were better now than in the old days, and traders were more plenty.

For many weary weeks he wandered. Weeks ran into months, months became
years, and still Umpleton wandered from village to village, from tribe
to tribe, trading, keeping his eyes open, and asking questions from
the old men. He learned many things from them, and although it was
long before the days of books, yet by remembering what he heard and
thinking it over he became for the time a young man whose word was
worth listening to and whose opinion was worth having.

So, one evening he stopped at a chief's hut where he was known, and
decided a very knotty question so wisely and justly that they asked
him to tarry with them for a while. He answered them in a dreamy way,
for his mind was thinking of the Star and his fruitless quest,
forgetting that even thus it had brought good fortune, since it had
given him knowledge.

They asked him how he made his bronze, and he showed them how. Then
they in turn showed him certain small, very heavy black stones, which
they used to make hot in the fire, and by placing in their pots would
make the water in them boil furiously without danger of breaking the
pot, as the fire was apt to do. As he looked at them it seemed to him
that they were not unlike his Star-club, and, liking to try things, he
raked a hot one out of the fire and began to hammer it with his club.
He found he could hammer it like copper as long as it was hot, and he
knew he had made a great find!

While the chief looked on in amazement, he found that by heating one
he could flatten it out, then he could make small ones stick to it
while hot and hammer all into one mass, then into a bar, and from that