The elder Amazon said, “We are all on the same side, and I don’t see the good of fighting.”
John said, “But why did you come to our island … ?”
“Our island,” said the Amazons together.
“How can it be your island? This is our camp?”
“It’s been our island for years and years,” said the Amazons. “Who built the fireplace? Who marked the harbour?”
“How marked the harbour?” said John. “You mean putting a cross on a tree there. Anyone could put a cross on a tree.”
The elder Amazon laughed. “That just shows it’s our island,” she said. “You don’t even know how the harbour is marked.”
“We do,” said Roger.
John was silent. He knew that they did not.
At last he said, “Right, we’ll parley. But you must put down your weapons, and so will we. You must take down your flag, because ours is in Swallow , so that we can’t put it up beside it.”
The elder Amazon said, “It seems a pity to take down the flag when there is such a good wind blowing it out. It isn’t as if it was just hanging. One of you go to the harbour to get your flag from your ship, and then we can have both flags flying during the parley and everything will be proper.”
“No fighting while one of us is going for it?”
“No. Peace. We’ll put our weapons down now.”
The Amazons put their bows on the ground. Roger and Titty put down their pikes. John and Susan had no weapons to put down.