"Dangerous where I am?" laughed the Red Knight. "You'll be just as safe as in your own little bed. Nobody ever stands up against me, Alice. At the first sight of me they turn and run. That's what makes the present obstinate behavior of the enemy so peculiarly infamous."
CHAPTER XVII
They were once more on the Chicago Flyer, this time on the way East, and Alice looking out of the window, saw that within a few minutes they would be in New York. The Red Knight lay back in his chair, almost as worn and pale as after that terrible battle in North Dakota, when he fell off so often on his head.
"A drink of water, please, Alice," said the Red Knight.
They had mislaid their individual drinking-cups, so Alice brought him some water in his helmet, and after he had drunk, she bathed his forehead with the rest.
"Well, it was a hard fight," said the Red Knight. "But we won."
"Do you think so?" said Alice, greatly surprised.
"We must have won," said the Red Knight. "We couldn't help it. Look at it yourself. My motives were of the very highest, my followers were the best men in the country, my strategy was absolutely faultless. There wasn't a mistake or an oversight. So, of course, I must have won."