A silence fell upon us as we slowly wended our way down the well-known path.
All day long we had ridden in great joy; if thoughtless, yet innocent; if selfish, yet thankful; and always blithely, with a great exultation and relief at heart, a great rejoicing for our own sakes and for Kit's.
Now with the nightfall and the darkness, now when we were near our home, and on the eve of giving joy to another, we grew silent.

There arose other thoughts--thoughts of all that had happened since we had last ascended that track; and so our minds turned naturally back to him to whom we owed our happiness--to the giant left behind in his pride and power and his loneliness.

The others could think of him with full hearts, yet without shame.

But I reddened, reflecting how it would have been with us if I had had my way; if I had resorted in my shortsightedness to one last violent, cowardly deed, and killed him, as I had twice wished to do.
Pavannes would then have been lost almost certainly.

Only the Vidame with his powerful troop--we never knew whether he had gathered them for that purpose or merely with an eye to his government--could have saved him.