and how you were bound to win, in the cause of right and justice,

and so on; but let me tell you, I came down the street just now,
and they were betting six to four on the dragon freely!"

"Six to four on the dragon!" murmured St. George sadly, resting
his cheek on his hand. "This is an evil world, and

sometimes I begin to think that all the wickedness in it is not
entirely bottled up inside the dragons. And yet--may not this

wily beast have misled you as to his real character, in order
that your good report of him may serve as a cloak for his evil

deeds? Nay, may there not be, at this very moment, some hapless
Princess immured within yonder gloomy cavern?"

The moment he had spoken, St. George was sorry for what he had
said, the Boy looked so genuinely distressed.

"I assure you, St. George," he said earnestly, "there's nothing
of the sort in the cave at all. The dragon's a real gentleman,

every inch of him, and I may say that no one would be more
shocked and grieved than he would, at hearing you talk in that--

that LOOSE way about matters on which he has very strong
views!"

"Well, perhaps I've been over-credulous," said St. George.
"Perhaps I've misjudged the animal. But what are we to do? Here

are the dragon and I, almost face to face, each supposed to be
thirsting for each other's blood. I don't see any way out of it,

exactly. What do you suggest? Can't you arrange things,
somehow?"

"That's just what the dragon said," replied the Boy, rather
nettled. "Really, the way you two seem to leave everything to

me--I suppose you couldn't be persuaded to go away quietly, could
you?"

"Impossible, I fear," said the Saint. "Quite against the rules.
YOU know that as well as I do."

"Well, then, look here," said the Boy, "it's early yet--would you
mind strolling up with me and seeing the dragon and talking it

over? It's not far, and any friend of mine will be most
welcome."

"Well, it's IRREGULAR," said St. George, rising, "but
really it seems about the most sensible thing to do. You're

taking a lot of trouble on your friend's account," he added,
good-naturedly, as they passed out through the door together.

"But cheer up! Perhaps there won't have to be any fight after
all."

"Oh, but _I_ hope there will, though!" replied the little
fellow, wistfully.

"I've brought a friend to see you, dragon," said the Boy, rather
loud.

The dragon woke up with a start. "I was just--er--thinking about
things," he said in his simple way. "Very pleased to make your

acquaintance, sir. Charming weather we're having!"
"This is St George," said the Boy, shortly. "St. George, let me

introduce you to the dragon. We've come up to talk things over
quietly, dragon, and now for goodness' sake do let us have a

little straight common-sense, and come to some practical
business-like arrangement, for I'm sick of views and theories of

life and personal tendencies, and all that sort of thing. I may
perhaps add that my mother's sitting up."

"So glad to meet you, St. George," began the dragon rather
nervously, "because you've been a great traveller, I hear, and

I've always been rather a stay-at-home. But I can show you many
antiquities, many interesting features of our country-side, if

you're stopping here any time--"
"I think," said St. George, in his frank, pleasant way, "that

we'd really better take the advice of our young friend here, and
try to come to some understanding, on a business footing, about

this little affair of ours. Now don't you think that after all
the simplest plan would be just to fight it out, according to the

rules, and let the best man win? They're betting on you, I
may tell you, down in the village, but I don't mind that!"

"Oh, yes, DO, dragon," said the Boy, delightedly; "it'll save
such a lot of bother!"

"My young friend, you shut up," said the dragon severely.
"Believe me, St. George," he went on, "there's nobody in the

world I'd sooner oblige than you and this young gentleman here.
But the whole thing's nonsense, and conventionality, and popular

thick-headedness. There's absolutely nothing to fight about,
from beginning to end. And anyhow I'm not going to, so that

settles it!"
"But supposing I make you?" said St. George, rather nettled.

"You can't," said the dragon, triumphantly. "I should only go
into my cave and retire for a time down the hole I came up.

You'd soon get heartily sick of sitting outside and waiting
for me to come out and fight you. And as soon as you'd really

gone away, why, I'd come up again gaily, for I tell you frankly,
I like this place, and I'm going to stay here!"

St. George gazed for a while on the fair landscape around them.
"But this would be a beautiful place for a fight," he began again

persuasively. "These great bare rolling Downs for the arena,--
and me in my golden armour showing up against your big blue scaly

coils! Think what a picture it would make!"
"Now you're trying to get at me through my artistic

sensibilities," said the dragon. "But it won't work. Not but
what it would make a very pretty picture, as you say," he added,

wavering a little.
"We seem to be getting rather nearer to BUSINESS," put in the

Boy. "You must see, dragon, that there's got to be a fight
of some sort, 'cos you can't want to have to go down that dirty

old hole again and stop there till goodness knows when."
"It might be arranged," said St. George, thoughtfully. "I

MUST spear you somewhere, of course, but I'm not bound to hurt
you very much. There's such a lot of you that there must be a

few SPARE places somewhere. Here, for instance, just behind
your foreleg. It couldn't hurt you much, just here!"

"Now you're tickling, George," said the dragon, coyly. "No, that
place won't do at all. Even if it didn't hurt,--and I'm sure it

would, awfully,--it would make me laugh, and that would spoil
everything."

"Let's try somewhere else, then," said St. George, patiently.
"Under your neck, for instance,--all these folds of thick skin,--

if I speared you here you'd never even know I'd done it!"
"Yes, but are you sure you can hit off the right place?"

asked the dragon, anxiously.
"Of course I am," said St. George, with confidence. "You leave

that to me!"
"It's just because I've GOT to leave it to you that I'm

asking," replied the dragon, rather testily. "No doubt you would
deeply regret any error you might make in the hurry of the

moment; but you wouldn't regret it half as much as I should!
However, I suppose we've got to trust somebody, as we go through

life, and your plan seems, on the whole, as good a one as any."
"Look here, dragon," interrupted the Boy, a little jealous on

behalf of his friend, who seemed to be getting all the worst of
the bargain: "I don't quite see where YOU come in! There's to

be a fight, apparently, and you're to be licked; and what I want
to know is, what are YOU going to get out of it?"