The White Pearl guided Inga truly in his pursuit of theboat of King Gos, but the boy had been so delayed insending his people home to Pingaree that it was a fullday after Gos and Cor landed on the shore of theWheeler Country that Inga's boat arrived at the sameplace.

There he found the forty rowers guarding the barge ofQueen Cor, and although they would not or could nottell the boy where the King and Queen had taken hisfather and mother, the White Pearl advised him tofollow the path to the country and the caverns of thenomes.

Rinkitink didn't like to undertake the rocky andmountainous journey, even with Bilbil to carry him, buthe would not desert Inga, even though his own kingdomlay just beyond a range of mountains which could beseen towering southwest of them. So the King bravelymounted the goat, who always grumbled but always obeyedhis master, and the three set off at once for thecaverns of the nomes.

They traveled just as slowly as Queen Cor and KingGos had done, so when they were about halfway theydiscovered the King and Queen coming back to theirboat. The fact that Gos and Cor were now alone provedthat they had left Inga's father and mother behindthem; so, at the suggestion of Rinkitink, the three hidbehind a high rock until the King of Regos and theQueen of Coregos, who had not observed them, had passedthem by. Then they continued their journey, glad thatthey had not again been forced to fight or quarrel withtheir wicked enemies.

"We might have asked them, however, what they haddone with your poor parents," said Rinkitink.

"Never mind," answered Inga. "I am sure the WhitePearl will guide us aright."

For a time they proceeded in silence and thenRinkitink began to chuckle with laughter in thepleasant way he was wont to do before his misfortunescame upon him.

"What amuses Your Majesty?" inquired the boy.

"The thought of how surprised my dear subjects wouldbe if they realized how near to them I am, and yet howfar away. I have always wanted to visit the NomeCountry, which is full of mystery and magic and allsorts of adventures, but my devoted subjects forbade meto think of such a thing, fearing I would get hurt orenchanted."

"Are you afraid, now that you are here?" asked Inga.

"A little, but not much, for they say the new NomeKing is not as wicked as the old King used to be.Still, we are undertaking a dangerous journey and Ithink you ought to protect me by lending me one of yourpearls."

Inga thought this over and it seemed a reasonablerequest.

"Which pearl would you like to have?" asked the boy.

"Well, let us see," returned Rinkitink; "you may needstrength to liberate your captive parents, so you mustkeep the Blue Pearl. And you will need the advice ofthe White Pearl, so you had best keep that also. But incase we should be separated I would have nothing toprotect me from harm, so you ought to lend me the PinkPearl."

"Very well," agreed Inga, and sitting down upon arock he removed his right shoe and after withdrawingthe cloth from the pointed toe took out the Pink Pearl-- the one which protected from any harm the person whocarried it.

"Where can you put it, to keep it safely?" he asked.

"In my vest pocket," replied the King. "The pockethas a flap to it and I can pin it down in such a waythat the pearl cannot get out and become lost. As forrobbery, no one with evil intent can touch my personwhile I have the pearl."

So Inga gave Rinkitink the Pink Pearl and the littleKing placed it in the pocket of his red-and-greenbrocaded velvet vest, pinning the flap of the pocketdown tightly.

They now resumed their journey and finally reachedthe entrance to the Nome King's caverns. Placing theWhite Pearl to his ear, Inga asked: "What shall I donow?" and the Voice of the Pearl replied: "Clap yourhands together four times and call aloud the word'Klik.' Then allow yourselves to be conducted to theNome King, who is now holding your father and mothercaptive."

Inga followed these instructions and when Klikappeared in answer to his summons the boy requested anaudience of the Nome King. So Klik led them into thepresence of King Kaliko, who was suffering from asevere headache, due to his revelry the night before,and therefore was unusually cross and grumpy.

"I know what you've come for," said he, before Ingacould speak. "You want to get the captives from Regosaway from me; but you can't do it, so you'd best go awayagain."

"The captives are my father and mother, and I intendto liberate them," said the boy firmly.

The King stared hard at Inga, wondering at hisaudacity. Then he turned to look at King Rinkitink andsaid:

"I suppose you are the King of Gilgad, which is inthe Kingdom of Rinkitink."

"You've guessed it the first time," repliedRinkitink.

"How round and fat you are!" exclaimed Kaliko.

"I was just thinking how fat and round you are," saidRinkitink. "Really, King Kaliko, we ought to befriends, we're so much alike in everything butdisposition and intelligence."

