"Now," said Dorothy, as they stood on the mountainpath, having left behind them the cave in whichdwelt the Hoppers and the Horners, "I think wemust find a road into the Country of the Winkies,for there is where Ojo wants to go next."

"Is there such a road?" asked the Scarecrow.

"I don't know," she replied. "I s'pose we can goback the way we came, to Jack Pumpkinhead's house,and then turn into the Winkie Country; but thatseems like running 'round a haystack, doesn't it?"

"Yes," said the Scarecrow. "What is the nextthing Ojo must get?"

"A yellow butterfly," answered the boy.

"That means the Winkie Country, all right,for it's the yellow country of Oz," remarkedDorothy. "I think, Scarecrow, we ought to takehim to the Tin Woodman, for he's the Emp'rorof the Winkies and will help us to find whatOjo wants."

"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, brighteningat the suggestion. "The Tin Woodman will doanything we ask him, for he's one of my dearestfriends. I believe we can take a crosscut into hiscountry and so get to his castle a day soonerthan if we travel back the way we came."

"I think so, too," said the girl; "and that meanswe must keep to the left."

They were obliged to go down the mountain beforethey found any path that led in the direction theywanted to go, but among the tumbled rocks at thefoot of the mountain was a faint trail which theydecided to follow. Two or three hours walk alongthis trail brought them to a clear, level country,where there were a few farms and some scatteredhouses. But they knew they were still in theCountry of the Quadlings, because everything had abright red color. Not that the trees and grasseswere red, but the fences and houses were paintedthat color and all the wild-flowers that bloomedby the wayside had red blossoms. This part of theQuadling Country seemed peaceful and prosperous,if rather lonely, and the road was more distinctand easier to follow.

But just as they were congratulating themselvesupon the progress they had made they came upon abroad river which swept along between high banks,and here the road ended and there was no bridge ofany sort to allow them to cross.

"This is queer," mused Dorothy, looking atthe water reflectively. "Why should there beany road, if the river stops everyone walkingalong it?"

"Wow!" said Toto, gazing earnestly into herface.

"That's the best answer you'll get," declaredthe Scarecrow, with his comical smile, "for noone knows any more than Toto about this road."

Said Scraps:

"Ev'ry time I see a river,I have chills that make me shiver,For I never can forgetAll the water's very wet.If my patches get a soakIt will be a sorry joke;So to swim I'll never tryTill I find the water dry."

"Try to control yourself, Scraps," said Ojo;you re getting crazy again. No one intends to swimthat river."

"No," decided Dorothy, "we couldn't swim itif we tried. It's too big a river, and the watermoves awful fast."

"There ought to be a ferryman with a boat,"said the Scarecrow; "but I don't see any."

"Couldn't we make a raft?" suggested Ojo.

"There's nothing to make one of," answeredDorothy.

"Wow!" said Toto again, and Dorothy saw hewas looking along the bank of the river.

"Why, he sees a house over there!" cried thelittle girl. "I wonder we didn't notice itourselves. Let's go and ask the people how toget 'cross the river."

A quarter of a mile along the bank stood asmall, round house, painted bright red, and asit was on their side of the river they hurriedtoward it. A chubby little man, dressed all inred, came out to greet them, and with him weretwo children, also in red costumes. The man'seyes were big and staring as he examined theScarecrow and the Patchwork Girl, and thechildren shyly hid behind him and peekedtimidly at Toto.

"Do you live here, my good man?" asked theScarecrow.

"I think I do, Most Mighty Magician," repliedthe Quadling, bowing low; "but whether I'm awakeor dreaming I can't be positive, so I'm not surewhere I live. If you'll kindly pinch me I'll findout all about it!'

"You're awake," said Dorothy, "and this is nomagician, but just the Scarecrow."

"But he's alive," protested the man, "and heoughtn't to be, you know. And that other dreadfulperson--the girl who is all patches--seems to bealive, too."

"Very much so," declared Scraps, making aface at him. "But that isn't your affair, youknow."

"I've a right to be surprised, haven't I?" askedthe man meekly.

"I'm not sure; but anyhow you've no right to sayI'm dreadful. The Scarecrow, who is a gentleman ofgreat wisdom, thinks I'm beautiful," retortedScraps.

