{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12847/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12847","id":"gutenberg_12847","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12847","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: British Literature","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Great Britain -- History -- Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066 -- Fiction","Havelok the Dane (Legendary character) -- Fiction","Historical Fiction"],"text":"Havelok the Dane: A Legend of Old Grimsby and Lincoln.\n\nBy Charles W. Whistler, M.R.C.S.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n PREFACE.\n CHAPTER I. GRIM THE FISHER AND HIS SONS.\n CHAPTER II. KING HODULF\u2019S SECRET.\n CHAPTER III. HAVELOK, SON OF GUNNAR.\n CHAPTER IV. ACROSS THE SWAN\u2019S PATH.\n CHAPTER V. STORM AND SHIPWRECK.\n CHAPTER VI. THE BEGINNING OF GRIMSBY TOWN.\n CHAPTER VII. BROTHERHOOD.\n CHAPTER VIII. BERTHUN THE COOK.\n CHAPTER IX. CURAN THE PORTER.\n CHAPTER X. KING ALSI OF LINDSEY.\n CHAPTER XI. THE COMING OF THE PRINCESS.\n CHAPTER XII. IN LINCOLN MARKETPLACE.\n CHAPTER XIII. THE WITAN\u2019S FEASTING.\n CHAPTER XIV. THE CRAFT OF ALSI THE KING.\n CHAPTER XV. THE FORTUNE OF CURAN THE PORTER.\n CHAPTER XVI. A STRANGEST WEDDING.\n CHAPTER XVII. HOW THE BRIDE WENT HOME.\n CHAPTER XVIII. JARL SIGURD OF DENMARK.\n CHAPTER XIX. THE LAST OF GRIFFIN OF WALES.\n CHAPTER XX. THE OWNING OF THE HEIR.\n CHAPTER XXI. THE TOKEN OF SACK AND ANCHOR.\n CHAPTER XXII. KING ALSI\u2019S WELCOME.\n CHAPTER XXIII. BY TETFORD STREAM.\n CHAPTER XXIV. PEACE, AND FAREWELL.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIf any excuse is needed for recasting the ancient legend of Grim the\nfisher and his foster-son Havelok the Dane, it may be found in the\nfascination of the story itself, which made it one of the most popular\nlegends in England from the time of the Norman conquest, at least, to\nthat of Elizabeth. From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it\nseems to have been almost classic; and during that period two full\nmetrical versions\u2014one in Norman-French and the other in English\u2014were\nwritten, besides many other short versions and abridgments, which still\nexist. These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition\nof the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is\nneedless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which\nthis story is gathered.\n\nThese versions differ most materially from one another in names and\nincidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.\nIt is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally-preserved\ntradition, which has been the original of the freely-treated poems and\nconcise prose statements of the legend which we have. And it seems\npossible, from among the many variations, and from under the disguise\nof the mediaeval forms in which it has been hidden, to piece together\nwhat this original may have been, at least with some probability.\n\nWe have one clue to the age of the legend of Havelok in the statement\nby the eleventh-century Norman poet that his tale comes from a British\nsource, which at least gives a very early date for the happenings\nrelated; while another version tells us that the king of \u201cLindesie\u201d was\na Briton. Welsh names occur, accordingly, in several places; and it is\nmore than likely that the old legend preserved a record of actual\nevents in the early days of the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England, when\nthere were yet marriages between conquerors and conquered, and the\norigins of Angle and Jute and Saxon were not yet forgotten in the\npedigrees of the many petty kings.\n\nOne of the most curious proofs of the actual British origin of the\nlegend is in the statement that the death of Havelok\u2019s father occurred\nas the result of a British invasion of Denmark for King Arthur, by a\nforce under a leader with the distinctly Norse name of Hodulf. The\nclaim for conquest of the north by Arthur is very old, and is repeated\nby Geoffrey of Monmouth, and may well have originated in the\nremembrance of some successful raid on the Danish coasts by the Norse\nsettlers in the Gower district of Pembrokeshire, in company with a\ncontingent of their Welsh neighbours.\n\nThis episode does not occur in the English version; but here an attack\non Havelok on his return home to Denmark is made by men led by one\nGriffin, and this otherwise unexplainable survival of a Welsh name\nseems to connect the two accounts in some way that recalls the ancient\nlegend at the back of both.\n\nI have therefore treated the Welsh element in the story as deserving a\nmore prominent place, at least in subsidiary incidents, than it has in\nthe two old metrical versions. It has been possible to follow neither\nof these exactly, as in names and details they are widely apart; but to\none who knows both, the sequence of events will, I think, be clear\nenough.\n\nI have, for the same reason of the British origin of the legend,\npreferred the simple and apposite derivation of the name of \u201cCuran,\u201d\ntaken by the hero during his servitude, from the Welsh _Cwran_, \u201ca\nwonder,\u201d to the Norman explanation of the name as meaning a \u201cscullion,\u201d\nwhich seems to be rather a guess, based on the menial position of the\nprince, than a translation.\n\nFor the long existence of a Welsh servile population in the lowlands of\nLincolnshire there is evidence enough in the story of Guthlac of\nCrowland, and the type may still be found there. There need be little\nexcuse for claiming some remains of their old Christianity among them,\nand the \u201chermit\u201d who reads the dream for the princess may well have\nbeen a half-forgotten Welsh priest. But the mediaeval poems have\nChristianized the ancient legend, until it would seem to stand in\nsomewhat the same relationship to what it was as the German\n\u201cNiebelungen Lied\u201d does to the \u201cVolsunga Saga.\u201d\n\nWith regard to the dreams which recur so constantly, I have in the case\nof the princess transferred the date of hers to the day previous to her\nmarriage, the change only involving a difference of a day, but seeming\nto he needed, as explanatory of her sudden submission to her guardian.\nAnd instead of crediting Havelok with the supernatural light bodily, it\nhas been transferred to the dream which seems to haunt those who have\nto do with him.\n\nAs to the names of the various characters, they are in the old versions\nhardly twice alike. I have, therefore, taken those which seem to have\nbeen modernized from their originals, or preserved by simple\ntransliteration, and have set them back in what seems to have been\ntheir first form. Gunther, William, and Bertram, for instance, seem to\nbe modernized from Gunnar, Withelm, and perhaps Berthun; while Sykar,\nAunger, and Gryme are but alternative English spellings of the northern\nSigurd, Arngeir, and Grim.\n\nThe device on Havelok\u2019s banner in chapter xxi. is exactly copied from\nthe ancient seal of the Corporation of Grimsby,[1] which is of the date\nof Edward the First. The existence of this is perhaps the best proof\nthat the story of Grim and Havelok is more than a romance. Certainly\nthe Norse \u201cHeimskringla\u201d record claims an older northern origin for the\ntown than that of the Danish invasion of Alfred\u2019s time; and the\nhistoric freedom of its ships from toll in the port of Elsinore has\nalways been held to date from the days of its founder.\n\nThe strange and mysterious \u201cblue stones\u201d of Grimsby and Louth are yet\nin evidence, and those of the former town are connected by legend with\nGrim. Certainly they have some very ancient if long-forgotten\nassociations, and it is more than likely that they have been brought as\n\u201cpalladia\u201d with the earliest northern settlers. A similar stone exists\nin the centre of the little East Anglian town of Harleston, with a\ndefinite legend of settlement attached to it; and there may be others.\nThe Coronation Stone of Westminster and the stone in Kingston-on-Thames\nare well-known proofs of the ancient sanctity that surrounded such\nobjects for original reasons that are now lost.\n\nThe final battle at Tetford, with its details, are from the Norman\npoem. The later English account is rounded off with the disgrace and\nburning alive of the false guardian; but for many reasons the earlier\nseems to be the more correct account. Certainly the mounds of some\ngreat forgotten fight remain in the Tetford valley, and Havelok is said\nto have come to \u201cCarleflure,\u201d which, being near Saltfleet, and on the\nroad to Tetford, may be Canton, where there is a strong camp of what is\napparently Danish type.\n\nThose who can read with any comfort the crabbed Norman-French and Early\nEnglish poetic versions will see at once where I have added incidents\nthat may bring the story into a connected whole, as nearly as possible\non the old Saga lines; and those readers to whom the old romance is new\nwill hardly wish that I should pull the story to pieces again, to no\npurpose so far as they are concerned. And, at least, for a fairly free\ntreatment of the subject, I have the authority of those previous\nauthors whom I have mentioned.\n\nIn the different versions, the founder of Grimsby is variously\ndescribed as a steward of the Danish king\u2019s castle, a merchant, a\nfisher, and in the English poem\u2014probably because it was felt that none\nother would have undertaken the drowning of the prince\u2014as a thrall.\nAnother version gives no account of the sack episode, but says that\nGrim finds both queen and prince wandering on the shore. Grim the\nfisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has\nnot been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy\nfoster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son. A\nthird local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the\nfisher adrift in an open boat; and I have given that boat also a place\nin the story, in a different way.\n\nThe names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place\nin history, but Professor Skeet gives the probable date of Havelok and\nGrim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification\nof the former with the \u201cgovernor of Lincoln\u201d baptized by Paulinus. I\nhave, therefore, assumed this period where required. But a legend of\nthis kind is a romance of all time, and needs no confinement to date\nand place. Briton and Saxon, Norman and Englishman, and maybe Norseman\nand Dane, have loved the old story, and with its tale of right and love\ntriumphant it still has its own power.\n\nStockland, _1899_\n\nChas. W. Whistler\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\nGRIM THE FISHER AND HIS SONS.\n\n\nThis story is not about myself, though, because I tell of things that I\nhave seen, my name must needs come into it now and then. The man whose\ndeeds I would not have forgotten is my foster-brother, Havelok, of whom\nI suppose every one in England has heard. Havelok the Dane men call him\nhere, and that is how he will always be known, as I think.\n\nHe being so well known, it is likely that some will write down his\ndoings, and, not knowing them save by hearsay, will write them wrongly\nand in different ways, whereof will come confusion, and at last none\nwill be believed. Wherefore, as he will not set them down himself, it\nis best that I do so. Not that I would have anyone think that the\npenmanship is mine. Well may I handle oar, and fairly well axe and\nsword, as is fitting for a seaman, but the pen made of goose feather is\nbeyond my rough grip in its littleness, though I may make shift to use\na sail-needle, for it is stiff and straightforward in its ways, and no\nscrawling goeth therewith.\n\nTherefore my friend Wislac, the English priest, will be the penman,\nhaving skill thereto. I would have it known that I can well trust him\nto write even as I speak, though he has full leave to set aside all\nhard words and unseemly, such as a sailor is apt to use unawares; and\nwhere my Danish way of speaking goeth not altogether with the English,\nhe may alter the wording as he will, so long as the sense is always the\nsame. Then, also, will he read over to me what he has written, and\ntherefore all may be sure that this is indeed my true story.\n\n\nNow, as it is needful that one begins at the beginning, it happens that\nthe first thing to be told is how I came to be Havelok\u2019s\nfoster-brother, and that seems like beginning with myself after all.\nBut all the story hangs on this, and so there is no help for it.\n\nIf it is asked when this beginning might be, I would say, for an\nEnglishman who knows not the names of Danish kings, that it was before\nthe first days of the greatness of Ethelbert of Kent, the overlord of\nall England, the Bretwalda, and therefore, as Father Wislac counts,\nabout the year of grace 580. But King Ethelbert does not come into the\nstory, nor does the overlord of all Denmark; for the kings of whom I\nmust speak were under-kings, though none the less kingly for all that.\nOne must ever be the mightiest of many; and, as in England, there were\nat that time many kings in Denmark, some over wide lands and others\nover but small realms, with that one who was strong enough to make the\nrest pay tribute to him as overlord, and only keeping that place by the\npower of the strong hand, not for any greater worth.\n\nOur king on the west coast of Denmark, where the story of Havelok the\nDane must needs begin, was Gunnar Kirkeban\u2014so called because, being a\nheathen altogether, as were we all in Denmark at that time, he had been\nthe bane of many churches in the western isles of Scotland, and in\nWales and Ireland, and made a boast thereof. However, that cruelty of\nhis was his own bane in the end, as will be seen. Otherwise he was a\nwell-loved king and a great warrior, tall, and stronger than any man in\nDenmark, as was said. His wife, the queen, was a foreigner, but the\nfairest of women. Her name was Eleyn, and from this it was thought that\nshe came from the far south. Certainly Gunnar had brought her back from\nGardariki,[2] whither he had gone on a trading journey one year. Gunnar\nand she had two daughters and but one son, and that son was Havelok, at\nthis time seven years old.\n\nNext to the king came our own lord, Jarl Sigurd, older than Gunnar, and\nhis best counsellor, though in the matter of sparing harmless and\nhelpless church folk his advice was never listened to. His hall was\nmany miles from the king\u2019s place, southward down the coast.\n\nHere, too, lived my father, Grim, with us in a good house which had\nbeen his father\u2019s before him. Well loved by Jarl Sigurd was Grim, who\nhad ever been his faithful follower, and was the best seaman in all the\ntown. He was also the most skilful fisher on our coasts, being by birth\na well-to-do freeman enough, and having boats of his own since he could\nfirst sail one. At one time the jarl had made him steward of his house;\nbut the sea drew him ever, and he waxed restless away from it.\nTherefore, after a time, he asked the jarl\u2019s leave to take to the sea\nagain, and so prospered in the fishery that at last he bought a large\ntrading buss from the Frisian coast, and took to the calling of the\nmerchant.\n\nSo for some years my father, stout warrior as he proved himself in many\na fight at his lord\u2019s side, traded peacefully\u2014that is, so long as men\nwould suffer him to do so; for it happened more than once that his ship\nwas boarded by Vikings, who in the end went away, finding that they had\nmade a mistake in thinking that they had found a prize in a harmless\ntrader, for Grim was wont to man his ship with warriors, saying that\nwhat was worth trading was worth keeping. I mind me how once he came to\nEngland with a second cargo, won on the high seas from a Viking\u2019s\nplunder, which the Viking brought alongside our ship, thinking to add\nour goods thereto. Things went the other way, and we left him only an\nempty ship, which maybe was more than he would have spared to us. That\nwas on my second voyage, when I was fifteen.\n\nMostly my father traded to England, for there are few of the Saxon kin\nwho take ship for themselves, and the havens to which he went were\nTetney and Saltfleet, on the Lindsey shore of Humber, where he soon had\nfriends.\n\nSo Grim prospered and waxed rich fast, and in the spring of the year\nwherein the story begins was getting the ship ready for the first\ncruise of the season, meaning to be afloat early; for then there was\nless trouble with the wild Norse Viking folk, for one cruise at least.\nThen happened that which set all things going otherwise than he had\nplanned, and makes my story worth telling.\n\nWe\u2014that is my father Grim, Leva my mother, my two brothers and myself,\nand our two little sisters, Gunhild and Solva\u2014sat quietly in our great\nroom, busy at one little thing or another, each in his way, before the\nbright fire that burned on the hearth in the middle of the floor. There\nwas no trouble at all for us to think of more than that the wind had\nheld for several weeks in the southwest and northwest, and we wondered\nwhen it would shift to its wonted springtide easting, so that we could\nget the ship under way once more for the voyage she was prepared for.\nPleasant talk it was, and none could have thought that it was to be the\nlast of many such quiet evenings that had gone before.\n\nYet it seemed that my father was uneasy, and we had been laughing at\nhim for his silence, until he said, looking into the fire, \u201cI will tell\nyou what is on my mind, and then maybe you will laugh at me the more\nfor thinking aught of the matter. Were I in any but a peaceful land, I\nshould say that a great battle had been fought not so far from us, and\nto the northward.\u201d\n\nThen my mother looked up at him, knowing that he had seen many fights,\nand was wise in the signs that men look for before them; but she asked\nnothing, and so I said, \u201cWhat makes you think this, father?\u201d\n\nHe answered me with another question.\n\n\u201cHow many kites will you see overhead at any time, sons?\u201d\n\nI wondered at this, but it was easy to answer\u2014to Raven, at least.\n\n\u201cAlways one, and sometimes another within sight of the first,\u201d Raven\nsaid.\n\n\u201cAnd if there is food, what then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first swoops down on it, and the next follows, and the one that\nwatches the second follows that, and so on until there are many kites\ngathered.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat if one comes late?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe swings overhead and screams, and goes back to his place; then no\nmore come.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy,\u201d he said; \u201cyou will make a sailor yet, son Raven, for you watch\nthings. Now I will tell you what I saw today. There was the one kite\nsailing over my head as I was at the ship garth, and presently it\nscreamed so that I looked up. Then it left its wide circles over the\ntown, and flew northward, straight as an arrow. Then from the southward\ncame another, following it, and after that another, and yet others, all\ngoing north. And far off I could see where others flew, and they too\nwent north. And presently flapped over me the ravens in the wake of the\nkites, and the great sea eagles came in screaming and went the same\nway, and so for all the time that I was at the ship, and until I came\nhome.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a sacrifice to the Asir somewhere,\u201d I said, \u201cfor the birds of\nOdin and Thor have always their share.\u201d\n\nMy father shook his head.\n\n\u201cThe birds cry to one another, as I think, and say when the feast is\nbut enough for those that have gathered. They have cried now that there\nis room for all at some great feasting. Once have I seen the like\nbefore, and that was when I was with the ship guard when the jarl\nfought his great battle in the Orkneys; we knew that he had fought by\nthe same token.\u201d\n\nBut my mother said that I was surely right. There was no fear of battle\nhere, and indeed with Gunnar and Sigurd to guard the land we had had\npeace for many a long year on our own coasts, if other lands had had to\nfear them. My father laughed a little, saying that perhaps it was so,\nand then my mother took the two little ones and went with them into the\nsleeping room to put them to rest, while I and my two brothers went out\nto the cattle garth to see that all was well for the night.\n\nThen, when our eyes were used to the moonlight, which was not very\nbright, away to the northward we saw a red glow that was not that of\nthe sunset or of the northern lights, dying down now and then, and then\nagain flaring up as will a far-off fire; and even as we looked we heard\nthe croak of an unseen raven flying thitherward overhead.\n\n\u201cCall father,\u201d I said to Withelm, who was the youngest of us three. The\nboy ran in, and presently my father came out and looked long at the\nglow in the sky.\n\n\u201cEven as I thought,\u201d he said. \u201cThe king\u2019s town is burning, and I must\ngo to tell the jarl. Strange that we have had no message. Surely the\nking\u2019s men must be hard pressed if this is a foe\u2019s work.\u201d\n\nSo he went at once, leaving us full of wonder and excited, as boys will\nbe at anything that is new and has a touch of fear in it. But he had\nhardly gone beyond the outbuildings when one came running and calling\nhim. The jarl had sent for him, for there was strange news from the\nking. Then he and this messenger hastened off together.\n\nIn half an hour the war horns were blowing fiercely, and all the quiet\ntown was awake, for my father\u2019s forebodings were true, and the foe was\non us. In our house my mother was preparing the food that her husband\nshould carry with him, and I was putting a last polish on the arms that\nshould keep him, while the tramp of men who went to the gathering rang\ndown the street, one by one at first, and then in twos and threes. My\nmother neither wept nor trembled, but worked with a set face that would\nnot show fear.\n\nThen came in my father, and I armed him, begging at the same time that\nI might go also, for I could use _my_ weapons well enough; but he told\nme that some must needs bide at home as a guard, and that I was as much\nwanted there as at the king\u2019s place, wherewith I had to be content. It\nwas by no means unlikely that we also might be attacked, if it was true\nthat the king\u2019s men were outnumbered, as was said.\n\nNow when my father went to say farewell to us, nowhere could be found\nmy brother Withelm.\n\n\u201cThe boy has gone to watch the muster,\u201d my father said. \u201cI shall see\nhim there presently.\u201d\n\nThen, because he saw that my mother was troubled more than her wont, he\nadded, \u201cHave no fear for me. This will be no more than a raid of\nNorsemen, and they will plunder and be away with the tide before we get\nto the place.\u201d\n\nSo he laughed and went out, having done his best to cheer us all, and I\nwent with him to where the men were gathered in their arms in the wide\nspace in the midst of the houses. There I sought for little Withelm,\nbut could not find him among the women and children who looked on; and\nbefore we had been there more than a few minutes the jarl gave the\nword, and the march was begun. There were about fifteen miles to be\ncovered between our town and the king\u2019s.\n\nI watched them out of sight, and then went home, having learned that I\nwas to be called out only in case of need. And as I drew near the\nhomestead I saw a light in the little ash grove that was behind the\ngarth.[3] In the midst of the trees, where this light seemed to be, was\nour wooden image of Thor the Hammer Bearer, older than any of us could\ntell; and in front of this was what we used as his altar\u2014four\nroughly-squared stones set together. These stones were blue-black in\ncolour, and whence they came I do not know, unless it was true that my\nforefathers brought them here when first Odin led his folk to the\nnorthern lands. Always they had been the altar for my people, and my\nfather held that we should have no luck away from them.\n\nSo it was strange to see a light in that place, where none would\nwillingly go after dark, and half was I feared to go and see what it\nmight mean. But then it came into my mind that the enemy might be\ncreeping on the house through the grove, and that therefore I must\nneeds find out all about it. So I went softly to the nearest trees, and\ncrept from one to another, ever getting closer to the light; and I will\nsay that I feared more that I might see some strange thing that was\nmore than mortal than that I should see the leading foeman stealing\ntowards me. But presently it was plain that the light did not move as\nif men carried it, but it flickered as a little fire; and at last I saw\nthat it burned on the altar stones, and that frightened me so that I\nalmost fled.\n\nMaybe I should have done so, but that I heard a voice that I knew; and\nso, looking once more, I saw a figure standing before the fire, and\nknew it. It was little Withelm, and why a ten-year-old boy should be\nhere I could not think. But I called him softly, and he started\nsomewhat, turning and trying to look through the darkness towards me,\nthough he did not seem afraid. There was a little fire of dry sticks\nburning on the stones, and the gaunt old statue seemed to look more\nterrible than ever in its red blaze. One might have thought that the\nworn face writhed itself as the light played over it.\n\n\u201cIt is I, Withelm,\u201d I said softly, for the fear of the place was on me.\n\u201cWe have sought you everywhere, and father would have wished you\nfarewell. What are you doing here?\u201d\n\nI came forward then, for it was plain that the child feared nothing, so\nthat I was put to shame. And as I came I asked once more what he was\ndoing in this place.\n\n\u201cThe jarl has surely forgotten the sacrifice to the Asir before the\nwarriors went to fight, and they will be angry,\u201d he answered very\ncalmly. \u201cIt is right that one should remember, and I feared for father,\nand therefore\u2014\u201d\n\nHe pointed to the altar, and I saw that he had laid his own untasted\nsupper on the fire that he had lighted, and I had naught to say. The\nthing was over-strange to me, who thought nothing of these things. It\nwas true that the host always sacrificed before sailing on the Viking\npath, but tonight had been urgent haste.\n\n\u201cThor will not listen to any but a warrior,\u201d I said. \u201cCome home,\nbrother, for mother waits us.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf not Thor, who is maybe busy at the battle they talk of, then do I\nthink that All Father will listen,\u201d he said stoutly. \u201cBut this was all\nthat I had to make sacrifice withal, and it may not be enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe jarl will make amends when he comes back,\u201d I said, wishing to get\nhome and away from this place, and yet unwilling to chide the child.