But when they reached the front door he gave a shout, for there he saw a sign which said:
TO LET
and found that all the shutters were shut and not a soul about.
"Zounds!" yelled the monster, "what is the matter, and where is everybody? And what does 'to let' mean?"
"Why," said Jack, crawling out of the giant's pocket and sliding down his leg to the ground, "I think it means that your house is for rent to anybody that wants it. Your wife must have moved away."
"What?" bawled the giant, "my wife gone and my house left for any one that wants it? Oh, wait until I catch her!"
Then he stamped his feet and tore his beard, and carried on something dreadfully, until he had to sit down on the grass to get his breath.
"Well," he said, after a pause, "the only thing to do is to hunt until we find her, for I can't find out whether you're the wrong Jack until she sees you. So come along and we'll see if the neighbors can tell us anything."
Whereupon he set off across the country with Jack running by his side until presently they came to a tumble-down cottage.
"Here is where Goog, the ogress lives," said the giant. "She belonged to the same sewing circle as my wife so maybe she knows where she is." And he knocked at the cottage door.