ntry," said he.

"Is that in the Land of Oz?"

"Of course," replied the Frogman.

"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?"

"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that
she was stolen."

"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled by
Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you
angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you
had, has positively been stolen!"

"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is a
thing practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken, and a
friend of mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I have
traveled all the way from the Yip Country in order to recover it."

"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a dishpan!"
declared Scraps.

"They've both been stolen, haven't they?"

"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?"
asked Scraps.

"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one
who is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of gold
and studded with diamonds and has magic powers."

"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "THERE is a link that connects the two
steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was
stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City of in
Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and
mysterious, doesn't it?"

"It used to seem that way to me," admitted the Frogman, "but we have
now discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker."

"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen
Ozma. We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker."

"So are we," said the Frogman.

"Then follow me, quick! And let me introduce you to Dorothy and the
other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us."

She sprang up and seized his coatsleeve, dragging him off the hilltop
and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot
of the hill, the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the
Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden Sawhorse, a
lean Mule, a square Woozy, and a Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran
up and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him.

"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps as
she joined them. "This is their leader, and they're all going to U