\n\u201cNow let us go, for mother will grow anxious.\u201d\n\nWith that he put his hand in mine, and we both saluted Thor, as was\nfitting, and then went homeward. It seemed to me that the glare in the\nnorth was fiercer now than when I had first seen it.\n\nNow, after my mother had put Withelm to bed, I told her how I had found\nhim; and thereat she wept a little, as I could see in the firelight.\n\nAfter a long silence she said, \u201cStrange things and good come into the\nmind of a child, and one may learn what his fate shall be in the days\nto come. I am sure from this that Withelm will be a priest.\u201d\n\nNow as one may buy the place of a godar, with the right to have a\ntemple of the Asir for a district and the authority that goes\ntherewith, if so be that one falls vacant or is to be given up by the\nholder, this did not seem unlikely, seeing how rich we were fast\ngrowing. And indeed my mother\u2019s saying came to pass hereafter, though\nnot at all in the way of which we both thought.\n\nThere was no alarm that night. The old warriors watched round the town\nand along the northern tracks, but saw nothing, and in the morning the\nblack smoke hung over the place of the burning, drifting slowly\nseaward. The wind had changed, and they said that it would doubtless\nhave taken the foe away with it, as my father had hoped. So I went down\nto the ship with Raven, and worked at the few things that were still\nleft to be done to her as she lay in her long shed on the slips, ready\nto take the water at any tide. She was only waiting for cargo and\nstores to be put on board her with the shift of wind that had come at\nlast, and I thought that my father would see to these things as soon as\nhe came back.\n\nNow in the evening we had news from the Jarl, and strange enough it\nwas. My father came back two days afterwards and told us all, and so I\nmay as well make a short story of it. The ways of Gunnar Kirkeban had\nbeen his end, for a certain Viking chief, a Norseman, had wintered in\nWales during the past winter, and there he had heard from the Welsh of\nthe wrongs that they had suffered at his hands. Also he had heard of\nthe great booty of Welsh gold that Gunnar had taken thence in the last\nsummer; and so, when these Welsh asked that he would bide with them and\nhelp fight the next Danes who came, he had offered to do more than\nthat\u2014he would lead them to Gunnar\u2019s place if they would find men to man\nthree ships that he had taken, and would be content to share the booty\nwith them.\n\nThe Welsh king was of the line of Arthur, and one who yet hoped to win\nback the land of his fathers from the Saxons and English; and so he\nlistened to this Hodulf, thinking to gain a powerful ally in him for\nattack on the eastern coast of England after this. So, favoured by the\nwind that had kept us from the sea, Hodulf, with twenty ships in all,\nhad fallen on Gunnar unawares, and had had an easy victory, besetting\nthe town in such wise that only in the confusion while the wild Welsh\nwere burning and plundering on every side had the messenger to the jarl\nbeen able to slip away.\n\nBut when the jarl and our men reached the town there was naught to be\ndone but to make terms with Hodulf as best he might, that the whole\ncountry might not be overrun. For Gunnar had been slain in his own\nhall, with his two young daughters and with the queen also, as was\nsupposed. Havelok the prince was in his hands, and for his sake\ntherefore Sigurd had been the more ready to come to terms.\n\nThen Hodulf sent messengers to the overlord of all Denmark, saying that\nhe would hold this kingdom as for him, and backed up that promise with\na great present from Gunnar\u2019s treasure, so that he was listened to.\nTherefore our jarl was helpless; and there being no other king strong\nenough to aid him if he rose, in the end he had to take Hodulf for lord\naltogether, though it went sorely against the grain.\n\nI have heard it said by the Welsh folk that Hodulf held the kingdom for\ntheir lord; and it is likely that he humoured them by saying that he\nwould do so, which was a safe promise to make, as even King Arthur\nhimself could never have reached him to make him pay scatt.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\nKING HODULF\u2019S SECRET.\n\n\nMy father came home heavy and anxious enough, for he did not know how\nthings would go under this new king, though he had promised peace to\nall men who would own him. We in our place saw nothing of him or his\nmen for the next few weeks, but he was well spoken of by those who had\naught to do with him elsewhere. So my father went on trying to gather a\ncargo for England; but it was a slow business, as the burnt and\nplundered folk of the great town had naught for us, and others sold to\nthem. But he would never be idle, and every day when weather served we\nwent fishing, for he loved his old calling well, as a man will love\nthat which he can do best. Our two boats and their gear were always in\nthe best of order, and our kinsman, Arngeir, used and tended them when\nwe were away in the ship in summertime.\n\nNow, one evening, as we came up from the shore after beaching the boat\non the hard below the town, and half a mile from the nearest houses,\nand being, as one may suppose, not altogether in holiday trim, so that\nGrim and his boys with their loads of fish and nets looked as though a\nfisher\u2019s hovel were all the home that they might own, we saw a\nhorseman, followed at a little distance by two more, riding towards us.\nThe dusk was gathering, and at first we thought that this was Jarl\nSigurd, who would ask us maybe to send fish to his hall, and so we set\nour loads down and waited for him.\n\nBut it was not our lord, and I had never seen this man before. From his\narms, which were of a new pattern to me, he might be one of the host of\nHodulf, as I thought.\n\n\u201cHo, fisher!\u201d he cried, when he was yet some way from us; \u201cleave your\nlads, and come hither. I have a word for you.\u201d\n\nHe reined up and waited, and now I was sure that he was a Norseman, for\nhis speech was rougher than ours. He was a tall, handsome man enough;\nbut I liked neither his voice nor face, nor did I care to hear Grim, my\nfather, summoned in such wise, not remembering that just now a stranger\ncould not tell that he was aught but a fisher thrall of the jarl\u2019s.\n\nBut my father did as he was asked, setting down the nets that he was\ncarrying, and only taking with him the long boathook on which he had\nslung them as he went forward. I suppose he remembered the old saying,\nthat a man should not stir a step on land without his weapons, as one\nnever knows when there may be need of them; and so, having no other, he\ntook this.\n\nI heard the first questions that the man asked, for he spoke loudly.\n\n\u201cWhose man are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cSigurd\u2019s,\u201d answered my father shortly.\n\n\u201cWhose are the boats?\u201d\n\n\u201cMine, seeing that I built them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then, there is somewhat that you can do for me,\u201d the horseman\nsaid. \u201cIs your time your own, however?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the jarl needs me not.\u201d\n\n\u201cTonight, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have naught to do after I have carried the nets home.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the stranger; and after that he dropped his voice\nso that I heard no more, but he and my father talked long together.\n\nWe waited, and at last the talk ended, and my father came hack to us,\nwhile the stranger rode away northward along the sands. Then I asked\nwho the man was, and what he wanted.\n\n\u201cHe is some chief of these Norsemen, and one who asks more questions of\na thrall, as he thinks me, than he would dare ask Sigurd the jarl, or\nGrim the merchant either, for that matter.\u201d\n\nSeeing that my father did not wish to say more at this time, we asked\nnothing else, but went homeward in silence. It seemed as if he was ill\nat ease, and he went more quickly than was his wont, so that presently\nRaven and little Withelm lagged behind us with their burdens, for our\ncatch had been a good one.\n\nThen he stopped outside the garth when we reached home, and told me not\nto go in yet. And when the others came up he said to them, \u201cDo you two\ntake in the things and the fish, and tell mother that Radbard and I\nhave to go down to the ship. There is cargo to be seen to, and it is\nlikely that we shall he late, so bid her not wait up for us.\u201d\n\nThen he told me to come, and we left the two boys at once and turned\naway towards the haven. There was nothing strange in this, for cargo\noften came at odd times, and we were wont to work late in stowing it. I\ndid wonder that we had not stayed to snatch a bit of supper, but it\ncrossed my mind that the Norseman had told my father of some goods that\nhad maybe been waiting for the whole day while we were at sea. And then\nthat did not seem likely, for he had taken us for thralls. So I was\npuzzled, but held my peace until it should seem good to my father to\ntell me what we were about.\n\nWhen we reached a place where there was no house very near and no man\nabout, he said to me at last, \u201cWhat is on hand I do not rightly know,\nbut yon man was Hodulf, the new king, as I suppose we must call him. He\nwould not tell me his name, but I saw him when he and the jarl made\nterms the other day. Now he has bidden me meet him on the road a mile\nfrom the town as soon as it is dark, and alone. He has somewhat secret\nfor me to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a risk to go alone and unarmed,\u201d I answered; \u201clet me go home and\nget your weapons, for the errand does not seem honest.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what I think also,\u201d said my father, \u201cand that is why I am\ngoing to meet him. It is a bad sign when a king has a secret to share\nwith a thrall, and I have a mind to find out what it is. There may be\nsome plot against our jarl.\u201d\n\nHe was silent for a few minutes, as if thinking, and then he went on.\n\n\u201cI cannot take arms, or he would suspect me, and would tell me nothing;\nbut if there is any plotting to be done whereof I must tell the jarl,\nit will be as well that you should hear it.\u201d\n\nThen he said that he thought it possible for me to creep very close to\nthe place where he was to meet Hodulf, so that I could hear all or most\nof what went on, and that I might as well be armed in case of foul\nplay, for he did not suppose that the Norseman would think twice about\ncutting down a thrall who did not please him.\n\nIt was almost dark by this time, and therefore he must be going. I was\nnot to go home for arms, but to borrow from Arngeir as we passed his\nhouse. And this I did, saying that I had an errand beyond the town and\nfeared prowling men of the Norse host. Which danger being a very\nreasonable one, Arngeir offered to go with me; and I had some\ndifficulty in preventing him from doing so, for he was like an elder\nbrother to all of us. However, I said that I had no great distance to\ngo, and feigned to be ashamed of myself for my fears; and he laughed at\nme, and let me go my way with sword and spear and seax[4] also, which\nlast my father would take under his fisher\u2019s jerkin.\n\nI caught up my father quickly, and we went along the sands northwards\nuntil we came to the place where we must separate. The road was but a\nquarter of a mile inland from this spot, for it ran near the shore, and\nit was not much more than that to the place where Hodulf would be\nwaiting.\n\n\u201cCreep as near as you can,\u201d my father said; \u201cbut come to help only if I\ncall. I do not think that I am likely to do so.\u201d\n\nThen we went our ways, he making straight for the road, and I turning\nto my left a little. It was dark, for there was no moon now, but save\nthat I was soundly scratched by the brambles of the fringe of brushwood\nthat grew all along the low hills of the coast, there was nothing to\nprevent my going on quickly, for I knew the ground well enough, by\nreason of yearly bird nesting. When I reached the roadway the meeting\nplace was yet to my left, and I could hear my father\u2019s footsteps coming\nsteadily in the distance. So I skirted the road for a little way, and\nthen came to an open bit of heath and rising land, beyond which I\nthought I should find Hodulf. Up this I ran quickly, dropping into the\nheather at the top; and sure enough, in a hollow just off the road I\ncould dimly make out the figure of a mounted man waiting.\n\nThen my father came along the road past me, and I crawled among the\ntall heather clumps until I was not more than twenty paces from the\nhollow, which was a little below me.\n\nHodulf\u2019s horse winded me, as I think, and threw up its head snorting,\nand I heard its bit rattle. But my father was close at hand, and that\nwas lucky.\n\n\u201cHo, fisher, is that you?\u201d he called softly.\n\n\u201cI am here,\u201d was the answer, and at once my father came into the hollow\nfrom the road.\n\n\u201cAre any folk about?\u201d Hodulf said.\n\n\u201cI have met none. Now, what is all this business?\u201d answered my father.\n\n\u201cBusiness that will make a free man of you for the rest of your days,\nand rich, moreover, master thrall,\u201d said Hodulf. \u201cThat is, if you do as\nI bid you.\u201d\n\n\u201cA thrall can do naught else than what he is bidden.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but he can do that in a way that will earn great reward, now and\nthen; and your reward for obedience and silence thereafter in this\nmatter shall be aught that you like to ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis sounds as if I were to peril my life,\u201d my father said. \u201cI know\nnaught else that can be worth so much as that might be.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no peril,\u201d said Hodulf scornfully; \u201cyour skin shall not be so\nmuch as scratched\u2014ay, and if this is well done it will know a master\u2019s\ndog whip no more.\u201d\n\nI heard my father chuckle with a thrall\u2019s cunning laugh at this, and\nthen he said eagerly, \u201cWell, master, what is it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you. But first will you swear as on the holy ring that of\nwhat you shall do for me no man shall know hereafter?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat I do at your bidding none shall know, and that I swear,\u201d answered\nmy father slowly, as if trying to repeat the king\u2019s words.\n\n\u201cSee here, then,\u201d said Hodulf, and I heard his armour clatter as he\ndismounted.\n\nThen the footsteps of both men shuffled together for a little while,\nand once I thought I heard a strange sound as of a muffled cry, at\nwhich Hodulf muttered under his breath. I could see that they took\nsomething large from the saddle bow, and set it on the ground, and then\nthey spoke again.\n\n\u201cHave you a heavy anchor?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cA great one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, tie it to this sack and sink it tonight where tide will\nnever shift it. Then you may come to me and claim what reward you\nwill.\u201d\n\n\u201cFreedom, and gold enough to buy a new boat\u2014two new boats!\u201d said my\nfather eagerly.\n\nHodulf laughed at that, and got on his horse again. I saw his tall form\nlift itself against the dim sky as he did so.\n\n\u201cWhat is in the sack?\u201d asked my father.\n\n\u201cThat is not your concern,\u201d Hodulf answered sharply. \u201cIf you know not,\nthen you can tell no man, even in your sleep. Put off at once and sink\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is in my mind,\u201d said my father, \u201cthat I had better not look in the\nsack. Where shall I find you, lord, when the thing is in the sea? For\nas yet I have not heard your name.\u201d\n\nI think that Hodulf had forgotten that he would have to answer this\nquestion, or else he thought that everyone knew him, for he did not\nreply all at once.\n\n\u201cYou may ask the king for your reward,\u201d he said, after a little\nthought, \u201cfor this is his business. Now you know that it will be best\nfor you to be secret and sure. Not much worth will your chance of\nescape from torture be if this becomes known. But you know also that\nthe reward is certain.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe king!\u201d cried my father, with a sort of gasp of surprise.\n\nI could almost think that I saw him staring with mouth agape as would a\nsilly thrall; for so well had he taken the thrall\u2019s part that had I not\nknown who was speaking all the time, I had certainly had no doubt that\none was there.\n\n\u201cCome to Hodulf, the king, and pray for freedom and your gold as a boon\nof his goodness, saying naught else, or making what tale you will of a\nhard master, or justice, so that you speak naught of what you have\ndone, and that\u2014and maybe more\u2014shall be granted.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou yourself will speak for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the king\u2014and think not that the darkness will prevent my knowing\nyour face again,\u201d Hodulf replied.\n\nThere was a threat in the words, and with them he turned his horse and\nrode away quickly northwards. I heard the hoofs of his men\u2019s horses\nrattle on the road as they joined him, before he had gone far.\n\nWhen the sounds died away altogether, and there was no fear of his\ncoming back suddenly on us, my father whistled and I joined him. He\nalmost started to find how near I was.\n\n\u201cYou have heard all, then?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cEvery word,\u201d I answered, \u201cand I like it not. Where is this sack he\nspoke of?\u201d\n\nIt lay at his feet. A large sack it was, and full of somewhat heavy and\nwarm that seemed to move a little when I put my hand on it. Still less\ndid I like the business as I felt that.\n\n\u201cMore also!\u201d quoth my father, as if thinking of the king\u2019s last words.\n\u201cIf that does not mean a halter for my neck, I am mistaken. What have\nwe here, son, do you think?\u201d\n\n\u201cSomewhat that should not be here, certainly,\u201d I answered. \u201cThere would\nnot be so much talk about drowning a dog, as one might think this to\nbe.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnless it were his wife\u2019s,\u201d answered my father, with a laugh.\n\nThen he stooped, and I helped him to get the sack on his shoulders. It\nwas heavy, but not very\u2014not so heavy as a young calf in a sack would\nbe; and he carried it easily, taking my spear to help him.\n\n\u201cThe thrall is even going to take this to the house of Grim the\nmerchant, whom the king will not know again, though he may see in the\ndark,\u201d said he; \u201cthen we shall know how we stand.\u201d\n\nWe met no one on our way back, for the town had gone to sleep, until\nthe watchman passed the time of night with us, thinking no doubt that\nwe had fish or goods in the burden. And when we came home a sleepy\nthrall opened to us, for all were at rest save him. And he too went his\nway to the shed where his place was when he had stirred the fire to a\nblaze and lit a torch that we might see to eat the supper that was left\nfor us.\n\nThen we were alone, and while I set Arngeir\u2019s weapons in a corner, my\nfather put down the sack, and stood looking at it. It seemed to sway a\nlittle, and to toss as it settled down. And now that there was light it\nwas plain that the shape of what was inside it was strangely like that\nof a child, doubled up with knees to chin, as it showed through the\nsacking.\n\n\u201cHodulf or no Hodulf,\u201d said my father, \u201cI am going to see more of\nthis.\u201d\n\nWith that he took a knife from the table and cut the cord that fastened\nthe mouth, turning back the sack quickly.\n\nAnd lo! gagged and bound hand and foot in such wise that he could not\nmove, in the sack was a wondrously handsome boy of about the size of\nWithelm; and for all his terrible journey across the king\u2019s saddle, and\nin spite of our rough handling, his eyes were bright and fearless as he\nlooked up at us.\n\n\u201cRadbard,\u201d said my father, \u201cwhat if Hodulf had met with a thrall who\nhad done his bidding in truth?\u201d\n\nI would not think thereof, for surely by this time there had been no\nlight in the eyes that seemed to me to be grateful to us.\n\nNow my father knelt down by the boy\u2019s side, and began to take the\nlashings from him, telling him at the same time to be silent when the\ngag was gone.\n\nAnd hard work enough the poor child had to keep himself from screaming\nwhen his limbs were loosed, so cramped was he, for he had been bound\nalmost into a ball. And even as we rubbed and chafed the cold hands and\nfeet he swooned with the pain of the blood running freely once more.\n\n\u201cThis is a business for mother,\u201d said my father, on that; \u201cget your\nsupper, and take it to bed with you, and say naught to the boys in the\nmorning. This is a thing that may not be talked of.\u201d\n\nNow I should have liked to stay, but my father meant what he said, and\nI could be of no more use; so I took my food, and went up to the loft\nwhere we three slept, and knew no more of what trouble that night might\nhave for others.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\nHAVELOK, SON OF GUNNAR.\n\n\nNow after I had gone, Grim, my father, tried to bring the child round,\nbut he could not do so; and therefore, leaving him near the fire, he\nwent softly to call Leva, my mother, to help him; and all the while he\nwas wondering who the child might be, though indeed a fear that he knew\nonly too well was growing in his heart, for there would surely he only\none whom Hodulf could wish out of his way.\n\nAs he opened the door that led to the sleeping room beyond the high\nseat, the light shone on Leva, and showed her sitting up in bed with\nwide eyes that seemed to gaze on somewhat that was terrible, and at\nfirst he thought her awake. But she yet slept, and so he called her\ngently, and she started and woke.\n\n\u201cHusband, is that you?\u201d she said. \u201cI had a strange dream even now which\nsurely portends somewhat.\u201d\n\nNow, as all men know, our folk in the north are most careful in the\nmatter of attending to dreams, specially those that come in troubled\ntimes, holding that often warning or good counsel comes from them. I\ncannot say that I have ever had any profit in that way myself, being no\ndreamer at all; but it is certain that others have, as may be seen\nhereafter. Wherefore my father asked Leva what this dream might be.\n\n\u201cIn my dream,\u201d she answered, \u201cit seemed that you came into the house\nbearing a sack, which you gave into my charge, saying that therein lay\nwealth and good fortune for us. And I would not believe this, for you\nsaid presently that to gain this the sack and all that was therein was\nto be thrown into the sea, which seemed foolishness. Whereon I cast it\ninto a corner in anger, and thereout came pitiful cries and wailings.\nThen said I that it were ill to drown aught that had a voice as of a\nchild, and so you bade me leave it. Then I seemed to sleep here; but\npresently in my dream I rose and looked on the sack again, and lo!\nround about it shone a great light, so that all the place was bright,\nand I was afraid. Then you came and opened the sack, and therein was a\nwondrous child, from whose mouth came a flame, as it were the shaft of\na sunbeam, that stretched over all Denmark, and across the sea to\nEngland, whereby I knew that this child was one who should hereafter be\nking of both these lands. And on this I stared even as you woke me.\u201d\n\nNow Grim was silent, for this was passing strange, and moreover it\nfitted with his thought of who this child might be, since Hodulf. would\nmake away with him thus secretly.\n\n\u201cWhat make you of the dream?\u201d asked Leva, seeing that he pondered on\nit.\n\n\u201cIt is in my mind that your dream will come true altogether, for\nalready it has begun to do so,\u201d he answered. \u201cRise and come into the\nhall, and I will show you somewhat.\u201d\n\nOn that Leva made haste and dressed and came out, and there, lying as\nif in sleep before the fire, was the wondrous child of her dream, and\nthe sack was under his head as he lay; and she was wont to say to those\nfew who knew the story, that the kingliness of that child was plain to\nbe seen, as had been the flame of which she had dreamed, so that all\nmight know it, though the clothes that he wore were such as a churl\nmight be ashamed of.\n\nThen she cried out a little, but not loudly, and knelt by the child to\nsee him the better; and whether he had come to himself before and had\ndropped asleep for very weariness, or out of his swoon had passed into\nsleep, I cannot say, but at her touch he stirred a little.\n\n\u201cWhat child is this? and how came he here?\u201d she asked, wondering.\n\n\u201cAlready your dream has told you truly how he came,\u201d Grim answered,\n\u201cbut who he is I do not rightly know yet. Take him up and bathe him,\nwife; and if he is the one I think him, there will be a mark whereby we\nmay know him.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow should he be marked? And why look you to find any sign thus?\u201d\n\nBut Grim had turned down the rough shirt and bared the child\u2019s neck and\nright shoulder, whereon were bruises that made Leva well-nigh weep as\nshe saw them, for it was plain that he had been evilly treated for many\ndays before this. But there on the white skin was the mark of the\nking\u2019s line\u2014the red four-armed cross with bent ends which Gunnar and\nall his forebears had borne.\n\nSeeing that, Leva looked up wondering in her husband\u2019s face, and he\nanswered the question that he saw written in her eyes.\n\n\u201cHe is as I thought\u2014he is Havelok, the son of Gunnar, our king. Hodulf\ngave him to me that I might drown him.\u201d\n\nThen he told her all that had happened, and how from the first time\nthat he had lifted the sack and felt what was within it he had feared\nthat this was what was being done. Hodulf would have no rival growing\nup beside him, and as he dared not slay him openly, he would have it\nthought that he had been stolen away by his father\u2019s friends, and then\nfolk would maybe wait quietly in hopes that he would come again when\ntime went on.\n\nNow Leva bathed Havelok in the great tub, and with the warmth and\ncomfort of the hot water he waked and was well content, so that\nstraightway, when he was dressed in Withelm\u2019s holiday clothes, which\nfitted him, though he was but seven years old at this time, and Withelm\nwas a well-grown boy enough for his ten winters, he asked for food, and\nthey gave him what was yet on the board; and we lived well in Denmark.