in person to see
if it were really his old friend Toto. Next moment the tin man had
clasped the Scarecrow in a warm embrace and then turned to hug Dorothy.
But now his eye was arrested by the strange sight of the Patchwork Girl,
and he gazed upon her in mingled wonder and admiration.

THE TIN WOODMAN OBJECTS

CHAP. 27

[Illustration]

The Tin Woodman was one of the most important personages in all Oz.
Though Emperor of the Winkies, he owed allegiance to Ozma, who ruled all
the land, and the girl and the tin man were warm personal friends. He
was something of a dandy and kept his tin body brilliantly polished and
his tin joints well oiled. Also he was very courteous in manner and so
kind and gentle that everyone loved him. The Emperor greeted Ojo and
Scraps with cordial hospitality and ushered the entire party into his
handsome tin parlor, where all the furniture and pictures were made of
tin. The walls were paneled with tin and from the tin ceiling hung tin
chandeliers.

The Tin Woodman wanted to know, first of all, where Dorothy had found
the Patchwork Girl, so between them the visitors told the story of how
Scraps was made, as well as the accident to Margolotte and Unc Nunkie
and how Ojo had set out upon a journey to procure the things needed for
the Crooked Magician's magic charm. Then Dorothy told of their
adventures in the Quadling Country and how at last they succeeded in
getting the water from a dark well.

While the little girl was relating these adventures the Tin Woodman sat
in an easy chair listening with intense interest, while the others sat
grouped around him. Ojo, however, had kept his eyes fixed upon the body
of the tin Emperor, and now he noticed that under the joint of his left
knee a tiny drop of oil was forming. He watched this drop of oil with a
fast-beating heart, and feeling in his pocket brought out a tiny vial of
crystal, which he held secreted in his hand.

Presently the Tin Woodman changed his position, and at once Ojo, to the
astonishment of all, dropped to the floor and held his crystal vial
under the Emperor's knee joint. Just then the drop of oil fell, and the
boy caught it in his bottle and immediately corked it tight. Then, with
a red face and embarrassed manner, he rose to confront the others.

"What in the world were you doing?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"I caught a drop of oil that fell from your knee-joint," confessed Ojo.

"A drop of oil!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman