CHAPTER THIRTEEN UNDERLAND WITHOUT THE QUEEN

ALL felt that they had earned what Scrubb called a “breather”. The Witch had locked the door and told the Earthmen not to disturb her，so there was no danger of interruption for the present. Their first business was，of course，Puddleglum’s burnt foot. A couple of clean shirts from the Prince’s bedroom，torn into strips，and well greased on the inside with butter and salad oil off the supper table，made a fairly good dressing. When this had been applied， they all sat down and had a little refreshment，and discussed plans for escaping from the Underworld.

Rilian explained that there were quite a lot of outlets by which one could get to the surface；he had been taken out through most of them at one time or another. But he had never gone out alone，only with the Witch；and he had always reached these outlets by going in a ship across the Sunless Sea. What the Earthmen would say if he went down to the harbour without the Witch，and with four strangers，and simply ordered a ship，no one could guess. But

most likely they would ask awkward questions. On the other hand the new outlet，the one for the invasion of Overworld，was on this side of the sea，and only a few miles away. The Prince knew that it was nearly finished；only a few feet of earth divided the diggings from the outer air. It was even possible that it had now been quite finished. Perhaps the Witch had come back to tell him this and to start the attack. Even if it was not，they could probably dig themselves out by that route in a few hours—if they could only get there without being stopped，and if only they found the diggings unguarded. But those were the difficulties.

“If you ask me—”began Puddleglum，when Scrubb interrupted.

“I say,”he asked，“what’s that noise ？”

“I’ve been wondering that for some time ！”said Jill.

They had all，in fact，been hearing the noise but it had begun and increased so gradually that they did not know when they had first noticed it. For a time it had been only a vague disquiet like gentle winds，or traffic very far away. Then it swelled to a murmur like the sea. Then came rumblings and rushings. Now there seemed to be voices as well and also a steady roaring that was not voices.

“By the Lion,”said Prince Rilian，“it seems this silent land has found a tongue at last.”He rose，walked to the window，and drew aside the curtains. The others crowded round him to look out.

The very first thing they noticed was a great red glow. Its reflection made a red patch on the roof of the Underworld thousands of feet above them，so that they could see a rocky ceiling which had perhaps been hidden in darkness ever since the world was made. The glow itself came from the far side of the city so that many buildings，grim and great，stood up blackly against it. But it also cast its light down many streets that ran from it towards the castle. And in those streets something very strange was going on. The closely-packed，silent crowds of Earthmen had vanished. Instead，there were figures darting about by ones，or twos，or threes. They behaved like people who do not want to be seen： lurking in shadow behind buttresses or in doorways，and then moving quickly across the open into fresh places of hiding. But the strangest thing of all，to anyone who knew the gnomes，was the noise. Shouts and cries came from all directions. But from the harbour there came a low，rumbling roar which grew steadily louder and was already shaking the whole city.

“What’s happened to the Earthmen ？”said Scrubb. “Is it them shouting ？”

“Tis hardly possible,”said the Prince. “I never heard one of the rascals so much as speak with a loud voice in all the weary years of my bondage. Some new devilry，I don’t doubt.”

“And what is that red light over there ？”asked Jill. “Is something on fire ？”

“If you ask me,”said Puddleglum，“I should say that was the central fires of the Earth breaking out to make a new volcano. We’ll be in the middle of it，I shouldn’t wonder.”