English
Anotherbreathlessclimbbroughtouradventurerstoathirdlandingwheretherewasariftinthemountain.
Onpeeringoutalltheycouldseewasrollingbanksofclouds,sothickthattheyobscuredallelse.
Butthetravelerswereobligedtorest,andwhiletheyweresittingontherockyfloortheWizardfeltinhispocketandbroughtouttheninetinypiglets.
Tohisdelighttheywerenowplainlyvisible,whichprovedthattheyhadpassedbeyondtheinfluenceofthemagicalValleyofVoe.
“Why,wecanseeeachotheragain!”criedone,joyfully.
“Yes,”sighedEureka;“andIalsocanseeyouagain,andthesightmakesmedreadfullyhungry.
Please,Mr.Wizard,mayIeatjustoneofthefatlittlepiglets?
You’dnevermissONEofthem,I’msure!”
“Whatahorrid,savagebeast!”exclaimedapiglet;“andafterwe’vebeensuchgoodfriends,too,andplayedwithoneanother!”
“WhenI’mnothungry,Ilovetoplaywithyouall,”saidthekitten,demurely;“butwhenmystomachisemptyitseemsthatnothingwouldfillitsonicelyasafatpiglet.”
“Andwetrustedyouso!”saidanotherofthenine,reproachfully.
“Andthoughtyouwererespectable!”saidanother.
“Itseemsweweremistaken,”declaredathird,lookingatthekittentimorously,“noonewithsuchmurderousdesiresshouldbelongtoourparty,I’msure.”
“Yousee,Eureka,”remarkedDorothy,reprovingly,“youaremakingyourselfdisliked.
Therearecertainthingsproperforakittentoeat;butIneverheardofakitteneatingapig,underANYcir’stances.”
“Didyoueverseesuchlittlepigsbefore?”askedthekitten.“Theyarenobiggerthanmice,andI’msuremiceareproperformetoeat.”
“Itisn’tthebigness,dear;itsthevariety,”repliedthegirl.
“TheseareMr.Wizard’spets,justasyouaremypet,anditwouldn’tbeanymoreproperforyoutoeatthemthanitwouldbeforJimtoeatyou.”
“Andthat’sjustwhatIshalldoifyoudon’tletthoselittleballsofporkalone,”saidJim,glaringatthekittenwithhisround,bigeyes.
“IfyouinjureanyoneofthemI’llchewyouupinstantly.”
Thekittenlookedatthehorsethoughtfully,asiftryingtodecidewhetherhemeantitornot.
“Inthatcase,”shesaid,“I’llleavethemalone.
Youhaven’tmanyteethleft,Jim,butthefewyouhavearesharpenoughtomakemeshudder.
Sothepigletswillbeperfectlysafe,hereafter,asfarasIamconcerned.”
“Thatisright,Eureka,”remarkedtheWizard,earnestly.“Letusallbeahappyfamilyandloveoneanother.”
Eurekayawnedandstretchedherself.
“I’vealwayslovedthepiglets,”shesaid;“buttheydon’tloveme.”
“Noonecanloveapersonhe’safraidof,”assertedDorothy.“Ifyoubehave,anddon’tscarethelittlepigs,I’msurethey’llgrowveryfondofyou.”
TheWizardnowputtheninetinyonesbackintohispocketandthejourneywasresumed.
“Wemustbeprettynearthetop,now,”saidtheboy,astheyclimbedwearilyupthedark,windingstairway.
“TheCountryoftheGurglescan’tbefarfromthetopoftheearth,”remarkedDorothy.“Itisn’tverynicedownhere.I’dliketogethomeagain,I’msure.”
Noonerepliedtothis,becausetheyfoundtheyneededalltheirbreathfortheclimb.
ThestairshadbecomenarrowerandZebandtheWizardoftenhadtohelpJimpullthebuggyfromonesteptoanother,orkeepitfromjammingagainsttherockywalls.
Atlast,however,adimlightappearedaheadofthem,whichgrewclearerandstrongerastheyadvanced.
“Thankgoodnesswe’renearlythere!”pantedthelittleWizard.
Jim,whowasinadvance,sawthelaststairbeforehimandstuckhisheadabovetherockysidesofthestairway.
Thenhehalted,duckeddownandbegantobackup,sothathenearlyfellwiththebuggyontotheothers.
“Let’sgodownagain!”hesaid,inhishoarsevoice.
“Nonsense!”snappedthetiredWizard.“What’sthematterwithyou,oldman?”
