is adventure and his loneliness, his spirit
failed him; he turned round towards the noise, his knees shook and he
trembled: this way and that he looked, and then gave a great cry and
tumbled down in a swoon; for close before him, at his very feet, was the
dwarf whose image he had seen before, clad in his yellow coat, and
grinning up at him from his hideous hairy countenance.

How long he lay there as one dead, he knew not, but when he woke again
there was the dwarf sitting on his hams close by him. And when he lifted
up his head, the dwarf sent out that fearful harsh voice again; but this
time Walter could make out words therein, and knew that the creature
spoke and said:

"How now! What art thou? Whence comest? What wantest?"

Walter sat up and said: "I am a man; I hight Golden Walter; I come from
Langton; I want victual."

Said the dwarf, writhing his face grievously, and laughing forsooth: "I
know it all: I asked thee to see what wise thou wouldst lie. I was sent
forth to look for thee; and I have brought thee loathsome bread with me,
such as ye aliens must needs eat: take it!"

Therewith he drew a loaf from a satchel which he bore, and thrust it
towards Walter, who took it somewhat doubtfully for all his hunger.

The dwarf yelled at him: "Art thou dainty, alien? Wouldst thou have
flesh? Well, give me thy bow and an arrow or two, since thou art lazy-
sick, and I will get thee a coney or a hare, or a quail maybe. Ah, I
forgot; thou art dainty, and wilt not eat flesh as I do, blood and all
together, but must needs half burn it in the fire, or mar it with hot
water; as they say my Lady does: or as the Wretch, the Thing does; I know
that, for I have seen It eating."

"Nay," said Walter, "this sufficeth;" and he fell to eating the bread,
which was sweet between his teeth. Then when he had eaten a while, for
hunger compelled him, he said to the dwarf: "But what meanest thou by the
Wretch and the Thing? And what Lady is thy Lady?"

The creature let out another wordless roar as of furious anger; and then
the words came: "It hath a face white and red, like to thine; and hands
white as thine, yea, but whiter; and the like it is underneath its
raiment, only whiter still: for I have seen It--yes, I have seen It; ah
yes and yes and yes."

And therewith his words ran into gibber and yelling, and he rolled about
and smote at the grass: but in a while he grew quiet again and sat still,
and then fell to laughing h