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asked it to take us quickly to some safe place."
"Safe place!" roared Realbad, leaping into the air
as if he had been shot. "whatever made you do
that? What good is a safe place to a bandit, I should
like to know."
"Well, if you'd traveled around with gypsies as
long as I have, you'd long for a safe place too, es-
pecially when you've a fine boy like Ojo to consider,"
sniffed the bear, wagging his head stubbornly.
"Boy, have you still got that whistle? Blow it!
Blow it quick and get us away from here," panted
Realbad, hurrying over to Ojo. But though Ojo
searched in all of his pockets he could not find the
magic whistle to summon Opodock. He had left it
somewhere in the cave.
"Well, I must say this is nice!" fumed the bandit,
striding fiercely up and down. "What good is a de-
serted mountain top to me?"
"Oh, stop fussing," advised Snuffer. "You ought
to be thankful you are not lying at the bottom of
some ravine instead of being high and safe up on
this mountain top. You're still a highwayman. Well,
isn't this high enough for you?"
"That's just the point," argued Realbad in exas-
peration. "How can I be a highwayman up here
when there is no one to waylay or rob?"
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"Well, you could reform, couldn't you?" suggested
the bear, settling back comfortably against a crystal
boulder. "You've lost your band, so why be a bandit?
I can dance, you can sing (if I remember rightly)
and Ojo, here, can pass the hat."
"What hat?" asked Ojo practically, and that made
even Realbad laugh, for so swiftly had they blown
to Snuffer's safe place that Ojo's hat had been left
far behind them and Realbad's only weapon was the
sword he had seized when he was first awakened.
"Never fear, we'll get along somehow," predicted
Snufferbux cheerfully. "We'll travel all over Oz
till we find the Emerald City and return Ojo to his
Unc Nunkie."
"Emerald City!" sniffed the bandit, sitting down
hard beside the bear. "We're not going to the Emer-
ald City, we're going to Moojer Mountain."
"I declare, you're the stubbornest dumb creature
I've ever met!" growled Snuffer, doubling up his
paws. "If I'd had a grain of sense I'd never have
wished you here. What good is a safe place with a
fellow like you? The idea of talking like that after
Ojo practically saved your life."
"That's so," admitted Realbad, looking thought-
fully over at the little Munchkin. "Well, look here,
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I'll tell you what I'll do. Since Ojo saved my life I
will release him from his promise and he may try
to escape any time he wishes. If he doesn't escape
we'll go to Moojer Mountain. Is that a bargain?"
"Oh, what is the use of bargaining," answered Ojo
in a depressed voice. "We'll probably never get off
this mountain, let alone reach any other one."
And it really did seem that Ojo was right. As far
as they could see stretched a dazzling expanse of
flat crystal rock. The sun, just rising over the moun-
tain top, sent rosy streaks of light in every direction
and already the glitter and flash of the crystal was
making Ojo's eyes water. Even Snuffer was begin-
ning to feel that his safe place was not so desirable
after all. Sniffing the frosty air hungrily, the brown
bear wondered what they were to do about breakfast.
"Let's look around," suggested Realbad, jumping
up impatiently. "Come along, treasure, maybe we
can find a path or some other way down." Ojo did
not like Realbad to call him treasure, but neverthe-
less, he hurried after the long-legged bandit and
with Snuffer lumbering and muttering behind them,
they made a careful survey of the mountain top. But
upon that whole flat, glittering summit there was
not a single flower, plant or tree and when they
reached the edge Ojo drew back with a quick shud-
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der. The sides of the mountain did not slant grad-
ually downward. There was instead a sheer per-
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