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Page 19
Chapter Five
The Three Pearls
When King Rinkitink and Prince Inga had bathed
themselves in the sea and eaten a simple breakfast,
they began wondering what they could do to improve
their condition.
"The poor people of Gilgad," said Rinkitink
cheerfully, "are little likely ever again to behold
their King in the flesh, for my boat and my rowers are
gone with everything else. Let us face the fact that we
are imprisoned for life upon this island, and that our
lives will be short unless we can secure more to eat
than is in this small sack."
"I'll not starve, for I can eat grass," remarked the
goat in a pleasant tone -- or a tone as pleasant as
Bilbil could assume.
"True, quite true," said the King. Then he seemed
thoughtful for a moment and turning to Inga he asked:
"Do you think, Prince, that if the worst comes, we
could eat Bilbil?"
The goat gave a groan and cast a reproachful look at
his master as he said:
"Monster! Would you, indeed, eat your old friend and
servant?"
"Not if I can help it, Bilbil," answered the King
pleasantly. "You would make a remarkably tough morsel,
and my teeth are not as good as they once were.
While this talk was in progress Inga suddenly
remembered the three pearls which his father had hidden
under the tiled floor of the banquet hall. Without
doubt King Kitticut had been so suddenly surprised by
the invaders that he had found no opportunity to get
the pearls, for otherwise the fierce warriors would
have been defeated and driven out of Pingaree. So they
must still be in their hiding place, and Inga believed
they would prove of great assistance to him and his
comrades in this hour of need. But the palace was a
mass of ruins; perhaps he would be unable now to find
the place where the pearls were hidden.
He said nothing of this to Rinkitink, remembering
that his father had charged him to preserve the secret
of the pearls and of their magic powers. Nevertheless,
the thought of securing the wonderful treasures of his
ancestors gave the boy new hope.
He stood up and said to the King:
"Let us return to the other end of Pingaree. It is
more pleasant than here in spite of the desolation of
my father's palace. And there, if anywhere, we shall
discover a way out of our difficulties."
This suggestion met with Rinkitink's approval and the
little party at once started upon the return journey.
As there was no occasion to delay upon the way, they
reached the big end of the island about the middle of
the day and at once began searching the ruins of the
palace.
They found, to their satisfaction, that one room at
the bottom of a tower was still habitable, although the
roof was broken in and the place was somewhat littered
with stones. The King was, as he said, too fat to do
any hard work, so he sat down on a block of marble and
watched Inga clear the room of its rubbish. This done,
the boy hunted through the ruins until he discovered a
stool and an armchair that had not been broken beyond
use. Some bedding and a mattress were also found, so
that by nightfall the little room had been made quite
comfortable
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