ess, and she began bustling
about the room and making preparations for tea in quite a flustered sort
of way. Babs turned to the Doctor. A question was burning on the tip of
her tongue, and he smiled encouragingly.

'_Did_ you rescue the princess?' she asked.

'I did,' answered the Doctor, briefly.

She looked anxiously at his tie, which had wandered under his right ear,
and at his collar, which was crumpled. 'Did you hurt the giant _much_?'
she asked.

'I found him in three pieces,' answered the Doctor, gravely, 'and I give
you my word I did not leave him in more.'

Barbara was not yet satisfied. 'How did you get into the dungeon?' she
asked.

'Through the door,' replied the Doctor.

She opened her eyes wide. 'Then you must have stepped over the body of
the giant,' she said.

'So I did,' laughed Dr. Hurst. 'But do not let that alarm you, for here
he comes.'

The door was pushed open once more, and the three conspirators tumbled
into the room. Their ties and collars were in much the same condition
as the Doctor's, but they seemed none the worse for that. Indeed, they
looked rather cheerful over it than otherwise, until they saw the Doctor
sitting there, holding Barbara's hand; and then they stopped short and
hesitated.

'Do, do tell me,' implored Babs. 'How did Dr. Hurst rescue Jill?'

'I'll tell you, Babs dear,' cried Robin, suddenly dancing up to the
Doctor, and climbing on his knee in quite a friendly manner. 'He came
walking with big long steps up to the door of the barn, where we was
keeping guard over Jill; and he said, "Who can wrestle, out of you young
scamps?" 'Course I said _I_ could, but he just swinged me up in the apple
tree an' left me there, which was horrid, but I didn't mind much, 'cause
I saw all the fun. An' the others said they could, if he liked; an'
the Doctor said whoever won was to have Jill, an' Peter said "Yes,"
'cos he's lots bigger'n the Doctor and he thought he'd win. But he didn't
win, nobody did, 'cept only Dr. Hurst; so he got Jill and brought her
back here; an' I climbed down from the apple tree all by myself, an' the
others shook hands with the Doctor and stopped behind, lookin' scared!'

'I beg to state,' said Jill, severely, from the other side of the room,
where she was preparing tea, 'that nobody has _got_ me, as you call it.
And the sooner you all go out of this room and leave me alone with my
patient, the better.'

[Illustration: 'So he got Jill']

'I say,' began