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The Fix rang one of the bells in the counter. The next minute, a big trap
door in the ground opened, and a perfectly huge roll bounced out at his feet.
"
Get on," commanded the Fix in such a sharp tone that the three jumped to
obey. Holding fast to Sir Hokus, Dorothy stepped on the piece of road that
had already unrolled. The Cowardly Lion, looking very anxious, followed. No
sooner had they done so than the road gave a terrific leap forward that
stretched the three flat upon their backs and started unwinding from its
spool at a terrifying speed. As it unrolled, tall trees snapped erect on each
side and began laughing derisively at the three travelers huddled together in
the middle.
"
G-g-glad we only took five miles," stuttered Dorothy to the Knight, whose
armor was rattling like a Ford.
The Cowardly Lion had wound his tail around a tree and dug his claws into
the road, for he had no intention of falling off into nothingness. As for the
road, it snapped along at about a mile a minute, and before they had time to
grow accustomed to this singular mode of travel, it gave a final jump that
sent them circling into the air, and began rapidly winding itself up.
Down, down, down whirled Dorothy, falling with a resounding splash into a
broad stream of water. Then down, down, down again, almost to the bottom.
"
Help!" screamed Dorothy as her head rose above water, and she began
striking out feebly. But the fall through the air had taken all her breath.
"What do you want?" A thin, neat little man was watching her anxiously
from the bank, making careful notes in a book that he held in one hand.
"
Help! Save me!" choked Dorothy, feeling herself going down in the muddy
stream again.
"
Wait! I'll look it up under the 'H's," called the little man, making a trumpet
of his hands. "Are you an island? An island is a body of land entirely
surrounded by water, but this seems to be a some-body," Dorothy heard
him mutter as he whipped over several pages of his book. "Sorry," he called
back, shaking his head slowly, "but this is the wrong day. I only save lives
on Monday."
"Stand aside, Mem, you villain!" A second little man exactly like the first
except that he was exceedingly untidy plunged into the stream.
"It's no use," thought Dorothy, closing her eyes, for he had jumped in far
below the spot where she had fallen and was making no progress whatever.
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