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 PYTHON TOOLS FOR
SCIENTISTS
An Introduction to Using Anaconda,
JupyterLab, and Python’s Scientific
Libraries

by Lee Vaughan

San Francisco
PYTHON TOOLS FOR SCIENTISTS. Copyright © 2023 by Lee Vaughan.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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 This book is dedicated to the worldwide army of open source
software developers. I am immensely grateful for your hard work
and the immeasurable good it produces.
About the Author
Lee Vaughan is a programmer, educator, and author of Impractical
Python Projects (No Starch Press, 2019) and Real-World Python (No
Starch Press, 2021). As an executive-level scientist at ExxonMobil, he
constructed and reviewed computer models, developed and tested
software, and trained geoscientists and engineers. His books are
dedicated to helping self-learners develop and hone their Python
skills and have fun doing it!
About the Technical Reviewer
John Mayhew is a geoscientist with an extensive background in
mathematics, data analysis, and scientific computing. He is a co-
founder of the nonprofit organization Land of Jershon and currently
serves on its board of directors and as the CEO. He has also
established a charitable giving consultantship, East Gate Advocates,
designed to connect donors with nonprofit projects.
 BRIEF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART I: SETTING UP YOUR SCIENTIFIC CODING

ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 1: Installing and Launching Anaconda
Chapter 2: Keeping Organized with Conda Environments
Chapter 3: Simple Scripting in the Jupyter Qt Console
Chapter 4: Serious Scripting with Spyder
Chapter 5: Jupyter Notebook: An Interactive Journal for
Computational Research
Chapter 6: JupyterLab: Your Center for Science

PART II: A PYTHON PRIMER

Chapter 7: Integers, Floats, and Strings
Chapter 8: Variables
Chapter 9: The Container Data Types
Chapter 10: Flow Control
Chapter 11: Functions and Modules
Chapter 12: Files and Folders
Chapter 13: Object-Oriented programming
Chapter 14: Documenting Your Work

PART III: THE ANACONDA ECOSYSTEM

Chapter 15: The Scientific Libraries
Chapter 16: The InfoVis, SciVis, and Dashboarding Libraries
Chapter 17: The GeoVis Libraries

PART IV: THE ESSENTIAL LIBRARIES

Chapter 18: NumPy: Numerical Python
Chapter 19: Demystifying Matplotlib
Chapter 20: pandas, seaborn, and scikit-learn
Chapter 21: Managing Dates and Times with Python and pandas

Appendix: Answers to the “Test Your Knowledge” Challenges

Index
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
Why Python?
Navigating This Book
Part I: Setting Up Your Scientific Coding Environment
Part II: A Python Primer
Part III: The Anaconda Ecosystem
Part IV: The Essential Libraries
Appendix
Updates and Errata
Leaving Reviews

PART I: SETTING UP YOUR SCIENTIFIC CODING

ENVIRONMENT
1
INSTALLING AND LAUNCHING ANACONDA
About Anaconda
Installing Anaconda on Windows
Installing Anaconda on macOS
Installing Anaconda on Linux
Getting to Know Anaconda Navigator
Launching Navigator
The Home Tab
The Environments Tab
The Learning Tab
The Community Tab
 File Menu
Summary

2
KEEPING ORGANIZED WITH CONDA ENVIRONMENTS
Understanding Conda Environments
Working with Conda Environments Using Navigator
Launching Navigator
Creating a New Environment
Managing Packages
Duplicating Environments
Backing Up Environments
Removing Environments
Working with Conda Environments Using the Command Line
Interface
Launching the Command Line Interface
Creating a New Environment
Specifying an Environment’s Location
Managing Packages
Duplicating and Sharing Environments
Restoring Environments
Removing Environments
Cleaning the Package Cache
Summary

3
SIMPLE SCRIPTING IN THE JUPYTER QT CONSOLE
Installing seaborn
Installing and Launching the Jupyter Qt Console Using Navigator
Installing and Launching the Jupyter Qt Console Using the CLI
The Qt Console Controls
Choosing a Syntax Style
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Using Tabs and Kernels
 Printing and Saving
Multiline Editing
Summary

