astle, the only
people inside there besides himself were old Hetfalusy and the doctor.

Ivan then chose out six of the bravest of his followers, amongst them
the watchman in whose sylvan hut they had held their secret meetings,
Hamza, the sexton, and Mekipiros, whose mouth they had to gag, to
prevent him from uttering his eternal "Hamamama!"

Poor Mekipiros! A little while ago he was able to pray, now he could not
utter an intelligible word!

It was not difficult to get into the courtyard. The Leather-bell opened
the gate for them. Inside the dogs were lying near the well stiff and
stark, nothing had betrayed the venture.

And now Ivan produced a long strong rope, and tied on to it a lot of
pack-thread, at the end of which a heavy piece of lead was fastened.
Round the roof of the castle ran a metal gutter, which terminated at the
corners in old-fashioned dolphins. On to one of such dolphins Ivan threw
the pack-thread noose, and seizing hold of the re-descending lead
plummet, hoisted up the rope likewise. It was really a capital idea.
Mekipiros was to clamber up the rope, he knew the trick of it. He was to
be the _anima vilis_ by means of whom they were to find out whether the
folks in the castle were asleep or not.

When he got to the top he was to pull up Ivan after him, and then the
united strength of the pair of them would do the same by the others.
They would then creep into the castle through the attics and open the
doors, which were locked on the inside, to admit their comrades.

Nothing could have been more circumspectly conceived.

When the rope was firmly fastened to the top of the gutter Ivan hurried
up Mekipiros and shoved the free end of the rope into his hand.

The little monster did not trust himself to shout but expressed his
satisfaction in a lowly murmured "Hamamamama!"

The next moment he was clambering up the rope like a strange sort of
huge spider, climbing rapidly higher and higher with agile hands and
feet, occasionally he even helped himself along with his teeth. In a few
moments he was sitting on the back of the copper dolphin, delighted to
have found a steed in a monster similar to himself, and from thence he
shouted: "Hu, hu, hu!" like an owl.

"Will you shut up!" called Ivan, in a voice of suppressed fury. "The
beast will betray us! Haul up, can't you?"

Ivan clutched hold of the rope with both hands.

Mekipiros with vigorous tugs hoisted him upwards, hauling up the rope
with his