the little town. The island was perhaps a mile in length. Between it and the mainland a boat was coming toward us. It was a dark blob of hull on the shining water, and above it a queerly shaped circular sail was puffed out, like a balloon parachute, by the wind. [Pg 49] "The giants live there?" said Alan. "You mean Polter's men?" "And women. Yes." "Are there many giants?" "No." "How many?" I put in. "How large are they? In relation to us now, I mean. And to your normal size?" "You ask so many questions so fast, George. There are two hundred or more of the giants. And there are more than that many thousands of our people, here. Slaves, because the giants are four times as large. This little city, these fields, these hills of stone and metal, all this was ours to have in peace and happiness until your Polter came." She gestured. "Everywhere is a great reach of desert and forest. There are insects, but no wild beasts—nothing to harm us. Nature is kind here. The weather is always like this. We were happy, until Polter came." "And only a few thousand people," Alan said. "No other cities?" "What lies off in the great distance, we do not know. Our nation is ten times what is here. We have a few other cities, and some of our people live in the forests." She broke off. "That boat is coming for Polter. He is in the city no doubt of that. The boat will take him and that girl you call Babs, to the giant's island. His castle is there." I turned to Alan. "They must have arrived only recently. Before we go any further we have to decide what size to be.[Pg 50] We can't be gigantic because I'm sure he'd kill Babs if he sees us. We've got to plan!" [Pg 50] If we could get on that boat and go with him to the island—But in what size? Very small? But then, if we were very small it would take us hours to get from here to the boat. Glora pointed out where it would land—just beyond the village where the houses were set in a sparse fringe. It would be there, apparently, in ten or fifteen minutes. Polter probably was there now with Babs,
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