Somat was intelligent enough to fill in such details as
Rolla omitted.
"Ye did right, and acted like the brave girl ye are!" he exclaimed, when
Rolla had finished. However, he did not fully appreciate what she had
meant by "the winged masters," and not until she pointed out some bees
and asked if, on this part of the planet, such were the rulers of the
humans, that the man grasped the bitter irony of it all.
"What! Those tiny insects rule thy lives!" It took him some time to
comprehend the deadly nature of their stings, and the irresistible power
of concerted effort; but in the end he commented: "Tis not so strange,
now that I think on it. Mayhap life is only a matter of chance, anyway."
Presently he felt that he understood the Sanusian situation. He fell
silent; and Rolla, after waiting as long as her patience would allow,
finally put the question temporarily uppermost in her mind:
"It is true that I have crossed the edge of the world. And yet, I
understand it not at all. Can ye explain the nature of this strange
world we live upon, Somat?" There was infinite respect in the way Rolla
used his name; had she known a word to indicate human infallibility,
such as "your majesty," she would have used it.
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