s."

"The tinsmith filled my hollow head with scraps and clippings of tin,"
said the Soldier, "and he told me they would do nicely for brains, but
when I begin to think, the tin scraps rattle around and get so mixed
that I'm soon bewildered. So I try not to think. My tin heart is almost
as useless to me, for it is hard and cold, so I'm sure the red velvet
heart of my friend Nick Chopper is a better guide."

"Thoughtless people are not unusual," observed the Scarecrow, "but I
consider them more fortunate than those who have useless or wicked
thoughts and do not try to curb them. Your oil can, friend Woodman, is
filled with oil, but you only apply the oil to your joints, drop by
drop, as you need it, and do not keep spilling it where it will do no
good. Thoughts should be restrained in the same way as your oil, and
only applied when necessary, and for a good purpose. If used carefully,
thoughts are good things to have."

Polychrome laughed at him, for the Rainbow's Daughter knew more about
thoughts than the Scarecrow did. But the others were solemn, feeling
they had been rebuked, and tramped on in silence.

Suddenly Woot, who was in the lead, looked around and found that all his
comrades had mysteriously disappeared. But where could they have gone
to? The broad plain was all about him and there were neither trees nor
bushes that could hide even a rabbit, nor any hole for one to fall into.
Yet there he stood, alone.

Surprise had caused him to halt, and with a thoughtful and puzzled
expression on his face he looked down at his feet. It startled him anew
to discover that he had no feet. He reached out his hands, but he could
not see them. He could feel his hands and arms and body; he stamped his
feet on the grass and knew they were there, but in some strange way they
had become invisible.

While Woot stood, wondering, a crash of metal sounded in his ears and he
heard two heavy bodies tumble to the earth just beside him.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the voice of the Tin Woodman.

"Mercy me!" cried the voice of the Tin Soldier.

"Why didn't you look where you were going?" asked the Tin Woodman
reproachfully.

"I did, but I couldn't see you," said the Tin Soldier. "Something has
happened to my tin eyes. I can't see you, even now, nor can I see anyone
else!"

"It's the same way with me," admitted the Tin Woodman.

[Illustration]

Woot couldn't see either of them, although he heard them plainly, and
just then som