he bottom of the lake?"
asked the Sorceress.

"Couldn't we throw a rope around it and pull it ashore?" inquired Jack
Pumpkinhead.

"Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested the Patchwork Girl
with a laugh.

"Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious matter, and we
must give it serious thought."

"How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was the Frogman's
question.

"None of us can tell, for we have not been there."

"In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me we ought to go to
the Skeezer country and examine it carefully."

"Quite right," agreed the Tin Woodman.

"We-will-have-to-go-there-any-how," remarked Tik-Tok in his jerky
machine voice.

"The question is which of us shall go, and how many of us?" said the
Wizard.

"I shall go of course," declared the Scarecrow.

"And I," said Scraps.

"It is my duty to Ozma to go," asserted the Tin Woodman.

"I could not stay away, knowing our loved Princess is in danger," said
the Wizard.

"We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said.

Finally one and all present decided to go to the Skeezer country, with
Glinda and the little Wizard to lead them. Magic must meet magic in
order to conquer it, so these two skillful magic-workers were necessary
to insure the success of the expedition.

They were all ready to start at a moment's notice, for none had any
affairs of importance to attend to. Jack was wearing a newly made
Pumpkin-head and the Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with fresh
straw. Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the Tin
Woodman always was well oiled.

"It is quite a long journey," said Glinda, "and while I might travel
quickly to the Skeezer country by means of my stork chariot the rest of
you will be obliged to walk. So, as we must keep together, I will send
my chariot back to my castle and we will plan to leave the Emerald City
at sunrise to-morrow."

Chapter Fifteen

The Great Sorceress

Betsy and Trot, when they heard of the rescue expedition, begged the
Wizard to permit them to join it and he consented. The Glass Cat,
overhearing the conversation, wanted to go also and to this the Wizard
made no objection.

This Glass Cat was one of the real curiosities of Oz. It had been made
and brought to life by a clever magician named Dr. Pipt, who was not
now permitted to work magic and was an ordinary citizen of the Emerald
City. The cat was of transparent glass, through which one could