"They--they hurt my feelings," blubbered the poor Soldier, holding out his bristling whiskers in disgust. "I'll never get used to a red beard. Never! Never!" "Why not cut it off?" inquired Prince Pompadore, with some difficulty controlling his chuckles. "What? Cut off my beautiful whiskers? Why, why, I'd rather lose my head," moaned the Soldier with a horrified shudder. "How would I look? How would I fight? Oh! Oh! This is ridiculous!" Burying his face in his napkin, Ozma's distracted army rushed violently from the room. "Red-iculous, if you ask me," observed the Scarecrow in his droll voice. "No, no, it's MAGIC!" muttered the Wizard, stepping briskly down from his chair. "Wait, I must consult my book of red magic and portents." "And I'll go with you," offered Jinnicky, rolling quickly out of his cushioned seat. "You know RED magic is my specialty." So, arm in arm, the Wizard of Oz and the Wizard of Ev bustled away together. "Well, I can tell you what it means without consulting any books," said the Scarecrow as Ozma, looking rather troubled, again took her place and motioned for the others to do the same. "It is a warning," declared the Scarecrow, raising his arm stiffly. "Someone is coming to beard us in our den (pardon such an informal reference to your castle, my dear,)" he made an apologetic little bow to Ozma and then continued seriously, "a danger from without threatens the Kingdom of Oz." "Who would dare threaten the sovereignty of our country?" demanded the Yellow Knight, brandishing his sword. "What's up? What's up?" neighed Highboy, elevating himself so suddenly he cracked his head against the ceiling. "You should know, being so high," chuckled the Scarecrow, who could not resist a joke even when he was most serious. "But calm yourself, my good horse, you are not in danger yet." Danger! The short, ugly word dropped like a bomb into that gay and carefree assemblage. Dorothy, with a little pang of dismay, saw the Cowardly Lion creeping under the table, and feeling in her pocket for her handkerchief drew out instead one of the Wizard's wishing pills. He had given it to her so she could visit the corn ear palace of the Scarecrow the following week and do it by simply wishing herself there instead of making the journey. Dorothy fingered the pill thoughtfully for a minute or two, then with a sudden quick motion popped the small tablet into her mouth. "Whatever happens, help me to save Ozma and Oz," murmured Dorothy, and swallowing the pill, she looked sharply around the room for further signs of warning or disaster. CHAPTER 7 What Wizard? At first, everything seemed as usual. Then, turning to ask the Tin Woodman a question, Dorothy was annoyed to discover that his chair was pushed back and he was nowhere in sight.