"So I let myself down by a rope from a grappling iron", blurted Atchoo. "And spread-eagled myself against the chimney so I could see him counting his licorice and his other prizes by the hearth. Without him seeing me -- unless he looked up the chimney. He was laughing and counting and muttering to himself.

"And then the Candy Miser did a strange thing. He jumped up and started dancing a jig. I couldn't see that. But I could hear his feet -- shuffling. And, along with the jig, he sang a song -- over and over."

Snickchoo interrupted. "Zelki, I appreciate --. But -- I don't see how all this foolishness will --."

"Wait, wait, dear Snickchoo. The song --. Tell Snickchoo the words of the song, Atchoo."

"Umm. Ah. Oh, yes. It went like this:

                                        "Riddle-dee-dee
                                        Riddle-dee-dup
                                        No path can he take
                                        But I cross him up
                                        Riddle-dee-dee
                                        Riddle-dee-do
                                        He lays out a track
                                        And crossways I go
                                        Riddle-dee-dee
                                        Riddle-dee-dum
                                        He tries to go straight
                                        And slantwise I come
                                        No -- No -- No
                                        He zigs -- and I zag
                                        He zags -- and I zig
                                        Zig-zag -- zig-zag
                                        Zag-zig -- zag-zig
                                        Zag-zag -- zig-zig
                                        Zig-zag -- zig-zag
                                        Zig-zag -- zig-zag ..."

"And The Candy Miser jigged out of the house and down the path, singing 'Zig-zag' over and over and laughing. And, when I dropped down out of the chimney, and went outside, he had apparently drawn zig-zags after him with a stick. A whole trail of connected Z's in the dust!"

Snickchoo stared from one friend to the other. Then he shook his head.

"You came all the way over here to tell me this? 'Zig-zag -- zig-zag'?"

"But don't you understand, Snickchoo? I think the song Atchoo heard the Candy Miser singing was about tricking you --."

"Very possibly. But how is it 'about'? And what do the zig-zags --?"

"They must be part of the secret. Notice. He says, 'I cross him --'. Well, to zig-zag is to cross over or to go 'crossways' or 'slantwise'. When Atchoo repeated these words, the back of my memory really started to tickle. And the tickle slowly percolated through my head as I left Atchoo and walked home. And the tickle worked up and up. Until, suddenly, when I reached my gate, the tickle came out like a great sneeze: KERSCHOOP!"

Zelki exploded, causing Snickchoo to jump back in alarm.

"That was it, Snickchoo! The gate! The gate! Don't you get it, Snickchoo? The gate!"

Snickchoo was now certain that his dear old friend Zelki had sneezed away his brains. A great tenderly sad look of concern washed over his craggy face as Snickchoo shook his head, waggling his outthrust arms.

(Ready for Chapter 9?)