“Now, sheik,” Bob roared briskly and cheerily, “no doubt you’re convinced that we’re what we claim to be—great magicians. But we don’t mean to work you any injury, now that we’re big and you’re small; although you meant to put us to death, just because _you_ were big and _we_ were small. You’ll come back to your natural size all right, in a few days. And we’re not going to rob you; just going to borrow two of your camels.” The sheik had stood silently staring at his diminutive warriors and inspecting his own shrunken limbs. But now he piped shrilly: “Allah is great! Allah is great! But what use can you have for our camels? You are so huge that they cannot bear you!” “Say!” Bob muttered in consternation. “Fitz, that’s a fact. What are we to do? I meant to take two of the camels to carry us and our balloon out of reach of the power of the magnetic mountain. What are we to do?” [Illustration: Two giants stood triumphantly grinning down upon twenty pygmies.] “I don’t know,” the goblin-giant grumbled surlily. “Well, can’t you think of some plan?” “You’re the one, Roberty-Boberty, that’s making the plans this time.” And Fitz Mee grinned a grin that made his big fat face look simply awful. “I know,” Bob admitted ruefully. “But won’t you help a fellow out, when he’s doing the best he can?” “Say, Bob!” “What?”—eagerly, expectantly. “I’ll tell you what! We’ll have to take gob-tabs and go back to goblin size. Then the camels can carry us.” “Yes, but we couldn’t manage the camels—couldn’t get on ’em, even,” the boy-giant objected. “Could we?” “I’m afraid we couldn’t,” the goblin-giant admitted, shaking his head. “I hadn’t thought of that.” “Oh, dear!” groaned Bob. “Oh, dear!” seconded Fitz. “Say!” squeaked the old sheik, looking up at the two giants. “What are we Arabs to do? We are so small we cannot mount and manage our beasts.” “I don’t know,” rumbled Bob. “And _I_ don’t know,” mumbled Fitz. “Well, you’re a nice pair of magicians—_you_ are!” screeched the sheik, pulling at his long beard. “Don’t you know anything you can do to help us out of our quandary?” Each giant sadly shook his big head. “Well,” the old sheik screeched, “I know what you’ve _got_ to do—you’ve got to give our beasts some of your magic medicine, and shrink ’em.” “Oh!” Bob ejaculated. “Oh!” Fitz exclaimed. “That’s a good idea,” the boy-giant remarked. “A splendid idea,” the goblin-giant agreed. “And we can give giant-tabs to the two camels we’re going to use,” Bob suggested. “Of course we can,” Fitz assented. “Well, here goes!” The two giants went to work. After repeated trials they succeeded in getting the camels and horses to swallow the magic medicine. All those animals to whom they gave gob-tabs shrunk to pygmy size; and the two camels to whom they administered giant-tabs grew to giant size. Then the old sheik and his bearded warriors, looking very dejected and forlorn, got upon their tiny beasts and rode away over the sands.