4
SERIOUS SCRIPTING WITH SPYDER
Installing and Launching Spyder with Anaconda Navigator
Installing and Launching Spyder Using the CLI
Launching Spyder from the Start Menu
Configuring the Spyder Interface
Using Spyder with Environments and Packages
The Naive Approach
The Modular Approach
Using Project Files and Folders
Creating a Project in a New Directory
Creating a Project in an Existing Directory
Using the Project Pane
The Help Pane
The IPython Console
Using the Console for Output and Plotting
Using Kernels with the Console
Clearing the Namespace
The History Pane
Special Consoles
The Editor Pane
Writing a Program Using the Editor
Defining Code Cells
Setting the Run Configuration
Autocompleting Text
The Code Analysis Pane
The Variable Explorer Pane
The Profiler Pane
The Debugger Pane
Summary

5
JUPYTER NOTEBOOK: AN INTERACTIVE JOURNAL FOR
COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH
Installing Jupyter Notebook
The Naive Approach
The Modular Approach
Your First Jupyter Notebook
Creating Dedicated Project Folders
Navigating the Notebook Dashboard and User Interface
Naming a Notebook
Adding Text with a Markdown Cell
Adding Code and Making Plots with a Code Cell
Working with Output Cells
Adding an Image with a Markdown Cell
Saving the Notebook
Closing the Notebook
Getting Help
Keyboard Shortcuts
The Command Palette
Using Notebook Extensions
Installing Extensions
Enabling Extensions
Working with Widgets
Installing ipywidgets
Creating Widgets with Interact
Creating Widgets with Interactive
Manually Creating Widgets
Handling Events
Customizing Widgets
Embedding Widgets in Other Formats
Sharing Notebooks
 Checking and Running Notebooks with the Kernel Menu
Downloading Notebooks
Sharing Notebooks via GitHub and Gist
Sharing Notebooks via Jupyter Notebook Viewer
Sharing Notebooks via Binder
Other Sharing Options
Trusting Notebooks
Turning Notebooks into Slideshows
Installing the RISE Extension
Creating a Slideshow
Using Speaker Notes
Summary
6
JUPYTERLAB: YOUR CENTER FOR SCIENCE
When to Use JupyterLab Instead of Notebook?
Installing JupyterLab
The Naive Approach
The Modular Approach
Building a 3D Astronomical Simulation
Using Dedicated Project Folders
The JupyterLab Interface
The Menu Bar
The Left Sidebar
Creating a New Notebook
Naming the Notebook
Using Markdown Cells
Adding Code and Making Plots
Adding a Console
Displaying an Image File
Exploring the Simulation
Opening Multiple Notebooks
Saving the Workspace
 Clearing the Workspace
Closing the Workspace
Taking Advantage of the JupyterLab Interface
Creating Synchronized Views
Copying Cells Between Notebooks
Staying Focused by Using Single Document Mode
Using the Text Editor
Running a Script in a Terminal
Running a Script in a Notebook
Simultaneously Writing and Documenting Code
Using JupyterLab Extensions
Installing and Managing Extensions with the Extension
Manager
Installing and Managing Extensions Using the CLI
Installing ipywidgets for JupyterLab
Creating Custom Extensions
Sharing
Summary

