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"To-morrow," he said, shaking his fist towards the hills, "we will arrange the terms of peace and we will arrange them in the City of Bag-jagderag." His words were greeted with cheers of triumph from the admiring Popsipetels. The war was over. When he threw himself into that fight at Popsipetel, I saw the Doctor really angry for the first time in my life.
In his kingdom the Doctor tried his hardest to do away with most of the old-fashioned pomp and grandeur of a royal court. As he said to Bumpo and me, if he must be a king he meant to be a thoroughly democratic one, that is a king who is chummy and friendly with his subjects and doesn't put on airs. And when he drew up the plans for the City of New Popsipetel he had no palace shown of any kind.
First he recited the names of all the great Popsipetel kings who in days long ago had been crowned in this ivory chair. He spoke of the greatness of the Popsipetel people, of their triumphs, of their hardships. Then waving his hand towards the Doctor he began recounting the things which this king-to-be had done.
But," added Long Arrow a slight frown darkening his handsome face, "for me, I would rather have one Popsipetel than a hundred Bag-jagderags." The news of the rescue we had made had evidently gone ahead of us. For as we drew nearer to the village we saw crowds of Indians streaming out to greet the friends and relatives whom they had never thought to see again.
Towards the close of the day the chief men of the two tribes formed a procession and passed through the streets of the town, carrying a very gorgeously painted tablet of ebony wood, ten feet high. This was a picture-history, such as they preserved for each of the ancient kings of Popsipetel to record their deeds.
"Men of Popsipetel, behold your elected king! Are you content?" And then at last the voice of the people broke loose. "JONG! JONG!" they shouted, "LONG LIVE KING JONG!" The sound burst upon the solemn silence with the crash of a hundred cannon. There, where even a whisper carried miles, the shock of it was like a blow in the face. Back and forth the mountains threw it to one another.
Go before your project is discovered. For truly I believe that if you go not now you will linger the remainder of your days a captive king in Popsipetel." Great decisions often take no more than a moment in the making. Against the now paling sky I saw the Doctor's figure suddenly stiffen. Slowly he lifted the Sacred Crown from off his head and laid it on the sands.
Our old enemies, the Bag-jagderags are become, through you, our brothers and good friends. They too desire to bask beneath the sunshine of your smile. Behold then, I bring to you the Sacred Crown of Popsipetel which, since ancient days when this island and its peoples were one, beneath one monarch, has rested on no kingly brow.
I know that if it had not been for the Terrible Three as they came afterwards to be fondly called in Popsipetel history Long Arrow, Bumpo and the Doctor, the war would have been soon over and the whole island would have belonged to the worthless Bag-jagderags.
Descending towards the shore again, we noticed that we were still being watched, even here among the highlands, by the Bag-jagderags who had followed us. And when we put to sea once more a boatload of them proceeded to go ahead of us in the direction of Popsipetel.
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