as arched and carved in designs both
fantastic and beautiful.

Built beneath this vast dome was a pretty village--not very large, for
there seemed not more than fifty houses altogether--and the dwellings
were of marble and artistically designed. No grass nor flowers nor
trees grew in this cave, so the yards surrounding the houses were smooth
and bare and had low walls around them to mark their boundaries.

In the streets and the yards of the houses were many people, all having
one leg growing below their bodies and all hopping here and there
whenever they moved. Even the children stood firmly upon their single
legs and never lost their balance.

"All hail, Champion!" cried a man in the first group of Hoppers they
met; "whom have you captured?"

"No one," replied the Champion in a gloomy voice; "these strangers have
captured me."

"Then," said another, "we will rescue you, and capture them, for we are
greater in number."

"No," answered the Champion, "I can't allow it. I've surrendered, and it
isn't polite to capture those you've surrendered to."

"Never mind that," said Dorothy. "We will give you your liberty and set
you free."

"Really?" asked the Champion in joyous tones.

"Yes," said the little girl; "your people may need you to help conquer
the Horners."

At this all the Hoppers looked downcast and sad. Several more had joined
the group by this time and quite a crowd of curious men, women and
children surrounded the strangers.

"This war with our neighbors is a terrible thing," remarked one of the
women. "Some one is almost sure to get hurt."

"Why do you say that, madam?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"Because the horns of our enemies are sharp, and in battle they will try
to stick those horns into our warriors," she replied.

"How many horns do the Horners have?" asked Dorothy.

"Each has one horn in the center of his forehead," was the answer.

"Oh, then they're unicorns," declared the Scarecrow.

"No; they're Horners. We never go to war with them if we can help it, on
account of their dangerous horns; but this insult was so great and so
unprovoked that our brave men decided to fight, in order to be
revenged," said the woman.

"What weapons do you fight with?" the Scarecrow asked.

"We have no weapons," explained the Champion. "Whenever we fight the
Horners, our plan is to push them back, for our arms are longer than
theirs."

"Then you are better armed," said Scraps.

"Yes; but they have t