nd cousins of the
terrible deep-sea devilfish to which I refer."

"Those ones are bad enough, though," declared Cap'n Bill. "If you
know any worse ones, I don't want a interduction to 'em."

"The monster devilfish inhabit caves in the rugged, mountainous
regions of the ocean," resumed the Princess, "and they are evil
spirits who delight in injuring all who meet them. None lives near
our palaces, so there is little danger of your meeting any while you
are our guests."

"I hope we won't," said Trot.

"None for me," added Cap'n Bill. "Devils of any sort ought to be
give a wide berth, an' devilfish is worser ner sea serpents."

"Oh, do you know the sea serpents?" asked Merla as if surprised.

"Not much I don't," answered the sailor, "but I've heard tell of
folks as has seen 'em."

"Did they ever live to tell the tale?" asked Trot.

"Sometimes," he replied. "They're jes' ORful creatures, mate."

"How easy it is to be mistaken," said Princess Clia softly. "We know
the sea serpents very well, and we like them."

"You do!" exclaimed Trot.

"Yes, dear. There are only three of them in all the world, and not
only are they harmless, but quite bashful and shy. They are
kind-hearted, too, and although not beautiful in appearance, they do
many kind deeds and are generally beloved."

"Where do they live?" asked the child.

"The oldest one, who is king of this ocean, lives quite near us,"
said Clia. "His name is Anko."

"How old is he?" inquired Cap'n Bill curiously.

"No one knows. He was here before the ocean came, and he stayed here
because he learned to like the water better than the land as a
habitation. Perhaps King Anko is ten thousand years old, perhaps
twenty thousand. We often lose track of the centuries down here in
the sea."

"That's pretty old, isn't it?" said Trot. "Older than Cap'n Bill, I
guess."

"Summat," chuckled the sailor man, "summat older, mate, but not
much. P'raps the sea serpent ain't got gray whiskers."

"Oh yes he has," responded Merla with a laugh. "And so have his two
brothers, Unko and Inko. They each have an ocean of their own, you
know; and once every hundred years they come here to visit their
brother Anko. So we've seen all three many times."

"Why, how old are mermaids, then?" asked Trot, looking around at the
beautiful creatures wonderingly.

"We are like all ladies of uncertain age," rejoined the Princess
with a smile. "We don't care to tell."

"Older than Cap'n Bill?"