a very fair arrangement," said the Tin Soldier.

"I agree to it," said the Tin Woodman, shaking the hand of his twin to
show the matter was settled. "May I ask your name, sir?" he continued.

"Before I was so cut up," replied the other, "I was known as Captain
Fyter, but afterward I was merely called 'The Tin Soldier.'"

"Well, Captain, if you are agreeable, let us now go to Nimmie Amee's
house and let her choose between us."

"Very well; and if we meet the Witch, we will both fight her--you with
your axe and I with my sword."

"The Witch is destroyed," announced the Scarecrow, and as they walked
away he told the Tin Soldier of much that had happened in the Land of
Oz since he had stood rusted in the forest.

"I must have stood there longer than I had imagined," he said
thoughtfully.

Chapter Seventeen

The Workshop of Ku-Klip

It was not more than a two hours' journey to the house where Nimmie
Amee had lived, but when our travelers arrived there they found the
place deserted. The door was partly off its hinges, the roof had fallen
in at the rear and the interior of the cottage was thick with dust. Not
only was the place vacant, but it was evident that no one had lived
there for a long time.

"I suppose," said the Scarecrow, as they all stood looking wonderingly
at the ruined house, "that after the Wicked Witch was destroyed, Nimmie
Amee became lonely and went somewhere else to live."

"One could scarcely expect a young girl to live all alone in a forest,"
added Woot. "She would want company, of course, and so I believe she
has gone where other people live."

"And perhaps she is still crying her poor little heart out because no
tin man comes to marry her," suggested Polychrome.

"Well, in that case, it is the clear duty of you two tin persons to
seek Nimmie Amee until you find her," declared the Scarecrow.

"I do not know where to look for the girl," said the Tin Soldier, "for
I am almost a stranger to this part of the country."

"I was born here," said the Tin Woodman, "but the forest has few
inhabitants except the wild beasts. I cannot think of anyone living
near here with whom Nimmie Amee might care to live."

"Why not go to Ku-Klip and ask him what has become of the girl?"
proposed Polychrome.

That struck them all as being a good suggestion, so once more they
started to tramp through the forest, taking the direct path to
Ku-Klip's house, for both the tin twins knew the way, having follo