Curdie made one stab at him as he disappeared, caught hold of the
senseless Lootie, and having dragged her back to the corner, there
mounted guard over her, preparing once more to encounter the queen.
Her
face streaming with blood, and her eyes flashing green lightning
through
it, she came on with her mouth open and her teeth grinning like a
tiger's, followed by the king and her bodyguard of the thickest goblins.
But the same moment in rushed the captain and his men, and ran at
them
stamping furiously. They dared not encounter such an onset. Away
they
scurried, the queen foremost. Of course the right thing would have
been
to take the king and queen prisoners, and hold them hostages for the
princess, but they were so anxious to find her that no one thought of
detaining them until it was too late.
Having thus rescued the servants, they set about searching the house
once more. None of them could give the least information concerning
the
princess. Lootie was almost silly with terror, and although scarcely
able to walk, would not leave Curdie's side for a single moment. Again
he allowed the others to search the rest of the house--where, except a
Madhuri Noah
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