I
remember hearing her say that she got the Powder of Life from this same
Nikidik."
"He must be a powerful Sorcerer!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman; "and since the
powder proved a success we ought to have confidence in the pills."
"But how," asked the Scarecrow, "can anyone count seventeen by twos?
Seventeen is an odd number."
"That is true," replied Tip, greatly disappointed. "No one can possibly
count seventeen by twos."
"Then the pills are of no use to us," wailed the Pumpkinhead; "and this fact
overwhelms me with
209
grief. For I had intended wishing that my head would never spoil."
"Nonsense!" said the Scarecrow, sharply. "If we could use the pills at all
we would make far better wishes than that."
"I do not see how anything could be better," protested poor Jack. "If you
were liable to spoil at any time you could understand my anxiety."
"For my part," said the Tin Woodman, "I sympathize with you in every
respect. But since we cannot count seventeen by twos, sympathy is all you
are liable to get."
By this time it had become quite dark, and the voyagers found above them a
cloudy sky, through which the rays of the moon could not penetrate.
The Gump flew steadily on, and for some reason the huge sofa-body rocked
more and more dizzily every hour.
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