-LRB- It was this last remark that had made the whole party look so grave and anxious . -RRB- Alice could think of nothing else to say but ` It belongs to the Duchess : you 'd better ask HER about it . ' ` She 's in prison , ' the Queen said to the executioner : ` fetch her here . ' And the executioner went off like an arrow . The Cat 's head began fading away the moment he was gone , and , by the time he had come back with the Duchess , it had entirely disappeared ; so the King and the executioner ran wildly up and down looking for it , while the rest of the party went back to the game . CHAPTER IX . The Mock Turtle 's Story ` You ca n't think how glad I am to see you again , you dear old thing ! ' said the Duchess , as she tucked her arm affectionately into Alice 's , and they walked off together . Alice was very glad to find her in such a pleasant temper , and thought to herself that perhaps it was only the pepper that had made her so savage when they met in the kitchen . ` When I 'M a Duchess , ' she said to herself , -LRB- not in a very hopeful tone though -RRB- , ' I wo n't have any pepper in my kitchen AT ALL . Soup does very well without -- Maybe it 's always pepper that makes people hot-tempered , ' she went on , very much pleased at having found out a new kind of rule , ` and vinegar that makes them sour -- and camomile that makes them bitter -- and -- and barley-sugar and such things that make children sweet-tempered . I only wish people knew that : then they would n't be so stingy about it , you know -- ' She had quite forgotten the Duchess by this time , and was a little startled when she heard her voice close to her ear . ` You 're thinking about something , my dear , and that makes you forget to talk . I ca n't tell you just now what the moral of that is , but I shall remember it in a bit . ' ` Perhaps it has n't one , ' Alice ventured to remark . ` Tut , tut , child ! ' said the Duchess . ` Everything 's got a moral , if only you can find it . ' And she squeezed herself up closer to Alice 's side as she spoke . Alice did not much like keeping so close to her : first , because the Duchess was VERY ugly ; and secondly , because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin upon Alice 's shoulder , and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin .
However , she did not like XXXXX be rude , so she bore it as well as she could .
about as by for of so though to while without