"Oh, that's too bad!" cried Dorothy; "I wanted to thank Johnny Dooitfor all his kindness to us."

"He hasn't time to listen to thanks," replied the shaggy man; "but I'msure he knows we are grateful. I suppose he is already at work insome other part of the world."

They now looked more carefully at the sand-boat, and saw that thebottom was modeled with two sharp runners which would glide throughthe sand. The front of the sand-boat was pointed like the bow of aship, and there was a rudder at the stern to steer by.

It had been built just at the edge of the desert, so that all itslength lay upon the gray sand except the after part, which stillrested on the strip of grass.

"Get in, my dears," said the shaggy man; "I'm sure I can manage thisboat as well as any sailor. All you need do is sit still in your places."

Dorothy got in, Toto in her arms, and sat on the bottom of the boatjust in front of the mast. Button-Bright sat in front of Dorothy,while Polly leaned over the bow. The shaggy man knelt behind themast. When all were ready he raised the sail half-way. The windcaught it. At once the sand-boat started forward--slowly at first,then with added speed. The shaggy man pulled the sail way up, andthey flew so fast over the Deadly Desert that every one held fast tothe sides of the boat and scarcely dared to breathe.

The sand lay in billows, and was in places very uneven, so that theboat rocked dangerously from side to side; but it never quite tippedover, and the speed was so great that the shaggy man himself becamefrightened and began to wonder how he could make the ship go slower.

"It we're spilled in this sand, in the middle of the desert," Dorothythought to herself, "we'll be nothing but dust in a few minutes, andthat will be the end of us."

But they were not spilled, and by-and-by Polychrome, who was clingingto the bow and looking straight ahead, saw a dark line before them andwondered what it was. It grew plainer every second, until shediscovered it to be a row of jagged rocks at the end of the desert,while high above these rocks she could see a tableland of green grassand beautiful trees.

"Look out!" she screamed to the shaggy man. "Go slowly, or we shallsmash into the rocks."

He heard her, and tried to pull down the sail; but the wind wouldnot let go of the broad canvas and the ropes had become tangled.

Nearer and nearer they drew to the great rocks, and the shaggy manwas in despair because he could do nothing to stop the wild rushof the sand-boat.

They reached the edge of the desert and bumped squarely into therocks. There was a crash as Dorothy, Button-Bright, Toto and Pollyflew up in the air in a curve like a skyrocket's, one after anotherlanding high upon the grass, where they rolled and tumbled for a timebefore they could stop themselves.

The shaggy man flew after them, head first, and lighted in a heapbeside Toto, who, being much excited at the time, seized one of thedonkey ears between his teeth and shook and worried it as hard as hecould, growling angrily. The shaggy man made the little dog let go,and sat up to look around him.

Dorothy was feeling one of her front teeth, which was loosened byknocking against her knee as she fell. Polly was looking sorrowfullyat a rent in her pretty gauze gown, and Button-Bright's fox head hadstuck fast in a gopher hole and he was wiggling his little fat legsfrantically in an effort to get free.

Otherwise they were unhurt by the adventure; so the shaggy man stoodup and pulled Button-Bright out of the hole and went to the edge ofthe desert to look at the sand-boat. It was a mere mass of splintersnow, crushed out of shape against the rocks. The wind had torn awaythe sail and carried it to the top of a tall tree, where the fragmentsof it fluttered like a white flag.

"Well," he said, cheerfully, "we're here; but where the here isI don't know."

"It must be some part of the Land of Oz," observed Dorothy, coming tohis side.

"Must it?"

"'Course it must. We're across the desert, aren't we? And somewherein the middle of Oz is the Emerald City."

"To be sure," said the shaggy man, nodding. "Let's go there."

"But I don't see any people about, to show us the way," she continued.

"Let's hunt for them," he suggested. "There must be people somewhere;but perhaps they did not expect us, and so are not at hand to give usa welcome."