"Yes," said Dorothy, and wound up Number One, under the left arm. "He doesn't seem any different," remarked the hen, critically. "Why, of course not; he is only thinking, now," said Dorothy. "I wonder what he is thinking about." "I'll wind up his talk, and then perhaps he can tell us," said the girl. So she wound up Number Two, and immediately the clock-work man said, without moving any part of his body except his lips: "Good morn-ing, lit-tle girl. Good morn-ing, Mrs. Hen." The words sounded a little hoarse and creakey, and they were uttered all in the same tone, without any change of expression whatever; but both Dorothy and Billina understood them perfectly. "Good morning, sir," they answered, politely. "Thank you for res-cu-ing me," continued the machine, in the same monotonous voice, which seemed to be worked by bellows inside of him, like the little toy lambs and cats the children squeeze so that they will make a noise. [Illustration] "Don't mention it," answered Dorothy. And then, being very curious, she asked: "How did you come to be locked up in this place?" "It is a long sto-ry," replied the copper man; "but I will tell it to you brief-ly. I was pur-chased from Smith & Tin-ker, my man-u-fac-tur-ers, by a cru-el King of Ev, named Ev-ol-do, who used to beat all his serv-ants un-til they died. How-ev-er, he was not a-ble to kill me, be-cause I was not a-live, and one must first live in or-der to die. So that all his beat-ing did me no harm, and mere-ly kept my cop-per bod-y well pol-ished. "This cru-el king had a love-ly wife and ten beau-ti-ful chil-dren--five boys and five girls--but in a fit of an-ger he sold them all to the Nome King, who by means of his mag-ic arts changed them all in-to oth-er forms and put them in his un-der-ground pal-ace to or-na-ment the rooms. "Af-ter-ward the King of Ev re-gret-ted his wick-ed ac-tion, and tried to get his wife and chil-dren a-way from the Nome King, but with-out a-vail. So, in de-spair, he locked me up in this rock, threw the key in-to the o-cean, and then jumped in af-ter it and was drowned." "How very dreadful!" exclaimed Dorothy. "It is, in-deed," said the machine. "When I found my-self im-pris-oned I shout-ed for help un-til my voice ran down; and then I walked back and forth in this lit-tle room un-til my ac-tion ran down; and then I stood still and thought un-til my thoughts ran down. Af-ter that I re-mem-ber noth-ing un-til you wound me up a-gain." "It's a very wonderful story," said Dorothy, "and proves that the Land of Ev is really a fairy land, as I thought it was." [Illustration: THE COPPER MAN WALKED OUT OF THE ROCKY CAVERN] "Of course it is," answered the copper man. "I do not sup-pose such a per-fect ma-chine as I am could be made in an-y place but a fair-y land." "I've never seen one in Kansas," said Dorothy. "But where did you get the key to un-lock this door?" asked the clock-work voice.