"Why—why—well—well—" stammered the Duke, "I—I—I think under the circumstances I had better say she is not here."
"All right," said the giant, "then I'll be trotting along, but I'll leave this boy with you. Put him in your safe deposit box, for when I find my wife I'll have need of him."
Then kicking the gate open again he strode through it and down the road out of sight.
For a moment the Duke of Dishwater looked at Jack, and Jack looked at the Duke of Dishwater. After which the nobleman took off his wig and mopped his head nervously with his handkerchief. "My, my," he said, fretfully, "whoever heard of pulling one's castle up by the roots. Wretched taste, I call it."
"But," said Jack, "he won't do it if Mrs. Blunderbuss isn't here."
"Quite so," said the Duke, "but Mrs. Blunderbuss is here. She has been visiting us for a week."
"Then," said Jack, severely, "you told a fib."
"Not a regular fib, no sir-ee," replied the Duke, "I only said 'under the circumstances' I had better say she wasn't here, so he wouldn't pull my castle up. And now the next thing is to see she isn't here when he comes back. Excuse me."
With that he rushed indoors and yelled for his wife to tell the giant's wife to pack up her things and go away right off.
But when the Duchess told Mrs. Blunderbuss as politely as she could that it was time for her to go home, the giant's wife was perfectly furious.