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not believe you can force me to liberate King Kitticut
and Queen Garee, and I know that you cannot coax me to
do so, for I have given my promise to King Gos.
Therefore, as I do not wish to hurt you, I ask you to
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go away peaceably and let me alone."
"Forgive me if I do not agree with you, King Kaliko,"
answered the boy. "However difficult and dangerous my
task may be, I cannot leave your dominions until every
effort to release my parents has failed and left me
completely discouraged."
"Very well," said the King, evidently displeased. "I
have warned you, and now if evil overtakes you it is
your own fault. I've a headache to-day, so I cannot
entertain you properly, according to your rank; but
Klik will attend you to my guest chambers and to-morrow
I will talk with you again."
This seemed a fair and courteous way to treat one's
declared enemies, so they politely expressed the wish
that Kaliko's headache would be better, and followed
their guide, Klik, down a well-lighted passage and
through several archways until they finally reached
three nicely furnished bedchambers which were cut from
solid gray rock and well lighted and aired by some
mysterious method known to the nomes.
The first of these rooms was given King Rinkitink,
the second was Inga's and the third was assigned to
Bilbil the goat. There was a swinging rock door
between the third and second rooms and another between
the second and first, which also had a door that opened
upon the passage. Rinkitink's room was the largest, so
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it was here that an excellent dinner was spread by some
of the nome servants, who, in spite of their crooked
shapes, proved to be well trained and competent.
"You are not prisoners, you know," said Klik; neither
are you welcome guests, having declared your purpose to
oppose our mighty King and all his hosts. But we bear
you no ill will, and you are to be well fed and cared
for as long as you remain in our caverns. Eat hearty,
sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you."
Saying this, he left them alone and at once Rinkitink
and Inga began to counsel together as to the best means
to liberate King Kitticut and Queen Garee. The White
Pearl's advice was rather unsatisfactory to the boy,
just now, for all that the Voice said in answer to his
questions was: "Be patient, brave and determined."
Rinkitink suggested that they try to discover in what
part of the series of underground caverns Inga's
parents had been confined, as that knowledge was
necessary before they could take any action; so
together they started out, leaving Bilbil asleep in his
room, and made their way unopposed through many
corridors and caverns. In some places were great
furnaces, where gold dust was being melted into bricks.
In other rooms workmen were fashioning the gold into
various articles and ornaments. In one cavern immense
wheels revolved which polished precious gems, and they
found many caverns used as storerooms, where treasure
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of every sort was piled high. Also they came to the
barracks of the army and the great kitchens.
There were nomes everywhere -- countless thousands of
them -- but none paid the slightest heed to the
visitors from the earth's surface. Yet, although Inga
and Rinkitink walked until they were weary, they were
unable to locate the place where the boy's father and
mother had been confined, and when they tried to return
to their own rooms they found that they had hopelessly
lost themselves amid the labyrinth of passages.
However, Klik presently came to them, laughing at their
discomfiture, and led them back to their bedchambers.
Before they went to sleep they carefully barred the
door from Rinkitink's room to the corridor, but the
doors that connected the three rooms one with another
were left wide open.
In the night Inga was awakened by a soft grating
sound that filled him with anxiety because he could not
account for it. It was dark in his room, the light
having disappeared as soon as he got into bed, but he
managed to feel his way to the door that led to
Rinkitink's room and found it tightly closed and
immovable. Then he made his way to the opposite door,
leading to Bilbil's room, to discover that also had
been closed and fastened.
The boy had a curious sensation that all of his room
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-- the walls, floor and ceiling -- was slowly whirling
as if on a pivot, and it was such an uncomfortable
feeling that he got into bed again, not knowing what
else to do. And as the grating noise had ceased and the
room now seemed stationary, he soon fell asleep again.
When the boy wakened, after many hours, he found the
room again light. So he dressed himself and discovered
that a small table, containing a breakfast that was
smoking hot, had suddenly appeared in the center of
his room. He tried the two doors, but finding that he
could not open them he ate some breakfast, thoughtfully
wondering who had locked him in and why he had been
made a prisoner. Then he again went to the door which
he thought led to Rinkitink's chamber and to his
surprise the latch lifted easily and the door swung
open.
Before him was a rude corridor hewn in the rock and
dimly lighted. It did not look inviting, so Inga closed
the door, puzzled to know what had become of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]