"Yes, dear," said Clia.

"But we haven't any gray whiskers," added Merla merrily, "and our
hearts are ever young."

Trot was thoughtful. It made her feel solemn to be in the company of
such old people. The band of mermaids seemed to all appearances
young and fresh and not a bit as if they'd been soaked in water for
hundreds of years. The girl began to take more notice of the sea
maidens following after her. More than a dozen were in the group;
all were lovely in appearance and clothed in the same gauzy robes as
Merla and the Princess. These attendants did not join in the
conversation but darted here and there in sportive play, and often
Trot heard the tinkling chorus of their laughter. Whatever doubts
might have arisen in the child's mind through the ignorant tales of
her sailor friend, she now found the mermaids to be light-hearted,
joyous and gay, and from the first she had not been in the least
afraid of her new companions.

"How much farther do we have to go?" asked Cap'n Bill presently.

"Are you getting tired?" Merla inquired.

"No," said he, "but I'm sorter anxious to see what your palaces look
like. Inside the water ain't as interestin' as the top of it. It's
fine swimmin', I'll agree, an' I like it, but there ain't nuthin'
special to see that I can make out."

"That is true, sir," replied the Princess. "We have purposely led
you through the mid-water hoping you would see nothing to alarm you
until you get more accustomed to our ocean life. Moreover, we are
able to travel more swiftly here. How far do you think we have
already come, Cap'n?"

"Oh, 'bout two mile," he answered.

"Well, we are now hundreds of miles from the cave where we started,"
she told him.

"You don't mean it!" he exclaimed in wonder.

"Then there's magic in it," announced Trot soberly.

"True, my dear. To avoid tiring you and to save time, we have used a
little of our fairy power," said Clia. "The result is that we are
nearing our home. Let us go downward a bit, now, for you must know
that the mermaid palaces are at the very bottom of the ocean, and in
its deepest part."

CHAPTER 4

THE PALACE OF QUEEN AQUAREINE

Trot was surprised to find it was not at all dark or gloomy as they
descended farther into the deep sea. Things were not quite so clear
to her eyes as they had been in the bright sunshine above the
ocean's surface, but every object was distinct nevertheless, as if
she saw through a pane of green-tainted