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Chapter Seventeen

dry old undiscovered plateau and I don't intend to stop till I come to the Nonestic Ocean."

"Oh!" groaned Wag, falling over backwards. "We're going to be cast away on a desert island."

Peg held up a warning finger. "What made you want to run away and be an island?" she asked faintly for, even to Peg, things looked serious.

"Well," began the Land, giving itself a hitch, "I lay patiently for years and years waiting to be discovered. Nobody came—not even one little missionary. I kept getting lonelier and lonelier. You see how broken up I am!"

"Yes, we can see that, all right," sniffed Kabumpo.

"And I'm ambitious," continued the Country huskily. "I want to be cultivated and built up like other Kingdoms. So, one day I made up my mind I wouldn't wait any longer but would run off myself and discover some settlers. As I have ten mountains and each has a foot there seemed to be no reason why I shouldn't run away, so I did—and I have!"

The Country rolled its lakes triumphantly at the little party on the hill. "I have found some settlers and I'm looking to you to develop me into a good, modern, up-to-Oz Kingdom. I'm a progressive Country and I expect you to improve and make something

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