ome from, and where was he going."

"What _was_ his name?" asked Sweetest Susan suddenly.

"Well, I declare!" exclaimed Mrs. Meadows, "haven't I told you his
name?"

"If you did, we didn't hear you," said Buster John.

Mrs. Meadows raised her hands above her head and let them fall
helplessly in her lap. "I told you I didn't know how to tell stories!"
she cried. "You had fair warning. Well, well, well! And I never even
told you his name!" She paused and stared at the children as if she
wanted them to pity her weakness. "To think that I should forget to
call his name! Everybody knew it in my day and time, and they knew
about his wonderful adventures.

"His name was Valentine, because he was born on St. Valentine's Day,
and the little girl's name was Geraldine.

"Well, the traveler asked Valentine all sorts of questions, and tried
hard to persuade him to drink some of the water and eat the
pomegranate-seed.

"'I have heard,' said the traveler, 'that all this country around here
is ruled by a cruel Conjurer, and that he has power over all except
those who may chance to find this spring and this pomegranate-tree in
passing, and drink of the water and eat of the fruit.'

"But Valentine shook his head. He said he would rather have milk than
water any day, and as for pomegranates, he had no taste for them.

"'Then I would advise you to go no farther,' said the traveler. 'If
you fall into the hands of the Conjurer, you will never escape.'

"'I have heard of this great Conjurer,' replied Valentine, 'and I
should like nothing better than to see him.'

"He took Keen-Point from his wallet and pretended to be playing with
it, letting it fall and picking it up. The knife pointed beyond the
spring and the pomegranate-tree, and in a little while Valentine went
on his journey. On the hill beyond the spring, he turned and looked
back, but the traveler had disappeared. As there was no place where he
could hide, Valentine concluded that the man he had seen was no
traveler at all, but Rimrak, the Conjurer.

"But he was not afraid. He went on his way, and, after a little, came
to a grove of the tallest and biggest trees he had ever seen. As he
was passing through this grove, he suddenly saw two tremendous spiders
running about among the trees before and behind him. Their bodies were
as big as a feather bed when it is rolled up, and they were pretty
much the same color. Valentine watched their antics a few minutes, and
soon saw