leep calling on
Rollory, and a great dread seized upon the spies and they whispered
'Rollory lives,' but they remembered the King's axeman and went on.
And next they came to the great bronze statue of Fear, carved by
some sculptor of the old glorious years in the attitude of flight
towards the mountains, calling to her children as she fled. And the
children of Fear were carved in the likeness of the armies of all
the trans-Cyresian tribes with their backs towards Merimna, flocking
after Fear. And from where he sat on his horse behind the ramparts
the sword of Welleran was stretched out over their heads as ever it
was wont. And the two spies kneeled down in the sand and kissed the
huge bronze foot of the statue of Fear, saying: 'O Fear, Fear.' And
as they knelt they saw lights far off along the ramparts coming
nearer and nearer, and heard men singing of Welleran. And the
purple guard came nearer and went by with their lights, and passed
on into the distance round the ramparts still singing of Welleran.
And all the while the two spies clung to the foot of the statue,
muttering: 'O Fear, Fear.' But when they could hear the name of
Welleran no more they arose and came to the ramparts and climbed
over them and came at once upon the figure of Welleran, and they
bowed low to the ground, and Seejar said: 'O Welleran, we came to
see whether thou didst yet live.' And for a long while they waited
with their faces to the earth. At last Seejar looked up towards
Welleran's terrible sword, and it was still stretched out pointing
to the carved armies that followed after Fear. And Seejar bowed to
the ground again and touched the horse's hoof, and it seemed cold to
him. And he moved his hand higher and touched the leg of the horse,
and it seemed quite cold. At last he touched Welleran's foot, and
the armour on it seemed hard and stiff. Then as Welleran moved not
and spake not, Seejar climbed up at last and touched his hand, the
terrible hand of Welleran, and it was marble. Then Seejar laughed
aloud, and he and Sajar-Ho sped down the empty pathway and found
Rollory, and he was marble too. Then they climbed down over the
ramparts and went back across the plain, walking contemptuously past
the figure of Fear, and heard the guard returning round the ramparts
for the third time, singing of Welleran; and Seejar said: 'Ay, you
may sing of Welleran, but Welleran is dead and a doom is on your
city.'

And they passed on and found t