an
adventure, I must be lost in the heart of the mountain," he thought.
"Perhaps I shall come upon a robber's cave, or gipsies may be hiding in
these rocks; it is a good thing that I have this pretty little fellow
with me," and he touched the revolver in his breast pocket. He then
observed in front of him a faint light, other than that of his lantern
and whistled softly with astonishment, as he saw that the way opened out
into a cave or vault. A few steps more, and he found himself in an
exquisite, though tiny hall, with an arched ceiling supported by pillars
of red granite. The walls and ceiling were beautifully inlaid with
mosaic work in gold and coloured stones, like the interior of St Mark's,
Venice, and seemed to be of great antiquity, though of this he could not
be certain.

The light was so dim that what might have been the brilliant effect of
the whole, was lost, and the young engineer thought to himself
involuntarily: "This ought to be lit up by electric light--it would look
quite different then!" As he was deliberating how electric light might
be laid on, a door in the wall opened, and a number of little dwarf men
trooped in. They did not see him at first; for he was standing behind a
pillar. They settled themselves down on benches that were arranged in a
semicircle, and one of them with an important air mounted a raised dais
facing them. He was just beginning to speak with the words: "Gentlemen
of the Committee," when they caught sight of the stranger standing in
the centre of the hall, lantern in hand. They gave a cry of alarm, and
were just going to scuttle away like frightened rabbits, when Karl
called out, "Hi--Ho there--Gentlemen of the Committee--good Sirs--don't
run away. I won't harm you--_Christmas Tree_."

Now Christmas Tree is the most solemn oath among the dwarfs--it is
equivalent to swearing on the Bible with us. How Karl knew this, he did
not know; it came to him on the inspiration of the minute. Perhaps his
grandmother had told him stories in his childhood about the dwarf men,
in which it occurred.

It had an instantaneous effect on the dwarfs who stood still at once.
"But you are one of the bad men who are building the tunnel," they cried
out. "Aha--we can spoil your little game, my good fellow, we can smash
you and your snorting old dragon who is coming here to devour us, into
pieces. We can throw rocks on the line--Aha!"

"We have often watched you--though you were not aware of our pres