FURTHER ADVENTURES 119

of ‘ Gingerbread nuts,’ he did not attempt the
feat of going through the boulders, but con-
tented himself with walking round them.

All of a sudden a new difficulty arose.
Without any warning, a deep mist so-entirely
shrouded the face of the mountain that the
traveller could not see an inch before his
nose. It was not a wet mist, which was
fortunate, as wet mists are uncomfortable
things, alike to princes and peasants, and
the Prince might as well have swum through
the river as been caught in a wet mist after-
wards. But it was dense and dark, and
made it dangerous as well as difficult to
move. And this was not all. Out of the
mist there came voices—some before and
some behind him—some on one side and
some on the other, and they all said the
same kind of thing, though in different tones.

‘What does this fellow want on our hill?’
said a gruff voice which seemed to be close
to him. ‘He does not know the risk he
runs of being destroyed.’

‘Here is a stranger!’ shrieked another
shrill voice in his ear. ‘Poor wretch, he
has no chance of escape—the slayers will
get him directly.’