Page:The Children Who Followed the Piper.djvu/96



ALENTINE wakened up. His mind was on the sword that Mars had told him of. He roused himself. As he did he felt at his belt the cup that Philemon had given him. He felt the cup, but he gave little thought to it, for his mind was on the sword that had been left beneath the stone.

He raised up the stone that was beside the well. There, in a leathern sheath, was the sword. He lifted it; he drew the shining blade out; he held it to the star that dangled in the sky. With that sword in his hand he was a child no more. With that sword in his hand he could go through