The sight made Harry’s mouth water, for he had had nothing to eat for a long time and was ravenously hungry.
“I’ll run out and capture some victuals again when the Hall is empty,” he said to himself, smacking his lips in anticipation. But as he waited, a picture of Wamby and the other Pin Elves in the antechamber rose before him. “Poor little beggars!” he thought. “They are more hungry than I, and I’m going to give them a share of the food, even if I get caught by the Gnomes.”
When all had been prepared, the servants withdrew as before, and left the Hall empty. This was the opportunity for which Harry was looking. He darted forth from his hiding-place to the door of the antechamber, drew back the bolts, and called to the Pin Elves, “A hundred of you that are unarmed, come quickly!”
Leading them to the tables, the boy said, “Each one of you take a dish of food and run back with it.”
They did so right willingly, and in a trice the tables were entirely cleared of provisions. Harry secured a dish of food for himself, and having bolted the door again behind the Pin Elves, in order to throw the Gnomes off the scent, he ran back to his own place of concealment beneath the trap-door in the Passage of the Toad.
The King of the Gnomes was in a towering passion when he came in and found that his dinner had again mysteriously disappeared. He banished all of the servants to the mines, greatly to Harry’s delight, for every Gnome thus banished weakened the power of the Gnomes and added to the strength of the Pin Elves. Then the King ordered other servants to prepare a fresh meal, and he and his attendants left the Hall once more.
“Ho, ho! old fellow!” cried Harry to himself, shaking his fist at the King as he passed out; “I have a scheme this time that will upset your plans entirely, and will probably send you below, where you belong. Just you wait awhile, and I’ll furnish sauce, and perhaps guests also, for your dinner!”
CHAPTER XII.
A MIGHTY BATTLE.
When the King of the Gnomes had gone, the new servants hurried away to the kitchen to help the cooks in the preparation of a second meal. As soon as the door closed behind them, Harry sprang into the room, shut the trap-door, and stealthily made his way to the door of the antechamber. Quietly slipping back the bolts, he opened it and beckoned the Pin Elves to enter the Hall.
“Don’t make a noise!” he cautioned, as they swarmed in. “Those of you armed with spears take your station on each side of the main door opposite. Smithkin, you take command of them. A couple of you others run to the door leading to the kitchen, and bolt it so that the servants cannot return. And you, Kitey, see if there are any weapons in that wardrobe, and if you find any, distribute them as far as they will go.”