"Gone?" Creeping on hands and knees, the Scarecrow peered out to see for himself. "Why, what right have they to go off like that?" he demanded, pulling himself up by the door jam. "April comes before October and goes before October, too. Fall before spring--why, that's ridiculous! The Ozpril should have led off!" "Oh, what will become of them?" cried Dorothy in distress, clasping her hands anxiously. "I'm sure it was a dreadful mistake." "Mistake!" moaned the Wizard, pushing back his high hat. "Worse than that, Dorothy! Why, everything is ruined! Here they've gone off before I even had a chance to _show_ the plane to Ozma. They have no directions, no supplies; they'll crash, smash or wreck themselves. I intended to teach Nick Chopper to navigate the plane before we started!" "But can't we stop them? Can't we go after them?" exclaimed Dorothy, clutching the Wizard's coat tails. "Go after them?--Yes! that's the idea, go after them! Of course!" panted the Wizard, falling over the Cowardly Lion who was making a stream-lion for the door. "I was just going back for my over-shoes," wheezed the lion, slinking rather guiltily into his seat at the Wizard's reproachful glance. "Stay where you are!" the Wizard directed sharply. "Now then, steady--everybody steady! Shut that door, Scarecrow, we are about to ascend." The Wizard bent over the steering board to touch the green button that would inflate the Ozpril's balloon. "But I never expected to go without my black bag of magic, an extra vest, or even my bottle of hair tonic." "Haven't you any magic at all?" called Dorothy, as the Ozpril began to vibrate and tremble from the rush of gas into its balloon. "A little, a little," confessed the Wizard, pressing the buttons marked "Up" and "South". "Here, Dorothy, take the tell-all-escope and see if you can catch a glimpse of the Oztober when we are aloft." Grasping the wheel, the Wizard settled grimly into the pilot's seat. Dorothy had just time to clutch the tell-all-escope before the Ozpril rose straight into the air. Lifted and borne by its buoyant gas bag, the graceful ship pointed toward the stars. CHAPTER 4 First Flight of the Oztober Now the start of the Oztober had been nothing like the orderly take-off of the Ozpril. The first hint Jellia had of their departure was when a china coffee pot from the open china closet into which she was looking with great interest, hit her a sharp clip on the chin. Next moment she was rolling round on the floor of the cabin, dodging all the rest of the green dishes. "Oh! Oh! Dishes awful!" choked poor Jellia Jam, not even realizing she was making a pun. "Stop!" yelled the Tin Woodman, turning a complete somersault and coming down on his funnel with one leg hooked through the luggage rack. "Stop! Who did that?"