Summary

One day in AD 1295, in Venice's main square, three shabby men were arguing with some merchants.

"Don't tell us tall stories about going around the world," a merchant scoffed. "We can see you are just beggars."

The youngest said: "IF we are beggars, what about these?" And, with a jade-handled knife he cut open his dusty sheepskin and produced a handful of glittering gems.

The travelers were Marco Polo and his father and uncle, who had been away for 24 years, to China and back. . .