The Scarecrow was not a bit afraid of King Krewl.Indeed, he rather enjoyed the prospect of conquering theevil King and putting Gloria on the throne of Jinxland inhis place. So he advanced boldly to the royal castle anddemanded admittance.

Seeing that he was a stranger, the soldiers allowed himto enter. He made his way straight to the throne room,where at that time his Majesty was settling the disputesamong his subjects.

"Who are you?" demanded the King.

"I'm the Scarecrow of Oz, and I command you tosurrender yourself my prisoner."

"Why should I do that? " inquired the King, muchastonished at the straw man's audacity.

"Because I've decided you are too cruel a King to ruleso beautiful a country. You must remember that Jinxlandis a part of Oz, and therefore you owe allegiance to Ozmaof Oz, whose friend and servant I am."

Now, when he heard this, King Krewl was much disturbedin mind, for he knew the Scarecrow spoke the truth. Butno one had ever before come to Jinxland from the Land ofOz and the King did not intend to be put out of histhrone if he could help it. Therefore he gave a harsh,wicked laugh of derision and said:

"I'm busy, now. Stand out of my way, Scarecrow, andI'll talk with you by and by."

But the Scarecrow turned to the assembled courtiers andpeople and called in a loud voice:

"I hereby declare, in the name of Ozma of Oz, that thisman is no longer ruler of Jinxland. From this momentPrincess Gloria is your rightful Queen, and I ask all ofyou to be loyal to her and to obey her commands."

The people looked fearfully at the King, whom they allhated in their hearts, but likewise feared. Krewl was nowin a terrible rage and he raised his golden sceptre andstruck the Scarecrow so heavy a blow that he fell to thefloor.

But he was up again, in an instant, and with Pon'sriding-whip he switched the King so hard that the wickedmonarch roared with pain as much as with rage, calling onhis soldiers to capture the Scarecrow.

They tried to do that, and thrust their lances andswords into the straw body, but without doing any damageexcept to make holes in the Scarecrow's clothes. However,they were many against one and finally old Googly-Goobrought a rope which he wound around the Scarecrow,binding his legs together and his arms to his sides, andafter that the fight was over.

The King stormed and danced around in a dreadful fury,for he had never been so switched since he was a boy --and perhaps not then. He ordered the Scarecrow thrustinto the castle prison, which was no task at all becauseone man could carry him easily, bound. as he was.

Even after the prisoner was removed the King could notcontrol his anger. He tried to figure out some way to berevenged upon the straw man, but could think of nothingthat could hurt him. At last, when the terrified peopleand the frightened courtiers had all slunk away, oldGoogly-Goo approached the king with a malicious grin uponhis face.

"I'll tell you what to do," said he. "Build a bigbonfire and burn the Scarecrow up, and that will be theend of him."

The King was so delighted with this suggestion that hehugged old Googly-Goo in his joy

"Of course!" he cried. "The very thing. Why did I notthink of it myself?"

So he summoned his soldiers and retainers and bade themprepare a great bonfire in an open space in the castlepark. Also he sent word to all his people to assemble andwitness the destruction of the Scarecrow who had dared todefy his power. Before long a vast throng gathered in thepark and the servants had heaped up enough fuel to make afire that might be seen for miles away -- even in thedaytime.

When all was prepared, the King had his throne broughtout for him to sit upon and enjoy the spectacle, and thenhe sent his soldiers to fetch the Scarecrow.

Now the one thing in all the world that the straw manreally feared was fire. He knew he would burn very easilyand that his ashes wouldn't amount to much afterward. Itwouldn't hurt him to be destroyed in such a manner, buthe realized that many people in the Land of Oz, andespecially Dorothy and the Royal Ozma, would feel sad ifthey learned that their old friend the Scarecrow was nolonger in existence.

In spite of this, the straw man was brave and faced hisfiery fate like a hero. When they marched him out beforethe concourse of people he turned to the King with greatcalmness and said:

"This wicked deed will cost you your throne, as well asmuch suffering, for my friends will avenge mydestruction."

"Your friends are not here, nor will they know what Ihave done to you, when you are gone and can-not tellthem," answered the King in a scornful voice.

Then he ordered the Scarecrow bound to a stout stakethat he had had driven into the ground, and the materialsfor the fire were heaped all around him. When this hadbeen done, the King's brass band struck up a lively tuneand old Googly-Goo came forward with a lighted match andset fire to the pile.

At once the flames shot up and crept closer and closertoward the Scarecrow. The King and all his people were sointent upon this terrible spectacle that none of themnoticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. Perhaps theythought that the loud buzzing sound -- like the noise ofa dozen moving railway trains -- came from the blazingfagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. Butsuddenly down swept a flock of Orks, half a hundred ofthem at the least, and the powerful currents of aircaused by their revolving tails sent the bonfirescattering in every direction, so that not one burningbrand ever touched the Scarecrow.

But that was not the only effect of this suddentornado. King Krewl was blown out of his throne and wenttumbling heels over head until he landed with a bumpagainst the stone wall of his own castle, and before hecould rise a big Ork sat upon him and held him pressedflat to the ground. Old Googly-Goo shot up into the airlike a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by themiddle on a high limb, kicking the air with his feet andclawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercylike the coward he was.

The people pressed back until they were jammed closetogether, while all the soldiers were knocked over andsent sprawling to the earth. The excitement was great fora few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant ofJinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great Orkswhose descent had served to rescue the Scarecrow andconquer King Krewl at one and the same time.

The Ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had theScarecrow free of his bonds. Then he said: "Well, we werejust in time to save you, which is better than being aminute too late. You are now the master here, and we aredetermined to see your orders obeyed."

With this the Ork picked up Krewl's golden crown, whichhad fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head ofthe Scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled overto the throne and sat down in it.

Seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd ofpeople, who tossed their hats and waved theirhandkerchiefs and hailed the Scarecrow as their King. Thesoldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now theyfully realized that their hated master was conquered andit would be wise to show their good will to theconqueror. Some of them bound Krewl with ropes anddragged him forward, dumping his body on the groundbefore the Scarecrow's throne. Googly-Goo struggled untilhe finally slid off the limb of the tree and cametumbling to the ground. He then tried to sneak away andescape, but the soldiers seized and bound him besideKrewl.

"The tables are turned," said the Scarecrow, swellingout his chest until the straw within it crackledpleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was youand your people who did it, friend Ork, and from thistime you may count me your humble servant."