as by day. And Leothric gave ground
slowly till the dawn, and when the light came they were near the
village again; yet not so near to it as they had been when they
encountered, for Leothric drove Tharagavverug farther in the day
than Tharagavverug had forced him back in the night. Then Leothric
drove him again with his stick till the hour came when it was the
custom of the dragon-crocodile to find his man. One third of his man
he would eat at the time he found him, and the rest at noon and
evening. But when the hour came for finding his man a great
fierceness came on Tharagavverug, and he grabbed rapidly at
Leothric, but could not seize him, and for a long while neither of
them would retire. But at last the pain of the stick on his leaden
nose overcame the hunger of the dragon-crocodile, and he turned from
it howling. From that moment Tharagavverug weakened. All that day
Leothric drove him with his stick, and at night both held their
ground; and when the dawn of the third day was come the heart of
Tharagavverug beat slower and fainter. It was as though a tired man
was ringing a bell. Once Tharagavverug nearly seized a frog, but
Leothric snatched it away just in time. Towards noon the
dragon-crocodile lay still for a long while, and Leothric stood near
him and leaned on his trusty stick. He was very tired and sleepless,
but had more leisure now for eating his provisions. With
Tharagavverug the end was coming fast, and in the afternoon his
breath came hoarsely, rasping in his throat. It was as the sound of
many huntsmen blowing blasts on horns, and towards evening his breath
came faster but fainter, like the sound of a hunt going furious to
the distance and dying away, and he made desperate rushes towards
the village; but Leothric still leapt about him, battering his
leaden nose. Scarce audible now at all was the sound of his heart:
it was like a church bell tolling beyond hills for the death of some
one unknown and far away. Then the sun set and flamed in the village
windows, and a chill went over the world, and in some small garden a
woman sang; and Tharagavverug lifted up his head and starved, and
his life went from his invulnerable body, and Leothric lay down
beside him and slept. And later in the starlight the villagers came
out and carried Leothric, sleeping, to the village, all praising him
in whispers as they went. They laid him down upon a couch in a
house, and danced outside in silence, without