remained quiet.

Nick, his head in a whirl of excitement, then placed his face in his
open palms, and resting his elbows upon his knees, looked down at the
floor covered with scraps of soiled leather. Soon these scraps
commenced to move and assume weird shapes. They changed to hundreds of
little red, blue and green devils, no more than a few inches high,
which capered over the floor in troops. They ran up Nick's back, and
hiding in the mass of black hair, twisted and knotted it until their
victim winced, and then with hilarious shouts dropped to the floor and
went clattering away. Returning, they played hide and seek in and out
of the old worn boots and shoes which littered the floor. Then the tub
wherein the shoemaker wet his leather, burst its hoops and the water
ran out over the floor in streams of fire. The light was out and
darkness enveloped Nick and his companion. The wind went howling by,
and flung gusts of hail against the cracked and broken windows. Baba,
shivering from the cold, straightened himself up and looked for his
patron.

He could not see him, but he did perceive two balls of fire close to
him--the red eyes were still upon him.

Nick was thankful even for this, as any companionship at that moment
was better than none. The silence was at length broken by the Goblin
remarking, "You must have passed a fearful ordeal during the last few
moments."

"Has the time been so short?" inquired Nick; "it seemed almost an age
to me. This is not the first occasion, however, that I have passed
through it, and I fear the time may come when nature will break down,