TAKEN PRISONER.
One Saturday, some months after Harry’s adventure among the Pin Elves,
an irresistible desire came over him to pay another visit to the little
underground people; so having obtained his mother’s consent to spend
the afternoon in the Park, he took the pin given him by his elfin
friend, put in his pocket a little gift for him, and started off.
The rock which contained the hidden door was situated close to a
footpath and when he reached it he sat down upon it as if to rest, and
looked about to see if any one were watching him. No one was in sight
but a Park policeman, who had just passed by, and he was disappearing
from view among the shrubbery. So Harry hurriedly examined the centre
of the rock, and in a few moments found the hole. Inserting the pin,
he pressed upon it thrice, and repeated
“Pin, pin, let me in.
Needles are banished,
All of them vanished;
A mortal wants to get in.”
Instantly the door in the top of the rock opened, and Harry found
himself lying on the grass beside the rock. In his excitement he had
forgotten just where the door was, and, as he was resting exactly on
top of it, when it sprang open it naturally threw him off the rock.
Fortunately he was not hurt, though he was very much surprised.
It took but a moment, however, to pick himself up, snatch the elfin
pin from the hole, and spring down the stone steps through the open
doorway. As his foot touched the bottom, the trap-door in the rock
above shut noiselessly.
The chamber in which he found himself was empty, so he entered the
passageway which he had traversed with the elf on his former visit,
slid down the glassy incline, and walked onwards until he came to the
first door. As no one was there, and as there seemed to be no way for
him to open the door, he knocked upon it as loudly as possible, and
stepping back a little waited for a response.
Suddenly the door opened about half-way, but closed again just as
suddenly without any one appearing. After waiting awhile longer, Harry
knocked again till his knuckles were sore, and when no answer came, he
kicked vigorously against the rocky barrier.
Finally he grew tired, and sat down. What to do next he hardly knew.
It was impossible to go back the way he came, as he could not walk up
the glassy incline. He had seen no passageway opening out of the one in
which he was, and there seemed to be no other door than the one just
ahead. Evidently, there was nothing to do but to wait until some of the
elves happened along that way.
The silence at first was painful; but after a little while he fancied
he heard mysterious sounds around him, like the rustling of garments,
and soft footfalls, and once or twice what seemed to be a faint
whispering. No one was visible, and he had almost concluded that he
had merely imagined the sounds, when there came a sharp click just
beside him, as if a piece of metal had struck the rocky side of the
passageway.
He sprang to his feet, much startled and frightened, but there was
nothing to be seen, and as he listened intently, he could not hear the
slightest sound.
“Pshaw! I’m simply nervous!” he exclaimed, seating himself again.
But scarcely had he become quiet, when he felt something like a rope
drawn tightly about his arms and feet, and then he was pulled over on
his back upon the ground. He made a desperate effort to free himself,
but both arms and legs were so strongly bound that all struggling was
in vain; so he lay there perfectly quiet, half frightened out of his
wits.
In a few moments, he was dragged on his back upon what seemed to be
a long, wide board, and then the board, with him upon it, was lifted
up and carried through a number of passageways, and finally set down
again on the ground. The board was then gently pulled from under him,
there was a confused rustling sound, the bonds on his limbs suddenly
loosened, and all became quiet.
Harry sprang to his feet and found himself in a small chamber about
twelve feet square, with apparently neither door nor window. Of course
he knew there must be a doorway somewhere, as he had just been brought
through one; but he was unable to discover any sign of it now. The room
was well lighted in some way from the lofty ceiling, and contained a
long, low couch along one of the walls.
[Illustration: Boy sitting]
Harry carefully examined his prison, and then sat down on the edge of
the couch, and gave a long whistle.
“Well!” he cried, “this _is_ a lark and no mistake! I wish I could get
out of this hole.”
But it needed only a glance at those bare stone walls to show him the
uselessness of such a wish. Finally he gave up thinking about his
strange situation, and being thoroughly tired out, threw himself back
on the couch, and was soon fast asleep.
On awakening, the first object that met his gaze was a low table beside
him, covered with a tempting display of food.
“Well!” he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes in amazement, “if it isn’t just
like magic!”
The food smelled good, and also tasted good, as he soon discovered; and
when he had finished eating there was little of it left. After that, he
walked around the room a number of times, and then lay down and slept
again.
