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expected more.”
    “This is Jere, son of King Celevorn,” Teanor explained quickly.
    Jere was a handsome youth, lean and strong as was his father. His hair was rich with glints of fiery red in it, and he grinned in a friendly way as he stared at the new arrivals. “I see I will have to write a poem about this.”
    “A poem!” King Celevorn snorted. “That’s what we need—more poetry!” He looked angrily at his son. “If you would stop writing poetry and singing songs, we might get some defense against the Earth Dwellers.”
    “Well, Father, battles come and go, but a poem lasts forever.”
    Sarah was rather shocked at the son’s attitude. Heseemed totally unconcerned with the people’s problems, and his face was unlined with worries of any kind.
    King Celevorn frowned in apparent disgust, then rose and approached the girls. He was very little taller than Sarah, but his eyes were sharp and penetrating as he looked at her. He looked then at Abigail and finally threw up his hands. “Two females, Teanor! I send you out to get warriors, and this is what you come back with!”
    At once Sarah began to explain. “Sire, I ask your pardon. It was my fault that the boys were gone, but we left a map, and they will be here soon.”
    King Celevorn listened politely, but disappointment was etched across his face and in his eyes. Finally he held up both hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Well, we must wait, I suppose. Find the females a place to stay, Teanor.”
    “Yes, do,” Jere said quickly. “And then I’ll be glad to hear the adventures of the Seven Sleepers.” He got to his feet and came over to Abbey, smiling at her. “I will write an ode to the fair Sleepers, for, indeed, I had not expected such beauty.”
    Sarah was aware that a good-looking boy was never a matter of indifference to Abbey. She was probably wishing her hair was arranged better and that she’d had time to put on her makeup.
    But Abbey smiled back at the prince. “I will be happy to tell you what I know, Prince Jere,” she assured him.
    “Both of you, come with me,” Teanor said. “I’ll find you a place to stay.”
    After they had crossed the bridge leading away from the palace, Sarah said, “The prince and his father—they don’t seem to get along too well.”
    “No, they don’t. And the king is right. Prince Jere cares for nothing but play.”
    “But what’s wrong with play?” Abbey demanded.
    “It doesn’t help us with our problem. All these songs and poems he writes. What good are they against the weapons of the Earth Dwellers? They haven’t gotten my brother released.”
    Sarah said nothing. She knew that politics were always rather difficult.
    The girls followed Teanor across several bridges until finally they came to a moderate-sized house.
    “You will stay here,” he said. “I will bring you a female who will help you get settled in.” With that, Teanor abruptly plunged out into space.
    Both Sarah and Abbey let out screams.
    But he caught a vine that was anchored above and swung quickly to another platform.
    “Well,
I’ll
never go from one house to another that way,” Abbey breathed. “I thought he was going to kill himself.”
    Sarah would not even go to the edge of the platform and look down. It made her dizzy. “Let’s go inside,” she said.
    They found that the place was a house much like the one they had seen earlier. It was one room with a table and chairs. Pegs were driven into the walls for garments. There was a small cabinet, and a place for a cooking fire had been created out of rocks and mortar. The smoke simply rose up and went through a hole in the roof. There were several pots and pans made out of clay.
    “Pretty primitive living, Abbey,” Sarah said.
    “Very primitive. I wonder how you take a bath around here.”
    It did not take long to explore their new home, and both were getting restless by the time a woman entered. She was young and petite with blonde hair and blue eyes.
    Teanor