He halted and raised his word-box.
"Ho, there, Olox!" he cried.
The high chief stepped forward and made the royal salaam of four hands.
"We are going forth to conquer the solar system, Olox," paid the king in a brisk, matter-of-fact way.
"Yes, your majesty," answered Olox, as readily as though the capturing of a planet or two was an every-day occurrence.
"You have overheard what this strange two-handed creature has been telling me?" went on the king.
"Yes, your majesty."
"Trains that burn the black blocks and need not be hauled by hand! Green vegetation, laughing rivers and babbling brooks all on the outer shell! Rich cities, stores of art and heaps of yellow gold! These, and myriad other marvelous things are on the Earth, Olox, and guarded only by two-handed, five-fingered colossi, who have to load a tube of iron with black powder and round missiles before they can attack their foes!"
The king threw back his head and laughed on the word-box. Taking a cue from the king, Olox also laughed, and so did the others.
"And these Earth dwellers can't even see in the dark!" rippled the king with contemptuous fingers.