As for him, he was grave and calm,
but of few words; and whiles when Richard was wordiest he looked
on him steadily for a moment whereat Richard changed countenance,
and for a while stinted his speech, but not for long;
while Ralph looked about him, inwardly striving to gather
together the ends of unhappy thoughts that floated about him,
and to note the land he was passing through, if indeed he had
verily seen it aforetime, elsewhere than in some evil dream.
At last when they stopped to bait by some scrubby bushes at
the foot of a wide hill-side, he took Richard apart, and said
to him: "Old friend, and whither go we?" Said Richard:
"As thou wottest, to the Burg of the Four Friths."
"Yea," said Ralph, "but by what road?" Said Richard:
"Youngling is not thine heart, then, as strong as thou deemedst
last night?" Ralph was silent a while, and then he said:
"I know what thou wouldst say; we are going by the shortest
road to the Castle of Abundance."
He spake this out loud, but Richard nodded his head to him, as if
he would say: "Yea, so it is; but hold thy peace." But Ralph knew
that Ursula had come up behind him, and, still looking at Richard,
he put his open hand aback toward her, and her hand fell into it.
Then he turned about to her, and saw that her face was verily pale;
so he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her kindly;
and she let her head fall on to his bosom and fell a-weeping,
and the two elders turned away to the horses, and feigned to be
busy with them.
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