Woozy and said: "I'm
afraid you are not important enough to be introduced to the Sawhorse,
after all."

[Illustration]

"I'm a better beast than he is," retorted the Woozy, indignantly. "My
eyes can flash fire, and his can't."

"Is this true?" inquired the Scarecrow, turning to the Munchkin boy.

"Yes," said Ojo, and told how the Woozy had set fire to the fence.

"Have you any other accomplishments?" asked the Scarecrow.

"I have a most terrible growl--that is, _sometimes_," said the Woozy, as
Scraps laughed merrily and the Shaggy Man smiled. But the Patchwork
Girl's laugh made the Scarecrow forget all about the Woozy. He said to
her:

"What an admirable young lady you are, and what jolly good company! We
must be better acquainted, for never before have I met a girl with such
exquisite coloring or such natural, artless manners."

"No wonder they call you the Wise Scarecrow," replied Scraps.

"When you arrive at the Emerald City I will see you again," continued
the Scarecrow. "Just now I am going to call upon an old friend--an
ordinary young lady named Jinjur--who has promised to repaint my left
ear for me. You may have noticed that the paint on my left ear has
peeled off and faded, which affects my hearing on that side. Jinjur
always fixes me up when I get weather-worn."

"When do you expect to return to the Emerald City?" asked the Shaggy
Man.

"I'll be there this evening, for I'm anxious to have a long talk with
Miss Scraps. How is it, Sawhorse; are you equal to a swift run?"

"Anything that suits you suits me," returned the wooden horse.

So the Scarecrow mounted to the jeweled saddle and waved his hat, when
the Sawhorse darted away so swiftly that they were out of sight in an
instant.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

OJO BREAKS THE LAW

CHAP. 14

[Illustration]

"What a queer man," remarked the Munchkin boy, when the party had
resumed its journey.

"And so nice and polite," added Scraps, bobbing her head. "I think he is
the handsomest man I've seen since I came to life."

"Handsome is as handsome does," quoted the Shaggy Man; "but we must
admit that no living scarecrow is handsomer. The chief merit of my
friend is that he is a great thinker, and in Oz it is considered good
policy to follow his advice."

"I didn't notice any brains in his head," observed the Glass Cat.

"You can't see 'em work, but they're there, all right," declared the
Shaggy Man. "I hadn't much confide