The Roots of the Mountains Page 6

  CHAPTER V. FACE-OF-GOD FALLS IN WITH MENFOLK ON THE MOUNTAIN.

  NOW he plodded on steadily, and for a long time the forest changed butlittle, and of wild things he saw only a few of those that love theclosest covert. The ground still went up and up, though at whiles werehollows, and steeper bents out of them again, and the half-blind path orslot still led past the close thickets and fallen trees, and he made waywithout let or hindrance. At last once more the wood began to thin, andthe trees themselves to be smaller and gnarled and ill-grown: therewithalthe day was waning, and the sky was quite clear again as the afternoongrew into a fair autumn evening.

  Now the trees failed altogether, and the slope grown steeper was coveredwith heather and ling; and looking up, he saw before him quite near byseeming in the clear even (though indeed they were yet far away) thesnowy peaks flushed with the sinking sun against the frosty dark-greyeastern sky; and below them the dark rock-mountains, and below theseagain, and nigh to him indeed, the fells covered with pine-woods andlooking like a wall to the heaths he trod.

  He stayed a little while and turned his head to look at the way wherebyhe had come; but that way a swell of the oak-forest hid everything butthe wood itself, making a wall behind him as the pine-wood made a wallbefore. There came across him then a sharp memory of the boding wordswhich Stone-face had spoken last night, and he felt as if he were nowindeed within the trap. But presently he laughed and said: ‘I am a fool:this comes of being alone in the dark wood and the dismal waste, afterthe merry faces of the Dale had swept away my foolish musings ofyesterday and the day before. Lo! here I stand, a man of the Face, swordand axe by my side; if death come, it can but come once; and if I fearnot death, what shall make me afraid? The Gods hate me not, and will nothurt me; and they are not ugly, but beauteous.’

  Therewith he strode on again, and soon came to a place where the groundsank into a shallow valley and the ling gave place to grass for a while,and there were tall old pines scattered about, and betwixt them greyrocks; this he passed through, climbing a steep bent out of it, and thepines were all about him now, though growing wide apart, till at last hecame to where they thickened into a wood, not very close, wherethrough hewent merrily, singing to himself and swinging his spear. He was soonthrough this wood, and came on to a wide well-grassed wood-lawn, hedgedby the wood aforesaid on three sides, but sloping up slowly toward theblack wall of the thicker pine-wood on the fourth side, and about half afurlong overthwart and endlong. The sun had set while he was in the lastwood, but it was still broad daylight on the wood-lawn, and as he stoodthere he was ware of a house under the pine-wood on the other side, builtlong and low, much like the houses of the Woodland-Carles, but rougherfashioned and of unhewn trees. He gazed on it, and said aloud to himselfas his wont was:

  ‘Marvellous! here is a dwelling of man, scarce a day’s journey fromBurgstead; yet have I never heard tell of it: may happen some of theWoodland-Carles have built it, and are on some errand of hunting peltriesup in the mountains, or maybe are seeking copper and tin among the rocks.Well, at least let us go see what manner of men dwell there, and if theyare minded for a guest to-night; for fain were I of a bed beneath a roof,and of a board with strong meat and drink on it.’

  Therewith he set forward, not heeding much that the wood he had passedthrough was hard on his left hand; but he had gone but twenty paces whenhe saw a red thing at the edge of the wood, and then a glitter, and aspear came whistling forth, and smote his own spear so hard close to thesteel that it flew out of his hand; then came a great shout, and a manclad in a scarlet kirtle ran forth on him. Face-of-god had his axe inhis hand in a twinkling, and ran at once to meet his foe; but the man hadthe hill on his side as he rushed on with a short-sword in his hand. Axeand sword clashed together for a moment of time, and then both the menrolled over on the grass together, and Face-of-god as he fell deemed thathe heard the shrill cry of a woman. Now Face-of-god found that he wasthe nethermost, for if he was strong, yet was his foe stronger; the axehad flown out of his hand also, while the strange man still kept a holdof his short-sword; and presently, though he still struggled all hecould, he saw the man draw back his hand to smite with the said sword;and at that nick of time the foeman’s knee was on his breast, his lefthand was doubled back behind him, and his right wrist was gripped hard inthe stranger’s left hand. Even therewith his ears, sharpened by thecoming death, heard the sound of footsteps and fluttering raiment drawingnear; something dark came between him and the sky; there was the sound ofa great stroke, and the big man loosened his grip and fell off him to oneside.

