120 PRINCE FILDERKIN

‘Now, brothers,’ said another tone, ‘now

is our time, skin him alive and roll him
_ back down the mountain!’

And with that there burst upon the
astonished ears of the Prince a chorus of
discordant laughs and jeers, by no means
pleasant to have heard at any time, but
particularly unpleasant upon the side of a
lonely mountain with no companion to cheer
or enliven one. For one moment the Prince
paused, as if irresolute upon the proper
course to take, But it was for one moment
only, for immediately afterwards -he seized
his banjo, struck it boldly with his hand,
and forthwith broke out into a merry stave
to the following words :

‘De Prince he walk on de mountain side,
Golden, golden ;
Obliged to walk ’cos he'd nuffin to ride,
O golden mount !
Going to walk all night—going to walk all day,
I won't be stopp'd by those silly old mists,
Somebody take them away !’

The words were hardly out of Prince
Filderkin’s mouth when the mist vanished
as suddenly as it had appeared, the laughter
ceased, the voices were silenced, and the