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We could only go on. Twilight came upon us; we were lost in good earnest now. I had little notion of
woodcraft. I had had no notion that it might be necessary.
Greatheart strode doggedly on. We had been traveling for over twelve hours, and even Greatheart
was nearing the end of his strength; we had stopped to rest infrequently and briefly. I couldn t rest. I
dismounted and we walked. Greatheart stumbled occasionally, more often as the shadows grew up
around us, I didn t notice if I stumbled or not, although when I stood still to look up at the sky my feet in
their soft slippers took advantage of the pause to tell me that they were sore and bruised. Greatheart
stood still, his big head hanging,  This will help a little, I said, and took off his saddle and bridle, and
hung them neatly on a convenient tree-limb.  Maybe we ll be able to come back for them. I took what
remained of the food I had brought, then hung the saddlebag over the pommel. After a moment s
thought, I pulled off my heavy skirt, added it to the pile, and tied my cloak over my petticoats and twisted
it tightly around me with a ribbon.  Come along, I said. Greatheart shook himself gingerly and looked at
me.  I don t know what s happening either. Come along. And he followed me. The absence of that skirt
made a big difference to my feet.
The last bit of daylight was fading and leaving the silver water black when I saw something pale
glimmer through the trees to my left. It was long and low, too still and too straight for running water. I
caught my breath, and began to struggle through the suddenly dense undergrowth, Greatheart snorting
and crashing behind me. It was the road. It stretched out to my right, and ended a few feet to my left, in
ragged patches of sand and stone. It did not run as smooth and straight as I remembered, but my eyes
were blurred and tired. My feet touched the road just as the last light died, leaving the road a grey
smudge in the blackness.
 We ll have to wait rill moonrise now, I said fretfully. After standing, looking uselessly around me for
a few minutes, I went back to the side of the road and sat down under a tree. Greatheart investigated me,
then wandered out into the sandy road and had a good roll, with much snorting and blowing and waving
of legs. He returned to drip dust on me, and I fed him some more bread. He ate a few leaves off the tree
I was under, then settled down on three legs for a nap. I sat, hands around my knees, waiting till the
moon climbed high enough for us to make out our way. It seemed like hours, but it wasn t long; the moon
rose early, the sky was clear and cloudless; even the starlight was bright enough to cast a few shadows
through the tangled undergrowth. The road was a dim pale ribbon, leading farther into the forest,
promising nothing. I sighed, then walked over to the horse and thumped his shoulder. He opened his eyes
and looked at me.  Do you think you might be ridden? I rubbed some of the dirt off his back with a
corner of my cloak, and mounted with the aid of a low-hanging branch. I had first taught him to respond
to my legs and voice when he was a yearling, before he had ever worn any harness; but that was a long
time ago, and I felt very insecure on a back as broad as his was now, without a saddle. But he stepped
onto the road and broke into a gentle trot, little more than a shuffle, and I clung to his mane and managed
fairly well. I found myself falling asleep as I rode. All that kept me awake at all was the horse s changes
of gait, walk to jog, a brief canter, and walk again, as he set his own pace. His head was up and his ears
pricked; I concentrated on not falling off and on not thinking what might lie ahead of me. First we had
to find the castle.
Any number of nights may have passed without my knowledge or comprehension, Greatheart shifted
from a jog to a walk, and then stopped altogether. I opened my eyes and looked around vaguely. We
had come to the big silver gates, but they remained closed, even when Great-heart put his nose out and
touched them. I kneed the horse around till I could reach out and push them with my hand; the surface
was smooth and slightly chilly to the flat of my palm. Then it quivered like the skin of an animal, and
seemed to flush with a warm grey light like the earth s first dawn. It swung open slowly with the sound of
someone breathing. I did not wonder at this long; Greatheart broke into a gallop as soon as the gates
opened wide enough to let us through. I dug in with my hands and legs and held on.
We didn t see the castle till we were almost upon it. It was dark, darker than the shadows around it;
even the moonlight shunned it. The lights in the garden were few and dim, and blocked to us as we
galloped through the meadow and the stand of ornamental trees. Greatheart went straight to the stable
and stopped. I slid off his back, my legs almost folding under me when my feet touched the ground. The [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]