not!” It cleared its throat. “For the path you take will lead you to certain destruction!” It paused. “Thanks,” it added politely.
While the face was droning on, a small crystal ball had been rolling and skipping down the passage from behind Sarah and Hoggle. It overtook them as they turned a corner, and they saw it bounce on ahead of them. A blind beggar squatted with his back to the wall, his hat upturned on the ground in front of his feet. The crystal ball hopped smartly into the hat.
Sarah heard Hoggle groan. She looked at him. His mouth was open, and his eyes were staring at the hat on the ground.
The beggar turned his face toward them. “So what have we here?” he asked.
“Uh, nothing,” Hoggle spluttered.
“Nothing? Nothing?!” The beggar rose up.
Hoggle froze. Sarah gasped. It was Jareth.
“Your Majesty …” Hoggle bowed so obsequiously that he was at risk of performing a forward roll. “What …,” he swallowed, and smiled haggardly, “what … what a nice surprise.”
“Hello, Hedgewart,” said the King of the Goblins.
“Hogwart,” Sarah corrected him.
“Hoggle,” Hoggle said, gritting his teeth.
“Hoggle,” Jareth said, in a kindly conversational voice, “can it be that you’re helping the girl?”
“Helping?” Hoggle prevaricated. “In what sense? Uh …”
“In the sense that you’re taking her farther into the Labyrinth,” Jareth said.
“Oh,” Hoggle replied. “In that sense.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no, no, your Majesty. I was leading her back to the beginning.”
“What!” Sarah exclaimed.
Hoggle forced his lips into an ingratiating smile for Jareth. “I told her I was going to help her unriddle the Labyrinth — a little trickery on my part …” He guffawed and gulped. “But actually …”
Jareth, smiling pleasantly, interrupted him. “And what’s this plastic trinket around your wrist?”
“This? I …” Hoggle looked wide-eyed at the bracelet, which someone must have slipped onto his wrist when he was snoozing and which he had unaccountably not even noticed there until this moment. “Why,” he stuttered, “er, my goodness, well, I never, where did this come from?”
“Hoggle,” Jareth spoke levelly. “If I thought you were betraying me, I would be forced to suspend you headfirst in the Bog of Eternal Stench.”
“Oh, no, your Majesty.” Hoggle’s knees were wobbling. “Not that. Not the Eternal Stench.”
“Oh, yes, Hoggle.” Jareth turned and smiled at Sarah. “And you, Sarah — how are you enjoying the Labyrinth?”
Sarah swallowed. Beside her, she heard Hoggle’s feet shuffling. Determined not to allow Jareth to intimidate her, she affected a nonchalance she was far from feeling.
“It’s …” she hesitated. “It’s a piece of cake.”
Jareth raised one elegant eyebrow.
Hoggle’s eyes closed in dismay.
“Really?” Jareth sounded intrigued. “Then how about making it a more entertaining challenge?”
He looked up, and in the space of air before his eyes the thirteen-hour clock appeared. He gestured gracefully, and the hands visibly began to turn faster.
“That’s not fair,” Sarah said.
“You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is.”
Jareth took the crystal ball from his hat and tossed it back down the tunnel again. At once, from the darkness, came a noise: a crashing, whirring, trundling noise, distant as yet, but getting closer all the time, and louder.
Hoggle’s face was a mask of panic. Sarah found herself instinctively shrinking away from the approaching din.
“The Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it?” Jareth laughed. “Well, now we can see how you deal with this little slice.” While his mocking laugh still rang, he vanished.
Sarah and Hoggle stared along the passageway. When they saw what was coming at them, their jaws dropped and they trembled.
A solid wall of furiously spinning knives and chopping cleavers was bearing inexorably down upon them. Dozens of
While the face was droning on, a small crystal ball had been rolling and skipping down the passage from behind Sarah and Hoggle. It overtook them as they turned a corner, and they saw it bounce on ahead of them. A blind beggar squatted with his back to the wall, his hat upturned on the ground in front of his feet. The crystal ball hopped smartly into the hat.
Sarah heard Hoggle groan. She looked at him. His mouth was open, and his eyes were staring at the hat on the ground.
The beggar turned his face toward them. “So what have we here?” he asked.
“Uh, nothing,” Hoggle spluttered.
“Nothing? Nothing?!” The beggar rose up.
Hoggle froze. Sarah gasped. It was Jareth.
“Your Majesty …” Hoggle bowed so obsequiously that he was at risk of performing a forward roll. “What …,” he swallowed, and smiled haggardly, “what … what a nice surprise.”
“Hello, Hedgewart,” said the King of the Goblins.
“Hogwart,” Sarah corrected him.
“Hoggle,” Hoggle said, gritting his teeth.
“Hoggle,” Jareth said, in a kindly conversational voice, “can it be that you’re helping the girl?”
“Helping?” Hoggle prevaricated. “In what sense? Uh …”
“In the sense that you’re taking her farther into the Labyrinth,” Jareth said.
“Oh,” Hoggle replied. “In that sense.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no, no, your Majesty. I was leading her back to the beginning.”
“What!” Sarah exclaimed.
Hoggle forced his lips into an ingratiating smile for Jareth. “I told her I was going to help her unriddle the Labyrinth — a little trickery on my part …” He guffawed and gulped. “But actually …”
Jareth, smiling pleasantly, interrupted him. “And what’s this plastic trinket around your wrist?”
“This? I …” Hoggle looked wide-eyed at the bracelet, which someone must have slipped onto his wrist when he was snoozing and which he had unaccountably not even noticed there until this moment. “Why,” he stuttered, “er, my goodness, well, I never, where did this come from?”
“Hoggle,” Jareth spoke levelly. “If I thought you were betraying me, I would be forced to suspend you headfirst in the Bog of Eternal Stench.”
“Oh, no, your Majesty.” Hoggle’s knees were wobbling. “Not that. Not the Eternal Stench.”
“Oh, yes, Hoggle.” Jareth turned and smiled at Sarah. “And you, Sarah — how are you enjoying the Labyrinth?”
Sarah swallowed. Beside her, she heard Hoggle’s feet shuffling. Determined not to allow Jareth to intimidate her, she affected a nonchalance she was far from feeling.
“It’s …” she hesitated. “It’s a piece of cake.”
Jareth raised one elegant eyebrow.
Hoggle’s eyes closed in dismay.
“Really?” Jareth sounded intrigued. “Then how about making it a more entertaining challenge?”
He looked up, and in the space of air before his eyes the thirteen-hour clock appeared. He gestured gracefully, and the hands visibly began to turn faster.
“That’s not fair,” Sarah said.
“You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is.”
Jareth took the crystal ball from his hat and tossed it back down the tunnel again. At once, from the darkness, came a noise: a crashing, whirring, trundling noise, distant as yet, but getting closer all the time, and louder.
Hoggle’s face was a mask of panic. Sarah found herself instinctively shrinking away from the approaching din.
“The Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it?” Jareth laughed. “Well, now we can see how you deal with this little slice.” While his mocking laugh still rang, he vanished.
Sarah and Hoggle stared along the passageway. When they saw what was coming at them, their jaws dropped and they trembled.
A solid wall of furiously spinning knives and chopping cleavers was bearing inexorably down upon them. Dozens of
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