“Everything,”grumbledthehorse.“I’vetakenalookatthisplace,andit’snofitcountryforrealcreaturestogoto.Everything’sdead,upthere—nofleshorbloodorgrowingthinganywhere.”
“Nevermind;wecan’tturnback,”saidDorothy;“andwedon’tintendtostaythere,anyhow.”
“It’sdangerous,”growledJim,inastubborntone.
“Seehere,mygoodsteed,”brokeintheWizard,“littleDorothyandIhavebeeninmanystrangecountriesinourtravels,andalwaysescapedwithoutharm.
We’veevenbeentothemarvelousLandofOz—haven’twe,Dorothy?
—sowedon’tmuchcarewhattheCountryoftheGargoylesislike.
Goahead,Jim,andwhateverhappenswe’llmakethebestofit.”
“Allright,”answeredthehorse;“thisisyourexcursion,andnotmine;soifyougetintotroubledon’tblameme.”
Withthisspeechhebentforwardanddraggedthebuggyuptheremainingsteps.
Theothersfollowedandsoontheywereallstandinguponabroadplatformandgazingatthemostcuriousandstartlingsighttheireyeshadeverbeheld.
“TheCountryoftheGargoylesisallwooden!”exclaimedZeb;andsoitwas.
Thegroundwassawdustandthepebblesscatteredaroundwerehardknotsfromtrees,wornsmoothincourseoftime.
Therewereoddwoodenhouses,withcarvedwoodenflowersinthefrontyards.
Thetree-trunkswereofcoarsewood,buttheleavesofthetreeswereshavings.
Thepatchesofgrassweresplintersofwood,andwhereneithergrassnorsawdustshowedwasasolidwoodenflooring.
Woodenbirdsflutteredamongthetreesandwoodencowswerebrowsinguponthewoodengrass;butthemostamazingthingsofallwerethewoodenpeople—thecreaturesknownasGargoyles.
Thesewereverynumerous,fortheplacewasthicklyinhabited,andalargegroupofthestrangepeopleclusterednear,gazingsharplyuponthestrangerswhohademergedfromthelongspiralstairway.
TheGargoyleswereverysmallofstature,beinglessthanthreefeetinheight.
Theirbodieswereround,theirlegsshortandthickandtheirarmsextraordinarilylongandstout.
Theirheadsweretoobigfortheirbodiesandtheirfacesweredecidedlyuglytolookupon.
Somehadlong,curvednosesandchins,smalleyesandwide,grinningmouths.
Othershadflatnoses,protrudingeyes,andearsthatwereshapedlikethoseofanelephant.
Thereweremanytypes,indeed,scarcelytwobeingalike;butallwereequallydisagreeableinappearance.
Thetopsoftheirheadshadnohair,butwerecarvedintoavarietyoffantasticshapes,somehavingarowofpointsorballsaroundthetop,othersdesignsresemblingflowersorvegetables,andstillothershavingsquaresthatlookedlikewafflescutcriss-crossontheirheads.
Theyallworeshortwoodenwingswhichwerefastenedtotheirwoodenbodiesbymeansofwoodenhingeswithwoodenscrews,andwiththesewingstheyflewswiftlyandnoiselesslyhereandthere,theirlegsbeingoflittleusetothem.
ThisnoiselessmotionwasoneofthemostpeculiarthingsabouttheGargoyles.
Theymadenosoundsatall,eitherinflyingortryingtospeak,andtheyconversedmainlybymeansofquicksignalsmadewiththeirwoodenfingersorlips.
Neitherwasthereanysoundtobeheardanywherethroughoutthewoodencountry.
Thebirdsdidnotsing,nordidthecowsmoo;yettherewasmorethanordinaryactivityeverywhere.
Thegroupofthesestrangecreatureswhichwasdiscoveredclusterednearthestairsatfirstremainedstaringandmotionless,glaringwithevileyesattheintruderswhohadsosuddenlyappearedintheirland.
InturntheWizardandthechildren,thehorseandthekitten,examinedtheGargoyleswiththesamesilentattention.
“There’sgoingtobetrouble,I’msure,”remarkedthehorse.“Unhitchthosetugs,Zeb,andsetmefreefromthebuggy,soIcanfightcomfortably.”
“Jim’sright,”sighedtheWizard.“There’sgoingtobetrouble,andmyswordisn’tstoutenoughtocutupthosewoodenbodies—soIshallhavetogetoutmyrevolvers.”
Hegothissatchelfromthebuggyand,openingit,tookouttwodeadlylookingrevolversthatmadethechildrenshrinkbackinalarmjusttolookat.
