the Lost Brother 245

crowding, tame and panting. No one had
ever realised that so many strange creatures,
in fur and pelt, housed in the green ways.
Even the names of many of them we did not
know, for we had never set eyes on them
before; but among those that were within
our knowledge were coneys and hares, stoats
and weasels, foxes and badgers, many deer
with their does and fawns, and one huge
grey creature of savage aspect which we took
to be an old wolf.

The Prior ordered that the gates should
be left open for any fugitives that might seek
refuge, and he went among the wild beasts,
calming them with the touch of his hand and
blessing them. Then there came a woman,
with a child at her bosom and a little lad
clinging to her dress, but she was so dis-
tracted with fright that she was unable to say
what had happened.

When he had given directions for the care
of all these strange guests, the Prior climbed
up the mound through the tossing trees, and
when he had reached the summit he saw to
his amazement that the sea had risen in a
‘mighty flood and poured for miles into the
forest. The huge oaks and pines of centu-