ht and wrong. So you see I
_mightn't_.'

'That's true! I wonder whether our being clever would help us? Let's
take a boat and steer straight out, and take our chance. I can sail and
steer beautifully.'

'So can I,' said Eliza disdainfully; 'but, you see, it's too late for
that. Twenty-four hours before the beast comes the sea-water runs away,
and great waves of thick treacle come sweeping round the kingdoms. No
boat can live in such a sea.'

'Well, but how does the dragon get here? Is he on the island?'

'No,' said Eliza, squeezing up handfuls of herbs in her agitation till
the scent quite overpowered the scent of the honeysuckle. 'No; he comes
out of the sea. But he is very hot inside, and he melts the treacle so
that it gets quite thin, like when it runs out of a treacle-pudding, and
so he can swim in it, and he comes along to the quay, and is fed--with
_Us_.'

Billy shuddered.

'I wish we were back in Claremont Square,' said he.

'So do I, I'm sure,' said Eliza. 'Though I don't know where it is, nor
yet want to know.'

'Hush!' said Billy suddenly. 'I hear a rustling. It's the Prime
Minister, and I can hear he's got straws in his hair again, most likely
because you're disappeared, and he thinks he will have to cook the
breakfast. Meet me beside the lighthouse at four this afternoon. Hide in
this summer-house and don't come out till the coast's clear.'

He ran out and took the Prime Minister's arm.

'What is the straw for now?'

'Merely a bad habit,' said the Prime Minister wearily.

Then Billy suddenly saw, and he said:

'You're a beastly mean, cowardly sneak, and you feel it; that's what the
straws are about!'

'Your Majesty!' said the Prime Minister feebly.

'Yes,' said Billy firmly; 'you know you are. Now, I know all the laws of
Plurimiregia, and I'm going to abdicate this morning, and the next in
rank has to be King if he can't engage a fresh one. You're next in rank
to me, so by the time the dragon comes you'll be the King. I'll attend
your Coronation.'

The Prime Minister gasped, 'How did you find out?' and turned the colour
of unripe peaches.

'That's tellings,' said Billy. 'If you hadn't all been such sneaks, I
expect heaps of your Kings had sense enough to have got rid of the
dragon for you. Only I suppose you've never told them in time. Now, look
here. I don't want you to do anything except keep your mouth shut, and
let there be a boat, and no boatman, on the beach under the lighthouse