<SPAN name="chap21"></SPAN>
<h3> Chapter Twenty-One </h3>
<h3> Hip Hopper the Champion </h3>
<p>They must have had good courage to climb all those rocks, for after
getting out of the canyon they encountered more rock hills to be
surmounted. Toto could jump from one rock to another quite easily, but
the others had to creep and climb with care, so that after a whole day
of such work Dorothy and Ojo found themselves very tired.</p>
<p>As they gazed upward at the great mass of tumbled rocks that covered
the steep incline, Dorothy gave a little groan and said:</p>
<p>"That's going to be a ter'ble hard climb, Scarecrow. I wish we could
find the dark well without so much trouble."</p>
<p>"Suppose," said Ojo, "you wait here and let me do the climbing, for
it's on my account we're searching for the dark well. Then, if I don't
find anything, I'll come back and join you."</p>
<p>"No," replied the little girl, shaking her head positively, "we'll all
go together, for that way we can help each other. If you went alone,
something might happen to you, Ojo."</p>
<p>So they began the climb and found it indeed difficult, for a way. But
presently, in creeping over the big crags, they found a path at their
feet which wound in and out among the masses of rock and was quite
smooth and easy to walk upon. As the path gradually ascended the
mountain, although in a roundabout way, they decided to follow it.</p>
<p>"This must be the road to the Country of the Hoppers," said the
Scarecrow.</p>
<p>"Who are the Hoppers?" asked Dorothy.</p>
<p>"Some people Jack Pumpkinhead told me about," he replied.</p>
<p>"I didn't hear him," replied the girl.</p>
<p>"No; you were asleep," explained the Scarecrow. "But he told Scraps and
me that the Hoppers and the Horners live on this mountain."</p>
<p>"He said in the mountain," declared Scraps; "but of course he meant on
it."</p>
<p>"Didn't he say what the Hoppers and Horners were like?" inquired
Dorothy.</p>
<p>"No; he only said they were two separate nations, and that the Horners
were the most important."</p>
<p>"Well, if we go to their country we'll find out all about 'em," said
the girl. "But I've never heard Ozma mention those people, so they
can't be very important."</p>
<p>"Is this mountain in the Land of Oz?" asked Scraps.</p>
<p>"Course it is," answered Dorothy. "It's in the South Country of the
Quadlings. When one comes to the edge of Oz, in any direction, there is
nothing more to be seen at all. Once you could see sandy desert all
around Oz; but now it's diff'rent, and no other people can see us, any
more than we can see them."</p>
<p>"If the mountain is under Ozma's rule, why doesn't she know about the
Hoppers and the Horners?" Ojo asked.</p>
<p>"Why, it's a fairyland," explained Dorothy, "and lots of queer people
live in places so tucked away that those in the Emerald City never even
hear of 'em. In the middle of the country it's diff'rent, but when you
get around the edges you're sure to run into strange little corners
that surprise you. I know, for I've traveled in Oz a good deal, and so
has the Scarecrow."</p>
<p>"Yes," admitted the straw man, "I've been considerable of a traveler,
in my time, and I like to explore strange places. I find I learn much
more by traveling than by staying at home."</p>
<p>During this conversation they had been walking up the steep pathway and
now found themselves well up on the mountain. They could see nothing
around them, for the rocks beside their path were higher than their
heads. Nor could they see far in front of them, because the path was so
crooked. But suddenly they stopped, because the path ended and there
was no place to go. Ahead was a big rock lying against the side of the
mountain, and this blocked the way completely.</p>
<p>"There wouldn't be a path, though, if it didn't go somewhere," said the
Scarecrow, wrinkling his forehead in deep thought.</p>
<p>"This is somewhere, isn't it?" asked the Patchwork Girl, laughing at
the bewildered looks of the others.</p>
<p class="poem">
"The path is locked, the way is blocked,<br/>
Yet here we've innocently flocked;<br/>
And now we're here it's rather queer<br/>
There's no front door that can be knocked."<br/></p>
<br/>
<p>"Please don't, Scraps," said Ojo. "You make me nervous."</p>
<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "I'm glad of a little rest, for that's a drea'ful
steep path."</p>
<p>As she spoke she leaned against the edge of the big rock that stood in
their way. To her surprise it slowly swung backward and showed behind
it a dark hole that looked like the mouth of a tunnel.</p>
<p>"Why, here's where the path goes to!" she exclaimed.</p>
<p>"So it is," answered the Scarecrow. "But the question is, do we want to
go where the path does?"</p>
<p>"It's underground; right inside the mountain," said Ojo, peering into
the dark hole. "Perhaps there's a well there; and, if there is, it's
sure to be a dark one."</p>
<p>"Why, that's true enough!" cried Dorothy with eagerness. "Let's go in,
Scarecrow; 'cause, if others have gone, we're pretty safe to go, too."</p>
<p>Toto looked in and barked, but he did not venture to enter until the
Scarecrow had bravely gone first. Scraps followed closely after the
straw man and then Ojo and Dorothy timidly stepped inside the tunnel.
