“Then come with me,” said the Knight-mare.  “It’s only a short way to—­”

He was suddenly interrupted by a fresh commotion in the wood.  Heavy bodies were parting the undergrowth back of where they stood.  Before the children could think of escape, four strange figures sprang on them from behind, their arms were seized, they were tripped up, and they landed very hard upon the ground.  Both knew in a moment what had happened.  The Bad Dreams had caught them!

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIII

THE BAD DREAMS

At first the children’s view was entirely shut off by the size and heaviness of the things that were sitting on their chests.  They had been completely taken by surprise and they had not even breath enough left to cry out, but lay still and listened to what was going on about them.  This is what they heard: 

“Ye arre arristid in the name of the Law!” a gruff voice was saying.  “Move on, move on, move on.”

“One moment, Officer,” a second voice interrupted.  “Imprison these young persons, if you are so disposed, but pray allow me first my little opportunity to practise on them.  This young lady—­ahem!  We will begin by extracting that large molar on the upper left-hand side, we will then have out two or three—­”

“Ugh—­ugh!” A series of hoarse grunts, and what had been sitting on Rudolf rose up and rushed at the last speaker.  “No, no!  Big Chief first!  Big Chief Thunder-snorer take two fine scalp—­ha! ha!”

There was a confused sound of struggling and voices arguing, and in another moment Ann was relieved of her burden which, with a mighty moo, got up and joined the others.  Ann sat up and clung to Rudolf, while the Knight-mare who was standing close beside her, laid a protecting hand upon her shoulder.  When she saw what had been holding her down, she gave a little shriek.  It was a small spotted cow in a red flannel petticoat.  She wore stout button boots on her hind feet, and she now reared herself upon these to flourish two angry hoofs over the sleek head of a little man in a white linen coat who held a tiny mirror in one hand and a pair of pincers in the other.  Ann took a great dislike to this little man at once, and felt more afraid of him than of the Cow or of the handsome Indian Chief in full war-paint—­feather head-dress and all—­who was brandishing his tomahawk, sometimes in the face of the Little Dentist, again under the turned-up nose of a large fat Policeman who stood with folded arms, the only calm member of that much-excited group.

The Knight-mare stepped forward and put himself between the children and the Bad Dreams.  “Look here, you fellows,” he said quietly, “you may as well stop this nonsense first as last.  You haven’t got any business here, and well you know it.  If the Boss finds you’ve been disposing of any prisoners without his permission—­well—­you know what’ll happen!”