One sandal ! '' they kept saying . `` The man with one sandal ! Here he is at last ! Whence has he come ? What does he mean to do ? What will the king say to the one-sandaled man ? '' Poor Jason was greatly abashed , and made up his mind that the people of Iolchos were exceedingly ill-bred , to take such public notice of an accidental deficiency in his dress . Meanwhile , whether it were that they hustled him forward , or that Jason , of his own accord , thrust a passage through the crowd , it so happened that he soon found himself close to the smoking altar , where King Pelias was sacrificing the black bull . The murmur and hum of the multitude , in their surprise at the spectacle of Jason with his one bare foot , grew so loud that it disturbed the ceremonies ; and the king , holding the great knife with which he was just going to cut the bull 's throat , turned angrily about , and fixed his eyes on Jason . The people had now withdrawn from around him , so that the youth stood in an open space , near the smoking altar , front to front with the angry King Pelias . `` Who are you ? '' cried the king , with a terrible frown . `` And how dare you make this disturbance , while I am sacrificing a black bull to my father Neptune ? '' `` It is no fault of mine , '' answered Jason . `` Your majesty must blame the rudeness of your subjects , who have raised all this tumult because one of my feet happens to be bare . '' When Jason said this , the king gave a quick startled glance down at his feet . `` Ha ! '' muttered he , `` here is the one-sandaled fellow , sure enough ! What can I do with him ? ''
And he clutched more closely the great knife XXXXX his hand , as if he were half a mind to slay Jason , instead of the black bull .
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