Diccon Demon shall lay your muskets across your knees, and Angela shall witch you into stone with her old, mad, heathen charms. And then — and then — I will gather more gold than had King Midas; I will dance with the hamadryads; I will find out Oberon and make Titania jealous!”

“I do not doubt that you could do so,” I said, as she sprang to her feet, childishly eager and radiantly beautiful.

I rose to go in with her, for it was supper time, but in a moment changed my mind, and resumed my seat on the bank of turf. “Do you go in,” I said. “There’s a snake near by, in those bushes below the bank. I’ll kill the creature, and then I’ll come to supper.”

When she was gone, I walked to