The Well at the World's End: A Tale

by William Morris

  CHAPTER 26

  They Ride the Mountains Toward Goldburg

  Five days the Fellowship abode at Whiteness, and or ever they departedClement waged men-at-arms of the lord of the town, besides servants tolook to the beasts amongst the mountains, so that what with one, whatwith another, they entered the gates of the mountains a goodly companyof four score and ten.

  Ralph asked of Bull if any of those whom he might meet in thesemountains were of his kindred; and he answered, nay, unless perchancethere might be some one or two going their peaceful errands there likeBull Nosy. So Ralph armed him with a good sword and a shield, andwould have given him a steel hood also, but he would not bear it,saying that if sword and shield could not keep his head he had wellearned a split skull.

  Seven days they rode the mountains, and the way was toilsome and wearyenough, for it was naught but a stony maze of the rocks where nothingliving dwelt, and nothing grew, save now and again a little dwarfwillow. Yet was there naught worse to meet save toil, because theywere over strong for the wild men to meddle with them, whereas thekindreds thereabout were but feeble.

  But as it drew towards evening on the seventh day Ralph had ridden alittle ahead with Bull alone, if he might perchance have a sight of theending of this grievous wilderness, as Clement said might be, since nowthe way was down-hill, and all waters ran east. So as they rode, andit was about sunset, they saw something lying by a big stone under acliff; so they drew nigh, and saw a man lying on his back, and theydeemed he was dead. So Bull went up to him, and leapt off his horseclose by him and bent over him, but straightway cast up his arms andset up a long wailing whoop, and then another and another, so that theythat were behind heard it and came up upon the spur. But Ralph leaptfrom his horse, and ran up to Bull and said: "What aileth thee to whoopand wail? Who is it?" But Bull turned about and shook his head athim, and said: "It is a man of my kindred, even he that was leadingaway thy she-friend; and belike she it was that slew him, or why is shenot here: Ochone! ahoo! ahoo!" Therewith fire ran through Ralph'sheart, and he bethought him of that other murder in the wilderness, andhe fell to wringing his hands, and cried out: "Ah, and where is she,where is she? Is she also taken away from me for ever? O me unhappy!"

  And he drew his sword therewith, and ran about amongst the rocks andthe bushes seeking her body.

  And therewith came up Clement, and others of the company, and wonderedto see Bull kneeling down by the corpse, and to hear him crying out andwailing, and Ralph running about like one mad, and crying out now: "Oh!that I might find her! Mayhappen she is alive yet, and anigh here insome cleft of the rocks in this miserable wilderness. O my love thathast lain in mine arms, wouldst thou not have me find her alive? Butif she be dead, then will I slay myself, for as young as I am, that Imay find thee and her out of the world, since from the world both yeare gone."

  Then Clement went up to Ralph, and would have a true tale out of him,and asked him what was amiss; but Ralph stared wild at him and answerednot. But Bull cried out from where he knelt: "He is seeking thewoman, and I would that he could find her; for then would I slay her onthe howe of my kinsman: for she hath slain him; she hath slain him."

  That word heard Ralph, and he ran at Bull with uplifted sword to slayhim; but Clement tripped him and he fell, and his sword flew out of hishand. Then Clement and two of the others bound his hands with theirgirdles, till they might know what had befallen; for they deemed that adevil had entered into him, and feared that he would do a mischief tohimself or some other.

  And now was the whole Fellowship assembled, and stood in a ring roundabout Ralph and Bull, and the dead man; as for him, he had been deadsome time, many days belike; but in that high and clear cold air, hiscarcase, whistled by the wind, had dried rather than rotted, and hisface was clear to be seen with its great hooked nose and long blackhair: and his skull was cloven.

