"Answer her majesty," muttered the captain in his ear, "or I'll have
your head cut off!"
Still Rudolf, blushing fiery red, and not knowing what to say,
continued to stare down at his toes. Peter put his thumb in his mouth,
Ann hung down her head; neither of them was any better off.
The little tin captain stepped eagerly forward. "Shall I give orders
to prepare for the execution, your Majesty?" he began, in a voice
full of pleased excitement. "These suspicious persons are already
under arrest. They would furnish very excellent targets for the
artillery practise? If it should please your Majesty to offer a prize
for the best shot? Or, if your Majesty is in a _hurry_, now, a nice
dip in boiling oil would finish them off very neatly!"
"Be quiet, Jinks," said the Queen frowning. "You talk so much I can't
think. If it wasn't for those tiresome revolutions in my capital city,
I believe I'd banish you. Let me see, how many of them have you
suppressed for me?"
"Exactly twelve, your Majesty," answered Jinks with a low bow, "and I
beg to announce that we are at this moment on the brink of the
thirteenth--baker's dozen, your Majesty."
"Oh, it's the baker this time, is it?" asked the Queen with a sigh.
"What's the matter with _him_, Jinks?"
"Same old trouble, your Majesty. Your court, those doll ladies in
particular, have become so haughty--"
"Naughty, you mean, Jinks," corrected the Queen.
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