"Ha, my head he is getting more clear!" he
announced. "Gom, let us present ourselves to ze ladies,
mine Bonker!"



CHAPTER XII

"It is necessary, Bonker--you are sure?"

"No Tulliwuddle has ever omitted the ceremony.
If you shirked, I am assured on the very
best authority that it would excite the gravest
suspicions of your authenticity."

Count Bunker spoke with an air of the most resolute
conviction. Ever since they arrived he had taken
infinite pains to discover precisely what was expected of
the chieftain, and having by great good luck made the
acquaintance of an elderly individual who claimed to
be the piper of the clan, and who proved a perfect
granary of legends, he was able to supply complete
information on every point of importance. Once the
Baron had endeavored to corroborate these particulars
by interviewing the piper himself, but they had found
so much difficulty in understanding one another's
dialects that he had been content to trust implicitly to his
friend's information. The Count, indeed, had rather
avoided than sought advice on the subject, and the