Then he began to chuckle, while Kaliko stared hard athim, not knowing whether to accept his speech as acompliment or not. And now the nome's eyes wandered toBilbil, and he asked:

"Is that your talking goat?"

Bilbil met the Nome King's glowering look with a gazeequally surly and defiant, while Rinkitink answered:"It is, Your Majesty."

"Can he really talk?" asked Kaliko, curiously.

"He can. But the best thing he does is to scold. Talkto His Majesty, Bilbil."

But Bilbil remained silent and would not speak.

"Do you always ride upon his back?" continued Kaliko,questioning Rinkitink.

"Yes," was the answer, "because it is difficult for afat man to walk far, as perhaps you know fromexperience.

"That is true," said Kaliko. "Get off the goat's backand let me ride him a while, to see how I like it.Perhaps I'll take him away from you, to ride through mycaverns."

Rinkitink chuckled softly as he heard this, but atonce got off Bilbil's back and let Kaliko get on. TheNome King was a little awkward, but when he was firmlyastride the saddle he called in a loud voice: "Giddap!"

When Bilbil paid no attention to the command andrefused to stir, Kaliko kicked his heels viciouslyagainst the goat's body, and then Bilbil made a suddenstart. He ran swiftly across the great cavern, until hehad almost reached the opposite wall, when he stoppedso abruptly that King Kaliko sailed over his head andbumped against the jeweled wall. He bumped so hard thatthe points of his crown were all mashed out of shapeand his head was driven far into the diamond-studdedband of the crown, so that it covered one eye and apart of his nose. Perhaps this saved Kaliko's head frombeing cracked against the rock wall, but it was hard onthe crown.

Bilbil was highly pleased at the success of his featand Rinkitink laughed merrily at the Nome King'scomical appearance; but Kaliko was muttering andgrowling as he picked himself up and struggled to pullthe battered crown from his head, and it was evidentthat he was not in the least amused. Indeed, Inga couldsee that the King was very angry, and the boy knew thatthe incident was likely to turn Kaliko against theentire party.

The Nome King sent Klik for another crown and orderedhis workmen to repair the one that was damaged. Whilehe waited for the new crown he sat regarding hisvisitors with a scowling face, and this made Inga moreuneasy than ever. Finally, when the new crown wasplaced upon his head, King Kaliko said: "Follow me,strangers!" and led the way to a small door at one endof the cavern.

Inga and Rinkitink followed him through the doorwayand found themselves standing on a balcony thatoverlooked an enormous domed cave -- so extensive thatit seemed miles to the other side of it. All aroundthis circular cave, which was brilliantly lighted froman unknown source, were arches connected with othercaverns.

Kaliko took a gold whistle from his pocket and blew ashrill note that echoed through every part of the cave.Instantly nomes began to pour in through the sidearches in great numbers, until the immense space waspacked with them as far as the eye could reach. Allwere armed with glittering weapons of polished silverand gold, and Inga was amazed that any King couldcommand so great an army.

They began marching and countermarching in veryorderly array until another blast of the gold whistlesent them scurrying away as quickly as they hadappeared. And as soon as the great cave was again emptyKaliko returned with his visitors to his own royalchamber, where he once more seated himself upon hisivory throne.

"I have shown you," said he to Inga, "a part of mybodyguard. The royal armies, of which this is only apart, are as numerous as the sands of the ocean, andlive in many thousands of my underground caverns. Youhave come here thinking to force me to give up thecaptives of King Gos and Queen Cor, and I wanted toconvince you that my power is too mighty for anyone tooppose. I am told that you are a wizard, and dependupon magic to aid you; but you must know that the nomesare not mortals, and understand magic pretty wellthemselves, so if we are obliged to fight magic withmagic the chances are that we are a hundred times morepowerful than you can be. Think this over carefully, myboy, and try to realize that you are in my power. I donot believe you can force me to liberate King Kitticutand Queen Garee, and I know that you cannot coax me todo so, for I have given my promise to King Gos.Therefore, as I do not wish to hurt you, I ask you togo away peaceably and let me alone."

"Forgive me if I do not agree with you, King Kaliko,"answered the boy. "However difficult and dangerous mytask may be, I cannot leave your dominions until everyeffort to release my parents has failed and left mecompletely discouraged."

