"Shh!" Betty warned. "Charles, that isn't polite. You know he's sensitive about—"
The captain seemed to be strangling. "And I thought it was snobbery!" Then he exploded with laughter. He lay back on the grass and he howled.
The Buttons stared in amazement, and some creatures came out of the trees to see what the uproar was all about.
The captain sat up. "What century is this?" he asked.
"The Twenty-second, of course," answered Betty. "But—but why?"
"I just wondered. I'll tell you later." He controlled himself with an effort. "But we really mustn't use force on Aurelia, even in such a good cause. It might turn her into the wrong kind of person."
"Turn her?" Betty repeated sadly. "I'm afraid that she already is. I don't think she'll ever come out. I'm afraid she'll do something desperate."
"I'm worried, too," the captain admitted, "but I'm certain she is the right kind. The wrong kind of people can't live here. Sugar Plum doesn't like them."
Betty and Charles both looked puzzled.
"I'll try to explain. It happens within a few hours, even if they aren't uninhibited. If they are, then it's practically instantaneous. It's a—"