When he awoke the second time, the little table had disappeared. While
he lay there, half dozing, he saw a door in the opposite side of the
room noiselessly open and immediately close again. A moment later,
something soft touched his head, and he beheld his old elfin friend
standing beside him, nodding and grinning.
“Hallo!” cried Harry, sitting upright, “how did you get here?”
“Sh—sh!” said the elf, “don’t talk so loud! I came in at the door just
now.”
“How’s that? I didn’t see you,” said Harry.
“No, of course not,” was the reply; “we elves are invisible to any
mortal who hasn’t one of our hats on. You see me now because I just put
my hat on your head.”
“Well, say, old fellow, or whatever your name may be—what is your name,
by the way?”
“Wamby,” answered the elf.
“Well, Wamby,” continued Harry, “why am I shut up here, and what is
going to be done with me?”
The elf answered: “You are shut up because at your former visit you
turned your back on the King. When to-day you came to that door near
the foot of the hill of glass, you could see no one because you
hadn’t one of our hats on; but the two guards were there, and while
one remained to watch you, the other carried the news to the King.
Instantly, a body of soldiers was sent to seize you, and carry you to
this prison. I was unable to prevent it, but I made up my mind to see
you, and so I deliberately turned _my_ back on the King and, of course,
was at once arrested and brought here as a prisoner too. As to what is
to be done with us, I believe they intend to send us down to work with
the Gnomes.”
“Where is that?” asked Harry. “And who are the Gnomes?”
“Why, the Gnomes are the elves who work in the mines far down in the
earth, way down below where we are. They are bad fellows, those Gnomes,
black and ugly, and awfully old. They dig gold and silver and iron,
and have big forges where they make lots of things. It’s very hot down
there, and they have to stay there all the time. One of the worst
punishments that can befall a Pin Elf is to be sent to work with the
Gnomes. No one ever is permitted to return, and there is no chance to
escape from the mines.”
“Well, can’t we escape from this place before they carry us down to the
Gnomes?” asked Harry.
Wamby shook his head dolefully. “No,” he replied; “they’ve taken away
the pin with which I opened doors, and we can’t get out any other way.”
“Here is the pin you gave me,” said Harry. “Won’t that do just as well?”
Wamby eagerly took the pin, but his countenance soon fell again. “I’m
afraid it’s no use for us to try,” he said; “come over here and look.
Don’t speak a word.”
Going across to the opposite side of the room, he waited till Harry was
close beside him, and then sticking the pin in a hole in the wall, he
pressed upon it thrice, and whispered:
“Pin, pin,
Trusty and stout,
I am within,
And want to look out.”
The door opened a crack, and Wamby stepped aside and motioned Harry
to take a peep. Harry did so, and saw that the passageway was fairly
filled with elves of the largest size, each one armed with a long
spear. He counted them, and found there were fifty keeping careful
guard. Then the door closed quietly.
Wamby turned around and threw himself hopelessly upon the couch. “Take
that pin out of the hole,” he said; “it may be of use to us some time.”
Harry snatched it out impatiently, and dropped it on the floor.
“Pshaw!” he exclaimed.
“What’s the matter?” inquired the elf.
“I dropped the pin and can’t find it again,” said Harry. “Oh! here it
is, sticking in a hole in the floor.”
“What! in a hole?” cried Wamby, springing up excitedly. “Don’t touch
it! Let me see! If there’s a hole, there must be a trap-door; and if
there is, it will give us a chance of escape.”
He kneeled down and rapped softly upon the floor, and listened intently.
“Yes, there’s a door here. Stand aside, and I’ll show you.”
He pressed upon the pin and repeated the usual words, and a trap-door
opened in the floor, revealing a narrow passage, with stone steps
descending.
“Where does it lead to?” asked Harry.
“I don’t know,” Wamby replied; “but we can soon find out.” He
considered a moment, and then continued, “We’d better wait awhile,
though. They’ll bring in our food before long, and if they find us
gone they will start at once in pursuit and catch us. But if we wait
until after the food is brought, it will give us time to get away a
good distance before our flight is discovered.”
It was well they took that precaution, for hardly was the trap-door
closed when the other door opened, and four elves appeared, bearing a
table laden with eatables. After the meal was despatched, Harry put in
his pockets the food that remained, as it might be some time before
they could obtain any more. Then, waiting until the four elves had
returned and removed the empty table, they opened the trap-door and
descended a few steps, when the door above them silently closed, and
they were in total darkness.