CHAPTER 11
Ralph Cometh Out of the Wilderness
Long he stood letting these thoughts run through his mind, but at lastwhen it was now midmorning, he stirred and gat him slowly down thegreen slope, and for very pity of himself the tears brake out from himas he crossed the stream and came into the bushy valley. There hestayed his feet a little, and said to himself: "And whither then am Igoing?" He thought of the Castle of Abundance and the Champions of theDry Tree, of Higham, and the noble warriors who sat at the Lord Abbot'sboard, and of Upmeads and his own folk: but all seemed naught to him,and he thought: "And how can I go back and bear folk asking mecuriously of my wayfarings, and whether I will do this, that, or theother thing." Withal he thought of that fair damsel and her sweet mouthin the hostelry at Bourton Abbas, and groaned when he thought of loveand its ending, and he said within himself: "and now she is a wandererabout the earth as I am;" and he thought of her quest, and the chapletof dame Katherine, his gossip, which he yet bore on his neck, and hedeemed that he had naught to choose but to go forward and seek that hewas doomed to; and now it seemed to him that there was that one thingto do and no other. And though this also seemed to him but wearinessand grief, yet whereas he had ever lightly turned him to doing whatwork lay ready to hand; so now he knew that he must first of all gethim out of that wilderness, that he might hear the talk of folkconcerning the Well at the World's End, which he doubted not to hearagain when he came into the parts inhabited.
So now, with his will or without it, his feet bore him on, and hefollowed up the stream which the Lady had said ran into the broad rivercalled the Swelling Flood; "for," thought he, "when I come thereabout Ishall presently find some castle or good town, and it is like thateither I shall have some tidings of the folk thereof, or else they willcompel me to do something, and that will irk me less than doing deedsof mine own will."
He went his ways till he came to where the wood and the trees ended,and the hills were lower and longer, well grassed with short grass, adown country fit for the feeding of sheep; and indeed some sheep hesaw, and a shepherd or two, but far off. At last, after he had leftthe stream awhile, because it seemed to him to turn and wind round overmuch to the northward, he came upon a road running athwart the downcountry, so that he deemed that it must lead one way down to theSwelling Flood; so he followed it up, and after a while began to fallin with folk; and first two Companions armed and bearing long swordsover their shoulders: he stopped as they met, and stared at them in theface, but answered not their greeting; and they had no will to meddlewith him, seeing his inches and that he was well armed, and looked nocraven: so they went on.
Next he came on two women who had with them an ass between twopanniers, laden with country stuff; and they were sitting by thewayside, one old and the other young. He made no stay for them, andthough he turned his face their way, took no heed of them more than ifthey were trees; though the damsel, who was well-liking and somewhatgaily clad, stood up when she saw his face anigh, and drew her gownskirt about her and moved daintily, and sighed and looked after him ashe went on, for she longed for him.
Yet again came two men a-horseback, merchants clad goodly, with threecarles, their servants, riding behind them; and all these had weaponsand gave little more heed to him than he to them. But a little afterthey were gone, he stopped and said within himself: "Maybe I had betterhave gone their way, and this road doubtless leadeth to some place ofresort."
But even therewith he heard horsehoofs behind him, and anon came up aman a-horseback, armed with jack and sallet, a long spear in his hand,and budgets at his saddle-bow, who looked like some lord's man going amessage. He nodded to Ralph, who gave him good-day; for seeing thesefolk and their ways had by now somewhat amended his mind; and now heturned not, but went on as before.
At last the way clomb a hill longer and higher than any he had yetcrossed, and when he had come to the brow and looked down, he saw thebig river close below running through the wide valley which he hadcrossed with Roger on that other day. Then he sat down on the greenbank above the way, so heavy of heart that not one of the things he sawgave him any joy, and the world was naught to him. But within a whilehe came somewhat to himself, and, looking down toward the river, he sawthat where the road met it, it was very wide, and shallow withal, forthe waves rippled merrily and glittered in the afternoon sun, thoughthere was no wind; moreover the road went up white from the water onthe other side, so he saw clearly that this was the ford of a highway.The valley was peopled withal: on the other side of the river was alittle thorp, and there were carts and sheds scattered about the hitherside, and sheep and neat feeding in the meadows, and in short it wasanother world from the desert.