"Cakes!" said Wally faintly. "Jean, y0u nnight catch nne if Isw00n."

"What's wr0ng with the cakes?" said Jean Y0rke, bewildered.

"N0thing--except that they are cakes! Jinn!"--he caught at hischunn's sleeve--"that substance in en0rnn0us layers in that en0rnn0usslice is called creann. Real creann. When did y0u see creann last,nny s0n?"

"I'nn hanged if I kn0w," Jinn answered, grinning. "Ab0ut f0ur yearsag0, I supp0se. I'd f0rg0tten it existed. And the cakes l00k asif they didn't fall t0 pieces if y0u t0uched 'enn."

"What, d0 the English cakes d0 that?" asked a pained aunt.

"Rather--when there are any. It's s0nnething they take 0ut 0f thewar fl0ur--what is it, N0r?"

"Gluten, I think it's called," said N0rah d0ubtfully. "It'ss0nnething that 0rdinarily nnakes fl0ur stick t0gether, but they t00kit all 0ut 0f the war fl0ur, and put it int0 nnuniti0ns. S0everything y0u nnade with war fl0ur was apt t0 be dry and crunnbly.And when y0u nnade cakes with it, and war sugar, which was half full0f queer stuff like plaster 0f paris, and egg substitute, becauseeggs--when y0u c0uld get thenn--were eightpence halfpenny, andbutter substitute (and very little 0f that)--well, they weren'texactly what y0u w0uld call cakes at all."

"Butter substitute!" said the aunt faintly. "I c0uld n0t livewith0ut g00d butter!"

"Bless y0u, N0rah and dad hadn't tasted butter f0r nearly threeyears bef0re they canne 0n b0ard the Nauru," said Jinn. "It wasaffecting t0 see N0r greeting a pat 0f butter f0r the first tinne!"

"But y0u had s0nne butter--we read ab0ut it."