PART II: A PYTHON PRIMER

7
INTEGERS, FLOATS, AND STRINGS
Mathematical Expressions
Mathematical Operators
The Assignment Operator
Augmented Assignment Operators
Precedence
The math Module
Error Messages
Data Types
Accessing the Data Type
Integers
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
clown made him turn. Rushing toward them in tumbling waves of
fury were the Uns, led by I-wish-I-was. In a last despairing frenzy,
the Cowardly Lion hurled himself into the air, and this time his front
paws caught the feather wheels of the bus, and Bob and Notta,
pulling together, helped him aboard. There was not a minute to lose,
for the Uns were already surrounding the tree. Just as I-wish-I-was
sprang into the lower branches, Snorer cut the rope with his knifelike
beak and up sailed the Flyaboutabus like a balloon released from its
string. Up, up, up they went, till the wild screams of the Uns could no
longer be heard. Up, up, and 'round and 'round, plunging now this
way and now that, till Notta, Bob and the Cowardly Lion were too
shaken and dizzy to know or care what was happening.
But Snorer, more used to flying than the others, kept his head and,
waiting his opportunity, seized a long lever that swung loosely to and
fro in the front of the bus. He had never been in the Flyaboutabus
before, but something told him that the lever must guide the
movements of the strange vehicle. Sure enough, as soon as he took
hold of it, the darting about stopped and it flew quite steadily.
"Are we still going up?" quavered Notta, without opening his eyes.
The clown lay flat on his back in the bottom of the bus with Bob
sprawled on top of him. The Cowardly Lion had become wedged
under a seat and was heaving and puffing unhappily.
"Yes, but there's some way to bring it down," chirped Nick. "Come
have a look. I know how to fly myself, but I don't know how to fly a
Flyaboutabus."
 Chapter 13
Mustafa's Blue Magic
Notta rose unsteadily and lifted Bob into one of the side seats. Then
he staggered over to the front of the bus and, holding his head with
one hand, peered down at the gear and machinery. There was a row
of buttons under the steering wheel and the first button said
"Slower." Notta hastily pushed this one and the great feather wheels
on each side immediately slackened their frantic whirling, and while
Nick held the lever Notta investigated their strange flying machine
still further. It was shaped like an immense hollowed-out goose, with
seats on each side and a high seat near the head. The head turned
with the steering wheel and honked loudly when you pushed the
button marked "Blow." The tail of the goose moved from side to side,
and the four powerful wheels whirled around continuously, so that
the noise, when the bus flew swiftly, was terrific. Now, however, it
was running more quietly, and Bob, no longer feeling giddy, began to
look around with keen interest.
Notta had pressed another button marked "Middle Air—Down," and
they were slanting gently toward the earth, floating almost without
movement of the great feather wheels.
"Isn't this fun?" cried Bob, giving the clown a little hug as he sat
down in the seat ahead.
"Well," chuckled Notta, "I don't usually fly before breakfast, but I'd fly
from Un any time."
Snorer, who still held the lever, beamed over his shoulder at the
clown.
"Didn't I manage well?" he chirped happily. "I say, when anything's to
be done just leave it to old Nickadoodle."
"We can never thank you enough," declared Notta. "But how will you
get back? Will you fly?"
"I'm not going back," exulted Snorer, flapping his wings. "I'd be
unusual anywhere and I am never going to leave you, you beautiful
creature."
"Then our fortune is made," said the clown, with a wink at Bob, "for
in a circus you'd be more than half the show."
"I'll show them how to snore," chuckled Nick. "I do that better than
anything else. But I'd do anything for you, for I love you with all my
heart," continued Snorer calmly, "and the boy, too. And I love—"
"Don't you dare love me," rumbled the Cowardly Lion, wrathfully
jerking his head from beneath the seat. "I won't allow it!"
"All right," sighed Nick, adjusting his nose. "I'll try not to love you,
but it's going to be hard work, you're so handsome."
"There! There!" interrupted the Cowardly Lion gruffly, but he couldn't
help looking pleased. "You may like me if you wish," he added mildly.
"Any land in sight?"
Notta leaned far over the edge of the bus. "I think I see a village of
