when he got his heels near to the Gardener the
man fell back to avoid a kick.

But now the Roses crowded around the outcasts and it was soon
discovered that beneath their draperies of green leaves were many sharp
thorns which were more dangerous than Hank's heels. Neither Betsy nor
Ozga nor Shaggy nor the mule cared to brave those thorns and when they
pressed away from them they found themselves slowly driven through the
garden door into the greenhouse. From there they were forced out at the
entrance and so through the territory of the flower-strewn Rose
Kingdom, which was not of very great extent.

The Rose Princess was sobbing bitterly; Betsy was indignant and angry;
Hank uttered defiant "Hee-haws" and the Shaggy Man whistled softly to
himself.

The boundary of the Rose Kingdom was a deep gulf, but there was a
drawbridge in one place and this the Royal Gardener let down until the
outcasts had passed over it. Then he drew it up again and returned with
his Roses to the greenhouse, leaving the four queerly assorted comrades
to wander into the bleak and unknown country that lay beyond.

"I don't mind, much," remarked Shaggy, as he led the way over the
stony, barren ground. "I've got to search for my long-lost little
brother, anyhow, so it won't matter where I go."

"Hank and I will help you find your brother," said Betsy in her most
cheerful voice. "I'm so far away from home now that I don't s'pose I'll
ever find my way back; and, to tell the truth, it's more fun traveling
around and having adventures than sticking at home. Don't you think so,
Hank?"

"Hee-haw!" said Hank, and the Shaggy Man thanked them both.

"For my part," said Princess Ozga of Roseland, with a gentle sigh, "I
must remain forever exiled from my Kingdom. So I, too, will be glad to
help the Shaggy Man find his lost brother."

"That's very kind of you, ma'am," said Shaggy. "But unless I can find
the underground cavern of Ruggedo, the Metal Monarch, I shall never
find poor brother."

(This King was formerly named "Roquat," but after he drank of the
"Waters of Oblivion" he forgot his own name and had to take another.)

"Doesn't anyone know where it is?" inquired Betsy.

"Some one must know, of course," was Shaggy's reply. "But we are not
the ones. The only way to succeed is for us to keep going until we find
a person who can direct us to Ruggedo's cavern."

"We may find it ourselves, without any help," suggested Betsy. "Who
knows?"

"No