They were proceeding so easily and comfortably on their way to Mount
Munch that Woot said in a serious tone of voice:
"I'm afraid something is going to happen."
"Why?" asked Polychrome, dancing around the group of travelers.
"Because," said the boy, thoughtfully, "I've noticed that when we have
the least reason for getting into trouble, something is sure to go
wrong. Just now the weather is delightful; the grass is beautifully
blue and quite soft to our feet; the mountain we are seeking shows
clearly in the distance and there is no reason anything should happen
to delay us in getting there. Our troubles all seem to be over,
and--well, that's why I'm afraid," he added, with a sigh.
"Dear me!" remarked the Scarecrow, "what unhappy thoughts you have, to
be sure. This is proof that born brains cannot equal manufactured
brains, for my brains dwell only on facts and never borrow trouble.
When there is occasion for my brains to think, they think, but I would
be ashamed of my brains if they kept shooting out thoughts that were
merely fears and imaginings, such as do no good, but are likely to do
harm."
"For my part," said the Tin Woodman, "I do not think at all, but allow
my velvet heart to guide me at all times."
"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.
Woot couldn't see either of them, although he heard them plainly, and
just then something smashed against him unexpectedly and knocked him
over; but it was only the straw-stuffed body of the Scarecrow that fell
upon him and while he could not see the Scarecrow he managed to push
him off and rose to his feet just as Polychrome whirled against him and
made him tumble again.
Sitting upon the ground, the boy asked:
"Can you see us, Poly?"
"No, indeed," answered the Rainbow's Daughter; "we've all become
invisible."
"How did it happen, do you suppose?" inquired the Scarecrow, lying
where he had fallen.
"We have met with no enemy," answered Poly-chrome, "so it must be that
this part of the country has the magic quality of making people
invisible--even fairies falling under the charm. We can see the grass,
and the flowers, and the stretch of plain before us, and we can still
see Mount Munch in the distance; but we cannot see ourselves or one
another."
"Well, what are we to do about it?" demanded Woot.
"I think this magic affects only a small part of the plain," replied
Polychrome; "perhaps there is only a streak of the country where an
enchantment makes people become invisible. So, if we get together and
hold hands, we can travel toward Mount Munch until the enchanted streak
is passed."
"All right," said Woot, jumping up, "give me your hand, Polychrome.
Where are you?"
"Here," she answered. "Whistle, Woot, and keep whistling until I come
to you."
So Woot whistled, and presently Polychrome found him and grasped his
hand.
"Someone must help me up," said the Scarecrow, lying near them; so they
found the straw man and sat him upon his feet, after which he held fast
to Polychrome's other hand.
Nick Chopper and the Tin Soldier had managed to scramble up without
assistance, but it was awkward for them and the Tin Woodman said:
"I don't seem to stand straight, somehow. But my joints all work, so I
guess I can walk."
Guided by his voice, they reached his side, where Woot grasped his tin
fingers so they might keep together.
The Tin Soldier was standing near by and the Scarecrow soon touched him
and took hold of his arm.
"I hope you're not wobbly," said the straw man, "for if two of us walk
unsteadily we will be sure to fall."
"I'm not wobbly," the Tin Soldier assured him, "but I'm certain that
one of my legs is shorter than the other. I can't see it, to tell
what's gone wrong, but I'll limp on with the rest of you until we are
out of this enchanted territory."
They now formed a line, holding hands, and turning their faces toward
Mount Munch resumed their journey. They had not gone far, however, when
a terrible growl saluted their ears. The sound seemed to come from a
place just in front of them, so they halted abruptly and remained
silent, listening with all their ears.
"I smell straw!" cried a hoarse, harsh voice, with more growls and
snarls. "I smell straw, and I'm a Hip-po-gy-raf who loves straw and
eats all he can find. I want to eat this straw! Where is it? Where is
it?"
The Scarecrow, hearing this, trembled but kept silent. All the others
were silent, too, hoping that the invisible beast would be unable to
find them. But the creature sniffed the odor of the straw and drew
nearer and nearer to them until he reached the Tin Woodman, on one end
of the line. It was a big beast and it smelled of the Tin Woodman and
grated two rows of enormous teeth against the Emperor's tin body.
"Bah! that's not straw," said the harsh voice, and the beast advanced
along the line to Woot.
"Meat! Pooh, you're no good! I can't eat meat," grumbled the beast, and
passed on to Polychrome.
"Sweetmeats and perfume--cobwebs and dew! Nothing to eat in a fairy
like you," said the creature.
Now, the Scarecrow was next to Polychrome in the line, and he realized
if the beast devoured his straw he would be helpless for a long time,
because the last farmhouse was far behind them and only grass covered
the vast expanse of plain. So in his fright he let go of Polychrome's
hand and put the hand of the Tin Soldier in that of the Rainbow's
Daughter. Then he slipped back of the line and went to the other end,
where he silently seized the Tin Woodman's hand.
Meantime, the beast had smelled the Tin Soldier and found he was the
last of the line.
"That's funny!" growled the Hip-po-gy-raf; "I can smell straw, but I
can't find it. Well, it's here, somewhere, and I must hunt around until
I do find it, for I'm hungry."
His voice was now at the left of them, so they started on, hoping to
avoid him, and traveled as fast as they could in the direction of Mount
Munch.
"I don't like this invisible country," said Woot with a shudder. "We
can't tell how many dreadful, invisible beasts are roaming around us,
or what danger we'll come to next."
"Quit thinking about danger, please," said the Scarecrow, warningly.
"Why?" asked the boy.
"If you think of some dreadful thing, it's liable to happen, but if you
don't think of it, and no one else thinks of it, it just can't happen.
Do you see?"
"No," answered Woot. "I won't be able to see much of anything until we
escape from this enchantment."
But they got out of the invisible strip of country as suddenly as they
had entered it, and the instant they got out they stopped short, for
just before them was a deep ditch, running at right angles as far as
their eyes could see and stopping all further progress toward Mount
Munch.
"It's not so very wide," said Woot, "but I'm sure none of us can jump
across it."