er neck by its chain of moon-sparkles he said:

'So far all has gone well. But the hardest part is yet to come: we
have to find the Golden Ivy-seed. There is no time to be lost, so jump
on my back, and let us be off!'

With that he curved his back, Hilda put her arms round his neck and
nestled down in the soft white fur, and Tom gave a great leap off the
edge of the cloud, and away! down they went through the empty air like
a live snowball, and it seemed to Hilda that they never would have
done falling. At length, however, they alighted safely on the top of a
haystack, and the next moment they were standing in the hayfield.

CHAPTER VI.

THE KING OF THE GNOMES.

Just beside the haystack was a field-mouse's hole, or what looked like
one; and something that looked like a little brown mouse, but which
might have been something else for all Hilda could tell, was sitting
at the entrance of it. But when it saw the cat it rose up on its
little hind legs, turned a complete somersault, and then darted away
down the hole; and Hilda noticed that it had no tail.

'What a curious mouse!' she said to Tom.

'It was a Gnome,' he replied: 'they are often mistaken for mice when
they appear on the surface of the ground.'

'Where has he gone to?' inquired Hilda.

'Down to the centre of the earth, to be sure,' said Tom, 'to tell the
others that we are coming.'

'But we can never get into such a little hole as that,' Hilda said.

'Get on my back, and hold fast!' was all Tom's answer; and when Hilda
had nestled down in his soft white fur and clasped her arms round his
neck he began scratching at the hole with both his fore-paws, and
throwing up the dirt in a mighty heap behind; till in a wonderfully
short time a large passage was made, opening towards the centre of the
earth.

'Hold fast!' said Tom again, and into the passage they went.

If it had not been for the cat's eyes, which shone like two yellow
carriage-lamps, they might more than once have missed their way, for
it was as dark as pitch during the first part of the journey. Hilda,
as she clung close to the cat's back, could see that they were passing
rapidly through what seemed to be a series of caves, one opening into
another, and growing always higher and broader as they went on. At
first the air felt damp and cold; but as they sped onwards it grew
warmer and drier; and now the wall of the caverns began to throw back
gleams of many-coloured light, as if from