It was to be one of those mortal combats between man's will and woman's
wit. Winny meant to circumvent Ranny and to defeat him by guile.

And at first it looked as if it could be done easily. For at first the
Exhibition seemed to be on Winny's side.

They had emerged from between the painted walls into Shakespeare's
England, into the narrow, crooked streets under the queer old
overhanging houses with the swinging signs--hundreds of years old Ranny
said they were. And in the streets there were strange crowds, young men
and young women who went shouting and singing and were marvelously and
fantastically dressed. And they had glimpses through lattice windows of
marvelous and fantastic merchandise. Marvelous and fantastic it seemed
to Winny at first sight. But when she saw that it was just what they
were selling in the shops to-day the delicious confusion in her mind
heightened the effect of fantasy and of enchantment.

"I didn't think it would be like this," she said.

But why it was like that and why it was called Shakespeare's England,
what on earth Shakespeare had to do with it, Winny couldn't think.

"Shakespeare? Why, he wrote books, didn't he?"

"Plays, Winky, plays."

"Plays then."

And when Ranny told her that it meant that England was like this in
Shakespeare's time, hundreds of years ago, and reminded her that they
had a scene from one of his plays on at the Coliseum the other day,
Winny thought that only made it more marvelous and more like a dream
than ever.

And she thought Ranny was more marvelous than ever, with the things he
knew.

And then, having lured him into this tangled side issue, she began, as
cool and offhand as you please. He gave her the opening when he asked
her what she'd like to do next.

"This is good enough for me," she said.

For the most marvelous thing about Shakespeare's England was that you
could walk about in it free of charge.

He looked at her almost as if he knew what she was up to.

"But you've seen it, Winky. You've seen all there is of it. You don't
want to stay here all night, do you?"

He had her there, with his reminder of the hours they had to put in.

"Well"--she was lingering in the most natural manner, as if fascinated
by the exterior of the Globe Theater. For she wished to spin out the
time.

She saw Ranny's hand sliding toward his pocket.

"Would you like to go inside it?" he said.

"No, Ranny, dear, I wouldn't. At least, I'd rather not if you