, sir or ma'am," said the Wizard, addressing the air
because he did not quite know where the unseen people stood, "if there
is any way we can get out of your beautiful Valley, and on top of the
Earth again."

"Oh, one can leave the Valley easily enough," answered the man's voice;
"but to do so you must enter a far less pleasant country. As for
reaching the top of the earth, I have never heard that it is possible to
do that, and if you succeeded in getting there you would probably fall
off."

"Oh, no," said Dorothy, "we've been there, and we know."

"The Valley of Voe is certainly a charming place," resumed the Wizard;
"but we cannot be contented in any other land than our own, for long.
Even if we should come to unpleasant places on our way it is necessary,
in order to reach the earth's surface, to keep moving on toward it."

"In that case," said the man, "it will be best for you to cross our
Valley and mount the spiral staircase inside the Pyramid Mountain. The
top of that mountain is lost in the clouds, and when you reach it you
will be in the awful Land of Naught, where the Gargoyles live."

"What are Gargoyles?" asked Zeb.

"I do not know, young sir. Our greatest Champion, Overman-Anu, once
climbed the spiral stairway and fought nine days with the Gargoyles
before he could escape them and come back; but he could never be induced
to describe the dreadful creatures, and soon afterward a bear caught
him and ate him up."

The wanderers were rather discouraged by this gloomy report, but Dorothy
said with a sigh:

"If the only way to get home is to meet the Gurgles, then we've got to
meet 'em. They can't be worse than the Wicked Witch or the Nome King."

"But you must remember you had the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman to help
you conquer those enemies," suggested the Wizard. "Just now, my dear,
there is not a single warrior in your company."

"Oh, I guess Zeb could fight if he had to. Couldn't you, Zeb?" asked the
little girl.

"Perhaps; if I had to," answered Zeb, doubtfully.

"And you have the jointed sword that you chopped the veg'table Sorcerer
in two with," the girl said to the little man.

"True," he replied; "and in my satchel are other useful things to fight
with."

"What the Gargoyles most dread is a noise," said the man's voice. "Our
Champion told me that when he shouted his battle-cry the creatures
shuddered and drew back, hesitating to continue the combat. But they
were in great numbers, and