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these robbers! They are after my gold! See
-they have undone two sacks already!"
"We don't want your gold!" cried Dick, "We only just wanted to
know what was in all these sacks!"
"I don't believe you!" cried the enchanter, as about a dozen small imps
came running past him down the steps into the cellar. "Capture them, servants,
and tie them up!"
The little imps pulled everyone up the cellar steps into a big, sunlit room. Its
ceiling was so high that nobody could see it. "Now tie them up," commanded
the enchanter.
     
   
Moon-Face suddenly snatched a kettle from Saucepan and snapped the string that
tied it to him. He went towards the enchanter fearlessly.
     
   
"Wait!" he cried, much to the astonishment of all the others. "Wait
before you do this foolish thing! I am an enchanter, too -and in this kettle I
have Mr. Change-About! Yes-he is a prisoner there! And let me tell you this, that
if you dare to tie me up, I'll put you into the kettle, too, with Mr. Change-About!"
From the kettle came a small, squealing voice: "Set me free, Enchanter, set
me free! Oh, do set me free!"
The enchanter turned quite pale. He knew it was Mr. Change-About's voice.
     
   
"Er-er-this is most peculiar," he said. "How did you capture Mr.
Change-About? He is a very powerful person, and a great friend of mine."
"Oh, I'm not going to tell you what magic I used," said Moon-Face boldly.
"Now -are you going to let us go- or shall I put you into this kettle, too?"
"I'll let you go," said the enchanter, and he waved them all towards
a door at the end of the room, "You may leave at once."
Everyone rushed to the door gladly. They all ran through it, expecting to come
out into the sunshine.
     
   
But, alas for them! The enchanter had played them a trick! They found themselves
going up many hundreds of stairs, up and up and up -and when they came to the
top there was nothing but a round room with one small window! A bench stood at
one end and a table at the other.
     
   
The enchanter's voice floated up to them.
"Ho! ho! I've got you nicely! Now I'm going to get my friend, Wizard Wily,
and he'll soon tell me how to deal with robbers like you!"
"We are in a trap!" groaned Jo. "Moon-Face, you were very clever
and very brave. But honestly, we are worse off than ever. I simply don't see any
way out of this at all!"
8. How Can They Escape?
     
   
Moon-Face looked all round the room at the top of the tower. "Well, we're
in a nice fix now," he said gloomily. "It's no use going down the stairs
again -we shall find the door at the bottom locked. And what's the good of a window
that is half a mile from the ground!"
Jo looked out of the window. "Gracious!" he said, "the tower is
awfully tall! I can hardly see the bottom of it. Hallo -there's the enchanter
going off in his carriage. I suppose he is going to fetch his friend, dear Wizard
Wily."
"I don't like the sound of Wizard Wily," said Silky. "Jo-Dick-Moon-Face-please,
please think of some way to escape!"
But there just simply WASN'T any way. No one wanted to jump out of the window.
     
   
They all sat down. "I'm dreadfully hungry," said Bessie. "Has anyone
got anything to eat?"
"I may have got some Pop Biscuits," said
Moon-Face, feeling in his pockets. But he hadn't. "Feel in your pockets,
Jo and Dick."
Both boys felt, hoping to find a bit of toffee or half a biscuit. Dick brought
out a collection of string, bits of paper, a pencil and a few marbles. Jo took
out much the same kind of things -but with his rubbish came a pink jar, very small
and heavy.
     
   
"What's in that jar?" asked Bessie, who hadn't seen it before. "Isn't
it pretty?"
"Let me see -what can it be?" wondered Jo, as he unscrewed the lid.
"Oh-I know. We saw a witch selling whizz-away ointment for broomsticks in
the Land of Spells-and I thought it would be such fun to rub some on mother's
broomstick and see it fly through the air. So we bought some. Smell it-it's delicious."
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