th
rattled together with a noise like hailstones on a window pane. Then,
as soon as the creature could get its breath, it shouted to the others
to roll away, which they immediately did.

"Now," said Tiktok, "you shall come with us and tell me what I want to
know."

"You'll be sorry for treating me in this way," whined the Wheeler.
"I'm a terribly fierce person."

"As for that," answered Tiktok, "I am only a ma-chine, and can-not feel
sor-row or joy, no mat-ter what hap-pens. But you are wrong to think
your-self ter-ri-ble or fierce."

"Why so?" asked the Wheeler.

"Be-cause no one else thinks as you do. Your wheels make you help-less
to in-jure an-y one. For you have no fists and can not scratch or
e-ven pull hair. Nor have you an-y feet to kick with. All you can do
is to yell and shout, and that does not hurt an-y one at all."

The Wheeler burst into a flood of tears, to Dorothy's great surprise.

"Now I and my people are ruined forever!" he sobbed; "for you have
discovered our secret. Being so helpless, our only hope is to make
people afraid of us, by pretending we are very fierce and terrible, and
writing in the sand warnings to Beware the Wheelers. Until now we have
frightened everyone, but since you have discovered our weakness our
enemies will fall upon us and make us very miserable and unhappy."

"Oh, no," exclaimed Dorothy, who was sorry to see this beautifully
dressed Wheeler so miserable; "Tiktok will keep your secret, and so
will Billina and I. Only, you must promise not to try to frighten
children any more, if they come near to you."

"I won't--indeed I won't!" promised the Wheeler, ceasing to cry and
becoming more cheerful. "I'm not really bad, you know; but we have to
pretend to be terrible in order to prevent others from attacking us."

"That is not ex-act-ly true," said Tiktok, starting to walk toward the
path through the forest, and still holding fast to his prisoner, who
rolled slowly along beside him. "You and your peo-ple are full of
mis-chief, and like to both-er those who fear you. And you are of-ten
im-pu-dent and dis-a-gree-a-ble, too. But if you will try to cure
those faults I will not tell any-one how help-less you are."

"I'll try, of course," replied the Wheeler, eagerly. "And thank you,
Mr. Tiktok, for your kindness."

"I am on-ly a ma-chine," said Tiktok. "I can not be kind an-y more
than I can be sor-ry or glad. I can on-ly do what I am wound up to do."

"Ar