SURPRISED.
Harry could see no one, of course, as he walked towards the glowing
furnaces, for he had no elfin hat upon his head. But the elves soon
caught sight of him, and immediately began dancing about in delight,
shouting, “Hurrah! hurrah! Here is Prince Harry!”
“Somebody bring me a hat,” said Harry. “I can’t see a single one of
you.”
At once a dozen of them ran forward and cried, “Here, Prince, take
mine!” But before he had a chance to get hold of one of them, he heard
Kitey’s shrill little voice ordering the others to stand aside.
“Here is Wamby’s hat, dear Prince,” cried Kitey. “He left it in my
care, for he knew you would come down some time.”
“There, that is better,” said Harry, as he put the hat on his head.
“Now, little chap, let us hurry away to see Wamby.”
They found His Majesty in the Grand Reception Hall, and Harry told him
everything that had befallen him since they were separated.
“I was sure you would come down soon,” said Wamby, “and have had all
my workmen making spears. We have enough now to arm all of the elves;
but how can we get across the lake? The Gnomes not only keep the wind
turned on over there, but also took away every vessel from this side.”
“I think we can remedy that,” replied Harry. “Can we not cross the lake
on rafts or some vessels of our own construction? Or better still, I
will cross alone, for I shall only require one boat; then, once on the
other side, I can bring over the boats for all the rest of you.”
So the elves, with Harry’s help, constructed, in less than an hour’s
time, a temporary boat, much like a raft, made of boards nailed
together, and just large enough for Harry to stand on. They also made a
paddle, of a narrow board with larger ends.
The elves watched breathlessly as he with difficulty propelled himself
along, the wind against him, retarding his progress by many minutes.
Undaunted and untiring in his efforts, he at last made his way to the
other side of the lake, where his first act was to gather the boats
together (for the Gnomes had left them unguarded, never supposing Harry
could so boldly capture them), then to turn off the wind entirely, so
that it should blow in neither direction. In safety he once more went
back to his friends, and they all lost no time, except in grateful
thanks to their Prince, in recrossing the lake to their destination.
They made their way quickly to the antechamber, but were surprised to
find no guards anywhere on their way. When they reached that place, and
still found no sign of a guard, and discovered, furthermore, that the
door of the Reception Hall was bolted, Wamby exclaimed, “Some of the
Gnomes must have seen us and carried word to the King!”
Harry considered a moment, then ordered Wamby to count the elves, to
see if perchance there was a deserter in the camp. Sure enough, it
was discovered that one of them was missing, and to their horror and
dismay, they knew he must have escaped, without their notice, to warn
the Gnomes.
“The traitor!” exclaimed Harry; “but there is no time to cry over
spilled milk. What can we do now?” After a moment’s consideration he
said, “I have a plan. We can all go through the Passage of the Toad to
the other side of the Reception Hall and enter the Hall by the secret
door near the wardrobe.”
“But the toad!” said Wamby, in a trembling voice.
“You won’t have to go near him,” said Harry. “He is, or was when I saw
him last, at the foot of the steps leading to the trap-door under the
Hall, and you needn’t go to that end of the main passage at all. We’ll
simply go through the passage that runs from this antechamber, and that
will take us within a step of the passage that runs up near the chamber
under the rock in the park. Besides, I’ll go ahead and give warning if
the toad is in the way.”
It was finally agreed to try the plan, and they all made their way
through safely, without a glimpse of the toad, and reached the secret
door. But that also was bolted on the inside.
“They have been warned of our coming, as you feared,” said Wamby.
“It is, indeed, so,” replied Harry. “Well, suppose you and the others
remain here while I reconnoitre. Be ready to rush in if I open the
door.”
Borrowing Wamby’s lantern-box, the boy went back to the Passage of the
Toad, and mounted the steps leading to the trap-door under the dais.
Part way up the steps, he found the toad. The steps were very low,
being built for little Pin Elves, so it was easy enough for a slender
toad to hop from one to another.
“Halloa, little hoppy!” said Harry; “you’re getting spry, aren’t
you? Just keep up courage a little longer, old fellow, and you’ll be
released from your prison.”
Ascending to the top of the steps, the boy opened the door slightly,
and peered forth.
The Hall was full of Gnomes, most of them being armed. A large guard
was stationed at each door, but the main body of soldiers was in the
centre of the Hall. The King was upon the throne, while a few members
of his body-guard were below on the floor a little to his left.
Harry studied the situation for a minute, and then he opened the
trap-door, leaped clear over the throne, rushed by the body-guard
to the wardrobe, and vaulted upon the top of that familiar friendly
refuge. He thought that on top of the wardrobe he would be near the
secret door, and that, by watching an opportunity he could drop down,
unbolt the door, and admit the Pin Elves. But now, to his chagrin, he
noticed that the wardrobe had been moved some distance away from the
secret door.
The Gnomes, at his appearance, stood for a moment in silent
astonishment, for they supposed him to be still lying bound where they
had thrown him, in the Passage of the Toad. But they speedily recovered
themselves, and crowded around the wardrobe, yelling and howling with
rage.
“Build a fire and smoke him out!” growled the King.
Immediately the wood was brought and laid in a semicircle and ignited,
the powder was sprinkled upon the flame, and a dense, stifling smoke
enveloped the boy.
“I must run for it,” thought he.
He stood it as long as he could, and then he dropped to the floor,
leaped through the smoke and flame, dashed through the mass of Gnomes
about the fire, and ran towards the dais.
The Gnomes had been expecting him to do this, and had prepared for
it. They had twisted together a number of their strongest ropes, and
several lengths of this twisted rope were laid in various places along
the floor, with fifty Gnomes holding the end of each length. One of
these pieces of rope was stretched near the lower step of the dais,
directly across the path that Harry was taking. Just before he reached
it, the Gnomes who were holding it by the ends raised it several inches
above the floor and hauled it taut, and the boy tripped over it and
fell sprawling in front of the throne.
Before he could recover himself, the rope was wound several times about
his ankles, and another piece was slipped over his head and hauled so
tightly about his neck as nearly to strangle him. Both of his hands
were still free, and he managed to turn partly over and grasp the rope
around his neck and pull upon one side of it hard enough to loosen it
somewhat.
But by this time nearly all of the Gnomes were about him, and presently
they had ropes wound around both of his hands, and he was beyond the
power of struggling.
Then a strange thing happened. Harry heard a shriek of terror from
the throne, and looking up, he saw the King of the Gnomes, Cattisack,
Grumpy, the Grand Prime Minister, and the Grand Recorder, all
simultaneously fall forward from their seats and lie prone upon the
steps of the dais. At the same time he felt the bonds about his neck
and limbs loosen, and everything around him became as still as death.