'You can try,' said Mr. Noah. 'There are a special set of tasks to be performed if the claimant to the Deliverership be a woman.' 'What are they?' said the veiled lady. 'If Sir Philip fails you will be duly instructed in the deeds required of a Deliverer who is a woman. And now, my friends, let us retire and leave Sir Philip to deal with the dragon. We shall watch anxiously from yonder ramparts,' he added encouragingly. 'But isn't any one to help me?' said Philip, deeply uneasy. 'It is not usual,' said Mr. Noah, 'for champions to require assistance with dragons.' 'I should think not indeed,' said the veiled lady; 'but you're not going the usual way about it at all. Where's the princess, I should like to know?' 'There isn't any princess,' said Mr. Noah. 'Then it won't be a proper dragon-killing,' she said, with an angry shaking of skirts; 'that's all I can say.' 'I wish it _was_ all,' said Mr. Noah to himself. 'If there isn't a princess it isn't fair,' said the veiled one; 'and I shall consider it's my turn to be Deliverer.' 'Be silent, woman,' said Mr. Noah. 'Woman, indeed,' said the lady. 'I ought to have a proper title.' 'Your title is the Pretender to the----' 'I know,' she interrupted; 'but you forget you're speaking to a lady. You can call me the Pretenderette.' Mr. Noah turned coldly from her and pressed two Roman candles and a box of matches into Philip's hand. 'When you have arranged your plans and are quite sure that you will be able to kill the dragon, light one of these. We will then have a princess in readiness, and on observing your signal will tie her to a tree, or, since this is a district where trees are rare and buildings frequent, to a pillar. She will be perfectly safe if you make your plans correctly. And in any case you must not attempt to deal with the dragon without first lighting the Roman candle.' 'And the dragon will see it and go away.' 'Exactly,' said Mr. Noah. 'Or perhaps he will see it and not go away. Time alone will show. The task that is without difficulties can never really appeal to a hero. You will find weapons, cords, nets, shields and various first aids to the young dragon-catcher in the vaults below this tower. Good evening, Sir Philip,' he ended warmly. 'We wish you every success.' And with that the whole crowd began to go away. '_I_ know who you ought to have for princess,' the Pretenderette said as they went. And Mr. Noah said: 'Silence in court.' 'This isn't a court,' said the Pretenderette aggravatingly. 'Wherever justice is, is a court,' said Mr. Noah, 'and I accuse you of contempt of it. Guards, arrest this person and take her to prison at once.' There was a scuffling and a shrieking and then the voices withdrew gradually, the angry voice of even the Pretenderette growing fainter and fainter till it died away altogether. Philip was left alone.