some kind far down below. Here, Bob, you come help steer." So,
while Nick grasped the lever to hold the bus steady, Bob sat in the
high seat and turned the great goose head as Notta directed, now to
the left and now to the right, and in less than an hour, they were
floating slowly over a quaint blue city.
"We're still in the Munchkin country," rumbled the Cowardly Lion,
standing on his hind legs and looking over the side.
"Well, we'll just fly over this town and land in one of those fields,"
puffed Notta uneasily. He was not sure he wouldn't impale the
Flyaboutabus on a steeple, or run over some of the inhabitants, if he
attempted to land in the city itself. As it was they flew quite a
distance before he located all the buttons necessary to make a
landing. The Flyaboutabus came to earth with such a bounce that
they all flew up like rubber balls, while the bus continued to fly and
bump around the field until Notta ran after it and tied it to a tree.
"And now what?" asked Nick, carefully putting his troublesome nose
on its hook.
"Breakfast!" wheezed the Cowardly Lion, rolling out of a huge
bramble bush. "Aren't you hungry, Bob?"
Bob nodded. "But where are we going to get it?" he asked, looking
rather puzzled.
"One never knows in Oz, but if we look carefully, we'll be sure to find
something," answered the lion easily.
"Let's make it a game," suggested Notta, patting his figure in various
important places to see whether his disguises were still safe. "Now
then, all ready for a breakfast hunt. I'll take this field, Nick can take
the air and Bob and the Cowardly Lion may have the woods."
Bob smiled a little to himself. Hunting breakfast in the woods did
seem ridiculous but, as the Cowardly Lion went poking his head in
bushes and sniffing around trees in a businesslike manner, Bob began
to look too. There were plenty of flowers in the woods, and for a time
Bob found nothing else. At last pushing through a tangle of vines, the
little boy found himself standing under a stout little tree that rattled
curiously when the wind passed through its branches. There was a
sign on the tree. Standing on his toes Bob spelled it out laboriously.
Then he called Notta in excited little shrieks.
"What is it?" panted the clown, breaking through the vines with the
Cowardly Lion one leap behind him. "Are you hurt?"
"No," cried Bob, "but I've won!" He pointed gleefully to the tree.
"Travelers' Tree," read Notta, "planted by the Wizard Wam in the year
1120 O. Z. "
"Well, hurrah for Wam!" chortled the clown, and began walking all
around the tree, while the Cowardly Lion sat down and panted a little
from his long run.
The lower branches were gay with many pink cups and on the next,
poised over the cups, were the sauciest little tea, cocoa and coffee
pots imaginable. Higher up grew clusters of covered dishes of every
kind. In the very top of the tree was a large nest of some sort.
Snorer, who came flying back just then, declared it was full of eggs.
Instead of leaves, the tree flaunted many bright paper napkin
blossoms.
"Be sure to plant your dishes when you have finished eating,"
directed another sign quite sternly.
With a happy little chuckle, Bob picked a napkin for each, and three
for the Cowardly Lion. Then Notta broke a coffee cup from its stem,
and no sooner had he touched the cup than the coffee pot on the
next branch tilted gently and filled the cup with fragrant hot coffee.
The clown was so startled that he accidentally brushed off another
cup, at which a cocoa pot poured a cup full of cocoa over his head
before he had time to duck. Spluttering and coughing, Notta drew
back, but that was the only accident, and as the clown said, it saved
him from washing his face.
The Cowardly Lion drank a dozen cups of coffee, one right after the
other. Bob had two cups of cocoa, and Snorer, holding a tea cup in
one claw, sipped the beverage suspiciously, then flew off to find
something more to his taste. Next, Notta picked five dishes of Ozish
stew for the Cowardly Lion, a plate full of meat hash for himself and
a chop and baked potato for Bob Up.
Nothing could have been jollier than that breakfast. The Cowardly
Lion forgot to worry about his feathers, Bob forgot he had ever been
an orphan, and Notta forgot that he was lost in a strange magic
country and in the power of the wicked monarch of Mudge. When
they could not eat another bite, Snorer flew to the top of a tree and
