“I think you should be the one to tell her, brother Nibby——”
“Oh bother!” said Merrimeg. “I know what the word is now. It’s kitten-tails.”
“She’s getting cross, she’s getting cross, brother Nibby,” said Malkin’s voice. “Do you think we’d better go back?”
“I’m not cross,” said Merrimeg. “Please excuse me. I won’t speak so any more.”
“I believe it’s all right, brother Nibby,” said Malkin’s voice. “Now you’d better tell her about the word. Whatever they say to her, she must use that word, and she mustn’t use any other; tell her that, brother Nibby. She mustn’t say anything else to them, because if she does they’ll take her body away from her too, and we’ll never get our bodies back; tell her that, brother Nibby. And we mustn’t speak at all, because that would spoil everything. And whatever she does, she mustn’t let them take her shoes off. Tell her, brother.”
“Excuse me,” said Merrimeg, very politely, “I heard what you said, so he needn’t tell me, if you please.”
“Now that’s what I call very clever of her,” said Malkin’s voice.
“Very, very,” said Nibby’s voice.
In a few minutes they came to a place where the vines and brambles hung down so low over the path that Merrimeg had to crawl on her hands and knees; and just then Malkin said, in a very low voice:
“There’s old Sappy.”