Nobody was quite pleased, and nobody quite knew why.
Jane voiced the feelings of all when she said, fingering _their_ Amulet through the folds of her frock, “We can go back in a minute if anything nasty happens.”
For the moment nothing worse happened than an offer of food—figs and cucumbers it was, and very pleasant.
“I see,” said the Captain, “that you are from a far country. Since you have honoured my boat by appearing on it, you must stay here till morning. Then I will lead you to one of our great ones. He loves strangers from far lands.”
“Let’s go home,” Jane whispered, “all the frogs are drowning _now_. I think the people here are cruel.”
But the boys wanted to stay and see the lines taken up in the morning.
“It’s just like eel-pots and lobster-pots,” said Cyril, “the baskets only open from outside—I vote we stay.”
“That’s Tyre over there,” said the Captain, who was evidently trying to be civil. He pointed to a great island rock, that rose steeply from the sea, crowned with huge walls and towers. There was another city on the mainland.
“That’s part of Tyre, too,” said the Captain; “it’s where the great merchants have their pleasure-houses and gardens and farms.”
“Look, look!” Cyril cried suddenly; “what a lovely little ship!”
A ship in full sail was passing swiftly through the fishing fleet. The Captain’s face changed. He frowned, and his eyes blazed with fury.
“Insolent young barbarian!” he cried. “Do you call the ships of Tyre _little?_ None greater sail the seas. That ship has been on a three years’ voyage. She is known in all the great trading ports from here to the Tin Islands. She comes back rich and glorious. Her very anchor is of silver.”
“I’m sure we beg your pardon,” said Anthea hastily. “In our country we say ‘little’ for a pet name. Your wife might call you her dear little husband, you know.”
“I should like to catch her at it,” growled the Captain, but he stopped scowling.
“It’s a rich trade,” he went on. “For cloth _once_ dipped, second-best glass, and the rough images our young artists carve for practice, the barbarian King in Tessos lets us work the silver mines. We get so much silver there that we leave them our iron anchors and come back with silver ones.”