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Chapter Twenty Three - The Land of Oz

The straw man's appearance on the water was so sudden that it startled Trot,

but Cap'n Bill had the presence of mind to stick his wooden leg out over the

water and the Scarecrow made a desperate clutch and grabbed the leg with

both hands. He managed to hold on until Trot and Button-Bright knelt down

and seized his clothing, but the children would have been powerless to drag

the soaked Scarecrow ashore had not Cap'n Bill now assisted them. When

they laid him on the ledge of rubies he was the most useless looking

Scarecrow you can imagine--his straw sodden and dripping with water, his

clothing wet and crumpled, while even the sack upon which his face was

painted had become so wrinkled that the old jolly expression of their stuffed

friend's features was entirely gone. But he could still speak, and when Trot

bent down her ear she heard him say:

Get me out of here as soon as you can."

That seemed a wise thing to do, so Cap'n Bill lifted his head and shoulders,

and Trot and Button-Bright each took a leg; among them they partly carried

and partly dragged the damp Scarecrow out of the Ruby Cavern, along the

tunnel, and up the flight of rock steps. It was somewhat difficult to get him

past the edge of the waterfall, but they succeeded, after much effort, and a few

minutes later laid their poor comrade on a grassy bank where the sun shone

upon him freely and he was beyond the reach of the spray.

Cap'n Bill now knelt down and examined the straw that the Scarecrow was

stuffed with.

I don't believe it'll be of much use to him, any more," said he, "for it's full of

polliwogs an' fish eggs, an' the water has took all the crinkle out o' the straw

an ruined it. I guess, Trot, that the best thing for us to do is to empty out all

his body an' carry his head an' clothes along the road till we come to a field or

a house where we can get some fresh straw."

Yes, Cap'n," she agreed, "there's nothing else to be done. But how shall we

ever find the road to Glinda's palace, without the Scarecrow to guide us?"

That's easy," said the Scarecrow, speaking in a rather feeble but distinct

voice. "If Cap'n Bill will carry my head on his shoulders, eyes front, I can tell

him which way to go."

The Scarecrow of Oz