“‘In speaking,’ said I, ‘you said is instead of _was_, do you mean to tell me that your brother and my wonderful old man is alive still?’ “‘Certainly, I do. You thought he was dead when he fell back on his pillow, but he had merely fainted and after a time when he recovered his senses he found himself, so he said, on a bed of spruce bows, shut in a cave. He knew immediately what had happened and that you had buried him, thinking him dead, so he lay still for a time until the coolness of the cave revived him, then having his wishing-robe with him, he wished himself back on his beloved planet Uranus, and there he is now, safe and well. If your travels take you that distance, to that most wonderful planet which all inventors love, you will find him there and I am sure he will be delighted to see you all.’ “Now, what do you think of that for a surprise?” asked Harold when he had finished his story. “It certainly is a pleasant one,” said Ione, “and of course we will go to Uranus, no matter how far it is. I would not miss it for worlds, would you, Princess?” “Neither would we,” cried the boys, “and we will go there as soon as we have seen Saturn. We may remain on Saturn for some time though, for they say it is different from the other planets and that there is more change and variety there than on the other planets.” “How is that?” cried Ione. “Well, you see it has different colored belts on its surface corresponding to our zones, and a luminous flat ring that surrounds or encircles it about where the equator does the earth, besides it has satellites that belong to it as the Moon belongs to your Earth,” said Mercury. “Who knows but that different colored races of people live on those different belts?” said Harold. “I say, let’s go and find out,” said the Prince. “Agreed,” they all said and, wishing themselves on Saturn, our travelers found themselves on the island itself instead of its accompanying Satellite Island, for it seemed to hold out so many inducements in the way of its belted surface, rings, and seven satellites. CHAPTER VI. Our young people landed on the bank of what appeared to be a broad river; so broad that one could just discern the opposite bank by a faint, blue line. Along this river stretched house after house of peculiar design, none more than one story high and each and every one extending over so much ground that it gave the appearance of a little village connected by long and short halls. The inside they found to be furnished with only useful things—stiff, unhomelike furniture, and no upholstered or rocking chairs so dear to the American heart. “What, homely, sour-looking faces they have, and long noses, thin lips, scant hair and small suspicious-looking eyes,” said Ione. “I really don’t feel like stopping here, I feel so depressed, and everything looks so uninviting,” said the little Princess.