"Very well," said the King, evidently displeased. "Ihave warned you, and now if evil overtakes you it isyour own fault. I've a headache to-day, so I cannotentertain you properly, according to your rank; butKlik will attend you to my guest chambers and to-morrowI will talk with you again."

This seemed a fair and courteous way to treat one'sdeclared enemies, so they politely expressed the wishthat Kaliko's headache would be better, and followedtheir guide, Klik, down a well-lighted passage andthrough several archways until they finally reachedthree nicely furnished bedchambers which were cut fromsolid gray rock and well lighted and aired by somemysterious method known to the nomes.

The first of these rooms was given King Rinkitink,the second was Inga's and the third was assigned toBilbil the goat. There was a swinging rock doorbetween the third and second rooms and another betweenthe second and first, which also had a door that openedupon the passage. Rinkitink's room was the largest, soit was here that an excellent dinner was spread by someof the nome servants, who, in spite of their crookedshapes, proved to be well trained and competent.

"You are not prisoners, you know," said Klik; neitherare you welcome guests, having declared your purpose tooppose our mighty King and all his hosts. But we bearyou no ill will, and you are to be well fed and caredfor as long as you remain in our caverns. Eat hearty,sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you."

Saying this, he left them alone and at once Rinkitinkand Inga began to counsel together as to the best meansto liberate King Kitticut and Queen Garee. The WhitePearl's advice was rather unsatisfactory to the boy,just now, for all that the Voice said in answer to hisquestions was: "Be patient, brave and determined."

Rinkitink suggested that they try to discover in whatpart of the series of underground caverns Inga'sparents had been confined, as that knowledge wasnecessary before they could take any action; sotogether they started out, leaving Bilbil asleep in hisroom, and made their way unopposed through manycorridors and caverns. In some places were greatfurnaces, where gold dust was being melted into bricks.In other rooms workmen were fashioning the gold intovarious articles and ornaments. In one cavern immensewheels revolved which polished precious gems, and theyfound many caverns used as storerooms, where treasureof every sort was piled high. Also they came to thebarracks of the army and the great kitchens.

There were nomes everywhere -- countless thousands ofthem -- but none paid the slightest heed to thevisitors from the earth's surface. Yet, although Ingaand Rinkitink walked until they were weary, they wereunable to locate the place where the boy's father andmother had been confined, and when they tried to returnto their own rooms they found that they had hopelesslylost themselves amid the labyrinth of passages.However, Klik presently came to them, laughing at theirdiscomfiture, and led them back to their bedchambers.

Before they went to sleep they carefully barred thedoor from Rinkitink's room to the corridor, but thedoors that connected the three rooms one with anotherwere left wide open.

In the night Inga was awakened by a soft gratingsound that filled him with anxiety because he could notaccount for it. It was dark in his room, the lighthaving disappeared as soon as he got into bed, but hemanaged to feel his way to the door that led toRinkitink's room and found it tightly closed andimmovable. Then he made his way to the opposite door,leading to Bilbil's room, to discover that also hadbeen closed and fastened.

The boy had a curious sensation that all of his room-- the walls, floor and ceiling -- was slowly whirlingas if on a pivot, and it was such an uncomfortablefeeling that he got into bed again, not knowing whatelse to do. And as the grating noise had ceased and theroom now seemed stationary, he soon fell asleep again.

When the boy wakened, after many hours, he found theroom again light. So he dressed himself and discoveredthat a small table, containing a breakfast that wassmoking hot, had suddenly appeared in the center ofhis room. He tried the two doors, but finding that hecould not open them he ate some breakfast, thoughtfullywondering who had locked him in and why he had beenmade a prisoner. Then he again went to the door whichhe thought led to Rinkitink's chamber and to hissurprise the latch lifted easily and the door swungopen.

Before him was a rude corridor hewn in the rock anddimly lighted. It did not look inviting, so Inga closedthe door, puzzled to know what had become ofRinkitink's room and the King, and went to the oppositedoor. Opening this, he found a solid wall of rockconfronting him, which effectually prevented his escapein that direction.

The boy now realized that King Kaliko had trickedhim, and while professing to receive him as a guest hadplotted to separate him from his comrades. One way hadbeen left, however, by which he might escape and hedecided to see where it led to.

So, going to the first door, he opened it andventured slowly into the dimly lighted corridor. Whenhe had advanced a few steps he heard the door of hisroom slam shut behind him. He ran back at once, but thedoor of rock fitted so closely into the wall that hefound it impossible to open it again. That did notmatter so much, however, for the room was a prison andthe only way of escape seemed ahead of him.

