The Tin Woodman of Oz | Page 9

to me," remarked the
Scarecrow, as they left the grounds of the castle and followed a path
that led eastward.

"True," replied the Tin Woodman; "but I've noticed that the last end of
a wait, however long it has been, is the hardest to endure; so I must try
to make Nimmie Amee happy as soon as possible."
"Ah; that proves you have a Kind heart," remarked the Scarecrow,
approvingly.
"It's too bad he hasn't a Loving Heart," said Woot. "This Tin Man is
going to marry a nice girl through kindness, and not because he loves
her, and somehow that doesn't seem quite right."
"Even so, I am not sure it isn't best for the girl," said the Scarecrow,
who seemed very intelligent for a straw man, "for a loving husband is
not always kind, while a kind husband is sure to make any girl
content."
"Nimmie Amee will become an Empress!" announced the Tin
Woodman, proudly. "I shall have a tin gown made for her, with tin
ruffles and tucks on it, and she shall have tin slippers, and tin earrings
and bracelets, and wear a tin crown on her head. I am sure that will
delight Nimmie Amee, for all girls are fond of finery."
"Are we going to the Munchkin Country by way of the Emerald City?"
inquired the Scarecrow, who looked upon the Tin Woodman as the
leader of the party.
"I think not," was the reply. "We are engaged upon a rather delicate
adventure, for we are seeking a girl who fears her former lover has
forgotten her. It will be rather hard for me, you must admit, when I
confess to Nimmie Amee that I have come to marry her because it is
my duty to do so, and therefore the fewer witnesses there are to our
meeting the better for both of us. After I have found Nimmie Amee and
she has managed to control her joy at our reunion, I shall take her to the
Emerald City and introduce her to Ozma and Dorothy, and to Betsy
Bobbin and Tiny Trot, and all our other friends; but, if I remember
rightly, poor Nimmie Amee has a sharp tongue when angry, and she
may be a trifle angry with me, at first, because I have been so long in
coming to her."

"I can understand that," said Woot gravely. "But how can we get to that
part of the Munchkin Country where you once lived without passing
through the Emerald City?"
"Why, that is easy," the Tin Man assured him.
"I have a map of Oz in my pocket," persisted the boy, "and it shows
that the Winkie Country, where we now are, is at the west of Oz, and
the Munchkin Country at the east, while directly between them lies the
Emerald City."
"True enough; but we shall go toward the north, first of all, into the
Gillikin Country, and so pass around the Emerald City," explained the
Tin Woodman.
"That may prove a dangerous journey," replied the boy. "I used to live
in one of the top corners of the Gillikin Country, near to Oogaboo, and
I have been told that in this northland country are many people whom it
is not pleasant to meet. I was very careful to avoid them during my
journey south."
"A Wanderer should have no fear," observed the Scarecrow, who was
wobbling along in a funny, haphazard manner, but keeping pace with
his friends.
"Fear does not make one a coward," returned Woot, growing a little red
in the face, "but I believe it is more easy to avoid danger than to
overcome it. The safest way is the best way, even for one who is brave
and determined."
"Do not worry, for we shall not go far to the north," said the Emperor.
"My one idea is to avoid the Emerald City without going out of our
way more than is necessary. Once around the Emerald City we will turn
south into the Munchkin Country, where the Scarecrow and I are well
acquainted and have many friends."
"I have traveled some in the Gillikin Country," remarked the Scarecrow,
"and while I must say I have met some strange people there at times, I

have never yet been harmed by them."
"Well, it's all the same to me," said Woot, with assumed carelessness.
"Dangers, when they cannot be avoided, are often quite interesting, and
I am willing to go wherever you two venture to go."
So they left the path they had been following and began to travel
toward the northeast, and all that day they were in the pleasant Winkie
Country, and all the people they met saluted the Emperor with great
respect and wished him good luck on his journey. At night they stopped
at