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