And then, recalling the mystery of the “Telegonus,” that powerful lost Homeric epic, I perceived a possible clue. “Tell me,” I asked, though the question was apparently irrelevant, “what do you know about Homer?” “Homer?” she echoed. And then, with the ease of perfect familiarity, “Why, Homer was one of the greatest poets we know of--almost equal to the best that have arisen since the Good Destruction. He lived at about the time of the Submergence in a country far to the East, with which we had trade relations in spite of its half barbarous condition. It was, in a way, a sort of dependency, a ward of Atlantis; and it was from us that its people derived their alphabet as well as much of their language and many of their institutions. Possibly it was there that the Atlantean migrants settled.” “Ah, I see,” said I, with a flash of understanding. “Then you mean--” But before I could utter another word, interruption came from an unexpected quarter. And with a jolt I returned from ancient Atlantis to the realities of my own life. “Hello, boys! Hello! Hello! There they are, there they are!” came in loud familiar tones from our rear, followed by a salvo of cheers; and before Stranahan and I could quite realize what was happening, we felt our hands grasped in a multitude of hands, and found ourselves surrounded by dozens, literally dozens, of well known faces. The first I recognized was that of Captain Gavison, who grinned happily in welcome; then I distinguished one after one the faces of my fellow seamen, apparently all of them, and all of them talking, laughing, crowding about, slapping us on the back, and shouting out greetings in tumultuous chorus. * * * * * [Illustration: ... although perhaps five hundred feet in length, it was as much like a great statue as like a building; it had none of those features common in edifices for the shelter of man and his works, but seemed to have been erected exclusively as a piece of art. Its form was that of a woman, a woman reclining at full length ...] * * * * * CHAPTER XIII Trial and Judgment To our disappointment, we received no immediate explanation of the arrival of Captain Gavison and his men. A score of the natives, who stood frowning in the background, appeared disinclined to permit any extended conversation; and it was but a minute before they motioned the newcomers to follow them. I was interested to observe that all, from the Captain down to the humblest recruit, obeyed as readily as though in response to an absolute master, marching not in military formation and yet at a regular pace and with every appearance of discipline. Having nothing better to do, Stranahan and I trailed in their wake, for at their first appearance Aelios had murmured a hasty “Good-bye” and had gone tripping out of sight around a bend in the colonnade.