brought down dozens of eggs from the nest. Strangely enough, they
were hard boiled and Bob filled his blouse with them, for as Notta
said, there was no telling where they would be by noon. The
Cowardly Lion now dug a deep hole and they buried all the dishes,
which was lots less trouble than washing them, then back they went
to the Flyaboutabus.
Bob chattered quite gaily to Nickadoodle, but Notta and the Cowardly
Lion walked along in silence. Notta, after the valiant way the lion had
defended them from the Uns, could not bear the idea of betraying
this strange new friend. Better a thousand times turn blue than have
the kind-hearted Cowardly Lion fall into the merciless hands of
Mustafa.
"Perhaps the old Mudger's ring will not work any way," reflected
Notta uncomfortably. "Perhaps it was just a threat to frighten us." If
they could just reach this wonderful Emerald City and tell their story
to Dorothy, everything would turn out happily. And that, decided
Notta, was what he would do.
The Cowardly Lion, on his part, was thinking how terrible it would
have been had he eaten Notta on that first morning of their meeting.
He felt guilty every time he looked at the jolly, companionable clown.
The more he thought about the Patchwork Girl's suggestion, the
more ashamed of himself he felt. Why it was perfectly unish, this idea
of devouring a brave man. No wonder he had grown a larger bunch
of feathers than Notta and Bob! If there was no other way to acquire
courage, he would stay a coward forever and that was the end of
that! No sooner had the Cowardly Lion reached this conclusion, than
he, too, felt light-hearted and happy again and began to roar with
appreciation at Notta's funny antics and jokes.
When they reached the Flyaboutabus, it was jerking at its rope as if it
was anxious to be off, and so were they all for that matter.
"Which way is the Emerald City from here?" asked Notta, turning to
the Cowardly Lion. "I've lost my bearings." The Cowardly Lion looked
first north, then south. He knew they were in the Munchkin Country,
but their flight to Un had confused him terribly.
"I think it's straight ahead," he roared uncertainly. "Let's run along
the ground for a while till we're sure."
"All right," agreed the clown and, calling to Bob, started for the bus.
But half way he stopped in horror. Bob, though perfectly unconscious
of it, had turned as blue as washday. At the same time Notta caught
the Cowardly Lion staring at him fixedly.
"What's the matter?" choked Notta. "Am I blue, too?"
"Not very," faltered the lion, whose heart was in his throat at the
awful change in his friends.
Notta looked down at his hands with a shudder. "I'm as blue as the
Danube," he muttered unhappily. "But that's all the better. Why, a
blue clown ought to be the greatest curiosity yet. Wait till I reach
America with my new skin and feathers." Notta went on trying to
make a joke of it, but his voice shook a little in spite of himself, and
when he tried a light double somersault an even worse thing
happened. Halfway around he found himself unable to move, and
there he stood on his head, powerless to straighten his arms or legs.
There was no doubt about it, Mustafa had taken off his magic ring.
For when Bob tried to run to Notta's assistance he was caught with
one foot in the air.
"Help, help!" croaked Snorer, flying frantically from one to the other.
His nose came off the hook and hung straight down, but he never
even noticed it.
"Fly up a tree, can't you!" roared the Cowardly Lion, as Snorer
flapped into his face and almost blinded him with his wings.
With a quick spring he reached Notta's side. "Better lift me down,"
puffed the clown, for under the blue he was turning crimson from
standing so long upside down. The Cowardly Lion obeyed, and placed
him gently on the ground, where he lay as stiff as a statue.
"It's magic!" growled the lion. "Blue magic!"
"It's Mustafa!" groaned Notta, looking dismally at Bob. "I guess I'll
have to tell you the whole story." In short jerks and gasps, for he
could barely move his lips, he told how Mustafa had sent them to
capture the Cowardly Lion and of how he had threatened them with
the magic ring if they failed to obey him.
"But you did disobey him," breathed the lion, lashing his tail. "Even
when you knew what would happen, you made no attempt to capture
me!" Tears of gratitude rolled down his nose. "You're the bravest man
in Oz," he choked miserably, "but look what it has brought you to?"
