The next morning the Soldier with the GreenWhiskers went to the prison and took Ojo away tothe royal palace, where he was summoned to appearbefore the girl Ruler for judgment. Again thesoldier put upon the boy the jeweled handcuffs andwhite prisoner's robe with the peaked top andholes for the eyes. Ojo was so ashamed, both ofhis disgrace and the fault he had committed, thathe was glad to be covered up in this way, so thatpeople could not see him or know who he was. Hefollowed the Soldier with the Green Whiskers verywillingly, anxious that his fate might be decidedas soon as possible.

The inhabitants of the Emerald City were politepeople and never jeered at the unfortunate; but itwas so long since they bad seen a prisoner thatthey cast many curious looks toward the boy andmany of them hurried away to the royal palace tobe present during the trial.

When Ojo was escorted into the great ThroneRoom of the palace he found hundreds of peopleassembled there. In the magnificent emeraldthrone, which sparkled with countless jewels, satOzma of Oz in her Robe of State, which wasembroidered with emeralds and pearls. On herright, but a little lower, was Dorothy, and on herleft the Scarecrow. Still lower, but nearly infront of Ozma, sat the wonderful Wizard of Oz andon a small table beside him was the golden vasefrom Dorothy's room, into which Scraps had droppedthe stolen clover.

At Ozma's feet crouched two enormous beasts,each the largest and most powerful of its kind.Although these beasts were quite free, no onepresent was alarmed by them; for the Cowardly Lionand the Hungry Tiger were well known and respectedin the Emerald City and they always guarded theRuler when she held high court in the Throne Room.There was still another beast present, but thisone Dorothy held in her arms, for it was herconstant companion, the little dog Toto. Toto knewthe Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger and oftenplayed and romped with them, for they were goodfriends.

Seated on ivory chairs before Ozma, with a clearspace between them and the throne, were many ofthe nobility of the Emerald City, lords and ladiesin beautiful costumes, and officials of thekingdom in the royal uniforms of Oz. Behind thesecourtiers were others of less importance, fillingthe great hall to the very doors.

At the same moment that the Soldier with theGreen Whiskers arrived with Ojo, the Shaggy Manentered from a side door, escorting the PatchworkGirl, the Woozy and the Glass Cat. All these cameto the vacant space before the throne and stoodfacing the Ruler.

"Hullo, Ojo," said Scraps; "how are you?"

"All right," he replied; but the scene awed theboy and his voice trembled a little with fear.Nothing could awe the Patchwork Girl, and althoughthe Woozy was somewhat uneasy in these splendidsurroundings the Glass Cat was delighted with thesumptuousness of the court and the impressivenessof the occasion--pretty big words but quiteexpressive.

At a sign from Ozma the soldier removed Ojo'swhite robe and the boy stood face to face with thegirl who was to decide his punishment. He saw at aglance how lovely and sweet she was, and his heartgave a bound of joy, for he hoped she would bemerciful.

Ozma sat looking at the prisoner a long time.Then she said gently:

"One of the Laws of Oz forbids anyone topick a six-leaved clover. You are accused ofhaving broken this Law, even after you hadbeen warned not to do so.

Ojo hung his head and while he hesitated how toreply the Patchwork Girl stepped forward and spokefor him.

"All this fuss is about nothing at all," shesaid, facing Ozma unabashed. "You can't prove hepicked the six-leaved clover, so you've no rightto accuse him of it. Search him, if you like, butyou won't find the clover; look in his basket andyou'll find it's not there. He hasn't got it, so Idemand that you set this poor Munchkin boy free."

The people of Oz listened to this defiance inamazement and wondered at the queer Patchwork Girlwho dared talk so boldly to their Ruler. But Ozmasat silent and motionless and it was the littleWizard who answered Scraps.

