At first the height and steepness of the crag frightened them， but presently they noticed that there was an easier way up on the left and that the road wound up towards it. It was a terrible climb， after the journey they had already had， and Jill nearly gave up. Scrubb and Puddleglum had toelp her for the last hundred yards. But in the end they stood efore the castle gate. The portcullis was up and the gate open. However tired you are， it takes some nerve to walk up to a iant’s front door. In spite of all his previous warnings against arfang， it was Puddleglum who showed most courage. “Steady pace， now，” he said. “Don‘t look frightened， hatever you do. We’ve done the silliest thing in the world y coming at all： but now that we are here， we‘d best put a old face on it.”
With these words he strode forward into the gateway，ood still under the arch where the echo would help his oice， and called out as loud as he could.
“Ho！ Porter！ Guests who seek lodging.”
And while he was waiting for something to happen， he ook off his hat and knocked off the heavy mass of snow hich had gathered on its wide brim.
“I say，” whispered Scrubb to Jill. “He may be a wetlanket， but he has plenty of pluck.and cheek.”
