iled mysteriously and nodded her head. "It's your wit first
of all," she declared knowingly.

Hansel was pouting. "Your wit?" he said; "does it help you to get what
you want? If it does, I'd like to know about it."

Grettel had wriggled herself into a comfortable position; but now she
sat up stiffly. She put her hand over her mouth and whispered,
"Please, Hansel, don't say anything about _food_!" But she quickly
turned an untroubled face to Jack, who was saying:

"There's the way I got old Blunderbore, for example. You've heard
about that, haven't you?" And he looked anxiously at all three, one
after another.

Everychild and Hansel looked at each other dubiously, but Grettel saved
the situation by saying, "It was rather a long time ago. If you'd just
go over it again . . ."

"That was my most famous piece of work," said Jack. "You see, I carry
a leather pouch under my cloak. It's filled with food----"

There was an almost violent interruption by Hansel. "Food!" he
exclaimed. But Grettel edged closer to him so that she could tug at
his sleeve without being seen.

"Of course!" continued Jack. "Well, one day after I'd had dinner with
Blunderbore I boasted that I could do something he couldn't do. He
laughed--and I knew I had him. Says I, 'Very well, I'll show you. I'm
going to rip my stomach open without feeling it.' We'd been eating
ginger-bread, and I'd slipped a piece into my pouch."

A strange light had come into Hansel's eyes, and he sighed with ecstacy
"Ginger-bread!"

"So," resumed Jack, "I plunged my knife into my pouch hidden under my
cloak, and a fine bit of ginger-bread tumbled out."

Everychild repeated the words--"Into the pouch hidden under your
cloak." And Jack concluded with--

"Of course--so."

He made an expert pass with his sword, and instantly a number of red
apples and a dozen fine tarts rolled from under his cloak and were
lying there on the grass.

Without even a hint of ceremony Hansel flung himself forward on his
stomach and seized upon the tarts greedily.

Even Grettel could not conceal her desire for food, and she exclaimed
joyously, "Oh, tarts! Could I have one?"

"Why not?" replied Jack lightly; whereupon Everychild placed a number
of the tarts in her lap, and she began to eat heartily.

"This comes of wearing one's good dress," said Grettel between tarts.
"If I'd been wearing an old rag I'd have seen no tricks, that's
certain."

Jack regarded her a lit