One may be sure that I wasted no time about plunging into the book. One may be sure that I took no heed of the surprised exclamations of Rawson, nor even paused for more than a word of explanation, but read and read as fast as my knowledge of the language would permit. Truly, the poem was Homeric in quality!--I recognized at once the swing of the inimitable hexameter, handled with masterly craftsmanship; and the opening passages, executed with epic dash and sweep, simplicity and power, convinced me that here was a work worthy of standing side by side with “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” But how came the poem to be here in this weird undersea realm? How came these submerged people to possess an Homeric work unknown to the modern world? These were the questions that perplexed me as I excitedly followed stanza after noble stanza; and ponder the problem as I might, debate it as I would with myself or the eager Rawson, I could conceive of no explanation, but was as mystified as if I had traveled to Mars and found the people addressing me in English or presenting me with copies of Shakespeare. CHAPTER XI Questions and Answers The chief effect of the discovery of the books was to make me doubly anxious to speak the native tongue. Not one of the score of volumes cast any light on the problems that bewildered me, and least of all on the mystery of Homer’s “Telegonus”; and it was apparent that I should remain in ignorance until I could converse with the natives. Accordingly, I had need of that rarest of all qualities, a virtue in which I am almost wholly lacking--patience. Stifling my eagerness and curiosity as best I could, I had to plod away for days and days in acquiring new native words and phrases and in practicing speaking in the solitude of my own rooms. The task was far from pleasant, and the suspense and the waiting were harrying; but I was like a traveler following a trail through an unfamiliar jungle; and, feverish as I was to escape, I had no choice except to persist on the one visible course. But had I not been so eager to batter down the mystery, I would have found abundant cause for encouragement. I was still progressing, progressing rapidly, attaining a speaking knowledge of the language with a speed possible only for one long trained as a linguist. And, as the result of many a secret conversation, which I held with myself by way of practice, I advanced swiftly to the point of being able to exchange ideas with the natives. At least, I felt that I had advanced to that point, and awaited only opportunity to test my new-won powers.