Free A Tale Without a Name by Penelope S. Delta

some old derelict wall, black and begrimed by time and humidity.
    “Let us go farther south,” he said, and walked a few paces forward.
    He found, however, no ships, no naval base.
    “Would you yourself know where they are?” asked the King of Cartwheeler, who was only just then catching up with them, half-dead from the unfamiliar matinal exertion.
    “I do not know, my lord, I have never been this far abroad,” he replied, gasping for breath. “But maybe we could ask this sleeping bargeman.”
    And placing his hands in front of his mouth so as to form a cone, he cried out:
    “Hey there!… Bargeman!… Wake up!…”
    The one-armed man twitched his single hand ever so slightly and slowly, but did not wake up.
    “Wait,” said the Prince.
    And, tugging at the rope, he pulled the two boats close to the riverbank.
    “Ahoy there, bargeman! Hey, bargeman!” Cartwheeler cried out once more.
    The one-armed man sat up and rubbed his eyes.
    “What is the matter?” he asked in a sleepy voice.
    “Where are the navy and the naval base?” enquired the King.
    With a brisk jump, the one-armed man stood up and gave a sharp military salute.
    “Present and correct!” he cried out.
    “
Where are the navy and the naval base
?” asked the King again, thinking that the man had not understood him the first time.
    “
Present and correct!
” repeated the one-armed man a little more loudly, without breaking off his salute.
    “He does not understand!” said the King, disheartened. “My good man, can you listen to what I am saying to you?
Where are the ships and the sailors?
”
    “
Present! Present and present again
,” screamed the one-armed man, with such energy that the veins of his throat swelled to bursting point, while standing hard as a board he continued to present his military salute.
    The Prince tried to make him understand in turn.
    “We are looking for the King’s ships,” he explained.
    “
Prrrresent!
” repeated the one-armed man. “The Royal Navy, comprising of the vessels
Fright
and
Turmoil
, present and correct! The navy of His Majesty the King present and correct!”
    King Witless jumped.
    “What’s that?” he cried out, mortified. “What names did you say?”
    “
Fright
and
Turmoil
, my dining room and bedroom. At your disposal, should you desire to visit them,” said the one-armed man, with a smile that split his face from one ear to the other.
    The Prince turned ashen.
    “And the naval base? Where is the naval base?” he asked.
    “Prrrresent!” replied again the one-armed man, indicating the blackened stones that lined the rock face all the way down to the very edge of the riverbank.
    “Wait a second, now,” said the King nervously, sweeping his son aside. “He does not understand, surely. Listen here, my good man, tell me where the Supreme Commander of the Army lives.”
    The one-armed man stretched out his hand and pointed vaguely westward.
    “Abroad,” he said briefly.
    “And the Admiral-in-Chief… the Royal Admiral… there has to be an admiral somewhere, for heaven’s sake!”
    “We have nothing of the sort in this place.”
    “Commanders, sailors, ships, in God’s name, where are all of these?”
    “Present,” said again the one-armed man.
    And pointing proudly at his shabby old feluccas:
    “Navy, present and correct.”
    Then, thumping his chest:
    “Commander, sailor and the rest, present and correct! Look not for more, my lord, for there is no more to be found.”
    He picked up a plank that lay in one of his feluccas, shoved it to the bank, where he made it secure.
    “Come, and be welcome in my little palace,” he said with his wide smile, bowing all the way to the ground and placing his hand, fingers outstretched, onto his breast. “Your servant, my good lords!”
    “Let us go home, father,” said the Prince, “we have learnt all that we needed to know.”
    And with heads bowed low they headed for the tower.

VII
New Revelations
    T HEY WALKED BACK under the