the
hero were so far beyond anything he had yet seen. His fluted armour
was inlaid with gold, his plumed helmet hung at his saddle-bow, and his
thick fair hair framed a face gracious and gentle beyond expression
till you caught the sternness in his eyes. He drew rein in front of the
little inn, and the villagers crowded round with greetings and thanks
and voluble statements of their wrongs and grievances and oppressions.
The Boy, heard the grave gentle voice of the Saint, assuring them that
all would be well now, and that he would stand by them and see them
righted and free them from their foe; then he dismounted and passed
through the doorway and the crowd poured in after him. But the Boy made
off up the hill as fast as he could lay his legs to the ground.

"It's all up, dragon!" he shouted as soon as he was within sight of
the beast. "He's coming! He's here now! You'll have to pull yourself
together and do something at last!"

The dragon was licking his scales and rubbing them with a bit of
house-flannel the Boy's mother had lent him, till he shone like a great
turquoise.

"Don't be violent, Boy," he said without looking round. "Sit down and
get your breath, and try and remember that the noun governs the verb,
and then perhaps you'll be good enough to tell me who's coming?"

"That's right, take it coolly," said the Boy. "Hope you'll be half as
cool when I've got through with my news. It's only St. George who's
coming, that's all; he rode into the village half-an-hour ago. Of course
you can lick him--a great big fellow like you! But I thought I'd
warn you, 'cos he's sure to be round early, and he's got the longest,
wickedest-looking spear you ever did see!" And the Boy got up and began
to jump round in sheer delight at the prospect of the battle.

"O deary, deary me," moaned the dragon; "this is too awful. I won't see
him, and that's flat. I don't want to know the fellow at all. I'm sure
he's not nice. You must tell him to go away at once, please. Say he can
write if he likes, but I can't give him an interview. I'm not seeing
anybody at present."

"Now dragon, dragon," said the Boy imploringly, "don't be perverse and
wrongheaded. You've got to fight him some time or other, you know, 'cos
he's St. George and you're the dragon. Better get it over, and then we
can go on with the sonnets. And you ought to consider other people a
little, too. If it's been dull up here for you, think how dull it's been
for me!"

"M