"But I must find him," Vance persisted, vexed anew at this reply; "where does he live?"
"Don't know," said the thistledown-gatherer, shortly.
Vance arose from the stone with an impatient flounce, and took up his box so suddenly that the teeth of all the Court chattered.
"Well," he said snappishly, "you are certainly the stingiest man I ever saw. You can't even give away a civil word."
"Oh, no!" returned the old man, with an expression of great astonishment. "Never give anything away. What will you give for your dolls?"
Now, this question might sound like pure idiocy to some people; but funnily enough it came into the head of Vance that when he had been teasing those twelve models of propriety, his sisters, a few days before, and had made their blue bead-like eyes swim with tears by taking away their playthings, he had used just those very same words to them. He hung his head a little; but still, determined to put a bold face on the matter, he said,—
"Don't talk nonsense! Tell me the way to the Crushed Strawberry Wizard's this minute!"
But, to his surprise, where the queer old man had stood there was only a seedy black raven, very battered and ragged, but with a remarkable pair of glittering red eyes.