"Oh, great, strong, healthy animals like them, it will do them good to go without for once in a way. I think, though, that in order to prevent them from feeling any disappointment it will be better to throw the basins out of the window, the sight of them would probably be rather tantalizing." And the Eteraedarium began hurriedly to throw all the breakfast things out of the window--spoons, basins, tablecloths, and serviettes, all disappeared, and only the three basins which the children had been using remained. They, doubtless, would have followed the others had not the Dodo, leaning heavily on the Prehistoric Doctor's arm, entered the breakfast car just at that moment. "Ah! bread-and-milk--capital!" exclaimed the Doctor, rubbing his hands, and looking at the children's basins. "I think our patient could manage a small basinful, eh?" The Dodo, with a great affectation of weakness, feebly nodded his head. "I think I _could_ manage a small basinful, Doctor--er--er--not _too_ small, you know. A _very_ small quantity never agrees with me." "No, no; of course not," said the Doctor, soothingly. "I will see that it is not too small; and perhaps, just to encourage you, I will have a basinful myself." "It's all gone!" said the Eteraedarium, suddenly and emphatically. "Gone!" screamed the Dodo, in a loud voice, quite forgetting his supposed weakness. "Do you mean to say there is _none_ left?" The Eteraedarium shook his head. "But where's it all gone to?" asked the Doctor. The Eteraedarium solemnly pointed to the children. "Pigs!" declared the Dodo, wrathfully. "Here, who are you calling pigs?" demanded Dick, getting up angrily. "Well, I must say that it was exceedingly greedy of you to devour all of the breakfast," said the Doctor, reprovingly. "But we didn't," said Dick. "It was the Eteraedarium; he had ever so many basinsful. We only had one each, didn't we, Marjorie?" "No," said Marjorie; "and mine was a very small one." "And mine was the littlest of all," said Fidge, flourishing his spoon, "like the littlest bear's, you know, in the story of the Three Bears." "Well, where are the other basins, then, if you say the Eteraedarium had such a lot?" demanded the Dodo. "He threw them out of the window," declared the children. "Oh! Oh! Well, I _never_--whatever will they say next?" cried the Eteraedarium, throwing up his hands and turning his eyes up to the ceiling. "I must say it doesn't seem a very probable story," said the Doctor, looking out of the window; "and as I don't see any of the basins lying about I am afraid I cannot believe your statement." "But that was some time ago," argued Dick, "and as we are traveling very rapidly they must be some miles down the line by this time." [Illustration: The arrival at the Crystal Palace.] "Rubbish!" exclaimed the Dodo, "you are only making matters worse by your lame excuses. I always had my suspicions that you were a greedy lot, like all the rest of the human creatures."