Thus they toiled till the afternoon was well worn, and so at last
they came to where the rock-wall was somewhat broken down on the
north side, and great rocks had fallen across the gap, and dammed up
the waters, which fell scantily over the dam from stone to stone into
a pool at the bottom of it. Up this breach, then, below the force
they scrambled and struggled, for rough indeed was the road for them;
and so came they up out of the gap on to the open hill-side, a great
shoulder of the heath sloping down from the north, and littered over
with big stones, borne thither belike by some ice-river of the
earlier days; and one great rock was in special as great as the hall
of a wealthy goodman, and shapen like to a hall with hipped gables,
which same the men of the Wolf called House-stone.
There then the noise and clatter of the vanward rose up on the face
of the heath, and men were exceeding joyous that they had come so far
without mishap. Therewith came weaponed men out from under House-
stone, and they came toward the men of the vanward, and they were a
half-score of the forerunners of the Wolf; therefore Folk-might and
Face-of-god fell at once into speech with them, and had their
tidings; and when they had heard them, they saw nought to hinder the
host from going on their road to Silver-dale forthright; and there
were still three hours of daylight before them.
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