"Why didn't you tell me you had a grab bag?" stuttered Jack. "Tie it up quick; do you want it to grab us?" With trembling hands and stiff fingers Peter pulled the cords in the top of the sack, and sinking down in a tired heap leaned his head against the stones. The battle with the Scares and the strange behaviour of the pirate's sack had almost been too much for him. Where in Pete had the Scares gone and how could the sack be empty? Jack equally agitated took several jerky steps up and down and then paused in front of Peter. "What now?" asked Jack Pumpkinhead inquiringly. "What now?" "Let's get out of here!" exclaimed Peter, and taking a long breath he jumped to his feet. "Are we going to take that?" Fearfully Jack pointed to the pirate's sack. "Of course!" said Peter, trying to speak in a matter of fact voice. "It might help us out again." "Do you wish to be helped out of sight?" wheezed Jack sarcastically. "Why it may swallow us any minute that our backs are turned." "Not if we keep it tied," answered Peter with more confidence than he felt. "We really ought to take it to the Emerald City to show the Wizard. I don't believe even the Wizard has seen a sack like this. It's a trained sack, I suppose. That pirate taught it to swallow his enemies and now it will swallow ours." "All right, bring it if you must, but don't swing it near me." Straightening his head resignedly, Jack began looking around for the peg that had fallen out of his knee joint. When Peter had found and replaced the little wooden piece, they hurried quickly to the entrance of the city. The gate keeper had been swallowed with the rest of the Scares and though Jack and Peter pulled and pushed and tugged they could not budge the iron bolts. "Maybe there's another way," puffed Peter, finally giving up the attempt. Turning from the entrance, they walked round and round the courtyard and climbed wearily up and down the rocks, but could find no break in the wall, nor any way out of the grim City. The dead silence, now that the Scares were gone, was dreadfully depressing. Thoroughly discouraged, Peter and Jack sat down on a block of granite. Leaning his head against a red pillar, Peter took a last despairing look around. As his eye travelled slowly over the court, a red stone griffin, or what Peter had supposed to be a red stone griffin, rose majestically from the base of a pillar. With a terrific stretch and yawn it opened its eyes, blinked in surprise at Peter and Jack, then raising one claw called gently, "Who?" What? Whither? Why?" CHAPTER 5 Peter Meets the Iffin "Boy! Pumpkin! Emerald City! Because!" answered Jack who was extremely literal. "If everyone would answer me as sensibly as he does," said the griffin, "I'd talk all day. So you say you're leaving this place because----"