t turn to the left, and when
they had cleared the corner they saw in its sides before them a gleam of
light here and there.

"The Master's work-rooms," said the black servant. "Please to follow."

They passed now and then beneath a lighted window, too high to be seen
through, and at the end of the passage the servant paused before a
closed iron door. He opened this door with a key, and led them forth.

Before them was a garden, the most beautiful that any of them had ever
seen. High over it was a dome of pale green and amber glass, through
which the sunlight streamed in mild and parti-coloured rays. The walls
which supported the dome were so high that it was impossible to see
beyond. In the center was a fountain, dropping in a sparkling shower
into a marble basin; around it spread a well-ordered carpet of flowers,
of all the colours, as it seemed, of the rainbow; along the walls were
cocoa palms, banana trees, and the feathery bamboo; white cockatoos
sailed across from palm to palm; the air was heavy with a warm odour of
moist earth and blossoms. The whole party drew a deep breath of
pleasure. The dark place from which they had come seemed to fade away
like a dream before the soft beauty of the garden.

The servant led them to the opposite side, and unlocked a door in the
wall, making way for them to pass in before him. They entered, and heard
the door locked behind them; the servant was no longer with them; they
were alone in a small square room, of stone walls and an earthen floor;
there was no opening, but in the opposite wall was a closed door. A pale
light pervaded the place, from what source they could not discover. In
the earthen floor from wall to wall grew a thicket of stiff stalks,
higher than Freddie's head, and clustered closely around each stalk from
bottom to top were flowers of a waxen whiteness.

"It seems a real pity," said Aunt Amanda, "to break those pretty plants,
but I reckon we've got to wade into them. I'm mighty curious to see
what's on the other side of that door. Probably the fire the old man was
talking about. Oh, dear, I don't like fire. But we've got to get to that
door, so come along."

The whole party moved in a body into the thicket of waxen stalks.

As they stepped in, the stalks broke around them with sharp reports.
They moved on again, and the reports, as the stalks broke, became louder
and louder; and now each one felt the hour-glass in his hand being
tugged at, and found that