Ozma gasped in surprise. "Those are human children, Shaggy Man! What can they be doing there when my Magic Record Books state that Conjo is the only human being on the island? We can see that the clown accompanying them is a puppet, evidently brought to life by Conjo." "Perhaps they are lost," ventured the Shaggy Man. "But how would they get to the island? It is surrounded by miles and miles of ocean." "I don't know," admitted the Shaggy Man, "but it is one more good reason for me to go there as quickly as possible--those children may be in need of help." "I agree with you," said Ozma quickly. "You must find out what the children are doing on the island and see that they are returned to their homes. If you cannot do that, then you must bring them with you to the Land of Oz." "Will you use the Magic Belt to transport us back to the Land of Oz?" asked the Shaggy Man. "That will be impossible," stated Ozma, "since I must leave this afternoon to visit Glinda the Good. We are working on some extremely important magic charms in which the powers of the Magic Belt are needed. I am not sure how long I will be gone--perhaps for several weeks. "However," Ozma went on, as she stepped to a heavy wooden chest, opened one of its drawers, and withdrew a small object, "I want you to take this with you. It will enable you to return to the Land of Oz anytime you wish." "What is it?" asked the Shaggy Man curiously. "It is a Magic Compass," explained Ozma. "You will notice that it is not round in shape like ordinary compasses, but is formed like a rectangle, as is the Land of Oz." Shaggy looked at the Magic Compass and found that instead of being marked, North, South, East, and West as is the usual compass, it bore the words, Gillikin, Quadling, Winkie, and Munchkin, which are the four countries making up the Land of Oz. "Should you wish to return to any one of the four countries," Ozma went on, "just set the compass needle to the one to which you wish to journey. If you want to come directly to the Emerald City, you have only to spin the needle of the compass, and you will be here as quickly as the Magic Belt could bring you." The Shaggy Man inspected the Magic Compass more closely and found that the pivot on which the needle rested, rose from a spot of green in the very center of the compass. This green spot, he knew, represented the Emerald City. "But what about the children?" the Shaggy Man asked. "If I can find no way to send them home, I cannot simply leave them on the island." "Of course not," replied Ozma. "If you think it necessary to bring them to Oz with you, just have them put their arms in yours; then spin the compass needle, and all three of you will be transported to the Emerald City." The Shaggy Man placed the Magic Compass carefully in his pocket and said: "Perhaps it would be well for me to be on my way. There's no telling what will happen on that island and those two children may need help."