"Why do you not speak?" demanded the Queen.
"There is nothing to say," he replied; "I can only disagree with you without convincing you; I should only make you more angry than you are. I find no pleasure in making people angry or unhappy unless it is for some good purpose."
"You mean that I do?" she demanded.
"Obviously."
She shook her head angrily. "Why do I abide you!" she exclaimed.
"Possibly as a counterirritant to relieve other irritations," he suggested.
"Some day I shall lose my patience and have you thrown to the lions," she ejaculated sharply. "What will you do then?"
"Kill the lion," replied the ape-man.
"Not the lion that I shall throw you to," Nemone assured him.
The tedious journey back to Cathne ended at last, and with flaring torches lighting the way the Queen's cortège crossed the Bridge of Gold and entered the city. Here she immediately ordered a thorough search to be made for Doria.