"So the clover hasn't been picked, eh?" he said."I think it has. I think the boy hid it in hisbasket, and then gave the basket to you. I alsothink you dropped the clover into this vase, whichstood in Princess Dorothy's room, hoping to getrid of it so it would not prove the boy guilty.You're a stranger here, Miss Patches, and so youdon't know that nothing can be hidden from ourpowerful Ruler's Magic Picture--nor from thewatchful eyes of the humble Wizard of Oz. Look,all of you!" With these words he waved his handstoward the vase on the table, which Scraps nownoticed for the first time.

From the mouth of the vase a plant sprouted,slowly growing before their eyes until it became abeautiful bush, and on the topmost branch appearedthe six-leaved clover which Ojo had unfortunatelypicked.

The Patchwork Girl looked at the clover andsaid: "Oh, so you've found it. Very well; provehe picked it, if you can."

Ozma turned to Ojo.

"Did you pick the six-leaved clover?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I knew it was against theLaw, but I wanted to save Unc Nunkie and I wasafraid if I asked your consent to pick it youwould refuse me."

"What caused you to think that?" asked theRuler.

"Why, it seemed to me a foolish law, unjust andunreasonable. Even now I can see no harm inpicking a six-leaved clover. And I--I had not seenthe Emerald City, then, nor you, and I thought agirl who would make such a silly Law would not belikely to help anyone in trouble."

Ozma regarded him musingly, her chin restingupon her hand; but she was not angry. On thecontrary she smiled a little at her thoughts andthen grew sober again.

"I suppose a good many laws seem foolish tothose people who do not understand them," shesaid; "but no law is ever made without somepurpose, and that purpose is usually to protectall the people and guard their welfare. As you area stranger, I will explain this Law which to youseems so foolish. Years ago there were manyWitches and Magicians in the Land of Oz, and oneof the things they often used in making theirmagic charms and transformations was a six-leavedclover. These Witches and Magicians caused so muchtrouble among my people, often using their powersfor evil rather than good, that I decided toforbid anyone to practice magic or sorcery exceptGlinda the Good and her assistant, the Wizard ofOz, both of whom I can trust to use their artsonly to benefit my people and to make themhappier. Since I issued that Law the Land of Ozhas been far more peaceful and quiet; but Ilearned that some of the Witches and Magicianswere still practicing magic on the sly and usingthe six-leaved clovers to make their potions andcharms. Therefore I made another Law forbiddinganyone from plucking a six-leaved clover or fromgathering other plants and herbs which the Witchesboil in their kettles to work magic with. That hasalmost put an end to wicked sorcery in our land,so you see the Law was not a foolish one, but wiseand just; and, in any event, it is wrong todisobey a Law."

Ojo knew she was right and felt greatlymortified to realize he had acted and spoken soridiculously. But he raised his head and lookedOzma in the face, saying:

"I am sorry I have acted wrongly and brokenyour Law. I did it to save Unc Nunkie, andthought I would not be found out. But I amguilty of this act and whatever punishment youthink I deserve I will suffer willingly."

Ozma smiled more brightly, then, and noddedgraciously.

"You are forgiven," she said. "For, althoughyou have committed a serious fault, you are nowpenitent and I think you have been punishedenough. Soldier, release Ojo the Lucky and--"

"I beg your pardon; I'm Ojo the Unlucky,"said the boy.

"At this moment you are lucky," said she."Release him, Soldier, and let him go free."

The people were glad to hear Ozma's decree andmurmured their approval. As the royal audience wasnow over, they began to leave the Throne Room andsoon there were none remaining except Ojo and hisfriends and Ozma and her favorites.

The girl Ruler now asked Ojo to sit down andtell her all his story, which he did, beginningat the time he had left his home in the forestand ending with his arrival at the Emerald Cityand his arrest. Ozma listened attentively andwas thoughtful for some moments after the boyhad finished speaking. Then she said:

"The Crooked Magician was wrong to make theGlass Cat and the Patchwork Girl, for it wasagainst the Law. And if he had not unlawfully keptthe bottle of Liquid of Petrifaction standing onhis shelf, the accident to his wife Margolotte andto Unc Nunkie could not have occurred. I canunderstand, however, that Ojo, who loves hisuncle, will be unhappy unless he can save him.Also I feel it is wrong to leave those two victimsstanding as marble statues, when they ought to bealive. So I propose we allow Dr. Pipt to make themagic charm which will save them, and that weassist Ojo to find the things he is seeking. Whatdo you think, Wizard?"

