caves of Deeping Knoll, which rises in the middle of
Little Deeping wood, the property of Mr. Anstruther.

Kind-hearted as the Twins were, they felt that to make the journey from
the knoll to Muttle Deeping home wood was beyond the bounds of
philanthropy; and they broke the news to the princess as gently as they
could. She was so deeply grieved to learn that she was no longer going
to enjoy their society that, in spite of the fact that she had been
made well aware that they despised and abhorred tears, she was
presently weeping. She was ashamed; but she could not help it. The
compassionate Twins compromised; they promised her that they would try
to come every third afternoon; and with that she had to be content.

None the less on the eve of their departure she was deploring bitterly
the fact that she would not see them on the morrow, when the Terror was
magnificently inspired.

"Look here: why shouldn't you come with us into camp?" he said eagerly.
"A week of it would buck you up more than a month at the Grange. You
really do get open air camping out at the knoll."

The face of the princess flushed and brightened at the splendid
thought. Then it fell; and she said: "They'd never let me--never."

"But you'd never ask them," said the Terror. "You'd just slip away and
come with us. We've kept our knowing you so dark that they'd never
dream you were with us in the knoll caves."

The princess was charmed, even dazzled, by the glorious prospect. She
had come to feel strongly that by far the best part of her life was the
afternoons she spent with the Twins in the wood; whole days with them
would be beyond the delight of dreams. But to her unadventured soul
the difficulties seemed beyond all surmounting. The Twins, however,
were used to surmounting difficulties, and at once they began
surmounting these.

"The difficult thing is not to get you there, but to keep you there,"
said the Terror thoughtfully. "You see, I've got to go down every day
for milk and things, and they're sure to ask me if I've seen anything
of you. Of course, I can't lie about it; and then they'll not only
take you away, but they'll probably turn us out of the caves."

"That's the drawback," said Erebus.

The Twins gazed round the wood seeking enlightenment. A deep frown
furrowed the Terror's brow; and he said: "If only you weren't a
princess they wouldn't make half such a fuss hunting for you, and I
might never be asked anything about