urved claws) hung down nearly to the ground; and the fingers made a
continual movement as if clutching something. The head of this
creature was large, and had no neck; the nose was aquiline, the eyes
bright and sharp. On the chin was a pointed beard, and a pair of long
moustachios curled up over the cheekbones. The creature was dressed in
rich and costly clothes, which, however, bore an unaccountable
resemblance to Raymond's own threadbare attire. On the head was a
yellow cap, apparently made of woven gold, which glowed and sparkled
in the sunlight. Certainly there was something familiar about that cap
and those moustachios!

'Where did you come from?' Raymond asked.

'I was here before you,' replied the dwarf.

'I saw no one.'

'People do overlook me sometimes,' rejoined the other, with a chuckle;
'but they are more apt to spend their lives in trying to find me. Once
in a great while I appear without being asked--as I do now!'

'Where have I seen you before?'

'Ask yourself.'

'Who are you?'

The dwarf made a low bow. 'I am an Appanage of Royalty!' said he.

'Then it was you who brought the King's silk stocking to be washed!
But were you not a great deal taller then than now?'

'What of that? Were not you a great deal shorter?'

'That is true,' murmured Raymond, struck by the justness of the
remark.

'True as gold!' added the dwarf, with another chuckle. 'And so you
want to go to London?' he continued suddenly.

Raymond started. 'I have been thinking of it,' he said; 'but now----'

'Nonsense! You want to go now as much as before you went to the
Brindled Cow, and I am the only person in the world that can help you
do it.'

'But how did you know----'

'Pooh! I know everything. Weren't you thinking of me at the very
moment you kissed her? There--no more words! Are you ready to start?
Speak up.'

But Raymond drew back, startled and mystified. Seeing this, the dwarf
altered his tone, and from being abrupt and overbearing became
friendly and familiar.

'Come, my dear boy,' he said, laying his great claw on Raymond's arm.
'Men must be men; we mustn't let ourselves be ordered about by a
parcel of women. Would you let a few kisses and keepsakes stand in the
way of your ambition? How many years has she waited for you? Let her
wait twenty-four hours longer. Besides, if you don't go now you will
never go at all. Rosamond--trust me--will like you none the less when
she sees you the greatest man in England.