did the silver armor stand in his way. With one blow against Butch
the long sword was shattered, and the silver armor fell away from
Rimrak like the hulls from a ripe hickory-nut. Rimrak himself fell
before Butch and disappeared with a hissing sound; and then the cave
was no longer dark. Its roof seemed to roll away; and where the cave
had been, there stood a great company of people who had been held
captive by the Conjurer. They stood wondering what had happened and
what would happen next. Among them was Geraldine. She knew Valentine,
and ran to him, and then he was very happy. The people whom he had
rescued, gathered around him and thanked him and thanked him; and some
would have rewarded him, but he said he deserved none. He had come
after the little girl, and he was not responsible for any accidents
that happened to other people. This is what he said, and this is how
he felt; but the people wondered that a young boy should be so bold
and yet so modest.

"So they talked together, and decided to go with him to his home.
Their horses and their carriages they found in good order, and in a
little while they formed a procession. In this way they carried
Valentine to his home, crying out to the people they passed,--

"'This is our deliverer! This is the brave boy that conquered Rimrak,
the great Conjurer!'

"They carried Valentine to his home, and then they went with him to
Geraldine's home. There was great rejoicing in the town. The little
girl's father was rich, and he called all the people together; and
they had a big dinner, and everybody was happy. The little girl had
her old nurse back, and she grew up to be a beautiful young woman, and
Valentine grew up to be a handsome young man."

XIX.

A STORY OF THE RIVER.

"I think that was a beautiful story," said Sweetest Susan, when Mrs.
Meadows paused; "but was that the end?"

"Why, wasn't that enough?" inquired Mr. Rabbit sleepily. "What more
could you ask? Didn't the boy and girl get back home where they could
get something to eat?"

"What became of them?" asked Buster John. "The stories about boys and
girls in books say they married and lived happily ever after."

"Oh, yes!" cried Mr. Thimblefinger. "I've heard about it. I remember
the poetry,--

"'They married, then, and lived in clover,
And when they died, they died all over.'"

"Well," said Mrs. Meadows, "I thought surely you'd get tired of
Valentine and Geraldine by the time they got ba