both
away, blast him!"

"It--it's _most_ unfortunate!" said King Sidney. "I--I don't quite see
what to do about it."

"Simple enough," said his son, "pretend not to notice anything and play
it out."

"I suppose I must, my boy, I suppose I must. But I know I shan't play so
well after this--it's quite put me off my game!"

"No, it hasn't, Guv'nor. You'll play up all right, at least if Xuriel
knows his job."

Xuriel apparently did know his job, for the King's ball continued to be
as foozle-proof as the Marshal's mashie.

It would be tedious to describe any further holes. When a bewitched
mashie is pitted against an enchanted ball, there can obviously be none
of the alternations and vicissitudes of Fortune which constitute the
charm of Golf.

When they were at the turn, having halved every hole up to the ninth,
the Marshal had had enough of it. "We are too well matched, Sire," he
said, "and to proceed would only be to waste your Majesty's time, which
is of far more value than my own."

"H'm, well, perhaps we'd better call it a draw and have done with it,"
said the King.

The Court had witnessed the game without excitement or astonishment.
They saw no particular reason why the balls should fail to reach the
hole in one stroke, and did not care in the least whether they failed or
not. The only impressions they received were that Golf was too
monotonous and too easy a pastime to have any attractions for them, and
that nothing should induce them to indulge in it against such
invincible champions as his Majesty and the Ex-Regent.

"I must say, my boy," said the King to his son, as they walked back to
the Palace together, "I wish you hadn't gone to that magician fellow. It
makes it so very awkward for _me_."

"It would have been a jolly sight more awkward if I hadn't. Just think
of the licking you'd have had, what?"

"Yes, yes--but there's your Mother. She's so set against Magic of any
kind. I really don't know what I'm to say to her."

"Well," said Clarence, "I should hope, Guv'nor, you wouldn't be such a
jay as to say anything."

"It might be only distressing her unnecessarily," said the King.

"Sidney!" exclaimed the Queen when they met, "I can see by your face
that you've been beaten after all!"

"Not at all, my love, not at all. Far from it!"

"Then you've won?"

"Well--er--not exactly _won_, my dear. We--we finished up all square."

"Considering how long you've been learning, that's as bad as if y