The elves watched breathlessly as he with difficulty propelled himself along, the wind against him, retarding his progress by many minutes. Undaunted and untiring in his efforts, he at last made his way to the other side of the lake, where his first act was to gather the boats together (for the Gnomes had left them unguarded, never supposing Harry could so boldly capture them), then to turn off the wind entirely, so that it should blow in neither direction. In safety he once more went back to his friends, and they all lost no time, except in grateful thanks to their Prince, in recrossing the lake to their destination.
They made their way quickly to the antechamber, but were surprised to find no guards anywhere on their way. When they reached that place, and still found no sign of a guard, and discovered, furthermore, that the door of the Reception Hall was bolted, Wamby exclaimed, “Some of the Gnomes must have seen us and carried word to the King!”
Harry considered a moment, then ordered Wamby to count the elves, to see if perchance there was a deserter in the camp. Sure enough, it was discovered that one of them was missing, and to their horror and dismay, they knew he must have escaped, without their notice, to warn the Gnomes.
“The traitor!” exclaimed Harry; “but there is no time to cry over spilled milk. What can we do now?” After a moment’s consideration he said, “I have a plan. We can all go through the Passage of the Toad to the other side of the Reception Hall and enter the Hall by the secret door near the wardrobe.”
“But the toad!” said Wamby, in a trembling voice.
“You won’t have to go near him,” said Harry. “He is, or was when I saw him last, at the foot of the steps leading to the trap-door under the Hall, and you needn’t go to that end of the main passage at all. We’ll simply go through the passage that runs from this antechamber, and that will take us within a step of the passage that runs up near the chamber under the rock in the park. Besides, I’ll go ahead and give warning if the toad is in the way.”
It was finally agreed to try the plan, and they all made their way through safely, without a glimpse of the toad, and reached the secret door. But that also was bolted on the inside.
“They have been warned of our coming, as you feared,” said Wamby.
“It is, indeed, so,” replied Harry. “Well, suppose you and the others remain here while I reconnoitre. Be ready to rush in if I open the door.”
Borrowing Wamby’s lantern-box, the boy went back to the Passage of the Toad, and mounted the steps leading to the trap-door under the dais. Part way up the steps, he found the toad. The steps were very low, being built for little Pin Elves, so it was easy enough for a slender toad to hop from one to another.