“Can you not fly away, as you came?” she returned, as if surprised.
“Not without our flying clothes,” he said. “They were taken from us when first we arrived.”
“But they are here,” she exclaimed. “I had them brought to me so I might examine them, and discover the secret of their use. But it was too puzzling; I was stupid and did not understand.”
We listened to her with hearts beating high with hope for the first time.
“What do you mean by ‘here’? Where are these flying-clothes, Ama?” inquired Paul in a voice that trembled in spite of his effort to control it.
She reflected a moment.
“They were put in my wardrobe room. Come; I will show you.”
We all followed her through the gorgeous suite, extensive and magnificent enough for any queen, and at the end of a passage came to the room she had described. The gas-jackets were piled neatly upon a shelf, and with them were the cases containing the themlyne crystals.
I’m almost sure that was the happiest moment of my life. I felt like kissing everybody all around—even including Ama and her maidens. But none of us did anything so foolish and we accepted our good fortune like philosophers.
When we had carried the treasure back into the big reception room I noticed that Paul sat in a corner with Ama and held a lengthy conversation with her. He also held her hand, even though she needed no support at that time. Chaka gazed silently from the window, and thinking that perhaps the interview was of a personal nature we none of us interrupted the conversation, although after an hour or so the wait began to be tedious.