GRIFPEN THE HIGH FLIER 8 1 



fact is that he had grown tired of sallying out 

 every day on Griffen's back in search of new 

 guests, and so he had planned another way of en- 

 trapping unwary cavaliers into his prison-house. 

 After much labor and thought he cleared away 

 a narrow bridle-path from the highroad at the 

 foot of the mountain to the gates of his castle 

 at the summit. The lower end of this pathway 

 was hidden in a thicket close by a gushing spring 

 of water, and so cunningly was the whole thing 

 constructed that nobody, looking up from below, 

 would notice the smallest sign of a path ; and yet 

 if knight or footman once entered the hidden 

 road, he could follow it with the greatest ease to 

 the end. 



Old Atlantes, like a spider in his den, sat in 

 his high towers and kept a sharp lookout for his 

 prey. Whenever he saw any knight riding along 

 the highroad who appeared to be worthy of be- 

 coming his guest, he devised some means of en- 

 ticing him to enter the bridle-path. After that, 

 of course, it was very easy to persuade him to 

 ascend until he had safely entered the great trap 

 that had been set for him at the top. This new 

 scheme seemed to succeed wonderfully well, and 

 in a short time there was scarcely a horseman of 



