"I thought you were a true believer, you inquired so zealously about
the witches."

"This is only my official duty, not my belief. Send me the Turk."

As he went out, the Pope murmured half aloud,

"You go well together,--two pagans."

"Comrade Zulfikar," called out Clement to the Turk as he entered,
fastening on the sandals that had been brought, "you can look out for
your own route now, for I must take a little side-dodge into the
mountains."

"If you dodge, I will dodge too," replied the distrustful deserter.
"Wherever you go, I will go."

"Where I am going, my dear friend, there is nothing to put in your
pocket; it must be you wish to bag the devil, for no human being has
ever set foot there."

"How do I know where the people live in this confounded country of
yours! My orders were to go with you until I reached the
starting-point again."

"All the better, for there will be more of us. Help me draw my sword
out of the scabbard, so I can defend myself if necessary."

"So you carry a sword that it takes two men to draw. Let me get hold
of it."

The two men planted their feet, grasped the sword with both hands and
tugged at it for some time. At last it came out of its scabbard,
almost throwing Clement over backward. Then Clement took a pitcher of
honey, rubbed the rusty sword with the sticky stuff and put it back
into its scabbard.

"Now we must be on our way, young man," he said to the Wallachian.

The latter at once took up his hat and his axe from the ground and
went ahead without as much as one glance back at the dead. His mother
seized him by the hand.

"Will you not kiss your dead love?"

Sanga-moarta did not so much as look--pulled his hand away from his
mother's, and went with the two strangers out into the deep darkness
of the forest.

* * * * *

All night long these adventurers wandered through a deep valley from
which they could just catch sight of the giant summits rising on all
sides; directly overhead glimmered a strip of starry sky. Toward
morning they reached the midst of the mountains. What a sight that
was! Along the shining crystal peaks stretched dark green forest--on
one side rose a crag of basalt, with columns like organ pipes in rows,
topped by trees. In front of this crag of basalt a white cloud moved,
but the summit and base of the rock were to be seen; from time to time
the lightning flashed through the cloud but it was some time before