er to him, and
let _him_ deal with the case. Much more regular."

"That may be," said Fakrash; "but I have conceived so bitter a hatred to
thee by reason of thy insolence and treachery, that I cannot forego the
delight of slaying thee with my own hand."

"Can't you really?" said Horace, on the verge of despair. "And _then_,
what will you do?"

"Then," replied the Jinnee, "I shall flee away to Arabia, where I shall
be safe."

"Don't you be too sure of that!" said Horace. "You see all those wires
stretched on poles down there? Those are the pathways of certain Jinn
known as electric currents, and the Lord Mayor could send a message
along them which would be at Baghdad before you had flown farther than
Folkestone. And I may mention that Arabia is now more or less under
British jurisdiction."

He was bluffing, of course, for he knew perfectly well that, even if any
extradition treaty could be put in force, the arrest of a Jinnee would
be no easy matter.

"Thou art of opinion, then, that I should be no safer in mine own
country?" inquired Fakrash.

"I swear by the name of the Lord Mayor (to whom be all reverence!)" said
Horace, "that there is no land you could fly to where you would be any
safer than you are here."

"If I were but sealed up in my bottle once more," said the Jinnee,
"would not even the Lord Mayor have respect unto the seal of Suleyman,
and forbear to disturb me?"

"Why, of course he would!" cried Horace, hardly daring to believe his
ears. "That's really a brilliant idea of yours, my dear Mr. Fakrash."

"And in the bottle I should not be compelled to work," continued the
Jinnee. "For labour of all kinds hath ever been abhorrent unto me."

"I can quite understand that," said Horace, sympathetically. "Just
imagine your having to drag an excursion train to the seaside on a Bank
Holiday, or being condemned to print off a cheap comic paper, or even
the _War Cry_, when you might be leading a snug and idle existence in
your bottle. If I were you, I should go and get inside it at once.
Suppose we go back to Vincent Square and find it?"

"I shall return to the bottle, since in that alone there is safety,"
said the Jinnee. "But I shall return alone."

"Alone!" cried Horace. "You're not going to leave me stuck up here all
by myself?"

"By no means," said the Jinnee. "Have I not said that I am about to cast
thee to perdition? Too long have I delayed in the accomplishment of this
duty."

Once more Hora