"The key," she said, "hangs above."
And so it did, on a large rusty nail.
"Put it in," said the Princess, "and turn it." Gerald did so, and the great key creaked and grated in the lock.
"Now push," she said; "push hard, all of you. They pushed hard, all of them. The door gave way, and they fell over each other into the dark space beyond.
The Princess dropped the curtain and came after them, closing the door behind her.
"Look out!" she said; "look out!" there are two steps down.
"Thank you," said Gerald, rubbing his knee at the bottom of the
steps. "We found that out for ourselves." "I'm sorry," said the
Princess, "but you can't have hurt yourselves much. Go straight on.
There aren't any more steps."
They went straight on in the dark.
"When you come to the door just turn the handle and go in. Then stand still till I find the matches. I know where they are."
"Did they have matches a hundred years ago?" asked Jimmy.