ss that at the moment I had no eyes for the scene--for the
yellow mary-buds, the blue of the wild hyacinth, or the white stars of
the wind-flowers; for leaf and shade, and all the enchantment of the
woodland. In brief, I was famished, and would have given a gold Henri
to have seen a signboard swinging in the air. And, besides, it was
dawning upon me that somehow we had missed the track.

"Pierrebon," I said, "do you know how far it is to Marcay?"

Pierrebon shook his head dolefully, saying as he did so that he did not
even know where we were.

"Then, my friend, we are lost in Fontevrault Forest."

Pierrebon made no answer to this, but mounted his hackney. And,
touching my nag with the spur, we cantered along a lean glade, trusting
that the track which ran along it would hap to be the right one. Now
and again as we sped onwards a startled deer would break cover and rush
through brake and bramble, and once an evil-tempered old boar, feeding
under an older oak, glared savagely at us as we passed, grinding his
tusks in senseless rage till the foam flecked his brindled sides.

We were in the deeps of the forest now, and, high noon as it was, it
was grey as twilight. Here, as we eased up for a moment, a dog-wolf
crossed our path, and with snarling lip and shining fangs slunk into
the thorn. Oh, for a leash of hounds now! But on we went, catching a
glimpse of a grim head peering after us through the thorn--a head with
blazing, angry eyes, that almost seemed to speak. It was lucky it was
not winter-tide, or that gentleman there would not be alone, but, with
a hundred or so of his fellows, would have made rare sport with us,
according to his lights.

Still we went on through the endless woods, which closed in deeper and
deeper around us, until at last the track died utterly away in the
tanglewood, and the horses began to give sign that they were beaten.

I saw that it was necessary to rest the beasts, and as I came to this
conclusion we came upon a little natural clearing, where, around a
clump of enormous elms, the turf was green as emerald and spangled with
a hundred flowers. Immediately behind the trees the ground rose,
forming a low hill covered with wild juniper and white thorn, and a
little stream bustled by it, whilst from the leafy shades above the
voices of many birds warbled sweet and low.

There was no need to tighten rein. The horses seemed to know of their
own accord that they were to stop, and fiv