Manchurian Books

This casket, with some of the
finest of its jewels, was left by King Abibaal himself. Since his
time every king of the island has upon his death bequeathed to the
casket the finest jewel in his possession; and its contents are now
therefore of inestimable value. The circumstance to which I refer is
that two days after the disappearance of the king, your father,
which spread grief and alarm through all Yaque, it was discovered
that the Hereditary Treasure was gone."
"Gone!" burst from the lips of the prince's auditors.
"As utterly as if the Fifth Dimension had received it," the prince
gravely assured them. "The loss, as you may imagine, is a grievous
one. The High Council immediately issued a proclamation that if the
treasure be not restored by a certain date--now barely two weeks
away--a heavy tax will be levied upon the people to make good, in
the coin of the realm, this incalculable loss. Against this the
people, though they are a people of peace, are murmurous."
"Indeed!" cried Mrs. Hastings.


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