whatever border he wished to reach, deeming it likely that the Zoogs would
harbour dire resentment against him for the frustration of their warlike
enterprise. This offer he welcomed with gratitude; not only for the safety
it afforded, but because he liked the graceful companionship of cats. So
in the midst of a pleasant and playful regiment, relaxed after the
successful performance of its duty, Randolph Carter walked with dignity
through that enchanted and phosphorescent wood of titan trees, talking of
his quest with the old general and his grandson whilst others of the band
indulged in fantastic gambols or chased fallen leaves that the wind drove
among the fungi of that primeval floor. And the old cat said that he had
heard much of unknown Kadath in the cold waste, but did not know where it
was. As for the marvellous sunset city, he had not even heard of that, but
would gladly relay to Carter anything he might later learn.
He gave the seeker some passwords of great value among the cats of
dreamland, and commended him especially to the old chief of the cats in
Celephais, whither he was bound. That old cat, already slightly known to
Carter, was a dignified maltese; and would prove highly influential in any
transaction. It was dawn when they came to the proper edge of the wood,
and Carter bade his friends a reluctant farewell. The young sub-lieutenant
he had met as a small kitten would have followed him had not the old
general forbidden it, but that austere patriarch insisted that the path of
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