queaked), "This is the wonderful city known to fame
as Bear Center!"

"But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at all!"
exclaimed Cayke.

"Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled the
trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at
once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared
the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but
all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured
them.

At first a chorus of growls arose, and then a sharp voice cried, "What
has happened, Corporal Waddle?"

"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon our
domain and slanderers of our good name."

"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.

Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed
bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears
with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them,
altogether, and they quietly formed a circle around the Frogman and the
Cookie Cook, but kept at a distance and left a large space for the
prisoners to stand in. Presently, this circle parted, and into the
center of it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He
walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others, and on his head he
wore a tin crown set with diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he
carried a short wand of some glittering metal that resembled silver but
wasn't.

"His Majesty the King!" Corporal Waddle, and all the bears bowed low.
Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled over, but
they soon scrambled up again, and the Lavender King squatted on his
haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with his
bright, pink eyes.

CHAPTER 16

THE LITTLE PINK BEAR

"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear when he had
carefully examined the strangers.

"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak,"
remonstrated the Frogman.

"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is
you who are the Freak."

The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it.

"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded the Bear King.

"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our way
to the far east, where the Emerald City is."

"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the King.
"It is so far away