"I've answered all the questions you've asked; of course, if you haven't asked it yet you can't expect me to answer it." "But I asked you if you could tell me what city that is back there." "And I said 'yes, I could.' I'm sure that's answering your question." And the Toll Man looked grieved. "Then why don't you tell me?" "Because you haven't asked me to--why should I waste my valuable time answering questions that were never asked?" "Then what city is it?" asked Billy, angrily. "Never Was." "Thank you--and now I will ask you: do I have to cross that bridge to get there?" "You've already crossed it," said the Toll Gate Keeper, "and I'm here to collect your toll." "I beg your pardon, I haven't crossed it," said Billy. "Oh, but you have, otherwise you wouldn't be here." "But how could I have crossed it? I haven't gotten to it yet." "Of course not; if you had gotten to it you wouldn't have crossed it," and the Toll man looked at Billy as much as to say, "Well, you _are_ a dull boy if you can't understand that." "That's ridiculous," said Billy. "What sort of a bridge is it, anyway?" "The bridge that people cross before they come to it." "But there is no such bridge." "Of course there's not, that's the reason people cross it before they get to it." "Then how am I to get to the city?" "I don't know and I don't care. I didn't send you there--all I know is that the only way to Never Was is over the bridge that people cross before they get to it." "Then all I can see is that I shall have to cross the bridge," said Billy. "I've told you that you've already crossed it." "Stop a minute," cried Billy, putting his fingers in his ears, "my head is in a whirl." "How can I stop a minute? I'd have to catch it first, and don't you know that time flies?" "I mean wait for a minute." "Which minute do you want me to wait for?" "Oh, stop it, stop it!--don't stop anything--I mean don't wait for anything--if you say another word I'll go crazy." And poor bewildered Billy sat down on the ground and buried his face in his hands. "There, I feel better," said he, finally, raising his head. "Who are you, please?" "I'm the Toll Gate Keeper, also The Man That People Borrow Trouble From." "Oh!" said Billy. "No, I don't owe, I lend, and it's a poor business, for no one ever pays me back. More people owe me a grudge than a Thousand Legger can count on its fingers and toes." "Aren't you afraid to have so many people owing you a grudge?" asked Billy. "How can I help it? They borrow trouble from me without asking for it, and anyway it worries them more than it does me." "This is certainly a topsy-turvy place," said Billy. "What is that sign on the bridge--is it in Greek?" "Oh, no! that's just because you see the back of it; it's only for people who are crossing, and says, 'Walk your Horses.'" "Do horses ever cross the bridge?"