ive cloaks of goat-skin with hoods to
pull over their heads for his followers, while for himself he obtained
one of rather finer material.

Another two days' journey brought them to the foot of the steep ascent,
and here they hired the services of a guide. The ascent was long and
difficult, and in spite of the praises which the host had bestowed upon
the road, it was so steep that Cuthbert was, for the most part, obliged
to walk, leading his steed, whose feet slipped on the smooth rock, and as
in many places a false step would have thrown them down many hundreds of
feet into the valley below, Cuthbert judged it safer to trust himself to
his own feet. He disencumbered himself of his helmet and gorget, and
placed these upon the horse's back. At nightfall they had attained a very
considerable height, and stopped at one of the small refuges of which the
landlord had spoken.

"I like not the look of the weather," the guide said in the morning--at
least that was what Cuthbert judged him to say, for he could speak no
word of the man's language. His actions, however, as he looked towards
the sky, and shook his head, spoke for themselves, and Cuthbert, feeling
his own powerlessness in a situation so novel to him, felt serious
misgivings at the prospect.

The scenery was now very wild. On all sides crags and mountain tops
covered with snow glistened in the sun. The woods near the path were free
of snow; but higher up they rose black above the white ground. The wind
blew keenly, and all rejoiced in the warm cloaks which they had obtained;
for even with the protection of these they had found the cold bitter
during the night.

"I like not this country," Cnut said. "We grumbled at the heat of
Palestine, but I had rather march across the sand there than in this
inhospitable frozen region. The woods look as if they might contain
spectres. There is a silence which seems to be unnatural, and my courage,
like the warmth of my body, is methinks oozing out from my fingers."

Cuthbert laughed.

"I have no doubt that your courage would come again much quicker than the
warmth, Cnut, if there were any occasion for it. A brisk walk will set
you all right again, and banish these uneasy fancies. To-night we shall
be at the highest point, and to-morrow begin to descend towards Germany."

All day the men kept steadily on. The guide from time to time looked
apprehensively at the sky; and although in the earlier part of the day
Cuthbert's inex