THE GIANT PORCUPINE
CHAP. 12
Next morning they started out bright and early to follow the road ofyellow bricks toward the Emerald City. The little Munchkin boy wasbeginning to feel tired from the long walk, and he had a great manythings to think of and consider besides the events of the journey. Atthe wonderful Emerald City, which he would presently reach, were so manystrange and curious people that he was half afraid of meeting them andwondered if they would prove friendly and kind. Above all else, he couldnot drive from his mind the important errand on which he had come, andhe was determined to devote every energy to finding the things that werenecessary to prepare the magic recipe. He believed that until dear UncNunkie was restored to life he could feel no joy in anything, and oftenhe wished that Unc could be with him, to see all the astonishing thingsOjo was seeing. But alas Unc Nunkie was now a marble statue in the houseof the Crooked Magician and Ojo must not falter in his efforts to savehim.
The country through which they were passing was still rocky anddeserted, with here and there a bush or a tree to break the drearylandscape. Ojo noticed one tree, especially, because it had such long,silky leaves and was so beautiful in shape. As he approached it hestudied the tree earnestly, wondering if any fruit grew on it or if itbore pretty flowers.
Suddenly he became aware that he had been looking at that tree a longtime--at least for five minutes--and it had remained in the sameposition, although the boy had continued to walk steadily on. So hestopped short, and when he stopped, the tree and all the landscape, aswell as his companions, moved on before him and left him far behind.
Ojo uttered such a cry of astonishment that it aroused the Shaggy Man,who also halted. The others then stopped, too, and walked back to theboy.
"What's wrong?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"Why, we're not moving forward a bit, no matter how fast we walk,"declared Ojo. "Now that we have stopped, we are moving backward! Can'tyou see? Just notice that rock."
Scraps looked down at her feet and said: "The yellow bricks are notmoving."
"But the whole road is," answered Ojo.
"True; quite true," agreed the Shaggy Man. "I know all about the tricksof this road, but I have been thinking of something else and didn'trealize where we were."
"It will carry us back to where we started from," predicted Ojo,beginning to be nervous.
"No," replied the Shaggy Man; "it won't do that, for I know a trick tobeat this tricky road. I've traveled this way before, you know. Turnaround, all of you, and walk backward."
"What good will that do?" asked the cat.
"You'll find out, if you obey me," said the Shaggy Man.
So they all turned their backs to the direction in which they wished togo and began walking backward. In an instant Ojo noticed they weregaining ground and as they proceeded in this curious way they soonpassed the tree which had first attracted his attention to theirdifficulty.
"How long must we keep this up, Shags?" asked Scraps, who was constantlytripping and tumbling down, only to get up again with a laugh at hermishap.
"Just a little way farther," replied the Shaggy Man.
A few minutes later he called to them to turn about quickly and stepforward, and as they obeyed the order they found themselves treadingsolid ground.
"That task is well over," observed the Shaggy Man. "It's a littletiresome to walk backward, but that is the only way to pass this part ofthe road, which has a trick of sliding back and carrying with it anyonewho is walking upon it."
With new courage and energy they now trudged forward and after a timecame to a place where the road cut through a low hill, leaving highbanks on either side of it. They were traveling along this cut, talkingtogether, when the Shaggy Man seized Scraps with one arm and Ojo withanother and shouted: "Stop!"
"What's wrong now?" asked the Patchwork Girl.
"See there!" answered the Shaggy Man, pointing with his finger.
Directly in the center of the road lay a motionless object that bristledall over with sharp quills, which resembled arrows. The body was as bigas a ten-bushel-basket, but the projecting quills made it appear to befour times bigger.
"Well, what of it?" asked Scraps.
"That is Chiss, who causes a lot of trouble along this road," was thereply.
"Chiss! What is Chiss?"
"I think it is merely an overgrown porcupine, but here in Oz theyconsider Chiss an evil spirit. He's different from a reg'lar porcupine,because he can throw his quills in any direction, which an Americanporcupine cannot do. That's what makes old Chiss so dangerous. If we gettoo near, he'll fire those quills at us and hurt us badly."
"Then we will be foolish to get too near," said Scraps.
"I'm not afraid," declared the Woozy. "The Chiss is cowardly, I'm sure,and if it ever heard my awful, terrible, frightful growl, it would bescared stiff."
"Oh; can you growl?" asked the Shaggy Man.
"That is the only ferocious thing about me," asserted the Woozy withevident pride. "My growl makes an earthquake blush and the thunderashamed of itself. If I growled at that creature you call Chiss, itwould immediately think the world had cracked in two and bumped againstthe sun and moon, and that would cause the monster to run as far and asfast as its legs could carry it."
"In that case," said the Shaggy Man, "you are now able to do us all agreat favor. Please growl."
"But you forget," returned the Woozy; "my tremendous growl would alsofrighten you, and if you happen to have heart disease you might expire."
"True; but we must take that risk," decided the Shaggy Man, bravely."Being warned of what is to occur we must try to bear the terrific noiseof your growl; but Chiss won't expect it, and it will scare him away."
The Woozy hesitated.
"I'm fond of you all, and I hate to shock you," it said.
"Never mind," said Ojo.
"You may be made deaf."
"If so, we will forgive you."
"Very well, then," said the Woozy in a determined voice, and advanced afew steps toward the giant porcupine. Pausing to look back, it asked:"All ready?"
"All ready!" they answered.
"Then cover up your ears and brace yourselves firmly. Now, then--lookout!"
