The statue fell down flat as if struck by lightning, and at once the dwarfs surrounded the captain and forced him down a flight of steps.
Hardly had he entered than the gap closed up and the captain found himself alone in a cave which was lighted by a lamp hanging from the ceiling. On the floor there were great heaps of gold and precious stones, but this was not the thing that claimed the captain's attention. He was looking for the bell which he had heard the dwarfs speak about.
For half an hour his search was fruitless. He turned over the yellow piles of money and the sacks of gems, but the desired object was not to be found.
Weary and perspiring he threw himself down on a pile of gold bars, and there rested before again returning to his task.
The mysterious bell had to be found.
Persuaded that it was not to be come across in a visible spot, he began to strike the walls, until at last one of them sounded hollow. With his sword he made a hole and from it drew out a leaden bell of a very rare shape, which in a good sale might be worth as much as four farthings.
"And now what must I do?" thought the captain. He carefully examined the object he had found, which bore the following inscription, "Do not ring me unless you know how." But the captain was not a man to hesitate, and rang the bell. Immediately the walls closed together, threatening to crush him by their enormous mass. Without being daunted he gave another ring, and then a thousand points of steel came forth from the walls as if they were going to pass through him. Then he gave a third ring, and immediately the vault returned to its original form.
At the fourth the dwarfs humbly presented themselves and said to him:
"What do you want of us? Command us as your slaves."
"In the first place, to dance the saraband in order to amuse me, as a compensation for the unpleasant time you have given me."