“They are not for sale but I will give them to you if you will come here. I want to consult you about something.” “I hope it is not that you wish to leave us when we reach Siam,” said Harold. “No, indeed! Quite the contrary. I have concluded that I do not wish to go to Siam even for a visit and if you will come and sit beside me I will tell you why. You see, if I go to Siam my people will know that I am alive and then my brother would have to give up his throne which he so highly prizes, as he would no longer be the rightful heir. Now I care nothing for the throne so why not let them still think me dead and allow my brother to live in peace? When we first thought of visiting Siam I did not realize how my going would complicate matters, but only thought of the pleasure it would give the Princess and myself to surprise and see them once more. Now, I feel that we must forego the pleasure.” “You are right, Prince. I, too, did not think of the trouble your visit would cause.” “We must speak to the captain and tell him of our change of plans or we will be in Siam and landing at the palace before we know it at the rate of speed we are now traveling,” said the Prince. So they told the captain their afterthoughts and he said their decision was a wise one and added that it would have been too bad to shorten the aerial trip of the Princess. If he had stopped to visit his people they naturally would not have been willing that he continue his travels after getting him back, as they thought, from the dead. “You must not return to Earth to remain until you have first visited Neptune, that mystic planet far out in space on the very borders of our solar system, to say nothing of the beautiful and surprising places bordering on the Milky Way.” Mercury now spoke, saying that he feared he should not be able to accompany them longer unless they returned to the heavens immediately, for his time of leave would expire before he could get to Neptune and return, it was so very far away. “I want you to see some of the independent islands also, those not under the influence or sway of any of the planets.” “Goodness, gracious, me! If you are thinking of leaving us, we will return to the heavens this minute rather than lose you, for no other guide would be acceptable to us after having been led by you,” said Ione. “You are very kind, but there are dozens of other guides far superior to me,” said Mercury. “Of course you would say that,” said the Prince, “but we don’t know how good the others are and we do know you, so we are going back at once to those mysterious, fascinating lands that float in heaven’s blue ether.” Having all agreed to return with Mercury, the captain pointed the bow of his trusty ship in a direct oblique line for Uranus, where he was to hand them over to Mercury once more.