re did they come
from?"

"We captured them," replied one of the Loons.

"And what are we going to do with them?" inquired the girl Loon.

"Perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em," answered the King.

"Well," said she, still eyeing the captives, "I'm not sure they'll
puncture. Let's try it, and see."

One of the Loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly returned with a
long, sharp thorn. He glanced at the King, who nodded his head in
assent, and then he rushed forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of
the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow merely smiled and said nothing, for the
thorn didn't hurt him at all.

Then the Loon tried to prick the Tin Woodman's leg, but the tin only
blunted the point of the thorn.

[Illustration]

"Just as I thought," said Til, blinking her purple eyes and shaking her
puffy head; but just then the Loon stuck the thorn into the leg of Woot
the Wanderer, and while it had been blunted somewhat, it was still sharp
enough to hurt.

"Ouch!" yelled Woot, and kicked out his leg with so much energy that the
frail bonds that tied him burst apart. His foot caught the Loon--who was
leaning over him--full on his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting up
into the air. When he was high over their heads he exploded with a loud
"pop" and his skin fell to the ground.

"I really believe," said the King, rolling his spot-like eyes in a
frightened way, "that Panta was right in claiming these prisoners are
dangerous. Is the pump ready?"

Some of the Loons had wheeled a big machine in front of the throne and
now took Panta's skin and began to pump air into it. Slowly it swelled
out until the King cried "Stop!"

"No, no!" yelled Panta, "I'm not big enough yet."

"You're as big as you're going to be," declared the King. "Before you
exploded you were bigger than the rest of us, and that caused you to be
proud and overbearing. Now you're a little smaller than the rest, and
you will last longer and be more humble."

"Pump me up--pump me up!" wailed Panta. "If you don't you'll break my
heart."

"If we do we'll break your skin," replied the King.

So the Loons stopped pumping air into Panta, and pushed him away from
the pump. He was certainly more humble than before his accident, for he
crept into the background and said nothing more.

[Illustration]

"Now pump up the other one," ordered the King. Til had already mended
him, and the Loons set to work to pump him full of air.

During these last few mome