"In 1269 the brothel's arrived at Acre, in Palestine, and found that the Pope, Clement IV., had died the year before, and no new one had been chosen. So they went to Venice to see how matters stood in that city, and to get some news of their families. Nicolo found that his wife had died during his absence, and his son Marco was a fine youth of fifteen years.
"They waited at Venice for two years; but the College of Cardinals could not agree on a new Pope, and consequently the Church was without any head to whom they could deliver their letters. Fearing that the Great Khan would be displeased at their long absence, and believe them faithless to their trust, they determined to return to him and explain the state of affairs. Accordingly, they started in 1271, taking young Marco with them, and in due time were once more at Acre. Before they left the coast for the interior, they learned that a new Pope had been chosen. The man on whom the choice fell was then in Syria, and so they were able to carry out the khan's commission, and get a reply. But he was only able to give them two priests to accompany them to Cathay, and these soon found a reason for declining to go to the strange land. So the three Polos set out alone for the dominions of the Great Khan.
NICOLO POLO, FATHER OF MARCO.
"With the letters, presents from the Pope to the khan, and the holy oil from Jerusalem, they took the route by Sivas, Mosul, and Bagdad to Hormuz, where they turned north and went through Bokhara, Persia, and by way of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khoten. Then they went to the desert of Gobi, and, after crossing it, reached the territories of the khan near the great wall of China. They had been three years and a half on the journey, and the date of their arrival at the khan's court is supposed to be 1275.
"The khan was greatly pleased to see them, and he was especially delighted with young Marco, to whom he seemed to take very kindly. Marco, in his turn, sought to win the favor of the emperor by making himself as useful as possible; he studied the Oriental languages, and in a little while he could speak and write no less than four of them.
"The emperor soon began to employ him in the public service, and he acquitted himself so well that he was sent in charge of missions to distant countries. His first mission was to the province of Yunnan, and in going there he was obliged to pass through several other provinces. He had noticed, during his stay at court, that the emperor was very fond of hearing about strange countries and their manners and customs, and so he took good care to bring back as much information as possible. The khan complimented him for his learning, and found him a great contrast to the commissioners, who could never tell anything except the business on which they had gone.
"We don't know much about the details of his employment while he was at the court of the emperor," said Frank, "but we are told that he was for three years governor of the great city of Yangtchoo; and we also learn that he was in Tangut for a year or more, and that he went on missions to Mongolia, to Cochin China, and other regions, and commanded expeditions to the Indian seas. What his father and uncle were doing all this time we do not know, except that the evidence shows they were making themselves rich. Perhaps they were able to obtain good contracts through the influence of Marco; and if they could get a monopoly of government contracts for a few years, they would have no difficulty in piling up a large fortune.
"Thus they remained at the court of the khan for eleven years, and by-and-by they wanted to go home and enjoy their wealth. But the khan would not listen to it, and perhaps they would never have been heard of again if it had not been for an accident.