reakfast, thoughtfully wondering who had locked him in
and why he had been made a prisoner. Then he again went to the door
which he thought led to Rinkitink's chamber and to his surprise the
latch lifted easily and the door swung open.

Before him was a rude corridor hewn in the rock and dimly lighted. It
did not look inviting, so Inga closed the door, puzzled to know what had
become of Rinkitink's room and the King, and went to the opposite door.
Opening this, he found a solid wall of rock confronting him, which
effectually prevented his escape in that direction.

The boy now realized that King Kaliko had tricked him, and while
professing to receive him as a guest had plotted to separate him from
his comrades. One way had been left, however, by which he might escape
and he decided to see where it led to.

So, going to the first door, he opened it and ventured slowly into the
dimly lighted corridor. When he had advanced a few steps he heard the
door of his room slam shut behind him. He ran back at once, but the door
of rock fitted so closely into the wall that he found it impossible to
open it again. That did not matter so much, however, for the room was a
prison and the only way of escape seemed ahead of him.

[Illustration]

Along the corridor he crept until, turning a corner, he found himself in
a large domed cavern that was empty and deserted. Here also was a dim
light that permitted him to see another corridor at the opposite side;
so he crossed the rocky floor of the cavern and entered a second
corridor. This one twisted and turned in every direction but was not
very long, so soon the boy reached a second cavern, not so large as the
first. This he found vacant also, but it had another corridor leading
out of it, so Inga entered that. It was straight and short and beyond
was a third cavern, which differed little from the others except that it
had a strong iron grating at one side of it.

All three of these caverns had been roughly hewn from the rock and it
seemed they had never been put to use, as had all the other caverns of
the nomes he had visited. Standing in the third cavern, Inga saw what he
thought was still another corridor at its farther side, so he walked
toward it. This opening was dark, and that fact, and the solemn silence
all around him, made him hesitate for a while to enter it. Upon
reflection, however, he realized that unless he explored the place to
the very end he could not hope to escape f