tern
and cruel was the nature of this Queen that the people could not decide
which of their sovereigns they dreaded most.

Queen Cor lived in her own City of Coregos, which lay on that side of
her island facing Regos, and her slaves, who were mostly women, were
made to plow the land and to plant and harvest the grain.

From Regos to Coregos stretched a bridge of boats, set close together,
with planks laid across their edges for people to walk upon. In this way
it was easy to pass from one island to the other and in times of danger
the bridge could be quickly removed.

The native inhabitants of Regos and Coregos consisted of the warriors,
who did nothing but fight and ravage, and the trembling servants who
waited on them. King Gos and Queen Cor were at war with all the rest of
the world. Other islanders hated and feared them, for their slaves were
badly treated and absolutely no mercy was shown to the weak or ill.

When the boats that had gone to Pingaree returned loaded with rich
plunder and a host of captives, there was much rejoicing in Regos and
Coregos and the King and Queen gave a fine feast to the warriors who had
accomplished so great a conquest. This feast was set for the warriors in
the grounds of King Gos's palace, while with them in the great throne
room all the captains and leaders of the fighting men were assembled
with King Gos and Queen Cor, who had come from her island to attend the
ceremony. Then all the goods that had been stolen from the King of
Pingaree were divided according to rank, the King and Queen taking half,
the captains a quarter, and the rest being divided amongst the warriors.

The day following the feast King Gos sent King Kitticut and all the men
of Pingaree to work in his mines under the mountains, having first
chained them together so they could not escape. The gentle Queen of
Pingaree and all her women, together with the captured children, were
given to Queen Cor, who set them to work in her grain fields.

[Illustration]

Then the rulers and warriors of these dreadful islands thought they had
done forever with Pingaree. Despoiled of all its wealth, its houses torn
down, its boats captured and all its people enslaved, what likelihood
was there that they might ever again hear of the desolated island? So
the people of Regos and Coregos were surprised and puzzled when one
morning they observed approaching their shores from the direction of the
south a black boat containing a boy, a