The floor and walls were inlaid with precious jewels in designs that were truly wonderful. Divans were built in at the sides, and the various creatures of the wild were represented everywhere. For all his short-comings, Dragonfel seemed to have a great respect for animals, and gave their skins at least a rest on his floors and walls where they could grin at spiders and moth-millers with some show of satisfaction. [Illustration] At the ceiling which was thickly crusted with diamonds there was a slender open shaft that evidently had been made to provide air and light but which was too small to provide a means of escape. "This is where you'll stay," announced Dragonfel. "The place isn't half-bad, as things go, so you ought to make yourselves fairly comfortable in it. You'll find both hot and cold water in the little ante-room screened off by those peacock-feather portières. Your meals will be brought to you. If you want to read there's the dictionary." "How long are you going to keep us here?" asked Titania, with a sinking of her heart. "Always, and maybe longer," was Dragonfel's gruff response. "Have you brought your knitting with you?" "If you think you can keep us here against our will," said Titania, in a decided tone, "you will find that you are very much mistaken." "How so?" said Dragonfel contemptuously. "It won't be long before the Brownies are here." "That's what I fully expect," said the enchanter, with a knowing wink, "and after they come there'll be something doing, BELIEVE ME!" He laid great emphasis upon the last two words, and in spite of all her confidence in Florimel and the Brownies Titania was filled with great uneasiness. But she knew that further words would be wasted on him, so she said nothing more. With Dame Drusilda, Violet, and Daffodil she retired to a corner of the room, as far removed from him as possible, where they discussed among themselves in whispers this new phase of the disagreeable situation. They hoped that Dragonfel and the rest would go, but still they lingered, and the enchanter at times looked up at the narrow opening cut into the ceiling. Finally he gave expression to a grunt of satisfaction as something he had been watching for met his gaze, and they noticed with him that a golden flood of sunshine was pouring through the opening. "Day at last!" he cried, and, almost with his words, the Demon Usher made his appearance with a hop, skip, and jump, while at his back stood a half-starved looking demon whose hair had not been cut for a long time, and who had a distinctly artistic appearance. "Master, kind master," the Demon Usher joyously cackled, "I bear good news. The little commission you intrusted me with I executed to the best of my ability. Oh, master, you should have seen how brave I was. I was with them single-handed, yet I was more than a match for them all. I had the whole band in terrible fear of me." [Illustration]