CHAPTER 31
The Subterranean Waters
The king's harper, who always formed a part of his escort, was chantinga ballad which he made as he went on playing on his instrument--aboutthe princess and the goblins, and the prowess of Curdie, when all atonce he ceased, with his eyes on one of the doors of the hall.Thereupon the eyes of the king and his guests turned thitherward also.The next moment, through the open doorway came the princess Irene. Shewent straight up to her father, with her right hand stretched out alittle sideways, and her forefinger, as her father and Curdieunderstood, feeling its way along the invisible thread. The king tookher on his knee, and she said in his ear:
'King-papa, do you hear that noise?'
'I hear nothing,' said the king.
'Listen,' she said, holding up her forefinger.
The king listened, and a great stillness fell upon the company. Eachman, seeing that the king listened, listened also, and the harper satwith his harp between his arms, and his finger silent upon the strings.
'I do hear a noise,' said the king at length--'a noise as of distantthunder. It is coming nearer and nearer. What can it be?'
They all heard it now, and each seemed ready to start to his feet as helistened. Yet all sat perfectly still. The noise came rapidly nearer.
'What can it be?' said the king again.
'I think it must be another storm coming over the mountain,' said SirWalter.
Then Curdie, who at the first word of the king had slipped from hisseat, and laid his ear to the ground, rose up quickly, and approachingthe king said, speaking very fast:
'Please, Your Majesty, I think I know what it is. I have no time toexplain, for that might make it too late for some of us. Will YourMajesty give orders that everybody leave the house as quickly aspossible and get up the mountain?'
The king, who was the wisest man in the kingdom, knew well there was atime when things must be done and questions left till afterwards. Hehad faith in Curdie, and rose instantly, with Irene in his arms.'Every man and woman follow me,' he said, and strode out into thedarkness.
Before he had reached the gate, the noise had grown to a greatthundering roar, and the ground trembled beneath their feet, and beforethe last of them had crossed the court, out after them from the greathall door came a huge rush of turbid water, and almost swept them away.But they got safe out of the gate and up the mountain, while thetorrent went roaring down the road into the valley beneath.
Curdie had left the king and the princess to look after his mother,whom he and his father, one on each side, caught up when the streamovertook them and carried safe and dry.
When the king had got out of the way of the water, a little up themountain, he stood with the princess in his arms, looking back withamazement on the issuing torrent, which glimmered fierce and foamythrough the night. There Curdie rejoined them.
'Now, Curdie,' said the king, 'what does it mean? Is this what youexpected?'
'It is, Your Majesty,' said Curdie; and proceeded to tell him about thesecond scheme of the goblins, who, fancying the miners of moreimportance to the upper world than they were, had resolved, if theyshould fail in carrying off the king's daughter, to flood the mine anddrown the miners. Then he explained what the miners had done toprevent it. The goblins had, in pursuance of their design, let looseall the underground reservoirs and streams, expecting the water to rundown into the mine, which was lower than their part of the mountain,for they had, as they supposed, not knowing of the solid wall closebehind, broken a passage through into it. But the readiest outlet thewater could find had turned out to be the tunnel they had made to theking's house, the possibility of which catastrophe had not occurred tothe young miner until he had laid his ear to the floor of the hall.
What was then to be done? The house appeared in danger of falling, andevery moment the torrent was increasing.
'We must set out at once,' said the king. 'But how to get at thehorses!'
'Shall I see if we can manage that?' said Curdie.
'Do,' said the king.
Curdie gathered the men-at-arms, and took them over the garden wall,and so to the stables. They found their horses in terror; the waterwas rising fast around them, and it was quite time they were got out.But there was no way to get them out, except by riding them through thestream, which was now pouring from the lower windows as well as thedoor. As one horse was quite enough for any man to manage through sucha torrent, Curdie got on the king's white charger and, leading the way,brought them all in safety to the rising ground.
'Look, look, Curdie!' cried Irene, the moment that, having dismounted,he led the horse up to the king.
Curdie did look, and saw, high in the air, somewhere about the top ofthe king's house, a great globe of light shining like the purest silver.
'Oh!' he cried in some consternation, 'that is your grandmother's lamp!We must get her out. I will go an find her. The house may fall, youknow.'
