ty weapon caught it squarely upon its
head, and thumped it against the ground so powerfully that the private
flew off its back high into the air, and landed upon one of the giant's
cast-iron arms. Here he clung desperately while the arm rose and fell
with each one of the rapid strokes.

The Scarecrow dashed in to rescue his Sawhorse, and had his left foot
smashed by the hammer before he could pull the creature out of danger.
They then found that the Sawhorse had been badly dazed by the blow; for
while the hard wooden knot of which his head was formed could not be
crushed by the hammer, both his ears were broken off and he would be
unable to hear a sound until some new ones were made for him. Also his
left knee was cracked, and had to be bound up with a string.

Billina having fluttered under the hammer, it now remained only to
rescue the private who was riding upon the iron giant's arm, high in the
air. The Scarecrow lay flat upon the ground and called to the man to
jump down upon his body, which was soft because it was stuffed with
straw. This the private managed to do, waiting until a time when he was
nearest the ground and then letting himself drop upon the Scarecrow. He
accomplished the feat without breaking any bones, and the Scarecrow
declared he was not injured in the least.

Therefore, the Tin Woodman having by this time fitted new ears to the
Sawhorse, the entire party proceeded upon its way, leaving the giant to
pound the path behind them.

[Illustration]

The Nome King

[Illustration]

By and by, when they drew near to the mountain that blocked their path
and which was the furthermost edge of the Kingdom of Ev, the way grew
dark and gloomy for the reason that the high peaks on either side shut
out the sunshine. And it was very silent, too, as there were no birds to
sing or squirrels to chatter, the trees being left far behind them and
only the bare rocks remaining.

Ozma and Dorothy were a little awed by the silence, and all the others
were quiet and grave except the Sawhorse, which, as it trotted along
with the Scarecrow upon his back, hummed a queer song, of which this was
the chorus:

"Would a wooden horse in a woodland go?
Aye, aye! I sigh, he would, although
Had he not had a wooden head
He'd mount the mountain top instead."

But no one paid any attention to this because they were now close to the
Nome King's dominions, and his splendid underground palace could no