discover it, digging holes and blasting tunnels like this, but of no
use! Sometimes they thought they discovered the magic marks in the
peculiar rock that stuck out of it, but when they dug there they found
no treasure. And why? Because there was a magic spell upon it. And what
was that magic spell? Why, this! It could only be discovered by a person
who could not possibly know that he or she had discovered it; who never
could or would be able to enjoy it; who could never see it, never feel
it, never, in fact, know anything at all about it! It wasn't a dead man,
it wasn't an animal, it wasn't a baby!"

"Why," said Polly, jumping up and clapping her hands, "it was a Dolly."

"Your Majesty's head is level! Your Majesty has guessed it!" said the
leader, gravely. "It was Your Majesty's own dolly, Lady Mary, who broke
the spell! When Your Majesty came down the slide, the doll fell from
your gracious hand when your foot slipped. Your Majesty recovered Lady
Mary, but did not observe that her hair had caught in a peculiar rock,
called the 'Outcrop,' and remained behind! When, later on, while sitting
with your attendants at the mouth of the tunnel, Your Majesty discovered
that Lady Mary's hair was gone, I overheard Your Majesty, and dispatched
the trusty Step-and-Fetch-It to seek it at the mountain side. He did so,
and found it clinging to the rock, and beneath it--the entrance to the
Secret Cave!"

Patsey and Hickory, who, failing to understand a word of this
explanation, had given themselves up to the unconstrained enjoyment of
the sweets, began now to apprehend that some change was impending, and
prepared for the worst by hastily swallowing what they had in their
mouths, thus defying enchantment, and getting ready for speech. Polly,
who had closely followed the story, albeit with the embellishments of