  Face-of-god leapt up and ran to his axe and got hold of it; but turninground found himself face to face with a tall woman holding in her hand astout staff like the limb of a tree. She was calm and smiling, thoughforsooth it was she who had stricken the stroke and stayed the sword fromhis throat. His hand and axe dropped down to his side when he saw whatit was that faced him, and that the woman was young and fair; so he spaketo her and said:

  ‘What aileth, maiden? is this man thy foe? doth he oppress thee? shall Islay him?’

  She laughed and said: ‘Thou art open-handed in thy proffers: he mighthave asked the like concerning thee but a minute ago.’

  ‘Yea, yea,’ said Gold-mane, laughing also, ‘but he asked it not of thee.’

  ‘That is sooth,’ she said, ‘but since thou hast asked me, I will tellthee that if thou slay him it will be my harm as well as his; and in mycountry a man that taketh a gift is not wont to break the giver’s headwith it straightway. The man is my brother, O stranger, and presently,if thou wilt, thou mayst be eating at the same board with him. Or ifthou wilt, thou mayst go thy ways unhurt into the wood. But I had lieferof the twain that thou wert in our house to-night; for thou hast a wrongagainst us.’

  Her voice was sweet and clear, and she spake the last words kindly, anddrew somewhat nigher to Gold-mane. Therewithal the smitten man sat up,and put his hand to his head, and quoth he:

  ‘Angry is my sister! good it is to wear the helm abroad when she shakeththe nut-trees.’

  ‘Nay,’ said she, ‘it is thy luck that thou wert bare-headed, else had Ibeen forced to smite thee on the face. Thou churl, since when hath itbeen our wont to thrust knives into a guest, who is come of great kin, aman of gentle heart and fair face? Come hither and handsel him self-doomfor thy fool’s onset!’

  The man rose to his feet and said: ‘Well, sister, least said, soonestmended. A clout on the head is worse than a woman’s chiding; but sinceye have given me one, ye may forbear the other.’

  Therewith he drew near to them. He was a very big-made man, moststalwarth, with dark red hair and a thin pointed beard; his nose wasstraight and fine, his eyes grey and well-opened, but somewhat fiercewithal. Yet was he in nowise evil-looking; he seemed some thirty summersold. He was clad in a short scarlet kirtle, a goodly garment, with ahood of like web pulled off his head on to his shoulders: he bore a greatgold ring on his left arm, and a collar of gold came down on to hisbreast from under his hood.

  As for the woman, she was clad in a long white linen smock, and over it ashort gown of dark blue woollen, and she had skin shoes on her feet.

  Now the man came up to Face-of-god, and took his hand and said: ‘I deemedthee a foe, and I may not have over-many foes alive: but it seems thatthou art to be a friend, and that is well and better; so herewith Ihandsel thee self-doom in the matter of the onslaught.’

  Then Face-of-god laughed and said: ‘The doom is soon given forth; againstthe tumble on the grass I set the clout on the head; there is nought leftover to pay to any man’s son.’

  Said the scarlet-clad man: ‘Belike by thine eyes thou art a true man, andwilt not bewray me. Now is there no foeman here, but rather maybe afriend both now and in time to come.’ Therewith he cast his arms aboutFace-of-god and kissed him. But Face-of-god turned about to the womanand said: ‘Is the peace wholly made?’

  She shook her head and said soberly: ‘Nay, thou art too fair for a womanto
kiss.’

  He flushed red, as his wont was when a woman praised him; yet was hisheart full of pleasure and well-liking. But she laid her hand on hisshoulder and said: ‘Now is it for thee to choose betwixt the wild-woodand the hall, and whether thou wilt be a guest or a wayfarer this night.’

  As she touched him there took hold of him a sweetness of pleasure he hadnever felt erst, and he answered: ‘I will be thy guest and not thystranger.’

  ‘Come then,’ she said, and took his hand in hers, so that he scarce feltthe earth under his feet, as they went all three together toward thehouse in the gathering dusk, while eastward where the peaks of the greatmountains dipped was a light that told of the rising of the moon.