"The blessing of the stars, moon and sun upon you!" cried the wily chief, bowing rapidly ten times in succession, "And upon these strangers who have brought you safely back to these shores! Welcome, most welcome, small King and ruler of the Ozamanders!" Speaking calmly but with black fury in his heart to have his plans so unexpectedly thwarted, Didjabo advanced rapidly toward Nikobo. "And now that you are here and really safe, we must see that you are locked securely in the White Tower of the Wise Man away from all future hurt and harm!" Reaching the side of the hippopotamus, he put up his hand to help Tandy dismount. "But I'm not going back to the Tower!" said Tandy, looking the Chief Ozamandarin straight in the eye. "Ever! I'm riding on to the castle, so kindly order some refreshments for my friends and shipmates." "Hi, Yi, Yi!" approved the old tribesman, pounding the cliff with his lance. "Here's a King for us. What good did your Tower do before, old Square-Hat? He was carried off in spite of it, wasn't he? Well, trot along now and do as he says; he's the King, and I'm here to see he gets his rights!" Shocked by the determination in Tandy's voice and the evident delight of the crowd at his defiance, Didjabo put up his hand for silence. "It is the law of the land that the nine Ozamandarins shall guard the life and preserve the health of the country's sovereign," stated Didjabo in his cold and impressive voice. "Until this boy becomes of age he must be cared for and protected from his enemies. Forward, guards! On to the Tower! You OTHERS!" Didjabo nodded disagreeably at Samuel Salt, Ato, Roger and Nikobo, "You others may return to your ship, where a suitable reward will be sent out to you. We are deeply indebted to you for finding our King, but the law of Ozamaland says that all foreigners landing on our shores shall instantly and without delay be flung over the cliffs. In your case we graciously permit you to leave. Come, Tazander!" While Samuel Salt could not help admiring the way the old Ozamandarin was trying to keep the upper hand, he had no intention of leaving till he had assured himself that Tandy was in safe and proper hands. "But surely you will wish to hear the story of how we found this boy and explain how he happened to be on that jungle island!" observed Samuel mildly. "Step back, my good fellow, Nikobo has large feet and she just might happen to tread on you." "Yes," wheezed Nikobo sullenly, "I just might happen to do that very thing." Slipping round to the other side of the hippopotamus, Didjabo, paying no attention to either remark, tried to pull Tandy to the ground. But the little boy, remembering Roger's advice about lubbers gave him a fast and sudden poke in the nose that sent his hat flying off and the Ozamandarin himself rolling head over heels.