\n\n\u201cThere is no doubt that he hath a kingly hunger,\u201d quoth Grim as he\nwatched him.\n\n\u201cFriend,\u201d said Havelok, hearing this, though it was not meant for his\nears, \u201cit is likely, seeing that this is the third day since I have had\nfood given me. And I thank you, good people, though I would have you\nknow that it is the custom to serve the king\u2019s son kneeling.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow should we know that you are the king\u2019s son indeed?\u201d asked Grim.\n\n\u201cI am Havelok, son of Gunnar,\u201d the boy said gravely. \u201cYon traitor,\nHodulf, has slain my father, and my two sisters, and driven out my\nmother, whither I cannot tell, and now he would drown me.\u201d\n\nThen the boy could hardly keep a brave front any longer, and he added,\n\u201cYet I do not think that you will do to me as I heard him bid you.\u201d\n\nThen came over Grim a great pity and sorrow that it should seem needful\nthus to sue to him, and there grew a lump in his throat, so that for a\nwhile he might not answer, and the boy thought him in doubt, so that in\nhis eyes there was a great fear. But Leva wept outright, and threw\nherself on her knees beside him, putting her arms round him as he sat,\nspeaking words of comfort.\n\nThen Grim knelt also, and said, \u201cThralls of yours are we, Havelok, son\nof Gunnar, and for you shall our lives be given before Hodulf shall\nharm you. Nor shall he know that you live until the day comes when you\ncan go to him sword in hand and helm on head, with half the men of this\nrealm at your back, and speak to him of what he did and what he\nplanned, and the vengeance that shall be therefor.\u201d\n\nSo Grim took on himself to be Havelok\u2019s foster-father, and, as he\nended, the boy said with glowing eyes, \u201cI would that I were grown up.\nHow long shall this be before it comes to pass?\u201d\n\nAnd then of a sudden he said, as a tired child will, \u201cFriends, I am\nsorely weary. Let me sleep.\u201d\n\nSo Leva took him in her arms and laid him in their own bed; and at once\nhe slept, so that she left him and came back to Grim by the fireside,\nfor there was much to be said.\n\nFirst of all it was clear that Havelok must be hidden, and it was not\nto be supposed that Hodulf would be satisfied until he had seen the\nthrall to whom he had trusted such a secret come back for his reward.\nIf he came not he would be sought; and then he would find out to whom\nhe had spoken, and there would be trouble enough.\n\nBut it seemed easy to hide Havelok on board the ship, and sail with him\nto England as soon as possible. A few days might well pass before a\nthrall could get to Hodulf, so that he would suspect nothing just at\nfirst. There were merchants in England who would care for the boy well,\nand the two boats might be sunk, so that the king should not ask whose\nthey were. So when Grim came home again the fisher would be thought of\nas drowned on his errand, and Hodulf would be content.\n\nBut then, after a little talk of this, it was plain that all the town\ncould not be told to say that the fisher was drowned on such a night,\nand Hodulf would leave naught undone to find the truth of the matter.\nSo the puzzle became greater, and the one thing that was clear was that\nGrim was in sore danger, and Havelok also.\n\nThen suddenly outside the dogs barked, and a voice which they obeyed\nquieted them. Grim sprang for his axe, which hung on the wall, and went\nto the door, whereon someone was knocking gently.\n\n\u201cOpen, uncle; it is I, Arngeir.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does the boy want at this time?\u201d said Grim, taking down the great\nbar that kept the door, axe in hand, for one must be cautious in such\ntimes as these.\n\nArngeir came in\u2014a tall young man of twenty, handsome, and like Grim in\nways, for he was his brother\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cLucky am I in finding you astir,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought I should have\nhad to wake you all. Are you just home from sea, or just going out?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot long home,\u201d answered Leva; \u201cbut what has brought you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a guest for you, if I may bring one here at this hour.\u201d\n\n\u201cA friend of yours never comes at the wrong time,\u201d Grim said. \u201cWhy not\nbring him in?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it were a friend of mine and a man he would do well enough at my\nhouse for the night,\u201d said Arngeir, smiling; \u201cbut the one for whom I\nhave come is a lady, and, I think, one in sore trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is she?\u201d asked my mother, wondering much.\n\n\u201cFrom the king\u2019s town, certainly,\u201d answered Arngeir, \u201cbut I do not know\nher name. Truth to tell, I forgot to ask it, for she is sorely spent;\nand so I made haste to come to you.\u201d\n\nThen Leva would know how a lady came at this time to Arngeir\u2019s house,\nfor he was alone, save for his four men, being an orphan without other\nkin beside us, and his house was close to our shipyard and the sea.\n\n\u201cShe came not to me, but I found her,\u201d he replied. \u201cMy horse is sick,\nand I must get up an hour ago and see to it for the second time\ntonight. Then as I came from the stable I saw someone go towards the\nshipyard, and, as I thought, into the open warehouse. It was dark, and\nI could not tell then if this was man or woman; but I knew that no one\nhad business there, and there are a few things that a thief might pick\nup. So I took an axe and one of the dogs, and went to see what was on\nhand, but at first there was naught to be found of anyone. If it had\nnot been for the dog, I think that I should have gone away, but he went\ninto the corner where the bales of wool are set, and there he whined\nstrangely, and when I looked, there was this lady on the bales, and she\nwas weeping and sore afraid. So I asked her what was amiss, and it was\nnot easy to get an answer at first. But at last she told me that she\nhad escaped from the burning of the king\u2019s town, and would fain be\ntaken across the sea into some place of peace. So I cheered her by\nsaying that you would surely help her; and then I took her to my house\nand came to you. Worn and rent are her garments, but one may see that\nthey have been rich, and I deem her some great lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo and bring her here, husband,\u201d said my mother, on hearing that.\n\nBut he was already going, and at once he and Arngeir went out and down\nthe street. There were many other ladies and their children who had\ntaken refuge here with the townsfolk after the burning, and the coming\nof this one was but another count in the long tale of trouble that\nbegan on the Welsh shore with the ways of Gunnar, the church\u2019s bane.\n\nMy father was long gone, and the day was breaking when he came back. My\nmother slept in the great chair before the fire, for waiting had\nwearied her, but she woke as she heard Grim\u2019s footstep, and unbarred\nthe door to him, ready to welcome the guest that she looked for. But he\nwas alone, and on his face was the mark of some new trouble, and that a\ngreat one.\n\nHe came in and barred the door after him, and then sat down wearily and\nate for the first time since we had had our meal at sea; and while he\ndid so Leva asked him nothing, wondering what was wrong, but knowing\nthat she would hear in good time. And when he had eaten well he spoke.\n\n\u201cThe lady is Eleyn the queen. She has been wandering for these many\ndays from place to place, sometimes in the woods, and sometimes in\nhiding in the cottages of the poor folk, always with a fear of staying\nin one place, lest Hodulf should find her, for it is known that he is\nseeking her. Then at last one told her of my ship, and she is here to\nseek me.\u201d\n\nNow one may know what the wonder and pity of my mother was, and she\nwould fain have gone to her. But Grim had left her at Arngeir\u2019s house,\nfor folk were stirring in the town, and there were many who would know\nthe queen if they saw her.\n\n\u201cIt will soon be known that Arngeir has a guest,\u201d my mother said,\n\u201cwhereas none would have wondered had she been here.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy this time tomorrow it will not matter if Hodulf knows,\u201d answered\nGrim, \u201cfor she will be safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere will you hide her then and what of Havelok?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor those two there is no safety but across the sea, and they are the\nmost precious cargo that I shall ever have carried. Already Arngeir and\nthe men are at work on the ship, getting the rollers under her keel,\nthat she may take the water with the next tide. I shall sail with the\ntide that comes with the darkness again, saying that I shall find cargo\nelsewhere in other ports, as I have done once before.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had not looked to say farewell to you quite so soon,\u201d my mother\nsaid; \u201cbut this is right. Now I will have all things ready, that the\nqueen shall be in what comfort she may on the voyage. But it will be\nwell that none shall know, even of your seamen, who the passengers are,\nelse will word go to Hodulf in some way hereafter that Havelok has\nescaped.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have thought of that,\u201d answered Grim. \u201cIt will be best that none,\nnot even Radbard, shall know who this is whom we have in the house. A\nchance word goes far sometimes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe boy will tell his name.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are many who are named after him, and that is no matter. Do you\nspeak to him, for it is plain that he has sense enough, and bid him say\nnaught but that he and his mother have escaped from the town, and, if\nyou will, that he escaped in the sack. I will speak to Radbard, and\nthere will be no trouble. Only Arngeir must know the truth, and that\nnot until we are on the high seas perhaps.\u201d\n\nSo there seemed to be no more fear, and in an hour the house was astir,\nand there was work enough for all in preparing for the voyage. As for\nme, I went down to the ship with my father, and worked there.\n\nNow, I will say that not for many a long year did I know who this\nfoster-brother of mine was. It was enough for me to be told that he was\nthe son of some great man or other with whom Hodulf had a private feud.\nNor did I ever speak of that night\u2019s work to any, for my father bade me\nnot to do so. Presently I knew, of course, that the lady was Havelok\u2019s\nmother; but that told me nothing, for I never heard her name.\n\nWe worked at the ship for three hours or so, stowing the bales of wool\nand the other little cargo we had; and then my father sent me to the\nfishing-boats for a pair of oars belonging to the ship\u2019s boat that were\nthere, and, as it fell out, it was a good thing that I and not one of\nthe men went. When I came to the place where they were drawn up on the\nbeach, as we had left them last night, there was a stranger talking to\nsome of the fisher folk, who were working at their nets not far off;\nand though another might have paid no heed to this, I, with the\nremembrance of last night fresh in my mind, wondered if he was by any\nchance there on an errand from Hodulf. I thought that, were I he, I\nshould surely send someone to know, at least, if the fisher went out\nlast night after I had spoken with him. So I loitered about until the\nman went away, which he did slowly, passing close to me, and looking at\nthe boats carefully, as if he would remember them. Then I went and\nasked the men to whom he had been speaking what he wanted. They said\nthat they wondered that he had not spoken to me, for he had been asking\nabout my father and of his ship, and if he took any passenger with him\nthis voyage. It would seem that he wanted to sail with us, from all he\nsaid.\n\nCertainly he had begun by asking whose boats these were, and wondered\nthat a merchant should go fishing at all, when there was no need for\nhim to do so. Also he had asked if Grim had been out last night, and\nthey had of course told him that he had not, for neither boat had been\nshifted from the berth she had been given when we came in at dusk.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d he had said, \u201cwell did I wot that your merchant would do no night\nwork,\u201d and so made a jest of the matter, saying that in his country it\nwere below the state of a merchant to have aught to do with a thrall\u2019s\nwork. He was certainly a Norseman, and they thought that I should find\nhim with my father. Now I thought otherwise, and also I saw that all\nwas known. This man was a spy of Hodulf\u2019s, and would go straight back\nto his master. My father must hear of this at once; and I hurried back\nto the ship, and took him aside and told him. And as I did so his face\ngrew grey under the tan that sea and wind had given it, and I knew not\naltogether why.\n\n\u201cTell Arngeir to come to me,\u201d he said; \u201cI am going to the jarl. Tell no\none, but go home and say to mother that I shall be with her in an hour.\nThen come back and work here.\u201d\n\nThen he and Arngeir went to Sigurd, and told him all from the\nbeginning. And when the jarl heard, he was glad for the safety of the\nqueen and of Havelok, but he said that there was no doubt that Denmark\nwas no place for Grim any longer.\n\n\u201cThat is my thought also,\u201d said my father; \u201cbut now am I Havelok\u2019s\nfoster-father, and for him I can make a home across the sea, where I\nwill train him up for the time that shall surely come, when he shall\nreturn and take his father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d the jarl said, \u201cbut you have little time. What Hodulf\nwill do one cannot say, but he may come here with his men behind him to\nforce me to give you up, and the town will be searched for Havelok, and\nboth he and the queen will be lost.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is so,\u201d my father answered, \u201cwe have time enough. Two hours\nfor the spy to reach his master; one hour for Hodulf to hear him, and\nto bethink himself; an hour for gathering his men; and four hours, at\nthe least, in which to get here. Eight hours, at the least, have we,\nand the tide serves in six. I had thought of waiting till dark, but\nthat is of no use now. We may as well go, for there are true men here,\nwho will wait to welcome him who flies when he comes again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a sore wrench for you and yours, good friend and faithful,\u201d\nSigurd said, \u201cbut it must be. Nevertheless I can make your loss as\nlittle as it may be. You shall sell all that is yours to me at your own\nprice, that you may have the means to make a new home well, wherever\nyou may choose.\u201d\n\nAt first my father would not have that, saying that there would be much\ntrouble on his account presently.\n\nBut Sigurd said that, first, the trouble was not of his making at all;\nand next, that if Hodulf plundered the place, it was as well to send\naway as much as possible beforehand; and lastly\u2014and this was what\ntouched my father most\u2014that he must think of his charge.\n\n\u201cWhy, old friend, you are giving up all for Havelok, as would I. And am\nI to have no share in the training of him for the days to come?\u201d\n\nTherewith he waited for no more words, but went to his great chest, and\ntook thereout chain after chain of linked gold rings, and put them in a\ncanvas bag, without weighing or counting them, and gave them to Grim.\n\n\u201cLord, here is enough to buy half the town!\u201d my father said.\n\n\u201cWhat of that? The town is Havelok\u2019s by right, and maybe you can buy\nhim a village across seas with it. But give me a full quittance for my\npurchase of your goods and cattle and house, that I may have right to\nthem.\u201d\n\nThat Grim did at once, before witnesses who were called in, none\nwondering that he chose thus to secure his property while he was away,\nbecause Hodulf might make demands on it. They did not know that any\nmoney changed hands, and thought it formal only, and a wise thing to be\ndone.\n\nAfter that Grim and Arngeir took leave of the jarl, thanking him, and\nthey went to our house.\n\nThere waited my mother anxiously enough, for she knew from my message\nthat there was somewhat new to be told, or my father had not left the\nship. Nor do I think that what was to be done was altogether a surprise\nto her, for she had thought much, and knew the dangers that might crop\nup. So, being very brave, she strove to make light of the trouble that\nleaving her home cost her, and set about gathering the few things that\nshe could take.\n\nNow on the hearth sat Withelm, tending the fire, and he heard presently\nthat we were all to go to sea; and that pleased him well, for he had\never longed to sail with his father. As for Havelok, he had waked once,\nand had well eaten, and now was sleeping again.\n\nThen said Withelm, \u201cWhen will the sacrifice to Aegir and Ran[5] for\nluck on the swan\u2019s path be?\u201d\n\n\u201cScant time have we for that,\u201d my father said, \u201cfor tide will not\nwait.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the boy, \u201cit were well to take the stone altar with us,\nand make sacrifice on board. I have heard that Aegir is wrathful and\nstrong.\u201d\n\nThen my father said to Leva, \u201cThe boy is right in one thing, and that\nis, that if we are to make a new home beyond the sea, the blue stones\nthat have belonged to our family since time untold should go with us,\nelse will there be no luck in this flitting.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat matter?\u201d\n\n\u201cWest they came with us in the days of Odin, and west they shall go\nwith us once more,\u201d my father said.\n\nAnd there was an end of question on the matter, for presently Arngeir\ncame up with the team of oxen and a sled, and my father hastily cried\nto Thor as in time of sudden war, and then on the sled they loaded the\nstones easily. I helped, and it is certain that they were no trouble to\nuproot or lift, though they were bedded in the ground and heavy.\nWherefrom we all thought that the flitting was by the will of the\nNorns, and likely to turn out well.\n\nBut in no way could we lift Thor himself. It was as if he were rooted,\nand maybe he was so. Therefore we left him, but sadly.\n\nOne may suppose that, had any noticed that Grim was taking these sacred\nthings with him, there would have been a talk; but as we sailed light,\nnone thought them aught but needed ballast; and we brought other stones\nto the ship with them and afterwards.\n\nOf course folk did wonder at this sudden sailing of ours, but my father\nmade no secret of his wish to get out of the way of Hodulf, who had\ntaken the ships of one or two other men elsewhere, so that all thought\nhe feared that his would be the next to be seized, and deemed him\nprudent in going. As for our own crew, they were told that it was\ncertain that the ship would be taken unless we went on this tide, and\nso they worked well.\n\nVery early in the morning, and unseen, Arngeir had brought Eleyn, the\nqueen, on board, and she was in the cabin under the raised after deck\nall the while that the bustle of making ready was going on. Only my\nfather went in there at any time, unless he gave the key to one of us,\nfor there he kept his valuables and the arms.\n\nPresently, when all the men were forward and busy, I got Havelok on\nboard unnoticed. We had kept Withelm running to and fro from ship to\nhouse with little burdens all the morning, mightily busy; and then,\nwhen the chance came, Havelok in Withelm\u2019s clothes, and with a bundle\non his head, came running to me. I waited by the after cabin, and I\nopened the door quickly and let him in. Then he saw his mother; and how\nthose two met, who had thought each other lost beyond finding, I will\nnot try to say.\n\nI closed the door softly and left them, locking it again, and found\nWithelm close to me, and Arngeir watching to see that all went well.\n\nSoon after that there came a Norseman, dressed as a merchant, who\ntalked with my father of goods, and lading, and whither he was bound,\nand the like. When he went away, he thought that he had found out that\nwe were for the Texel, but I do not know that he was from Hodulf. There\nhad been time for him to send a spy in haste, however, if he wished to\nwatch us; but at any rate this man heard naught of our charges.\n\nThen, at the last moment, my mother and the children came on board, and\nat once we hauled out of the harbour. I mind that an old woman ran\nalong the wharf when she found that all were going, and cried that Dame\nLeva had not paid for certain fowls bought of her; and my father\nlaughed in lightness of heart, and threw her a silver penny, so that\nshe let us go with a blessing. And after that it did not matter what\nthe people thought of this going of ours, for in an hour we were far at\nsea with a fair wind on the quarter, heading south at first, that the\nNorseman might see us, but when the land was dim astern, and there was\nno more fear, bearing away south and west for the Humber in far-off\nEngland.\n\nNow that was the last I saw of Denmark for many a long year, and I knew\nit must be so. But, as I have told, none but my father and mother, and\nnow Arngeir, knew all that we were carrying with us.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\nACROSS THE SWAN\u2019S PATH.\n\n\nAll that night, and during the morning of the next day, we sailed\nsteadily with a fresh northwest breeze that bade fair to strengthen\nby-and-by. If it held, we should see the cliffs of Northumbria on our\nbow tomorrow morning, and then would run down the coast to the Humber,\nwhere my father meant to put in first. He thought to leave the queen\nand Havelok with merchants whom he knew in Lindsey, and with them would\nstay my mother and the little ones while he made a trading voyage\nelsewhere. There would be time enough to find out the best place in\nwhich to make a home when the autumn came, and after he had been to an\nEnglish port or two that he did not know yet.\n\nWhen half the morning was past, the sun shone out warmly, and all came\non deck from the after cabin, where the ladies and children were. Our\nmen knew by this time that we had passengers, flying like ourselves\nfrom Hodulf, and therefore they were not at all surprised to see\nHavelok and his mother with their mistress. None of them had ever seen\neither of them before, as it happened, though I do not think that any\ncould have recognized the queen as she was then, wan and worn with the\nterror of her long hiding. Very silent was she as she sat on deck\ngazing ever at the long white wake of the ship that seemed to stretch\nfor a little way towards Denmark, only to fade away as a track over\nwhich one may never go back. And silent, too, was my mother; but the\nchildren, who had no care, were pleased with all things, and Raven and\nI were full of the ways of old seamen.\n\nSo everything went quietly until after we had our midday meal. We were\nall amidships on the wide deck, except my father and Arngeir, who sat\nside by side on the steersman\u2019s bench on the high poop. There was no\nspray coming on board, for we were running, and the ship was very\nsteady. Raven and I were forward with the men, busy with the many\nlittle things yet to be done to the rigging and such like that had been\nleft in the haste at last, and there was no thought but that this\nquiet, save for some shift of wind maybe, would last until we saw the\nEnglish shore.\n\nNow I do not know if my father had seen aught from the after deck, but\npresently he came forward, and passed up the steps to the forecastle,\nand there sat down on the weather rail, looking out to leeward for some\ntime quietly. I thought that maybe he had sighted some of the high land\non the Scots coast, for it was clear enough to see very far, and so I\nwent to see also. But there was nothing, and we talked of this and that\nfor ten minutes, when he said, \u201cLook and see if you can catch sight of\naught on the skyline just aft of the fore stay as you sit.\u201d\n\nI looked long, and presently caught sight of something white that\nshowed for a moment as we heaved up on a wave, and then was gone.\n\n\u201cSomewhat I saw,\u201d I said, \u201cbut it has gone. It might have been the top\nof a sail.\u201d\n\nThen I caught a glimpse of it again, and my father saw it also, and, as\nwe watched, it hove up slowly until it was plain to be seen. The vessel\nit belonged to was sailing in such a way as to cross our course in the\nend, though she was only a few points nearer the wind than we were. It\nseemed that she was swifter than ourselves, too, from the way she kept\nher place on our bow. Now a merchant must needs look on every sail with\nmore or less distrust, as there is always a chance of meeting with\nship-plundering Vikings, though the best of them will do naught but\ntake toll from a trader on the high seas. So before long all our men\nwere watching the stranger, and soon it was plain that she was a\nlongship, fresh from her winter quarters. We thought, therefore, that\nshe was not likely to trouble about us, having no need of stores as\nyet, and we being plainly in ballast only. Nor did she alter her course\nin any way, but mile after mile she sailed with us, always edging up\nnearer as she went, until at last we could see the men on her bows and\nthe helmsman at his place.\n\nI thought that one could hardly see a more handsome ship than she was,\nfresh with new paint, and with her dragon head shining golden in the\nsun. But I had seen her before, and that in no pleasant way. She was\nthe ship of which I have already spoken\u2014that which we beat off two\nyears ago, taking their cargo of plunder by way of amends for being\nattacked.\n\nThere was this difference, however, at that time, that then we had all\nour men on board, and the Viking was short-handed after a fighting\nraid, whereas now we had but fifteen men instead of five-and-twenty,\nbecause in the hurry we had not had time to summon any who lived beyond\nthe town, and it was plain that the Viking had a full crew, maybe of\nsixty men.\n\n\u201cIt is in my mind,\u201d my father said to Arngeir, \u201cthat our old foe will\nthink twice before he attacks us again; but seeing whom we have to deal\nwith, it is as well to be ready. We might keep him off with arrows, if\nhe does not find out how few we are, should he make an attempt on us;\nbut if he boards, we must submit, and make the best bargain we can.\u201d\n\nSo he passed word that the men were to lie down on deck, leaving only a\nfew to be seen, that the Viking might think us as he had known us\nbefore; and then the arms-chests were opened, and the bows and throwing\nweapons were set to hand by us boys while the men armed themselves.