has been kidnapped for ransom, which fortunately means the dragon was fictitious. Agravaine is rich and not worried about paying ransom. A couple of days pass, and two brutish henchmen bring him food but tell him nothing. The guards both love the same kitchen maid and Yvonne tells each that the maid prefers the other. The henchmen argue and kill each other. Yvonne frees Agravaine and tells him to flee, explaining that he was kidnapped so that he would eventually marry Yvonne. Her father has married off his other daughters by calling in knights on false pretenses. Yvonne believes Agravaine will not return her feelings. However, Agravaine does, and they embrace. Six months later, Agravaine consults a Wise Man in the forest. He asks the man how his wife can possibly find him handsome, and how she can think herself plain when he finds her so beautiful. The Wise Man explains that true love takes no account of looks, and insists on needlessly explaining this at length, though Agravaine gets the idea and hurriedly leaves. "The Goal-Keeper and the Plutocrat" US: Collier's Weekly, 24 September 1910 (as "The Pitcher and the Plutocrat", similar story in a baseball context) UK: Strand, January 1912 (source for this book; soccer background) Plot Isabel Rackstraw and the Hon. Clarence Tresillian fall in love and get engaged at a charity bazaar. Clarence goes home and finds his parents distressed. His father, Lord Runnymede, laments that he has lost his veto, and blames the wealthy radical politician Daniel Rackstraw, Isabel's father. Clarence's mother, Lady Runnymede, is upset that the family's income has been diminished because her father lost money speculating on wheat. Clarence will have to get a job. He decides to become a footballer. Isabel's father won't allow them to get married since Clarence is an idle son of an earl. Several times in the story, the narrator wishes to describe characters in greater detail but is unable due to editorial concerns about brevity. Clarence is a skilled goal-keeper and, under the name of Jones, gets signed on by a football club, Houndsditch Wednesday. Mr Rackstraw is a fan of football and watches their matches, along with Isabel. Rackstraw's football collection rivals that of Jacob Dodson, of Manchester. Dodson covets a historic pair of boots in Rackstraw's collection, while Rackstraw wants an important ball owned by Dodson. Houndsditch Wednesday does well with Clarence. The Final