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29 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty nine something concerning the many portals to the
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  Speaker 1: icy domain of King Galidas, and the difficult task of
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  Speaker 1: choosing the right one, how Bulgar solved it. Are farewell
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  Speaker 1: to the cold blooded Colti Corpse schnibules sorrow at losing us.
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  Speaker 1: As Boulbrain had once remarked, when there are many doors,
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  Speaker 1: its wise man who knows which is the right one
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  Speaker 1: to open. And this I found to be the case
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  Speaker 1: when I attempted to take my departure from the icy
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  Speaker 1: domain of his frigid majesty Galadas, king of the Colti Corps.
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  Speaker 1: For there was a baker's dozen of galleries, in each
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  Speaker 1: of which, upon exploring it, I came, after a tramp
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  Speaker 1: of half a mile or so, up against a lofty
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  Speaker 1: gate of solid ice, curiously carved and fitting the end
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  Speaker 1: of the gallery as a cork does a bottle. No
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  Speaker 1: doubt you are wondering why didn't make my way out
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  Speaker 1: of the Coltiquorpian kingdom by following the river, for the
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  Speaker 1: very good reason that it went no further than King
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  Speaker 1: Galadas's domain, emptying into a vast reservoir which apparently had
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  Speaker 1: a subterranean outlet for its thick covering of ice always
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  Speaker 1: remained at the same height. The king's quarrymen were ordered
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  Speaker 1: to hew an opening through whichever door I should point
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  Speaker 1: out as the one that I wished to pass through.
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  Speaker 1: But I was informed by Frosty Fez that according to
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  Speaker 1: the law of the land, but one door could be
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  Speaker 1: opened during any one year, so that if I found
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  Speaker 1: my way blocked and turned back again, it would mean
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  Speaker 1: a delay of twelve months. Bulbrain, with all his wisdom,
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  Speaker 1: was powerless to assist me, although I was half inclined
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  Speaker 1: to think that he might have done so had he
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  Speaker 1: been permitted to investigate the secret records of the kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: carved upon huge tablets of ice and stored away in
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  Speaker 1: the vaults of the palace. The fact of the matter
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  Speaker 1: is King Gilidus was so desirous of having me assist
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  Speaker 1: at the marriage feast of Princess Schnebule that he threw
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  Speaker 1: every obstacle in my way that he could without openly
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  Speaker 1: showing his hand. And Schneeboulay herself, by the dancing of
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  Speaker 1: her clear gray eyes, gave me to understand that she too,
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  Speaker 1: was hoping that I would make a mistake. When I
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  Speaker 1: came to point out the door which I wanted open.
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  Speaker 1: Bulgar saw that I was in trouble, but he couldn't
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  Speaker 1: comprehend clearly what the trouble was. He kept his eyes
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  Speaker 1: fastened upon me, however, watching my every movement, hoping no
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  Speaker 1: doubt to solve the mystery. While sitting one day lost
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  Speaker 1: in thought over the very serious problem which I found
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  Speaker 1: myself called upon to solve, an idea struck me. I
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  Speaker 1: had noticed that in the meat quarries the workmen often
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  Speaker 1: made use of sounding rods, which were long pieces of
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  Speaker 1: polished bone ending in flint tips. A Cultiqorpian quarryman, by
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  Speaker 1: dexterously twisting his rod, was able to bore a hole
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  Speaker 1: six feet deeper more into the solid bed of ice
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  Speaker 1: when desirous of ascertaining the position of a carcass in
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  Speaker 1: the meat quarry. And it occurred to me that by
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  Speaker 1: piercing the portals of ice which closed their various corridors
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  Speaker 1: I have spoken of, possibly Bulgar's keen scent might recognize
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  Speaker 1: that current affair, which would have in it the odor
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  Speaker 1: of earth and rock. In other words, make choice for
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  Speaker 1: me of the portal which opened on that corridor leading
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  Speaker 1: away from the icy domain of King Galidas, and not
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  Speaker 1: merely into some outlying chamber of his kingdom. His frigid
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  Speaker 1: majesty could not object to such experiments, for the law
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  Speaker 1: only forbade the hewing of openings large enough for the
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  Speaker 1: huer to pass through. King Gelidas and half a dozen
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  Speaker 1: of his courtiers, looking stern and frigid and conversing in
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  Speaker 1: freezing tones, were present to see the experiment tried, methought.
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  Speaker 1: Their icy lips clacked together with satisfaction when, at my request,
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  Speaker 1: one portal after another was pierced. But Bolger, after sniffing
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  Speaker 1: at the hole, turned away with a bewildered look in
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  Speaker 1: his eyes, as if he didn't half understand why I
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  Speaker 1: was ordering him to thrust his warm nose into such
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  Speaker 1: cold places. And so we tramped from corridor to corridor
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  Speaker 1: until the quarrymen began to show signs of fatigue, and
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  Speaker 1: the sounding rod turned slower and slower in their hands.