\n\nThen my father spoke to them, saying, \u201cI do not know if this Viking\nwill pass us by as too hard a nut to crack, seeing that he knows of us\nalready; but if he does not, it will be of no use our trying to fight\nhim, as you can see. I would not waste your lives for naught. But it\nmay be that a show of force will keep him off, so we will wait under\narms until we are sure what he will do.\u201d\n\nThen the men broke out, saying that they had beaten this man before\nwith him as leader, and they were in no mind to give up without a\nfight.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d my father answered, \u201cit is plain that you will back me,\nand so I will call on you if there is need or chance. But we have the\nwomen folk to think of now, and we must not risk aught.\u201d\n\nNow the longship held on her course steadily, never shifting her helm\nfor so much as a point. In half an hour or so we must be alongside one\nanother, at this rate, and that Arngeir did not altogether like the\nlook of, for it would seem as if she meant to find out all about us at\nleast. There was some little sea running, and it might be thought\neasier to board us on the lee side, therefore. We could not get away\nfrom her in any way, for even now, while she was closer hauled than we,\nshe kept pace with us, and had she paid off to the same course as\nourselves, she would have left us astern in a very short time.\n\nPresently a man swarmed up her rigging in order to look down on our\ndecks, and as he went up, my father bade our men crawl over to\nwindward, so that he should see all one gunwale lined with men, and so\nthink that both were, and deem that we were setting a trap for them in\norder to entice them alongside by pretending to be hardly manned. At\nthe same time, he sent the ladies and children into the cabin, so that\nthey might not be seen.\n\nThat did not please Havelok at all, for he seemed to scent a fight in\nthe air, and wanted weapons, that he might stand beside the other men,\nasking for an axe for choice. It was all that I could do to quiet him\nby saying that if there was any need of him I would call him, but that\njust now we thought the Vikings would go away if they saw many warriors\non deck. Which indeed was all that we hoped, but he thought that would\nspoil sport, and so hastened into the shelter.\n\nAfter that there fell a silence on us, for at any moment now we might\nbe hailed by the other ship. And when we were but a bow shot apart the\nhail came. The two vessels were then broadside on to each other, we a\nlittle ahead, if anything. My father was steering now, fully armed, and\nArngeir was beside him with myself. I had the big shield wherewith one\nguards the helmsman if arrows are flying.\n\nThe Viking bade us strike sail, and let him come alongside, but my\nfather made no answer. Still we held on, and the Viking paid off a\nlittle, as though he were not so sure if it were wise to fall on us, as\nwe showed no fear of him.\n\nThen my father spoke to Arngeir in a stern voice that I had heard only\nwhen we met this same ship before.\n\n\u201cThis will not last long. If there is one chance for us, it is to run\nhim down and it may be done. Our ship will stand the blow, for these\nlongships are but eggshells beside her. Pass the word for the men to\nshoot the steersman when I give the word. Then they must run forward,\nlest the Vikings climb over the bows as we strike her.\u201d\n\nArngeir\u2019s eyes flashed at that, and at once he went to the men, and\nthere was a click and rattle as the arrows went to string, and they\ngathered themselves together in readiness to leap up when the word\ncame. There seemed every chance that we should be upon the longship\nbefore they knew what we were about, for we had the weather gauge.\n\nNow the Viking hailed again, and again bore up for us a little, whereat\nmy father smiled grimly, for it helped his plan. And this time, as\nthere was no answer, his men sent an arrow or two on board, which did\nno harm.\n\n\u201cIt is plain that we are to be taken,\u201d my father said on that, \u201cso we\nwill wait no longer. Stand by, men, and one lucky shot will do all.\nShoot!\u201d\n\nThe helm went up as he spoke, and the men leaped to their feet, raining\narrows round the two men who were at the helm, and down on the Viking\nwe swept with a great cheer.\n\nBut in a moment there were four men on her after deck, and whether the\nfirst helmsman was shot I cannot say; but I think not, for quickly as\nwe had borne down on her she was ready, rushing away from us, instead\nof luffing helplessly, as we had expected. It would almost have seemed\nthat our move had been looked for.\n\nTen more minutes passed while we exchanged arrow flights, and then the\nlongship had so gained on us that she struck sail and waited for us\nwith her long oars run out and ready.\n\n\u201cThat is all we can do,\u201d said my father, with a sort of groan. \u201cPut up\nyour weapons, men, for it is no good fighting now.\u201d\n\nThey did so, growling; and as we neared the longship, her oars took the\nwater, and she flew alongside of us, and a grappling hook flung deftly\nfrom her bows caught our after gunwale, and at once she dropped astern,\nand swung to its chain as to a tow line. We were not so much as bidden\nto strike sail now, and the Vikings began to crowd forward in order to\nboard us by the stern, as the grappling chain was hove short by their\nwindlass.\n\n\u201cHold on,\u201d my father cried to them \u201cwe give up. Where is your chief?\u201d\n\nNow the men were making way for him when a strange thing happened. Out\nof the after cabin ran Havelok when he heard that word, crying that it\nwas not the part of good warriors to give up while they could wield\nsword\u2014words that surely he had learned from Gunnar, his father. And\nafter him came his mother, silent, and terrified lest he should be\nharmed.\n\nHavelok ran up the steps to my father, and the queen followed. I have\nsaid that there was a little sea running, and this made the ships jerk\nand strain at the chain that held them together fiercely, now that it\nwas so short. And even as the queen came to the top step, where there\nwas no rail, for the steps were not amidships, but alongside the\ngunwale, one of these jerks came; and in a moment she was in the sea,\nand in a moment also Arngeir was after her, for he was a fine swimmer.\n\nThe Vikings cried out as they saw this, but the poor queen said no\nword, nor did she ever rise again after the first time. It is likely\nthat she was drawn under the longship at once.\n\nSo for a little while there was no talk of terms or fighting, but all\nheld their breath as they watched to see if the queen floated alongside\nanywhere; but there was only Arngeir, who swam under the lee of the\nViking, and called to her men for guidance. They threw him a rope\u2019s end\nas he came to the stern, and he clung to it for a little while, hoping\nto see the flash of a white hood that the queen wore, over the white\nwave crests: but at last he gave up, and the Vikings hauled him on\nboard, praising him for his swimming, as he had on his mail.\n\nThen the chief turned to my father, and spoke to him across the few\nfathoms of water that were between the ships.\n\n\u201cWe meet again, Grim, as time comes round; and now I have a mind to let\nyou go, though I have that old grudge against you, for I think that\nyour wife is loss enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot my wife, Arnvid, but a passenger\u2014one whom I would not have lost\nfor all that you can take from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I am glad it is no worse. But it seems that you are in ballast.\nHow comes it that you have no cargo for me, for you owe me one?\u201d\n\nThen my father told him shortly that he had fled from Hodulf; and all\nthose doings were news to the Viking, so that they talked in friendly\nwise, while the men listened, and the ships crept on together down the\nwind.\n\nBut when all was told, save of the matter of Havelok, and who the lost\nlady was, the Viking laughed shortly, and said, \u201cPleasant gossip, Grim,\nbut not business. What will you give us to go away in peace? I do not\nforget that you all but ran us down just now, and that one or two of us\nhave arrows sticking in us which came from your ship. But that first\nwas a good bit of seamanship, and there is not much harm from the\nlast.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said my father, \u201cit seems to me that you owe me a ship, for it\nis certain that I once had that one, and gave her back to you.\u201d\n\nThe Viking laughed.\n\n\u201cTrue enough, and therefore I give you back your ship now, and we are\nquits. But I am coming on board to see what property I can lift.\u201d\n\nMy father shrugged his shoulders, and turned away, and at once the\nVikings hauled on the chain until their dragon head was against our\nquarter, when the chief and some twenty of his men came on board. The\nway in which they took off the hatches without staying to question\nwhere they should begin told a tale of many a like plundering.\n\nThen, I do not know how it was rightly, for I was aft with my father,\nthere began a quarrel between the Vikings and our men; and though both\nGrim and the chief tried to stop it, five of our few were slain\noutright, and three more badly hurt before it was ended. The rest of\nour crew took refuge on the fore deck, and there bided after that. The\nwhole fray was over in a few minutes, and it seemed that the Vikings\nhalf expected somewhat of the sort.\n\nThen they took all the linen and woollen goods, and our spare sails,\nand all the arms and armour from the men and from the chests to their\nown ship. Only they left my father and Arngeir their war gear, saying\nthat it were a shame to disarm two brave men.\n\nThen the chief said, \u201cLittle cargo have you, friend Grim, and therefore\nI am the more sure that you have store of money with you. Even flight\nfrom Hodulf would not prevent you from taking that wherewith to trade.\nSo I must have it; and it rests with you whether we tear your ship to\nsplinters in hunting for your hiding place or not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose there is no help for it, but I will say that the most of\nwhat I have is not mine,\u201d said my father.\n\n\u201cWhy, what matter? When one gives gold into the hands of a seafarer,\none has to reckon with such chances as this. You must needs hand it\nover.\u201d\n\nSo, as there was naught else to do, Grim brought out the jarl\u2019s heavy\nbag, and gave it to the chief, who whistled to himself as he hefted it.\n\n\u201cGrim,\u201d he said, \u201cfor half this I would have let you go without sending\na man on board. What is this foolishness? You must have known that.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe gold is not mine,\u201d my father answered; \u201cit was my hope that you\nwould have been content with the cargo.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I have met with an honest man for once,\u201d the Viking said; and he\ncalled his men, and they cast off and left us.\n\nBut we were in no happy plight when he had gone away to the eastward on\nhis old course. Half our men were gone, for the wounded were of no use,\nand the loss of the queen weighed heavily on us. And before long it\nbegan to blow hard from the north, and we had to shorten sail before\nthere was real need, lest it should be too much for us few presently,\nas it certainly would have been by the time that darkness fell, for the\ngale strengthened.\n\nThen, added to all this, there was trouble in the cabin under the after\ndeck, for since his mother was lost, Havelok had spoken no word. I had\nbrought him down to my mother from the deck, and had left him with her,\nhoping that he did not know what had happened; but now he was in a high\nfever, and sorely ill. Perhaps he would have been so in any case, after\nthe long days of Hodulf\u2019s cruelty, but he had borne them well. A child\nis apt, however, to give up, as it were, suddenly.\n\nSo, burdened with trouble, we drove before the gale, and the only\npleasant thing was to see how the good ship behaved in it, while at\nleast we were on our course all the time. Therefore, one could not say\nthat there was any danger; and but for these other things, none would\nhave thought much of wind or sea, which were no worse than we had\nweathered many a time before. We had sea room, and no lee shore to\nfear, and the ship was stanch, and no sailor can ask for more than\nthat.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\nSTORM AND SHIPWRECK.\n\n\nThe gale held without much change through the night, and then with\nmorning shifted a few points to the westward, which was nothing to\ncomplain of. The sea rose, and a few rain squalls came up and passed;\nbut they had no weight in them, and did not keep the waves down as a\nsteady fall will. And all day long it was the same, and the ship fled\never before it. There was no thought now of reaching any port we might\nwish, but least of all did we think of making the Lindsey shore, which\nlies open to the north and east. When the gale broke, we must find\nharbour where we could; and indeed; to my father at this time all ports\nwere alike, as refuge from Hodulf. When darkness came again one of the\nwounded men died, and Havelok was yet ill in the after cabin, so that\nmy mother was most anxious for him. The plunging ship was no place for\na sick child.\n\nNow it was not possible for us to tell how far we had run since we had\nparted from the Viking, and all we knew was that we had no shore to\nfear with the wind as it was, and therefore nothing but patience was\nneeded. But in the night came a sudden lull in the gale that told of a\nchange at hand, and in half an hour it was blowing harder than ever\nfrom the northeast, and setting us down to the English coast fast, for\nwe could do naught but run before such a wind. It thickened up also,\nand was very dark even until full sunrise, so that one could hardly\ntell when the sun was above the sea\u2019s rim.\n\nI crept from the fore cabin about this time, after trying in vain to\nsleep, and found the men sheltering under the break of the deck and\nlooking always to leeward. Two of them were at the steering oar with my\nfather, for Arngeir was worn out, and I had left him in the cabin,\nsleeping heavily in spite of the noise of waves and straining planking.\nMaybe he would have waked in a moment had that turmoil ceased.\n\nIt was of no use trying to speak to the men without shouting in their\nears, and getting to windward to do that, moreover, and so I looked\nround to see if there was any change coming. But all was grey overhead,\nand a grey wall of rain and flying drift from the wave tops was all\nround us, blotting out all things that were half a mile from us, if\nthere were anything to be blotted out. It always seems as if there must\nbe somewhat beyond a thickness of any sort at sea. But there was one\nthing that I did notice, and that was that the sea was no longer grey,\nas it had been yesterday, but was browner against the cold sky, while\nthe foam of the following wave crests was surely not so white as it had\nbeen, and at this I wondered.\n\nThen I crawled aft and went to my father and asked him what he thought\nof the wind and the chance of its dropping. He had had the lead going\nfor long now.\n\n\u201cWe are right off the Humber mouth, to judge by the colour of the\nwater,\u201d he told me, \u201cor else off the Wash, which is more to the south.\nI cannot tell which rightly, for we have run far, and maybe faster than\nI know. If only one could see\u2014\u201d\n\nThere he stopped, and I knew enough to understand that we were in some\nperil unless a shift of wind came very soon, since the shore was under\nour lee now, if by good luck we were not carried straight into the\ngreat river itself. So for an hour or more I watched, and all the time\nit seemed that hope grew less, for the sea grew shorter, as if against\ntide, and ever its colour was browner with the mud of the Trent and her\nsisters.\n\nPresently, as I clung to the rail, there seemed to grow a new sound\nover and amid all those to which I had become used\u2014as it were a low\nroaring that swelled up in the lulls, and sank and rose again. And I\nknew what it was, and held up my hand to my father, listening, and he\nheard also. It was the thunder of breakers on a sandy coast to leeward.\n\nHe put his whistle to his lips and called shrilly, and the men saw him\nif they could not hear, and sprang up, clawing aft through the water\nthat flooded the waist along the rail.\n\n\u201cBreakers to leeward, men,\u201d he cried \u201cwe must wear ship, and then shall\nclear them. We shall be standing right into Humber after that, as I\nthink.\u201d\n\nArngeir heard the men trampling, if not the whistle, and he was with us\ndirectly, and heard what was to be done.\n\n\u201cIt is a chance if the yard stands it,\u201d he said, looking aloft.\n\n\u201cAy, but we cannot chance going about in this sea, and we are too short\nof men to lower and hoist again. Listen!\u201d\n\nArngeir did so, and heard for the first time the growing anger of the\nsurf on the shore, and had no more doubt. We were then running with the\nwind on the port quarter, and it was useless to haul closer to the wind\non that tack, whereas if we could wear safely we should be leaving the\nshore at once by a little closer sailing.\n\n\u201cRan is spreading her nets,\u201d said Arngeir, \u201cbut if all holds, she will\nhave no luck with her fishing.\u201d[6]\n\nThen we manned the main sheet and the guys from the great yards, but we\nwere all too few for the task, which needed every man of the fifteen\nthat we had sailed with. There was the back stay to be set up afresh on\nthe weather quarter for the new tack also, and three men must see to\nthat.\n\nWe watched my father\u2019s hand for the word, and steadily sheeted home\nuntil all seemed to be going well. But the next moment there was a\ncrash and a cry, and we were a mastless wreck, drifting helplessly.\nMaybe some flaw of wind took us as the head of the great sail went\nover, but its power was too much for the men at guys and back stay, and\nthey had the tackle torn through their hands. The mast snapped six feet\nabove the deck, smashing the gunwales as it fell forward and overboard,\nbut hurting none of us.\n\nThen a following sea or two broke over the stern, and I was washed from\nthe poop, for I had been at the sheet, down to the deck, and there\nsaved myself among the fallen rigging, half drowned. One of the men was\nwashed overboard at the same time, but a bight of the rigging that was\nover the side caught him under the chin, and his mates hauled him on\nboard again by the head, as it were. He was wont to make a jest of it\nafterward, saying that he was not likely to be hanged twice, but he had\na wry neck from that day forward.\n\nNo more seas came over us, for the wreck over the bows brought us head\nto wind, though we shipped a lot of water across the decks as she\nrolled in the sea. Then we rode to the drag of the fallen sail for a\ntime, and it seemed quiet now that there was no noise of wind screaming\nin rigging above us. But all the while the thunder of the breakers grew\nnearer and plainer.\n\nI bided where I was, for the breath was knocked out of me for the\nmoment. I saw my father lash the helm, and then he and the rest got the\ntwo axes that hung by the cabin door, and came forward with them. The\nmast was pounding our side in a way that would start the planking\nbefore long, and it must be cut adrift, and by that time I could join\nhim.\n\nWhen that was done, and it did not take long, we cleared the anchor and\ncable and let go, for it was time. The sound of the surf was drowning\nall else. But the anchor held, and the danger was over for the while,\nand as one might think altogether; but the tide was running against the\ngale, and what might happen when it turned was another matter.\n\nNow we got the sail on deck again, and unlaced it from the yard,\nsetting that in place with some sort of rigging, ready to be stepped as\na mast if the wind shifted to any point that might help us off shore.\n\nIt may be thought how we watched that one cable that held us from the\nwaves and the place where they broke, for therein lay our only chance,\nand we longed for the clear light that comes after rain, that we might\nsee the worst, at least, if we were to feel it. But the anchor held,\nand presently we lost the feeling of a coming terror that had been over\nus, the utmost peril being past. My father went to the after cabin now,\nand though the poor children were bruised with the heavy rolling of the\nship as she came into the wind, they were all well save Havelok, and he\nhad fallen asleep in my mother\u2019s arms at last.\n\nWith the turn of the tide, which came about three hours after midday,\nthe clouds broke, and slowly the land grew out of the mists until we\ncould see it plainly, though it was hardly higher than the sea that\nbroke over it in whirling masses of spindrift. By-and-by we could see\nfar-off hills beyond wide-stretching marshlands that looked green and\nrich across yellow sandhills that fringed the shore. And from them we\nwere not a mile, and at their feet were such breakers as no ship might\nwin through, though, if we might wait until they were at rest, the\nlevel sand was good for beaching at the neap tides. For we were well\ninto Humber mouth, and to the northward of us, across the yellow water,\nwas the long point of Spurn, and the ancient port of Ravenspur, with\nits Roman jetties falling into decay under the careless hand of the\nSaxon, under its shelter. There was no port on this southern side of\nthe Humber, though farther south was Tetney Haven and again Saltfleet,\nto which my father had been, but neither in nor out of them might a\nvessel get in a northeast gale.\n\nI have said that this clearness came with the turn of the tide, and now\nthat began to flow strongly, setting in with the wind with more than\nits wonted force, for the northwest shift of the gale had kept it from\nfalling, as it always will on this coast. That, of course, I learned\nlater, but it makes plain what happened next. Our anchor began to drag\nwith the weight of both tide and wind, and that was the uttermost of\nour dread.\n\nSlowly it tore through its holding, and as it were step by step at\nfirst, and once we thought it stopped when we had paid out all the\ncable. But wind and sea were too strong, and presently again we saw the\nshore marks shifting, and we knew that there was no hope. The ship must\ntouch the ground sooner or later, and then the end would come with one\nlast struggle in the surf, and on shore was no man whose hand might be\nstretched to drag a spent man to the land, if he won through. It would\nhave seemed less lonely had one watched us, but I did not know then\nthat no pity for the wrecked need be looked for from the marshmen of\nthe Lindsey shore. There was not so much as a fisher\u2019s boat of wicker\nand skins in sight on the sandhills, where one might have looked to see\nsome drawn up.\n\nNow my father went to the cabin and told my mother that things were at\ntheir worst, and she was very brave.\n\n\u201cIf you are to die at this time, husband,\u201d she said, \u201cit is good that I\nshall die with you. Better it is, as I think, than a sickness that\ncomes to one and leaves the other. But after that you will go to the\nplace of Odin, to Valhalla; but I whither?\u201d\n\nThen spoke little Withelm, ever thoughtful, and now not at all afraid.\n\n\u201cIf Freya wants not a sailor\u2019s wife who is willing to fight the waves\nwith Grim, my father, it will be strange.\u201d\n\nMy mother was wont to say that this saying of the child\u2019s did much to\ncheer her at that time, but there is little place for a woman in the\nold faiths. So she smiled at him, and that made him bold to speak of\nwhat he had surely been thinking since the storm began.\n\n\u201cI suppose that Aegir is wroth because we made no sacrifice to him\nbefore we set sail. I think that I would cast the altar stones to him,\nthat he may know that we meant to do so.\u201d\n\nThis sounds a child\u2019s thought only, and so it was; but it set my father\nthinking, and in the end helped us out of trouble.\n\n\u201cI have heard,\u201d my father said, \u201cthat men in our case have thrown\noverboard the high-seat pillars, and have followed them to shore\nsafely. We have none, but the stones are more sacred yet. Overboard\nthey shall go, and as the boat with them goes through the surf we may\nlearn somewhat.\u201d\n\nWith that he hastened on deck, and told the men what he would do; and\nthey thought it a good plan, as maybe they would have deemed anything\nthat seemed to call for help from the strong ones of the sea. So they\ngot the boat ready to launch over the quarter, and the four stones,\nbeing uncovered since the Vikings took our cargo, were easily got on\ndeck, and they were placed in the bottom of the boat, and steadied\nthere with coils of fallen rigging, so that they could not shift. They\nwere just a fair load for the boat. Then my father cried for help to\nthe Asir, bidding Aegir take the altar as full sacrifice; and when we\nhad done so we waited for a chance as a long wave foamed past us, and\nlaunched the boat fairly on its back, so that she seemed to fly from\nour hands, and was far astern in a moment.\n\nNow we looked to see her make straight for the breakers, lift on the\nfirst of them, and then capsize. That first line was not a quarter of a\nmile from us now.\n\nBut she never reached them. She plunged away at first, heading right\nfor the surf, and then went steadily westward, and up the shore line\noutside it, until she was lost to sight among the wild waves, for she\nwas very low in the water.\n\n\u201cCheer up, men,\u201d my father said, as he saw that; \u201cwe are not ashore\nyet, nor will be so long as the tide takes that current along shore. We\nshall stop dragging directly.\u201d\n\nAnd so it was, for when the ship slowly came to the place where the\nboat had changed her course, the anchor held once more for a while\nuntil the gathering strength of the tide forced it to drag again. Now,\nhowever, it was not toward the shore that we drifted, but up the\nHumber, as the boat had gone; and as we went the sea became less heavy,\nfor we were getting into the lee of the Spurn headland.\n\nSoon the clouds began to break, flying wildly overhead with patches of\nblue sky and passing sunshine in between them that gladdened us. The\nwind worked round to the eastward at the same time, and we knew that\nthe end of the gale had come. But, blowing as it did right into the\nmouth of the river, the sea became more angry, and it would be worse\nyet when the tide set again outwards. Already we had shipped more water\nthan was good, and we might not stand much more. It seemed best,\ntherefore, to my father that we should try to run as far up the Humber\nas we might while we had the chance, for the current that held us safe\nmight change as tide altered in force and depth.