Diary of a Drug Fiend

310 The Diary of a Drug Fiend up the hill in an extremely business-like manner, looking back from time to time to make sure that we were all right. Dionysus seemed to think it his business to entertain us with an account of the various objects along the road. “ That’s the nice man’s house down there,” he said, “T’ll take you to lunch with him if you promise to behave properly. And that’s where the doat-woman lives,” he went on, apparently assured by our guarantees of proper conduct. The solemnity of the elder boy and the rollicking disposition of the other carried us from spasm to spasm of suppressed laughter. “We seem to have walked straight into a fairy tale,” said Lou. “The Big Lion says that that’s the only true kind of tale,” replied Hermes, evidently prepared to argue the subject at great length if necessary. But I admitted the truth of his statement without difficulty. “ That’s the Abbey,” he went on, as we turned the corner of the hillside. And a long, low, white building came into sight. “ But that isn’t an Abbey,” I protested. ‘‘ That’s a villa.” “ That’s because you’re looking with the wrong kind of eyes,’’ objected Hermes. ‘I used to think the same myself before I was educated.” “Do you think Mr. Lamus will be able to educate us ? ’”’ I asked, overpowered by a sense of the comicality of the situation. , “Oh, he isn’t Mr. Lamus here,” retorted Hermes loftily. ‘‘ Here he’s the Big Lion, and of course he can train anybody that isn’t too old or too stupid. I was very stupid myself when I first came here,’ he continued in an apologetic tone. ‘“‘It was the turning point of my career.” The child was certainly not more than five years old, and his conversation was absolutely incredible. The