CHAPTER X.
THE FAIR CAPTIVE The woman gathered up the remains of the food, crossed herself again before the shrine, and she and her sons prepared to resume the descent of the mountain.
"I thank you for your good wishes," said John.

"They may go far." "And so may yours," she said.

"Farewell!" "Farewell!" He watched them, walking down the slope, until a turn in the road hid them, and then he resumed his own ascent, slow now, because he had been climbing all day, and he wished to conserve his strength.

The night was coming fast, and, if it had not been for the smooth-paved road over which he was walking, he might have fancied himself in a primeval wilderness.

The sun was sinking in a sea of red light and peaks and ridges were outlined against it, clear and sharp.