第44章 Trouble with the Tottenhots (1)

A day's journey from the Emerald City brought the little band of adventurers to the home of Jack Pumpkinhead, which was a house formed from the shell of an immense pumpkin.Jack had made it himself and was very proud of it.There was a door, and several windows, and through the top was stuck a stovepipe that led from a small stove inside.The door was reached by a flight of three steps and there was a good floor on which was arranged some furniture that was quite comfortable.

It is certain that Jack Pumpkinhead might have had a much finer house to live in bad he wanted it, for Ozma loved the stupid fellow, who had been her earliest companion; but Jack preferred his pumpkin house, as it matched himself very well, and in this he was not so stupid, after all.

The body of this remarkable person was made of wood, branches of trees of various sizes having been used for the purpose.This wooden framework was covered by a red shirt--with white spots in it--blue trousers, a yellow vest, a jacket of green-and-gold and stout leather shoes.The neck was a sharpened stick on which the pumpkin head was set, and the eyes, ears, nose and mouth were carved on the skin of the pumpkin, very like a child's jack-o'-lantern.

The house of this interesting creation stood in the center of a vast pumpkin-field, where the vines grew in profusion and bore pumpkins of extraordinary size as well as those which were smaller.Some of the pumpkins now ripening on the vines were almost as large as Jack's house, and he told Dorothy he intended to add another pumpkin to his mansion.

The travelers were cordially welcomed to this quaint domicile and invited to pass the night there, which they had planned to do.The Patchwork Girl was greatly interested in Jack and examined him admiringly.

"You are quite handsome," she said; "but not as really beautiful as the Scarecrow."Jack turned, at this, to examine the Scarecrow critically, and his old friend slyly winked one painted eye at him.

"There is no accounting for tastes," remarked the Pumpkinhead, with a sigh."An old crow once told me I was very fascinating, but of course the bird might have been mistaken.Yet I have noticed that the crows usually avoid the Scarecrow, who is a very honest fellow, in his way, but stuffed.I am not stuffed, you will observe; my body is good solid hickory.""I adore stuffing," said the Patchwork Girl.

"Well, as for that, my head is stuffed with pumpkin-seeds," declared Jack."I use them for brains, and when they are fresh I am intellectual.

Just now, I regret to say, my seeds are rattling a bit, so I must soon get another head.""Oh; do you change your head?" asked Ojo.

"To be sure.Pumpkins are not permanent, more's the pity, and in time they spoil.That is why Igrow such a great field of pumpkins--that I may select a new head whenever necessary.""Who carves the faces on them?" inquired the boy.

"I do that myself.I lift off my old head, place it on a table before me, and use the face for a pattern to go by.Sometimes the faces I carve are better than others--more expressive and cheerful, you know--but I think they average very well."Before she had started on the journey Dorothy had packed a knapsack with the things she might need, and this knapsack the Scarecrow carried strapped to his back.The little girl wore a plain gingham dress and a checked sunbonnet, as she knew they were best fitted for travel.Ojo also had brought along his basket, to which Ozma had added a bottle of "Square Meal Tablets" and some fruit.

But Jack Pumpkinhead grew a lot of things in his garden besides pumpkins, so he cooked for them a fine vegetable soup and gave Dorothy, Ojo and Toto, the only ones who found it necessary to eat, a pumpkin pie and some green cheese.For beds they must use the sweet dried grasses which Jack had strewn along one side of the room, but that satisfied Dorothy and Ojo very well.Toto, of course, slept beside his little mistress.

The Scarecrow, Scraps and the Pumpkinhead were tireless and had no need to sleep, so they sat up and talked together all night; but they stayed outside the house, under the bright stars, and talked in low tones so as not to disturb the sleepers.During the conversation the Scarecrow explained their quest for a dark well, and asked Jack's advice where to find it.

The Pumpkinhead considered the matter gravely.

"That is going to be a difficult task," said he, "and if I were you I'd take any ordinary well and enclose it, so as to make it dark.""I fear that wouldn't do," replied the Scarecrow."The well must be naturally dark, and the water must never have seen the light of day, for otherwise the magic charm might not work at all.""How much of the water do you need?" asked Jack.

"A gill."

"How much is a gill?"

"Why--a gill is a gill, of course," answered the Scarecrow, who did not wish to display his ignorance.

"I know!" cried Scraps."Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch--""No, no; that's wrong," interrupted the Scarecrow."There are two kinds of gills, I think;one is a girl, and the other is--"

"A gillyflower," said Jack.

"No; a measure."

"How big a measure?"

"Well, I'll ask Dorothy."

So next morning they asked Dorothy, and she said:

"I don't just know how much a gill is, but I've brought along a gold flask that holds a pint.

That's more than a gill, I'm sure, and the Crooked Magician may measure it to suit himself.But the thing that's bothering us most, Jack, is to find the well."Jack gazed around the landscape, for he was standing in the doorway of his house.

"This is a flat country, so you won t find any dark wells here," said he."You must go into the mountains, where rocks and caverns are.

"And where is that?" asked Ojo.

"In the Quadling Country, which lies south of here," replied the Scarecrow."I've known all along that we must go to the mountains.""So have I," said Dorothy.