'My grandmother is in no danger,' said Irene, smiling.
'Here, Curdie, take the princess while I get on my horse,' said theking.
Curdie took the princess again, and both turned their eyes to the globeof light. The same moment there shot from it a white bird, which,descending with outstretched wings, made one circle round the king anCurdie and the princess, and then glided up again. The light and thepigeon vanished together.
'Now, Curdie!' said the princess, as he lifted her to her father'sarms, 'you see my grandmother knows all about it, and isn't frightened.I believe she could walk through that water and it wouldn't wet her abit.'
'But, my child,' said the king, 'you will be cold if you haven'tSomething more on. Run, Curdie, my boy, and fetch anything you can layyour hands on, to keep the princess warm. We have a long ride beforeus.'
Curdie was gone in a moment, and soon returned with a great rich fur,and the news that dead goblins were tossing about in the currentthrough the house. They had been caught in their own snare; instead ofthe mine they had flooded their own country, whence they were now sweptup drowned. Irene shuddered, but the king held her close to his bosom.Then he turned to Sir Walter, and said:
'Bring Curdie's father and mother here.'
'I wish,' said the king, when they stood before him, 'to take your sonwith me. He shall enter my bodyguard at once, and wait furtherpromotion.'
Peter and his wife, overcome, only murmured almost inaudible thanks.But Curdie spoke aloud.
'Please, Your Majesty,' he said, 'I cannot leave my father and mother.'
'That's right, Curdie!' cried the princess. 'I wouldn't if I was you.'
The king looked at the princess and then at Curdie with a glow ofsatisfaction on his countenance.
'I too think you are right, Curdie,' he said, 'and I will not ask youagain. But I shall have a chance of doing something for you some time.'
'Your Majesty has already allowed me to serve you,' said Curdie.
'But, Curdie,' said his mother, 'why shouldn't you go with the king?We can get on very well without you.'
'But I can't get on very well without you,' said Curdie. 'The king isvery kind, but I could not be half the use to him that I am to you.Please, Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind giving my mother a redpetticoat! I should have got her one long ago, but for the goblins.'
'As soon as we get home,' said the king, 'Irene and I will search outthe warmest one to be found, and send it by one of the gentlemen.'
'Yes, that we will, Curdie!' said the princess. 'And next summer we'llcome back and see you wear it, Curdie's mother,' she added. 'Shan't we,king-papa?'
'Yes, my love; I hope so,' said the king.
Then turning to the miners, he said:
'Will you do the best you can for my servants tonight? I hope theywill be able to return to the house tomorrow.'
The miners with one voice promised their hospitality. Then the kingcommanded his servants to mind whatever Curdie should say to them, andafter shaking hands with him and his father and mother, the
king andthe princess and all their company rode away down the side of the newstream, which had already devoured half the road, into the starry night.
CHAPTER 32
The Last Chapter
All the rest went up the mountain, and separated in groups to the homesof the miners. Curdie and his father and mother took Lootie with them.And the whole way a light, of which all but Lootie understood theorigin, shone upon their path. But when they looked round they couldsee nothing of the silvery globe.
For days and days the water continued to rush from the doors andwindows of the king's house, and a few goblin bodies were swept outinto the road.
Curdie saw that something must be done. He spoke to his father and therest of the miners, and they at once proceeded to make another outletfor the waters. By setting all hands to the work, tunnelling here andbuilding there, they soon succeeded; and having also made a littletunnel to drain the water away from under the king's house, they weresoon able to get into the wine cellar, where they found a multitude ofdead goblins--among the rest the queen, with the skin-shoe gone, andthe stone one fast to her ankle--for the water had swept away thebarricade, which prevented the men-at-arms from following the goblins,and had greatly widened the passage. They built it securely up, andthen went back to their labours in the mine.
A good many of the goblins with their creatures escaped from theinundation out upon the mountain. But most of them soon left that partof the country, and most of those who remained grew milder incharacter, and indeed became very much like the Scotch brownies. Theirskulls became softer as well as their hearts, and their feet grewharder, and by degrees they became friendly with the inhabitants of themountain and even with the miners. But the latter were merciless toany of the cobs' creatures that came in their way, until at length theyall but disappeared.
The rest of the history of The Princess and Curdie must be kept foranother volume.
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