The Woozy turned toward Chiss, opened wide its mouth and said:
"Quee-ee-ee-eek."
"Go ahead and growl," said Scraps.
"Why, I--I _did_ growl!" retorted the Woozy, who seemed much astonished.
"What, that little squeak?" she cried.
"It is the most awful growl that ever was heard, on land or sea, incaverns or in the sky," protested the Woozy. "I wonder you stood theshock so well. Didn't you feel the ground tremble? I suppose Chiss isnow quite dead with fright."
The Shaggy Man laughed merrily.
"Poor Wooz!" said he; "your growl wouldn't scare a fly."
The Woozy seemed to be humiliated and surprised. It hung its head amoment, as if in shame or sorrow, but then it said with renewedconfidence: "Anyhow, my eyes can flash fire; and good fire, too; goodenough to set fire to a fence!"
"That is true," declared Scraps; "I saw it done myself. But yourferocious growl isn't as loud as the tick of a beetle--or one of Ojo'ssnores when he's fast asleep."
"Perhaps," said the Woozy, humbly, "I have been mistaken about my growl.It has always sounded very fearful to me, but that may have been becauseit was so close to my ears."
"Never mind," Ojo said soothingly; "it is a great talent to be able toflash fire from your eyes. No one else can do that."
As they stood hesitating what to do Chiss stirred and suddenly a showerof quills came flying toward them, almost filling the air, they were somany. Scraps realized in an instant that they had gone too near toChiss for safety, so she sprang in front of Ojo and shielded him fromthe darts, which stuck their points into her own body until sheresembled one of those targets they shoot arrows at in archery games.The Shaggy Man dropped flat on his face to avoid the shower, but onequill struck him in the leg and went far in
. As for the Glass Cat, thequills rattled off her body without making even a scratch, and the skinof the Woozy was so thick and tough that he was not hurt at all.
When the attack was over they all ran to the Shaggy Man, who was moaningand groaning, and Scraps promptly pulled the quill out of his leg. Thenup he jumped and ran over to Chiss, putting his foot on the monster'sneck and holding it a prisoner. The body of the great porcupine was nowas smooth as leather, except for the holes where the quills had been,for it had shot every single quill in that one wicked shower.
"Let me go!" it shouted angrily. "How dare you put your foot on Chiss?"
"I'm going to do worse than that, old boy," replied the Shaggy Man. "Youhave annoyed travelers on this road long enough, and now I shall put anend to you."
"You can't!" returned Chiss. "Nothing can kill me, as you know perfectlywell."
"Perhaps that is true," said the Shaggy Man in a tone of disappointment."Seems to me I've been told before that you can't be killed. But if Ilet you go, what will you do?"
"Pick up my quills again," said Chiss in a sulky voice.
"And then shoot them at more travelers? No; that won't do. You mustpromise me to stop throwing quills at people."
"I won't promise anything of the sort," declared Chiss.
"Why not?"
"Because it is my nature to throw quills, and every animal must do whatNature intends it to do. It isn't fair for you to blame me. If it werewrong for me to throw quills, then I wouldn't be made with quills tothrow. The proper thing for you to do is to keep out of my way."
"Why, there's some sense in that argument," admitted the Shaggy Man,thoughtfully; "but people who are strangers, and don't know you arehere, won't be able to keep out of your way."
"Tell you what," said Scraps, who was trying to pull the quills out ofher own body, "let's gather up all the quills and take them away withus; then old Chiss won't have any left to throw at people."
"Ah, that's a clever idea. You and Ojo must gather up the quills while Ihold Chiss a prisoner; for, if I let him go, he will get some of hisquills and be able to throw them again."
So Scraps and Ojo picked up all the quills and tied them in a bundle sothey might easily be carried. After this the Shaggy Man released Chissand let him go, knowing that he was harmless to injure anyone.
"It's the meanest trick I ever heard of," muttered the porcupinegloomily. "How would you like it, Shaggy Man, if I took all your shagsaway from you?"
"If I threw my shags and hurt people, you would be welcome to capturethem," was the reply.
Then they walked on and left Chiss standing in the road sullen anddisconsolate. The Shaggy Man limped as he walked, for his wound stillhurt him, and Scraps was much annoyed because the quills had left anumber of small holes in her patches.
When they came to a flat stone by the roadside the Shaggy Man sat downto rest, and then Ojo opened his basket and took out the bundle ofcharms the Crooked Magician had given him.
"I am Ojo the Unlucky," he said, "or we would never have met thatdreadful porcupine. But I will see if I can find anything among thesecharms which will cure your leg."
Soon he discovered that one of the charms was labelled: "For fleshwounds," and this the boy separated from the others. It was only a bitof dried root, taken from some unknown shrub, but the boy rubbed it uponthe wound made by the quill and in a few moments the place was healedentirely and the Shaggy Man's leg was as good as ever.
"Rub it on the holes in my patches," suggested Scraps, and Ojo tried it,but without any effect.
"The charm you need is a needle and thread," said the Shaggy Man. "Butdo not worry, my dear; those holes do not look badly, at all."
"They'll let in the air, and I don't want people to think I'm airy, orthat I've been stuck up," said the Patchwork Girl.
"You were certainly stuck up until we pulled out those quills," observedOjo, with a laugh.
So now they went on again and coming presently to a pond of muddy waterthey tied a heavy stone to the bundle of quills and sunk it to thebottom of the pond, to avoid carrying it farther.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz Page 13