try that lay three years' journey southward.
The Evil Spirit strove day and night to return to his country, and
therefore, look you, the iron needle pointed continually to the South.'

'South?' said Dan suddenly, and put his hand into his pocket.

'With my own eyes I saw it. Every day and all day long, though the
ship rolled, though the sun and the moon and the stars were hid, this
blind Spirit in the iron knew whither it would go, and strained to the
South. Witta called it the Wise Iron, because it showed him his way
across the unknowable seas.' Again Sir Richard looked keenly at the
children. 'How think ye? Was it sorcery?'

'Was it anything like this?' Dan fished out his old brass
pocket-compass, that generally lived with his knife and key-ring. 'The
glass has got cracked, but the needle waggles all right, sir.'

The knight drew a long breath of wonder. 'Yes, yes! The Wise Iron
shook and swung in just this fashion. Now it is still. Now it points
to the South.'

'North,' said Dan.

'Nay, South! There is the South,'said Sir Richard. Then they both
laughed, for naturally when one end of a straight compass-needle points
to the North, the other must point to the South.

'Te,' said Sir Richard, clicking his tongue. 'There can be no sorcery
if a child carries it. Wherefore does it point South--or North?'

'Father says that nobody knows,' said Una.

Sir Richard looked relieved. 'Then it may still be magic. It was magic
to us. And so we voyaged. When the wind served we hoisted sail, and
lay all up along the windward rail, our shields on our backs to break
the spray. When it failed, they rowed with long oars; the Yellow Man
sat by the Wise Iron, and Witta steered. At first I feared the great
white-flowering waves, but as I saw how wisely Witta led his ship among
them I grew bolder. Hugh liked it well from the first. My skill is
not upon the water; and rocks and whirlpools such as we saw by the West
Isles of France, where an oar caught on a rock and broke, are much
against my stomach. We sailed South across a stormy sea, where by
moonlight, between clouds, we saw a Flanders ship roll clean over and
sink. Again, though Hugh laboured with Witta all night, I lay under
the deck with the Talking Bird, and cared not whether I lived or died.
There is a sickness of the sea which for three days is pure death!
When we next saw land Witta said it was Spain, and we stood out to sea.
That coast was full of s