie ! " sang Scraps, while Peter and Grumpy shook their heads in disappointment

Ozwold pecked savagely at rolls, but even eat leather "Pie ? grand piana, How would that suit, Miss Diana ? "

The Inn Keeper looked inquiringly Patchwork Girl and, when she shook her head, danced crossly inn and slammed the door "No wonder they call this Viol Inn, No dinner at all, just dreadful din ! " mumbled Scraps, who hated Peter disappointed Peter, with sigh, jumped over the flighty dance steps, picked up the oztrich egg and, with Grumpy shuffling disconsolately after, started back toward the main street

"Very awk-when one can't talk," wheezed the oztrich, rolling its eyes sadly at Peter "Never mind, way I'll find, Tunester, be so kind-"

Touching Tunester sleeve, Scraps trilled earnestly: "Mister, show us how To leave this town ? We're going now " out of Tune, get out of Tune ! You'll find yourselves out, pretty soon, chuckled the singer, waltzing away unconcernedly

"What suppose he means ? " exclaimed Peter, forgetting that breaking the law again No sooner had he spoken music and dancing stopped and the whole band rushed toward him with instruments threateningly upraised

"Scream ! " puffed the Patchwork Girl, struck by sudden idea "Altogether now, Ah ! " Not knowing what else , Peter, Grumpy Oztrich screamed "Ah" as loudly as , Scraps joining in with will As screamed in different key, the result was perfectly dreadful discord Covering their ears and dropping their horns and drums, the members band, Jazzma and her Tunesters fled in every direction last echoes "Ah ! " had died away, the four offenders found themselves out of Tune indeed, though how they had gotten over the wall not told you

"Did we blow over ? " asked Peter, looking down anxiously oztrich egg broken

"No," giggled Scraps, throwing kiss direction wall, "we sang out of tune, Peter, and here out of Tune Which road shall we take, boys ? " There were three roads leading away from Tune Town and after quite debate they chose the center one

" something to eat soon, sighed Peter, as Ozwold started briskly down the road "I'm hungry as bear ! "

"Not bear," growled Grumpy, patting his middle sorrowfully

CHAPTER 14

Ozwold Friends Rush On

THAT was fine place , Scraps," chuckled Peter oztrich thudded good humoredly along the sunny road "You'd rather sing than talk anyway But singing and dancing all your life, whew ! How would you play base ball to music, I wonder Imagine singing out signals and trying home run to waltz "

"The dinners were the saddest," sighed Grumpy, licking his chops hungrily "Do any biscuit bushes or carrot trees around here ? "

"There's some kind of tree field," answered Peter, but the fruit is up so high we couldn't reach it, anyway

" ," grunted the little bear eagerly "Let's stop and try " The oztrich had spied some especially appetizing rocks roadside and was quite willing to stop So Peter placed his egg child beside him and, while they ran off to investigate the fruit tree, Ozwold lunched quite contentedly on couple of cobblestones The tree was about as tall as cocoanut palm and clustered top were large green fruits size of watermelons

Requiring no luncheon, Scraps danced off to amuse herself and, as Peter and Grumpy blinked hungrily upward, two melons detached themselves branch tree and came sailing gracefully downward

"Why, they've umbrellas over them," gasped Peter

" ," said the little bear calmly " never seen an umbrella melon ? " Peter never had and said so quite frankly

"Well," explained Grumpy, placing himself to catch the larger two " didn't have these umbrella attachments they'd smash to pieces fell , fruit is ripe the umbrella leaves open and float them safely down Ah-hh ! " Holding out both arms, Grumpy neatly caught his melon and, hugging it blissfully, sat down to enjoy his first meal since leaving Patch Peter had to chase his luncheon all around the field, breeze was brisk umbrella attachment larger melon itself But finally manage to overtake it and bringing the melon back, settled down beside Grumpy Cutting off the umbrella leaves pen knife, Peter split the melon in two something like cantaloupe, only much larger and much sweeter and tired, hungry, dusty little traveller, it tasted perfectly delicious But, hungry as , half the melon was all eat and he looked in admiring astonishment as Grumpy burrowed his nose deeper and deeper into his The entire center was gone and nibbling rind when Scraps came hurrying back across the field

" boys going to eat all day ? Glad I don't waste that way ! "

"You don't know what you miss, Miss " Licking his nose, Grumpy grinned up Patchwork Girl, but Scraps, sticking out her tongue, merely turned cartwheel, jumped over fence, and landed neatly back of Ozwold Peter and Grumpy slow , for they were all anxious to reach the capital before nightfall