As soon as all of them had passed the big rock, it slowly turned and
filled up the opening again; but now they were no longer in the dark,
for a soft, rosy light enabled them to see around them quite distinctly.</p>
<p>It was only a passage, wide enough for two of them to walk
abreast—with Toto in between them—and it had a high, arched roof.
They could not see where the light which flooded the place so
pleasantly came from, for there were no lamps anywhere visible. The
passage ran straight for a little way and then made a bend to the right
and another sharp turn to the left, after which it went straight again.
But there were no side passages, so they could not lose their way.</p>
<p>After proceeding some distance, Toto, who had gone on ahead, began to
bark loudly. They ran around a bend to see what was the matter and
found a man sitting on the floor of the passage and leaning his back
against the wall. He had probably been asleep before Toto's barks
aroused him, for he was now rubbing his eyes and staring at the little
dog with all his might.</p>
<p>There was something about this man that Toto objected to, and when he
slowly rose to his foot they saw what it was. He had but one leg, set
just below the middle of his round, fat body; but it was a stout leg
and had a broad, flat foot at the bottom of it, on which the man seemed
to stand very well. He had never had but this one leg, which looked
something like a pedestal, and when Toto ran up and made a grab at the
man's ankle he hopped first one way and then another in a very active
manner, looking so frightened that Scraps laughed aloud.</p>
<p>Toto was usually a well behaved dog, but this time he was angry and
snapped at the man's leg again and again. This filled the poor fellow
with fear, and in hopping out of Toto's reach he suddenly lost his
balance and tumbled heel over head upon the floor. When he sat up he
kicked Toto on the nose and made the dog howl angrily, but Dorothy now
ran forward and caught Toto's collar, holding him back.</p>
<p>"Do you surrender?" she asked the man.</p>
<p>"Who? Me?" asked the Hopper.</p>
<p>"Yes; you," said the little girl.</p>
<p>"Am I captured?" he inquired.</p>
<p>"Of course. My dog has captured you," she said.</p>
<p>"Well," replied the man, "if I'm captured I must surrender, for it's
the proper thing to do. I like to do everything proper, for it saves
one a lot of trouble."</p>
<p>"It does, indeed," said Dorothy. "Please tell us who you are."</p>
<p>"I'm Hip Hopper—Hip Hopper, the Champion."</p>
<p>"Champion what?" she asked in surprise.</p>
<p>"Champion wrestler. I'm a very strong man, and that ferocious animal
which you are so kindly holding is the first living thing that has ever
conquered me."</p>
<p>"And you are a Hopper?" she continued.</p>
<p>"Yes. My people live in a great city not far from here. Would you like
to visit it?"</p>
<p>"I'm not sure," she said with hesitation. "Have you any dark wells in
your city?"</p>
<p>"I think not. We have wells, you know, but they're all well lighted,
and a well lighted well cannot well be a dark well. But there may be
such a thing as a very dark well in the Horner Country, which is a
black spot on the face of the earth."</p>
<p>"Where is the Horner Country?" Ojo inquired.</p>
<p>"The other side of the mountain. There's a fence between the Hopper
Country and the Horner Country, and a gate in the fence; but you can't
pass through just now, because we are at war with the Horners."</p>
<p>"That's too bad," said the Scarecrow. "What seems to be the trouble?"</p>
<p>"Why, one of them made a very insulting remark about my people. He said
we were lacking in understanding, because we had only one leg to a
person. I can't see that legs have anything to do with understanding
things. The Horners each have two legs, just as you have. That's one
leg too many, it seems to me."</p>
<p>"No," declared Dorothy, "it's just the right number."</p>
<p>"You don't need them," argued the Hopper, obstinately. "You've only one
head, and one body, and one nose and mouth. Two legs are quite
unnecessary, and they spoil one's shape."</p>
<p>"But how can you walk, with only one leg?" asked Ojo.</p>
<p>"Walk! Who wants to walk?" exclaimed the man. "Walking is a terribly
awkward way to travel. I hop, and so do all my people. It's so much
more graceful and agreeable than walking."</p>
<p>"I don't agree with you," said the Scarecrow. "But tell me, is there
any way to get to the Horner Country without going through the city of
the Hoppers?"</p>
<p>"Yes; there is another path from the rocky lowlands, outside the
mountain, that leads straight to the entrance of the Horner Country.
But it's a long way around, so you'd better come with me. Perhaps they
will allow you to go through the gate; but we expect to conquer them
this afternoon, if we get time, and then you may go and come as you
please."</p>
<p>They thought it best to take the Hopper's advice, and asked him to lead
the way. This he did in a series of hops, and he moved so swiftly in
this strange manner that those with two legs had to run to keep up with
him.</p>
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