\n\nSo we buoyed the cable, not being able to get the anchor in this sea,\nand then stepped the yard in the mast\u2019s place, and hoisted the peak of\nthe sail corner-wise as best we might; and that was enough to heel us\nalmost gunwale under as the cable was slipped and the ship headed about\nup the river mouth. We shipped one or two more heavy seas as she paid\noff before the wind, but we were on the watch for them, and no harm was\ndone.\n\nAfter that the worst was past, for every mile we flew over brought us\ninto safer waters; and now we began to wonder where the boat with its\nstrange cargo had gone, and we looked out for her along the shore as we\nsailed, and at last saw her, though it was a wonder that we did so.\n\nThe tide had set her into a little creek that opened out suddenly, and\nthere Arngeir saw her first, aground on a sandbank, with the lift of\neach wave that crept into the haven she had found sending her higher on\nit. And my father cried to us that we had best follow her; and he put\nthe helm over, while we sheeted home and stood by for the shock of\ngrounding.\n\nThen in a few minutes we were in a smother of foam across a little sand\nbar, and after that in quiet water, and the sorely-tried ship was safe.\nShe took the ground gently enough in the little creek, not ten score\npaces from where the boat was lying, and we were but an arrow flight\nfrom the shore. As the tide rose the ship drifted inward toward it, so\nthat we had to wait only for the ebb that we might go dry shod to the\nland.\n\nBefore that time came there was rest for us all, and we needed it\nsorely. It was a wonder that none of the children had been hurt in the\nwild tossing of the ship, but children come safely through things that\nwould be hard on a man. Bruised they were and very hungry, but somehow\nmy mother had managed to steady them on the cabin floor, and they were\nnone the worse, only Havelok slept even yet with a sleep that was too\nheavy to be broken by the worst of the tossing as he lay in my mother\u2019s\nlap. She could not tell if this heavy sleep was good or not.\n\nThen we saw to the wounded men, and thereafter slept in the sun or in\nthe fore cabin as each chose, leaving Arngeir only on watch. It was\npossible that the shore folk would be down to the strand soon, seeking\nfor what the waves might have sent them, and the tide must be watched\nalso.\n\nJust before its turn he woke us, for it was needful that we should get\na line ashore to prevent the ship from going out with the ebb, and with\none I swam ashore. There was not so much as a stump to which to make\nfast, and so one of the men followed me, and we went to the boat, set\nthe altar stones carefully ashore, then fetched the spare anchor, and\nmoored her with that in a place where the water seemed deep to the\nbank.\n\nIt was a bad place. For when the tide fell, which it did very fast, we\nfound that we had put her on a ledge. Presently therefore, and while we\nwere trying to bail out the water that was in her, the ship took the\nground aft, and we could not move her before the worst happened.\nSwiftly the tide left her, and her long keel bent and twisted, and her\nplanks gaped with the strain of her own weight, all the greater for the\nwater yet in her that flowed to the hanging bows. The good ship might\nsail no more. Her back was broken.\n\nThat was the only time that I have ever seen my father weep. But as the\nstout timbers cracked and groaned under the strain it seemed to him as\nif the ship that he loved was calling piteously to him for help that he\ncould not give, and it was too much for him. The gale that was yet\nraging overhead and the sea that was still terrible in the wide waters\nof the river had been things that had not moved him, for that the ship\nshould break up in a last struggle with them was, as it were, a fitting\nend for her. But that by his fault here in the hardly-won haven she\nshould meet her end was not to be borne, and he turned away from us and\nwept.\n\nThen came my mother and set her hand on his shoulder and spoke softly\nto him with wise words.\n\n\u201cHusband, but a little while ago it would have been wonderful if there\nwere one of us left alive, or one plank of the ship on another. And now\nwe are all safe and unhurt, and the loss of the ship is the least of\nills that might have been.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, wife,\u201d he said; \u201cyou cannot understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen it is woe for the\u2014for the one who is with us. But how had it been\nif you had seen Hodulf and his men round our house, and all the\nchildren slain that one might not escape, while on the roof crowed the\nred cock, and naught was left to us? We have lost less than if we had\nstayed for that, and we have gained what we sought, even safety. See,\nto the shore have come the ancient holy things of our house, and that\nnot by your guidance. Surely here shall be the place for us that is\nbest.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy, wife; you are right in all these things, but it is not for them.\u201d\n\nThen she laughed a little, forcing herself to do so, as it seemed.\n\n\u201cWhy, then, it is for the ship that I was ever jealous of, for she took\nyou away from me. Now I think that I should be glad that she can do so\nno more. But I am not, for well I know what the trouble must be, and I\nwould have you think no more of it. The good ship has saved us all, and\nso her work is done, and well done. Never, if she sailed many a long\nsea mile with you, would anything be worth telling of her besides this.\nAnd the burden of common things would surely be all unmeet for her\nafter what she has borne hither.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well said, Leva, my wife,\u201d my father answered.\n\nFrom that time he was cheerful, and told us how it was certain that we\nhad been brought here for good, seeing that the Norns[7] must have led\nthe stones to the haven, so that this must be the place that we sought.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\nTHE BEGINNING OF GRIMSBY TOWN.\n\n\nEasily we went ashore when the tide fell, across the spits of sand that\nran between the mud banks, and we climbed the low sandhill range that\nhid the land from us, and saw the place where we should bide. And it\nmight have been worse; for all the level country between us and the\nhills was fat, green meadow and marsh, on which were many cattle and\nsheep feeding. Here and there were groves of great trees, hemmed in\nwith the quickset fences that are as good as stockades for defence\nround the farmsteads of the English folk, and on other patches of\nrising ground were the huts of thralls or herdsmen, and across the wide\nmeadows glittered and flashed streams and meres, above which the\nwildfowl that the storm had driven inland wheeled in clouds. All the\nlower hills seemed to be wooded thickly, and the alder copses that\nwould shelter boar and deer and maybe wolves stretched in some places\nthence across the marsh. Pleasant and homely seemed all this after long\nlooking at the restless sea.\n\nThen said my father, \u201cNow am I no longer Grim the merchant, and that\npride of mine is at an end. But here is a place where Grim the fisher\nmay do well enough, if I am any judge of shore and sea. Here have we\nhaven for the boats, and yonder swim the fish, and inland are the towns\nthat need them. Nor have we seen a sign of a fisher so far as we have\ncome.\u201d\n\nNow we had been seen as soon as we stood on the sandhills; and before\nlong the herdsman and thralls began to gather to us, keeping aloof\nsomewhat at first, as if fearing my father\u2019s arms. But when we spoke\nwith them we could learn nothing, for they were Welsh marshmen who knew\nbut little of the tongue of their English masters. Serfs they were now\nin these old fastnesses of theirs to the English folk of the\nLindiswaras, who had won their land and called it after their own name,\nLindsey.\n\nBut before long there rode from one of the farmsteads an Englishman of\nsome rank, who had been sent for, as it would seem, and he came with\nhalf a dozen armed housecarls behind him to see what was going on. Him\nwe could understand well enough, for there is not so much difference\nbetween our tongue and that of the English; and when he learned our\nplight he was very kindly. His name was Witlaf Stalling, and he was the\ngreat man of these parts, being lord over many a mile of the marsh and\nupland, and dwelling at his own place, Stallingborough, some five miles\nto the north and inland hence.\n\nNow it had been in this man\u2019s power to seize us and all we had as his\nown, seeing that we were cast on his shore; but he treated us as guests\nrather, bidding us shelter in one of his near farmsteads as long as we\nwould, and telling my father to come and speak with him when we had\nsaved what we could from the wreck. He bade the thralls help at that\nalso, so that we had fallen in with a friend, and our troubles were\nless for his kindness.\n\nWe saved what cargo we had left during the next few days, while we\ndwelt at the farm. Then at the height of the spring tides the ship\nbroke up, for a second gale came before the sea that the last had\nraised was gone. And then I went with my father to speak with Witlaf\nthe thane at Stallingborough, that we might ask his leave to make our\nhome on the little haven, and there become fishers once more.\n\nThat he granted readily, asking many questions about our troubles, for\nhe wondered that one who had owned so good a ship seemed so content to\nbecome a mere fisher in a strange land, without thought of making his\nway home. But all that my father told him was that he had had to fly\nfrom the new king of our land, and that he had been a fisher before, so\nthat there was no hardship in the change.\n\n\u201cFriend Grim,\u201d said Witlaf when he had heard this, \u201cyou are a brave\nman, as it seems to me, and well may you prosper here, as once before.\nI will not stand in your way. Now, if you will hold it from me on\ncondition of service in any time of war, to be rendered by yourself and\nyour sons and any men you may hire, I will grant you what land you will\nalong the coast, so that none may question you in anything. Not that\nthe land is worth aught to any but a fisher who needs a place for boats\nand nets; but if you prosper, others will come to the place, and you\nshall be master.\u201d\n\nOne could hardly have sought so much as that, and heartily did we thank\nthe kindly thane, gladly taking the fore shore as he wished. But he\nsaid that he thought the gain was on his side, seeing what men he had\nwon.\n\n\u201cNow we must call the place by a name, for it has none,\u201d he said,\nlaughing. \u201cGrim\u2019s Stead, maybe?\u201d\n\n\u201cCall the place a town at once,\u201d answered my father, laughing also.\n\u201cGrimsby has a good sound to a homeless man.\u201d\n\nSo Grimsby the place has been from that day forward, and, as I suppose,\nwill be now to the end of time. But for a while there was only the one\nhouse that we built of the timbers and planks of our ship by the side\nof the haven\u2014a good house enough for a fisher and his family, but not\nwhat one would look for from the name.\n\nBy the time that was built Havelok was himself again, though he had\nbeen near to his death. Soon he waxed strong and rosy in the sea winds,\nand out-went Withelm both in stature and strength. But it seemed that\nof all that had happened he remembered naught, either of the storm, or\nof his mother\u2019s death, or of the time of Hodulf. My mother thought that\nthe sickness had taken away his memory, and that it might come back in\ntime. But from the day we came to the house on the shore he was content\nto call Grim and Leva father and mother, and ourselves were his\nbrothers, even as he will hold us even now. Yet my father would never\ntake him with us to the fishing, as was right, seeing who he was and\nwhat might lie before him. Nor did he ever ask to go, as we had asked\nsince we were able to climb into the boat as she lay on the shore; and\nwe who knew not who he was, and almost forgot how he came to us, ceased\nto wonder at this after a while; and it seemed right that he should be\nthe home-stayer, as if there must needs be one in every household.\n\nNevertheless he was always the foremost in all our sports, loving the\nweapon play best of all, so that it was no softness that kept him from\nthe sea. I hold that the old saw that says, \u201cWhat is bred in the bone\ncometh out in the flesh,\u201d is true, and never truer than in the ways of\nHavelok.\n\nFor it is not to be thought that because my father went back perforce\nto the fisher\u2019s calling he forgot that the son of Gunnar Kirkeban\nshould be brought up always in such wise that when the time came he\nshould be ready to go to the slayer of his father, sword in hand, and\nknowing how to use it. Therefore both Havelok and we were trained\nalways in the craft of the warrior.\n\nWitlaf the thane was right when he said that men would draw to the\nplace if we prospered, and it was not so long before the name that had\nbeen a jest at first was so no longer. Truly we had hard times at\nfirst, for our one ship\u2019s boat was all unfitted for the fishing; but\nthe Humber teemed with fish, and there were stake nets to be set that\nneed no boat. None seemed to care for taking the fish but ourselves,\nfor the English folk had no knowledge of the riches to be won from the\nsea, and the eels of the river were the best that they ever saw. So\nthey were very ready to buy, and soon the name of Grim the fisher was\nknown far and wide in Lindsey, for my father made great baskets of the\nwillows of the marsh, and carried his burden of fish through the land,\nalone at first, until we were able to help him, while Arngeir and we\nminded the nets.\n\nOnly two of our men stayed here with us, being fishers and old comrades\nof my father. The rest he bade find their way home to Denmark to their\nwives and children, from the Northumbrian coast, or else take service\nwith the king, Ethelwald, who ruled in East Anglia, beyond the Wash,\nwho, being a Dane by descent from the Jutes who took part with Angles\nand Saxons in winning this new land, was glad to have Danish men for\nhis housecarls. Some went to him, and were well received there, as we\nknew long afterwards.\n\nThe man who had been washed overboard and hauled back at risk of his\nneck was one of these. His name was Mord, and he would have stayed with\nus; but my father thought it hard that he should not have some better\nchance than we could give him here, for it was not easy to live at\nfirst. Somewhat of the same kind he said to Arngeir, for he had heard\nof this king when he had been in the king\u2019s new haven in the Wash some\ntime ago. But Arngeir would by no means leave the uncle who had been as\na father to him.\n\nNow when we marked out the land that Witlaf gave us, there was a good\nomen. My father set the four blue altar stones at each corner of the\nland as the boundaries, saying that thus they would hallow all the\nplace, rather than make an altar again of them here where there was no\ngrove to shelter them, or, indeed, any other spot that was not open,\nwhere a holy place might be. And when we measured the distances between\nthem a second time they were greater than at first, which betokens the\nbest of luck to him whose house is to be there. I suppose that they\nwill bide in these places now while Grimsby is a town, for, as every\none knows, it is unlucky to move a boundary stone.\n\nSoon my father found a man who had some skill in the shipwright\u2019s\ncraft, and brought him to our place from Saltfleet. Then we built as\ngood a boat as one could wish, and, not long after that, another. But\nmy father was careful that none of the Lindsey folk whom he had known\nshould think that this fisher was the Grim whom they had once traded\nwith, lest word should go to Hodulf in any way.\n\nNow we soon hired men to help us, and the fishing throve apace. We\ncarried the fish even to the great city of Lincoln, where Alsi the\nLindsey king had his court, though it was thirty miles away. For we had\nmen in the villages on the road who took the great baskets on from one\nto another, and always Grim and one of us were there on the market day,\nand men said that never had the town and court seen such fish as Grim\u2019s\nbefore. Soon, therefore, he was rich, for a fisher; and that was heard\nof by other fishers from far off, and they drew to Grimsby, so that the\ntown spread, and Witlaf the good thane said that it was a lucky day\nwhich drove us to his shore, for he waxed rich with dues that they were\nwilling to pay. We built boats and let them out to these men, so that\none might truly say that all the fishery was Grim\u2019s.\n\nThen a trading ship put in, hearing of the new haven, and that was a\ngreat day for us. But her coming made my father anxious, since Hodulf\nwas likely to seek for news of Grim the merchant from any who had been\nto England; and hearing at last of him, he would perhaps be down on us,\nVikingwise, with fire and sword. But after that traders came and went,\nand we heard naught of him except we asked for news; for he left us in\npeace, if he knew that his enemy lived yet. Men said that he was not\nmuch loved in Denmark.\n\nSo the town grew, and well did we prosper, so that there is naught to\nbe said of any more trouble, which is what my story seems to be made up\nof so far. Yet we had come well through all at last; and that, I\nsuppose, is what makes the tale of any man worth hearing.\n\nTwelve years went all well thus, and in those years Havelok came to\nmanhood, though not yet to his full strength. What that would be in a\nfew more summers none could tell, for he was already almost a giant in\nbuild and power, so that he could lift and carry at once the four great\nfish baskets, which we bore one at a time when full of fish, easily,\nand it was he who could get a stranded boat afloat when we could hardly\nmove her between us, though all three of us were strong as we grew up.\n\nVery handsome was Havelok also, and, like many very strong men, very\nquiet. And all loved him, from the children who played along the\nwater\u2019s edge to the oldest dame in the town; for he had a good word for\nall, and there was not one in the place whom he had not helped at one\ntime or another. More than one there was who owed him life\u2014either his\nown, or that of a child saved from the water.\n\nMost of all Havelok loved my father; and once, when he was about\neighteen, he took it into his head that he was burdensome to him by\nreason of his great growth. So nothing would satisfy him but that he\nmust go with us to the fishing, though it was against Grim\u2019s will\nsomewhat. But he could make no hand at it, seeing that he could pull\nany two of us round if he took an oar, and being as likely as not to\nbreak that moreover. Nor could he bear the quiet of the long waiting at\nthe drift nets, when hour after hour of the night goes by in silence\nbefore the herring shoal comes in a river of blue and silver and the\nbuoys sink with its weight; rather would he be at the weapon play with\nthe sons of Witlaf, our friend, who loved him.\n\nBut though the fishing was not for him, after a while he would not be\nidle, saying, when my father tried to persuade him to trouble not at\nall about our work, that it was no shame for a man to work, but,\nrather, that he should not do so. So one day he went to the old Welsh\nbasket maker who served us, and bade him make a great basket after his\nown pattern, the like of which the old man had never so much as thought\nof.\n\n\u201cIndeed, master,\u201d he said, when it was done, \u201cyou will never be able to\ncarry so great a load of fish as that will hold.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us see,\u201d quoth Havelok, laughing; and with that he put him gently\ninto it, and lifted him into the air, and on to his mighty shoulder,\ncarrying him easily, and setting him down in safety.\n\nThe basket maker was cross at first, but none was able to be angry with\nHavelok long, and he too began to smile.\n\n\u201cIt is \u2018curan\u2019 that you are, master,\u201d he said; \u201cnot even Arthur himself\ncould have done that.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany times have I heard your folk call me that. I would learn what it\nmeans,\u201d said Havelok.\n\nBut the old man could hardly find the English word for the name, which\nmeans \u201ca wonder,\u201d and nothing more. Nevertheless the marsh folk were\nwont to call their friend \u201cHablok Curan\u201d in their talk, for a wonder he\nwas to all who knew him.\n\nSo he came home with his great basket, and said, \u201cHere sit I by the\nfire, eating more than my share, and helping to win it not at all. Now\nwill I make amends, for I will go the fisher\u2019s rounds through the\nmarshlands with my basket, and I think that I shall do well.\u201d\n\nNow my father tried to prevent him doing this, because, as I know now,\nit was not work for a king\u2019s son. But Havelok would not be denied.\n\n\u201cFat and idle am I, and my muscles need hardening,\u201d he said. \u201cLet me\ngo, father, for I was restless at home.\u201d\n\nSo from that time he went out into the marshland far and wide, and the\npeople grew to know and love him well. Always he came back with his\nfish sold, and gave money and full account to my father, and mostly the\naccount would end thus:\n\n\u201cFour fish also there were more, but the burden was heavy, and so I\neven gave them to a certain old dame.\u201d\n\nAnd my mother would say, \u201cIt is likely that the burden was lighter for\nher blessing.\u201d\n\nAnd, truly, if the love of poor folk did help, Havelok\u2019s burden weighed\nnaught, great though it was.\n\nYet we thought little of the blessings of the Welsh folk of the marsh\nin those days, for they blessed not in the names of the Asir, being\nsons of the British Christians of long ago, and many, as I think,\nChristians yet. Witlaf and all the English folk were Odin\u2019s men, as we\nwere, having a temple at the place called Thor\u2019s Way, among the hills.\nBut we had naught to do with the faith of the thralls, which was not\nour business. Only Withelm was curious in the matter, and was wont to\nask them thereof at times, though at first they feared to tell him\nanything, seeing how the Saxons and English had treated the Christian\nfolk at their first coming. But that was forgotten now, by the English\nat least, and times were quiet for these poor folk. There was a wise\nman, too, of their faith, who lived in the wild hills not far from the\ncity, and they were wont to go to him for advice if they needed it.\nThey said also that the king of Lindsey had once been a Christian, for\nhe was Welsh by birth on his mother\u2019s side, and had been so brought up.\nIt is certain that his sister Orwenna, who married Ethelwald of East\nAnglia, was one, but I have seen Alsi the king at the feasts of the\nAsir at Thor\u2019s Way when Yuletide was kept, so it is not so certain\nabout him. He had many Welsh nobles about him at the court, kinsmen of\nhis mother mostly, so that it did not seem strange, though there is not\nmuch love lost between the English and the folk whom they conquered, as\none might suppose.\n\nNow, as I have said, none but Withelm thought twice about these things;\nbut in the end the love of the marsh folk was a thing that was needed,\nand that Withelm had learned somewhat of their faith was the greatest\nhelp that could be, as will be seen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\nBROTHERHOOD.\n\n\nTrue are the words of the Havamal, the song of the wisdom of Odin,\nwhich say, \u201cOne may know and no other, but all men know if three know.\u201d\n\nTherefore for all these years my father told none of us the secret of\nHavelok\u2019s birth; and when Arngeir married my sister Solva he made him\ntake oath that he would not tell what he knew to her, while she, being\nbut a child at the time of the flight, had forgotten how this\nwell-loved brother of hers came to us. But it happened once that Grim\nwas sick, and it seemed likely that he would die, so that this secret\nweighed on him, and he did not rightly know what to do for the best,\nHavelok at the time being but seventeen, and the time that he should\nthink of his own place not being yet come. At that time he told Arngeir\nall that he foresaw, and set things in order, that we three should not\nbe backward when need was.\n\nHe called us to him, Havelok not being present, and spoke to us.\n\n\u201cSons,\u201d he said, \u201cwell have you all obeyed me all these years, and I\nthink that you will listen to me now, for I must speak to you of\nHavelok, who came to us as you know. Out of his saving from his foes\ncame our flight here; and I will not find fault with any of the things\nthat happened, for they have turned out well, save that it seems that I\nmay never see the land of my birth again, and at times I weary for it.\nFor me Denmark seems to lie within the four square of the ancient\nstones; but if you will do my bidding, you and Havelok shall see her\nagain, though how I cannot tell.\u201d\n\nThen I could hardly speak for trouble, but Withelm said softly, \u201cAs we\nhave been wont to do, father, so it shall be.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell shall my word be kept, therefore,\u201d Grim said, smiling on us.\n\u201cListen, therefore. In the days to come, when time is ripe, Arngeir\nshall tell you more of Havelok your foster-brother, and there will be\nsigns enough by which he shall know that it is time to speak. And then\nHavelok will need all the help that you can give him; and as your lord\nshall you serve him, with both hands, and with life itself if need be.\nAnd I seem to see that each of you has his place beside him\u2014Radbard as\nhis strong helper, and Raven as his watchful comrade, and Withelm as\nhis counsellor. For \u2018Bare is back without brother behind it,\u2019 son\nRadbard and \u2018Ere one goes out, give heed to the doorways,\u2019 son Raven;\nand \u2018Wisdom is wanted by him who fares widely\u2019 son Withelm. So say the\nold proverbs, and they are true. No quarreller is Havelok; but if he\nmust fight, that will be no playground. Careful is he; but he has met\nwith no guile as yet, and he trusts all men. Slow to think, if sure,\nare so mighty frames as his becomes, even when quick wit is needed.\u201d\n\nHe was silent for a while, and I thought that he had no more to say,\nand I knew that he had spoken rightly of what each was best fitted for,\nbut he went on once more.\n\n\u201cThis is my will, therefore, that to you shall Havelok be as the eldest\nbrother from this time forward, that these places shall not have to\ncome suddenly to you hereafter. Then will you know that I have spoken\nrightly, though maybe it seems hard to Radbard and Raven now, they\nbeing so much older.