"
Ralph pondered this tale, and was not so sure but that this new lord
was not Bull Shockhead, his wartaken thrall; natheless he held his peace;
but Ursula said: "I marvel not much at the tale, for sure I am,
that had Gandolf of the Bear been slain when I was at Utterbol,
neither man nor woman had stirred a finger to avenge him.
But all feared him, I scarce know why; and, moreover, there was none
to be master if he were gone."
Thereafter she told more tales of the miseries of Utterbol than Ralph
had yet heard, as though this tale of the end of that evil rule had set
her free to utter them; and they fell to talking of others matters.
CHAPTER 3
They Winter With the Sage; and Thereafter Come Again to Vale Turris
Thus with no peril and little pain they came to the Sage's hermitage;
and whereas the autumn was now wearing, and it was not to be looked
for that they should cross even the mountains west of Goldburg,
let alone those to the west of Cheaping Knowe, when winter had once
set in, Ralph and Ursula took the Sage's bidding to abide the winter
through with him, and set forth on their journey again when spring
should be fairly come and the mountain ways be clear of snow.
So they dwelt there happily enough; for they helped the Sage in his husbandry,
and he enforced him to make them cheer, and read in the ancient book to them,
and learned them as much as it behoved them to hearken; and told them tales
of past time.
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