After a while her descent slowed. She was sure the back of her dress was horribly soiled, but at least she was all right. Now she saw light, and in two and a half moments came to rest by one of the guttering torches. Sammy was waiting for her there, licking the dirt off his fur.

"Now find Godiva," Jenny told him. "Slowly!" She took the torch out of its holder and followed as the cat set off again.

A male goblin intercepted them. "Hey, schnook! Where you going?"

Jenny adjusted her spectacles and looked at him. She did not recognize him. "Who are you?"

"What do you mean, who am I?" he demanded. "I'm the one doing the asking here! Where are you going, glass-eyes?"

"I'm going to see Godiva," she said. "Now get out of my way, because this is important."

"Oh, yeah, elf?" he demanded, making the "elf' sound like an epithet. "Why you wanna see that female dog?"

Jenny realized that this was a juvenile goblin. Not only was he smaller than she was, he didn't know the terms forbidden by the Adult Conspiracy of this world. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Is that so, point-ears!" he said belligerently. "Well, I'm Gobble, son of the chief, and I want to know what you have to say to that, hair ball."

So this was Gobble Goblin, the ten-year-old son of Gouty! According to Gwenny, the brattiest brat who ever existed. She could believe it. She remembered that he would become chief if Gwenny didn't.

Ordinarily Jenny tried to be polite to folk, but she was in a hurry, and this one was just not worth it. "Disappear, brat!" she said, and pushed past him.

"Oh no you don't, freckle-bottom!" he cried, grabbing her spectacles from her face.

Suddenly Jenny could hardly see. "Give those back!" she demanded, grabbing for him.

"Nyaa, nyaa, you can't get them!" he cried tauntingly, staying out of her reach.

Jenny lurched after him, but only banged into a wall. It scraped the side of her face and hurt horribly.

Gobble laughed uproariously. "Hey, your snoot looks better already, furriner! Why don't you do the other side too?"

Jenny was furious and humiliated. Worse, she knew she could not catch him, and she could not see where she was going without those spectacles. She was in real trouble. But she knew that if she started crying, the brat would be even happier.

"What's going on here?" a voice demanded. Jenny recognized it. It was Godiva! She must have been close to the woman's chamber when she ran into Gobble.

"Aw, nothing," Gobble said, his voice developing a whining tone. "Just playing."

"You have her spectacles!" Godiva said severely. "Give them back this instant!"

There was a faint crash and tinkle of something breaking. "Oops, dropped 'em!" Gobble said. "Oops, stepped on 'em too, by accident. I guess they're broke."