somewhere, and it seemed to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing — when there was an interruption. The interruption was John Canty — with a peddler’s pack on his back — and Hugo.

The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line, but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way, without a word. He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried on, into a narrow lane at the rear.