“WhatharmcantheGurglesdo?”askedDorothy.“Theyhavenoweaponstohurtuswith.”
“Eachoftheirarmsisawoodenclub,”answeredthelittleman,“andI’msurethecreaturesmeanmischief,bythelooksoftheireyes.
Eventheserevolverscanmerelysucceedindamagingafewoftheirwoodenbodies,andafterthatwewillbeattheirmercy.”
“Butwhyfightatall,inthatcase?”askedthegirl.
“SoImaydiewithaclearconscience,”returnedtheWizard,gravely.“It’severyman’sdutytodothebestheknowshow;andI’mgoingtodoit.”
“WishIhadanaxe,”saidZeb,whobynowhadunhitchedthehorse.
“Ifwehadknownwewerecomingwemighthavebroughtalongseveralotherusefulthings,”respondedtheWizard.“Butwedroppedintothisadventureratherunexpectedly.”
TheGargoyleshadbackedawayadistancewhentheyheardthesoundoftalking,foralthoughourfriendshadspokeninlowtonestheirwordsseemedloudinthesilencesurroundingthem.
Butassoonastheconversationceased,thegrinning,uglycreaturesaroseinaflockandflewswiftlytowardthestrangers,theirlongarmsstretchedoutbeforethemlikethebowspritsofafleetofsailboats.
Thehorsehadespeciallyattractedtheirnotice,becauseitwasthebiggestandstrangestcreaturetheyhadeverseen;soitbecamethecenteroftheirfirstattack.
ButJimwasreadyforthem,andwhenhesawthemcomingheturnedhisheelstowardthemandbegankickingoutashardashecould.Crack!crash!bang!
wenthisiron-shodhoofsagainstthewoodenbodiesoftheGargoyles,andtheywerebatteredrightandleftwithsuchforcethattheyscatteredlikestrawsinthewind.
ButthenoiseandclatterseemedasdreadfultothemasJim’sheels,forallwhowereableswiftlyturnedandflewawaytoagreatdistance.
Theotherspickedthemselvesupfromthegroundonebyoneandquicklyrejoinedtheirfellows,soforamomentthehorsethoughthehadwonthefightwithease.
ButtheWizardwasnotsoconfident.
“Thosewoodenthingsareimpossibletohurt,”hesaid,“andallthedamageJimhasdonetothemistoknockafewsplintersfromtheirnosesandears.
Thatcannotmakethemlookanyuglier,I’msure,anditismyopiniontheywillsoonrenewtheattack.”
“Whatmadethemflyaway?”askedDorothy.
“Thenoise,ofcourse.Don’tyourememberhowtheChampionescapedthembyshoutinghisbattle-cry?”
“Supposeweescapedownthestairs,too,”suggestedtheboy.“Wehavetime,justnow,andI’dratherfacetheinvis’blebearsthanthosewoodenimps.”
“No,”returnedDorothy,stoutly,“itwon’tdotogoback,forthenwewouldnevergethome.Let’sfightitout.”
“ThatiswhatIadvise,”saidtheWizard.“Theyhaven’tdefeatedusyet,andJimisworthawholearmy.”
ButtheGargoyleswerecleverenoughnottoattackthehorsethenexttime.
Theyadvancedinagreatswarm,havingbeenjoinedbymanymoreoftheirkind,andtheyflewstraightoverJim’sheadtowheretheotherswerestanding.
TheWizardraisedoneofhisrevolversandfiredintothethrongofhisenemies,andtheshotresoundedlikeaclapofthunderinthatsilentplace.
Someofthewoodenbeingsfellflatupontheground,wheretheyquiveredandtrembledineverylimb;butmostofthemmanagedtowheelandescapeagaintoadistance.
ZebranandpickeduponeoftheGargoylesthatlaynearesttohim.
ThetopofitsheadwascarvedintoacrownandtheWizard’sbullethadstruckitexactlyinthelefteye,whichwasahardwoodenknot.
Halfofthebulletstuckinthewoodandhalfstuckout,soithadbeenthejarandthesuddennoisethathadknockedthecreaturedown,morethanthefactthatitwasreallyhurt.
BeforethiscrownedGargoylehadrecoveredhimselfZebhadwoundastrapseveraltimesarounditsbody,confiningitswingsandarmssothatitcouldnotmove.
Then,havingtiedthewoodencreaturesecurely,theboybuckledthestrapandtossedhisprisonerintothebuggy.
Bythattimetheothershadallretired.
Share this article to
FINISH