He moved from the bunch of thistles which he had stripped to the next, turning as he did so and carefully picking up his footprints to use over again and save himself the trouble of making new ones.
"You are certainly the most economical man I ever saw," declared the Prince, irritably. "I wouldn't be so mean with my old footprints; nobody else would bother to pick them up. And as for breath, you might spare a little more of that; it doesn't cost anything."
The man paid no especial attention to these rather uncivil remarks, but went on in his work with great diligence.
"Do talk a little!" Vance said, becoming more and more impatient every moment. "At least you can tell me how to find the Crushed Strawberry Wizard?"
"Why?" asked the man, with the first show of interest he had displayed.
"I'm going in search of him."
"Wouldn't," was the little man's reply.
"Why not?"
"Dreadfully wearing on shoes," the other answered.
Then he stopped and collected the breath which he had used in this speech,—for him a very long one,—and went on steadily picking thistledown.