ete spoke, for his heart had sunk.

"Shall we see her, Master?" he asked unsteadily.

Ben turned and smiled at him cheerfully.

"Sure thing," he answered. "She is well and she wants to see you."

Pete had had no practice in smiling, but a joyful reassurance pervaded
him. Let Rufus Carder kill him, if it must be. This would come first.

Darkness had fallen when they finally entered a town and drove to a
hotel. Ben looked rather ruefully at the poor little scarecrow beside
him with his hatless scrubbing-brush of a head, but the keeper of the
garage consented to give the boy a place to sleep.

"At least," thought Ben, "it will be more comfortable than the boards
outside Geraldine's door."

He saw to it that the dwarf should have a good supper, after which Pete
presented himself at Ben's room as he had been ordered to do. Never
before in his life had he had all the meat and potato he wanted, and
still marveling at the wonderful things happening to him he was
conducted to Ben, and stood before him with questioning eyes.

"Is she here, Master?" he asked.

"No, but we shall see her to-morrow."

"When--when do I go back to the farm?" asked the boy.

"Never," replied Ben calmly.

"Master!" exclaimed the dwarf, and could say no more. His tanned face
grew darker with the rush of crimson.

"You're my servant now," said Ben, and his good-humored expression shone
upon an eager face that worked pitifully.

"What--what can I do?" stammered Pete, his rough hands with their
broken nails working together.

"You can get into the bathtub."

"Wha--what, Master?"

Ben threw open the door of his bathroom.

"Draw that tub full of water and use up all the soap on yourself. Make
yourself clean for to-morrow. Understand?"

Pete didn't understand anything. He was in a blissful daze. He had never
seen faucets except the one in the Carder kitchen. Ben had to draw the
water for him, showing him the hot and the cold; finally making him
understand that he was not to get in with his clothes on, and that he
was to use any and all of those fresh white towels, the like of which
the boy had never seen; then his new master came out, closed the door,
and laughing to himself sat down to wait and read a magazine.

There was a mighty splashing in the bathroom.

"Clean to see her. Clean to see her," Pete kept saying to himself. He
was going to be able to speak to her with no one to object. He was going
to work for this god who could fly d