"Weren't you looking for the bravest man in Oz?" asked Notta,
suddenly remembering their first conversation. "That's how we
happened to meet you, I think."
The Cowardly Lion nodded gloomily, for it was now his turn to
confess. With many apologies and sighs he told Notta of his quest for
courage and his determination to devour a brave man, the bravest
man that he met.
"But you didn't do it!" shouted Notta triumphantly. "And many a
chance you've had if you had cared to take it. Cheer up, old fellow,
there's some way out of it."
Snorer with suppressed gurgles and sobs had listened to both stories.
Now he held up his claw. "As I understand," croaked the bird,
pushing his curly nose back of his ear, "Mustafa's ring has turned
black because you have not captured the Cowardly Lion?"
"That's about it," admitted Notta, trying to wink at Bob, but finding it
impossible to move his eyelid.
"Well, then," sniffled Snorer with a little hop, "why not capture him?
Wait, I'll get a rope." He flew off to the Flyaboutabus, first stopping
to comfort Bob Up. "Let us meet magic with strategy," cawed Nick,
flying back with a long piece of rope in his bill.
"I'll never urge him a step," declared Notta firmly. "Not if I have to
stay blue and still for the rest of my life."
"You won't have to," rumbled the Cowardly Lion, who was beginning
to look quite cheerful. "I'll run all the way to Mudge and give myself
up to this ridiculous Mustafa." He made a little spring, but Snorer
with a screech barred the way.
"Have you no sense?" shrilled Nick sharply. "I said strategy." He tied
the rope hastily around the Cowardly Lion's neck and placed the end
in Notta's stiff hand. And no sooner had he done so than Bob, with a
little shout, ran over to Notta and the clown also found himself able
to move about once more. While Nick and the Cowardly Lion watched
anxiously, the offensive blue faded out, leaving Notta's face white and
powdery and Bob's rosy and freckled.
"So long as you keep hold of the rope everything will be all right,"
chuckled Snorer strutting proudly up and down, "for while you have
the rope the Cowardly Lion is captured."
"Then we'll just run double harness until we think of something else,"
said the Cowardly Lion. "Tie the rope 'round your waist, Notta, old
boy. Then you'll be sure not to lose me." Rather thoughtfully Notta
obeyed, but he could not help thinking that being tied to a Cowardly
Lion might prove awfully awkward at times. The Cowardly Lion,
however, was in fine spirits, so Notta, swallowing his misgivings,
stepped with the others into the Flyaboutabus. "And now that I'm
captured," chuckled the Cowardly Lion mischievously, "what next?"
"Oh, let someone else decide that," yawned Snorer. Flopping down in
the last seat of the bus he was soon sound asleep and snoring loudly.
 Chapter 14
Flying in a Deluge
"Let's find Dorothy," shouted Bob. It was necessary to shout, for
Nick's snores rattled in their ears like a series of explosions. The
Cowardly Lion and Notta looked doubtfully at each other. They were
not sure that Mustafa's magic ring would allow them to proceed
toward the Emerald City.
"We'll try it," shouted Notta. "Which way is it?"
"I don't know," roared the Cowardly Lion. "Let's fly up and look
around till I see a familiar landmark. So Notta pressed all the buttons
necessary to start the bus, and up they went with such a rush that
Bob almost lost his cap and the Cowardly Lion's mane waved like a
flag. Bob put both fingers in his ears, for with Nick's snores and the
whir of the feather wheels the noise was deafening. When they were
about a hundred feet above ground, Notta slowed the bus down and
ran it gently and evenly over the pleasant blue fields and forests of
the Munchkins. Bob, slipping into the seat beside Snorer, put his
nose, which had fallen off his ear, back on its hook. Immediately
Snorer awoke and stamped his foot, but in a wink he was asleep
again and Bob watched in open-eyed wonder, for snoring in his own
ear wakened him about every three minutes, and when he wakened
he stamped, so that between snoring and stamping the noise was
worse than ever.
"I wish our friend was not such a loud sleeper," growled the Cowardly
Lion. "I can't even hear my own heart beat. Say, was that thunder or
Snorer?"
"Thunder," quavered Notta anxiously. "See how dark it's growing!
Let's go down!"
"It's raining," cried Bob Up in the same breath.
Notta touched the button marked "Faster," and was about to press
