“Seize ’em, some of you!  Where’s that fat Policeman?”

“Here, sorr.”  Very much against his will the Policeman had been pushed forward till he stood in front of the children, hanging his head and looking very uncomfortable.

“Arrest ’em, why don’t you?” shouted the Boss.

“Please, sorr, Oi have,” muttered the Policeman humbly, shifting from one foot to the other and looking more and more unhappy.

“Then do it all over again, and be quick about it—­or—­” Manunderthebed made a terrible face at the Policeman, who shivered, and edging up to Rudolf, laid a timid hand on his shoulder.

“No you don’t!” cried Rudolf.  “I’m not afraid of you!” And he gave the Policeman a poke with his sword, just a little one, about where his belt came.  The Policeman gave a frightened yell, doubled up as if he had been shot, and ducking under the shoulders of the crowd made off into the darkness.  Manunderthebed was furious.  The children heard him roar out a command, and then the Bad Dreams advanced on them in a body.  The leaping dancing flames of the plum-pudding fire showed their angry faces and strange figures.

Rudolf was not really afraid now, for he saw at once that the Bad Dreams were not much at fighting, yet there were so many of them that by sheer force of their numbers they were slowly but surely pushing the three children back, back, until they were crowded against the trunk of the great oak tree where Manunderthebed had been crouching.  He had run to fetch a great branch of burning holly from the fire, and holding this like a torch above his head, he pressed through the crowd toward Rudolf and dashed it almost into his eyes.  Rudolf shrank back, half blinded by the glare, and bumped sharply into Peter, who in turn was pushed violently against Ann, who had set her back firmly against the tree trunk.  The tree, as she described it afterward, seemed to give way behind her, and she fell backward into soft smothery darkness.  Peter fell after her and Rudolf on top of Peter.  The little door which had opened to receive them snapped to again, as if by magic, and from the other side of it the triumphant howls of the Bad Dreams came very faintly to their ears.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIV

IN THE HOLLOW TREE

At first it seemed perfectly dark inside the tree, but after the children had rubbed out of their eyes the soft powdery dust which their fall had stirred up, they made out the dull glow of a dying fire, a real one in a real fireplace this time, and no plum-pudding affair.  From the amount of furniture they knocked against in moving about they knew they must be in somebody’s house.

“Oh, dear,” whispered Ann, “I hope the owner is not at home!”