And by the graciousness of all good things, I was harmed not by that
monster throw; but was to my feet in one instant, and had not loosed the
Diskos from my hand. And the Beast-Man did be upon me with two quick
boundings; and I stood up to the Man, and it made no sound or cry as it
came at me; and there did a great froth of brute anger and intent come
from the mouth of it, and the teeth came down on each side of the mouth,
very great and sharp. And I leaped and smote, so that my blow should
come the more speedy, and the Diskos took away the head and the shoulder
of the Squat Man; and the dead thing knockt me backward, with the spring
that it had made; but it harmed me not greatly. Yet afterward I did know
how sore and bruised I did be, in all my body and being. And I came back
very swift against the Man; but it did be truly dead and greatly horrid. And I went from the dead monster, and did go, all heart-shaken, unto the
dead maid. And I took the torn body of the maid, very sorrowful, and
cast it into the fire-hole. And I turned me then that I should look unto the cave, that I should
know that all did be well with Mine Own, and whether she did have seen
the horror, or be gone into a swoon. And lo! Mine Own did run toward me; and she had in her hand my
belt-knife which I did give her, before that time, to be a weapon for
her defence. And I perceived that she had come to be mine aid, if that
I did need such. And she did be utter pale, yet very steadfast and not
seeming to tremble. And I made to take her from that place; but she went beyond me, and
lookt at the monstrous bulk of the Squat Man; and was very silent. And
she came back unto me; and still so silent. And she stood before me, and
said no word; but my heart knew what she did be thinking; for I am not
foolish, to have lacked to know what did be in her heart; though mine
effort had not shown itself that way unto me, before that moment. And I
had no pretending of modesty, but received with gladness and a
strangeness of humbleness the honour that her eyes did give to me; for,
indeed, she did be so, that she might not give word to her joy of me and
her glad respecting, the which is so wondrous good unto the heart of all
men that do be loving of a dear and honest maid. And she said nothing, neither then nor afterward; but I did be honoured
all my life after, when that I did anytime mind me of the way that Mine
Own lookt upward at me in those moments. And afterward she did need and allow herself to come unto mine arms,
that I hold her from the trembling of heart which did come to her, after
that there did be no need for courage; for surely we had both seen a
very dreadful thing, and there was a great horror upon us. And I climbed upward again to the little cave, and did help Naani; and
when we were come there again, we did rest awhile. And presently we eat,
each of us, two of the tablets and drank some of the water, and indeed
we were both utter thirsty. And in about an hour, after that we had harked very keen a time, we came
downward again from the cave, and had our gear with us; and we came up
out of the hollow, and set forward with a great caution unto the olden
sea-bed. And we came there in two long hours; for we went very slow and
with constant harkings; for the fear of the monstrous men was upon us. But there came no harm anigh, neither did we perceive any disturbance in
the night of the Land. And we went down an hour into the olden sea-bed, and did go now the more
swift; for our fear was something eased from us, because that we had
come away from that place where we had perceived so great and dread an
hunting. But yet had we all care about us; for the giants surely to be
everywhere in that Land; but yet, as I do think, they to roam more oft
anigh to the fire-holes; for the humans did surely wander in such parts,
that they have warmth of the fires. And after we had gone downward an hour into the sea-bed, we turned
somewhat unto the South-West, and went for twelve great hours, and did
never be any huge space from the shore; for it did run that way, as you
do know. And I made to steer by the shinings of the Land, and with
advices from Mine Own. And in the end of the twelfth hour, I did count our distance, making
that we did walk somewhat of a certain speed; and by the tellings of the
Maid, we did be surely come beyond the place of the Land where the
Poison Gas did lie. And by this, it did be something after seventeen hours since we did
sleep; and surely we did be very ready to have rest; for we had gone
forward strongly, and with anxiousness; and truly my hurts did be come
upon me, so that my whole body did ache; for the quick fight had been
bitter, and I had been thrown very hard and brutal; and, indeed, it was
wondrous that I had not been all smashed, only that the armour did save
me. And this doth show truly how hard and strong I did be; and Naani did
speak upon this, and was oft a-wonder, and at that time did beg me that
I make some rest to cure my hurts; for she had not conceived that a man
did grow so strong and hardy; and, in verity, the men of the Lesser
Redoubt did be soft-made and lacking of grimness, as I did perceive,
both through my reason and from her tellings; for they did lack the
strong life that doth breed where is the beat of the Earth-Current, as
we to have in the Mighty Pyramid. And this thing I have said somewise
before this time. And because that we did be so wearied, I said unto Naani that we find a
place for our slumber, and she very willing, as I have shown, and to
counsel me likewise. Yet did we search about in that gloom for a great hour more, and found
no cave or hole to give us a safe refuge for our sleep. And when that we could not find such, I told Naani that we should put
the boulders together, somewhat, and so have them about us, that we be
greatly hid; and, in truth, even as I began to tell her my plan, she did
have the same words in her mouth, so that we caught our little fingers,
there in the dark of that grim Land in the end of the world, even as she
and I had done oft in the early years, before that eternity, when that
she did be Mirdath the Beautiful. And we did both be silent, and after
that we had wished very solemn and earnest, we said each a name; even as
lad and maid shall do in this age; and so to laughter and kist one the
other. And truly, the world doth seem not to alter in the heart, as you
shall think. And this was what I did find. And we set-to, and gathered together the boulders which did be very
plentiful in that part. And she carry those that did be thin and flat,
and I to roll those that did be great and round. And I made a place that
did be long and narrow; and afterward, I set the flat stones round the
sides, that there be no little hole by which any creeping thing should
come inward to sting us in our sleep.