their faces towards the road and the valley.

"Yes," he said, "that's what I've been trying to do all day. I had
some trouble an' temptation, an' it was getting the best of me. You
know, something bad in me that was tellin' me to do things I'd
oughtn't to. I tried hard to get my fingers around that bad spirit an'
throw him out by his heels. That's why I came up here on the hill to
fight it out. You'll understand some day--when you're older."

But, strange to say, the little boy thought he understood even
then--at least part of it.

"Have you conquered it, Toyman?" he asked at last.

"I think so," the Toyman answered slowly--"leastways I hope so."

"And _when_ did you conquer it?" the little boy prattled on.

The Toyman thought for a moment.

"When you just crep' up behind me, so still an' quiet, an' put your
face against mine." And at that the Toyman hugged him again. "No, I
guess we won't take that city tonight--we've done a better job."

As they walked to the brown ribbon road again, and over the hill to
the valley, the sun was setting. They could see it perched like a gold
saucer on the top of the hill, or like the shield of one of their
soldiers. Gold bit by gold bit it sank below. Then it went altogether,
out of sight, but the Cloud City came back again just for a moment,
and a rosy light shone upon that Cloud City and all its banners, and