this rock are all that is left of them."

Godwin and Wulf stared at the weather-worn sculptures, and in the
silence of that moonlit place there arose in their minds a vision
of the mighty armies of different tongues and peoples who had
stood in their pride on this road and looked upon yonder river
and the great stone wolf that guarded it, which wolf, so said the
legend, howled at the approach of foes. But now he howled no
more, for he lay headless beneath the waters, and there he lies
to this day. Well, they were dead, everyone of them, and even
their deeds were forgotten; and oh! how small the thought of it
made them feel, these two young men bent upon a desperate quest
in a strange and dangerous land. Masouda read what was passing in
their hearts, and as they came to the brink of the river, pointed
to the bubbles that chased each other towards the sea, bursting
and forming again before their eyes.

"Such are we," she said briefly; "but the ocean is always yonder,
and the river is always here, and of fresh bubbles there will
always be a plenty. So dance on life's water while you may, in
the sunlight, in the moonlight, beneath the storm, beneath the
stars, for ocean calls and bubbles burst. Now follow me, for I
know the ford, and at this season the stream is not deep. Pilgrim
Peter, ride you at my side in case I should be washed from the
saddle; and pilgrim John, come you behind, and if they hang back,
prick the mules with your sword point."

Thus, then, they entered the river, which many might have feared
to do at night, and, although once or twice the water rose to
their saddles and the mules were stubborn in the swift stream, in
the end gained the further bank in safety. Thence they pursued
their path through mountains till at length the sun rose and they
found themselves in a lonely land where no one was to be seen.
Here they halted in a grove of oaks, off-saddled their animals,
tethered and fed them with barley which they had brought upon a
mule, and ate of the food that Masouda had provided. Then, having
secured the beasts, they lay down to sleep, all three of them,
since Masouda said that here there was nothing to fear; and being
weary, slept on till the heat of noon was past, when once more
they fed the horses and mules, and having dined themselves, set
forward upon their way.

Now their road--if road it could be called, for they could see
none--ran ever upwards through rough, mountainous country, where