"That is very bad," said Miss Talbot, slowly, and in a low, anxious voice.
"Oh yes," said Brooke, "but it's just as I feared.
"'There was an old man with a beard,'
"you know,
"'Who said, "It is just as I feared—
Two owls and a wren
And a cock and a hen
Have all built their nests in my beard."'
"That's me. I told you so. Still, there's no need to despair. It's quite plain that we cannot travel by day without being discovered, so we shall have to try it by night. This will be all the better. So you must spend this day in meditation and prayer, and also in laying up a stock of bodily and mental strength. To-night we set forth, and we must move on all night long. May I ask if there is any place in particular to which you prefer going?"
"None whatever. I must leave myself altogether to you."
"So I suppose," said Brooke.
"But is there no danger in this place, Mr. Brooke?"
"Danger? None whatever. I can't explain to you how completely this is out of the way of every one, whether marauder or honest man. You may be perfectly at your case on that score. Will this place satisfy you?"