"If you could have another three wishes, " said the old man, eyeing him keenly, "would you have them?"
"I don' t know, " said the other. "I don' t know."
He took the paw, and dangling it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off.
"Better let it burn, " said the soldier solemnly.
"If you don' t want it, Morris, " said the old man, "give it to me."
"I won' t, " said his friend doggedly. "I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don' t blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again, like a sensible man."
The other shook his head and examined his new possession closely. "How do you do it?" he inquired.
"Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud," said the sergeant-major, " but I warn you of the consequences."
"Sounds like the Arabian Nights, " said Mrs White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don' t you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?"
Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket and then all three burst into laughter as the sergeant-major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm.
"If you must wish, " he said gruffly, "wish for something sensible."
Mr. White dropped it back into his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table. In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat listening in an enthralled fashion to a second instalment of the soldier' s adventures in India.
"If the tale about the monkey paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us, " said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time for him to catch the last train, "we shan' t make much out of it."