\u201d\n\nThen I said truly that already Havelok was first in our hearts. And\nthat was true, for he was as a king among us\u2014a king who was served by\nall with loving readiness, and yet one who served all. Maybe that is\njust what makes a good king when all is said and done.\n\nThen my father bade us carry him out of the house and down to the shore\nwhere there was a lonely place in the sandhills, covered with the\nsweet, short grass that the sheep love; and, while Raven and I bore\nhim, Withelm went and brought Havelok.\n\n\u201cThis is well, father,\u201d he said gladly. \u201cI had not thought you strong\nenough to come thus far.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe it is the last time that I come living out of the house,\u201d Grim\nsaid; \u201cbut there is one thing yet to be done, and it must be done here.\nSee, son Havelok, these are your brothers in all but blood, and they\nmust be that also in the old Danish way.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing more is needed, father,\u201d Havelok said, wondering. \u201cI have no\nbrothers but these of mine, and they could be no more so.\u201d\n\nThereat my father smiled, as well content, but he said that the ancient\nway must he kept.\n\n\u201cBut I am sorely weak,\u201d he added. \u201cFetch hither Arngeir.\u201d\n\nIt was because of this illness that none of us were at the fishing on\nthat day, and Arngeir was not long in coming. And while we waited for\nthat little while my father was silent, looking ever northward to the\nland that he had given up for Havelok; and I think that foster-son of\nhis knew it, for he knelt beside him and set his strong arm round him,\nsaying nothing. So Arngeir came with Raven, who went for him, and my\nfather told him what he needed to be done; and Arngeir said that it was\nwell thought of, and went to work with his seax on the smooth turf.\n\nHe cut a long strip where it seemed to be toughest, leaving the ends\nyet fast, and carefully he raised it and stretched it until it would\nmake an arch some three spans high, and so propped it at either end\nwith more turf that it stayed in that position.\n\nThen my father said, \u201cThis is the old custom, that they who are of\ndifferent family should be brothers indeed. Out of one earth should\nthey be made afresh, as it were, that on the face of earth they shall\nbe one. Pass therefore under the arch, beginning with Havelok.\u201d\n\nThen, while my father spoke strange and ancient runes, Havelok did as\nhe was bidden, kneeling down and creeping under the uplifted turf; and\nas I came after him he gave me his hand and raised me, and so with each\nof the other two. And then, unbidden, Arngeir followed, for he too\nloved Havelok, and would fain be his brother indeed.\n\nAfter that my father took a sharp flint knife that he had brought with\nhim, and with it cut Havelok\u2019s arm a little, and each of us set his\nlips to that wound, and afterwards he to the like marks in our right\narms, and so the ancient rite was complete.\n\nYet it had not been needed, as I know, for not even I ever thought of\nhim but as the dearest of brothers, though I minded how he came.\n\nNow after this my father grew stronger, maybe because this was off his\nmind; but he might never go to sea again, nor even to Lincoln town, for\nhe was not strong enough. What his illness was I do not rightly know,\nhut I do not think that any one here overlooked him, though it might be\nthat from across the sea Hodulf had power to work him harm. It was said\nthat he had Finnish wizards about his court; but if that was so, he\nnever harmed the one whom he had most to fear\u2014even Havelok. But then I\nsuppose that even a Finn could not harm one for whom great things are\nin store.\n\nSo two years more passed over, and then came the time of which one\nalmost fears to think\u2014the time of the great famine. Slowly it came on\nthe land; but we could see it coming, and the dread of it was fearsome,\nbut for the hope that never quite leaves a man until the end. For first\nthe wheat that was winter sown came not up but in scattered blades here\nand there, and then ere the spring-sown grain had lain in the land for\nthree weeks it had rotted, and over the rich, ploughed lands seemed to\nrise a sour smell in the springtime air, when one longs for the\nsweetness of growing things. And then came drought in April, and all\nday long the sun shone, or if it were not shining the clouds that hid\nit were hard and grey and high and still over land and sea.\n\nThen before the marsh folk knew what they were doing, the merchants of\nLincoln had bought the stored corn, giving prices that should have told\nmen that it was precious to those who sold as to the buyers; and then\nthe grass failed in the drought, and the farmers were glad to sell the\ncattle and sheep for what they could gain, rather than see them starve.\n\nThen my father bade us dry and store all the fish we might against the\ntime that he saw was coming, and hard we worked at that. And even as we\ntoiled, from day to day we caught less, for the fish were leaving the\nshores, and we had to go farther and farther for them, until at last a\nday came when the boats came home empty, and the women wept at the\nshore as the men drew them up silently, looking away from those whom\nthey could feed no longer.\n\nThat was the worst day, as I think, and it was in high summer. I mind\nthat I went to Stallingborough that day with the last of the fresh fish\nof yesterday\u2019s catch for Witlaf\u2019s household, and it was hotter than\never; and in all the orchards hung not one green apple, and even the\nhardy blackberry briers had no leaves or sign of blossom, and in the\ndikes the watercress was blackened and evil to see.\n\nBut I will say that in Grimsby we felt not the worst, by reason of that\nwisdom of my father, and always Witlaf and his house shared with us.\nHard it was here, but elsewhere harder.\n\nAnd then came the pestilence that goes with famine always. I have heard\nthat men have prayed to their gods for that, for it has seemed better\nto them to die than live.\n\nWith the first breath of the pestilence died Grim my father, and about\nthat I do not like to say much. He bade us remember the words he had\nspoken of Havelok our brother, and he spoke long to Arngeir in private\nof the same; and then he told us to lay him in mound in the ancient\nway, but with his face toward Denmark, whence we came. And thereafter\nhe said no more, but lay still until there came up suddenly through the\nthick air a thunderstorm from the north; and in that he passed, and\nwith his passing the rain came.\n\nThereof Withelm said that surely Odin fetched him, and that at once he\nhad made prayer for us. But the Welsh folk said that not Odin but the\nWhite Christ had taken the man who had been a father to them, and had\nstaved off the worst of the famine from them.\n\nThen pined and died my mother Leva, for she passed in her sleep on the\nday before we made the mound over her husband, and so we laid them in\nit together, and that was well for both, as I think, for so they would\nhave wished.\n\nSo we made a great bale fire over my father\u2019s mound, where it stood\nover the highest sandhill; and no warrior was ever more wept, for\nEnglish and Welsh and Danes were at one in this. We set his weapons\nwith him, and laid him in the boat that was the best\u2014and a Saxon gave\nthat\u2014and in it oars and mast and sail, and so covered him therein. And\nso he waits for the end of all things that are now, and the beginning\nof those better ones that shall be.\n\nThat thunderstorm was nothing to the land, for it skirted the shores\nand died away to the south, and after it came the heat again; but at\nleast it brought a little hope. There were fish along the shore that\nnight, too, if not many; and though they were gone again in the\nmorning, there was a better store in every house, for men were mindful\nof Grim\u2019s teaching.\n\nNow, of all men, Havelok seemed to feel the trouble of the famine the\nmost, because he could not bear to see the children hungry in the\ncottages of the fishers. It seemed to him that he had more than his\nshare of the stores, because so mighty a frame of his needed feeding\nmightily, as he said. And so for two days after my father died and was\nleft in his last resting, Havelok went silent about the place. Here by\nthe shore the pestilence hardly came, and so that trouble was not added\nto us, though the weak and old went, as had Grim and Leva, here and\nthere.\n\nThen, on the third day, Havelok called Arngeir and us, and spoke what\nwas in his mind.\n\n\u201cBrothers, I may not bear this any longer, and I must go away. I can do\nno more to help than can the weakest in the town; and even my strength\nis an added trouble to those who have not enough without me. Day by day\ngrows the store in the house less; and it will waste more slowly if I\nam elsewhere.\u201d\n\nThen Arngeir said quickly, \u201cThis is foolishness, Havelok, my brother.\nWhither will you go? For worse is the famine inland; and I think that\nwe may last out here. The fish will come back presently.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go to Lincoln. All know that there is plenty there, for the\ntownsfolk were wise in time. There is the court, and at the court a\nstrong man is likely to be welcome, if only as one who shall keep the\nstarving poor from the doors, as porter.\u201d\n\nHe spoke bitterly, for Alsi, the king, had no good name for kindness,\nand at that Withelm laughed sadly.\n\n\u201cFew poor would Havelok turn away,\u201d he said, under his breath; \u201crather\nwere he likely to take the king\u2019s food from the very board, and share\nit among them.\u201d\n\nThat made us laugh a little, for it was true enough; and one might seem\nto see our mighty one sweeping the table, while none dared try to stay\nhim.\n\nBut many times of late Havelok had gone dinnerless, that he might feed\nsome weak one in the village. Maybe some of us did likewise; but, if\nso, we learned from him.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d Havelok said, when we had had our wretched laugh, \u201cAlsi,\nthe king, can better afford to feed me than can anyone else. Therefore,\nI will go and see about it. And if not the king, then, doubtless, some\nrich merchant will give me food for work, seeing that I can lift things\nhandily. But Radbard here is a great and hungry man also, and it will\nbe well that he come with me; or else, being young and helpless, I may\nfall into bad hands.\u201d\n\nSo he spoke, jesting and making little of the matter. But I saw that he\nwas right, and that we who were strong to take what might come should\ngo away. It was likely that a day of our meals would make a week\u2019s fare\nfor Arngeir\u2019s three little ones, and they were to be thought for.\n\nNow for a little while Arngeir tried to keep us back; but it was plain\nthat he knew also that our going was well thought of, and only his care\nfor Havelok stood in the way. Indeed, he said that I and Raven might\ngo.\n\n\u201cRaven knows as much about the fish as did our father,\u201d Havelok said.\n\u201cHe will go out in the morning, and look at sky and sea, and sniff at\nthe wind; and if I say it will be fine, he says that the herrings will\nbe in such a place; and so they are, while maybe it rains all day to\nspite my weather wisdom. You cannot do without Raven; for it is ill to\nmiss any chance of the sea just now. Nor can Withelm go, for he knows\nall in the place, and who is most in want. It will not do to be without\nhouse steward. So we two will go. Never have I been to Lincoln yet, and\nRadbard knows the place well.\u201d\n\nI think that I have never said that Grim would never take Havelok to\nthe city, lest he should be known by some of the Danish folk who came\nnow and then to the court, some from over seas, and others from the\ncourt of King Ethelwald, of whom I have spoken, the Norfolk king. But\nthat danger was surely over now, for Havelok would be forgotten in\nDenmark; and Ethelwald was long dead, and his wife also, leaving his\ndaughter Goldberga to her uncle Alsi, as his ward. So Alsi held both\nkingdoms until the princess was of age, when she would take her own. It\nwas said that she lived at Dover until that time, and so none of her\nDanes were likely to be at court if we went there and found places.\n\nSo Havelok\u2019s plan was to be carried out, and he and I were to set forth\nnext morning. Arngeir was yet uneasy about it, nevertheless, as one\ncould see; but I did not at that time know why it should be so doubtful\na matter that two strong men should go forth and seek their fortune but\nthirty miles away. So we laughed at him.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cevery one knows Radbard; but they will want to know\nwho his tall comrade may be. Old foes has Havelok, as Radbard knows,\nand therefore it may be well to find a new name for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo need to go far for that,\u201d Withelm said. \u201cThe marsh folk call him\nCuran.\u201d\n\n\u201cCuran, the wonder, is good,\u201d Arngeir said, after a little thought, for\nwe all knew Welsh enough by this time. \u201cOr if you like a Danish name\nbetter, brother, call it \u2018Kwaran,\u2019 but silent about yourself you must\nsurely be.\u201d\n\nWe used to call him that at times\u2014for it means \u201cthe quiet\u201d in our old\ntongue\u2014seeing how gentle and courtly he was in all his ways. So the\nname was well fitting in either way.\n\n\u201cSilent and thoughtful should the son of a king be,\u201d says the Havamal,\nand so it was with Havelok, son of Gunnar.\n\nNow when I came to think, it was plain that we three stood in the mind\nof our brother in the place which my father had boded for us, and I was\nglad. Well I knew that Raven, the watchful, and Withelm, the wise and\nthoughtful, would do their parts; and I thought that whether I could do\nmine was to be seen very shortly. If I failed in help at need it should\nnot be my fault. It had been long growing in my mind who Havelok must\nbe, though I said nothing of what I thought, because my father had\nbidden me be silent long ago, and I thought that I knew why.\n\nWe were to start early in the morning, so that we should get to the\ncity betimes in the evening; and there was one thing that troubled the\ngood sisters more than it did us. They would have had us go in all our\nfinery, such as we were wont to wear on holidays and at feastings; but\nnone of that was left. It had gone in buying corn, while there was any\nleft to buy, along with every silver penny that we had. So we must go\nin the plain fisher gear, that is made for use and not for show, frayed\nand stained, and a trifle tarry, but good enough. It would not do to go\nin our war gear into a peaceful city; and so we took but the seax that\nevery Englishman wears, and the short travelling spear that all\nwayfarers use. Hardly was it likely that even the most hungry outlaw of\nthe wild woldland would care to fall on us; for by this time such as we\nseemed had spent their all in food for themselves and their families,\nand all the money in Lindsey seemed to have gone away to places where\nthere was yet somewhat to buy.\n\nBusy were those kind sisters of ours that night in making ready the\nlast meal that we should need to take from them. And all the while they\nforetold pleasant things for us at the king\u2019s court\u2014how that we should\nfind high honour and the like. So they set us forth well and\ncheerfully.\n\nWith the dawn we started, and Havelok was thoughtful beyond his wont\nafter we had bidden farewell to the home folk, so that I thought that\nhe grieved for leaving them at the last.\n\n\u201cDownhearted, are you, brother?\u201d I said, when we had gone a couple of\nmiles in silence across the level. \u201cI have been to Lincoln two or three\ntimes in a month sometimes in the summer, and it is no great distance\nafter all. I think nothing of the journey, or of going so short a way\nfrom home.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor do I,\u201d he answered. \u201cFirst, I was thinking of the many times my\nfather, Grim, went this way, and now he can walk no more; and then I\nwas thinking of that empty cottage we passed just now, where there was\na pleasant little family enough three months ago, who are all gone. And\nthen\u2014ay, I will tell you\u2014I had a dream last night that stays in my\nmind, so that I think that out of this journey of ours will come\nsomewhat.\u201d\n\n\u201cFood and shelter, to wit,\u201d said I, \u201cwhich is all we want for a month\nor two. Let us hear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf we get all that I had in that dream, we shall want no more all our\nlives,\u201d he said, with a smile; \u201cbut it seems a foolish dream, now that\nI come to tell it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is mostly the way with dreams. It is strange how wonderful they\nseem until daylight comes. I have heard Witlaf\u2019s gleeman say that the\nbest lays he ever made were in his sleep; but if he remembered aught of\nthem, they were naught.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not like that altogether with my dream,\u201d Havelok said, \u201cfor it\nwent thus. I thought that I was in Denmark\u2014though how I knew it was\nDenmark I cannot say\u2014and on a hill I sat, and at my feet was stretched\nout all the land, so that I could see all over it at once. Then I\nlonged for it, and I stretched out my arms to gather it in, and so long\nwere they that they could well fathom it, and so I drew it to myself.\nWith towns and castles it was gathered in, and the keys of the\nstrongholds fell rattling at my feet, while the weight of the great\nland seemed to lie on my knees. Then said one, and the voice was the\nvoice of Grim, \u2018This is not all the dream that I have made for you, but\nit is enough for now.\u2019 That is the dream, therefore, and what make you\nof it?\u201d\n\n\u201cA most amazing hunger, brother, certainly, and promise of enough to\nsatisfy it withal. I think that the sisters have talked about our\nadvancement at court until you have dreamed thereof.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he said, \u201cthat is surely at the bottom of the dream, and I am\nfoolish to think more of it.\u201d\n\nThen we went on, and grew light hearted as the miles passed. But though\nI had seemed to think little of the dream, it went strangely with my\nthoughts of what might lie before Havelok in days to come.\n\nAs we went inland from the sea, the track of the pestilence was more\ndread, for we passed house after house that had none living in them,\nand some held the deserted dead. I might say many things of what we\nsaw, but I do not like to think of them much. Many a battlefield have I\nseen since that day, but I do not think them so terrible as the field\nover which has gone the foe that is unseen ere he smites. One knows the\nworst of the battle when it is over and the roll is called, but who\nknows where famine and pestilence stay? And those have given life for\nking or land willingly, but these were helpless.\n\nIt was good to climb the welds and look back, for in the high lands\nthere was none of this. Below us the levels, with their bright waters,\nwere wrapped in a strange blue haze, that had come with the famine at\nits worst, and, as men said, had brought or made the sickness. I had\nheard of it; but it was not so plain when one was in it, or else our\nshore was free, which is likely, seeing how little we suffered.\n\nAfter that we kept to the high land, not so much fearing the blue robe\nof the pestilence as what things of its working we might see; and so it\nwas late in the afternoon that we came in sight of Lincoln town, on its\nhill, with the wide meres and river at its feet. I have seen no city\nthat stands more wonderfully than this of ours, with the grey walls of\nthe Roman town to crown the gathering of red and brown roofs that\nnestle on the slope and within them. And ever as we drew nearer Havelok\nbecame more silent, as I thought because he had never seen so great a\ntown before, until we passed the gates of the stockade that keeps the\ntown that lies without the old walls, and then he said, looking round\nhim strangely, \u201cBrother, you will laugh at me, no doubt, for an arrant\ndreamer, but this is the place whereto in dreams I have been many a\ntime. Now we shall come to yon turn of the road among the houses, and\nbeyond that we shall surely see a stone-arched gate in a great wall,\nand spearmen on guard thereat.\u201d\n\nIt was so, and the gate and guard were before us in a few more steps.\nIt was the gate of the old Roman town, inside which was the palace of\nthe king and one or two more great houses only. Our English kin hate a\nwalled town or a stone house, and they would not live within the strong\nwalls, whose wide span was, save for the king\u2019s palace, which was built\npartly of the house of the Roman governor, and these other halls, which\nwent for naught in so wide a meadow, empty and green, and crossed by\ntwo paved roads, with grass growing between the stones. There were\nbrown marks, as of the buried stones of other foundations, on the grass\nwhere the old streets had been.\n\nAll the straggling English town was outside the walls, and only in time\nof war would the people use them as a stronghold, as they used the\nstill more ancient camps on the hills.\n\n\u201cMany times have you heard us tell of this place, Havelok,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\nis no wonder that you seem to know it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d he answered, \u201cbut this is the city of my dreams, and somewhat is\nto happen here.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\nBERTHUN THE COOK.\n\n\nFor that night we went to the house of the old dame with whom my father\nand I were wont to lodge when we came to the market, and she took us in\nwillingly, though she could make little cheer for us. Truly, as had\nbeen said, the scarcity was not so great in Lincoln, but everything was\nterribly dear, and that to some is almost as bad.\n\n\u201cNo money have I now, dame,\u201d I said ruefully, \u201cbut I think that for old\nsake\u2019s sake you will not turn us away.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot I, faith,\u201d she answered. \u201cI mind the first day your father came\nhere, and never a penny had he, and since then there has been no want\nin this house. Luck comes with Grim and his folk, as I think. But this\nis a son whom I have not seen before, if he is indeed your brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Grim\u2019s son Curan,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cand I have not been to Lincoln\nere this. But I have heard of you many times.\u201d\n\nThat pleased our old hostess, and then she asked after Grim. Hard it\nwas to have to tell her that he was gone, and hard it was for her to\nhear, for the little house had been open to us for ten years.\n\n\u201cWhat will you do now, masters?\u201d she asked, when she had told us of\nmany a kindness done to her and her husband, who was long dead now, by\nmy father.\n\nI told her that we were too many at home since the fishing had failed,\nand had therefore come to find some work here, at the court if\npossible.\n\n\u201cDoubtless two strong men will not have to go far to find somewhat,\u201d\nshe said; \u201cbut the court is full of idle folk, and maybe no place is\nempty. Now I will have you bide with me while you are at a loose end,\nfor there are yet a few silver pennies in store, and I ween that they\ncame out of Grim\u2019s pouch to me. Lonely am I, and it is no good hoarding\nthem when his sons are hungry.\u201d\n\nWe thanked her for that kind saying, but she made light of it, saying\nthat almost did she hope that we should find no work, that we might\nbide and lighten her loneliness for a time.\n\n\u201cBut if an old woman\u2019s advice is good for aught, you shall not go to\nthe court first of all. Sour is King Alsi, and he is likely to turn you\naway offhand rather than grant the smallest boon. But there is Berthun\nthe cook, as we call him\u2014steward is his court name though\u2014and he orders\nthe household, and is good-natured, so that all like him. Every morning\nhe comes into the market, and there you can ask him if there is a place\nfor you, and he loves to look on a man such as Curan. But if it is\nweapons you want\u2014and I suppose that is in the minds of tall men always,\nthough it brings sorrow in the end\u2014there is the captain of the guard\nwho lives over the gate, and he might be glad to see you enough.\u201d\n\nWe said that we would see the steward, for we wanted no long\nemployment. We would go back to Grimsby when the famine ended, if it\nwere only by the coming of the fish again.\n\nThen she gave us of the best she had\u2014black bread and milk to wit; and\nafter that we slept soundly before the fire, as I had done many times\nbefore in that humble house. Black bread and milk it was again in the\nmorning; but there was plenty, and goodwill to season it. Then the old\ndame sent us forth cheerfully and early, that we might not miss Berthun\nthe steward, from whom she hoped great things for us.\n\nSo we sat in the marketplace for an hour or more watching the gates of\nthe wall for his coming; and men stared at Havelok, so that we went to\nthe bridge and waited there. One could see all the market from thence.\nThere were a good many of the market folk coming in presently, and most\nof them knew me, and more than one stopped and spoke.\n\nNow Havelok grew restless, and wandered here and there looking at\nthings, though not going far from me; and while I was thus alone on the\nbridge, a man I knew by sight came and leaned on the rail by me, and\ntold me that he had just seen the most handsome man and the goodliest\nto look on that was in the kingdom, as he thought.\n\n\u201cYonder he stands,\u201d he said, \u201clike a king who has fallen on bad times.\nI mind that I thought that Alsi, our king, would look like that, before\nI saw him, and sorely disappointed was I in him therefore. Now I wonder\nwho yon man may be?\u201d\n\nI did not say that I knew, but I looked at Havelok, and for the first\ntime, perhaps because I had never seen him among strangers before, I\nknew that he was wondrous to look on. Full head and shoulders was he\nabove all the folk, and the Lindseymen are no babes in stature. And at\nthe same moment it came to me that it were not well that men should\nknow him as the son of Grim the fisher. If my father, who was the\nwisest of men, had been so careful for all these years, I must not be\nless so; for if there were ever any fear of the spies of Hodulf, it\nwould be now when his foe might be strong enough in years to think of\ngiving trouble. Not that I ever thought much of the said Hodulf, seeing\nhow far off he was; but my father had brought me up to dread him for\nthis brother of mine. Certainly by this time Hodulf knew that Grim had\ncome to England in safety, for the name of the new town must have come\nto his ears: and if Grim, then the boy he had given to him.