ed the Woozy.
"Do not blame me, Miss Gorgeous, if I regard you with suspicion. Many a
satin ribbon has a cotton back."

Scraps didn't understand this, but she had an uneasy misgiving that she
had a cotton back herself. It would settle down, at times, and make her
squat and dumpy, and then she had to roll herself in the road until her
body stretched out again.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

SHAGGY MAN TO THE RESCUE

CHAP. 10

[Illustration]

They had not gone very far before Bungle, who had run on ahead, came
bounding back to say that the road of yellow bricks was just before
them. At once they hurried forward to see what this famous road looked
like.

It was a broad road, but not straight, for it wandered over hill and
dale and picked out the easiest places to go. All its length and breadth
was paved with smooth bricks of a bright yellow color, so it was smooth
and level except in a few places where the bricks had crumbled or been
removed, leaving holes that might cause the unwary to stumble.

"I wonder," said Ojo, looking up and down the road, "which way to go."

"Where are you bound for?" asked the Woozy.

"The Emerald City," he replied.

"Then go west," said the Woozy. "I know this road pretty well, for I've
chased many a honey-bee over it."

"Have you ever been to the Emerald City?" asked Scraps.

"No. I am very shy by nature, as you may have noticed, so I haven't
mingled much in society."

"Are you afraid of men?" inquired the Patchwork Girl.

"Me? With my heart-rending growl--my horrible, shudderful growl? I
should say not. I am not afraid of anything," declared the Woozy.

"I wish I could say the same," sighed Ojo. "I don't think we need be
afraid when we get to the Emerald City, for Unc Nunkie has told me that
Ozma, our girl Ruler, is very lovely and kind, and tries to help
everyone who is in trouble. But they say there are many dangers lurking
on the road to the great Fairy City, and so we must be very careful."

"I hope nothing will break me," said the Glass Cat, in a nervous voice.
"I'm a little brittle, you know, and can't stand many hard knocks."

"If anything should fade the colors of my lovely patches it would break
my heart," said the Patchwork Girl.

"I'm not sure you have a heart," Ojo reminded her.

"Then it would break my cotton," persisted Scraps. "Do you think they
are all fast colors, Ojo?" she asked anxiously.

"They seem fast enough when you run," he