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THE GOLDEN AGE 'And now,' said Edward, 'who's to ask Farmer Larkin? I can't; last time I saw him he said when he caught me again he'd smack my head. You'll have to.'

I hesitated, for good reasons. 'You know those precious calves of his?' I began.

Edward understood at once. 'All right,' he said; 'then we won't ask him at all. It doesn't much matter. He'd only be annoyed, and that would be a pity. Now let's set off'

We made our way down to the stream, and captured the farmer's boat without let or hindrance, the enemy being engaged in the hayfields. This 'river,' so called, could never be discovered by us in any atlas; indeed our Argo could hardly turn in it without risk of shipwreck. But to us 'twas Orinoco, and the cities of the world dotted its shores. We put the Argo's head upstream, since that led away from the Larkin province; Harold was faithfully permitted to be Jason, and we shared the rest of the heroes among us. Then, quitting Thessaly, we threaded the Hellespont with shouts, breathlessly dodged the Clashing Rocks, 148