As soon as the ring was clearly marked, a small army of Fairies were put to work all along its outer edge, digging out a trench twelve feet wide and four feet deep. Later on, this trench was made fifty-two feet wide and twelve feet deep. As the earth was taken out it was speedily removed by another army of fairy workmen and deposited on different parts of the Hill pointed out by the Prince’s Engineers, to be used later on in the making of lakelets, lily-pools, waterfalls, and all manner of delightful arbors, rose gardens, lavender beds, pansy plots, daffodil rings, and a thousand and one other altogether beautiful things meant for glorious display. In the meantime, certain specially qualified engineers—who really belonged to the Cave Fairies, and therefore fully understood underground tunnelling and mining—having been persuaded by Prince Waratah to join his forces, were industriously directing the sinking of four great pits close beside the Magic Well. Each of these pits was situated directly under one of the lines running North, South, East and West. When they were sunken thirteen feet, sloping tunnels were begun, which tunnels, following exactly beneath the lines drawn on top, ultimately found an opening into the great trench on the rim of the circle two miles away. But, of course, none of this work went on without interruption. It was only a matter of a very few days, when the Desert Fairies, impelled by curiosity, came to see what was going on. The great trench, which, as you will have surmised, was being digged to form a circular lake, first attracted their attention. And very much it puzzled them. What it all meant they could not understand; but, true to their vicious instincts, they soon made up their minds to try and destroy it. This they sought to accomplish by blowing immense quantities of loose sand into the excavation; thereby making it necessary to do the work all over again.