ausages and mash and two apple dumplings."

They found themselves presently seated at the marble-topped table of an
A.B.C. After an interval that could hardly be accurately described as
presently, sausages and mash dawned on the horizon, and the witch waved
her fork rudely at it as it approached.

"Mashed is splendid stuff to sculp with," she said, roughing in a ground
plan upon her plate with the sure carelessness of the artist. "This is
going to be an ivory castle built upon a rock in a glassy sea. The
sausage is the dragon guarding it, and this little crumb of bread is the
emprisoned princess, a dull but sterling creature----"

"Look 'ere, Miss Watkins," interrupted the Mayor. "I'm not as a rule an
impulsive man, and I don't want to startle you----"

"How d'you mean startle me?" asked the witch. "You haven't startled me
at all. But the fact is, I never have been much of a person for getting
married, thank you very much. I'm an awful bad house-keeper. And I _do_
so much enjoy having no money."

"Well, I'm blessed," exclaimed the Mayor. "You're a perfect witch, I
declare." He laid a large meat-like hand upon hers. "But you know, you
can't put the lid on me so easy as that. Ever since you came into that
old committee room I saw there was something particular about you,
something that you an' me 'ad in common. I'm not speakin' so much of us
bein' in the same line of business. Some'ow--oh, 'ang it all, let's get
out of this and take a taxi. I'm not a kissing man, but----"

He seemed very persistent in applying negatived adjectives to himself.
It was not his fault if the world failed to grasp exactly what he was,
or rather exactly what he was not.

"I have often wondered," interrupted the witch, "talking of
kissing--what would happen if two snipes wanted to kiss each other? It
would have to be at such awfully long range, wouldn't it. Or----"

"Come off it," ordered the Mayor irritably. "What about gettin' out of
this and----"

"Don't you think this is becoming rather a tiresome scene?" said the
witch. "Somehow over luscious, don't you think? I wish those apple
dumplings would hurry up."

"'Ere, miss," said the Mayor ungraciously to a passing whirlwind. "'Urry
them dumplings."

"'Urry them dumplings," echoed the whirlwind to a little hole in the
wall.

The witch had a silly vision of two distressed dumplings, like dilatory
chorus girls, mad with the nightmare feeling of not being dressed in
time, hearing thei