accept it. So he followed the Prince into the great domed hall,
and Dorothy and Zeb came after them, while the throng of people
trooped in also.

There sat the thorny Sorcerer in his chair of state, and when the
Wizard saw him he began to laugh, uttering comical little chuckles.

"What an absurd creature!" he exclaimed.

"He may look absurd," said the Prince, in his quiet voice; "but he is
an excellent Sorcerer. The only fault I find with him is that he is
so often wrong."

"I am never wrong," answered the Sorcerer.

"Only a short time ago you told me there would be no more Rain of
Stones or of People," said the Prince.

"Well, what then?"

"Here is another person descended from the air to prove you were wrong."

"One person cannot be called 'people,'" said the Sorcerer. "If two
should come out of the sky you might with justice say I was wrong; but
unless more than this one appears I will hold that I was right."

"Very clever," said the Wizard, nodding his head as if pleased. "I am
delighted to find humbugs inside the earth, just the same as on top of
it. Were you ever with a circus, brother?"