Whereupon, the Duke who had spoken before gave a short account of all that had taken place since the death of Dschingis, and the partition of his vast dominions. And then the younger Duke, Wsewolodovics, took up the tale. "Lord King!" he began, "these Mongols don't carry on warfare in an honourable, chivalrous way. They fight only to destroy, they are bloodthirsty, merciless; their only object is to plunder, slay, murder, and burn, not even to make any use of what lands they conquer. They are like a swarm of locusts. They stay till everything is eaten up, till all are plundered, and what they can't carry off, that they kill, or reduce to ashes. They are utterly faithless; their words and promises are not in the least to be trusted, and those who do make friends with them are the first upon whom they wreak their vengeance if anything goes wrong. We are telling you no fairy tales! We know to our own cost what they are, we tell you what we have seen with our own eyes. And let me tell you this, my lord king, their lust of conquest and devastation knows _no bounds_! If it is our turn to-day, it will be yours to-morrow! And, therefore, while we seek a refuge in your land, we at the same time warn you to be prepared! for the storm is coming, and may sweep across your frontiers sooner than you think for." "We will meet it, if it comes," said the King coolly. "But I bid you both heartily welcome as our guests for the present, and as our companions in arms, if the enemy ventures to come hither." The Dukes found nothing to complain of in the King's reception of them. He had been cordial and encouraging, and he had heard them out; though, what with their own long speeches, and the interpreting of them, the interview had lasted a considerable time. But if the King had listened attentively and courteously, so had not the Council; and the contrast was marked. Some listened coldly and without interest, some even wore a contemptuous smile, and there was a restless shrugging of shoulders, a making of signs one to the other, and at times an interchange of whispers among the members, which showed plainly enough that they thought the greater part of what the Russians said ridiculously exaggerated.