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Page 39
Following the Ki-Ki and the Ki came the prince and Nerle, escorted by
the twin captains, and then there were files of twin soldiers bringing
up the rear.
Crowds of twin people, with many twin children amongst them, turned
out to watch the unusual display, and many pairs of twin dogs barked
together in unison and snapped at the heels of the marching twin soldiers.
By and by they reached the great wall surrounding the High Ki's
palace, and, sure enough, there was never a gate in the wall by which
any might enter. But when the Ki and the Ki-Ki had blown a shrill
signal upon two pairs of whistles, they all beheld two flights of
silver steps begin to descend from the top of the wall, and these came
nearer and nearer the ground until at last they rested at the feet of
the Ki. Then the old men began ascending the steps carefully and
slowly, and the captains motioned to the prisoners to follow. So
Prince Marvel followed one of the Ki up the steps and Nerle the other
Ki, while the two Ki-Ki came behind them so they could not escape.
So to the top of the wall they climbed, where a pair of twin servants
in yellow and green--which seemed to be the royal colors--welcomed
them and drew up the pair of silver steps, afterward letting them down
on the other side of the wall, side by side.
They descended in the same order as they had mounted to the top of the
wall, and now Prince Marvel and Nerle found themselves in a most
beautiful garden, filled with twin beds of twin flowers, with many
pairs of rare shrubs. Also, there were several double statuettes on
pedestals, and double fountains sending exactly the same sprays of
water the same distance into the air.
Double walks ran in every direction through the garden, and in the
center of the inclosure stood a magnificent twin palace, built of
blocks of white marble exquisitely carved.
The Ki and the Ki-Ki at once led their prisoners toward the palace and
entered at its large arched double doors, where several pairs of
servants met them. These servants, they found, were all dumb, so that
should they escape from the palace walls they could tell no tales of
the High Ki.
The prisoners now proceeded through several pairs of halls, winding
this way and that, and at last came to a pair of golden double doors
leading into the throne-room of the mighty High Ki. Here they all
paused, and the Ki-Ki both turned to the prince and Nerle and said:
"You are the only persons, excepting ourselves and the palace
servants, who have ever been permitted to see the High Ki of Twi. As
you are about to die, that does not matter; but should you by any
chance be permitted to live, you must never breathe a word of what you
are about to see, under penalty of a sure and horrible death."
The prisoners made no reply to this speech, and, after the two Ki-Ki had
given them another mild look from their gentle blue eyes, these officials
clapped their twin hands together and the doors of gold flew open.
A perfect silence greeted them, during which the double Ki and the
double Ki-Ki bent their four bodies low and advanced into the
throne-room, followed by Prince Marvel and Nerle.
In the center of the room stood two thrones of dainty filigree work in
solid gold, and over them were canopies of yellow velvet, the folds of
which were caught up and draped with bands of green ribbon. And on
the thrones were seated two of the sweetest and fairest little maidens
that mortal man had ever beheld. Their lovely hair was fine as a
spider's web; their eyes were kind and smiling, their cheeks soft and
dimpled, their mouths shapely as a cupid's bow and tinted like the
petals of a rose. Upon their heads were set two crowns of fine spun
gold, worked into fantastic shapes and set with glittering gems.
Their robes were soft silks of pale yellow, with strings of sparkling
emeralds for ornament.
Anything so lovely and fascinating as these little maids, who were
precisely alike in every particular, neither Prince Marvel nor Nerle
had ever dreamed could exist. They stood for a time spellbound and
filled with admiration, while the two pairs of rulers bowed again and
again before the dainty and lovable persons of their High Ki.
But it was hard for Nerle to keep quiet for long, and presently he
exclaimed, in a voice loud enough to be heard by all present:
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