stones, showing that there water must have once run. He waited again
at
this corner till they had disappeared round the next, and so followed
them a long way through one passage after another. The passages grew
more and more lofty, and were more and more covered in the roof
with
shining stalactites.
It was a strange enough procession which he followed. But the
strangest
part of it was the household animals which crowded amongst the feet
of
the goblins. It was true they had no wild animals down there--at least
they did not know of any; but they had a wonderful number of tame
ones.
I must, however, reserve any contributions toward the natural history
of
these for a later position in my story.
At length, turning a corner too abruptly, he had almost rushed into the
middle of the goblin family; for there they had already set down all
their burdens on the floor of a cave considerably larger than that which
they had left. They were as yet too breathless to speak, else he would
have had warning of their arrest. He started back, however, before any
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