bborn tone.

"See here, my good steed," broke in the Wizard, "little Dorothy and I
have been in many queer countries in our travels, and always escaped
without harm. We've even been to the marvelous Land of Oz--haven't we,
Dorothy?--so we don't much care what the Country of the Gargoyles is
like. Go ahead, Jim, and whatever happens we'll make the best of it."

"All right," answered the horse; "this is your excursion, and not mine;
so if you get into trouble don't blame me."

With this speech he bent forward and dragged the buggy up the remaining
steps. The others followed and soon they were all standing upon a
broad platform and gazing at the most curious and startling sight their
eyes had ever beheld.

"The Country of the Gargoyles is all wooden!" exclaimed Zeb; and so it
was. The ground was sawdust and the pebbles scattered around were hard
knots from trees, worn smooth in course of time. There were odd wooden
houses, with carved wooden flowers in the front yards. The tree-trunks
were of coarse wood, but the leaves of the trees were shavings. The
patches of grass were splinters of wood, and where neither grass nor
sawdust showed was a solid wooden flooring. Wooden birds fluttered
among the trees and wooden cows were browsing upon the wooden grass;
but the most amazing things of all were the wooden people--the
creatures known as Gargoyles.

These were very numerous, for the place was thickly inhabited, and a
large group of the queer people clustered near, gazing sharply upon the
strangers who had emerged from the long spiral stairway.

The Gargoyles were very small of stature, being less than three feet in
height. Their bodies were round, their legs short and thick and their
arms extraordinarily long and stout. Their heads were too big for
their bodies and their faces were decidedly ugly to look upon. Some
had long, curved noses and chins, small eyes and wide, grinning mouths.
Others had flat noses, protruding eyes, and ears that were shaped like
those of an elephant. There were many types, indeed, scarcely two
being alike; but all were equally disagreeable in appearance. The tops
of their heads had no hair, but were carved into a variety of fantastic
shapes, some having a row of points or balls around the top, others
designs resembling flowers or vegetables, and still others having
squares that looked like waffles cut criss-cross on their heads. They
all wore short wooden wings which were fastened