`` I wish I could see you '' ; and , horrible to relate , he rose on a pair of wide , flaming wings , and came right at the prince , guided by the sound of his voice . Now , the prince had never heard that Fire-drakes could fly ; indeed , he had never believed in them at all , till the night before . For a moment he was numb with terror ; then he flew down like a stone to the very bottom of the hill and shouted : `` Hi ! '' `` Well , '' grunted the Firedrake , `` what 's the matter ? Why ca n't you give a civil answer to a civil question ? '' `` Will you go back to your hole and swear , on your honour as a Firedrake , to listen quietly ? '' `` On my sacred word of honour , '' said the beast , casually scorching an eagle that flew by into ashes . The cinders fell , jingling and crackling , round the prince in a little shower . Then the Firedrake dived back , with an awful splash of flame , and the mountain roared round him . The prince now flew high above him , and cried : `` A message from the Remora . He says you are afraid to fight him . '' `` Do n't know him , '' grunted the Firedrake . `` He sends you his glove , '' said Prince Prigio , `` as a challenge to mortal combat , till death do you part . '' Then he dropped his own glove into the fiery lake . `` Does he ? '' yelled the Firedrake . `` Just let me get at him ! '' and he scrambled out , all red-hot as he was . `` I 'll go and tell him you 're coming , '' said the prince ; and with two strides he was over the frozen mountain of the Remora . -LSB- Illustration : Chapter Ten -RSB- CHAPTER X. -- The Prince and the Remora If he had been too warm before , the prince was too cold now .
The hill of the Remora was one solid mass XXXXX frozen steel , and the cold rushed out of it like the breath of some icy beast , which indeed it was .
For On above as before by like of till to