f a
sage who dwelleth not far from the town of Utterness, and who, if he
will, can put a seeker of the Well on the right road."

He looked askance on Ralph, whose face flushed and whose eyes glittered
at that word. But Clement said: "Yea, that seemeth fair to look to:
but hark ye! Is it not so that the way to Utterness is perilous?" Said
the man: "Thou mayst rather call it deadly, to any who is not
furnished with a let-pass from the Lord of Utterbol, as I am. But with
such a scroll a child or a woman may wend the road unharmed." "Where
hast thou the said let-pass?" said Clement. "Here," quoth the
new-comer; and therewith he drew a scroll from out of his pouch, and
opened it before them, and they read it together, and sure enough it
was a writing charging all men so let pass and aid Morfinn the Minstrel
(of whose aspect it told closely), under pain of falling into the
displeasure of Gandolf, Lord of Utterbol; and the date thereon was but
three months old.

Said Clement: "This is good, this let-pass: see thou, Ralph, the seal
of Utterbol, the Bear upon the Castle Wall. None would dare to
counterfeit this seal, save one who was weary of life, and longed for
torments."

Said Ralph, smiling: "Thou seest, Master Clement, that there must be a
parting betwixt us, and that this man's coming furthers it: but were he
or were he not, yet the parting had come. And wert thou not liefer
that it should come in a way to pleasure and aid me, than that thou
shouldst but leave me behind at Goldburg when thou departest: and I
with naught done toward the achieving my quest, but merely dragging my
deedless body about these streets; and at last, it may be, going on a
perilous journey without guiding or safe-conduct?"

"Yea, lad," said Clement, "I wotted well that thou wouldst take thine
own way, but fain had I been that it had been mine also." Then he
pondered a while and said afterwards: "I suppose that thou wilt take
thy servant Bull Shockhead with thee, for he is a stout man-at-arms,
and I deem him trusty, though he be a wild man. But one man is of
little avail to a traveller on a perilous road, so if thou wilt I will
give leave and license to a half score of our sergeants to follow thee
on the road; for, as thou wottest, I may easily wage others in their
place. Or else wouldst thou ask the Queen of Goldburg to give thee a
score of men-at-arms; she looked to me the other day as one who would
deny thee few of thine askings.