the castle, escorted by one
of the soldiers.

It was certainly a fine castle, with many large rooms, all beautifully
furnished. The passages were winding and handsomely decorated, and
after following several of these the soldier led them into an open
court that occupied the very center of the huge building. It was
surrounded on every side by high turreted walls, and contained beds of
flowers, fountains and walks of many colored marbles which were matched
together in quaint designs. In an open space near the middle of the
court they saw a group of courtiers and their ladies, who surrounded a
lean man who wore upon his head a jeweled crown. His face was hard and
sullen and through the slits of his half-closed eyelids the eyes glowed
like coals of fire. He was dressed in brilliant satins and velvets and
was seated in a golden throne-chair.

This personage was King Krewl, and as soon as Cap'n Bill saw him the
old sailor knew at once that he was not going to like the King of
Jinxland.

"Hello! who's here?" said his Majesty, with a deep scowl.

"Strangers, Sire," answered the soldier, bowing so low that his
forehead touched the marble tiles.

"Strangers, eh? Well, well; what an unexpected visit! Advance,
strangers, and give an account of yourselves."

The King's voice was as harsh as his features. Trot shuddered a little
but Cap'n Bill calmly replied:

"There ain't much for us to say, 'cept as we've arrived to look over
your country an' see how we like it. Judgin' from the way you speak,
you don't know who we are, or you'd be jumpin' up to shake hands an'
offer us seats. Kings usually treat us pretty well, in the great big
Outside World where we come from, but in this little kingdom--which
don't amount to much, anyhow--folks don't seem to 'a' got much
culchure."

The King listened with amazement to this bold speech, first with a
frown and then gazing at the two children and the old sailor with
evident curiosity. The courtiers were dumb with fear, for no one had
ever dared speak in such a manner to their self-willed, cruel King
before. His Majesty, however, was somewhat frightened, for cruel people
are always cowards, and he feared these mysterious strangers might
possess magic powers that would destroy him unless he treated them
well. So he commanded his people to give the new arrivals seats, and
they obeyed with trembling haste.

After being seated, Cap'n Bill lighted his pipe and began puffing smoke
from it, a