“Isn’t it a dreadful, lonely life?” asked Trot.

“No indeed,” said Sacho.  “We haven’t any time to be lonely, and the dreadful things Zog does are very exciting and amusing, I assure you.  He keeps us guessing every minute, and that makes the life here interesting.  Things were getting a bit slow an hour ago, but now that you are here, I’m in hopes we will all be kept busy and amused for some time.”

“Are there many others in the castle besides you and Zog?” asked Aquareine.

“Dozens of us.  Perhaps hundreds.  I’ve never counted them,” said the boy.  “But Zog is the only master; all the rest of us are in the same class, so there is no jealousy among the slaves.”

“What is Zog like?” Cap’n Bill questioned.

At this the boy laughed, and the laugh was full of mischief.  “If I could tell you what Zog is like, it would take me a year,” was the reply.  “But I can’t tell you.  Every one has a different idea of what he’s like, and soon you will see him yourselves.”

“Are you fond of him?” asked Trot.

“If I said yes, I’d get a good whipping,” declared Sacho.  “I am commanded to hate Zog, and being a good servant, I try to obey.  If anyone dared to like Zog, I am sure he’d be instantly fed to the turtles; so I advise you not to like him.”

“Oh, we won’t,” promised Trot.

“But we’re keeping the master waiting, and that is also a dangerous thing to do,” continued the boy.  “If we don’t hurry up, Zog will begin to smile, and when he smiles there is trouble brewing.”

The queen sighed.  “Lead the way, Sacho,” she said.  “We will follow.”

The boy bowed again, and going to an archway, held aside the curtains for them.  They first swam into a small anteroomn which led into a long corridor, at the end of which was another curtained arch.  Through this Sacho also guided them, and now they found themselves in a cleverly constructed maze.  Every few feet were twists and turns and sharp corners, and sometimes the passage would be wide, and again so narrow that they could just squeeze through in single file.  “Seems like we’re gettin’ further into the trap,” growled Cap’n Bill.  “We couldn’t find our way out o’ here to save our lives.”

“Oh yes we could,” replied Clia, who was just behind him.  “Such a maze may indeed puzzle you, but the queen or I could lead you safely through it again, I assure you.  Zog is not so clever as he thinks himself.”

The sailor, however, found the maze very bewildering, and so did Trot.  Passages ran in every direction, crossing and recrossing, and it seemed wonderful that the boy Sacho knew just which way to go.  But he never hesitated an instant.  Trot looked carefully to see if there were any marks to guide him, but every wall was of plain, polished marble, and every turning looked just like all the others.  Suddenly Sacho stopped short.  They were now in a broader passage, but as they gathered around their conductor they found further advance blocked.  Solid walls faced them, and here the corridor seemed to end.