He
explained to them that he was the famous savage chief, Carlos, who as
head of the Moritos ruled the entire region, and that they were
prisoners of war; that he had learned Castalian as a boy from a
missionary in the mountains when the land was at peace; and that a
palaver would be held on the following day, to which the heads of the
neighboring villages would be invited, to determine what to do with
them. He showed special interest in Sam's red hair and mustache, and
smoothed them and pulled them, asking him if they had been dyed. When
he was informed that they were not, he was filled with admiration and
called up his favorites to examine this wonder of nature. Sam had
noticed that from the moment of his arrival he had been the object of
admiration of the women, and this fact was now accounted for.
The three prisoners had no reason to complain of their treatment during
the day. A guard was set upon them, but the ropes by which they were
tied were loosened, and they were allowed from time to time to walk
about. Most of the morning they passed in much-needed sleep. In the
afternoon Carlos visited them again with some of his men, and set to
work to satisfy his curiosity as to their country, translating their
answers to his friends. His Castalian was very bad, but so was that of
his captives; yet they succeeded in making themselves understood
without difficulty.
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