ere
and there a deep cleft in them. They saw but few houses, and those
small and poor. A few shepherds they fell in with, who were short of
speech, after the manner of such men, but deemed a greeting not wholly
thrown away on such goodly folk as those wayfarers.

So they rode till it was noon, and Richard talked more than his wont
was, though his daily use it was to be of many words: nor did the Sage
spare speech; but Ursula spoke little, nor heeded much what the others
said, and Ralph deemed that she was paler than of wont, and her brows
were knitted as if she were somewhat anxious. As for him, he was grave
and calm, but of few words; and whiles when Richard was wordiest he
looked on him steadily for a moment whereat Richard changed
countenance, and for a while stinted his speech, but not for long;
while Ralph looked about him, inwardly striving to gather together the
ends of unhappy thoughts that floated about him, and to note the land
he was passing through, if indeed he had verily seen it aforetime,
elsewhere than in some evil dream.

At last when they stopped to bait by some scrubby bushes at the foot of
a wide hill-side, he took Richard apart, and said to him: "Old friend,
and whither go we?" Said Richard: "As thou wottest, to the Burg of the
Four Friths." "Yea," said Ralph, "but by what road?" Said Richard:
"Youngling is not thine heart, then, as strong as thou deemedst last
night?" Ralph was silent a while, and then he said: "I know what thou
wouldst say; we are going by the shortest road to the Castle of
Abundance."

He spake this out loud, but Richard nodded his head to him, as if he
would say: "Yea, so it is; but hold thy peace." But Ralph knew that
Ursula had come up behind him, and, still looking at Richard, he put
his open hand aback toward her, and her hand fell into it. Then he
turned about to her, and saw that her face was verily pale; so he put
his hands on her shoulders and kissed her kindly; and she let her head
fall on to his bosom and fell a-weeping, and the two elders turned away
to the horses, and feigned to be busy with them.

Thus then they bided some minutes of time, and then all gat to horse
again, and Ursula's face was cleared of the grief of fear, and the
colour had come back to her cheeks and lips. But Ralph's face was
stern and sorrowful to behold; howbeit, as they rode away he spake in a
loud and seeming cheerful voice: "Still ever shorteneth more and more
the way unto my