It was a strange enough procession which he followed. But the strangest part of it was the household animals which crowded amongst the feet of the goblins. It was true they had no wild animals down there—at least they did not know of any; but they had a wonderful number of tame ones. I must, however, reserve any contributions toward the natural history of these for a later position in my story.
At length, turning a corner too abruptly9, he had almost rushed into the middle of the goblin family; for there they had already set down all their burdens on the floor of a cave considerably10 larger than that which they had left. They were as yet too breathless to speak, else he would have had warning of their arrest. He started back, however, before any one saw him, and retreating a good way, stood watching till the father should come out to go to the palace. Before very long, both he and his son Helfer appeared and kept on in the same direction as before, while Curdie followed them again with renewed precaution. For a long time he heard no sound except something like the rush of a river inside the rock; but at length what seemed the far-off noise of a great shouting reached his ears, which however presently ceased. After advancing a good way farther, he thought he heard a single voice. It sounded clearer and clearer as he went on, until at last he could almost distinguish the words. In a moment or two, keeping after the goblins round another corner, he once more started back—this time in amazement11.
He was at the entrance of a magnificent cavern12, of an oval shape, once probably a huge natural reservoir of water, now the great palace hall of the goblins. It rose to a tremendous height, but the roof was composed of such shining materials, and the multitude of torches carried by the goblins who crowded the floor lighted up the place so brilliantly, that Curdie could see to the top quite well. But he had no idea how immense the place was, until his eyes had got accustomed to it, which was not for a good many minutes. The rough projections13 on the walls, and the shadows thrown upward from them by the torches, made the sides of the chamber14 look as if they were crowded with statues upon brackets and pedestals, reaching in irregular tiers from floor to roof. The walls themselves were, in many parts, of gloriously shining substances, some of them gorgeously colored besides, which powerfully contrasted[62] with the shadows. Curdie could not help wondering whether his rhymes would be of any use against such a multitude of goblins as filled the floor of the hall, and indeed felt considerably tempted16 to begin his shout of One, two, three! but as there was no reason for routing them, and much for endeavoring to discover their designs, he kept himself perfectly17 quiet, and peeping round the edge of the doorway18, listened with both his sharp ears.
At the other end of the hall, high above the heads of the multitude, was a terrace-like ledge19 of considerable height, caused by the receding20 of the upper part of the cavern wall. Upon this sat the king and his court, the king on a throne hollowed out of a huge block of green copper21 ore, and his court upon lower seats around it. The king had been making them a speech, and the applause which followed it was what Curdie had heard. One of the court was now addressing the multitude. What he heard him say was to the following effect:
"Hence it appears that two plans have been for some time together working in the strong head of his Majesty22 for the deliverance of his people. Regardless of the fact that we were the first possessors of the regions they now inhabit, regardless equally of the fact that we abandoned that region from the loftiest motives23; regardless also of the self-evident fact that we excel them as far in mental ability as they excel us in stature24, they look upon us as a degraded race, and make a mockery of all our finer feelings. But the time has almost arrived when—thanks to his Majesty's inventive genius—it will be in our power to take a thorough revenge upon them once for all, in respect of their unfriendly behavior."
"May it please your Majesty—" cried a voice close by the door, which Curdie recognized as that of the goblin he had followed.
"Who is he that interrupts the Chancellor25?" cried another from near the throne.
"Glump," answered several voices.
"He is our trusty subject," said the king himself, in a slow and stately voice: "let him come forward and speak."
A lane was parted through the crowd, and Glump having ascended26 the platform and bowed to the king, spoke27 as follows:
"Sire, I would have held my peace, had I not known that I only knew how near was the moment to which the Chancellor had just referred. In all probability, before another day is past, the enemy will have broken through into my house—the partition between being even now not more than a foot in thickness."
"Not quite so much," thought Curdie to himself.
"This very evening I have had to remove my household effects; therefore the sooner we are ready to carry out the plan, for the execution of which his Majesty has been making such magnificent preparations, the better. I may just add, that within the last few days I have perceived a small outbreak in my dining-room, which combined with observations upon the course of the river escaping where the evil men enter, has convinced me that close to the spot must lie a deep gulf28 in its channel. This discovery will, I trust, add considerably to the otherwise immense forces at his Majesty's disposal."
