eful to all miners. What he had to do in the meantime,
however, was to discover, if possible, the special evil design the
goblins had now in their heads.

Although he knew all the gangs and all the natural galleries with which
they communicated in the mined part of the mountain, he had not the
least idea where the palace of the king of the gnomes was; otherwise he
would have set out at once on the enterprise of discovering what the
said design was. He judged, and rightly, that it must lie in a farther
part of the mountain, between which and the mine there was as yet no
communication. There must be one nearly completed, however; for it
could be but a thin partition which now separated them. If only he
could get through in time to follow the goblins as they retreated! A
few blows would doubtless be sufficient--just where his ear now lay;
but if he attempted to strike there with his pickaxe, he would only
hasten the departure of the family, put them on their guard, and
perhaps lose their involuntary guidance. He therefore began to feel
the wall With his hands, and soon found that some of the stones were
loose enough to be drawn out with little noise.

Laying hold of a large one with both his hands, he drew it gently out,
and let it down softly.

'What was that noise?' said the goblin father.

Curdie blew out his light, lest it should shine through.

'It must be that one miner that stayed behind the rest,' said the
mother.

'No; he's been gone a good while. I haven't heard a blow for an hour.
Besides, it wasn't like that.'

'Then I suppose it must have been a stone carried down the brook
inside.'

'Perhaps. It will have more room by and by.'

Curdie kept quite still. After a little while, hearing nothing but the
sounds of their preparations for departure, mingled with an occasional
word of direction, and anxious to know whether the removal of the stone
had made an opening into the goblins' house, he put in his hand to
feel. It went in a good way, and then came in contact with something
soft. He had but a moment to feel it over, it was so quickly
withdrawn: it was one of the toeless goblin feet. The owner of it gave
a cry of fright.

'What's the matter, Helfer?' asked his mother.

'A beast came out of the wall and licked my foot.'

'Nonsense! There are no wild beasts in our country,' said his father.

'But it was, father. I felt it.'

'Nonsense, I say. Will you malign your native realms and r