"I am not sure of my power over him," she said at last, "and for that reason I hesitate to attack him personally.

His slaves and his allies, the sea devils, I can easily conquer, so I prefer to find a way to overcome the guards at the entrances rather than to encounter their terrible master.

But even the guards have been given strength and power by the magician, as we have already discovered, so I must procure a weapon with which to fight them." "A weapon, ma'am ?" said Cap'n Bill, and then he took a jackknife from his coat pocket and opened the big blade, afterward handing it to the queen.

"That ain't a bad weapon," he announced.
"But it is useless in this case," she replied, smiling at the old sailor's earnestness.

"For my purpose I must have a golden sword." "Well, there's plenty of gold around this castle," said Trot, looking around her.