was a pretty place, with vines growing thickly
over the broad front porch. The door stood open and a table was set in
the front room, with four chairs drawn up to it. On the table were
plates, knives and forks, and dishes of bread, meat and fruits. The
meat was smoking hot and the knives and forks were performing strange
antics and jumping here and there in quite a puzzling way. But not a
single person appeared to be in the room.

"How funny!" exclaimed Dorothy, who with Zeb and the Wizard now stood
in the doorway.

A peal of merry laughter answered her, and the knives and forks fell to
the plates with a clatter. One of the chairs pushed back from the
table, and this was so astonishing and mysterious that Dorothy was
almost tempted to run away in fright.

"Here are strangers, mama!" cried the shrill and childish voice of some
unseen person.

"So I see, my dear," answered another voice, soft and womanly.

"What do you want?" demanded a third voice, in a stern, gruff accent.

"Well, well!" said the Wizard; "are there really people in this room?"

"Of course," replied the man's voice.

"And--pardon me for the foolish question--but, are you all invisible?"

"Surely," the woman answered, repeating her low, rippling laughter.
"Are you surprised that you are unable to see the people of Voe?"

"Why, yes," stammered the Wizard. "All the people I have ever met
before were very plain to see."

"Where do you come from, then?" asked the woman, in a curious tone.

"We belong upon the face of the earth," explained the Wizard, "but
recently, during an earthquake, we fell down a crack and landed in the
Country of the Mangaboos."

"Dreadful creatures!" exclaimed the woman's voice. "I've heard of
them."

"They walled us up in a mountain," continued the Wizard; "but we found
there was a tunnel through to this side, so we came here. It is a
beautiful place. What do you call it?"

"It is the Valley of Voe."

"Thank you. We have seen no people since we arrived, so we came to
this house to enquire our way."

"Are you hungry?" asked the woman's voice.

"I could eat something," said Dorothy.

"So could I," added Zeb.

"But we do not wish to intrude, I assure you," the Wizard hastened to
say.

"That's all right," returned the man's voice, more pleasantly than
before. "You are welcome to what we have."

As he spoke the voice came so near to Zeb that he jumped back in alarm.
Two childish voices laughed merri