"Hush!" said the Admiral, in an agitated whisper. "We think it's where Bob Scarlet changes himself"--and as he said this there was a tremendous flapping of wings, and down came Bob Scarlet through the branches and landed with a thump a little way from where they were standing. He was as big as a goose again, and his appearance was so extremely formidable that the Caravan, as one man, threw themselves flat on their faces in a perfect frenzy of terror, and Dorothy herself hid in the grass, with her heart beating like a little eight-day clock. But Bob Scarlet fortunately paid no more attention to any of them than if they had been so many flies, and, after strutting about for a moment with his usual important air, strolled away in the direction of the toy-shop. "Now what do you make of _that_?" said the Admiral, lifting up his head. "He went in at a little door not five minutes ago, and he wasn't any bigger than an every-day bird." "I'm sure I don't know _what_ to make of it," said Dorothy. "But where is the door?" she added, running around the tower and looking at it on all sides. "It went up after him," said the Admiral, "like a corkscrew." "And it's coming down again, like a gimlet!" shouted the Highlander; and, as they all looked up, sure enough there was the little door slowly coming down, around and around, as if it were descending an invisible staircase on the outside of the tower. They all watched this performance with much interest, and as the door touched the ground it opened, and, to Dorothy's amazement, out came the little field-mouse. "What is it?" cried Dorothy, as they all crowded around the little creature. "Do tell us what it all means." "It's a Sizing Tower," said the Mouse, its little voice trembling with agitation. "You get big at the top, and little at the bottom. I wouldn't go up there again--not for a bushel of nuts." "Were you pretty big?" inquired Sir Walter. "Monstrous!" said the Mouse, with a little shudder; "I was as big as a squirrel; and while I was up there, Bob Scarlet flew up and came down with the door, and there I was." "_That_ was a precious mess!" remarked the Highlander. "Wasn't it now!" said the Mouse. "And if he hadn't taken it into his head to come up again and _fly down_, I'd 'a' been there yet." "Why, it's the very thing for us!" cried Dorothy, clapping her hands with delight as a happy thought occurred to her. "Let's all go up and get back our regular selves." "You go first," said the Admiral, suspiciously, "and call down to us how it feels." But Dorothy wouldn't hear of this; and after a great deal of arguing and pushing and saying "_You_ go in first," the whole party at last got squeezed in through the little doorway. Then the Mouse sat up on its hind legs and waved a little farewell with its paws, and the door softly closed. "If we begin to grow _now_," said the Admiral's voice in the dark, "we'll all be squeegeed, _sure_!" * * * * *