Charles Lee Sleight

“ While they were thus engaged, a terrible shout arose from the elves upon the dais. Harry turned about and beheld Cattisack and Grumpy leading the main body of the Gnomes into the Hall, through the secret door by the wardrobe.
“Mercy on us!” cried the boy. “I forgot all about that door! Quick, Smithkin, get your men in order!”
That was easier said than done, for the elves had dropped their spears while binding the Gnoman body-guards, and before they had all recovered their weapons, the foremost of the enemy was upon them. ”

“ Then he turned a stop-cock, and instantly there came a strange, rushing sound from the nozzle of the hose.
“What’s that?” cried Harry, much alarmed.
“Oh! that is only the wind that I just turned on,” said Wamby. “All we have to do is to push the boat in front of this hose, and the wind will blow us across the lake.”
“But how can we get back again if it blows so hard from this side?” inquired Harry.
“Easy enough,” responded Wamby. “This wind only blows long enough to carry us across, and then stops of itself. ”

“ Thus there were ranged close to the wall on one side of the doorway, Smithkin and five hundred elves; and on the other side, Harry and Kitey with five hundred elves.
Presently the door swung open, and the advance body-guard of the King of the Gnomes marched into the Hall without looking to the right or left. The elfin soldiers remained like statues; no one moved a muscle. Harry waited, every nerve in his body quivering with suppressed excitement, until the advance-guard had passed and the King of the Gnomes himself stepped into the Hall. ”

“ The Lord of the Safety-Pin shook his little fist at Harry, as he stood before him, and cried out shrilly, “You are a common mortal, and have no right to be our king! I hate you! You stole my slave Wamby. I’m glad I stuck you with a pin. ’Twas I had you and Wamby arrested! ”

“ But no waterfall appeared, and gradually the water grew quieter, and they were floating tranquilly along out of danger.
“Tell you what it is, Prince,” said Kitey, “that was a narrow escape. Were you scared?”
“Scared!” replied the boy; “I’d have given anything to have been on top of the solid ground, especially that time we stuck on the rock, hey, old man?”
“Yes, sir!” said the elf emphatically. “But we’re all right now,” he added, as the sides and roof of the tunnel suddenly disappeared from view, “for here we are on the lake, and there is the light of the Gnomes’ fires in the distance.” ”

“ There must be thousands of you Pin Elves, and you could easily conquer five hundred soldiers.”
“It’s all well enough to talk,” returned Wamby, “but you forget another very serious fact, and that is the effect of the royal hat-pin, and the awe and terror it always inspires. You yourself have seen how easily I controlled those soldiers with the hat-pin; but imagine how much greater would be the effect if it were in the King’s hands.” ”

“ After Smithkin had been removed to a distance, Wamby turned to the disarmed soldiers and said, “Do any of you know where the royal armory is?”
“Smithkin is the only one who knows,” one of the men replied. “We common soldiers were never allowed to go to the armory.”
Wamby beckoned Harry aside, and whispered, “What can we do now? It seems impossible to arm the rest of our men.” ”

“ He held out to Harry the three jewels, but the boy exclaimed, “Keep them, old chap; you have more than earned them by your bravery.”
“You have also earned pardon for your former treachery,” said King Wamby, with a gracious smile. “Here is the reward I promised for the recovery of my hat,” handing him a rich jewel and a small gold hat-pin, “and I hereby restore you to your old position as commander of my body-guard.”
When Smithkin had retired, Harry turned to Kitey and exclaimed, “I say, little chap, why on earth didn’t you tell me the Gnomes were afraid of the toad?” ”

“ Harry asked of the Grand Royal Recorder.
“If it please Your Royal Majesty, it is correct,” responded that individual.
“Then listen to my sentence,” said Harry. “The ex-King is to be sent to the Gnomes to work in the mines for fifteen years. After that he is to become a retainer in the Order of the Hat-Pin, with a chance to work his way up, if he behaves himself. If any of you object to the sentence, don’t be afraid to speak out.” For he noticed that many of the elves looked dissatisfied.
“The sentence is too light,” cried a number of voices.
“Well,” said Harry, “we mustn’t be too hard. ”

“ We have to gather up the pins that you mortals lose or throw away.”
“How funny!” cried Harry. “But what do you do with them?”
“Well,” replied the elf, “a long time ago our king ran a needle in his foot. Now we have a law that whoever injures the King’s person shall be banished. Of course the King could not banish himself, so he had to banish all the needles. No sewing could be done after that, so we gradually took to using pins for fastening our clothes together, and now we need so many that most of our work is pin-gathering. That is the reason we are called the Pin Elves.” ”

“ Harry asked in perplexity.
“You must go down to the river and bathe your hands,” answered Kitey. “Nothing but running water will remove the deadly odor of the toad. Here is my lantern-box,” and he tossed the box at Harry’s feet.
The boy picked up the box in his handkerchief, so as not to infect it with the odor, and hastened down to the underground river, where he washed his hands, and then went back to the Reception Hall.
Then he directed some of the elves to go down to the lake and take the Gnomes across to their own country, and then bring all of the ships back again. ”

“ Harry guessed his thoughts, and made up his mind to profit by his discontent.
“Smithkin,” he whispered, “it’s rather mean not to give you anything to eat. I would treat you better than that if you were working for me.”
Smithkin scowled, and said nothing.
“Is any one in the room looking this way?” asked Harry.
The soldier glanced over the Hall, and shook his head slowly.
“Then,” continued Harry, “slip your hand in my left coat-pocket, and take what you find there.” ”

