"No," said Marjorie; "this place is so big there's room enough anyway. I promise you we won't go outside the gates, Lisa."
"Isn't this fun?" cried Marjorie, as Lisa went away. "Now, we have two kidnapped princesses. Or shall we play house with them?"
"No, let's have them princesses. Now you can name yours Petronella, and I'll name mine Ermyntrude."
This momentous question settled, the game went on. They pretended that the princesses were anxious to get back to their respective homes, and that they must resort to bribery and strategy to keep them contented.
"Nay, nay, Princess Petronella," Marjorie would say; "weep not for friends and family. I will take you to a far better place, where flowers grow and birds sing and—and——"
"And gold-fish swim," went on Gladys, who always followed Marjorie's lead, "and roosters crow—cock-a-doodle-doo!!"
This climax, accompanied as it was by Gladys' flapping her arms and prancing about, greatly delighted both princesses, and they laughed and clamored for more.
"Aren't they dears!" exclaimed Marjorie, as she looked at the two pretty babies. "Methinks no ransom is forthcoming. Must we resort to our dire and dreadful doom?"
"Aye, aye!" said Gladys. "To the enchanted castle with the fatal victims."
So long as the girls used tragic-sounding words they didn't always care whether they made sense or not.