sposal.'

He ceased, and the king graciously acknowledged his speech with a bend
of his head; whereupon Glump, after a bow to His Majesty, slid down
amongst the rest of the undistinguished multitude. Then the Chancellor
rose and resumed.

'The information which the worthy Glump has given us,' he said, 'might
have been of considerable import at the present moment, but for that
other design already referred to, which naturally takes precedence.
His Majesty, unwilling to proceed to extremities, and well aware that
such measures sooner or later result in violent reactions, has
excogitated a more fundamental and comprehensive measure, of which I
need say no more. Should His Majesty be successful--as who dares to
doubt?--then a peace, all to the advantage of the goblin kingdom, will
be established for a generation at least, rendered absolutely secure by
the pledge which His Royal Highness the prince will have and hold for
the good behaviour of her relatives. Should His Majesty fail--which
who shall dare even to imagine in his most secret thoughts?--then will
be the time for carrying out with rigour the design to which Glump
referred, and for which our preparations are even now all but
completed. The failure of the former will render the latter
imperative.'

Curdie, perceiving that the assembly was drawing to a close and that
there was little chance of either plan being more fully discovered, now
thought it prudent to make his escape before the goblins began to
disperse, and slipped quietly away.

There was not much danger of meeting any goblins, for all the men at
least were left behind him in the palace; but there was considerable
danger of his taking a wrong turning, for he had now no light, and had
therefore to depend upon his memory and his hands. After he had left
behind him the glow that issued from the door of Glump's new abode, he
was utterly without guide, so far as his eyes were concerned.

He was most anxious to get back through the hole before the goblins
should return to fetch the remains of their furniture. It was not that
he was in the least afraid of them, but, as it was of the utmost
importance that he should thoroughly discover what the plans they were
cherishing were, he must not occasion the slightest suspicion that they
were watched by a miner.

He hurried on, feeling his way along the walls of rock. Had he not
been very courageous, he must have been very anxious, for he could not
but know