The Wood Beyond the World

esently Walter was left alone with the carle, and fell to speech with him and said: "Father, meseemeth thou shouldest have some strange tale to tell, and as yet we

hereof my memory should fail me; and withal there is grief therein, which I were loth to awaken: nev

l then, hast thou

since I was a young man,

garths, and plant orchard and vineyard, and gather together t

, and I entered into his inheritance, as though this were a lordly ma

t thou find thy fo

he lived but for a little

id: "I slew him: even so would he hav

t thou come hither

Now have I no will to do either this or tha

why didst thou slay the man?

I know that it was not so. Thus it was: I would needs go where he had been before, a

thereof?" s

of it," sai

came a smile in his face that was both sly and somewhat sad. Walter loo

said th

s; whither it went and whereto it led, that thou must nee

ell thee," sa

th of them, and thereafter got

ith the carle to the hunting, and they went, all of them, a three hours' faring towards the foot of the cliffs, which was all grown over wi

midst the clear of the plain, whence all was to be seen save where the wood covered it; but just before where they now lay down there was no wood, save low bushes, betwixt them and the rock-wall; and Walter noted that whereas otherwhere, save in one place whereto their eyes were turned, the cliffs seemed wellnigh or quite sheer, or indeed in some

es run together up towards that sinking in the cliff

ould they err; for that is the pass into the Bear-count

owing the plain much there, till it made a bight, the face whereof looked wellnigh north, instead of west, as did the more part of the wall. And in the midst of that north

ass; whereunto doth that one lead?" And he pointed to it: but the old man did not follow t

eadeth into the Bear-country by a rounda

he wondrous three. He caught his breath hardly, and his heart knocked against his ribs; but he refrained from speaking for a long while; but at last he spake in a sharp hard voice, which he

ld nor where he was, but he was as one in a swoon. For he knew full well that the carle had lied to him, and that he might as well have said aye as no, and told him, that it verily was by that same shard that he had stridden over a dead man. Nevertheless he

hat?" said

in especial, were to turn our backs on them, and go home with nothing done, it were pity of our li

ld man, rising up on his elb

whereby the huge men come to thee from out of the Bea

ok his head, and spake: "That adventure were sp

how?" sa

up as a blood-offering to that woman, who is their Mawmet. An

er: "Is t

e," said

thou this?"

here myself,"

er, "but thou ca

e thereof?" s

r, "for I have seen thee eat thy meat, wh

or wholly was I saved; my body escaped forsooth. But where is my soul? Where is my heart, and my life? Young man, I rede thee, t

y will be well pleased to share my goods amongst them if I give them a w

the carle, "I pray th

ar-folk and their customs, speaking very freely of them; but Walter's ears were scarce open to this talk: whereas he deemed that he s