“ Then the door closed quietly.
Wamby turned around and threw himself hopelessly upon the couch. “Take that pin [Pg 22] 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.” ”

“ Wamby made reply, “we found the armory without any trouble, but it was empty; the Gnomes had removed all of the weapons, so we were unable to arm ourselves. Then, as we were on our way to join you and your men, the rascally Gnomes dumped us down here.”
“Yes,” said Harry, “I know about that. I am sorry, though, that you are unarmed, for that leaves us with only a thousand men ready to fight, and we cannot conquer the Gnomes with that number. However, let us get out of this hole, and join the thousand men in the antechamber above. Come quietly; there may be Gnoman spies about.” ”

“ He sighed dolefully, and continued: “Poor Wamby! I wish we could help him. It is awful to have to work down in Gnome Land. I was there, and know all about it.”
“That’s so!” exclaimed Harry eagerly; “I suppose you know all about the ins and outs of the place. Your knowledge may be a great help to us if we go down to rescue our friends. Meanwhile, I should like to know if they are really there now, and whether the Gnomes are in possession of our dominions.”
“You might find out, if you are not afraid of the toad,” said Kitey. ”

“ When the King of the Gnomes had gone, the new servants hurried away to the kitchen to help the cooks in the preparation of a second meal. As soon as the door closed behind them, Harry sprang into the room, shut the trap-door, and stealthily made his way to the door of the antechamber. Quietly slipping back the bolts, he opened it and beckoned the Pin Elves to enter the Hall.
“Don’t make a noise!” he cautioned, as they swarmed in. “Those of you armed with spears take your station on each side of the main door opposite. Smithkin, you take command of them. ”

“ The throne was made for a Pin Elf, not for a good-sized boy, and it was so small that Harry had become wedged fast. The elves perceived at once what the trouble was, and forgetting all fear and decorum, laughed and danced about with glee, shouting, [Pg 66] “You’ve got to stay on the throne! You can’t get away! You’ll have to be our king always!” ”

“ And at the same time he drew forth his little pop-gun and fired pointblank at the foremost Gnome. The cork struck the fellow between the eyes, and over he went backwards, knocking half a dozen of the other Gnomes off the table as he fell. The unexpected report of the pistol, and the disastrous result of the shot, threw the Gnomes on Smithkin’s side off their guard, and with a quick, vigorous thrust of his long spear-handle, the soldier knocked four more from the table. ”

“ Those elves behind him are his knights. Each knight has two esquires and twelve retainers; any retainer who finds a good safety-pin becomes an esquire, and if he finds another he is made a knight; but he can’t become a lord until he has found enough to pin all his clothes together. There is only one lord of that order, because you mortals don’t lose many good safety-pins, and a broken one doesn’t count.
“Those two fellows coming now are Knights of the Breast-Pin. Each of them found one breast-pin, and the King made them knights. They are the only members of their order. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This disheartened the remainder, and they, too, were on the point of fleeing, when Smithkin thought of the two hundred and fifty Pin Elves of the old King’s body-guard, who had gone over to the Gnomes with him in the last battle. They were standing together in a body not far off, taking no part in the struggle. Smithkin knew they had turned traitors chiefly because of their personal attachment to himself, and thinking he might win them back again, he waved his spear at them and gave the old battle-cry of the body-guard. ”

“ I have heard that mortals consider it a dainty dish to set before a king.”
“Good enough!” exclaimed Harry. “‘Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie!’ Very kind of you, old chap, to take so much trouble just for me.”
Without more ado they all fell to and had a royal time, feasting to their hearts’ content. When the dishes were well cleared of their contents, Harry made a speech, congratulating them on having effectually conquered the wicked Gnomes. Then Wamby arose and thanked the Prince, in the name of the Pin Elves, for his timely assistance. ”

“ Then he seated Wamby on the throne, and directed the great body of unarmed elves to stand upon the raised dais on each side of and behind the throne.
Having thus disposed his forces, Harry said: “You hundred men are King Wamby’s body-guard. Under no consideration are you to leave him. You must protect his person, and also do what you can to protect your unarmed comrades on the dais. Now, Kitey, you and I will go to help Smithkin.” ”

“ When he came back, Kitey was awaiting him with the food tied up. Shouldering the bundle, Harry followed the elf to the main passage, and thence to one of the other smaller passages branching off. This they followed for a distance till they came to a long, descending stairway, at the bottom of which was a door. Opening the door, Kitey held aloft his light.
“Why, it’s an underground river!” Harry exclaimed in surprise. ”

“ The other elves began to gather around the unfortunate soldier, with menacing looks and muttered threats of vengeance, but he protested [Pg 49] that he told the truth. “The door is there, for I have seen it opened,” he said. “Something must be wrong.”
Wamby thereupon drew forth the pin, and after one glance at it, said to Harry, “Why, you gave me a common pin!”
“Won’t it do?” asked Harry; “what difference does it make?”
“A great deal,” answered Wamby; “only a door-pin, made for the purpose, will open doors. Why need I ask for your pin, if any common one will do? ”

“ 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 [Pg 21] 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.” ”

“ The Head Caterer, who had been staring open-mouthed at the table, tremblingly prostrated himself, and said, “If it please Your Royal Majesty, the table was duly set anon, but the viands have disappeared, I know not where.”
“Disappeared!” quoth the King; “how dare you allow the royal victuals to disappear? ”