They must have had good courage to climb all thoserocks, for after getting out of the canyon theyencountered more rock hills to he surmounted. Totocould jump from one rock to another quite easily,but the others had to creep and climb with care,so that after a whole day of such work Dorothy andOjo found themselves very tired.

As they gazed upward at the great mass oftumbled rocks that covered the steep incline,Dorothy gave a little groan and said:

"That's going to be a ter'ble hard climb,Scarecrow. I wish we could find the dark wellwithout so much trouble."

"Suppose," said Ojo, "you wait here and letme do the climbing, for it's on my accountwe're searching for the dark well. Then, if Idon't find anything, I'll come back and joinyou.

"No," replied the little girl, shaking her headpositively, "we'll all go together, for that waywe can help each other. If you went alone,something might happen to you, Ojo."

So they began the climb and found it indeeddifficult, for a way. But presently, in creepingover the big crags, they found a path at theirfeet which wound in and out among the masses ofrock and was quite smooth and easy to walk upon.As the path gradually ascended the mountain,although in a roundabout way, they decided tofollow it.

"This must be the road to the Country ofthe Hoppers," said the Scarecrow.

"Who are the Hoppers?" asked Dorothy.

"Some people Jack Pumpkinhead told me about," hereplied.

"I didn't hear him," replied the girl.

"No; you were asleep," explained the Scarecrow."But he told Scraps and me that the hoppersand the Horners live on this mountain."

"He said in the mountain," declared Scraps;"but of course he meant on it."

"Didn't he say what the Hoppers and Horners werelike?" inquired Dorothy.

"No; he only said they were two separatenations, and that the Horners were the mostimportant."

"Well, if we go to their country we'll find outall about 'em," said the girl. "But I've neverheard Ozma mention those people, so they can'tbe very important."

"Is this mountain in the Land of Oz?" askedScraps.

"Course it is," answered Dorothy. "It's in theSouth Country of the Quadlings. When one comes tothe edge of Oz, in any direction, there is nothingmore to be seen at all. Once you could see sandydesert all around Oz; but now it's diff'rent, andno other people can see us, any more than we cansee them."

"If the mountain is under Ozma's rule, whydoesn't she know about the Hoppers and theHorners?" Ojo asked.

"Why, it's a fairyland," explained Dorothy, "andlots of queer people live in places so tucked awaythat those in the Emerald City never even hear of'em. In the middle of the country it's diff'rent,but when you get around the edges you're sure torun into strange little corners that surprise you.I know, for I've traveled in Oz a good deal, andos has the Scarecrow."

"Yes," admitted the straw man, "I've beenconsiderable of a traveler, in my time, and I liketo explore strange places. I find I learn muchmore by traveling than by staying at home."

During this conversation they had been walkingup the steep pathway and now found themselves wellup on the mountain. They could see nothing aroundthem, for the rocks beside their path were higherthan their heads. Nor could they see far in frontof them, because the path was so crooked. Butsuddenly they stopped, because the path ended andthere was no place to go. Ahead was a big rocklying against the side of the mountain, and thisblocked the way completely.

"There wouldn't be a path, though, if itdidn't go somewhere," said the Scarecrow,wrinkling his forehead in deep thought.

"This is somewhere, isn't it?" asked thePatchwork Girl, laughing at the bewilderedlooks of the others.

"The path is locked, the way is blocked,Yet here we've innocently flocked;And now we're here it's rather queerThere's no front door that can be knocked."

"Please don't, Scraps," said Ojo. "You make me nervous.

"Well," said Dorothy, "I'm glad of a littlerest, for that's a drea'ful steep path."

As she spoke she leaned against the edge ofthe big rock that stood in their way. To hersurprise it slowly swung backward and showedbehind it a dark hole that looked like the mouthof a tunnel.

"Why, here's where the path goes to!" sheexclaimed.

"So it is," answered the Scarecrow. "But thequestion is, do we want to go where the pathdoes?"

"It's underground; right inside the mountain,"said Ojo, peering into the dark hole. "perhapsthere's a well there; and, if there is, it's sureto be a dark one."

"Why, that's true enough!" cried Dorothywith eagerness. "Let's go in, Scarecrow; 'cause,if others have gone, we're pretty safe to go, too."

