of the wings to Jim's harness, two near his head
and two near his tail. They were a bit wiggley, but secure enough if
only the harness held together.
The other four wings were then fastened to the buggy, two on each side,
for the buggy must bear the weight of the children and the Wizard as it
flew through the air.
[Illustration: JIM FLUTTERED AND FLOUNDERED THROUGH THE AIR.]
These preparations had not consumed a great deal of time, but the
sleeping Gargoyles were beginning to wake up and move around, and soon
some of them would be hunting for their missing wings. So the prisoners
resolved to leave their prison at once.
They mounted into the buggy, Dorothy holding Eureka safe in her lap. The
girl sat in the middle of the seat, with Zeb and the Wizard on each side
of her. When all was ready the boy shook the reins and said:
"Fly away, Jim!"
"Which wings must I flop first?" asked the cab-horse, undecidedly.
"Flop them all together," suggested the Wizard.
"Some of them are crooked," objected the horse.
"Never mind; we will steer with the wings on the buggy," said Zeb. "Just
you light out and make for that rock, Jim; and don't waste any time
about it, either."
So the horse gave a groan, flopped its four wings all together, and flew
away from the platform. Dorothy was a little anxious about the success
of their trip, for the way Jim arched his long neck and spread out his
bony legs as he fluttered and floundered through the air was enough to
make anybody nervous. He groaned, too, as if frightened, and the wings
creaked dreadfully because the Wizard had forgotten to oil them; but
they kept fairly good time with the wings of the buggy, so that they
made excellent progress from the start. The only thing that anyone could
complain of with justice was the fact that they wobbled first up and
then down, as if the road were rocky instead of being as smooth as the
air could make it.
The main point, however, was that they flew, and flew swiftly, if a bit
unevenly, toward the rock for which they had headed.
Some of the Gargoyles saw them, presently, and lost no time in
collecting a band to pursue the escaping prisoners; so that when Dorothy
happened to look back she saw them coming in a great cloud that almost
darkened the sky.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 13.
THE DEN OF THE DRAGONETTES
Our friends had a good start and were able to maintain it, for with
their eight wings they could go just as fast
|