The pilgrims had not gone far before they began to fear that they had made a mistake in leaving the king's highway and thought it would be well to find their way back to the stile. But now it began to rain and thunder and lighten, and the waters of a stream that ran through the fields had risen so rapidly that they saw it would be dangerous to attempt to cross, and as night was coming on they could not find the path leading to the stile. So after looking about for some time, they found a shelter, where they decided to rest and wait for the morning.
Now not far from the place where they rested was a large and gloomy-looking old castle, called Doubting Castle, the owner of which was Giant Despair. It was in his grounds they were sleeping, for being very tired they had soon fallen asleep.
The next morning the giant, who was an early riser, was walking about his fields, as he often did, and came upon the two sleeping pilgrims. He shook them roughly and bade them get up and tell him who they were, where they came from, and what business they had to be sleeping on his grounds.
He told them that they had trespassed by entering upon his grounds and therefore must go along with him. So driving them before him, for he was much stronger than they were, he took them and shut them up in a dark and ill-smelling dungeon underneath the castle. There they were left from Wednesday morning till Saturday with no food or water and without anyone entering the dungeon to ask how they fared.
When the giant told his wife, Diffidence, that he had found two men sleeping on his grounds and had put them into the dungeon, her advice was that he should beat them severely. So in the morning, arming himself with a stout stick he went to the dungeon, and after abusing the prisoners as if they had been dogs, he beat them with many stripes, leaving them so sore that they could not even turn themselves on the earthen floor of their prison.
On his next visit he again beat them, telling them that as he did not intend to set them free, he thought it would be much better to make an end of themselves than to live in such misery. The giant then made them follow him to the castle-yard, where they saw many bones lying about. "These," said he, "are the bones of those who once, like yourselves, were pilgrims, but who, having trespassed upon my grounds, fell into my hands and were put into the dungeon. When I thought fit, I tore them in pieces. Within ten days you, too, will come to the same end. Now get you down to your den again." With these words he drove them back to their prison. There they lay, still sore and sorrowful, till nearly midnight on Saturday, when they began to pray and continued in prayer until, though no light came into their prison, they knew it must be almost morning.
Then said Christian, and his voice sounded strong and cheerful, "How foolish we have been to lie in such misery in this wretched dungeon when I have in my bosom a key called Promise that will, I believe, unlock every door in Doubting Castle, and we may then go forth free men."
"That is indeed good news, dear Christian," said Hopeful. "Find your key and let us try it without losing any more time."
Then Christian drew out his key, and it no sooner began to turn in the lock than the door of their prison flew open, and they soon reached another door that also opened to them. Only the great outer gate of the castle then stood between them and liberty; that, too, they were able to open with their key. But the hinges were very rusty, and the gate made such a creaking that the noise awoke the giant, who got up in a great rage and would again have caught the pilgrims, but at that moment one of the seizures, from which he often suffered, came on, so that he could not go after them. And thus they were able to escape, and finding their way to the stile, they were soon again on the king's highway.
Glad and thankful as they were for their own escape, they felt they should like to do something that might prevent other pilgrims who might go that way from crossing the stile and falling into the clutches of Giant Despair. So before going further, they decided to erect a small pillar and to engrave upon the side of it words of warning, by which there is no doubt that some at least of the many pilgrims who stopped to read it were saved from leaving the king's highway and turning into By-Path Meadow.
With praise-filled hearts, Christian and Hopeful continued their journey and soon afterward reached the Delectable Mountains. Here they saw large flocks of sheep feeding under the care of shepherds who, as soon as they saw the pilgrims, gave them a friendly greeting and told them they were welcome not only to drink from the springs that watered the pleasant land to which they had come, but to enter the orchards and vineyards and eat of the ripe fruit. They told them that the mountains were in Emmanuel's Land and that they were only under-shepherds, but the great Shepherd to whom the mountains and the sheep belonged had laid down His life for the sheep.