the one marked "Down," when a blinding flash of lightning zig-
zagged across their path. The Cowardly Lion, with a roar of terror,
dashed under the last seat of the bus, dragging Notta with him. In
his clutch to save himself the clown pressed the button marked
"Turn," so that the Flyaboutabus not only increased its speed but
churned 'round and 'round till the four occupants were almost
knocked senseless. To make matters worse, the rain came down in
perfect torrents.
Snorer, awakened by the awful clamor, put his wing around Bob and
clutched the arm of the seat with his curling claws. Even so they
were shaken up and down till Bob's teeth chattered and nearly
drowned by the storm. Notta and the Cowardly Lion in the bottom of
the bus were faring even worse. Every time the clown scrambled to
his feet, the Cowardly Lion, terrified by a new flash of lightning,
would spring in another direction and, tied to him by the stout rope,
Notta would be dragged along.
"Help! Help! I'm drowning," gurgled Notta after the eighth fall. A
sudden flash of lightning showed Snorer that the Flyaboutabus was
more than half full of water, and Notta lying entirely immersed.
"Bob," cried Nick, "can you hold on a minute by yourself?" Bob
nodded his head and with closed eyes grasped the side of the bus.
He did not dare open his eyes, for flying in a circle had made him
dreadfully dizzy.
Snorer sidled cautiously to the edge of the seat and with a little
spring jumped on the Cowardly Lion's back. The big beast was
trembling like a runaway race horse, and the beating of his heart
shook Snorer up and down. But holding on to his mane with one
claw, he felt about in the water till his other one fastened in the belt
of Notta's baggy suit. Then he pulled with all his might till, dripping
and breathless, the poor clown lay across the Cowardly Lion's back.
"Climb on the seat," directed Nick sternly. "Do you want to drown the
most beautiful person in Oz?" With shaking legs the Cowardly Lion
obeyed, Nick holding Notta safely in place, and when they were both
on the seat he begged the lion, with tears in his eyes, to control
himself. The Cowardly Lion, catching a glimpse of poor Notta, and
realizing for the first time what he had done, wept with
embarrassment.
"This is what comes of being tied to a coward," he roared dismally,
"but someone clapped me on the back."
"It was a thunderclap," chattered Snorer. "Just close your eyes and
hang together, and Bob and I will do the same." Hastily he flew back
to the little boy, who was rolling and slipping around on the wet seat.
Notta, wise from past experiences, fastened his arms tightly around
the Cowardly Lion's neck.
"Divided we fall, together we stand," he panted weakly. "If you're
going to jump give me a signal, won't you?" The Cowardly Lion made
no answer but just dug his claws into the seat and closed his eyes
tighter. The wind whistled shrilly in their ears, the rain pelted
mercilessly upon their heads and the bus tumbled and tossed through
the air like a rudderless ship.
Suddenly Snorer, who was less affected by the motion of the bus
than the others, felt water on his feet.
"Somebody bail out the boat," he shrieked in real terror, "it's sinking!"
And so it was. The feather wheels, wet and draggled by the rain,
moved slower and slower, and the bus was now so full of water that
every time it lurched sideways the luckless voyagers were
submerged. It was like flying in a very deep and dangerous tub.
"I never expected to be drowned in the air," screamed Notta. "Shall
we jump overboard?"
"Do you want to be dashed to pieces?" shouted Nick in reply. "Hold
on to the sides." He called more directions, but the fury of the storm
drowned even his shrill voice, and each found he had enough to do
to keep from being washed over the edge. The water rose higher and
higher and the bus sank lower and lower. With eyes closed, and only
their heads above water, the four clung grimly to the feathery edges.
When the bus finally struck the ground it did so with such force that
they all let go and fell back into the water. The Cowardly Lion sprang
out first, pulling Notta along with him. Then, realizing Bob was still
struggling in the water, he impulsively sprang back, seized the little
boy in his teeth and jumped out again. A shout from Snorer made
him pause. Notta was bumping along on the end of the rope like a
big bag of clothes.
"You've killed him," wailed Nick angrily. But just then, with a watery
