hastened away, and presently they heard the clattering of the horse's wooden legs upon 
the pavement as he was led into the courtyard.
    His Majesty regarded the steed critically. "He doesn't seem especially graceful!" he 
remarked, musingly. "but I suppose he can run?"
    "He can, indeed," said Tip, gazing upon the Saw-Horse admiringly.
    "Then, bearing us upon his back, he must make a dash through the ranks of the rebels 
and carry us to my friend the Tin Woodman," announced the Scarecrow.
    "He can't carry four!" objected Tip.
    "No, but he may be induced to carry three," said his Majesty. "I shall therefore 
leave my Royal Army Behind.
    For, from the ease with which he was conquered, I have little confidence in his 
powers."
    "Still, he can run," declared Tip, laughing.
    "I expected this blow" said the Soldier, sulkily; "but I can bear it. I shall 
disguise myself by cutting off my lovely green whiskers. And, after all, it is no more 
dangerous to face those reckless girls than to ride this fiery, untamed wooden horse!"
    "Perhaps you are right," observed his Majesty. "But, for my part, not being a 
soldier, I am fond of danger.
    Now, my boy, you must mount first. And please sit as close to the horse's neck as 
possible." Tip climbed quickly to his place, and the Soldier and the Scarecrow managed to 
hoist the Pumpkinhead to a seat just behind him. There remained so little space for the 
King that he was liable to fall off as soon as the horse started.
    "Fetch a clothesline," said the King to his Army, "and tie us all together. Then if 
one falls off we will all fall off." And while the Soldier was gone for the clothesline 
his Majesty continued, "it is well for me to be careful, for my very existence is in 
danger."
    "I have to be as careful as you do," said Jack.
    "Not exactly," replied the Scarecrow. "for if anything happened to me, that would be 
the end of me. But if anything happened to you, they could use you for seed." The Soldier 
now returned with a long line and tied all three firmly together, also lashing them to 
the body of the Saw-Horse; so there seemed little danger of their tumbling off.
    "Now throw open the gates," commanded the Scarecrow, "and we will make a dash to 
liberty or to death." The courtyard in which they were standing was located in the center 
of the great palace, which surrounded it on all sides. But in one place a passage led to 
an outer gateway, which the Soldier had barred by order of his sovereign. It was through 
this gateway his Majesty proposed to escape, and the Royal Army now led the Saw-Horse 
along the passage and unbarred the gate, which swung backward with a loud crash.
    "Now," said Tip to the horse, "you must save us all. Run as fast as you can for the 
gate of the City, and don't let anything stop you."
    "All right!" answered the Saw-Horse, gruffly, and dashed away so suddenly that Tip 
had to gasp for breath and hold firmly to the post he had driven into the creature's neck.
    Several of the girls, who stood outside guarding the palace, were knocked over by the 
Saw-Horse's mad rush.
    Others ran screaming out of the way, and only one or two jabbed their 
knitting-needles frantically at the escaping prisoners. Tip got one small prick in his 
left arm, which smarted for an hour afterward; but the needles had no effect upon the 
Scarecrow or Jack Pumpkinhead, who never even suspected they were being prodded.
    As for the Saw-Horse, he made a wonderful record upsetting a fruit cart, overturning 
several meek looking men, and finally bowling over the new Guardian of the Gate - a fussy 
little fat woman appointed by General Jinjur.
    Nor did the impetuous charger stop then. Once outside the walls of the Emerald City 
he dashed along the road to the West with fast and violent leaps that shook the breath 
out of the boy and filled the Scarecrow with wonder.
    Jack had ridden at this mad rate once before, so he devoted every effort to holding, 
with both hands, his pumpkin head upon its stick, enduring meantime the dreadful jolting 
with the courage of a philosopher.
    "Slow him up! Slow him up!" shouted the Scarecrow. "My straw is all shaking down into 
my legs." But Tip had no breath to speak, so the Saw-Horse continued his wild career 
unchecked and with unabated speed.
    Presently they came to the banks of a wide river, and without a pause the wooden 
steed gave one final leap and launched them all in mid-air.
    A second later they were rolling, splashing and bobbing about in the water, the horse 
struggling frantically to find a rest for its feet and its riders being first plunged 
beneath the rapid current and then floating upon the surface like corks.
    
    
    The Journey to the Tin Woodman
    
    Tip was well soaked and dripping water from every angle of his body. But he managed 
to lean forward and shout in the ear of the Saw-Horse: "Keep still, you fool! Keep 
still!" The horse at once ceased struggling and floated calmly upon the surface, its 
wooden body being as buoyant as a raft.
    "What does that word 'fool' mean?" enquired the horse.
    "It is a term of reproach," answered Tip, somewhat ashamed of the expression. "I only 
use it when I am angry."
    "Then it pleases me to be able to call you a fool, in return," said the horse. "For I 
did not make the river, nor put it in our way; so only a term of, reproach is fit for one 
who becomes angry with me for falling into the water."
    "That is quite evident," replied Tip; "so I will acknowledge myself in the wrong." 
Then he called out to the Pumpkinhead: "are you all right, Jack?" There was no reply. So 
the boy called to the King "are you all right, your majesty?" The Scarecrow groaned.
    "I'm all wrong, somehow," he said, in a weak voice. "How very wet this water is!" Tip 
was bound so tightly by the cord that he could not turn his head to look at his 
companions; so he said to the Saw-Horse: "Paddle with your legs toward the shore." The 
horse obeyed, and although their progress was slow they finally reached the opposite 
river bank at a place where it was low enough to enable the creature to scramble upon dry 
land.
    With some difficulty the boy managed to get his knife out of his pocket and cut the 
cords that bound the riders to one another and to the wooden horse. He heard the 
Scarecrow fall to the ground with a mushy sound, and then he himself quickly dismounted 
and looked at his friend Jack.
    The wooden body, with its gorgeous clothing, still sat upright upon the horse's back; 
but the pumpkin head was gone, and only the sharpened stick that served for a neck was 
visible. As for the Scarecrow, the straw in his body had shaken down with the jolting and 
packed itself into his legs and the lower part of his body - which appeared very plump 
and round while his upper half seemed like an empty sack. Upon his head the Scarecrow 
still wore the heavy crown, which had been sewed on to prevent his losing it; but the 
head was now so damp and limp that the weight of the gold and jewels sagged forward and 
crushed the painted face into a mass of wrinkles that made him look exactly like a 
Japanese pug dog.