Travelling through the hills by a secret passage, Long Jim reached Toyville and entered the city without its once being discovered that he was one of the enemy. As he went through the streets, he stopped to speak first to one person and then to another, dropping a word here and there, which very soon made the people turn pale with fright and hurry into their houses, where they quickly barred both doors and windows.
The Twelfth Chapter.
In which something is told of the fine Castle on the Hill, where is held the Royal Banquet. Also of an Alarm that interrupted the Glorious Feast.
N reaching the Castle Tommy and Helen had been filled with surprise and wonder at its marvellous beauty. The decorations were all so rich and so appropriate, that they could not refrain from expressions of the warmest admiration. The Lords and Ladies, too, said they had never seen anything quite so beautiful.
The Prime Minister met the King and Queen, and when he had presented them with the Castle, in the name of the happy people of Toyville, he announced that the banquet was ready to be served. {90}