"Never mind all that," said Dorothy. "Tell us,good Quadling, how we can get across the river."

"I don't know," replied the Quadling.

"Don't you ever cross it?" asked the girl.

"Never."

"Don't travelers cross it?"

"Not to my knowledge," said he.

They were much surprised to hear this, andthe man added: "It's a pretty big river, and thecurrent is strong. I know a man who lives onthe opposite bank, for I've seen him there a goodmany years; but we've never spoken becauseneither of us has ever crossed over."

"That's queer," said the Scarecrow. "Don't youown a boat?"

The man shook his head.

"Nor a raft?"

"Where does this river go to?" asked Dorothy.

"That way," answered the man, pointing withone hand, "it goes into the Country of theWinkies, which is ruled by the Tin Emperor,who must be a mighty magician because he'sall made of tin, and yet he's alive. And thatway," pointing with the other hand, "the riverruns between two mountains where dangerouspeople dwell."

The Scarecrow looked at the water before them.

"The current flows toward the Winkie Country"'said he; "and so, if we had a boat, or a raft, theriver would float us there more quickly and moreeasily than we could walk."

"That is true," agreed Dorothy; and then theyall looked thoughtful and wondered what couldbe done.

"Why can't the man make us a raft?" asked Ojo.

"Will you?" inquired Dorothy, turning to theQuadling.

The chubby man shook his head.

"I'm too lazy," he said. "My wife says I'm thelaziest man in all Oz, and she is a truthfulwoman. I hate work of any kind, and making a raftis hard work."

"I'll give you my em'rald ring," promised thegirl.

"No; I don't care for emeralds. If it were aruby, which is the color I like best, I might worka little while."

"I've got some Square Meal Tablets," said theScarecrow. "Each one is the same as a dish ofsoup, a fried fish, a mutton pot-pie, lobstersalad, charlotte russe and lemon jelly--all madeinto one little tablet that you can swallowwithout trouble."

"Without trouble!" exclaimed the Quadling,much interested; "then those tablets would befine for a lazy man. It's such hard work to chewwhen you eat."

"I'll give you six of those tablets if you'llhelp us make a raft," promised the Scarecrow."They're a combination of food which people whoeat are very fond of. I never eat, you know, beingstraw; but some of my friends eat regularly. Whatdo you say to my offer, Quadling?"

"I'll do it," decided the man. "I'll help, andyou can do most of the work. But my wife hasgone fishing for red eels to-day, so some of youwill have to mind the children."

Scraps promised to do that, and the childrenwere not so shy when the Patchwork Girl satdown to play with them. They grew to likeToto, too, and the little dog allowed them topat him on his head, which gave the little onesmuch joy.

There were a number of fallen trees near thehouse and the Quadling got his axe and choppedthem into logs of equal length. He took his wife'sclothesline to bind these logs together, so thatthey would form a raft, and Ojo found some stripsof wood and nailed them along the tops of thelogs, to render them more firm. The Scarecrow andDorothy helped roll the logs together and carrythe strips of wood, but it took so long to makethe raft that evening came just as it wasfinished, and with evening the Quadling's wifereturned from her fishing.

The woman proved to be cross and bad-tempered,perhaps because she had only caught one red eelduring all the day. When she found that herhusband had used her clothesline, and the logs shehad wanted for firewood, and the boards she hadintended to mend the shed with, and a lot of goldnails, she became very angry. Scraps wanted toshake the woman, to make her behave, but Dorothytalked to her in a gentle tone and told theQuadling's wife she was a Princess of Oz and afriend of Ozma and that when she got back to theEmerald City she would send them a lot of thingsto repay them for the raft, including a newclothesline. This promise pleased the woman andshe soon became more pleasant, saying they couldstay the night at her house and begin their voyageon the river next morning.

This they did, spending a pleasant eveningwith the Quadling family and being entertainedwith such hospitality as the poor people wereable to offer them. The man groaned a gooddeal and said he had overworked himself bychopping the logs, but the Scarecrow gave himtwo more tablets than he had promised, whichseemed to comfort the lazy fellow.