ve in. Will you please advise
me?"

The Mouldierwarp in the magic-lantern picture seemed to scratch his nose
thoughtfully with his fore paw.

"It can be done," he said, "but it will be hard. It is almost
impossible to find the treasure without waking the Mouldiestwarp, who
sits on the green-and-white checkered field of Ardens' shield of arms.
And he can only be awakened by some noble deed. Yet noble deeds may
chance at any time. And if you go to seek treasure of one kind you may
find treasure of another. I have spoken."

It began to fade away, but Elfrida cried, "Oh, _don't_ go. You're just
like the Greek oracles. Won't you tell us something plain and
straightforward?"

"I will," said the Mouldierwarp, rather shortly.

"Great Arden's Lord no treasure shall regain
Till Arden's Lord is lost and found again."

"And father _was_ lost and found again," said Edred, "so that's all
right."

"Set forth to seek it with courageous face.
And seek it in the most unlikely place."

And with that it vanished altogether, and the darkness with it; and
there were the three children and Tinkler and the white seal and the
moon-seeds and the sunshine on the floor of the room in the tower.

"That's useful," said Edred scornfully. "As if it wasn't just as
difficult to know the unlikely places as the likely ones."

"I'll tell you what," said Dickie. And then the dinner bell rang, and
they had to go without Dickie's telling them what, and to eat roast
mutton and plum-pie, and behave as though they were just ordinary
children to whom no magic had ever happened. There was little chance of
more talk that day.

Edred and Elfrida were to be taken to Cliffville immediately after
dinner to be measured for new shoes, and Dickie was to go up to spend
the afternoon with Beale and 'Melia and the dogs. Still, in the few
moments when they were all dressed and waiting for the dog-cart to come
round, Dickie found a chance to whisper to Elfrida--

"Let's all think of unlikely places as hard as ever we can. And
to-morrow we'll decide on the unlikeliest and go there. Edred needn't be
in it if he doesn't want to. _You're_ keen, aren't you?"

"Rather!" was all there was time for Elfrida to say.

The welcome that awaited Dickie at Beale's cottage from Beale, Amelia,
and, not least, the dogs, was enough to drive all thoughts of unlikely
places out of anybody's head. And besides, there were always so many
in