“Andhasanybodyelsewished?”inquiredtheoldlady.
“Thefrstmanhadhisthreewishes, yes，”wasthereply.“Idon‘tknowwhatthefrsttwowere, ’showIgotthepaw.”
Histonesweresogravethatahushfelluponthegroup.
“Ifyou‘vehadyourthreewishes, it’snogoodtoyounow, then, Morris，”saidtheoldmanatlast.“Whatdoyoukeepitfor?”
Thesoldiershookhishead.“Fancy, Isuppose，”hesaidslowly.
“Ifyoucouldhaveanotherthreewishes，”saidtheoldman, eyeinghimkeenly，“wouldyouhavethem?”
“Idontknow，”saidtheother.“Idontknow.”
Hetookthepaw, anddanglingitbetweenhisfrontfingerandthumb, , withaslightcry, stoopeddownandsnatcheditoff.
“Betterletitburn，”saidthesoldiersolemnly.
“Ifyoudontwantit, Morris，”saidtheoldman，“giveittome.”
“Iwont，”saidhisfrienddoggedly.“, , likeasensibleman.”
Theothershookhisheadandexaminedhisnewpossessionclosely.“Howdoyoudoit?”heinquired.
“Holditupinyourrighthandandwishaloud，”saidthesergeant-major，“butIwarnyouoftheconsequences.”
“SoundsliketheArabianNights，”, assheroseandbegantosetthesupper.“Dontyouthinkyoumightwishforfourpairsofhandsforme?”
Herhusbanddrewthetalismanfromhispocketandthenallthreeburstintolaughterasthesergeant-major, withalookofalarmonhisface, caughthimbythearm.
“Ifyoumustwish，”hesaidgruffly，“wishforsomethingsensible.”
, andplacingchairs, , andafterwardthethreesatlisteninginanenthralledfashiontoasecondinstalmentofthesoldiersadventuresinIndia.
“Ifthetaleaboutthemonkeypawisnotmoretruthfulthanthosehehasbeentellingus，”saidHerbert, asthedoorclosedbehindtheirguest, justintimeforhimtocatchthelasttrain，“weshantmakemuchoutofit.”
