“Yes, he is,” replied Boy, “and he will be delighted, I am sure, to act as your escort, for he admires you very much indeed.”
“Does he really?” said Mrs. Martha Matilda Nimpky, giggling and shaking her curls coquettishly. “How nice!”
“I don’t think there’s any time to lose,” said Boy; “you go and prepare His Majesty, and I will go with you to the Station.”
A very few moments later they all met in the garden, and after Boy had formally introduced One-and-Nine to Mrs. Martha Matilda Nimpky, they left the Palace grounds by a small private gate, and after one or two inquiries found themselves at the Quay. Fortunately there was a boat starting soon, and so they were off, and Boy was back again to the Palace before any one had missed them. He had barely, however, reached his apartments in the Palace when Caesar Maximilian Augustus Claudius Smith (called Thomas for short) brought him a card on which Boy read:
[Original]
“Dear me, I wonder what he wants to see me for?” he thought as he waited for the Magician to enter.
“I thought you’d like to see some tricks,” said this gentleman as he came in, “and it will be good practice for me for my important work to-morrow. Now is there anything that you’d like to be turned into?”
“Oh no, thank you,” cried Boy, greatly alarmed, “I’m quite content to be myself.”