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"
"
Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog.
Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy, "and
when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is lost, we
ought not to worry over just a growl."
Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more he thought upon
his lost growl, the more important his misfortune became. When no one was
looking, he went away among the trees and tried his best to growl--even a little
bit--but could not manage to do so. All he could do was bark, and a bark
cannot take the place of a growl, so he sadly returned to the others.
Now Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost at first. He had merely
wandered from tree to tree seeking the finest fruit until he discovered he was
alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry him just then, and seeing
some apricot trees farther on, he went to them. Then he discovered some
cherry trees; just beyond these were some tangerines. "We've found 'most
ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," he said to himself, "so I guess there are
peaches here, too, if I can find the trees."
He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until he found
that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some walnuts in his
pockets and kept on searching, and at last--right among the nut trees--he
came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a graceful, beautiful tree, but
although it was thickly leaved, it bore no fruit except one large, splendid
peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just right to eat.
In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach tree,
while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one another; but
that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating the rest of it, and soon
the peach was all gone except the pit. Button-Bright was about to throw this
peach pit away when he noticed that it was of pure gold. Of course, this
surprised him, but so many things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he
did not give much thought to the golden peach pit. He put it in his pocket,
however, to show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all
about it.
For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and
knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began to
shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among all
those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no answer, he sat
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