  Now Bull had done his wailing for his kinsman, and he seemed to wake upas from a dream, and looked about the ring of men and spake: "Here isa great to do, my masters! What will ye with me? Have ye heard, or isit your custom, that when a man cometh on the dead corpse of hisbrother, his own mother's son, he turneth it over with his foot, as ifit were the carcase of a dog, and so goeth on his way? This I ask,that albeit I be but a war-taken thrall, I be suffered to lay mybrother in earth and heap a howe over him in these mountains."

  They all murmured a yeasay to this save Ralph. He had been sobered byhis fall, and was standing up now betwixt Clement and the captain, whohad unbound his hands, now that the others had come up; he hung hishead, and was ashamed of his fury by seeming. But when Bull hadspoken, and the others had answered, Ralph said to Bull, wrathfullystill, but like a man in his wits: "Why didst thou say that thouwouldest slay her?" "Hast thou found her?" said Bull. "Nay," quothRalph, sullenly. "Well, then," said Bull, "when thou dost find her, wewill speak of it." Said Ralph: "Why didst thou say that she hath slainhim?" "I was put out of my wits by the sight of him dead," said Bull;"But now I say mayhappen she hath slain him."

  "And mayhappen not," said Clement; "look here to the cleaving of hisskull right through this iron headpiece, which he will have bought atCheaping Knowe (for I have seen suchlike in the armourers' booththere): it must have taken a strong man to do this."

  "Yea," quoth the captain, "and a big sword to boot: this is the strokeof a strong man wielding a good weapon."

  Said Bull: "Well, and will my master bid me forego vengeance for mybrother's slaying, or that I bear him to purse? Then let him slay menow, for I am his thrall." Said Ralph: "Thou shalt do as thou wiltherein, and I also will do as I will. For if she slew him, the takingof her captive should be set against the slaying." "That is butright," said the captain; "but Sir Ralph, I bid thee take the word ofan old man-at-arms for it, that she slew him not; neither she, nor anyother woman."

  Said Clement: "Well, let all this be. But tell me, lord Ralph, whatthou wouldst do, since now thou art come to thyself again?" Said Ralph:"I would seek the wilderness hereabout, if perchance the damsel bethrust into some cleft or cavern, alive or dead."

  "Well," said Clement, "this is my rede. Since Bull Shockhead wouldbury his brother, and lord Ralph would seek the damsel, and whereasthere is water anigh, and the sun is well nigh set, let us pitch ourtents and abide here till morning, and let night bring counsel untosome of us. How say ye, fellows?"

  None naysaid it, and they fell to pitching the tents, and lighting thecooking-fires; but Bull at once betook him to digging a grave for hisbrother, whilst Ralph with the captain and four others went and soughtall about the place, and looked into all clefts of rocks, and found notthe maiden, nor any token of her. They were long about it, and whenthey were come back again, and it was night, though the moon shone out,there was Bull Shockhead standing by the howe of his brother Bull Nosy,which was heaped up high over the place where they had found him.

  So when Bull saw him, he turned to him and said: "King's son, I havedone what needs was for this present. Now, wilt thou slay me for myfault, or shall I be thy man again, and serve thee truly unless theblood feud come between us?" Said Ralph: "Thou shalt serve me truly,and help me to find him who hath slain thy brother, and carried off thedamsel; for even thus it hath been done meseemeth, since about here wehave seen no signs of her alive or dead. But to-morrow we shall seekwider ere I ride on my way." "Yea," said Bull, "and I will be one inthe search."

  So then they gat them to their sleeping-berths, and Ralph, contrary tohis wont, lay long awake, pondering these things; till at last he saidto himself that this woman, whom he called Dorothea, was certainlyalive, and wotted that he was seeking her. And then it seemed to himthat he could behold her through the darkness of night, clad in thegreen flowered gown as he had first seen her, and she bewailing hercaptivity and the long tarrying of the deliverer as she went to and froin a great chamber builded of marble and done about with gold andbright colours: and or ever he slept, he deemed this to be a vision ofwhat then was, rather than a memory
of what had been; and it was sweetto his very soul.