fled in all directions, in spite of the Old Soldier, who tried with all his might to stop the frightened soldiers. The snake was almost as badly scared as the army and it wriggled into a hole near by with remarkable speed.

“Well, this is a fine army, I must say!” growled the General when the Old Soldier had finally got the soldiers back in line. “If you men run at the sight of a little snake, what will you do when you face real wild men?”

“Pardon me, sir,” said Gogo, saluting the General. “We-all don’t mind fightin’ the wild men, but—we-all done object to bein’ et.”

“Forward, march!” shouted the General, and the little army moved on towards the wild men’s land.

Chapter Nine THE CAPTIVES ATTEND A DANCE

While the Teenie Weenie soldiers were gallantly marching to the rescue of their little friends, the Lady of Fashion and the Poet were being kept prisoners in one of the funny little houses of the wild men.

Queen Mooie, ruler of the Saboes, was a very fat little lady, and like all fat people, big or little, she was very good-natured. When the Lady of Fashion and the Poet were brought before her, she was much interested in them and she made a long speech to the two Teenie Weenies in her strange language, but not one word could the little people understand.

The house in which the Lady of Fashion and the Poet were kept was built up on posts about six Teenie Weenie feet (three inches in our measurement) from the ground. The houses were built up high as protection from the dampness, for the Saboes lived on a little island in the heart of a big swamp, and it also protected the little people from bugs. The floor of the house was made of sticks and the roof and sides were covered with a peculiar swamp grass. A flat stone about the size of a half dollar was placed on the floor, on which the wild men built a tiny fire to keep themselves warm in winter, and a small hole in the roof provided a chimney for the smoke.

Twice a day the wild men brought the two Teenie Weenies delicious pieces of smoked frog ham, with many tiny rice cakes, and every other day the two prisoners were given a blackberry.

One night shortly after the Lady of Fashion and the Poet had been brought to the wild men’s village, the two Teenie Weenies heard the beating of a drum. For what seemed hours the little prisoners listened to the tumtum, tumtum, tumtum, of the drum. There was no 

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