Padraig chuckled in pure delight. “I guessed that if our Apples of Sodom were properly ripe they'd blow a hole in the treasury wall. Those Norman thieves are not the men to balk at a little brimstone, and I figured that Master Gregory would be too busy to think of us for awhile. He took that formula for himself. Much good may he get of it. In place o' the copper and sulphur and nitre and the like I set down our cipher--snakes and toads and scorpions, Maltese cocks, unicorn's blood and so on. The cellarer said there was a lot o' foreign gold locked up in there, and that must ha' been what was heaved out. I warrant there'll be no more Black Magic in Temple Assheton.” THE EBBING TIDE The sun has gone from the heights of heaven, The knights a-tilting no longer ride, The sails are vanished, the beaches empty-- There is nothing left but the ebbing tide. At dawn we sounded our heady challenge, At noon our blood beat high i' the sun, At eve we rode where the wolf-pack follow-- The night is falling, our course is run. But the tide runs out through the gates of sunset, And the living fires of Atlantis glow Between the clouds and the long sea-level, Beyond the waters we used to know. Hy-Brasail gleams with its towers of beryl, Tourmaline, hyacinth, topaz and pearl, Free to the King if he have but the pass-word, Free to the veriest low-born churl. For Earth levels all who have known her and loved her, And the soul fares forth where the great stars guide On the viewless path of the calling waters-- Out to Hy-Brasail upon the tide! XVI THE END OF A PILGRIMAGE Eleanor and Roger sat together in their own especial loop-hole window. When that window was new and they were little, the great stone hall with its massive arches was unfamiliar and lonely to them, and they liked to sit apart in this nook that seemed made for them. Four steps led up to it, a stone seat was within it, and it was at a comfortable distance from the warmth of the fire. Sitting there, they could look out upon the changeful beautiful landscape, or down upon the doings in the hall. Now all the land was blanketed with heavy snow. The tree-trunks were charcoal-black under the stars; lights twinkled in the huts at the foot of the hill; the frozen river made no sound beneath the castle wall. Cattle and sheep were snug and safe in the byres, guarded by the wise watch-dogs. Very far away in the woods an owl hooted.