“I know what’s the matter,” cried Harry. “The wind is turned on at both sides at once, and we are just in the middle, where the two opposing currents are equal; consequently, we can’t go forward or back. We are stuck here.”
“I don’t understand how it is, Prince,” said Kitey.
“Why, it’s plain enough,” returned Harry. “Suppose you and Wamby were pushing against each other with equal force, what would happen?”
“We’d both stand still,” answered Kitey.
“Exactly!” said Harry; “and that is just our case. The wind is pushing us before and behind, and we are standing still. Now, if we could only paddle one of these boats across, we could turn off the wind, and then the rest of the fleet could sail over. There are no oars, but these thwarts are light enough. Get two dozen of the strongest elves in here with me, and we’ll soon accomplish it.”
The sails being taken down, the boat under Harry’s charge was paddled over. The wind was then turned off, the other vessels sailed across, and the elves disembarked.
“Now, Wamby,” asked Harry, “how many weapons have you?”
“A thousand spears,” replied Wamby.
It seems that the Pin Elves had all been disarmed when banished, but Wamby had at once set a number of them at work manufacturing new spears, and they had completed about a thousand when Harry arrived. With these Harry armed a thousand of the elves.
“Now,” said he to Wamby, “you take the rest of the men around to the armory and procure arms for them, and then bring them to the room adjoining the Grand Reception Hall, where Kitey and I will be waiting with our force.”