The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in the directionof the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker castle had beenbuilt. They had been gradually advancing uphill, so now the elevationseemed to them more like a round knoll than a mountaintop. However,the sides of the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, sothere was a stiff climb before them yet. Undaunted, they plodded onand had almost reached the knoll when they suddenly observed that itwas surrounded by a circle of flame. At first, the flames barely roseabove the ground, but presently they grew higher and higher until acircle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any of their heads quitesurrounded the hill on which the wicker castle stood. When theyapproached the flames, the heat was so intense that it drove them backagain.

"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I catchfire very easily."

"It won't do for me either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing to therear.

"I also strongly object to fire," said the Bear King, following theSawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear with hispaws.

"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us,"remarked the Wizard with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able toinform you that this is merely a simple magic trick which the robberstole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know how to destroythese flames as well as how to produce them. Will some one of youkindly give me a match?"

You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman orany of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching carefullythrough his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and uselessthings, finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, who tiedit to the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree growing nearthem. Then the little Wizard carefully lighted the match, and runningforward thrust it into the nearest flame. Instantly, the circle offire began to die away, and soon vanished completely leaving the wayclear for them to proceed.

"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright.

"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match coulddestroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented thistrick, she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedyfor fire. I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quenchthe flames of his barrier, for only Glinda and I know the secret.Glinda's Book of Magic which Ugu stole told how to make the flames,but not how to put them out."

They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up theslope of the hill, but had not gone far when before them rose a wallof steel, the surface of which was thickly covered with sharp,gleaming points resembling daggers. The wall completely surroundedthe wicker castle, and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbingit. Even the Patchwork Girl might be ripped to pieces if she daredattempt it. "Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now usingone of my own tricks against me. But this is more serious than theBarrier of Fire, because the only way to destroy the wall is to get onthe other side of it."

"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy.

The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party, and his facegrew troubled. "It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'mpretty sure the Cowardly Lion could not leap over it."

"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. "If Ifoolishly tried such a leap, I would be caught on those dreadfulspikes."

"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman with a bow to theWizard. "It is an uphill jump as well as being a high jump, but I'mconsidered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip Country, andI believe a good, strong leap will carry me to the other side."

"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook.

"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued theFrogman modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I reach the

"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard admiringly. "Has anyone apin?"

Betsy had one, which she gave him. "All you need do," said the Wizardto the Frogman, giving him the pin, "is to stick this into the otherside of the wall."

"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog.

"I know. At least, it SEEMS to be steel, but do as I tell you. Stickthe pin into the wall, and it will disappear."

The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it andlaid it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it togetherwith his gold-headed cane beside the coat. He then went back a wayand made three powerful leaps in rapid succession. The first twoleaps took him to the wall, and the third leap carried him well overit, to the amazement of all. For a short time, he disappeared fromtheir view, but when he had obeyed the Wizard's injunction and hadthrust the pin into the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showedthem the form of the Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay andput it on again.

"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard.

"That was the most wonderful leap I ever saw, and it has saved us from defeat by our enemy. Let us now hurry on to the castle before Ugu the Shoemaker thinks up some other means to stop us."

"We must have surprised him so far," declared Dorothy.

"Yes indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic--all of our tricks andsome of his own," replied the Wizard. "So if he is half as clever ashe ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet."

He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of thewicker castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms andall bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle axes. Thesesoldiers were girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of yellow andblack satin, golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads andnecklaces of glittering jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braidedwith silver cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, andthey were more terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce inappearance. They formed a circle all around the castle and facedoutward, their spears pointed toward the invaders, and their battleaxes held over their shoulders, ready to strike. Of course, ourfriends halted at once, for they had not expected this dreadful arrayof soldiery. The Wizard seemed puzzled, and his companions exchangeddiscouraged looks.

"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The castledoesn't look big enough to hold them all."

"It isn't," declared the Wizard.

"But they all marched out of it."

"They seemed to, but I don't believe it is a real army at all. If Uguthe Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure theCzarover of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us."

"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps.

"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman. "Theyare more brave than men, and they have better nerves. That isprobably why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them tooppose us."

No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the line ofsoldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remainedmotionless.

"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard after atime. "I do not believe the army is real, but the spears may be sharpenough to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us taketime to consider how to meet this difficulty."

While they were thinking it over, Scraps danced closer to the line ofgirl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than did thenatural eyes of her comrades, and so after staring hard at themagician's army, she boldly advanced and danced right through thethreatening line! On the other side, she waved her stuffed arms andcalled out, "Come on, folks. The spears can't hurt you."said the Wizard gaily. "An optical illusion, as I thought. Letus all follow the Patchwork Girl." The three little girls weresomewhat nervous in attempting to brave the spears and battle axes,but after the others had safely passed the line, they ventured tofollow. And when all had passed through the ranks of the girl army,the army itself magically disappeared from view.

All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill andnearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, theyexpected something else to oppose their way, but to their astonishmentnothing happened, and presently they arrived at the wicker gates,which stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu theShoemaker.