the Champion could not shout much because he
had to save his breath for fighting."

"Very good," said the Wizard; "we can all yell better than we can fight,
so we ought to defeat the Gargoyles."

"But tell me," said Dorothy, "how did such a brave Champion happen to
let the bears eat him? And if he was invis'ble, and the bears invis'ble,
who knows that they really ate him up?"

"The Champion had killed eleven bears in his time," returned the unseen
man; "and we know this is true because when any creature is dead the
invisible charm of the dama-fruit ceases to be active, and the slain one
can be plainly seen by all eyes. When the Champion killed a bear
everyone could see it; and when the bears killed the Champion we all saw
several pieces of him scattered about, which of course disappeared again
when the bears devoured them."

They now bade farewell to the kind but unseen people of the cottage, and
after the man had called their attention to a high, pyramid-shaped
mountain on the opposite side of the Valley, and told them how to travel
in order to reach it, they again started upon their journey.

They followed the course of a broad stream and passed several more
pretty cottages; but of course they saw no one, nor did any one speak to
them. Fruits and flowers grew plentifully all about, and there were many
of the delicious damas that the people of Voe were so fond of.

About noon they stopped to allow Jim to rest in the shade of a pretty
orchard, and while they plucked and ate some of the cherries and plums
that grew there a soft voice suddenly said to them:

"There are bears near by. Be careful."

The Wizard got out his sword at once, and Zeb grabbed the horse-whip.
Dorothy climbed into the buggy, although Jim had been unharnessed from
it and was grazing some distance away.

The owner of the unseen voice laughed lightly and said:

"You cannot escape the bears that way."

"How _can_ we 'scape?" asked Dorothy, nervously, for an unseen danger is
always the hardest to face.

"You must take to the river," was the reply. "The bears will not venture
upon the water."

"But we would be drowned!" exclaimed the girl.

"Oh, there is no need of that," said the voice, which from its gentle
tones seemed to belong to a young girl. "You are strangers in the Valley
of Voe, and do not seem to know our ways; so I will try to save you."

The next moment a broad-leaved plant was jerked from the ground where it
grew and held s