\n\nThe man who spoke to me went away soon, and Havelok strolled back to\nme.\n\n\u201cI would that the cook, or whoever he is, would come,\u201d he said. \u201cI grow\nweary of this crowd that seems to have naught to do but stare at a\nstranger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall we ask, when he does come? and supposing that there is a\nplace for but one of us?\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cWhy, then, the one it fits best will take it, and the other must seek\nsome other chance. That is all.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you will, brother,\u201d I answered, \u201cbut I would rather that we should\nbe together.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I also. But after all, both will be in Lincoln, and we must take\nwhat comes. It is but for a little while, and we shall not like to\nburden that good old dame by being too hard to please. We want somewhat\nto do until we can go home, not for a day longer, and I care not what\nit is.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is right,\u201d I said; \u201cand the sooner I see one of our folk coming\nover this bridge with a full basket of fish, the better I shall like\nit. But it may be a long day before that. Now, I have been thinking\nthat it were not well that you should say that you are the son of\nGrim.\u201d\n\nI did not quite know how he would take this, for he was proud of my\nfather as I. But that very pride made it easy.\n\n\u201cMaybe not,\u201d he said thoughtfully, \u201cfor it seems unworthy of his sons\nthat we have to ask for service from any man. But I do not think that\nhe could blame us, as things are. Nevertheless, folk shall not talk.\u201d\n\n\u201cMen know me,\u201d said I, \u201cbut that cannot be helped.\u201d\n\nHe laughed gaily at that.\n\n\u201cWhy, here we speak as if one man in a hundred knew you. And after all\nit may be that we shall get a place that none need be ashamed of. Look,\nhere comes a mighty fine lord from the gateway.\u201d\n\nIt was Berthun the steward, for whom we were waiting, and I knew him\nwell by sight. Often had he bought our fish, but I did not think that\nhe would remember me by name, if he had ever heard it. He was a portly\nand well-favoured man, not old, and as he came down the street to the\nmarketplace at the hill foot he laughed and talked with one and another\nof the townsfolk, whether high or low, in very pleasant wise.\n\nPresently he stopped at a stall, and priced some meat; and when he had\nbought it he looked round and called for some men to carry it for him;\nand at that the idlers made a rush for him, tripping over one another\nin haste to be first, while he laughed at them.\n\nHe chose two or three, and sent them up the hill to the palace with\ntheir burdens, and then went to another booth and bought.\n\n\u201cThis is work at which I should make a good hand,\u201d said Havelok,\nlaughing at the scrambling men who ran forward when the steward again\ncalled for porters. \u201cWell paid also the job must be, to judge of their\neagerness.\u201d\n\nThe three men who had been chosen took their burden and went away, and\nthe steward came near us, to a bakery that was close to the bridge end.\n\n\u201cI have a mind to do porter for once,\u201d Havelok said. \u201cThen I can at\nleast earn somewhat to take back to the dame tonight.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you do so,\u201d I answered, \u201cI will wait here for you. But you will\nhave to fight for the place.\u201d\n\nNow the steward bought all that he needed, and that was bread for the\nwhole palace for the day, and again he called for porters. Whereon\nHavelok got up from the bridge rail and went towards him in no great\nhurry, so that the idlers were in a crowd before him.\n\n\u201cHo! friends,\u201d cried Havelok, \u201clet the good cook see all of us and make\nhis choice. He can only take one at a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne, forsooth,\u201d said a man from the crowd; \u201cwhy, there is a load for\nfour men there.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, let him pick four little ones, and give these little ones\na chance of being seen.\u201d\n\nNow I do not think that he would have troubled with the matter any\nmore; but whether the men knew that this was the last load that the\nsteward had to send home, or whether they quarrelled, I cannot say, but\nin their eagerness to raise the two great baskets they fell to\nstruggling over them, and the steward tried to quiet the turmoil by a\nfree use of his staff, and there was a danger that the bread should be\nscattered.\n\n\u201cHere will be waste of what there is none too much of just now,\u201d said\nHavelok; and with that he went to the aid of the steward, picking up\nand setting aside the men before him, and then brushing the struggling\nrivals into a ruefully wondering heap from about the baskets, so that\nhe and the steward faced each other, while there fell a silence on the\nlittle crowd that had gathered. Even the men who had been put aside\nstayed their abuse as they saw what manner of man had come to the\nrescue of the baskets, and Havelok and the cook began to laugh.\n\n\u201cFe, fi, fo, fum!\u201d said Berthun; \u201chere is surely a Cornish giant among\nus! Now I thank you, good Blunderbore, or whatever your name is, for\nbrushing off these flies.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe folk in this place are unmannerly,\u201d said Havelok; \u201chut if you want\nthe bread carried up the hill I will do it for you.\u201d\n\nBerthun looked him up and down in a puzzled sort of way once or twice\nere he answered, \u201cWell, as that is your own proposal, pick your helpers\nand do so; I would not have asked such a thing of you myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is not much help needed,\u201d said Havelok. \u201cI think this may be\nmanaged if I get a fair hold.\u201d\n\nNow we were used to seeing him carry such loads as would try the\nstrength of even Raven and myself, who could lift a load for three men;\nbut when he took the two great baskets of bread and swung them into\nplace on either arm, a smothered shout went round the crowd, and more\nthan once I heard the old Welsh name that the marsh folk had given him\nspoken.\n\n\u201cLet us be going,\u201d said Havelok to the steward on that. \u201cOne would\nthink that none of these had ever hefted a fair load in his life, to\nlisten to them.\u201d\n\nSo he nodded to me across the heads of the crowd, and followed Berthun,\nand the idlers followed him for a little. The guard turned these back\nat the gate, and Havelok went through, and I could see him no more.\n\nPresently the crowd drifted back to their places, and I heard them\ntalking. Havelok and his strength was likely to be a nine days\u2019 wonder\nin Lincoln, and I was glad that I had asked him not to say whence he\nwas.\n\n\u201cHe is some thane\u2019s son who is disguised,\u201d said one.\n\n\u201cMaybe he is under a vow,\u201d said another; and then one chimed in with a\nstory of some prince of Arthur\u2019s time, by name Gareth, who hid his\nstate at his mother\u2019s command.\n\n\u201cAs for me,\u201d said the baker, \u201cI think that he is a fisher, as he\nlooks\u2014at least, that is, as his clothes make him.\u201d\n\nSo even he had his doubts, and I will say that I understood well enough\nnow why my father never brought him here before.\n\nHavelok was long in coming back, as I thought, and I seemed to be\nwasting time here, and so I bethought me of the other man to whom the\nold dame had said we might go\u2014namely, the captain of the gate. I should\nsee Havelok if I stood there.\n\nThe captain was talking with some of his men as I came up, and of\ncourse it was of Havelok that they spoke; and seeing that I wore the\nsame dress as he, they asked me if I knew who he was.\n\n\u201cHe is a fisher from the coast,\u201d I answered. \u201cI have heard him called\nCuran.\u201d\n\n\u201cWelsh then,\u201d the captain answered, somewhat disappointed, as it\nseemed. \u201cIf he had been a Mercian, or even a Saxon, I would have had\nhim here, but a fisher has had no training in arms after all.\u201d\n\n\u201cSome of us have,\u201d said I.\n\nThe captain looked me up and down, and then walked round me, saying\nnothing until we were face to face again.\n\n\u201cThat, I take it, is a hint that you might like to be a housecarl of\nthe king\u2019s,\u201d he said. \u201cAre you a Lindseyman?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the son of Grim of Grimsby,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cWhy, then, I suppose you would not think of it, seeing that my place\nis not empty; but if you will dress in that way you must not wonder if\nI took you for a likely man for a housecarl. We know Grim well by\nrepute. Come in and tell me about the famine, and this new town of\nyours that one hears of.\u201d\n\nNow I could not see Havelok as yet, and so I went into the stone-arched\nRoman guardroom, and Eglaf the captain fetched out a pot of wine and\nsome meat, and made me very welcome while we talked. And presently I\nthought that I might do worse than be a housecarl for a time, if Eglaf\nwould have me. I should be armed at least, and with comrades to help if\nHavelok needed me; though all the while I thought myself foolish for\nthinking that any harm could come to him who was so strong.\nNevertheless, what my father had laid on us all was to be heeded, and I\nwas to be his helper in arms. So presently I told Eglaf that the\nhousecarl\u2019s life seemed an easy one, and that it would be pleasant to\ngo armed for a while, if he would have me for a short time, seeing that\nthe famine had left us naught to do.\n\n\u201cWell, there is plenty to eat and drink,\u201d he said, \u201cand good lodging in\nthe great hall or here, as one\u2019s post may be, and a silver penny every\nday; but no fighting to be done, seeing that Alsi will sooner pay a foe\nto go away than let us see to the matter. Doing naught is mighty hard\nwork at times.\u201d\n\nThen he asked if I had arms, and I said that I would send for them at\nonce, and that settled the matter. If I chose to come with my own arms\nI should be welcome.\n\n\u201cI am glad to get you,\u201d he said, \u201cfor there will be a crowd in the\nplace ere long, for the Witan is to meet, and the thanes will come with\ntheir men, and there will be fine doings, so that we need another\nstrong arm or two that we may keep the peace,\u201d\n\nHe took a long pull at the wine pot, and then went on, \u201cMoreover, the\nprincess\u2019s Danes are sure to want to fight some of the English folk for\nsport.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! is she here?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot yet. They say that she is coming when the Witan meets, because the\nWitan wants to see her, not because Alsi does. But he dare not go\nagainst them, and so it must be.\u201d\n\nNow Goldberga, the princess, was, as I have said, Alsi\u2019s ward, and was\nat this time just eighteen, so that it would be time for her to take\nthe kingdom that was hers by right. It was common talk, however, that\nAlsi by no means liked the thought of giving the wide lands of East\nAnglia up to her, and that he would not do so if he could anywise help\nit. Maybe the Witan thought so also, and would see fair play. Ethelwald\nand his wife Orwenna had been well loved both here and in Norfolk, and\nit was said that Goldberga their daughter grew wondrous fair and\nqueenly.\n\nI had learned one thing though, and that was that we should have\nEthelwald\u2019s Danes here shortly, and that I did not like; but after all,\nwhat did these few men of an old household know of the past days in\nDenmark? There had been no going backwards and forwards between the two\ncountries since the king died ten years ago. Nevertheless I was glad\nthat I had found a friend in Eglaf, and that I was to be here.\n\nThen I got up to go, and the captain bade me come as soon as I could,\nfor he could talk to me as he could not to the men, maybe. So I bade\nhim farewell, and went slowly back, down the street, sitting down in\nthe old place.\n\nIt was not long after that before Havelok came, and I saw Berthun the\nsteward come as far as the gate with him, and stand looking after him\nas he walked away; then Eglaf came out, and both looked and talked for\na while, and therefore, as soon as I knew that Havelok saw me, I went\naway and across the bridge to a place that was quiet, and waited for\nhim there.\n\n\u201cWell, brother,\u201d I said, \u201cyou have had a long job with the cook. What\nis the end of it all?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d he answered slowly. \u201cThat is to be seen yet.\u201d\n\nI looked at him, for his voice was strange, and I saw that he seemed to\nhave the same puzzled look in his eyes as he had last night when we\ncame first into the city. I asked if anything was amiss.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d he said; \u201cbut this is a place of dreams. I think that I\nshall wake presently in Grimsby.\u201d\n\nWe walked on, and past the straggling houses outside the stockade, and\nso into the fields; and little by little he told me what was troubling\nhim.\n\nBerthun the steward had said nothing until the palace was reached, and\nhad led him to the great servants\u2019 hall, and there had bidden him set\ndown his load and rest. Then he had asked if he would like to see the\nplace, and of course Havelok had said that he would, wondering at the\nsame time if this was all the pay that the porters got. So he was shown\nthe king\u2019s hall, and the arms on the wall, and the high seat, and the\nking\u2019s own chamber, and many more things, and all the while they seemed\nnothing strange to Havelok.\n\n\u201cThis Berthun watched me as a cat watches a mouse all the while,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cand at last he asked if I had ever seen a king\u2019s house before. I\ntold him that I had a dream palace which had all these things, but was\nnot the same. And at that he smiled and asked my name. \u2018Curan,\u2019 I said,\nof course; and at that he smiled yet more, in a way that seemed to say\nthat he did not believe me. \u2018It is a good name for the purpose,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018but I have to ask your pardon for calling you by the old giant\u2019s\nname just now.\u2019 I said that as he did not know my name, and it was a\njest that fitted, it was no matter. Then he made a little bow, and\nasked if I would take any food before I went from the place; so I told\nhim that it was just what I came for, and he laughed, and I had such a\nmeal as I have not seen for months. It is in my mind that I left a\nfamine in that house, so hungry was I. There is no pride about this\nBerthun, for he served me himself, and I thanked him.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok stopped and passed his hand over his face, and he laughed\na little, uneasy laugh.\n\n\u201cAnd all the while I could not get it out of my head that he ought to\nbe kneeling before me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he went on after a little, \u201cwhen I had done, this Berthun asked\nme a question, saying that he was a discreet man, and that if he could\nhelp me in any way he would do so. Had I a vow on me? Nothing more than\nto earn my keep until the famine was over, I said. I had left poor folk\nwho would have the more for my absence, and he seemed to think that\nthis was a wondrous good deed. So I told him that if he could help me\nin this I should be glad. Whereon he lowered his voice and asked if I\nmust follow the way of Gareth the prince. I had not heard of this\nworthy, and so I said that what was good enough for a prince was\ndoubtless good enough for me, and that pleased him wonderfully.\n\n\u201c\u2018Gladly will I take you into my service,\u2019 he said, \u2018if that will\ncontent you.\u2019 Which it certainly would; and so I am to be porter again\ntomorrow. Then I said that I had a comrade to whom I must speak first.\nHe said that no doubt word must be sent home of my welfare, and he saw\nme as far as the gate.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhich of you went out of the hall first?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cNow I come to think of it, I did. I went to let him pass, as the\nelder, though it was in my mind to walk out as if the place belonged to\nme; and why, I do not know, for no such thought ever came to me in\nWitlaf\u2019s house, or even in a cottage; but he stood aside and made me go\nfirst.\u201d\n\nNow I longed for Withelm and his counsel, for one thing was plain to\nme, and that was that with the once familiar things of the kingship\nbefore him the lost memory of his childhood was waking in Havelok, and\nI thought that the time my father boded was at hand. The steward had\nseen that a court and its ways were no new thing to him, and had seen\ntoo that he had been wont to take the first place somewhere; so he had\ndeemed that this princely-looking youth was under a vow of service, in\nthe old way. It is likely that the Welsh name would make him think that\nhe was from beyond the marches to the west, and that was just as well.\n\nThen Havelok said, \u201cLet us go back to the widow\u2019s house and sleep. My\nhead aches sorely, and it is full of things that are confused, so that\nI do not know rightly who I am or where. Maybe it will pass with rest.\u201d\n\nWe turned hack, and then I told him what I meant to do; and that\npleased him, for we should see one another often.\n\n\u201cWe are in luck, brother, so far,\u201d he said, \u201chaving lit on what we\nneeded so soon; but I would that these dreams would pass.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the poor food of many days gone by,\u201d I said. \u201cBerthun will cure\nthat for you very shortly.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is likely enough,\u201d he answered more gaily.\n\n\u201cLittle want is in that house, but honest Berthun does not know what a\ntrencherman he has hired. But I would that we had somewhat to take back\nto our good old dame tonight.\u201d\n\nBut she was more than satisfied with our news; and when she saw that\nHavelok was silent, she made some curious draught of herbs for him,\nwhich he swallowed, protesting, and after that he slept peacefully.\n\nI went out to the marketplace and found a man whom I knew\u2014one of those\nwho carried our fish at times; and him I sent, with promise of two\nsilver pennies presently, to Arngeir for my arms, telling him that all\nwas well.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\nCURAN THE PORTER.\n\n\nThere is no need for me to say how my arms came to me from Grimsby, and\nhow I went to Eglaf as I had promised. I will only say that the life\nwas pleasant enough, if idle, as a housecarl, and that I saw Havelok\nevery day at one time or another, which was all that I could wish.\n\nBut as I had to wait a day or two while the messenger went and the arms\ncame from home, I saw Havelok meet the steward on the next day: and a\nquaint meeting enough it was, for Berthun hardly knew how he should\nbehave to this man, whom he had made up his mind was a wandering\nprince.\n\nThere was the crowd who waited for the call for porters, as ever; hut\nthe steward would have none of them, until he saw his new man towering\nover the rest, and then he half made a motion to unbonnet, which he\nchecked and turned into a beckoning wave of the hand, whereon the\nidlers made their rush for him, and Havelok walked through and over\nthem, more or less, as they would not make way for him. But so\ngood-naturedly was this done, that even those whom he lifted from his\npath and dropped on one side laughed when they saw who had cleared a\nway for himself, and stood gaping to see what came next.\n\n\u201cHo\u2014why, yes\u2014Curan\u2014that was the name certainly. I have been looking for\nyou, as we said,\u201d stammered the steward.\n\n\u201cHere am I, therefore,\u201d answered Havelok, \u201cand where is the load?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruth to tell, I have bought but this at present,\u201d said the steward,\npointing to a small basket of green stuff on the stall at which he\nstood.\n\n\u201cWell, I suppose there is more to come,\u201d Havelok said, taking it up;\n\u201cit will be a beginning.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not ask you to carry more than that,\u201d Berthun began.\n\n\u201cWhy, man, this is foolishness. If you have a porter, make him carry\nall he can, else he will not earn his keep.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you will,\u201d answered the steward, shrugging his shoulders as one who\ncannot account for some folk\u2019s whims, and going on to the next booth.\n\nNow, I suppose that the idlers looked to see Havelok walk away with\nthis light load gladly, as any one of them would have done, and that\nthen their turn would have come; but this was not what they expected.\nMaybe they would have liked to see the strong man sweep up all the\npalace marketing and carry it, as a show, but it might interfere with\ntheir own gains. So there was a murmur or two among them, and this grew\nwhen Havelok took the next burden in like manner.\n\n\u201cHo, master cook,\u201d cried a ragged man at last, \u201cthis is not the custom,\nand it is not fair that one man should do all the work, and all for one\nwage.\u201d\n\nBerthun took no notice of this; and so the cry was repeated, and that\nby more than one. And at last he turned round and answered.\n\n\u201cGo to, ye knaves,\u201d he said with a red face and angrily; \u201cif I find a\nman who will save me the trouble of your wrangles every day, shall I\nnot do as I please?\u201d\n\nThen there was a tumult of voices, and some of them seemed sad, as if a\nlast hope was gone, and that Havelok heard.\n\n\u201cThere is somewhat in this,\u201d he said to the cook. \u201cWhat pay have you\ngiven to each man who carries for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cA yesterday\u2019s loaf each,\u201d answered Berthun, wondering plainly that\nHavelok paid any heed to the noise.\n\n\u201cWell, then, let us go on, and we will think of somewhat,\u201d Havelok\nsaid; and then he turned to the people, who were silent at once.\n\n\u201cI am a newcomer, and a hungry one,\u201d he said, smiling quietly, \u201cand I\nhave a mind to earn my loaf well. Hinder me not for today, and\nhereafter I will take my chance with the rest, if need is.\u201d\n\nThereat the folk began to laugh also, for it was plain that none had\nany chance at all if he chose to put forth his strength; but an old man\nsaid loudly, \u201cLet the good youth alone now, and he shall talk with us\nwhen he has done his errand and fed that great bulk of his. He has an\nhonest face, and will be fair to all.\u201d\n\nThat seemed to please the crowd; and after that they said no more, but\nfollowed and watched the gathering up of Havelok\u2019s mighty burden. And\npresently there was more than he could manage; and he spoke to Berthun,\nwho checked himself in a half bow as he answered.\n\nThen Havelok looked over the faces before him, and beckoned to two men\nwho seemed weakly and could not press forward, and to them he gave the\nlighter wares, and so left the market with his master, as one must call\nthe steward.\n\n\u201cWhat told I you?\u201d said the old man, as they came back from the great\ngate. \u201cNever saw I one with a face like that who harmed any man, either\nin word or deed.\u201d\n\nNow when Havelok had set down his load in the kitchen, he straightened\nhimself and said to Berthun, who was, as one may say, waiting his\npleasure.\n\n\u201cThis is today\u2019s task; but it is in my mind that I would stay up here\nand work.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are men yonder who will miss the carrying if I am market porter\nalways. But here are things I can earn my keep at, and help the other\nservants with at the same time. Water drawing there is, and carrying of\nlogs for the fire, and cleaving them also, and many other things that\nwill be but hardening my muscles, while they are over heavy to be\npleasant for other folk.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d answered Berthun, \u201cthat is all I could wish, and welcome to\nsome here will you be. Let it be so.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, I do not think that you would make a gain by my work this\nmorning?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly not, if any one is wronged by my doing so,\u201d the puzzled steward\nsaid.\n\nThen Havelok asked how many men would have been needed to carry up the\ngoods that he had brought, and Berthun said that he was wont to send\none at least from each stall, and more if the burden was heavy.\n\n\u201cThen today four poor knaves must go dinnerless by reason of my\nstrength, and that does not please me altogether,\u201d said Havelok\ngravely. \u201cGive these two their loaves; and then, I pray you, give me\nthe other four, and let me go back to the market.\u201d\n\nAnd then he added, with a smile, \u201cI think that I can order matters\nthere so that things will be more fair, and that you will have less\ntrouble with that unmannerly scramble.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you can do that, you are even as your name calls you. Take them and\nwelcome, Curan, and then come here and do what work you will,\u201d Berthun\nsaid in haste.\n\n\u201cTasks you must set me, or I shall grow idle. That is the failing of\nover-big men,\u201d Havelok said; and he took the loaves and left the palace\nwith the two market men at his heels.\n\nI saw him come back, and at once the crowd of idlers made for him, but\nin a respectful way enough. I knew, however, how easily these folks\ntook to throwing mud and stones in their own quarrels, and I was a\nlittle anxious, for to interfere with the ways of the market is a high\noffence among them.\n\nBut Havelok knew naught of that, and went his way with his loaves to\nthe bridge end, and there sat on the rail and looked at the men before\nhim. And _lo!_ back to my mind came old days in Denmark, and how I once\nsaw Gunnar the king sitting in open court to do justice, and then I\nknew for certain that I was looking on his son. And when Havelok spoke\nit was in the voice of Gunnar that I had long forgotten, but which came\nback to me clear and plain, as if it were yesterday that I had heard\nit. Never does a boy forget his first sight of the king.\n\n\u201cFriends,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cif I do two men\u2019s work I get two men\u2019s pay,\nor else I might want to know the reason why. But I am only one man, all\nthe same, and it seems right to me that none should be the loser.\nWherefore I have a mind to share my pay fairly.