and further down, instead of up
and up like the soaring bird, until he was as far under the mountain
as ever any buzzard or crane or eagle soared above it.

Thus running he came at last out of the passage to an open room or
space so wide that, look which way he would, he could see no end to
it. The stone roof of this place was held up by huge stone pillars
standing scattered about like groups of great rough-barked trees,
many times bigger round than hogsheads. Here and there in the roof,
or the stone overhead, were immense black caverns which almost
frightened him to gaze up at them, they were so vast and black. And
no light or sun or moon came down into that deep part of the earth:
the light was from big fires, and they were fires of smithies
burning all about him, sending up great flames and clouds of black
smoke, which rose and floated upwards through those big black caverns
in the roof. Crowds of people were gathered around the smithies, all
very busy heating metal and hammering on anvils like blacksmiths.
Never had he seen so many people, nor ever had he seen such busy men
as these, rushing about here and there shouting and colliding with
one another, bringing and carrying huge loads in baskets on their
backs, and altogether the sight of them, and the racket and the
smoke and dust, and the blazing fires, was almost too much for Martin;
and for a moment or two he was tempted to turn and run back into the
passage through which he had come. But the strangeness of it all
kept him there, and then he began to look more closely at the people,
for these were the little men that live under the earth, and they
were unlike anything he had seen on its surface. They were very stout,
strong-looking little men, dressed in coarse dark clothes, covered
with dust and grime, and they had dark faces, and long hair, and
rough, unkempt beards; they had very long arms and big hands, like
baboons, and there was not one among them who looked taller than
Martin himself. After looking at them he did not feel at all afraid
of them; he only wanted very much to know who they were, and what
they were doing, and why they were so excited and noisy over their
work. So he thrust himself among them, going to the smithies where
they were in crowds, and peering curiously at them. Then he began to
notice that his coming among them created a great commotion, for no
sooner would he appear than all work would be instantly suspended;
down would go their b