aved.'

Some sudden impulse of confidence made Jane pluck the Amulet from the
neck of her frock.

'Like this,' she said.

The Captain looked at it curiously, but, the other three were relieved
to notice, without any of that overwhelming interest which the mere name
of it had roused in Egypt and Babylon.

'The stone is of our country,' he said; 'and that which is engraved on
it, it is like our writing, but I cannot read it. What is the name of
your sage?'

'Ji-jimmy,' said Anthea hesitatingly.

The Captain repeated, 'Ji-jimmy. Will you land?' he added. 'And shall I
lead you to the Kings?'

'Look here,' said Robert, 'does your King hate strangers?'

'Our Kings are ten,' said the Captain, 'and the Royal line, unbroken
from Poseidon, the father of us all, has the noble tradition to do
honour to strangers if they come in peace.'

'Then lead on, please,' said Robert, 'though I SHOULD like to see all
over your beautiful ship, and sail about in her.'

'That shall be later,' said the Captain; 'just now we're afraid of a
storm--do you notice that odd rumbling?'

'That's nothing, master,' said an old sailor who stood near; 'it's the
pilchards coming in, that's all.'

'Too loud,' said the Captain.

There was a rather anxious pause; then the Captain stepped on to the
quay, and the others followed him.

'Do talk to him--Jimmy,' said Anthea as they went; 'you can find out all
sorts of things for your friend's book.'

'Please excuse me,' he said earnestly. 'If I talk I shall wake up; and
besides, I can't understand what he says.'

No one else could think of anything to say, so that it was in complete
silence that they followed the Captain up the marble steps and through
the streets of the town. There were streets and shops and houses and
markets.

'It's just like Babylon,' whispered Jane, 'only everything's perfectly
different.'

'It's a great comfort the ten Kings have been properly brought up--to be
kind to strangers,' Anthea whispered to Cyril.

'Yes,' he said, 'no deepest dungeons here.'

There were no horses or chariots in the street, but there were handcarts
and low trolleys running on thick log-wheels, and porters carrying
packets on their heads, and a good many of the people were riding on
what looked like elephants, only the great beasts were hairy, and they
had not that mild expression we are accustomed to meet on the faces of
the elephants at the Zoo.

'Mammoths!' murmured the learned gentleman,