"
"Then you may keep your foreground, and I'll take my distance," roared
Philip, and in a moment his pocket-knife was open, and he had cut a
hole a foot-and-a-half square in the centre of the Enchanted Forest,
and Bobby's amazed face (he was running a tuck in his cloak behind the
scenes) appeared through the aperture.
If a kind word would have saved the fruits of our week's hard labour,
hot one of us would have spoken it. We sacrifice anything we possess
in our ill-tempered family--except our wills.
"And you may take your play, and I'll take my properties," continued
Philip, gathering up hats, wigs, and what not from the costumes which
Alice and I had arranged in neat groups ready for the green-room.
"I'll give everything to Clinton this evening for his new theatre, and
we'll see how you get on without the Fiery Dragon."
"Clinton _can't_ want a fiery dragon when he's got you," said Charles,
in a voice of mock compliment.
The Fairy Godmother's crabstick was in Philip's hand. He raised it,
and flew at Charles, but I threw myself between them and caught
Philip's arm.
"You shall not hit him," I cried.
Aunt Isobel is right about one thing. If one _does_ mean to stop short
in a quarrel one must begin at a very early stage.
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