r he was weary of his walking, and
in a little he fell asleep; his thoughts still ran upon the sword, for
he dreamed that he had it with him in a wood that he knew not, that was
dark with the shade of leaves; and he hung the sword upon a tree, and
went on, to win out of the wood if he could, for it seemed very close
and heavy in the forest; sometimes through the trees he saw a space of
open ground, with ferns glistening in the sun; but he could not find the
end of the wood; so he came back in his dream to where he had left the
sword; and while he stood watching it, he saw that something dark
gathered at the scabbard end, and presently fell with a little sound
among the leaves. Then with a shock of terror he saw that it was blood;
and he feared to take the sword back; but looking downwards he perceived
that where the blood had fallen, there were red flowers growing among
the leaves of a rare beauty, which seemed to be born of the blood. So he
gathered a handful, and wreathed the sword with them; and then came a
gladness into his mind, with which he awoke, and found it evening; he
came back to himself with a kind of terror, and a fear darted into his
breast; the windows were open, and there came in a scent of flowers; and
he felt a great love for the beautiful earth, and for his quiet life;
and he looked at the chest; and there came into his mind a strong desire
to take the sword out, and lay it back in the church, and let things be
as they had been; and so he sate and mused.

Presently his old serving-man came in and told him he had set his
supper; so Henry went into the parlour, and made some pretence to be
about to eat; sending the old man away, who babbled a little to him of
the war, of the barons' army that drew nearer, and of how the king was
sore bested. When he was gone Sir Henry ate a little bread and drank a
sup of wine; and then he rose up, like one who had made up his mind. He
went to the chest and drew out the sword; and then he went softly out of
the house, and presently walking swiftly he came out on the down.

It was now nearly dusk; the sky lay clear and still, fading into a sort
of delicate green, but all the west was shrouded in a dim blackness, the
cloud being spread out, like a great dark bird winging its way slowly up
the sky. Then far down in the west there leapt, as it were, interlacing
streams of fire out of the cloud, and then followed a low rolling of
thunder.

But all the while he mounted the