nd eaten from the scrip
which the Lady of the Moors had made up for him, he lay down beside a
thick bush and slept soundly.

Many were the terrible sounds that came from far below, where fierce
witches and warlocks battled and tore each other in the Dead Valley;
but Sir Owen was so overcome that he awoke not. And just as the morning
broke, a great serpent issued from a rock near where he lay and crept
towards him to slay him.

Sir Owen still lay asleep, and the huge creature reared his head to
strike. But at that moment a great brown bear, that had sat near Sir
Owen through the night, leaped forward with a fierce growl, and gripped
the serpent by the head. And the serpent hissed and writhed.

With the noise of the struggle Sir Owen awoke, and marvelled to see the
two animals closed in deadly combat. He drew his sword and slew the
serpent, and having wiped his weapon, he went to his horse and led it
forward.

But the bear followed him and played about him, as if it was a
greyhound that he had reared. And Sir Owen stopped and said:

'This is a marvel, sir bear, that you would follow me gambolling,
because I slew the serpent. Are ye so grateful, then, or is it that ye
have been captive unto men, and are fain to see one in this desolate
waste?'

The bear gambolled as if pleased to hear him speak, and went on a
little way and looked back as if to see that the knight was following.
And when Sir Owen would go another way, the bear stamped his foot, so
that at length, with a laugh, Sir Owen said he would follow the way he
wished.

Wild was that place and rocky, full of great boulders and with deep
pits obscured by bushes. Full irksome was it to pass through, for
besides the slipperiness of the way, the sun shone pitilessly down, and
its heat was returned by the hard rocks. And there was no water.

If the bear had not led him, Sir Owen would have missed his footing
many times, and been hurled down one of the many chasms that yawned
everywhere.

At length Sir Owen became faint with hunger, and he dismounted and
tethered his horse to a leafless thorn. Then he went and lay in the
shadow of an enormous rock that reared up like a huge tower. And the
bear looked at him for a little while and then disappeared.

Sir Owen wondered sadly whether he should ever win through the perils
that encompassed him, and see again the lady whom he loved best in all
the world. And weak with famine, he doubted whether he should not leave
h