THE CAPTIVE YOOP
CHAP. 20
As they were preparing to leave, Dorothy asked: "Can you tell us wherethere is a dark well?"
"Never heard of such a thing," said the Tottenhot. "We live our lives inthe dark, mostly, and sleep in the daytime; but we've never seen a darkwell, or anything like one."
"Does anyone live on those mountains beyond here?" asked the Scarecrow.
"Lots of people. But you'd better not visit them. We never go there."was the reply.
"What are the people like?" Dorothy inquired.
"Can't say. We've been told to keep away from the mountain paths, and sowe obey. This sandy desert is good enough for us, and we're notdisturbed here," declared the Tottenhot.
So they left the man snuggling down to sleep in his dusky dwelling, andwent out into the sunshine, taking the path that led toward the rockyplaces. They soon found it hard climbing, for the rocks were uneven andfull of sharp points and edges, and now there was no path at all.Clambering here and there among the boulders they kept steadily on,gradually rising higher and higher until finally they came to a greatrift in a part of the mountain, where the rock seemed to have split intwo and left high walls on either side.
"S'pose we go this way," suggested Dorothy; "it's much easier walkingthan to climb over the hills."
"How about that sign?" asked Ojo.
"What sign?" she inquired.
The Munchkin boy pointed to some words painted on the wall of rockbeside them, which Dorothy had not noticed. The words read:
"LOOK OUT FOR YOOP."
The girl eyed this sign a moment and then turned to the Scarecrow,asking:
"Who is Yoop; or what is Yoop?"
The straw man shook his head. Then she looked at Toto and the dog said"Woof!"
"Only way to find out is to go on," said Scraps.
This being quite true, they went on. As they proceeded, the walls ofrock on either side grew higher and higher. Presently they came uponanother sign which read:
"BEWARE THE CAPTIVE YOOP."
"Why, as for that," remarked Dorothy, "if Yoop is a captive there's noneed to beware of him. Whatever Yoop happens to be, I'd much rather havehim a captive than running around loose."
"So had I," agreed the Scarecrow, with a nod of his painted head.
"Still," said Scraps, reflectively:
"Yoop-te-hoop-te-loop-te-goop! Who put noodles in the soup? We may beware but we don't care, And dare go where we scare the Yoop."
"Dear me! Aren't you feeling a little queer, just now?" Dorothy askedthe Patchwork Girl.
"Not queer, but crazy," said Ojo. "When she says those things I'm sureher brains get mixed somehow and work the wrong way."
"I don't see why we are told to beware the Yoop unless he is dangerous,"observed the Scarecrow in a puzzled tone.
"Never mind; we'll find out all about him when we get to where he is,"replied the little girl.
The narrow canyon turned and twisted this way and that, and the rift wasso small that they were able to touch both walls at the same time bystretching out their arms. Toto had run on ahead, frisking playfully,when suddenly he uttered a sharp bark of fear and came running back tothem with his tail between his legs, as dogs do when they arefrightened.
"Ah," said the Scarecrow, who was leading the way, "we must be nearYoop."
Just then, as he rounded a sharp turn, the straw man stopped so suddenlythat all the others bumped against him.
"What is it?" asked Dorothy, standing on tip-toes to look over hisshoulder. But then she saw what it was and cried "Oh!" in a tone ofastonishment.
In one of the rock walls--that at their left--was hollowed a greatcavern, in front of which was a row of thick iron bars, the tops andbottoms being firmly fixed in the solid rock. Over this cavern was a bigsign, which Dorothy read with much curiosity, speaking the words aloudthat all might know what they said:
"MISTER YOOP--HIS CAVE
The Largest Untamed Giant in Captivity.
_Height, 21 Feet._--(And yet he has but 2 feet.)
_Weight, 1640 Pounds._--(But he waits all the time.)
_Age, 400 Years 'and Up'_ (as they say in the Department Store advertisements).
_Temper, Fierce and Ferocious._--(Except when asleep.)
_Appetite, Ravenous._--(Prefers Meat People and Orange Marmalade.)
STRANGERS APPROACHING THIS CAVE DO SO AT THEIR OWN PERIL!
_P. S.--Don't feed the Giant yourself._"
"Very well," said Ojo, with a sigh; "let's go back."
"It's a long way back," declared Dorothy.
"So it is," remarked the Scarecrow, "and it means a tedious climb overthose sharp rocks if we can't use this passage. I think it will be bestto run by the Giant's cave as fast as we can go. Mister Yoop seems to beasleep just now."
But the Giant wasn't asleep. He suddenly appeared at the front of hiscavern, seized the iron bars in his great hairy hands and shook themuntil they rattled in their sockets. Yoop was so tall that our friendshad to tip their heads way back to look into his face, and they noticedhe was dressed all in pink velvet, with silver buttons and braid. TheGiant's boots were of pink leather and had tassels on them and his hatwas decorated with an enormous pink ostrich feather, carefully curled.