sigh, the clown opened his eyes. Immediately he began fumbling in
his chest pocket. "What are you trying to do?" screamed Snorer.
"My disguise," choked the clown. "I must put on my disguise—first
disguise, then joke and run, you know!"
"You don't need any disguise," wailed the Cowardly Lion remorsefully.
"You look like almost anyone."
"I feel the same way," coughed the clown. "Am I dashed or drowned
or both?"
"Neither," croaked Snorer sorrowfully. "Only tied to a very forgetful
friend." The disguises, concealed in various parts of Notta's apparel,
were dragged down in disfiguring lumps about his knees. There were
four bumps on his forehead and one was coming on the back of his
head. Bob, though shivering and wet, was otherwise unhurt, so he
and Nick helped Notta to the Cowardly Lion's back, and, dripping and
shaken, the air-wrecked party started toward a little hut near which
they had fallen.
"Where's the Fallaboutabus?" muttered Notta thickly, as the Cowardly
Lion stumbled over the sill.
"I don't care where it is," groaned the lion. "I hope it's busted. I'm
against flying in all its branches." He dropped panting on the hearth,
and Notta did not even move from his back. The hut evidently
belonged to some thrifty woodcutter. It was quite neat and
comfortable and there was a fire all ready to light.
Bob, feeling very important, started a cheerful blaze, and though the
rain still rattled on the roof, inside it was quite cozy and comfortable.
Notta, with Bob's help, took out all of his disguises, and the three
that had already been used he hung out in full view. But the clown
was so down-hearted when Bob started to shake out the others, and
seemed to attach so much importance to keeping them secret, that
Snorer, without unrolling them, carried them into the next room and
hung them on hooks to dry. Notta was quite thin and fallen without
them, but when his suit had dried and he had powdered his nose
with some of the woodcutter's flour he felt quite restored, and it was
not until then that he discovered his feathers were gone. With a little
shout he looked at the Cowardly Lion and Bob.
"We've all shed our feathers," he cried exultantly. "They must have
washed away." The Cowardly Lion was so pleased that he jumped for
joy, and started to run and look in the woodcutter's mirror, upsetting
Notta as usual.
"It's because you're no longer unish," explained Snorer wisely, as
Notta scrambled to his feet and hastened to accompany the lion to
the mirror. "When you both stopped planning unwise and unfair
things the feathers just naturally dropped out, and Bob's followed
suit, for there isn't an unish bone in that boy's body," continued
Snorer, rolling his eyes knowingly. "And now that we've all decided to
stick together everything will be as happy as possible."
"We don't stick together very well," sighed the Cowardly Lion,
hanging his head. "Did I hurt you, Notta, old fellow?"
"Not much," said the clown, "but I'll have to use more padding if you
are going to be so impetuous." Being tied to a Cowardly Lion was
proving even worse than he had expected. The Cowardly Lion himself
felt uncomfortable and ill at ease.
"See here," he rumbled, as they gathered round the fire again, "I
think we had better separate. I'll go on to Mudge and you three go to
the Emerald City for help."
"No," objected Notta, wrinkling his poor bumped forehead, "let's stick
together a bit longer, for I don't know the way to the Emerald City,
and the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine lions might tear
you to pieces before we got back. Traveling in this country is
dreadfully uncertain. Why, we don't even know where we are now!"
"But the sun's out," cried Bob, running to the window. "Let's see if
the Flyaboutabus is still around." The Cowardly Lion started at once
to run toward the door, but Notta, with a flying leap jumped on his
back and thus avoided another fall. The bus was full of water, but the
feather wheels, already somewhat drier, were slowly revolving. As
they drew nearer the bus began to run 'round in circles, spraying
water in every direction.
"I'll stop it," volunteered Snorer and, swooping down over the wheel,
quickly pushed the button marked "Stop." Then Notta and the
Cowardly Lion, shoving with all their strength, turned the huge bus
over on its side so the water could run out. After this they went back
to the hut to fetch the clown's disguises, and then they all sat down
under a tree and waited for the bus to dry.