Along the corridor he crept until, turning acorner, he found himself in a large domed cavern thatwas empty and deserted. Here also was a dim light thatpermitted him to see another corridor at the oppositeside; so he crossed the rocky floor of the cavern andentered a second corridor. This one twisted and turnedin every direction but was not very long, so soon theboy reached a second cavern, not so large as the first.This he found vacant also, but it had another corridorleading out of it, so Inga entered that. It wasstraight and short and beyond was a third cavern, whichdiffered little from the others except that it had astrong iron grating at one side of it.

All three of these caverns had been roughly hewn fromthe rock and it seemed they had never been put to use,as had all the other caverns of the nomes he hadvisited. Standing in the third cavern, Inga saw what hethought was still another corridor at its farther side,so he walked toward it. This opening was dark, and thatfact, and the solemn silence all around him, made himhesitate for a while to enter it. Upon reflection,however, he realized that unless he explored the placeto the very end he could not hope to escape from it, sohe boldly entered the dark corridor and felt his waycautiously as he moved forward.

Scarcely had he taken two paces when a crashresounded back of him and a heavy sheet of steel closedthe opening into the cavern from which he had justcome. He paused a moment, but it still seemed best toproceed, and as Inga advanced in the dark, holding hishands outstretched before him to feel his way,handcuffs fell upon his wrists and locked themselveswith a sharp click, and an instant later he found hewas chained to a stout iron post set firmly in the rockfloor.

The chains were long enough to permit him to move ayard or so in any direction and by feeling the walls hefound he was in a small circular room that had nooutlet except the passage by which he had entered, andthat was now closed by the door of steel. This was theend of the series of caverns and corridors.

It was now that the horror of his situation occurredto the boy with full force. But he resolved not tosubmit to his fate without a struggle, and realizingthat he possessed the Blue Pearl, which gave himmarvelous strength, he quickly broke the chains and sethimself free of the handcuffs. Next he twisted thesteel door from its hinges, and creeping along theshort passage, found himself in the third cave.

But now the dim light, which had before guided him,had vanished; yet on peering into the gloom of the cavehe saw what appeared to be two round disks of flame,which cast a subdued glow over the floor and walls. Bythis dull glow he made out the form of an enormous man,seated in the center of the cave, and he saw that theiron grating had been removed, permitting the man toenter.

The giant was unclothed and its limbs were thicklycovered with coarse red hair. The round disks of flamewere its two eyes and when it opened its mouth to yawnInga saw that its jaws were wide enough to crush adozen men between the great rows of teeth.

Presently the giant looked up and perceived the boycrouching at the other side of the cavern, so he calledout in a hoarse, rude voice:

"Come hither, my pretty one. We will wrestletogether, you and I, and if you succeed in throwing meI will let you pass through my cave."

The boy made no reply to the challenge. He realizedhe was in dire peril and regretted that he had lent thePink Pearl to King Rinkitink. But it was now too latefor vain regrets, although he feared that even hisgreat strength would avail him little against thishairy monster. For his arms were not long enough tospan a fourth of the giant's huge body, while themonster's powerful limbs would be likely to crush outInga's life before he could gain the mastery.

Therefore the Prince resolved to employ other meansto combat this foe, who had doubtless been placed thereto bar his return. Retreating through the passage hereached the room where he had been chained and wrenchedthe iron post from its socket. It was a foot thick andfour feet long, and being of solid iron was so heavythat three ordinary men would have found it hard tolift.

Returning to the cavern, the boy swung the great barabove his head and dashed it with mighty force full atthe giant. The end of the bar struck the monster uponits forehead, and with a single groan it fell fulllength upon the floor and lay still.

When the giant fell, the glow from its eyes fadedaway, and all was dark. Cautiously, for Inga was notsure the giant was dead, the boy felt his way towardthe opening that led to the middle cavern. The entrancewas narrow and the darkness was intense, but, feelingbraver now, the boy stepped boldly forward. Instantlythe floor began to sink beneath him and in great alarmhe turned and made a leap that enabled him to grasp therocky sides of the wall and regain a footing in thepassage through which he had just come.

Scarcely had he obtained this place of refuge when amighty crash resounded throughout the cavern and thesound of a rushing torrent came from far below. Ingafelt in his pocket and found several matches, one ofwhich he lighted and held before him. While itflickered he saw that the entire floor of the cavernhad fallen away, and knew that had he not instantlyregained his footing in the passage he would haveplunged into the abyss that lay beneath him.

