e-house; containing bags of potatoes and
baskets of carrots, onions and turnips.

"These," said their guard, pointing to the vegetables, "we use to
flavor our soups with."

The prisoners were rather disheartened by this time, for they saw no
way to escape and did not know how soon it would be six o'clock and
time for the meatchopper to begin work. But the shaggy man was brave
and did not intend to submit to such a horrid fate without a struggle.

"I'm going to fight for our lives," he whispered to the children, "for
if I fail we will be no worse off than before, and to sit here quietly
until we are made into soup would be foolish and cowardly."

The Scoodler on guard stood near the doorway, turning first his white
side toward them and then his black side, as if he wanted to show to
all of his greedy four eyes the sight of so many fat prisoners. The
captives sat in a sorrowful group at the other end of the room--except
Polychrome, who danced back and forth in the little place to keep
herself warm, for she felt the chill of the cave. Whenever she
approached the shaggy man he would whisper something in her ear, and
Polly would nod her pretty head as if she understood.

The shaggy man told Dorothy and Button-Bright to stand before him while
he emptied the potatoes out of one of the sacks. When this had been
secretly done, little Polychrome, dancing near to the guard, suddenly
reached out her hand and slapped his face, the next instant whirling
away from him quickly to rejoin her friends.

The angry Scoodler at once picked off his head and hurled it at the
Rainbow's Daughter; but the shaggy man was expecting that, and caught
the head very neatly, putting it in the sack, which he tied at the
mouth. The body of the guard, not having the eyes of its head to guide
it, ran here and there in an aimless manner, and the shaggy man easily
dodged it and opened the door. Fortunately, there was no one in the
big cave at that moment, so he told Dorothy and Polly to run as fast as
they could for the entrance, and out across the narrow bridge.

"I'll carry Button-Bright," he said, for he knew the little boy's legs
were too short to run fast.

Dorothy picked up Toto and then seized Polly's hand and ran swiftly
toward the entrance to the cave. The shaggy man perched Button-Bright
on his shoulders and ran after them. They moved so quickly and their
escape was so wholly unexpected that they had almost reached the bridge
when o