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CHAPTER 15
Derba and Barbara
Meantime the wanderers were hospitably entertained by the old woman
and her grandchild and they were all very comfortable and happy
together. Little Barbara sat upon Curdie's knee, and he told her
stories about the mines and his adventures in them. But he never
mentioned the king or the princess, for all that story was hard to
believe. And he told her about his mother and father, and how good
they were. And Derba sat and listened. At last little Barbara
fell asleep in Curdie's arms, and her grandmother carried her to
bed.
It was a poor little house, and Derba gave up her own room to
Curdie because he was honest and talked wisely. Curdie saw how it
was, and begged her to allow him to lie on the floor, but she would
not hear of it.
In the night he was waked by Lina pulling at him. As soon as he
spoke to her she ceased, and Curdie, listening, thought he heard
someone trying to get in. He rose, took his mattock, and went
about the house, listening and watching; but although he heard
noises now at one place now at another, he could not think what
they meant for no one appeared. Certainly, considering how she had
frightened them all in the day, it was not likely any one would
attack Lina at night. By and by the noises ceased, and Curdie went
back to his bed, and slept undisturbed.
In the morning, however, Derba came to him in great agitation, and
said they had fastened up the door, so that she could not get out.
Curdie rose immediately and went with her: they found that not only
the door, but every window in the house was so secured on the
outside that it was impossible to open one of them without using
great force. Poor Derba looked anxiously in Curdie's face. He
broke out laughing.
'They are much mistaken,' he said, 'if they fancy they could keep
Lina and a miner in any house in Gwyntystorm - even if they built
up doors and windows.'
With that he shouldered his mattock. But Derba begged him not to
make a hole in her house just yet. She had plenty for breakfast,
she said, and before it was time for dinner they would know what
the people meant by it.
And indeed they did. For within an hour appeared one of the chief
magistrates of the city, accompanied by a score of soldiers with
drawn swords, and followed by a great multitude of people,
requiring the miner and his brute to yield themselves, the one that
he might be tried for the disturbance he had occasioned and the
injury he had committed, the other that she might be roasted alive
for her part in killing two valuable and harmless animals belonging
to worthy citizens. The summons was preceded and followed by
flourish of trumpet, and was read with every formality by the city
marshal himself.
The moment he ended, Lina ran into the little passage, and stood
opposite the door.
'I surrender,' cried Curdie.
'Then tie up your brute, and give her here.'
'No, no,' cried Curdie through the door. 'I surrender; but I'm not
going to do your hangman's work. If you want MY dog, you must take
her.'
'Then we shall set the house on fire, and burn witch and all.'
'It will go hard with us but we shall kill a few dozen of you
first,' cried Curdie. 'We're not the least afraid of you.' With
that Curdie turned to Derba, and said:
'Don't be frightened. I have a strong feeling that all will be
well. Surely no trouble will come to you for being good to
strangers.'
'But the poor dog!' said Derba.
Now Curdie and Lina understood each other more than a little by
this time, and not only had he seen that she understood the
proclamation, but when she looked up at him after it was read, it
was with such a grin, and such a yellow flash, that he saw also she
was determined to take care of herself.
'The dog will probably give you reason to think a little more of
her ere long,' he answered. 'But now,' he went on, 'I fear I must
hurt your house a little. I have great confidence, however, that
I shall be able to make up to you for it one day.'
'Never mind the house, if only you can get safe off,' she answered.
'I don't think they will hurt this precious lamb,' she added,
clasping little Barbara to her bosom. 'For myself, it is all one;
I am ready for anything.'
'it is but a little hole for Lina I want to make,' said Curdie.
'She can creep through a much smaller one than you would think.'
Again he took his mattock, and went to the back wall.
'They won't burn the house,' he said to himself. 'There is too
good a one on each side of it.'
The tumult had kept increasing every moment, and the city marshal
had been shouting, but Curdie had not listened to him. When now
they heard the blows of his mattock, there went up a great cry, and
the people taunted the soldiers that they were afraid of a dog and
his miner. The soldiers therefore made a rush at the door, and cut
its fastenings.
The moment they opened it, out leaped Lina, with a roar so
unnaturally horrible that the sword arms of the soldiers dropped by
their sides, paralysed with the terror of that cry; the crowd fled
in every direction, shrieking and yelling with mortal dismay; and
without even knocking down with her tail, not to say biting a man
of them with her pulverizing jaws, Lina vanished - no one knew
whither, for not one of the crowd had had courage to look upon her.
The moment she was gone, Curdie advanced and gave himself up. The
soldiers were so filled with fear, shame, and chagrin, that they
were ready to kill him on the spot. But he stood quietly facing
them, with his mattock on his shoulder; and the magistrate wishing
to examine him, and the people to see him made an example of, the
soldiers had to content themselves with taking him. Partly for
derision, partly to hurt him, they laid his mattock against his
back, and tied his arms to it.
They led him up a very steep street, and up another still, all the
crowd following. The king's palace-castle rose towering above
them; but they stopped before they reached it, at a low-browed door
in a great, dull, heavy-looking building.
The city marshal opened it with a key which hung at his girdle, and
ordered Curdie to enter. The place within was dark as night, and
while he was feeling his way with his feet, the marshal gave him a
rough push. He fell, and rolled once or twice over, unable to help
himself because his hands were tied behind him.
It was the hour of the magistrate's second and more important
breakfast, and until that was over he never found himself capable
of attending to a case with concentration sufficient to the
distinguishing of the side upon which his own advantage lay; and
hence was this respite for Curdie, with time to collect his
thoughts. But indeed he had very few to collect, for all he had to
do, so far as he could see, was to wait for what would come next.
Neither had he much power to collect them, for he was a good deal
shaken.
in a few minutes he discovered, to his great relief, that, from the
projection of the pick end of his mattock beyond his body, the fall
had loosened the ropes tied round it. He got one hand disengaged,
and then the other; and presently stood free, with his good mattock
once more in right serviceable relation to his arms and legs.
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