CHAPTER XVI
The Giant Again
SIR TRISTRAM and George journeyed onward, following the sun through the great forest. At last they came into open country, and found themselves on a rocky road which dipped down-hill as if it never meant to stop. It led them into a valley, and then on again into a deep gorge, which came to an end on the shores of a great lake.
"The black lake!" cried George. "Look, it's as black as pitch! What a horrid place!"
Sir Tristram dismounted and gazed around him. "I marvel how we shall ever fare across it. I cannot swim, and even if I could I must leave my armour behind. The doughtiest knight cannot fight in his doublet."
George looked out on to the waters of the lake, but it was so wide that he could not see the other side. High above his head towered rugged cliffs as black as the waters of the lake, and in the distance he caught sight of a mighty pillar standing erect on the summit.