So the sounds were yet more
dreary than the silence which they interrupted.
It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was, the
rest of the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and
he was at last obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He
struck straight through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road
presently, but he was disappointed in this. He traveled on and on; but
the farther he went, the denser the wood became, apparently. The gloom
began to thicken, by and by, and the king realized that the night
was coming on. It made him shudder to think of spending it in such
an uncanny place; so he tried to hurry faster, but he only made the
less speed, for he could not now see well enough to choose his steps
judiciously; consequently he kept tripping over roots and tangling
himself in vines and briers.
And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light!
He approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and
listen. It came from an unglazed window-opening in a little hut. He
heard a voice now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he
changed his mind at once, for his voice was praying, evidently. He
glided to the one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and
stole a glance within. The room was small; its floor was the natural
earth, beaten hard by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a
ragged blanket or two; near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two
or three pots and pans; there was a short bench and a three-legged
stool; on the hearth the remains of a fagot fire were smoldering;
before a shrine, which was lighted by a single candle, knelt an aged
man, and on an old wooden box at his side lay an open book and a human
skull.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154