ees, and she also gazed at the carpet. They
had all the appearance of shipwrecked mariners looking out over a great
sea and longing for a sail.

'Ha ha--tee hee!' said a laugh close behind them. They turned. And it
was the motor-veiled lady, the hateful Pretenderette, who had crept up
close behind them, and was looking down at them through her veil.

'What do you want?' said Philip severely.

'I want to laugh,' said the motor lady. 'I want to laugh at _you_. And
I'm going to.'

'Well go and laugh somewhere else then,' Philip suggested.

'Ah! but this is where I want to laugh. You and your carpet! You'll
never do it. You don't know how. But _I_ do.'

'Come away,' whispered Lucy, and they went. The Pretenderette followed
slowly. Outside, a couple of Dutch dolls in check suits were passing,
arm in arm.

'Help!' cried Lucy suddenly, and the Dutch dolls paused and took their
hats off.

'What is it?' the taller doll asked, stroking his black painted
moustache.

'Mr. Noah said all citizens were bound to help us,' said Lucy a little
breathlessly.

'But of course,' said the shorter doll, bowing with stiff courtesy.

'Then,' said Lucy, 'will you _please_ take that motor person away and
put her somewhere where she can't bother till we've done the carpet?'

'Delighted,' exclaimed the agreeable Dutch strangers, darted up the
steps and next moment emerged with the form of the Pretenderette between
them, struggling indeed, but struggling vainly.

'You need not have the slightest further anxiety,' the taller Dutchman
said; 'dismiss the incident from your mind. We will take her to the hall
of justice. Her offence is bothering people in pursuit of their duty.
The sentence is imprisonment for as long as the botheree chooses.
Good-morning.'

'Oh, _thank you_!' said both the children together.

When they were alone, Philip said--and it was not easy to say it:

'That was jolly clever of you, Lucy. I should never have thought of it.'

'Oh, that's nothing,' said Lucy, looking down. 'I could do more than
that.'

'What?' he asked.

'I could unravel the carpet,' said Lucy, with deep solemnity.

'But it's me that's got to do it,' Philip urged.

'Every citizen is bound to help, if called in,' Lucy reminded him. 'And
I suppose a princess _is_ a citizen.'

'Perhaps I can do it by myself,' said Philip.

'Try,' said Lucy, and sat down on the steps, her fairy skirts spreading
out round her like a white double hollyhock.