heedling for something," objected Cookie, "and you
ain't going to 'ave it, Master Ridgie. Why, you've only just finished
your breakfast."

"I don't want anything to eat," announced Ridgwell.

Cookie eyes boiled and rolled ominously, whilst a sort of faint concern
appeared upon the surface of them. "If you can't eat, Master Ridgie,
then you must be ill and want some medicine."

"No, no," hastily interposed Ridgwell, "I don't want any medicine, we
only came in to ask you a question."

"Well, you can't ask me any of your questions now, I'm busy," asserted
Cookie. "Ain't got no time."

"Oh, Cookie dear, you can listen whilst you beat up an egg,"
expostulated Ridgwell.

"_Egg!_" shouted Cookie indignantly, "three blessed eggs for your cake,
and 2 1/2d. each, new laid too, and I only bought a dozen of 'em."

"Yes, yes, Cookie dear. I meant three eggs, the number doesn't matter,
and it won't take a minute for us to tell you. It's just this.
Suppose a great big beautiful Lion came and sat in the middle of the
raspberry canes just outside your kitchen door, what would you do?"

"Is this a conundrum?" demanded Cookie. "If so, I don't know no answer
to it, Master Ridgie."

"It isn't a riddle, Cookie, at all. If a Lion really came to see you,
what would you do?"

"I should fetch a policeman at once," announced Cookie.

Ridgwell smiled. "A policeman wouldn't be any good, Cookie! Really,
you know, he couldn't do anything."

"Then I should fetch two policemen," said Cookie, shortly and
conclusively. Cookie, at this point in the argument, beat the three
new-laids at such a furious rate, that the foam of them whirled round
and round very much like the agitated thoughts of Cookie herself at
being confronted with such an outrageous problem the first thing in the
morning.

"'Owever," amended Cookie, "afore I went to fetch them policemen, I'd
throw all the boiling green water over him, from the window first, and
see if that wouldn't shift 'im."

Both Ridgwell and Christine laughed outright, the idea was too
ridiculous. To think of their friendly and Pleasant-Faced Lal coming
to make a society call and having boiling cabbage water thrown over his
stately head, was altogether too much for their gravity.

"How indignant he would be," laughed Ridgwell. "Oh! Chris only think
how hurt he would feel as he shook the stuff off his mane and whiskers!"

This imaginary picture, however, seemed to be too much for Christi