Some one presently came forth: and yes, it was Thol. Slowly he came down the hill, with his head bent forward, with his hands up to his bowed shoulders, and two burdens at his back—two goats, as Thia saw when presently Thol turned aside southward. He looked very strange. His hair and face seemed to have grown quite dark. And what was he doing with those two goats? Thia lay still, with a fast-beating heart. She felt that her voice would not have come, even had she tried to call to him.
She watched him out of sight, then rose to her feet and, hesitatingly, went to the foot of the hill, and then, quickly and resolutely, went up it and into the cave.
Quick-witted though she was, the sight of three geese and three ducks and of two sheep puzzled her deeply; and not less did she wonder at the quantity of stacked wood. And what was that fence of osiers against the wall? She moved it slightly and saw a great breach in the wall; and through this some smoke came drifting in. And now her quick wits began to work—but in such wise as to make her bewilderment the deeper.
Suddenly, drawing a deep breath, she went down on her hands and knees, and crawled rapidly through.
She was soon back again. Blinking hard and shaking the smoke from her nostrils, she went to breathe the clear air at the cave’s mouth. But, good though this air was, she hardly tasted it. She had burst out sobbing. She, who never in all her life had shed tears, sobbed much now. But she remembered that tears make people’s eyes ugly. So she controlled herself and dried her eyes vigorously. She had not remembered that the palms of her hands must be all black from her crawl. When she saw them, and knew what her face must be now, she burst out laughing. And the sound made her feel very young, for it was long since she had laughed. But, as she wished to please Thol’s eyes, she retired to the back of the cave and crouched where she would scarcely be seen by him when he came.
He came at last, and then, very softly, she cried out to him, ‘Thol!’
He, brave though he was, started violently.
‘Do not look at me, O Thol! Not yet! For my face is black and would displease you. Look at me only after you have heard me. O Thol, if they said now that you were a god, almost would I believe them. But if you were a god your deed would be less great. The wonder is that you are a man, and were once mine. O Thol, forgive me, keep me here with you, need me!’
But he slowly answered, ‘Nay, O Thia, this cave is not now for a woman.’