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 worthy29 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, unwilling30 to proceed to extremities31, 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 behavior of his 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 rigor32 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 imperative33."
Curdie perceiving that the assembly was drawing to a close, and that there was little chance of either plan being more fully15 discovered, now thought it prudent34 to make his escape before the goblins began to disperse35, 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 abode36, he was utterly37 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 remains38 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 thoroughly39 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 courageous40, he must have been very anxious, for he could not but know that if he lost his way it would be the most difficult thing in the world to find it again. Morning would bring no light into these regions; and toward him least of all, who was known as a special rhymster and persecutor41, could goblins be expected to exercise courtesy? Well might he wish that he had brought his lamp and tinder-box with him, of which he had not thought when he crept so eagerly after the goblins! He wished it all the more when, after a while, he found his way blocked up, and could get no farther. It was of no use to turn back, for he had not the least idea where he had begun to go wrong. Mechanically, however, he kept feeling about the walls that hemmed42 him in. His hand came upon a place where a tiny stream of water was running down the face of the rock. "What a stupid I am!" he said to himself. "I am actually at the end of my journey!—and there are the goblins coming back to fetch their things!" he added, as the red glimmer43 of their torches appeared at the end of the long avenue that led up to the cave. In a moment he had thrown himself on the floor, and wriggled44 backward through the hole. The floor on the other side was several feet lower, which made it easier to get back. It was all he could do to lift the largest stone he had taken out of the hole, but he did manage to shove it in again. He sat down on the ore-heap and thought.
He was pretty sure that the latter plan of the goblins was to inundate45 the mine by breaking outlets47 for the water accumulated in the natural reservoirs of the mountain, as well as running through portions of it. While the part hollowed by the miners remained shut off from that inhabited by the goblins, they had had no opportunity of injuring them thus; but now that a passage was broken through, and the goblins' part proved the higher in the mountain, it was clear to Curdie that the mine could be destroyed in an hour. Water was always the chief danger to which the miners were exposed. They met with a little choke-damp sometimes, but never with the explosive fire-damp so common in coal mines. Hence they were careful as soon as they saw any appearance of water.
As the result of his reflections while the goblins were busy in their old home, it seemed to Curdie that it would be best to build up the whole of this gang, filling it with stone, and clay or lime, so that there should be no smallest channel for the water to get into. There was not, however, any immediate48 danger, for the execution of the goblins' plan was contingent49 upon the failure of that unknown design which was to take precedence of it; and he was most anxious to keep the door of communication open, that he might if possible discover what that former plan was. At the same time they could not then resume their intermitted labors50 for the inundation51 without his finding it out; when by putting all hands to the work, the one existing outlet46 might in a single night be rendered impenetrable to any weight of water; for by filling the gang entirely52 up, their embankment would be buttressed53 by the sides of the mountain itself.
As soon as he found that the goblins had again retired54, he lighted his lamp, and proceeded to fill the hole he had made with such stones as he could withdraw when he pleased. He then thought it better, as he might have occasion to be up a good many nights after this, to go home and have some sleep.
How pleasant the night-air felt upon the outside of the mountain after what he had gone through in the inside of it! He hurried up the hill, without meeting a single goblin on the way, and called and tapped at the window until he woke his father, who soon rose and let him in. He told him the whole story, and, just as he had expected, his father thought it best to work that lode55 no farther, but at the same time to pretend occasionally to be at work there still, in order that the goblins might have no suspicions. Both father and son then went to bed, and slept soundly until the morning.
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1
rekindling
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| v.使再燃( rekindle的现在分词 ) | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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3
excavations
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| n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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8
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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9
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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10
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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12
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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13
projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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14
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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15
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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16
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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18
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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20
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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21
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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22
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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23
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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26
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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28
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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29
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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30
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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31
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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34
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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35
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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36
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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37
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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38
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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39
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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40
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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41
persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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42
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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43
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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44
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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45
inundate
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| vt.淹没，泛滥，压倒 | |
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46
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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47
outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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48
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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49
contingent
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| adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队 | |
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50
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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51
inundation
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| n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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52
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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53
buttressed
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| v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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55
lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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