ck home, and so I
thought we'd do well to leave them there. Still, if you are not
tired--" Mrs. Meadows paused and looked at the children.

"Oh, we are not tired," protested Buster John.

"Well," said Mrs. Meadows, "if that's the case, I'll tell you what
happened after Valentine and Geraldine went back home. Of course,
Geraldine's father and mother were very proud and happy when their
little girl was brought back to them. They were very grateful to
Valentine, and they offered him money. But somehow Valentine didn't
want their money. He said that the pleasure of getting Geraldine out
of the hands of the wicked Conjurer was reward enough for him, and so
he shook his head and refused the money that was offered him.

"Now, the little girl's father was rich and prosperous, while
Valentine was very poor, and it was natural that the rich man should
wonder why the boy, who was poor, should refuse money. Somehow, he
took a dislike to Valentine. He said to himself that a boy who would
refuse money as a free gift would never be prosperous.

"As time went on, Valentine grew to be a handsome young man, but he
was still poor. He went to see Geraldine sometimes, but as she grew
older, she grew shyer. Valentine couldn't understand this, but he
thought it was because she was old enough to know that she was rich
and he was poor.

"He said to her one day. 'You are not as friendly as you used to be.'

"'Oh, yes I am,' she replied. 'I shall always be friendly with you.'

"'No,' said he, 'you have changed.'

"'No more than you,' was her answer.

"'I changed?' he cried. 'I love you more than I ever did.'

"With that Geraldine hung her head to hide her blushes, but Valentine
thought she was angry. He turned on his heel and would have gone away,
but she called him back, and told him not to go away angry--and then
they made it up somehow. Valentine said he would speak to Geraldine's
father. This he did, but the father shook his head.

"'You want to take her to a hut?' he cried. 'Why she might as well
have stayed in the Conjurer's cave. Go and get you a fortune, and then
come back, and maybe we'll talk the matter over.'

"Valentine went away very sad. He never turned his head, although
Geraldine was watching him from a window, ready to wave her hand and
throw him a kiss. He wandered off into the woods until he came to the
bank of the River, and there he sat watching the water go by. He
watched it until he almost forgot his own troub