Suddenly Ranulph broke the silence with the startling question, "How far is it from here to Fairyland?"
The little boys nudged one another and again began to snigger behind their hands.
"For shame, Master Ranulph!" cried Luke indignantly, "talking like that before youngsters!"
"But I want to know!" said Ranulph petulantly.
"Tell what your old granny used to say, Dorian," giggled Toby.
And Dorian was finally persuaded to repeat the old saying: "A thousand leagues by the great West Road and ten by the Milky Way."
Ranulph sprang to his feet, and with rather a wild laugh, he cried, "Let's have a race to Fairyland. I bet it will be me that gets there first. One, two, three—and away!"
And he would actually have plunged off into the darkness, had not the little boys, half shocked, half admiring, flung themselves on him and dragged him back.
"There's an imp of mischief got into you tonight, Master Ranulph," growled Luke.
"You shouldn't joke about things like that ... specially tonight, Master Chanticleer," said Toby gravely.