‘If they were really dead it wouldn’t matter,’ Dora said. ‘What I’m afraid of is a skeleton that can walk about and catch at your legs when you’re going upstairs to bed.’ ‘Skeletons can’t walk,’ Alice said in a hurry; ‘you know they can’t, Dora.’ And she glared at Dora till she made her sorry she had said what she had. The things you are frightened of, or even those you would rather not meet in the dark, should never be mentioned before the little ones, or else they cry when it comes to bed-time, and say it was because of what you said. ‘We shan’t find anything. No jolly fear,’ said Dicky. And just then my spade I was digging with struck on something hard, and it felt hollow. I did really think for one joyful space that we had found that pot of gold. But the thing, whatever it was, seemed to be longish; longer, that is, than a pot of gold would naturally be. And as I uncovered it I saw that it was not at all pot-of-gold-colour, but like a bone Pincher has buried. So Oswald said-- ‘It IS the skeleton.’ The girls all drew back, and Alice said, ‘Oswald, I wish you wouldn’t.’ A moment later the discovery was unearthed, and Oswald lifted it up, with both hands. ‘It’s a dragon’s head,’ Noel said, and it certainly looked like it. It was long and narrowish and bony, and with great yellow teeth sticking in the jaw. Bill came back just then and said it was a horse’s head, but H. O. and Noel would not believe it, and Oswald owns that no horse he has ever seen had a head at all that shape. But Oswald did not stop to argue, because he saw a keeper who showed me how to set snares going by, and he wanted to talk to him about ferrets, so he went off and Dicky and Denny and Alice with him. Also Daisy and Dora went off to finish reading Ministering Children. So H. O. and Noel were left with the bony head. They took it away. The incident had quite faded from the mind of Oswald next day. But just before breakfast Noel and H. O. came in, looking hot and anxious. They had got up early and had not washed at all--not even their hands and faces. Noel made Oswald a secret signal. All the others saw it, and with proper delicate feeling pretended not to have. When Oswald had gone out with Noel and H. O. in obedience to the secret signal, Noel said-- ‘You know that dragon’s head yesterday?’ ‘Well?’ Oswald said quickly, but not crossly--the two things are quite different. ‘Well, you know what happened in Greek history when some chap sowed dragon’s teeth?’ ‘They came up armed men,’ said H. O., but Noel sternly bade him shut up, and Oswald said ‘Well,’ again. If he spoke impatiently it was because he smelt the bacon being taken in to breakfast. ‘Well,’ Noel went on, ‘what do you suppose would have come up if we’d sowed those dragon’s teeth we found yesterday?’ ‘Why, nothing, you young duffer,’ said Oswald, who could now smell the coffee. ‘All that isn’t History it’s Humbug. Come on in to brekker.’