“Now which way?” wondered Jack, looking all round at the gleaming cave. “There are three or four archways leading out of this cave, Mafumu, with the river winding silently through the middle. Which way do we go?”
Inside The Mountain
Mafumu was running all round, peering first through one rocky archway and then through another. He stopped at last and beckoned to Jack. Jack went over to him, wondering what the other boy could see, for he was plainly excited.
No wonder Mafumu was excited! Peering through the little archway he had seen an enormous flight of steps leading upwards through the mountain! The steps were cut out of the solid rock, and were polished and shining. At the foot hung a great lamp, very finely made, which gave a curious green light.
The boys stood at the bottom of the rocky stairway, staring upwards. Where could it lead to?
“Shall we go up?” whispered Jack, his whisper starting a rustling echo all around him. Mafumu nodded. In silence the two boys began to climb the great stairway. It went up for a great way, wide and easy to climb. Then it curved sharply to the right and became a curious spiral staircase, still cut into the rock.
“I believe it leads up to the top of the mountain!” said Jack, quite out of breath. “Let’s sit down and have a rest. My legs are really tired with all this climbing.”
They did not notice that a wooden door opened on to the stairway just behind them. They sat there in silence, resting themselves. And then suddenly they heard the harsh voices of the Folk of the Mountain! The boys looked round quickly and by the light of one of the green lamps hanging at a curve of the stairway they saw the door. It was just opening!
The boys did not know whether the folk would go up the stairway or down, and they hadn’t time to choose! They simply tumbled themselves down the steps, came to a curve and waited there, their hearts thumping, and their legs trembling.
“If they come down the stairway we shall be seen!” thought Jack desperately. “They will touch us as they pass, because the stairway is so narrow.”