ces of chalk.
"Go to the end of the street. Choose a place and draw your circle. In
five minutes you will find it impossible to move out of the circle,
and you will be saved all this unnecessary motion."

"But we don't want to come to a standstill," objected Dorothy.

"No, by my good sword!" spluttered the Knight, glaring around
nervously. Then, seeing the King looked displeased, he made a low
bow. "If your Highness could graciously direct us out of the city--"

"Buy a piece of road and go where it takes you," snapped the King.

Seeing no more was to be got out of him, they started down the long
street.

"I wonder what they do when it rains?" said Dorothy, looking
curiously at the solemn rows of people.

"Call for roofs, silly!" snapped a Fix, staring at her rudely. "If
you would spend your time thinking instead of walking, you'd know
more."

"Go to, and swallow a gooseberry!" roared the Knight, waving his
sword at the Fix, and Dorothy, fearing an encounter, begged him to
come on, which he did--though with many backward glances.

Fix City seemed to consist of one long street, and they had soon come
to the very end.

"Uds daggers!" gasped Sir Hokus.

"Great palm trees," roared the Cowardly Lion.

As for Dorothy, she could do nothing but stare. The street ended
surely enough, and beyond there was nothing at all. That is, nothing
but air.

"Well," said the Cowardly Lion, backing a few paces, "this is a
pretty fix."

"Glad you like it," said a wheezy voice. The three travelers turned
in surprise. A huge Fix was regarding them with interest. His circle,
which was the last in the row, was about twenty times as large as the
other circles, and on the edge stood a big sign:'

"Don't you remember, the King said something about buying a road,"
said Dorothy in an excited undertone to the Knight.

"Can'st direct us to a road, my good man?" asked Sir Hokus with a
bow. The Fix jerked his thumb back at the sign. "What kind of a road
to you want?" he asked hoarsely.

"A road that will take us back to the Emerald City, please," said
Dorothy.

"I can't guarantee anything like that," declared the Fix, shaking his
head.

"Our roads go where they please, and you'll have to go where they
take you. Do you want to go on or off?"

"On," shivered the Cowardly Lion, looking with a shudder over the
precipice at the end of the street.

"What kind of a road will you have? Make up your minds, please. I am
busy."

"What k