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  Speaker 1: Frosty Fizz blinked his cold gray eyes as much as
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  Speaker 1: to say, little Baron, thou must bide with us for
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  Speaker 1: another year. But I merely turned to the quarrymen and
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  Speaker 1: ordered them to pierce one more portal of ice. Ere
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  Speaker 1: we abandoned the task for the day. They went at
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  Speaker 1: the work of piercing the eleventh door with the pace
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  Speaker 1: of pack mules up a mountain side. But at last
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  Speaker 1: the sounding rod bored a way through, and at a
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  Speaker 1: wave of my hand, the quarryman fell back. In an instant.
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  Speaker 1: Bulgar had his nose at the hole and took three
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  Speaker 1: or four quick nervous sniffs, ending with a long, deep,
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  Speaker 1: drawn one, and then breaking out into a string of sharp, jerky,
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  Speaker 1: joyful barks. He began scratching furiously at the bottom of
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  Speaker 1: the portal. Your frigid Majesty, said I, with a low
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  Speaker 1: and stately bend of my body, such as only those
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  Speaker 1: born to the manor can make by this portal. At
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  Speaker 1: the coming of to morrow's sun, I shall pass from
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  Speaker 1: your Majesty's icy dominion. And when Frosty Fiz and glacier
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  Speaker 1: Boy heard these words of mine, uttered so loftily their
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  Speaker 1: eyes gleamed cold as steel. Then they followed the king
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  Speaker 1: in silence back to the Palace of Ice. Shinibu Ley
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  Speaker 1: met them in the grand hallway, and when she had
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  Speaker 1: looked upon their face as she began to weep, for
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  Speaker 1: she loved me, and she loved Bulgar too, and her
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  Speaker 1: cold little heart could not bear the thought of our going.
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  Speaker 1: King Gelidus, however, soon recovered his spirits and ordered a
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  Speaker 1: feast with song and dance in honor of Bulgar, who
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  Speaker 1: during the festivity sat on the highest of Anne with
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  Speaker 1: the softest pelt beneath him. And so many were the
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  Speaker 1: frozen tidbits which the Culti Corps presented to him during
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  Speaker 1: the progress of the feast that I grew alarmed lest
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  Speaker 1: he might overload his stomach and not be in a
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  Speaker 1: fit condition to make the early start on our journey,
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  Speaker 1: of which I had given notice to the Cultikorpian monarch.
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  Speaker 1: But his good sense saved him from doing so foolish
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  Speaker 1: a thing. In fact, I was greatly amused to see
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  Speaker 1: that while he accepted every tidbit handed to him, and
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  Speaker 1: solemnly went through the motions of chewing it, yet watching
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  Speaker 1: his chance, he slyly dropped it out of his mouth
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  Speaker 1: and flirted it aside with his paw. Thus was spent
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  Speaker 1: our last night at the icy court of his frigid majesty.
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  Speaker 1: And on the morrow the Colti Corps elected in gray
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  Speaker 1: crowds on the different terraces to say good bye. I
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  Speaker 1: pressed a kiss on the cheek of Princess Schnebouleet when
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  Speaker 1: it had turned to ice crystals, when of her men
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  Speaker 1: brushed it into an alabaster box. Prince Chilichops, the former
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  Speaker 1: lamp trimmer, was on hand with the rest of the
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  Speaker 1: Coltiqorpian nobles. But I flattered myself that Schneebulet loved me
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  Speaker 1: better than she did him. However, I wished him joy
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  Speaker 1: and gripped his cold palm with such warmth that he
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  Speaker 1: stood blowing it for a whole minute. When we reached
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  Speaker 1: the lofty portal, we found that the quarryman had already
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  Speaker 1: hewn a passage through it, and near by I observed
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  Speaker 1: a pile of massive blocks of ice crystal clear. These,
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  Speaker 1: when Bulgar and I should pass through the opening, were
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  Speaker 1: to be used in walling it up again. When I
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  Speaker 1: saw this pile of blocks and remembered the solid workmanship
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  Speaker 1: of the Coultiqorpian quarrymen, the thought flitted through my mind.
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  Speaker 1: Suppose Bulger hath not chosen wisely, what use would there
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  Speaker 1: be in turning back? For my own weak hands would
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  Speaker 1: be powerless against a wall built of such blocks, and
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  Speaker 1: knock I ever so loud. How could the sound ever
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  Speaker 1: traversed this long and winding corridor and reach the ear
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  Speaker 1: of a Colti corp, No, said I to myself, If
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  Speaker 1: Bulgar hath not chosen wisely, it will be good bye
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  Speaker 1: to both upper and under worlds. And then, burying an
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  Speaker 1: alabaster lamp in one hand and in the other holding
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  Speaker 1: the cord which I had tied to Bulgar's collar, I
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  Speaker 1: stepped through the narrow passage hewn by the quarryman and
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  Speaker 1: turned my back forever on the cold dominion of Galidus,
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  Speaker 1: king of the Colti Corpse. Once I halted and looked back,
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  Speaker 1: I could see nothing, but I could hear the sharp
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  Speaker 1: click of the flint axes as the quarryman closed up
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  Speaker 1: the door that shut me out from so many cold
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  Speaker 1: but loving hearts. And then I drew a long breath
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  Speaker 1: and went on my way again. And that was the
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  Speaker 1: last I ever saw of the Colti Corpse, save in
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  Speaker 1: a day dream or night vision. End of Chapter twenty nine,