By the light of another match he saw the opening atthe other side of the cave and the thought came to himthat possibly he might leap across the gulf. Of course,this could never be accomplished without the marvelousstrength lent him by the Blue Pearl, but Inga had thefeeling that one powerful spring might carry him overthe chasm into safety. He could not stay where he was,that was certain, so he resolved to make the attempt.

He took a long run through the first cave and theshort corridor; then, exerting all his strength, helaunched himself over the black gulf of the secondcave. Swiftly he flew and, although his heart stoodstill with fear, only a few seconds elapsed before hisfeet touched the ledge of the opposite passageway andhe knew he had safely accomplished the wonderful feat.

Only pausing to draw one long breath of relief, Ingaquickly traversed the crooked corridor that led to thelast cavern of the three. But when he came in sight ofit he paused abruptly, his eyes nearly blinded by aglare of strong light which burst upon them. Coveringhis face with his hands, Inga retreated behind aprojecting corner of rock and by gradually getting hiseyes used to the light he was finally able to gazewithout blinking upon the strange glare that had soquickly changed the condition of the cavern. When hehad passed through this vault it had been entirelyempty. Now the flat floor of rock was coveredeverywhere with a bed of glowing coals, which shot uplittle tongues of red and white flames. Indeed, theentire cave was one monster furnace and the heat thatcame from it was fearful.

Inga's heart sank within him as he realized theterrible obstacle placed by the cunning Nome Kingbetween him and the safety of the other caverns. Therewas no turning back, for it would be impossible for himagain to leap over the gulf of the second cave, thecorridor at this side being so crooked that he couldget no run before he jumped. Neither could he leap overthe glowing coals of the cavern that faced him, for itwas much larger than the middle cavern. In this dilemmahe feared his great strength would avail him nothingand he bitterly reproached himself for parting with thePink Pearl, which would have preserved him from injury.

However, it was not in the nature of Prince Inga todespair for long, his past adventures having taught himconfidence and courage, sharpened his wits and givenhim the genius of invention. He sat down and thoughtearnestly on the means of escape from his danger and atlast a clever idea came to his mind. This is the way toget ideas: never to let adverse circumstancesdiscourage you, but to believe there is a way out ofevery difficulty, which may be found by earnestthought.

There were many points and projections of rock in thewalls of the crooked corridor in which Inga stood andsome of these rocks had become cracked and loosened,although still clinging to their places. The boy pickedout one large piece, and, exerting all his strength,tore it away from the wall. He then carried it to thecavern and tossed it upon the burning coals, about tenfeet away from the end of the passage. Then he returnedfor another fragment of rock, and wrenching it freefrom its place, he threw it ten feet beyond the firstone, toward the opposite side of the cave. The boycontinued this work until he had made a series ofstepping-stones reaching straight across the cavern tothe dark passageway beyond, which he hoped would leadhim back to safety if not to liberty.

When his work had been completed, Inga did not longhesitate to take advantage of his stepping-stones, forhe knew his best chance of escape lay in his crossingthe bed of coals before the rocks became so heated thatthey would burn his feet. So he leaped to the firstrock and from there began jumping from one to the otherin quick succession. A withering wave of heat at onceenveloped him, and for a time he feared he wouldsuffocate before he could cross the cavern; but he heldhis breath, to keep the hot air from his lungs, andmaintained his leaps with desperate resolve.

Then, before he realized it, his feet were pressingthe cooler rocks of the passage beyond and he rolledhelpless upon the floor, gasping for breath. His skinwas so red that it resembled the shell of a boiledlobster, but his swift motion had prevented his beingburned, and his shoes had thick soles, which saved hisfeet.

After resting a few minutes, the boy felt strongenough to go on. He went to the end of the passage andfound that the rock door by which he had left his roomwas still closed, so he returned to about the middle ofthe corridor and was thinking what he should do next,when suddenly the solid rock before him began to moveand an opening appeared through which shone a brilliantlight. Shielding his eyes, which were somewhat dazzled,Inga sprang through the opening and found himself inone of the Nome King's inhabited caverns, where beforehim stood King Kaliko, with a broad grin upon hisfeatures, and Klik, the King's chamberlain, who lookedsurprised, and King Rinkitink seated astride Bilbil thegoat, both of whom seemed pleased that Inga hadrejoined them.