The dwarf smiled.
“Then they will be destroyed,” he prophesied.
“Not so, my Tcharn,” replied the princess, gently. “The power of these white chieftains is greater than the power of Nalig-Nad.”
Tcharn grew thoughtful again.
“I saw them approach in a moving house, that seemed alive and yet was not,” he remarked.
“That is but one proof of their might,” said she.
“And is my Princess now opposed to her father the King?”
“Yes, Tcharn, in this one thing.”
“Then,” said he, “I will stand by your side, for my blood is the blood of your dead mother, and not the blood of Nalig-Nad.”
“But the pebbles!” I cried, impatiently. “Tell us what you have done with them.”