“‘That leaves me out,’ said Hurdy-Gurdy.
“‘You stayed out!’ cried Mandolin, with scorn.
“‘I don’t see my way,’ said the princess. ‘Let Mandolin be B, and Hurdy-Gurdy C, and I am—’
“‘B, C puts them both out of the question,’ said Trombone. ‘They are dead.’”
“Sancho Panza!” cried Ned. “What fine nonsense!”
“Do keep quiet,” said Jack.
“‘And me—I—oh, bother!’ said Henrietta. ‘It comes out even.’
“‘But,’ said Hurdy-Gurdy, ‘it is heart-rending what I suffered. I alone had the courage not to jump in. I had the courage of my opinion, which was that I should be drowned, and so break your heart. I really couldn’t. There are three hundred and twenty-one kinds of courage.’
“‘Gracious![“‘Gracious!] How numerically interesting!’ said Henrietta. ‘Dry yourselves, and I will reflect.’
“So she left the three seated on the bank, in the sun, and went away. But once a year she sent her maid to see if they were dry, and to say she was working it out. The second year Hurdy-Gurdy went away, because he was a person who had a good deal of decision of character.