ith me. He can walk,
when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and awkwardly that he
would delay you. But if I go along I can carry him in my arms, so I will
join your party. Whenever you are ready to start, let me know."

"But--Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you
do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment."

"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King.

"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown
Bear.

"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the Cookie
Cook.

"And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" continued Corporal
Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us thieves and
robbers, and bandits and brigands, is it not?"

[Illustration]

"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman.

"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I
condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from
this hour."

"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke
reminded him.

"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a matter
of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall have
forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker castle of
Ugu the Shoemaker?"

"Quite ready, Your Majesty."

"But who will rule in your place, while you are gone?" asked a big
Yellow Bear.

"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. "A King isn't
required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a notion to travel,
whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that you bears behave
yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty, I'll send him to
some girl or boy in America to play with."

This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured
the King, in a chorus of growls, that they would be good. Then the big
Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear and after tucking it
carefully under one arm he said "Good-bye till I come back!" and waddled
along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and Cayke the
Cookie Cook also said good-bye to the bears and then followed after the
King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled the
trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute.

[Illustration]

The Meeting

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 17

While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, Dorothy
and h