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Page 14
Now a procession of the Northmen passed between the
boats and the palace, bearing the rich furniture,
splendid draperies and rare ornaments of which the
royal palace had been robbed, together with such food
and other plunder as they could lay their hands upon.
After this, the men of Regos and Coregos threw ropes
around the marble domes and towers and hundreds of
warriors tugged at these ropes until the domes and
towers toppled and fell in ruins upon the ground. Then
the walls themselves were torn down, till little
remained of the beautiful palace but a vast heap of
white marble blocks tumbled and scattered upon the
ground.
Prince Inga wept bitter tears of grief as he watched
the ruin of his home; yet he was powerless to avert the
destruction. When the palace had been demolished, some
of the warriors entered their boats and rowed along the
coast of the island, while the others marched in a
great body down the length of the island itself. They
were so numerous that they formed a line stretching
from shore to shore and they destroyed every house they
came to and took every inhabitant prisoner.
The pearl fishers who lived at the lower end of the
island tried to escape in their boats, but they were
soon overtaken and made prisoners, like the others. Nor
was there any attempt to resist the foe, for the sharp
spears and pikes and swords of the invaders terrified
the hearts of the defenseless people of Pingaree, whose
sole weapons were their oyster rakes.
When night fell the whole of the Island of Pingaree
had been conquered by the men of the North, and all its
people were slaves of the conquerors. Next morning the
men of Regos and Coregos, being capable of no further
mischief, departed from the scene of their triumph,
carrying their prisoners with them and taking also
every boat to be found upon the island. Many of the
boats they had filled with rich plunder, with pearls
and silks and velvets, with silver and gold ornaments
and all the treasure that had made Pingaree famed as
one of the richest kingdoms in the world. And the
hundreds of slaves they had captured would be set to
work in the mines of Regos and the grain fields of
Coregos.
So complete was the victory of the Northmen that it
is no wonder the warriors sang songs of triumph as they
hastened back to their homes. Great rewards were
awaiting them when they showed the haughty King of
Regos and the terrible Queen of Coregos the results of
their ocean raid and conquest.
Chapter Four
The Deserted Island
All through that terrible night Prince Inga remained
hidden in his tree. In the morning he watched the great
fleet of boats depart for their own country, carrying
his parents and his countrymen with them, as well as
everything of value the Island of Pingaree had
contained.
Sad, indeed, were the boy's thoughts when the last of
the boats had become a mere speck in the distance, but
Inga did not dare leave his perch of safety until all
of the craft of the invaders had disappeared beyond the
horizon. Then he came down, very slowly and carefully,
for he was weak from hunger and the long and weary
watch, as he had been in the tree for twenty-four hours
without food.
The sun shone upon the beautiful green isle as
brilliantly as if no ruthless invader had passed and
laid it in ruins. The birds still chirped among the
trees and the butterflies darted from flower to flower
as happily as when the land was filled with a
prosperous and contented people.
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