and under vows of obedience. These are just women, and mothers, and
where there's motherhood you don't find sisterhood--not much."

"No, sir--they'll scrap," agreed Terry. "Also we mustn't look
for inventions and progress; it'll be awfully primitive."

"How about that cloth mill?" Jeff suggested.

"Oh, cloth! Women have always been spinsters. But there
they stop--you'll see."

We joked Terry about his modest impression that he would
be warmly received, but he held his ground.

"You'll see," he insisted. "I'll get solid with them all--and
play one bunch against another. I'll get myself elected king in no
time--whew! Solomon will have to take a back seat!"

"Where do we come in on that deal?" I demanded. "Aren't
we Viziers or anything?"

"Couldn't risk it," he asserted solemnly. "You might start a
revolution--probably would. No, you'll have to be beheaded, or
bowstrung--or whatever the popular method of execution is."

"You'd have to do it yourself, remember," grinned Jeff. "No
husky black slaves and mamelukes! And there'd be two of us and
only one of you--eh, Van?"

Jeff's ideas and Terry's were so far apart that sometimes it was