ime already, seems to me," remarked the Scarecrow,
as they left the grounds of the castle and followed a path that led
eastward.

"True," replied the Tin Woodman; "but I've noticed that the last end of
a wait, however long it has been, is the hardest to endure; so I must
try to make Nimmie Amee happy as soon as possible."

"Ah; that proves you have a Kind Heart," remarked the Scarecrow,
approvingly.

"It's too bad he hasn't a Loving Heart," said Woot. "This Tin Man is
going to marry a nice girl through kindness, and not because he loves
her, and somehow that doesn't seem quite right."

"Even so, I am not sure it isn't best for the girl," said the Scarecrow,
who seemed very intelligent for a straw man, "for a loving husband is
not always kind, while a kind husband is sure to make any girl content."

"Nimmie Amee will become an Empress!" announced the Tin Woodman,
proudly. "I shall have a tin gown made for her, with tin ruffles and
tucks on it, and she shall have tin slippers, and tin earrings and
bracelets, and wear a tin crown on her head. I am sure that will delight
Nimmie Amee, for all girls are fond of finery."

"Are we going to the Munchkin Country by way of the Emerald City?"
inquired the Scarecrow, who looked upon the Tin Woodman as the leader of
the party.

"I think not," was the reply. "We are engaged upon a rather delicate
adventure, for we are seeking a girl who fears her former lover has
forgotten her. It will be rather hard for me, you must admit, when I
confess to Nimmie Amee that I have come to marry her because it is my
duty to do so, and therefore the fewer witnesses there are to our
meeting the better for both of us. After I have found Nimmie Amee and
she has managed to control her joy at our reunion, I shall take her to
the Emerald City and introduce her to Ozma and Dorothy, and to Betsy
Bobbin and Tiny Trot, and all our other friends; but, if I remember
rightly, poor Nimmie Amee has a sharp tongue when angry, and she may be
a trifle angry with me, at first, because I have been so long in coming
to her."

"I can understand that," said Woot gravely. "But how can we get to that
part of the Munchkin Country where you once lived without passing
through the Emerald City?"

"Why, that is easy," the Tin Man assured him.

"I have a map of Oz in my pocket," persisted the boy, "and it shows that
the Winkie Country, where we now are, is at the west of Oz, and the
Munchkin Country at the east, while d