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He was a tall, stalwart man, and carried a staff of oak about six feet long, as a support during his travels. It had somehow come to be understood that, although Beniah was pre-eminently a man of peace, it was nevertheless advisable to treat him with civility or to keep well out of the range of that oaken staff.
By this time Beniah had recovered his self-possession. Perceiving that the maiden was bent on carrying out her role, and that he might as well help her, he put his mouth close to her ear, and shouted in a voice that bid fair to render her absolutely deaf "He says he thinks you are extremely deaf; so I think you had better hold your tongue and let us go on with our conversation."
"That will never do, Beniah," said the prince, laughing. "You take too serious a view of the matter. There is no fear of any more intrigues or circumstances arising to perplex you for some time to come. Besides, I want your services very much but, before broaching that point, let me ask why you have invited me to come to see you here. Hafrydda gave me your message "
I'm sure I have no wish to pry into the secrets of this young man or yourself. What d'ye want?" But Beniah stood speechless, a strange expression on his face, his lips firmly compressed and his arms folded across his breast. "Have you become as dumb as I was deaf, old man?" asked the woman, petulantly. Still the Hebrew refused to speak.
Only a disconnected word reached her now and then. In a state of desperate curiosity she returned to her cave. A few minutes later a noise was heard by the two men in the outer cave; and a little old woman in a grey shawl was seen to thrust a plank over the chasm and totter across towards them. Poor Beniah was horrified. He did not know what to do or say.
Success did not, however, attend them at first, for on reaching the Hebrew's hut they found it empty, and no amount of shouting availed to call Beniah from the "vasty deep" of the chasm, or the dark recesses of the secret chamber. Pursuing their way, therefore, the small army was soon lost to view in the forest. We turn now to another scene in the wild-woods, not far distant from the Hot Swamp.
One consequence was that, for the time at least, the grave and amiable Hebrew became an abrupt, unsociable, taciturn man. "What ails you just now, Beniah?" asked Bladud, one evening as they walked together to Gadarn's booth, having been invited to supper. "You seem out of condition mentally, if not bodily, as if some one had rubbed you the wrong way."
"It seems to me," she said, "that age or recent worries must have touched your brain, Beniah, for if the lad Cormac has no existence at all, how is it possible that you could meet with him at the Hot Swamp, and even make a solemn promise to him." Beniah did not reply to this question, but rose to make preparation for his journey.
"You can guide us in the dark, I suppose," said Gunrig, turning to Beniah. "Ay, as well almost as in the light," replied the Hebrew. "Let the men feed, then, and be ready for the signal to start," said the chief to his officers, "and see that no louder noise be heard than the crunching of their jaws." The night was favourable to their enterprise.
"No success," remarked Gadarn sternly, unbuckling his sword and flinging it violently on the ground. "Not yet, but we may have better fortune tomorrow," said Beniah. "Don't you think the small footprints we saw near the Springs were those of the boy?" "They may have been." "And those that we saw further on, but lost sight of in the rocky ground did they not look like those of a girl?"
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