294. The Journey of Rheinfrid

little statues of men, or strangely-shaped
rocks?”

“ They are living men and women,” said
the stranger.

“They seem as small as images,” said
Rheinfrid.

“They are very far distant from us,”
replied the stranger, “ although we see them
so clearly.”

“There seem to be hundreds of them
standing in crowds,” said Rheinfrid.

“There are thousands and hundreds of
thousands,” said the stranger.

“ And they do not move; they are motion-
less as stone; they do not even seem to
breathe.”

“They are waiting,” said the stranger.

“Their faces are all turned upward; they
are all staring in one way.”

“They are watching,” said the stranger.

“Why are they watching?” asked Rhein-
frid; then looking up into the iron-grey air
in the same direction as the faces of the peo-
ple in the crater; “ What huge ball is that
hanging in the sky above them?”

“It is a globe of polished stone —the stone
adamant, which of all stones is the hardest.”

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