, and he is often to be found in the Emerald
City, where he visits Dorothy at the royal palace."

"Then we will ask him about the dark well," said Ojo.

"But what else does this Crooked Magician want?" asked the Shaggy Man.

"A drop of oil from a live man's body."

"Oh; but there isn't such a thing."

"That is what I thought," replied Ojo; "but the Crooked Magician said it
wouldn't be called for by the recipe if it couldn't be found, and
therefore I must search until I find it."

"I wish you good luck," said the Shaggy Man, shaking his head
doubtfully; "but I imagine you'll have a hard job getting a drop of oil
from a live man's body. There's blood in a body, but no oil."

[Illustration: I HATE DIGNITY]

"There's cotton in mine," said Scraps, dancing a little jig.

"I don't doubt it," returned the Shaggy Man admiringly. "You're a
regular comforter and as sweet as patchwork can be. All you lack is
dignity."

"I hate dignity," cried Scraps, kicking a pebble high in the air and
then trying to catch it as it fell. "Half the fools and all the wise
folks are dignified, and I'm neither the one nor the other."

"She's just crazy," explained the Glass Cat.

The Shaggy Man laughed.

"She's delightful, in her way," he said. "I'm sure Dorothy will be
pleased with her, and the Scarecrow will dote on her. Did you say you
were traveling toward the Emerald City?"

"Yes," replied Ojo. "I thought that the best place to go, at first,
because the six-leaved clover may be found there."

"I'll go with you," said the Shaggy Man, "and show you the way."

"Thank you," exclaimed Ojo. "I hope it won't put you out any."

"No," said the other, "I wasn't going anywhere in particular. I've been
a rover all my life, and although Ozma has given me a suite of beautiful
rooms in her palace I still get the wandering fever once in a while and
start out to roam the country over. I've been away from the Emerald City
several weeks, this time, and now that I've met you and your friends I'm
sure it will interest me to accompany you to the great city of Oz and
introduce you to my friends."

"That will be very nice," said the boy, gratefully.

"I hope your friends are not dignified," observed Scraps.

"Some are, and some are not," he answered; "but I never criticise my
friends. If they are really true friends, they may be anything they
like, for all of me."

"There's some sense in that," said Scraps, nodding her queer head in
approval. "