When the entertainment was over it was growing late, and, saying he had some work to do in his magic workshop, in preparation for the journey in the morning, the beaver King led his guests to a suite of beautifully furnished sleeping rooms. Twink and Tom were not a bit surprised that the beaver King should work while they slept. Indeed, they wondered if anyone in this busy little kingdom ever took time off to rest. "As soon as you lie down on the beds," the beaver King told Twink and Tom, "you will be lulled to sleep by the most beautiful music in the world." With that he closed the door softly and left them. Twink and Tom were in their beds in no time at all, eager to hear the music the beaver King had promised them. No sooner had their heads touched the pillows than they heard it. It was like the sleepy murmuring of a thousand voices. There were no words, only a soft whisper that seemed to come from a great distance and yet was close by--was everywhere. Twink closed her eyes, and the wordless music sang of green meadows under a golden sun, of mountain rills that tripped from stone to stone down to beautiful valleys, of great rivers that flowed through the hearts of vast lands--and finally of the sea itself, singing eternally of endless wonders. Just before Tom dropped off to sleep he said: "Twink, I know what it is. The beaver King said it was the most beautiful music in the world--and it is--" "I know," said Twink sleepily. "It's the music of running water." CHAPTER 18 The Flame Folk Early the next morning Shaggy and his friends found a steaming hot breakfast waiting for them in their rooms. No sooner had they finished than the King of the Fairy Beavers appeared to lead them to the Nome King's tunnel. They followed the King through several miles of weaving and twisting beaver burrows, until at last they stood at the entrance of the tunnel. Shaggy had noted that the King bore on his back, like a tiny knapsack, a small bundle. Now he saw that the twenty young beavers, who were waiting at the tunnel's entrance to undertake the journey with them, bore similar though smaller bundles on their backs. In addition, each of the young beavers carried a pine torch to light the way through the dark tunnel. At a signal from the beaver King, the torch-bearing beavers advanced into the tunnel and the journey was on. "How far are we from the Deadly Desert?" inquired the Shaggy Man. "Not more than a mile," answered the beaver King. "We will know when we reach the Desert, because of the heat radiated downward by the sands. The tunnel is not far from the surface--no more than twenty feet, I would judge." The tunnel was hewn from solid rock, but the floor of it was smooth, so the travelers were able to proceed at a good rate of speed. They all noticed that the heat increased perceptibly the closer they came to the shifting sands above them.