d, it would have been curtains for poor Jeanne-Marie had not Graham
had a sudden inspiration which he wanted to tell her about right away.
He felt certain that he had formulated a plan by which they would be
able to save Telly from the Witch, and he had run into the milkweed
fields to find her. He had seen the terrible wartfrogs capture her and
had even overheard what they planned to do to her. "I can't let them do
it!" he whispered angrily. "Why, this is the second time I've made a
friend in Oz who has met with foul play!" He would have cried, had his
sadness not been so highly overcompensated for by his anger. His first
instinct was to run to her and try to fight for her freedom. But he was
a wise enough boy to know full well that this would be folly. He was no
more than one little boy against a whole farm's worth of strong and
muscular laborers. If he were to pick a fight with this bunch, he would
be sold alongside his friend. No, he would need another plan of rescue.
But he had already come up with one such plan. Now he could give it a
test-run. However, he knew that he could not hope to carry it out all by
himself. No, he would have to have help. And Graham knew from whence
that help must come. With a swallow of anxiety, he headed for the home
of the ranchero.

MacDonald Lindsay was as amiable a fellow as the unicorn had said. This
fact instantly put Graham's anxiety to rest. "Do come in, my friend,"
said the ranchero. "What can I do to make you happy?"

[Illustration]

"It's about Jeanne-Marie," said Graham.

"That poor little waif of a unicorn?" replied the troll-horse.

"That very one," said Graham. "Your workers have taken her prisoner, and
they plan to sell her to a zoo or a circus or something like that."

The troll creature looked at Graham and frowned. Then he began to laugh.
"Ha ha!" he said. "You take me for a complete and utter idiot! No, you
cannot be telling me the truth. My boys are under orders to let the
lovely little waif alone. They would not do such a cruel or vile thing
to anyone, I assure you."

"But I was there, sir," pleaded Graham. "I saw it all with my own two
eyes! They put Jeanne-Marie into a great big grain-bag and hid her on a
cart that they carried along behind them. The big fat one said he was
going to sell her to a zoo! I heard him say so! He said, 'Old Mickey-D
will never know what became of his little charity-case!'" As he quoted
the line, he did his best to imitate the wart