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Bumpety bump--bump--bump! Bangety-bang-bang! went Sir Hokus over the

cobbles, holding his helmet with one hand and Dorothy fast in the other

arm. The Pokes fell this way and that, and such was the determination of

the Cowardly Lion that he never stopped till he was out of the gate and

halfway up the rough road they had so recently traveled. Then with a mighty

sigh, he dropped the rope, rolled over and over down the hill, and lay

panting with exhaustion at the bottom.

The bumping over the cobbles had wakened Sir Hokus thoroughly. Indeed,

the poor Knight was black and blue, and his armor dented and scraped

frightfully in important places.

Dorothy, considerably shaken, opened her eyes and began feebly singing

Three Blind Mice."

No need," puffed Sir Hokus, lifting her off his lap and rising stiffly.

Yon noble beast has rescued us."

Won't the Pokes come up here?" asked Dorothy, staring around a bit dizzily.

They cannot live out of the kingdom," said the Knight, and Dorothy drew a

big sigh of relief. Sir Hokus, however, was looking very grave.

"I have failed on my first adventure. Had it not been for the Cowardly Lion,

we would now be prisoners in Pokes," he murmured sadly. Then he

unfastened the plume from his helmet. "It beseemeth me not to wear it,"

sighed the Knight mournfully, and though Dorothy tried her best to comfort

him, he refused to put it back. Finally, she fastened the plume to her dress,

and they went down to the Cowardly Lion.

There was a little spring nearby, and after they had poured six helmets of

water over his head, the lion opened his eyes. "Been in a good many fights,"

gasped the lion, "but I never fought one like this. Singing, bah!"

"Noble Sir, how can I ever repay you?" faltered the Knight. "Alas, that I have

failed in the hour of trial!"

Why, it wasn't a question of courage at all," rumbled the Cowardly Lion,

greatly embarrassed. "I had the loudest voice and the most breath, that's all!

You got the rough end of it." Sir Hokus looked ruefully at his armor. The

back was entirely squashed.

"Never mind!" said the Knight bravely. "It is the front one presents to the

foe."

The Royal Book of Oz