and the Tin Woodman stood up beside them all night, so
the dampness of the ground might not rust his joints or
dull his brilliant polish. Whenever the dew settled on
his body he carefully wiped it off with a cloth, and so
in the morning the Emperor shone as brightly as ever in
the rays of the rising sun.

They wakened the boy at daybreak, the Scarecrow
saying to him:

"We have discovered something queer, and therefore we
must counsel together what to do about it."

"What have you discovered?" asked Woot, rubbing the
sleep from his eyes with his knuckles and giving three
wide yawns to prove he was fully awake.

"A Sign," said the Tin Woodman. "A Sign, and another path."

"What does the Sign say?" inquired the boy.

"It says that 'All Strangers are Warned not to Follow
this Path to Loonville,'" answered the Scarecrow, who
could read very well when his eyes had been freshly
painted.

"In that case," said the boy, opening his knapsack to
get some breakfast, "let us travel in some other
direction."