"Is my child safe ? " mumbled Ozwold as two cobblestones still sticking throat "Whatever , don't drop my child my wife's favorite egg hope he doesn't hatch out before we reach the Emerald City ! "

"So do I," breathed Peter, looking quite nervously huge egg lap " ever been Emerald City ? " he asked politely

"No," answered the oztrich slowly " ? " Peter shook his head and as Ozwold jogged along the lane, Scraps told him all capital of Oz delightful people who live there, ending up story of Ruggedo's escape wicked plan to steal all the Oz magic and make himself ruler realm

"Ruler of Oz ! " screamed the oztrich, stopping in consternation "Great grandmothers, why didn't you tell me this before ? Why, old gnome has flying cloak, he's probably reached the Emerald City and captured everybody gnome throne of Oz, how perfectly impos ! Ruggedo ruler of Oz, how simply ridick ! " At each word Ozwold grew more indignant, and finally, with screech like an engine whistle, he hurled himself forward, running along at such speed that trees, fences, farms and hills whirled by in blur of dust and Peter others had all do their places Hugging the oztrich egg with one arm and Scraps other, Peter blinked and bounced and tried to catch glimpse country they were passing or the country they were coming to But speed dust, he nothing

"If he's just going right direction," thought the little boy, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth them from chattering, "we'll get there in no time If he isn't-"

"Whoa ! Whoa ! " roared Grumpy, as long as he had breath enough to roar Even Scraps tried the mad plunge excited steed But finally they all stopped shouting and devoted all their energies to hanging on Peter rather expected run into something and so was not greatly surprised himself sitting middle road Scraps sprawled beside him and Grumpy, rubbing his head, limped crossly out of ditch Ozwold himself was leaning up against tree with both eyes closed, while across the roadway lay an extremely upset and odd looking traveller

" you to whoa," growled Grumpy, shaking his paw angrily "Now see what you've done ! "

"Never say whoa to an oztrich," muttered the green bird, opening one eye "Say whum ! "

"But we've run over somebody," exclaimed Peter

"Is my child broken ? " asked the oztrich, opening the other eye and peering wildly in every direction Fortunately the egg had fallen on heap of soft sand and while Ozwold hurried over to assure himself not cracked, Scraps and Peter ran to help the stranger " broken, stunned or killed, Wrecked or sprained or simply spilled ? " quavered the Patchwork Girl, leaning over him

"It's all right," sighed the stranger, sitting up slowly "I'm used to being slammed Just so my back's not broken, I don't care ! "

"Why, it's book ! " burst out Peter, coming closer sure

"Not book, bookman ! " corrected the traveller, rising with Scrap's help feet "Books are old fashioned, but bookman is right I don't wait advertised, I speak , I don't lie around waiting read, I run after people and make them read me carry myself and turn over new leaf every day year I'm very interesting ! " finished the bookman, with wide smile at Peter Peter smiled back and how could he help it ? Above his big book body the fellow had round jolly face with floppy dog ears His legs and arms were quite thin and about as tall as Scraps

" sure you're not hurt ? " asked the little boy, bookman began to run briskly up and down thumping the covers book body to knock out the dust

" you about ? " asked Grumpy, looking curiously traveller and still rubbing his head paw " any animal tales ? "

"Or verse ? " cried the Patchwork Girl eagerly "Or baseball stories ? " questioned Peter, coming closer and closer In their interest they had almost forgotten the oztrich

"I've all kinds of stories," boasted the bookman and, unclasping his middle, spread wide the pages book "Which will first ? "

"A bear story," said Grumpy, sitting down haunches and waving both paws "Bear stories are the most exciting ! "

"No, verse, shrilled the Patchwork Girl quickly Peter was about for baseball story when he suddenly remembered his man-ners

"Ladies first," said Peter, looking reprovingly little bear "Just show us one of your verses, he remarked carelessly

"Funny or sad ? " asked the bookman, running his finger down his table of contents

"Funny, ," chuckled Scraps, tossing her head impatiently Turning his pages rapidly the bookman stepped off few paces and, leaning forward, the three travellers read: "Do fishes use the liquid tones The world so highly praises ? Could they speak dryly, and do bees Converse in honeyed phrases ? "

"Ho ! Ho ! " laughed Peter merrily, " do they'd soon get stuck That's good one almost as good verses, Scraps "

"There's much funnier one on page seventy-six," said the bookman gaily "Wait ! "