nchspell, which was climbing steadily upward to
the zenith. On descending the other side of the little hills, Maskull
looked anxiously for traces of Nightspore and Krag, but without result.
After staring about him for a few minutes he shrugged his shoulders; but
suspicions had already begun to gather in his mind.

A small, natural amphitheatre lay at their feet, completely circled by
the tree-clad heights. The centre was of red sand. In the very middle
shot up a tall, stately tree, with a black trunk and branches, and
transparent, crystal leaves. At the foot of this tree was a natural,
circular well, containing dark green water.

When they had reached the bottom, Joiwind took him straight over to the
well.

Maskull gazed at it intently. "Is this the shrine you talked about?"

"Yes. It is called Shaping's Well. The man or woman who wishes to invoke
Shaping must take up some of the gnawl water, and drink it."

"Pray for me," said Maskull. "Your unspotted prayer will carry more
weight."

"What do you wish for?"

"For purity," answered Maskull, in a troubled voice.

Joiwind made a cup of her hand, and drank a little of the water. She
held it up to Maskull's mouth. "You must drink too." He obeyed. She then
stood erect, closed her eyes, and, in a voice like the soft murmurings
of spring, prayed aloud.

"Shaping, my father, I am hoping you can hear me. A strange man has come
to us weighed down with heavy blood. He wishes to be pure. Let him know
the meaning of love, let him live for others. Don't spare him pain, dear
Shaping, but let him seek his own pain. Breathe into him a noble soul."

Maskull listened with tears in his heart.

As Joiwind finished speaking, a blurred mist came over his eyes, and,
half buried in the scarlet sand, appeared a large circle of dazzlingly
white pillars. For some minutes they flickered to and fro between
distinctness and indistinctness, like an object being focused. Then they
faded out of sight again.

"Is that a sign from Shaping?" asked Maskull, in a low, awed tone.

"Perhaps it is. It is a time mirage."

"What can that be, Joiwind?"

"You see, dear Maskull, the temple does not yet exist but it will do so,
because it must. What you and I are now doing in simplicity, wise men
will do hereafter in full knowledge."

"It is right for man to pray," said Maskull. "Good and evil in the world
don't originate from nothing. God and Devil must exist. And we should
pray to the one, and f