ndid castle which they
espied in the distance, the turrets of which towered far above the tops
of the trees which surrounded it. It did not seem very far away, so
they sauntered on slowly, admiring the beautiful ferns and flowers that
lined the pathway and listening to the singing of the birds and the
soft chirping of the grasshoppers.

Presently the path wound over a little hill. In a valley that lay
beyond the hill was a tiny cottage surrounded by flower beds and fruit
trees. On the shady porch of the cottage they saw, as they approached,
a pleasant faced woman sitting amidst a group of children, to whom she
was telling stories. The children quickly discovered the strangers and
ran toward them with exclamations of astonishment, so that Trot and her
friends became the center of a curious group, all chattering excitedly.
Cap'n Bill's wooden leg seemed to arouse the wonder of the children, as
they could not understand why he had not two meat legs. This attention
seemed to please the old sailor, who patted the heads of the children
kindly and then, raising his hat to the woman, he inquired:

"Can you tell us, madam, just what country this is?"

She stared hard at all three of the strangers as she replied briefly:
"Jinxland."

"Oh!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill, with a puzzled look. "And where is
Jinxland, please?"

"In the Quadling Country," said she.

"What!" cried Trot, in sudden excitement. "Do you mean to say this is
the Quadling Country of the Land of Oz?"

"To be sure I do," the woman answered. "Every bit of land that is
surrounded by the great desert is the Land of Oz, as you ought to know
as well as I do; but I'm sorry to say that Jinxland is separated from
the rest of the Quadling Country by that row of high mountains you see
yonder, which have such steep sides that no one can cross them. So we
live here all by ourselves, and are ruled by our own King, instead of
by Ozma of Oz."

"I've been to the Land of Oz before," said Button-Bright, "but I've
never been here."

"Did you ever hear of Jinxland before?" asked Trot.

"No," said Button-Bright.

"It is on the Map of Oz, though," asserted the woman, "and it's a fine
country, I assure you. If only," she added, and then paused to look
around her with a frightened expression. "If only--" here she stopped
again, as if not daring to go on with her speech.

"If only what, ma'am?" asked Cap'n Bill.

The woman sent the children into the house. Then she came closer