Althea only laughed, and led her visitors away with her up the broad stairs, through one lovely room after another. In the third room they found a woman sitting with a book in her lap. She had on a gray dress, a white apron, and a neat white

cap.

Althea went up and touched her shoulder.

"Let us see that book," she said.

The woman rose, courtsied, and held out the book, saying,

And there she stopped short, while the Kanter girls stared at her.

66

She's run down," said Althea, calmly, and taking a key from her pocket, she put it under the woman's arm, and turned it.

- have it," finished the woman, and giving the book to Althea she sat down again.

Let us go," whispered Prue. "I'm afraid of her, she is so queer!"

"Why, she isn't alive," said Althea. "She's only an automaton. She has works inside her like a clock, and has to be wound up to make her go."

"An automaton!" exclaimed Janet; "and was the lady who played an automaton too, and the man who called us to lunch?”

"Yes, indeed," said Althea, laughing. "They all belong to the castle. My father has the care of them, and he lets me wind them up all I want to."

"Where is your father?" asked Janet, almost fearing that he might prove to be an automaton too. "Oh! he lives in a cottage just outside the garden. I come here every day to play!"

"Does he own the garden and the castle?" asked Prue.

"No, indeed! They belong to a baronial lord. I thought everybody knew that. He is so rich that he owns thousands of chests of gold, and so stern that you would tremble if he looked at you. He built this place just for amusement, but he has so many castles that he hardly ever comes here."

"I hope he won't come while we are here," said Prue anxiously.

"I don't think he will," said Althea, "for he was here only last week. If he should find you here, he would be terribly angry, but we always know when he enters the Maze, because his guards beat drums and blow trumpets for a warning."

The three little girls now went downstairs, and as they passed through the hail, the gray-clad automaton near the door said, more hoarsely and slowly than before,

"Lunch-is-served."

"He hasn't quite run down yet," said Althea laughing, and then she led the way out on the red and green marble steps. There the girls stood and looked upon the lawn and garden.

"It is very wonderful and beautiful," said Prue, "but I should not want to live here. May I pick one of those climbing roses?"

"You may have all you want," said Althea, in her slow, soft voice. Just at this moment, as they stood looking out, with the golden rays of the afternoon sun shining aslant upon the fragrant flower-beds and the plashing fountains, they heard the faint sound of distant music. Gradually it seemed to draw nearer and grow louder, and they could distinguish-yes, it was!-the beating of drums and the blowing of trumpets! The baronial lord was coming!

The Kanter girls trembled and grew pale. Althea herself looked alarmed. A man now entered the garden and ran toward them, a real man, Janet was sure, he ran so fast and breathed so hard.

"Child!" he panted as he reached them, "where are the keys? Are the figures all wound up? Who are these girls? Let them hide themselves as quick as they can!"

"We won't hide, we will go away!" said Janet, provoked at herself for feeling so frightened, but calling loudly,

Come, birds, come!"

In an instant down swept the green birds with the golden chariot, and the Kanter girls, springing into it, were carried up into the air, where at a safe distance they paused and gave a farewell glance back at the garden.

In that last look, they saw Althea sinking upon the marble steps as if she had fainted away, while her father ran distractedly hither and thither. At the garden entrance, a brilliant procession was making its way in, while the drums and trumpets sounded louder than ever.

Then the birds flew on and away, over mountains and cities, over rivers and valleys, and over the broad blue sea, homeward bound.

"There! I forgot those gilliflower seeds!" said Prue, suddenly.

"And those daisy roots," said Janet. "I should rather like to have seen the baronial lord, too!'

"I don't want to see him," said Prue, "I am afraid of them all. I am even a little afraid of Althea now!"

"PR

66

X

There a long line of breakers could we see,
That on a yellow sandy beach did fall,

And then a belt of grass, and then a wall
Of green trees, rising dark against the sky."

William Morris.

RUE," said Janet one day, when they ran out of the cottage for a good long play-time, "you know that picture in our geography of the land where there is always snow and the houses are made of snow and ice; don't you?"

Yes," said Prue, "and the people wear fur clothes."

"Well," said Janet, "that is where I want to go next in our chariot."