furious, 'that if that ever happened I shouldn't want to go anywhere
else.'

'Yes,' said Caesar slowly, 'I know.'

Lucy would have liked to kiss the Pretenderette and say she was sorry,
but you can't do that when it is all other people's fault and _they_
aren't sorry. And besides, before all these people, it would have looked
like showing off. You know, I am sure, exactly how Lucy felt.

The Pretenderette was led away. And now Caesar stood facing the
children, his hands held out in farewell. The growing light of early
morning transfigured his face, and to Philip it suddenly seemed to be
most remarkably like the face of That Man, Mr. Peter Graham, whom Helen
had married. He was just telling himself not to be a duffer when Lucy
cried out in a loud cracked-sounding voice, 'Daddy, oh, Daddy!' and
sprang forward.

And at that moment the sun rose above the city wall, and its rays
gleamed redly on the helmet and the breastplate and the shield and the
sword of Caesar. The light struck at the children's eyes like a blow.
Dazzled, they closed their eyes and when they opened them, blinking and
confused, Caesar was gone and the marble book was closed--for ever.

. . . . . . .

Three days later Mr. Noah arrived by elephant, and the meeting between
him and the children is, as they say, better imagined than described.
Especially as there is not much time left now for describing anything.
Mr. Noah explained that the freeing of Polistopolis from the
Pretenderette and the barbarians counted as the seventh deed and that
Philip had now attained the rank of King, the deed of the Great Sloth
having given him the title of Prince of Pine-apples. His expression of
gratitude and admiration were of the warmest, and Philip felt that it
was rather ungrateful of him to say, as he couldn't help saying:

'Now I've done all the deeds, mayn't I go back to Helen?'

'All in good time,' said Mr. Noah; 'I will at once set about the
arrangements for your coronation.'

The coronation was an occasion of unexampled splendour. There was a
banquet (of course) and fireworks, and all the guns fired salutes and
the soldiers presented arms, and the ladies presented bouquets. And at
the end Mr. Noah, with a few well-chosen words which brought tears to
all eyes, placed the gold crown of Polistarchia upon the brow of Philip,
where its diamonds and rubies shone dazzlingly.

There was an extra crown for Lucy, made of si