"Why, this must be the Fiddlebow Boat," cried the little boy, hastening over to examine it. It was of a smooth and satiny garnet, and exactly the shape of a huge, hollowed-out fiddle. It rode gaily at the end of its pink line, and this discovery only made Bob more anxious than ever to find the clown. Calling first Notta and then Nick, he ran back to the big tree, and just as he reached it was horrified to see a witch bending over the pile of leaves he had slept on. With a shrill scream Bob turned to flee but the witch came bounding and hobbling after, calling to him in pleading tones not to run away. But the more the witch called, the faster Bob ran, and he might have been running yet, had he not tripped over the roots of a tree and fallen headlong. In an instant the black hands of his pursuer jerked him to his feet. "Bob! Bob!" cried the witch remorsefully, "don't you know me? Bob, it's Notta--only old Notta!" "Notta?" gasped Bob, for he was entirely out of breath and trembling like a leaf. "There! There!" coaxed the clown. "It's only one of my disguises." As Bob continued to regard him with disfavor, he explained hurriedly, "You see we're going to this Emerald City, Bob Up, where every other person is more or less magic. Now, what attention would they pay to a silly clown? Why, they might not even listen to me. But if I pretend to be a powerful witch, Princess Ozma and the Wizard of Oz, whom we've been hearing so much about, will hasten to do what I say." "You'll frighten them," said Bob stubbornly, but Notta shook his head. "People in fairy cities aren't frightened as easily as little boys," he chuckled knowingly. "And just look what I've found you for breakfast!" In Bob's cap he had gathered nuts and berries of every kind, and Bob, seeing Notta was determined to go to the Emerald City as a witch, said nothing more but began to eat hungrily. After a hearty breakfast, Nick came flapping back and was so startled by the clown's disguise that his nose fell off the hook with a crash. But Notta soon reassured him and, as Bob was tingling with impatience to show them the boat, they finished the berries in great haste. "This is the friendliest forest I ever was in," repeated the clown, viewing Bob's discovery with delight. "This will take us out faster than we could walk and it's much safer than the Flyaboutabus. Now then, all aboard for the Emerald City!" [Illustration: NOTTA AND BOB UP ON THEIR WAY TO THE EMERALD CITY, IN THE FIDDLEBOW BOAT.]