"That is perhaps the best thing to do," repliedthe Wizard. "But after the Crooked Magicianhas restored those poor people to life you musttake away his magic powers."

"I will," promised Ozma.

"Now tell me, please, what magic things must youfind?" continued the Wizard, addressing Ojo.

"The three hairs from the Woozy's tail Ihave," said the boy. "That is, I have the Woozy,and the hairs are in his tail. The six-leavedclover I--I--"

"You may take it and keep it," said Ozma. "Thatwill not be breaking the Law, for it is alreadypicked, and the crime of picking it is forgiven."

"Thank you!" cried Ojo gratefully. Then hecontinued: "The next thing, I must find is a gillof water from a dark well.'

The Wizard shook his head. "That," said he,"will be a hard task, but if you travel far enoughyou may discover it."

"I am willing to travel for years, if it willsave Unc Nunkie," declared Ojo, earnestly.

"Then you'd better begin your journey atonce," advised the Wizard.

Dorothy bad been listening with interest tothis conversation. Now she turned to Ozma andasked: "May I go with Ojo, to help him?"

"Would you like to?" returned Ozma.

"Yes. I know Oz pretty well, but Ojo doesn'tknow it at all. I'm sorry for his uncle and poorMargolotte and I'd like to help save them. MayI go?"

"If you wish to," replied Ozma.

"If Dorothy goes, then I must go to take care ofher," said the Scarecrow, decidedly. "A dark wellcan only be discovered in some out-of-the-wayplace, and there may be dangers there."

"You have my permission to accompany Dorothy,"said Ozma. "And while you are gone I will takecare of the Patchwork Girl."

"I'll take care of myself," announced Scraps,"for I'm going with the Scarecrow and Dorothy.I promised Ojo to help him find the things hewants and I'll stick to my promise."

"Very well," replied Ozma. "But I see no needfor Ojo to take the Glass Cat and the Woozy."

"I prefer to remain here," said the cat. "I'venearly been nicked half a dozen times, already,and if they're going into dangers it's best for meto keep away from them."

"Let Jellia Jamb keep her till Ojo returns,"suggested Dorothy. "We won't need to take theWoozy, either, but he ought to be saved becauseof the three hairs in his tail."

"Better take me along," said the Woozy. "My eyescan flash fire, you know, and I can growl--alittle."

"I'm sure you'll be safer here," Ozma decided,and the Woozy made no further objection to theplan.

After consulting together they decided that Ojoand his party should leave the very next day tosearch for the gill of water from a dark well, sothey now separated to make preparations for thejourney.

Ozma gave the Munchkin boy a room in the palacefor that night and the afternoon he passed withDorothy--getting acquainted, as she said--andreceiving advice from the Shaggy Man as to wherethey must go. The Shaggy Man had wandered in manyparts of Oz, and so had Dorothy, for that matter,yet neither of them knew where a dark well was tobe found.

"If such a thing is anywhere in the settledparts of Oz," said Dorothy, "we'd prob'ly haveheard of it long ago. If it's in the wild parts ofthe country, no one there would need a darkwell. P'raps there isn't such a thing."

"Oh, there must he!" returned Ojo, positively;"or else the recipe of Dr. Pipt wouldn't callfor it."

"That's true," agreed Dorothy; "and, if it'sanywhere in the Land of Oz, we're bound to findit."

"Well, we're bound to search for it, anyhow,"said the Scarecrow. "As for finding it, we musttrust to luck."

"Don't do that," begged Ojo, earnestly. "I'mcalled Ojo the Unlucky, you know."