"Yo-ho!" he said in a deep bass voice; "I smell dinner."
"I think you are mistaken," replied the Scarecrow. "There is no orangemarmalade around here."
"Ah, but I eat other things," asserted Mister Yoop. "That is, I eat themwhen I can get them. But this is a lonely place, and no good meat haspassed by my cave for many years; so I'm hungry."
"Haven't you eaten anything in many years?" asked Dorothy.
"Nothing except six ants and a monkey. I thought the monkey would tastelike meat people, but the flavor was different. I hope you will tastebetter, for you seem plump and tender."
"Oh, I'm not going to be eaten," said Dorothy.
"Why not?"
"I shall keep out of your way," she answered.
"How heartless!" wailed the Giant, shaking the bars again. "Consider howmany years it is since I've eaten a single plump little girl! They tellme meat is going up, but if I can manage to catch you I'm sure it willsoon be going down. And I'll catch you if I can."
With this the Giant pushed his big arms, which looked like tree-trunks(except that tree-trunks don't wear pink velvet) between the iron bars,and the arms were so long that they touched the opposite wall of therock passage. Then he extended them as far as he could reach toward ourtravelers and found he could almost touch the Scarecrow--but not quite.
"Come a little nearer, please," begged the Giant.
"I'm a Scarecrow."
"A Scarecrow? Ugh! I don't care a straw for a scarecrow. Who is thatbright-colored delicacy behind you?"
"Me?" asked Scraps. "I'm a Patchwork Girl, and I'm stuffed with cotton."
"Dear me," sighed the Giant in a disappointed tone; "that reduces mydinner from four to two--and the dog. I'll save the dog for dessert."
Toto growled, keeping a good distance away.
"Back up," said the Scarecrow to those behind him. "Let us go back alittle way and talk this over."
So they turned and went around the bend in the passage, where they wereout of sight of the cave and Mister Yoop could not hear them.
"My idea," began the Scarecrow, when they had halted, "is to make a dashpast the cave, going on a run."
"He'd grab us," said Dorothy.
"Well, he can't grab but one at a time, and I'll go first. As soon as hegrabs me the rest of you can slip past him, out of his reach, and hewill soon let me go because I am not fit to eat."
They decided to try this plan and Dorothy took Toto in her arms, so asto protect him. She followed just after the Scarecrow. Then came Ojo,with Scraps the last of the four. Their hearts beat a little faster thanusual as they again approached the Giant's cave, this time movingswiftly fo
rward.
It turned out about the way the Scarecrow had planned. Mister Yoop wasquite astonished to see them come flying toward him, and thrusting hisarms between the bars he seized the Scarecrow in a firm grip. In thenext instant he realized, from the way the straw crunched between hisfingers, that he had captured the non-eatable man, but during thatinstant of delay Dorothy and Ojo had slipped by the Giant and were outof reach. Uttering a howl of rage the monster threw the Scarecrow afterthem with one hand and grabbed Scraps with the other.
The poor Scarecrow went whirling through the air and so cleverly was heaimed that he struck Ojo's back and sent the boy tumbling head overheels, and he tripped Dorothy and sent her, also, sprawling upon theground. Toto flew out of the little girl's arms and landed some distanceahead, and all were so dazed that it was a moment before they couldscramble to their feet again. When they did so they turned to looktoward the Giant's cave, and at that moment the ferocious Mister Yoopthrew the Patchwork Girl at them.
Down went all three again, in a heap, with Scraps on top. The Giantroared so terribly that for a time they were afraid he had broken loose;but he hadn't. So they sat in the road and looked at one another in arather bewildered way, and then began to feel glad.
"We did it!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, with satisfaction. "And now we arefree to go on our way."
"Mister Yoop is very impolite," declared Scraps. "He jarred meterribly. It's lucky my stitches are so fine and strong, for otherwisesuch harsh treatment might rip me up the back."
"Allow me to apologize for the Giant," said the Scarecrow, raising thePatchwork Girl to her feet and dusting her skirt with his stuffed hands."Mister Yoop is a perfect stranger to me, but I fear, from the rudemanner in which he has acted, that he is no gentleman."
Dorothy and Ojo laughed at this statement and Toto barked as if heunderstood the joke, after which they all felt better and resumed thejourney in high spirits.
"Of course," said the little girl, when they had walked a way along thepassage, "it was lucky for us the Giant was caged; for, if he hadhappened to be loose, he--he--"
"Perhaps, in that case, he wouldn't be hungry any more," said Ojogravely.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz Page 21
