utter ignoramus as I am, I wouldn't have asked the ransom of a penny."

The king listened neither to my objections nor to the cries of Mrs.
Simons. He rose up and departed; and one of his secretaries led us to a
plot of green sward, where a meal had been laid for us.

"The king has ordered everything to be done to make your sojourn as
pleasant as possible," he said. "He is sorry that his men were so
ill-mannered as to rob persons of your importance. Everything they took
will be returned to you. You have thirty days in which to pay your
ransom. Write to your friends without delay, as the king never grants an
extension of time."

"But if I can't get the money?" I asked.

"You will be killed," said the secretary.

I did not know what to do. I knew nobody with £100, much less £600. Then
I thought of John Harris.

"Tell Christodulos," I wrote, "that Hadgi Stavros won't let me go. If he
will not intercede for me, I leave myself, dear friend, in your hands. I
know you are a man of courage and imagination. You will find a way to
get me out of this fix."

All the same, I had very little hope; and Hadgi Stavros came up and
found me looking very gloomy.

"Courage, my boy," he said.