They made their way through the scattered rocks at the foot of these
crags, till, just where the rock-wall seemed the closest, the way
through the stones turned into a path going through it skew-wise; and
it was now so clear a path that belike it had been bettered by men's
hands. Down thereby Face-of-god followed the hound, deeming that he
was come to the gates of the Shadowy Vale, and the path went down
steeply and swiftly. But when he had gone down a while, the rocks on
his right hand sank lower for a space, so that he could look over and
see what lay beneath.
There lay below him a long narrow vale quite plain at the bottom,
walled on the further side as on the hither by sheer rocks of black
stone. The plain was grown over with grass, but he could see no tree
therein: a deep river, dark and green, ran through the vale,
sometimes through its midmost, sometimes lapping the further rock-
wall: and he thought indeed that on many a day in the year the sun
would never shine on that valley.
Thus much he saw, and then the rocks rose again and shut it from his
sight; and at last they drew so close together over head that he was
in a way going through a cave with little daylight coming from above,
and in the end he was in a cave indeed and mere darkness: but with
the last feeble glimmer of light he thought he saw carved on a smooth
space of the living rock at his left hand the image of a wolf.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169