the lad-der af-ter him and we have nev-er seen him since."

"He must have been a great loss to this country," said Dorothy, who
was by this time eating her custard pie.

"He was," acknowledged Tiktok. "Also he is a great loss to me. For
if I should get out of or-der I do not know of an-y one a-ble to
re-pair me, be-cause I am so com-pli-cat-ed. You have no i-de-a how
full of ma-chin-er-y I am."

"I can imagine it," said Dorothy, readily.

"And now," continued the machine, "I must stop talk-ing and be-gin
think-ing a-gain of a way to es-cape from this rock." So he turned
half way around, in order to think without being disturbed.

"The best thinker I ever knew," said Dorothy to the yellow hen,
"was a scarecrow."

"Nonsense!" snapped Billina.

"It is true," declared Dorothy. "I met him in the Land of Oz,
and he traveled with me to the city of the great Wizard of Oz,
so as to get some brains, for his head was only stuffed with straw.
But it seemed to me that he thought just as well before he got his
brains as he did afterward."

"Do you expect me to believe all that rubbish about the Land of Oz?"
enquired Billina, who seemed a little cross--perhaps because bugs
were scarce.