aster's shoulder and saw that a great hedge,
high and exceedingly thick, cut off all prospect of their advancing.

"This is pleasant," said he; "but I might try to force our way through
the hedge. The briers would probably prick me severely, and that would
be delightful."

"Try it!" the prince returned, with twinkling eyes.

Nerle sprang from his horse to obey, but at the first contact with the
briers he uttered a howl of pain and held up his hands, which were
bleeding in a dozen places from the wounds of the thorns.

"Ah, that will content you for a time, I trust," said Marvel. "Now
follow me, and we will ride along beside the hedge until we find an
opening. For either it will come to an end or there will prove to be a
way through it to the other side."

So they rode alongside the hedge for hour after hour; yet it did not
end, nor could they espy any way to get through the thickly matted
briers. By and by night fell, and they tethered their horses to some
shrubs, where there were a few scanty blades of grass for them to crop,
and then laid themselves down upon the ground, with bare rocks for
pillows, where they managed to sleep soundly until morning.

They had brought a supply of food in their pouches, and on this they
breakfasted, afterward continuing their journey beside the hedge.

At noon Prince Marvel uttered an exclamation of surprise and stopped
his horse.

"What is it?" asked Nerle.

"I have found the handkerchief with which you wiped the blood from your
hands yesterday morning, and then carelessly dropped," replied the
prince. "This proves that we have made a complete circle around this
hedge without finding a way to pass through it."

"In that case," said Nerle, "we had better leave the hedge and go in
another direction."

"Not so," declared Marvel. "The hedge incloses some unknown country,
and I am curious to find out what it is."

"But there is no opening," remonstrated Nerle.

"Then we must make one. Wouldn't you like to enjoy a little more pain?"

"Thank you," answered Nerle, "my hands are still smarting very
comfortably from the pricks of yesterday."

"Therefore I must make the attempt myself," said the prince, and
drawing his sword he whispered a queer word to it, and straightway
began slashing at the hedge.

The brambles fell fast before his blade, and when he had cut a big heap
of branches from the hedge Nerle dragged them to one side, and the
prince began again.

It was m