Said she: 'Would he not have had thee seek to the Cities, to see the
ways of the outer world?'

'Yea,' said he.

She said: 'Thou wert wise to naysay that offer; thou shalt have
enough to do in the Dale and round about it in twelve months' time.'

'Art thou foresighted?' said he.

'Folk have called me so,' she said, 'but I wot not. But thy brother
Hall-face, how fareth he?'

'Well;' said he, 'to my deeming he is the Sword of our House, and the
Warrior of the Dale, if the days were ready for him.'

'And Stone-face, that stark ancient,' she said, 'doth he still love
the Folk of the Dale, and hate all other folks?'

'Nay,' he said, 'I know not that, but I know that he loveth as, and
above all me and my father.'

Again she spake: 'How fareth the Bride, the fair maid to whom thou
art affianced?'

As she spake, it was to him as if his heart was stricken cold; but he
put a force upon himself, and neither reddened nor whitened, nor
changed countenance in any way; so he answered:

'She was well the eve of yesterday.' Then he remembered what she