He
remembered that wolves were plentiful in that section and wondered if
the horse wished to lead him to an encounter with wild beasts.
"They mounted up and up, and the higher they went the more scattered
were the trees. At last they rode on almost bare highland, where the
dean could look in every direction. He gazed out over immeasurable
tracts of land, which went up and down in mountains and valleys covered
with sombre forests. It was so dark that he had difficulty in seeing any
orderly arrangement; but presently he could make out where he was.
"'Why of course it's Black's Ridge that I've come to!' he remarked to
himself. 'It can't be any other mountain, for there, in the west, I see
Jarv Island, and to the east the sea glitters around Ag Island. Toward
the north also I see something shiny. It must be Dellen. In the depths
below me I see white smoke from Nian Falls. Yes, I'm up on Black's
Ridge. What an adventure!'
"When they were at the summit the horse stopped behind a thick pine, as
if to hide. The dean bent forward and pushed aside the branches, that he
might have an unobstructed view.
"The mountain's bald plate confronted him. It was not empty and
desolate, as he had anticipated. In the middle of the open space was an
immense boulder around which many wild beasts had gathered.
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