| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| BOOK I | |
| The Way to Winchester | [1] |
| BOOK II | |
| Gorlois | [93] |
| BOOK III | |
| The War in Wales | [199] |
| BOOK IV | |
| Tintagel | [325] |
BOOK I
THE WAY TO WINCHESTER
I
Beneath the dark cornices of a thicket of wind-stunted pines stood a small company of women looking out into the hastening night. The half light of evening lay over the scene, rolling wood and valley into a misty mass, while the horizon stood curbed by a belt of imminent clouds. In the western vault, a vast rent in the wall of grey gave out a blaze of transient gold that slanted like a spear-shaft to a sullen sea.
A wind cried restlessly amid the trees, gusty at intervals, but tuning its mood to a desolate and constant moan. There was an expression of despair on the face of the west. The woods were full of a vague woe, and of troubled breathing. The trees seemed to sway to one another, to fling strange words with a tossing of hair, and outstretched hands. The furze in the valley—swept and harrowed—undulated like a green lagoon.