blankets around his body to keep the bumps from hurting him and had
fastened the blankets with some of the spare straps from the harness of
the Sawhorse.

CHAPTER 8

THE MYSTERIOUS CITY

There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from their
dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But
presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm
and collected, and the Lion said with a sigh of relief, "Who would have
thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of rubber?"

"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot.

"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not have
bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt."

"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets
from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to
discover what they are made of. But where are we?"

"That's guesswork," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the Thistle-Eaters
live this side of the mountains and are waited on by giants."

"Oh no," said Dorothy, "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the
Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots."

"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long tails,
which would get in the way of the chariot wheels."

"And if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they must be
at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the biggest
people in all the world!"

"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard in a thoughtful tone of voice.
"And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let
us travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the people
of this country are like."

It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and
peaceful when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling
mountains. There were trees here and there and green bushes, while
throughout the thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers.
About a mile away was a low hill that hid from them all the country
beyond it, so they realized they could not tell much about the country
until they had crossed the hill. The Red Wagon having been left
behind, it was now necessary to make other arrangements for traveling.
The Lion told Dorothy she could ride upon his back as she had often
done before, and the Woozy said he could easily carry both Trot and the
Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, Hank, and Button-Bright and
th