"We know of none," they said. "He lives in the forest."
Before Rodriguez quite despaired he asked each one if they knew
not of any castle of which their King was possessed; and each of
them said that there was no castle in all Shadow Valley. The ten
still stood in front of them with their bows: and Rodriguez turned
away then indeed in despair, and walked slowly back to the camp,
and Alderon walked behind him. In silence they reached their camp
by the great gate that led nowhere, and there Rodriguez sat down
on a log beside the dwindling fire, gazing at the grey ashes and
thinking of his dead hopes. He had not the heart to speak to
Alderon, and the silence was unbroken by Morano who, for all his
loquacity, knew when his words were not welcome. Don Alderon tried
to break that melancholy silence, saying that these ten bowmen did
not know the whole world; but he could not cheer Rodriguez. For,
sitting there in dejection on his log, thinking of all the
assurance with which he had often spoken of his castle, there was
one more thing to trouble him than Don Alderon knew. And this was
that when the bowmen had appeared he had hung once more round his
neck that golden badge that was worked for him by the King of
Shadow Valley; and they must have seen it, and they had paid no
heed to it whatever: its magic was wholly departed. And one thing
troubled him that Rodriguez did not know, a very potent factor in
human sorrow: he had left in the morning so eagerly that he had
had no breakfast, and this he entirely forgot and knew not how
much of his dejection came from this cause, thinking that the loss
of his castle was of itself enough.
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