een."

It made Dorothy hopeful to learn that a woman ruled over these fierce
creatures, but a moment later they were ushered by two or three of the
escort into a gloomy, bare room--and her hope died away.

For the Queen of the Scoodlers proved to be much more dreadful in
appearance than any of her people. One side of her was fiery red, with
jet-black hair and green eyes and the other side of her was bright
yellow, with crimson hair and black eyes. She wore a short skirt of
red and yellow and her hair, instead of being banged, was a tangle of
short curls upon which rested a circular crown of silver--much dented
and twisted because the Queen had thrown her head at so many things so
many times. Her form was lean and bony and both her faces were deeply
wrinkled.

"What have we here?" asked the Queen sharply, as our friends were made
to stand before her.

"Soup!" cried the guard of Scoodlers, speaking together.

"We're not!" said Dorothy, indignantly; "we're nothing of the sort."

"Ah, but you will be soon," retorted the Queen, a grim smile making her
look more dreadful than before.

"Pardon me, most beautiful vision," said the shaggy man, bowing before
the queen politely. "I must request your Serene Highness to let us go
our way without being made into soup. For I own the Love Magnet, and
whoever meets me must love me and all my friends."

"True," replied the Queen. "We love you very much; so much that we
intend to eat your broth with real pleasure. But tell me, do you think
I am so beautiful?"

"You won't be at all beautiful if you eat me," he said, shaking his
head sadly. "Handsome is as handsome does, you know."

The Queen turned to Button-Bright.

"Do YOU think I'm beautiful?" she asked.

"No," said the boy; "you're ugly."

"I think you're a fright," said Dorothy.

"If you could see yourself you'd be terribly scared," added Polly.

The Queen scowled at them and flopped from her red side to her yellow
side.

"Take them away," she commanded the guard, "and at six o'clock run them
through the meat chopper and start the soup kettle boiling. And put
plenty of salt in the broth this time, or I'll punish the cooks
severely."

"Any onions, your Majesty?" asked one of the guard.

"Plenty of onions and garlic and a dash of red pepper. Now, go!"

The Scoodlers led the captives away and shut them up in one of the
houses, leaving only a single Scoodler to keep guard.

The place was a sort of stor