r into the wood. Her sunbonnet was still in sight ahead among
the bushes, and by great good fortune he succeeded in keeping it in
sight. Once, indeed, when he thought that he had lost it for good and
all, it suddenly reappeared ahead of him; and he was able to take up
the chase again. But he did not catch her. Indeed he did not lessen
the distance between them to an extent appreciable by the naked eye.
For a delicate princess she was running with uncommon speed and
endurance. Considering his dress and boots and the roughness of the
going, he, too, was running with uncommon speed and endurance. It was
true that his face was a very bright red and that his so lately stiff,
tall, white collar lay limply gray round his neck. But he was not near
enough to his quarry to be mortified by seeing that she was but faintly
flushed by her efforts and hardly perspiring at all. All the while he
was buoyed up by the assurance that he would catch her in the course of
the next hundred yards.

Then his quarry left the wood, by an exceedingly small gap, and ran
down a field path toward the village of Little Deeping. By the time
the count was through the gap she had a lead of a hundred yards. To
his joy, in the open country, on the smoother path, he made up the lost
ground quickly. When they reached the common, he was a bare forty
yards behind her. He was not surprised when in despair she left the
path and bolted into the refuge of an old house that stood beside it.

Mopping his hot wet brow he walked up the garden path with a victorious
air, and knocked firmly on the door. Sarah opened it; and he demanded
the instant surrender of the princess. Sarah heard him with an
exasperating air of blank bewilderment. He repeated his demand more
firmly and loudly.

Sarah called to Mrs. Dangerfield: "Please, mum: 'ere's a furrin
gentleman asking for a princess. I expect as it's that there missing
one."

"Do nod mock! She 'ees 'ere!" cried the count fiercely.

Then Mrs. Dangerfield came out of the dining-room where she had been
arranging flowers, and came to the door.

"The princess is not here," she said gently.

"But I haf zeen 'er! She haf now ad once coom! She 'ides!" cried the
count.

At that moment Erebus came down the hall airily swinging her sunbonnet
by its strings. The eyes of the count opened wide; so did his mouth.

"I expect he means me. At least he's run after me all the way from the
knoll here," said Erebus