"
Then we were silent, and presently sleep came to me, until the
first light crept into the house and woke me.
In an hour we were riding across the hills with Evan, for whom we
had brought a horse, and there were fifty men with us. We should
leave them at a place which Evan would show us, and so go on with
him without them. It was not so certain that we might not run into
the nest of the men who had taken Owen, though this would surely
not be in the lost valley.
Many a long mile Evan led us into the hills northwestward, and far
beyond where I had yet been. I cannot tell how far it was
altogether, for the way was winding, but I lost sight of all
landmarks that I knew, and ever the bare hills grew barer and yet
more wild, and I could understand that there were places where even
the shepherds never went.
At first we saw one or two of these watching us from a distance,
but soon we passed into utter loneliness, and nought but the cries
of the nesting curlew which we startled, and the wail of the plover
round our heads, broke the solemn stillness of the grey rocks on
every side. Even our men grew silent, and the ring of sword on
stirrup seemed too loud to be natural at last. We were all fully
armed, of course.
Then we came to a place where the hills drew together, and doubled
fold on fold under a cloud of hanging mist that hid their heads,
and as we rode, once Evan pointed silently to a rock, and I looked
and saw strange markings on it that had surely some meaning in
them, though I could not tell what it was.
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