They were not a goodly company, but well worth contemplating, nevertheless; and Curdie had been too long used to the goblins' creatures in the mines and on the mountain, to feel the least uncomfortable at being followed by such a herd.

On the contrary, the marvellous vagaries of shape they manifested amused him greatly, and shortened the journey much.
Before they were all gathered, however, it had got so dark that he could see some of them only a part at a time, and every now and then, as the company wandered on, he would be startled by some extraordinary limb or feature, undreamed of by him before, thrusting itself out of the darkness into the range of his ken.

Probably there were some of his old acquaintances among them, although such had been the conditions of semi-darkness, in which alone he had ever seen any of them, that it was not like he would be able to identify any of them.
On they marched solemnly, almost in silence, for either with feet or voice the creatures seldom made any noise.

By the time they reached the outside of the wood it was morning twilight.

Into the open trooped the strange torrent of deformity, each one following Lina.