'I wish it was all,' said Mr. Noah to himself.
'If there isn't a princess it isn't fair,' said the veiled one; 'and I shall consider it's my turn to be Deliverer.'
'Be silent, woman,' said Mr. Noah.
'Woman, indeed,' said the lady. 'I ought to have a proper title.'
'Your title is the Pretender to the——'
'I know,' she interrupted; 'but you forget you're speaking to a lady. You can call me the Pretenderette.'
Mr. Noah turned coldly from her and pressed two Roman candles and a box of matches into Philip's hand.
'When you have arranged your plans and are quite sure that you will be able to kill the dragon, light one of these. We will then have a princess in readiness, and on observing your signal will tie her to a tree, or, since this is a district where trees are rare and buildings freq
