"We are Twis," they answered.
"Twice?"
"Twis--inhabitants of Twi."
"It's the same thing," laughed Nerle. "You see everything twice in
this land."
"Are none of your people single?" asked Prince Marvel.
"Single," returned the men, as if perplexed. "We don't understand."
"Are you all double?--or are some of you just one?" said the prince,
who found it difficult to put his question plainly.
"What does 'one' mean?" asked the men. "There is no such word as
'one' in our language."
"They have no need of such a word," declared Nerle.
"We are only poor laborers," explained the men. "But over the hills
lie the cities of Twi, where the Ki and the Ki-Ki dwell, and also the
High Ki."
"Ah!" said Marvel, "I've heard of your High Ki. Who is he?"
The men shook their heads, together and with the same motion.
"We have never seen the glorious High Ki," they answered. "The sight
of their faces is forbidden. None but the Ki and the Ki-Ki has seen
the Supreme Rulers and High Ki."
"I'm getting mixed," said Nerle. "All this about the Ki and the Ki-Ki
and the High Ki makes me dizzy. Let's go on to the city and explore it."
"That is a good suggestion," replied the prince.
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