Toto looked in and barked, but he did notventure to enter until the Scarecrow had bravelygone first. Scraps followed closely after thestraw man and then Ojo and Dorothy timidly steppedinside the tunnel. As soon as all of them hadpassed the big rock, it slowly turned and filledup the opening again; but now they were no longerin the dark, for a soft, rosy light enabled themto see around them quite distinctly.

It was only a passage, wide enough for twoof them to walk abreast--with Toto in betweenthem--and it had a high, arched roof. Theycould not see where the light which flooded theplace so pleasantly came from, for there wereno lamps anywhere visible. The passage ranstraight for a little way and then made a bendto the right and another sharp turn to the left,after which it went straight again. But therewere no side passages, so they could not losetheir way.

After proceeding some distance, Toto, whohad gone on ahead, began to bark loudly. Theyran around a bend to see what was the matterand found a man sitting on the floor of thepassage and leaning his back against the wall.He had probably been asleep before Toto's barksaroused him, for he was now rubbing his eyesand staring at the little dog with all his might.

There was something about this man that Totoobjected to, and when he slowly rose to his footthey saw what it was. He had but one leg, set justbelow the middle of his round, fat body; but itwas a stout leg and had a broad, flat foot at thebottom of it, on which the man seemed to standvery well. He had never had but this one leg,which looked something like a pedestal, and whenToto ran up and made a grab at the man's ankle hehopped first one way and then another in a veryactive manner, looking so frightened that Scrapslaughed aloud.

Toto was usually a well behaved dog, but thistime he was angry and snapped at the man's legagain and again. This filled the poor fellow withfear, and in hopping out of Toto's reach hesuddenly lost his balance and tumbled heel overhead upon the floor. When he sat up he kicked Totoon the nose and made the dog howl angrily, butDorothy now ran forward and caught Toto's collar,holding him back.

"Do you surrender?" she asked the man.

"Who? Me?" asked the Hopper.

"Yes; you," said the little girl.

"Am I captured?" he inquired.

"Of course. My dog has captured you," she said.

"Well," replied the man, "if I'm captured I mustsurrender, for it's the proper thing to do. I liketo do everything proper, for it saves one a lot oftrouble."

"It does, indeed," said Dorothy. "Please tell uswho you are.

"I'm Hip Hopper--Hip Hopper, the Champion."

"Champion what?" she asked in surprise.

"Champion wrestler. I'm a very strong man,and that ferocious animal which you are sokindly holding is the first living thing that hasever conquered me."

"And you are a Hopper?" she continued.

"Yes. My people live in a great city not farfrom here. Would you like to visit it?"

"I'm not sure," she said with hesitation. "Haveyou any dark wells in your city?"

"I think not. We have wells, you know, hutthey're all well lighted, and a well lighted wellcannot well be a dark well. But there may besuch a thing as a very dark well in the HornerCountry, which is a black spot on the face ofthe earth."

"Where is the Horner Country?" Ojo inquired.

"The other side of the mountain. There's afence between the Hopper Country and theHorner Country, and a gate in the fence; butyou can't pass through just now, because weare at war with the Horners."

"That's too bad," said the Scarecrow. "Whatseems to be the trouble?"

"Why, one of them made a very insulting remarkabout my people. He said we were lacking inunderstanding, because we had only one leg to aperson. I can't see that legs have anything to dowith understanding things. The Homers each havetwo legs, just as you have. That's one leg toomany, it seems to me."

"No," declared Dorothy, "it's just the rightnumber."

"You don't need them," argued the Hopper,obstinately. "You've only one head, and onebody, and one nose and mouth. Two legs arequite unnecessary, and they spoil one's shape."

"But how can you walk, with only one leg?" askedOjo.

"Walk! Who wants to walk?" exclaimed the man."Walking is a terribly awkward way to travel. Ihop, and so do all my people. It's so much moregraceful and agreeable than walking."

"I don't agree with you," said the Scarecrow."But tell me, is there any way to get to theHorner Country without going through the city ofthe Hoppers?"

"Yes; there is another path from the rockylowlands, outside the mountain, that leadsstraight to the entrance of the Horner Country.But it's a long way around, so you'd better comewith me. Perhaps they will allow you to gothrough the gate; but we expect to conquerthem this afternoon, if we get time, and thenyou may go and come as you please."

They thought it best to take the Hopper'sadvice, and asked him to lead the way. This hedid in a series of hops, and he moved so swiftlyin this strange manner that those with two legshad to run to keep up with him.