eats of vengeance upon her,
upon the King and upon Blinkie, old Googly-Goo hobbled back to his
mansion to have the mud removed from his costly velvet clothes.

Chapter Fifteen

Trot Meets the Scarecrow

Trot and Pon covered many leagues of ground, searching through forests,
in fields and in many of the little villages of Jinxland, but could
find no trace of either Cap'n Bill or Button-Bright. Finally they
paused beside a cornfield and sat upon a stile to rest. Pon took some
apples from his pocket and gave one to Trot. Then he began eating
another himself, for this was their time for luncheon. When his apple
was finished Pon tossed the core into the field.

"Tchuk-tchuk!" said a strange voice. "What do you mean by hitting me in
the eye with an apple-core?"

Then rose up the form of the Scarecrow, who had hidden himself in the
cornfield while he examined Pon and Trot and decided whether they were
worthy to be helped.

"Excuse me," said Pon. "I didn't know you were there."

"How did you happen to be there, anyhow?" asked Trot.

The Scarecrow came forward with awkward steps and stood beside them.

"Ah, you are the gardener's boy," he said to Pon. Then he turned to
Trot. "And you are the little girl who came to Jinxland riding on a big
bird, and who has had the misfortune to lose her friend, Cap'n Bill,
and her chum, Button-Bright."

"Why, how did you know all that?" she inquired.

"I know a lot of things," replied the Scarecrow, winking at her
comically. "My brains are the Carefully-Assorted, Double-Distilled,
High-Efficiency sort that the Wizard of Oz makes. He admits, himself,
that my brains are the best he ever manufactured."

"I think I've heard of you," said Trot slowly, as she looked the
Scarecrow over with much interest; "but you used to live in the Land of
Oz."

"Oh, I do now," he replied cheerfully. "I've just come over the
mountains from the Quadling Country to see if I can be of any help to
you."

"Who, me?" asked Pon.

"No, the strangers from the big world. It seems they need looking
after."

"I'm doing that myself," said Pon, a little ungraciously. "If you will
pardon me for saying so, I don't see how a Scarecrow with painted eyes
can look after anyone."

"If you don't see that, you are more blind than the Scarecrow,"
asserted Trot. "He's a fairy man, Pon, and comes from the fairyland of
Oz, so he can do 'most anything. I hope," she added, turning to the
Scarecrow, "you can find