is morning--did you mean to
declare yourself?"

"I do not know what I meant; what I most cared about was the doing what I
thought George would wish to see his father do."

"You did that; but he says he told you not to say who you were."

"So he did, but I knew what he would think right. He was uppermost in my
thoughts all the time."

Yram smiled, and said, "George is a dangerous person; you were both of
you very foolish; one as bad as the other."

"I do not know. I do not know anything. It is beyond me; but I am at
peace about it, and hope I shall do the like again to-morrow before the
Mayor."

"I heartily hope you will do nothing of the kind. George tells me you
have promised him to be good and to do as we bid you."

"So I will; but he will not tell me to say that I am not what I am."

"Yes, he will, and I will tell you why. If we permit you to be Higgs the
Sunchild, he must either throw his own father into the Blue Pool--which
he will not do--or run great risk of being thrown into it himself, for
not having Blue-Pooled a foreigner. I am afraid we shall have to make
you do a good deal that neither you nor we shall like."

She then told him briefly of what had passed after luncheon at her house,
and what it had been settled to do, leaving George to tell the details
while escorting him towards the statues on the following evening. She
said that every one would be so completely in every one else's power that
there was no fear of any one's turning traitor. But she said nothing
about George's intention of setting out for the capital on Wednesday
morning to tell the whole story to the King.

"Now," she said, when she had told him as much as was necessary, "be
good, and do as you said you would."

"I will. I will deny myself, not once, nor twice, but as often as is
necessary. I will kiss the reliquary, and when I meet Hanky and Panky at
your table, I will be sworn brother to them--so long, that is, as George
is out of hearing; for I cannot lie well to them when he is listening."

"Oh yes, you can. He will understand all about it; he enjoys falsehood
as well as we all do, and has the nicest sense of when to lie and when
not to do so."

"What gift can be more invaluable?"

My father, knowing that he might not have another chance of seeing Yram
alone, now changed the conversation.

"I have something," he said, "for George, but he must know nothing about
it till after I am gone."

As he spoke, he to