there I was! The road had stopped short; it was broken off, jagged, just
like a torn bit of paper ... and there was the End of the World."

"How do you mean?" said one of the younger men in an awed tone.

"What I say," said the stranger decidedly. "I had come to the end; there
was nothing beyond. You looked down over a precipice where there was
moss and steep grass, and on the ledges trees far below, and then more
precipice, and then--oh, miles below--a few more trees or so clinging to
the steep, then more precipice, and then darkness; and far away before
me was the whole expanse of sky; and in the midst of it I saw the broad
red sun setting into the brume; it was not yet dark enough to see the
stars, and there was no moon in the sky.

"I assure you it was a very wonderful sight, and I was awed though I was
not afraid. And how glad I was to find that the world had an edge to it,
and that all that talk about its being round was nonsense!

"When the sun was set it grew dark, and I returned to find my boat; but
I must have missed my way, for the track became broader and better, and
at last I came to a gate of a human sort, with an initial on it, which
showed that it had been put up by some landlord. It was an open gate,
and after I had entered it I came upon a broad highway, beautifully
metalled, and when I had gone along this for less than half a mile I
came to this inn where I am now sitting. That was a week ago, and I have
been here ever since. They took me in kindly enough, but they would not
believe what I had to tell them about the End of the World. It is a
great pity, gentlemen, for that wonderful sight is to be discovered
somewhere hereabouts, and a mere accident of my losing my way in the
darkness makes it difficult for me to find it by daylight."