ft here on purpose for
me."

Up he climbed, slipped in at the window, and dropped quietly to the
floor.

He found himself in a large hall, through which he walked until he came
to an archway at the farther end. Before the archway hung an embroidered
curtain. Conrad pushed it aside, and entered a richly decorated room, at
the end of which stood a throne. Around it were assembled many nobles,
pages, and guards, who were awaiting the return of the King from
hunting.

Few of them looked at Conrad. Some seemed to cast a scornful side-glance
at him, and one even told him to go back by the way he had come. Conrad
was not a whit daunted, however, and boldly holding up his key, so that
every one could see it, he walked up to a portly-looking gentleman, who
was dressed in black velvet and who wore a golden chain around his neck.
Conrad asked him what he was to do. The portly gentleman stared at him.
Conrad asked if any of the company were enchanted; "because," said he,
"if they are, I'll disenchant them with my key."

"Enchanted?" said the gentleman in black. "What do you mean? Why do you
bother me about enchantment?"

Conrad began to feel a little nervous, and to think that they did not
seem at all like enchanted folk; at least, they did not act like any he
had read about in his books.

The enchanter had told him that he would meet with difficulties, but,
despite his confidence, he could not help getting very red in the face.
And by this time, all the gentlemen, except the one dressed in black,
were smiling.

Suddenly, Conrad remembered what the little old man had said about
whistling down the key. Happy thought! He at once rushed up in front of
the portly gentleman with the black velvet suit and the golden chain,
and began to whistle in the key as hard as he could.

But, at this performance, the nobles all stopped smiling and looked
first at one another, and then at Conrad, with very grave faces; one
even put his hand upon his sword.

Now, it happened that the gentleman in black velvet was a Grand Duke and
the Prime Minister of the kingdom. At that moment he was thinking over
some important question of state, and the sight of Conrad whistling and
capering in front of him, just as he was settling everything to his own
satisfaction, made him so angry, that he stopped and stared at Conrad,
as if he could have stepped upon him. Conrad kept on whistling, but the
little enchanter did not come. "He must either be ill or ve