sleep? You might go to sleep too, if you
like. I should think there will be time before we row back to the shore,
only I do not know how we shall get the boat through the narrow part if
the frogs have all gone. And no doubt Houpet and the others will be
wondering why we are so long."

"We can whistle for Dudu again if we need," said Hugh. "He helped us
very well the last time. I too am rather sleepy, Jeanne, but still I
think I had better not go _quite_ asleep. You lie down, and I'll just
paddle on very slowly and softly for a little, and when you wake up
we'll fix whether we should whistle or not."

Jeanne seemed to fall asleep in a moment when she lay down. Hugh paddled
on quietly, as he had said, thinking dreamily of the queer things they
had seen and heard in this nameless country inside the tapestry door. He
did not feel troubled as to how they were to get back again; he had
great faith in Dudu, and felt sure it would all come right. But
gradually he too began to feel very sleepy; the dip of the oars and the
sound of little Jeanne's regular breathing seemed to keep time together
in a curious way. And at last the oars slipped from Hugh's hold; he lay
down beside Jeanne, letting the boat drift; he was so _very_ sleepy, he
could keep up no more.

But after a minute or two when, not _quite_ asleep, he lay listening to
the soft breathing of the little girl, it seemed to him he heard still
the gentle dip of the oars. The more he listened, the more sure he
became that it was so, and at last his curiosity grew so great that it
half overcame his drowsiness. He opened his eyes just enough to look up.
Yes, he was right, the boat was gliding steadily along, the oars were
doing their work, and who do you think were the rowers? Dudu on one
side, Houpet on the other, rowing away as cleverly as if they had never
done anything else in their lives, steadying themselves on one claw,
rowing with the other. Hugh did not feel the least surprised; he smiled
sleepily, and turned over quite satisfied.

"They'll take us safe back," he said to himself: and that was all he
thought about it.

"Good-night, Cheri, good-night," was the next thing he heard, or
remembered hearing.

Hugh half sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Where was he?

Not in the boat, there was no sound of oars, the light that met his gaze
was not that of the strange country where Jeanne and he had had all
these adventures, it was just clear ordinary moonlight; and as for