prison of gold.

"Aha!" cried Kaliko; "this magic worked all right, it
seems.

"Oh, did it?" replied Rinkitink, and stepping forward
he walked right through the golden net, which fell to
the floor in a tangled mass

Kaliko rubbed his chin thoughtfully and stared hard
at Rinkitink.

"I understand a good bit of magic," said ,he, "but
Your Majesty has a sort of magic that greatly puzzles
me, because it is unlike anything of the sort that I
ever met with before."

"Now, see here, Kaliko," said Rinkitink; "if you are
trying to harm me or my companions, give it up, for you
will never succeed. We're harm-proof, so to speak, and
you are merely wasting your time trying to injure us.

"You may be right, and I hope I am not so impolite as
to argue with a guest," returned the Nome King. "But
you will pardon me if I am not yet satisfied that you
are stronger than my famous magic. However, I beg you
to believe that I bear you no ill will, King Rinkitink;
but it is my duty to destroy you, if possible, because
you and that insignificant boy Prince have openly
threatened to take away my captives and have positively