ter the thane and his charge,
who were half a mile away by this time, waiting for us. But we
never heard any elvish arrow whistling after us, or saw any more of
the uncouth folk.

I told him as we went on of the pit we had seen, and how Werbode
thought it was a trap. Whereon the housecarl laughed a little, and
said that it was but an ancient flint working. The men who had
fallen on the party were the descendants of those who had made it.
The flints had been worked here from time untold even till now, and
those who worked them today had all the craft of their forebears.

"Why, then, they went into their workings when they fled from us,"
I said.

"No doubt, thane. Where else should they go?" he said. "They came
out of them on us."

"I wonder you brought your master and the lady across this heath at
all," I said "it is a perilous place."

"It grew late, and it is the nearest way," said the man humbly.
"Nor did I ever hear that the flintknappers, as we call them,
harmed any."

"Nor did I," said the old thane. "It is somewhat fresh to me. Maybe
parties like ours have passed here so often during this last week
that at last the sight of gold and jewels has roused them to try to
take from a weak band."

So we talked and went on as fast as we might, all the while keeping
a lookout around us. The lady had, in some way which is beyond me
altogether, set herself in such array again that I, for one, could
hardly tell that aught had been awry on her; and I wondered that
Werbode's red cloak had never seemed so graceful a garment on his
broad shoulders. But she said little or nothing, leaning her head
on her father as she rode with her arm round him, save when we
asked her if all was well. I think she was very tired.

And so at last, with no more adventure, we came to the well-worn
track which we were making for, and by-and-by, in the May
moonlight, saw the twinkling lights of Thetford town, seeming to
welcome us into the shelter of its protecting ramparts. I was glad
to see them; but I had enjoyed that long tramp back, for some
reason which was not plain to me, unless it had been the talk of
the old thane and my comrades, and the sense of escape from danger.

Now we came to the great hall, and the grooms thronged round us to
take the horses; and seeing that there was a lady, one told the
steward, and he bustled out to help her. But there I was at hand,
and lifted the maiden from the horse and set her on her feet,
having