They had entered a desolate region of clipped yews, frozen fountains,
and high, trimmed hedges. He dragged the mule after him. Suddenly
there opened up a very broad path, tiled for a width of many feet. On
the left it ran to a high tower's gaping arch. On the right it sloped
nobly into a grey stretch of water.
'The river is even there,' he muttered. 'We shall find the stairs.'
'I would find my uncle in this palace,' she said. But he muttered,
'Nay, nay,' and began to beat the mule with his fist. It swerved, and
she became sick and dizzy with the sudden jar on her hurt arm. She
swayed in her saddle and, in a sudden flaw of wind, her old and torn
furs ruffled jaggedly all over her body.