Said the man: "Thou mayst rather call it deadly, to any who is
not furnished with a let-pass from the Lord of Utterbol, as I am.
But with such a scroll a child or a woman may wend the road unharmed."
"Where hast thou the said let-pass?" said Clement. "Here," quoth
the new-comer; and therewith he drew a scroll from out of his pouch,
and opened it before them, and they read it together, and sure enough it
was a writing charging all men so let pass and aid Morfinn the Minstrel
(of whose aspect it told closely), under pain of falling into
the displeasure of Gandolf, Lord of Utterbol; and the date thereon
was but three months old.

Said Clement: "This is good, this let-pass: see thou,
Ralph, the seal of Utterbol, the Bear upon the Castle Wall.
None would dare to counterfeit this seal, save one who was weary
of life, and longed for torments."

Said Ralph, smiling: "Thou seest, Master Clement, that there must
be a parting betwixt us, and that this man's coming furthers it:
but were he or were he not, yet the parting had come. And wert thou
not liefer that it should come in a way to pleasure and aid me, than that
thou shouldst but leave me behind at Goldburg when thou departest:
and I with naught done toward the achieving my quest, but merely
dragging my deedless body about these streets; and at last, it may be,
going on a perilous journey without guiding or safe-conduct?"

"Yea, lad," said Clement, "I wotted well that thou wouldst take
thine own way, but fain had I been that it had been mine also."
Then he pondered a while and said afterwards: "I suppose that thou
wilt take thy servant Bull Shockhead with thee, for he is a stout
man-at-arms, and I deem him trusty, though he be a wild man.