"Your Majesty will understand that all the white peoples who dwell
on the borders of the sea journey much in ships, which is the name
we give to the floating castles. We do trade with many peoples. For
example there is, far to the south of us, a great land wholly
inhabited by people who are quite black."

A general exclamation of astonishment broke from the party.

"They must be frightful!" the young queen exclaimed.

"They are very ugly," Roger said, "with very wide mouths and very
thick lips, and flat noses; and instead of having long soft hair,
they have only a short, curly sort of black wool on the top of
their heads."

"Have you seen them yourself?" asked Cacama, rather gravely.

"I have seen some of them, Sire," Roger replied. "I was in a ship
that was attacked by others, manned by a people who live on the
northern coast of this land, and who are themselves not black but
yellow; and they had with them several of these people of whom I
speak, who were frightful in their ugliness; but who, to do them
justice, fought bravely, though we managed at last to beat them
off.

"I pray your Majesty not to doubt any facts that I may tell you,
for in my country it is considered disgraceful to lie; and however
extraordinary some of the things I may say may appear to you, I can
assure you that they will all be absolutely true. They may seem to
you hard to believe, but you must remember that things which are
strange to us always seem wonderful. My own countrymen, for
example, would find it hard to believe that there could be a people
who took delight in drawing in the smoke of a burning vegetable,
and puffing it out again."

"I will not doubt what you say, in future," Cacama said. "Now,
continue what you were telling us."

"The white people are divided into nations, as are your people on
this side of the water. Some, however, are much more powerful than
others. While in times of peace all the ports of different
countries are open to the ships of the others, there are two
countries that claim the right over great seas, although as yet
untraveled and unknown."

"But how can they claim such a right as that?" one of the two chief
counselors asked.

"Partly by the right that they have been the first to try to make
discoveries in those seas; secondly because one of these countries
is the strongest, at the present time; and thirdly, because they
have been confirmed in their claim by the pope, who is the chief
priest of