Close beside the door by which the princess left the garden for the mountain stood a great rock, and by climbing it Curdie got over the wall.

He tied his clue to a stone just inside the channel of the stream, and took his pickaxe with him.

He had not gone far before he encountered a horrid creature coming towards the mouth.

The spot was too narrow for two of almost any size or shape, and besides Curdie had no wish to let the creature pass.

Not being able to use his pickaxe, however, he had a severe struggle with him, and it was only after receiving many bites, some of them bad, that he succeeded in killing him with his pocket-knife.