She had got about halfway down when she started, and nearly fell with fright. Close to her ears as it seemed, a voice broke out singing:
“Jabber, bother, smash! You’ll have it all in a crash. Jabber, smash, bother! You’ll have the worst of the pother. Smash, bother, jabber!—”
Here Curdie stopped, either because he could not find a rhyme to “jabber,” or because he remembered what he had forgotten when he woke up at the sound of Irene’s labours, that his plan was to make the goblins think he was getting weak. But he had uttered enough to let Irene know who he was.
“It’s Curdie!” she cried joyfully.
“Hush! hush!” came Curdie’s voice again from somewhere. “Speak softly.”
“Why, you were singing loud!” said Irene.
“Yes. But they know I am here, and they don’t know you are. Who are you?”
“I’m Irene,” answered the princess. “I know who you are quite well. You’re Curdie.”
“Why, how ever did you come here, Irene?”
“My great-great-grandmother sent me; and I think I’ve found out why. You can’t get out, I suppose?”
“No, I can’t. What are you doing?”
“Clearing away a huge heap of stones.”
“There’s a princess!” exclaimed Curdie, in a tone of delight, but still speaking in little more than a whisper. “I can’t think how you got here,