children, we held each other's hands; in fact, we could hardly have
made a dozen steps had we walked arm in arm. The path which led to
Batz was not so much as traced. A gust of wind was enough to efface
all tracks left by the hoofs of horses or the wheels of carts; but the
practised eye of our guide could recognize by scraps of mud or the
dung of cattle the road that crossed that desert, now descending
towards the sea, then rising landward according to either the fall of
the ground or the necessity of rounding some breastwork of rock. By
mid-day, we were only half way.

"We will stop to rest over there," I said, pointing to a promontory of
rocks sufficiently high to make it probable we should find a grotto.

The fisherman, who heard me and saw the direction in which I pointed,
shook his head, and said,--

"Some one is there. All those who come from the village of Batz to
Croisic, or from Croisic to Batz, go round that place; they never pass
it."

These words were said in a low voice, and seemed to indicate a
mystery.

"Who is he,--a robber, a murderer?"

Our guide answered only by drawing a deep breath, which redoubled our
curiosity.

"But if we pass that way, would any harm happen to us?"