curious
creature. It had the form of a man, middle-sized and rather slender
and graceful; but as it sat silent and motionless upon the peak they
could see that its face was black as ink, and it wore a black cloth
costume made like a union suit and fitting tight to its skin. Its
hands were black, too, and its toes curled down, like a bird's. The
creature was black all over except its hair, which was fine, and
yellow, banged in front across the black forehead and cut close at the
sides. The eyes, which were fixed steadily upon the barking dog, were
small and sparkling and looked like the eyes of a weasel.

"What in the world do you s'pose that is?" asked Dorothy in a hushed
voice, as the little group of travelers stood watching the strange
creature.

"Don't know," said Button-Bright.

The thing gave a jump and turned half around, sitting in the same place
but with the other side of its body facing them. Instead of being
black, it was now pure white, with a face like that of a clown in a
circus and hair of a brilliant purple. The creature could bend either
way, and its white toes now curled the same way the black ones on the
other side had done.

"It has a face both front and back," whispered Dorothy, wonderingly;
"only there's no back at all, but two fronts."

Having made the turn, the being sat motionless as before, while Toto
barked louder at the white man than he had done at the black one.

"Once," said the shaggy man, "I had a jumping jack like that, with two
faces."

"Was it alive?" asked Button-Bright.

"No," replied the shaggy man; "it worked on strings and was made of
wood."

"Wonder if this works with strings," said Dorothy; but Polychrome cried
"Look!" for another creature just like the first had suddenly appeared
sitting on another rock, its black side toward them. The two twisted
their heads around and showed a black face on the white side of one and
a white face on the black side of the other.

"How curious," said Polychrome; "and how loose their heads seem to be!
Are they friendly to us, do you think?"

"Can't tell, Polly," replied Dorothy. "Let's ask 'em."

The creatures flopped first one way and then the other, showing black
or white by turns; and now another joined them, appearing on another
rock. Our friends had come to a little hollow in the hills, and the
place where they now stood was surrounded by jagged peaks of rock,
except where the road ran through.

"Now there are four