\u201d\n\nThere was a sort of shout at that and Havelok set his four loaves in a\nrow on the rail beside him. But then some of the rougher men went to\nmake a rush at them, and he took the foremost two and shook them, so\nthat others laughed and bade the rest beware.\n\n\u201cSo that is just where the trouble comes in,\u201d said Havelok coolly; \u201cthe\nstrong get the first chance, as I did this morning, by reason of there\nbeing none to see fair play.\u201d\n\n\u201cBide in the market, master, and we will make you judge among us,\u201d\ncried a small man from the edge of the crowd.\n\n\u201cFair and softly,\u201d Havelok answered. \u201cI am not going to bide here\nlonger than I can help. Come hither, grandfer,\u201d and he beckoned to the\nold man who had bidden them wait his return, \u201ctell me the names of the\nmen who have been longest without any work.\u201d\n\nThe old man pointed out three, and then Havelok stopped him.\n\n\u201cOne of these loaves is my own wage,\u201d he said; \u201cbut you three shall\nhave the others, and that will be the easiest day\u2019s work you ever did.\nBut think not that I am going to do the like every day, for Lincoln\nhill is no easy climb, and the loaf is well earned at the top.\nMoreover, it is not good to encourage the idle by working for them.\u201d\n\nSo the three men had their loaves, and Havelok began to eat his own\nslowly, swinging his legs on the bridge rail while the men watched him.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said the small man from behind, pushing forward a little, now\nthat the crowd was looser, \u201cmake a law for the market, I pray you, that\nall may have a chance.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho am I to make laws?\u201d said my brother slowly, and, as he said this,\nhis hand went up to his brows as it had gone last night when the palace\nhad wearied him.\n\n\u201cThe strong make laws for the weak,\u201d the old man said to him in a low\nvoice. \u201cIf the strong is honest, for the weak it is well. Things are\nhard for the weak here; and therefore say somewhat, for it may be of\nuse.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt can be none, unless the strong is at hand to see that the law is\nkept.\u201d\n\n\u201cSometimes the market will see that a rule is not broken, for itself.\nThere is no rule for this matter.\u201d\n\nAgain Havelok passed his hand over his eyes, and he was long in\nanswering. The loaf lay at his side now. Presently he looked straight\nbefore him, and, as if he saw far beyond Lincoln Hill and away to the\nnorth, he said, \u201cThis is my will, therefore, that from this time\nforward it shall be the law that men shall have one among them who may\nfairly and without favour so order this matter that all shall come to\nBerthun the steward in turns that shall be kept, and so also with the\ncarrying for any other man. There shall be a company of porters,\ntherefore, which a man must join before he shall do this work, save\nthat every stranger who comes shall be suffered to take a burden once,\nand then shall be told of this company, and the custom that is to be.\nAnd I will that this old man shall see to this matter.\u201d\n\nAnd then he stopped suddenly, and seemed to start as a great shout went\nup from the men, a shout as of praise; and his eyes looked again on\nthem, and that wonderingly.\n\n\u201cThey will keep this law,\u201d said the old man. \u201cWell have you spoken.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have said a lot of foolishness, maybe,\u201d answered Havelok. \u201cFor the\nlife of me I could not say it again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is not one of us that could not do so,\u201d said his adviser. \u201cBut\nbide you here, master, in the town?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am in service at the palace.\u201d\n\nThen the old man turned round to the others and said, \u201cThis is good\nthat we have heard, and it is nothing fresh, for all trades have their\ncompanies, and why should not we? Is this stranger\u2019s word to be kept?\u201d\n\nMaybe there were one or two of the rougher men who held their peace,\nfor they had had more than their share of work, but from the rest came\na shout of \u201cAy!\u201d as it were at the Witan.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said Havelok suddenly, getting down from his seat and\ngiving his loaf to the old man, \u201csee you to it; and if any give trouble\nhereafter, I shall hear from the cook, and, by Odin, I will even come\ndown and knock their heads together for them. So farewell.\u201d\n\nHe smiled round pleasantly, yet in that way which has a meaning at the\nback of it; and at that every cap went off and the men did him\nreverence as to a thane at least, and he nodded to them and came across\nto me.\n\n\u201cCome out into the fields, brother, for I shall weep if I bide here\nlonger.\u201d\n\nSo he said; and we went away quickly, while the men gathered round the\nold leader who was to be, and talked earnestly.\n\n\u201cThis famine plays strange tricks with me,\u201d he said when we were away\nfrom every one. \u201cDid you hear all that I said?\u201d\n\n\u201cI heard all, and you have spoken the best thing that could have been\nsaid. Eight years have I been to this market, and a porters\u2019 guild is\njust what is needed. And it will come about now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was more dreaming, and so I must be a wise man in my dream. Even as\nin the palace yesterday it came on me, and I seemed to be at the gate\nof a great hall, and it was someone else that was speaking, and yet\nmyself. It is in my mind that I told these knaves what my lordly will\nwas, forsooth; and the words came to me in our old Danish tongue, so\nthat it was hard not to use it. But it seems to me that long ago I did\nthese things, or saw them, I know not which, somewhere. Tell me, did\nthe king live in our town across the sea?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, but in another some way off. My father took me there once or\ntwice.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you mind that he took me also?\u201d\n\nI shook my head, and longed for Withelm. Surely I would send for him,\nor for Arngeir, if this went on. Arngeir for choice, for I could tell\nhim what I thought; and that would only puzzle Withelm, who knew less\nthan I.\n\n\u201cWe will ask Arngeir some day,\u201d I said; \u201che can remember.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose he did take me,\u201d mused Havelok; \u201cand I suppose that I want\nmore sleep or more food or somewhat. Now we will go and tell the old\ndame of my luck, for she has lost her lodger.\u201d\n\nThen he told me of his fortune with the steward.\n\n\u201cHalf afraid of me he seems, for he will have me do just what I will.\nThat will be no hard place therefore.\u201d\n\nBut I thought that if I knew anything of Havelok my brother, he would\nbe likely to make it hard by doing every one\u2019s work for him, and that\nBerthun saw this; or else that, as I had thought last night, the shrewd\ncourtier saw the prince behind the fisher\u2019s garb.\n\nSo we parted presently at the gate of the palace wall, and I went back\nto the widow to wait for my arms, while he went to his master. And I\nmay as well tell the end of Havelok\u2019s lawmaking.\n\nBerthun went down to the market next day, and came back with a wonder\nto be told. And it was to Havelok that he went first to tell it, as he\nwas drawing bucket after bucket of water from the deep old Roman well\nin the courtyard to fill the great tub which he considered a fair load\nto carry at once.\n\n\u201cThere is something strange happening in the market,\u201d he said, \u201cand I\nthink that you have a hand in it. The decency of the place is\nwonderful, and you said that you thought I might have less trouble with\nthe men than I was wont if you went down with the loaves. What did you?\nFor I went to the baker\u2019s stalls and bought, and looked round for the\ntail that is after me always; and I was alone, and all the market folk\nwere agape to see what was to be done. I thought that I had offended\nthe market by yesterday\u2019s business, as they had called out on me, and I\nthought that I should have to come and fetch your\u2014that is, if it\npleased you. But first I called, as is my wont, for porters. Now all\nthat rabble sat in a row along a wall, and, by Baldur, when I looked,\nthey had cleaned themselves! Whereupon an old gaffer, who has carried\nthings once or twice for me when there has been no crowd and he has\nbeen able to come forward, lifted up his voice and asked how many men I\nwanted, so please me.\n\n\u201c\u2018Two,\u2019I said, wondering, and at that two got up and came to me, and I\nsent them off. It was the same at the next booth, and the next, for he\ntold off men as I wanted them; and here am I back a full half-hour\nearlier than ever before, and no mud splashes from the crowd either. It\nis said that they have made a porters\u2019 guild; and who has put that\nsense into their heads unless your\u2014that is, unless you have done so, I\ncannot say.\u201d\n\nHavelok laughed.\n\n\u201cWell, I did tell them that they should take turns, or somewhat like\nthat; and I also told them that if you complained of them I would see\nto it.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you say that you would pay them, may I ask\u2014that is, of course, if\nthey were orderly? For if so, I thank\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cI told them that if you complained I would knock their heads\ntogether,\u201d said Havelok.\n\nAnd that was the beginning of the Lincoln porters\u2019 guild; and in after\ndays Havelok was wont to say that he would that all lawmaking was as\neasy as that first trial of his. Certainly from that day forward there\nwas no man in all the market who would not have done aught for my\nbrother, and many a dispute was he called on to settle. It is not\nalways that a law, however good it may be, finds not a single one to\nset himself against it. But then Havelok was a strong man.\n\nNow there is naught to tell of either Havelok or myself for a little\nwhile, for we went on in our new places comfortably enough. One heard\nmuch of Havelok, though, for word of him and his strength and\ngoodliness, and of his kindness moreover, went through the town, with\ntales of what he had done. But I never heard that any dared to ask him\nto make a show of himself by doing feats of strength. Only when he came\ndown to the guardroom sometimes with me would he take part in the\nweapon play that he loved, and the housecarls, who were all tried and\ngood warriors, said that he was their master in the use of every\nweapon, and it puzzled them to know where he had learned so well, for\nhe yet wore his fisher\u2019s garb. They sent his arms with mine from\nGrimsby, thinking that he also needed them; but he left them with the\nwidow.\n\nHavelok used to laugh if they asked him this, and tell them that it\ncame by nature, and in that saying there was more than a little truth.\nSo the housecarls, when they heard how Berthun was wont to treat him,\nthought also that he was some great man in hiding, and that the steward\nknew who he was. They did not know but that my close friendship with\nhim had sprung up since he came, and that was well, and Eglaf and he\nand I were soon much together. The captain wanted him to leave the cook\nand be one of his men, but we thought that he had better bide where he\nwas, rather than let Alsi the king have him always about him. For now\nand then that strange feeling, as of the old days, came over him when\nhe was in the great hall, and he had to go away and brood over it for a\nwhile until he would set himself some mighty task and forget it.\n\nBut one day he came to me and said that he was sure he knew the ways of\na king too well for it all to be a dream, adding that Berthun saw that\nalso, and was curious about him.\n\n\u201cTell me, brother, whence came I? _Was_ I truly brought up in a court?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never heard,\u201d I answered. \u201cAll that I know for certain is that\nyou fled with us from Hodulf, the new king, and that for reasons which\nmy father never told me.\u201d\n\nThen said Havelok, \u201cThere was naught worth telling, therefore. I\nsuppose I was the child of some steward like Berthun; but yet\u2014\u201d\n\nSo he went away, and I wondered long if it were not time that Arngeir\nshould tell all that he knew. It was of no good for me to say that in\nvoice and ways and deed he had brought back to me the Gunnar whom I had\nnot seen for so many long years, for that was as likely as not to be a\nfancy of mine, or if not a fancy, he might be only a sister\u2019s son or\nthe like. But in all that he said there was no word of his mother, and\nby that I knew that his remembrance must be but a shadow, if a growing\none.\n\nBut there was no head in all the wide street that was not turned to\nlook after him; and now he went his way from me with two children, whom\nhe had caught up from somewhere, perched on either shoulder, and\nanother in his arms, and they crowed with delight as he made believe to\nbe some giant who was to eat them forthwith, and ran up the hill with\nthem. No such playmate had the Lincoln children before Havelok came.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\nKING ALSI OF LINDSEY.\n\n\nThree weeks after we came the Witan[8] began to gather, and that was a\nfine sight as the great nobles of Lindsey, and of the North folk of\nEast Anglia, came day by day into the town with their followings,\ntaking up their quarters either in the better houses of the place or\nelse pitching bright-coloured tents and pavilions on the hillside\nmeadows beyond the stockades. Many brought their ladies with them, and\nall day long was feasting and mirth at one place or another, as friend\nmet with friend. Never had I seen such a gay sight as the marketplace\nwas at midday, when the young thanes and their men met there and\nmatched their followers at all sorts of sports. The English nobles are\nfar more fond of gay dress and jewels than our Danish folk, though I\nmust say that when the few Danes of Ethelwald\u2019s household came it would\nseem that they had taken kindly to the fashion of their home.\n\nOur housecarls grumbled a bit for a while, for with all the newcomers\ndressed span new for the gathering, we had had nothing fresh for it\nfrom the king, as was the custom, and I for one was ashamed of myself,\nfor under my mail was naught but the fisher\u2019s coat, which is good\nenough for hard wear, but not for show. But one day we were fitted out\nfresh by the king\u2019s bounty in blue and scarlet jerkins and hose, and we\nswaggered after that with the best, as one may suppose.\n\nBerthun had the ordering of that business, and he came and sat with\nEglaf in the gatehouse and talked of it.\n\n\u201cPity that you do not put your man Curan into decent gear,\u201d the captain\nsaid. \u201cThat old sailcloth rig does not do either him or you or the\ncourt credit.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what I would do,\u201d said the steward, \u201cbut he will not take\naught but the food that he calls his hire. He is a strange man\naltogether, and I think that he is not what he seems.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you have told me many times, and I think with you. He will be some\ncrack-brained Welsh princeling who has been crossed in love, and so has\ntaken some vow on him, as the King Arthur that they prate of taught\nthem to do. Well, if he is such, it is an easy matter to make him\nclothe himself decently. It is only to tell him that the clothes are\nfrom the king, and no man who has been well brought up may refuse such\na gift.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut suppose that he thanks the king for the gift. Both he and the king\nwill be wroth with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot Curan, when he has once got the things on; and as for >Alsi, he\nwill take the thanks to himself, and chuckle to think that the mistake\nhas gained him credit for a good deed that he never did.\u201d\n\n\u201cHush, comrade, hush!\u201d said Berthun quickly; \u201cnaught but good of the\nking!\u201d\n\n\u201cI said naught ill. But if Woden or Frey, or whoever looks after good\ndeeds, scores the mistake to Alsi as well, it will be the first on the\ncount of charity that\u2014\u201d\n\nBut at this Berthun rose up in stately wise.\n\n\u201cI may not listen to this. To think that here in the guardroom I should\nhear such\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cSit down, comrade,\u201d said Eglaf, laughing, and pulling the steward into\nhis seat again. \u201cWell you know that I would be cut to pieces for the\nking tomorrow if need were, and so I earn free speech of him I guard.\nIf I may not say what I think of him to a man who knows as much of him\nas I, who may?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no doubt that the king would clothe Curan if I asked him,\u201d said\nBerthun stiffly, but noways loth to take his seat again.\n\n\u201cBut it is as much as your place is worth to do it. I know what you\nwould say.\u201d\n\nBerthun laughed.\n\n\u201cI will do it myself, and if Alsi does get the credit, what matter?\u201d\n\nWherefore it came to pass that as I was on guard at the gate leading to\nthe town next day I saw a most noble-looking man coming towards me, and\nI looked a second time, for I thought him one of the noblest of all the\nthanes who had yet come, and the second look told me that it was\nHavelok in this new array. I will say that honest Berthun had done his\npart well; and if the king was supposed to be the giver, he had nothing\nto complain of. Eglaf had told me of the way in which the dressing of\nHavelok was to be done.\n\n\u201cHo!\u201d said I, \u201cI thought you some newcomer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hardly know myself,\u201d he answered, \u201cand I am not going to grumble at\nthe change, seeing that this is holiday time. Berthun came to me last\nevening, and called me aside, and said that it was the king\u2019s wont to\ndress his folk anew at the time of the Witan, and then wanted to know\nif my vow prevented me from wearing aught but fisher\u2019s clothes. And\nwhen I said that if new clothes went as wage for service about the\nplace I was glad to hear it, he was pleased, as if it had been likely\nthat I would refuse a good offer. So the tailor went to work on me, and\nhence this finery. But you are as fine, and this is more than we\ncounted on when we left Grimsby. I suppose it is all in honour of the\nlady of the North folk, Goldberga.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe, for I have heard that she is to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be fetched rather, if one is to believe all that one hears. They\nsay that Alsi has kept her almost as a captive in Dover, having given\nher into the charge of some friend of his there, that she may be far\nfrom her own kingdom and people. Now the Norfolk Witan has made him\nbring her here. Berthun seems to think there will be trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly because Alsi will not want to let the kingdom go from his hand to\nher. But that will not matter. He is bound by the old promise to her\nfather.\u201d\n\nNow we were talking to one another in broad Danish, there being none\nnear to hear us. We had always used it among ourselves at Grimsby, for\nmy father loved his old tongue. But at that moment there rode up to the\ngate a splendid horseman, young and handsome, and with great gold\nbracelets on his arms, one or two of which caught my eye at once, for\nthey were of the old Danish patterns, and just such as Jarl Sigurd used\nto wear. But if I was quick to notice these tokens of the old land, he\nhad been yet quicker, for he reined up before I stayed him, as was my\nduty if he would pass through this gate to the palace, so that I might\nknow his authority.\n\n\u201cIf I am not mistaken,\u201d he said in our own tongue, \u201cI heard you two\ntalking in the way I love best. Skoal, therefore, to the first Northman\nI have met between here and London town, for it is good to hear a\nfriendly voice.\u201d\n\n\u201cSkoal to the jarl!\u201d I answered, and I gave the salute of Sigurd\u2019s\ncourtmen, which came into my mind on the moment with the familiar\ngreeting of long years ago. And \u201cSkoal,\u201d said Havelok.\n\n\u201cJarl! How know you that I am that?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy the jarl\u2019s bracelet that you wear, surely.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you are a real Dane\u2014not an English-bred one like myself. That is\ngood. You and I will have many a talk together. Odin, how good it is to\nmeet a housecarl who speaks as man to man and does not cringe to me!\nWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cRadbard Grimsson of Grimsby, housecarl just now to this King of\nLindsey.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd your comrade?\u201d\n\nI was about to tell this friendly countryman Havelok\u2019s name without\nthought, but stopped in time. Of all the things I had been brought up\nto dread most for him, that an English Dane should find him out was the\nworst, so I said, \u201cHe is called Curan, and he is a Lindsey marshman.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho can talk Danish though his name is Welsh. That is strange. Well,\nyou are right about me. I am Ragnar of Norwich, the earl, as the\nEnglish for jarl goes. Now I want to see Alsi the king straightway.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a matter for the captain,\u201d I said, and I called for him.\n\nEglaf came out and made a deep reverence when he saw the earl, knowing\nat once who he was, and as this was just what the earl had said that he\ndid not like, he looked quaintly at me across Eglaf\u2019s broad bent back,\nso that I had to grin perforce.\n\nAll unknowing of which the captain heard the earl\u2019s business, and then\ntold me to see him to the palace gates, and take his horse to the\nstables when he had dismounted and was in the hands of Berthun.\n\nSo I went, and Havelok turned away and went on some errand down the\nsteep street.\n\nThis Ragnar was one of whom I had often heard, for he was the governor\nof all the North folk for Alsi until the Lady Goldberga should take her\nplace. He was her cousin, being the son of Ethelwald\u2019s sister, who was\nof course a Dane. Danish, and from the old country, was his father\nalso, being one of the men who had come over to the court of East\nAnglia when Ethelwald was made king.\n\nAll the way to the door we talked of Denmark, but it was not far. There\nBerthun came out and greeted the earl in court fashion, and I thought\nthat I was done with, because the grooms had run to take the great bay\nhorse as they heard the trampling. But, as it happened, I was wanted.\n\nRagnar went in, saying to me that he would find me out again presently;\nand I saw him walk across the great hall to the hearth, and stand there\nwhile Berthun went to the king\u2019s presence to tell him of the new\narrival. Then I stood for a minute to look at the horse, for the grooms\nhad had no orders to take him away; and mindful of Eglaf\u2019s word to me,\nI was going to tell them to do so, and to see it done, when Berthun\ncame hurriedly and called me.\n\n\u201cMaster Housecarl,\u201d he said rather breathlessly, \u201cby the king\u2019s order\nyou are to come within the hall and guard the doorway.\u201d\n\nI shouldered my spear and followed him, and as we were out of hearing\nof the grooms I said that the captain had ordered me to take the horse\nto the stables.\n\n\u201cI will see to that,\u201d he said. \u201cNow you are to bide at the door while\nthe king speaks with Earl Ragnar, for there will be none else present.\nLet no one pass in without the king\u2019s leave.\u201d\n\nWe passed through the great door as he said that, and he closed it\nafter him. Ragnar was yet standing near the high seat, and turned as he\nheard the sound, and smiled when he saw me. Berthun went quickly away\nthrough a side entrance, and the hail was empty save for us two. The\nmidday meal was over an hour since, and the long tables had been\ncleared away, so that the place seemed desolate to me, as I had only\nseen it before when I sat with the other men at the cross tables for\nmeals. It was not so good a hall as was Jarl Sigurd\u2019s in Denmark, for\nit was not rich with carving and colour as was his, and the arms on the\nwall were few, and the hangings might have been brighter and better in\na king\u2019s place.\n\n\u201cOur king does not seem to keep much state,\u201d Ragnar said, looking round\nas I was looking, and we both laughed.\n\nThen the door on the high place opened, and the king came in, soberly\ndressed, and with a smile on his face which seemed to me to have been\nmade on purpose for this greeting, for he mostly looked sour enough.\nNor did it seem that his eyes had any pleasure in them.\n\n\u201cWelcome, kinsman,\u201d he said, seeming hearty enough, however; \u201cI had\nlooked for you before this. What news from our good town of Norwich?\u201d\n\nHe held out his hand to Ragnar, who took it frankly, and his strong\ngrip twisted the king\u2019s set smile into a grin of pain for a moment.\n\n\u201cAll was well there three weeks ago when I left there to go to London.\nNow, I have ridden on to say that the Lady Goldberga is not far hence,\nso that her coming may be prepared for.\u201d\n\nNow, as the earl said this, the king\u2019s smile went from his face, and\nblack enough he looked for a moment. The look passed quickly, and the\nsmile came back, but it seemed hard to keep it up.\n\n\u201cWhy, that is well,\u201d he said; \u201cso you fell in with her on the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have attended her from London,\u201d answered the earl, looking\nsteadfastly at Alsi, \u201cand it was as well that I did so, as it\nhappened.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat has been amiss?\u201d asked the king sharply, and trying to look\ntroubled. He let the smile go now altogether.\n\n\u201cYour henchman, Griffin the Welshman, had no guard with her that was\nfitting for our princess,\u201d Ragnar said. \u201cHe had but twenty men, and\nthese not of the best. It is in my mind also that I should have been\ntold of this journey, for I am surely the right man to have guarded my\nqueen who is to be.\u201d\n\nAt that Alsi\u2019s face went ashy pale, and I did not rightly know why at\nthe time, but it seemed more in anger than aught else. But he had to\nmake some answer.\n\n\u201cWe sent a messenger to you,\u201d he said hastily; \u201cI cannot tell why he\ndid not reach you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe must have come too late, and after I had heard of this from others;\nso I had already gone to meet the princess. I am glad that I was sent\nfor, and it may pass. Well, it is lucky that I was in time, for we were\nattacked on the road, and but for my men there would have been\ntrouble.\u201d\n\nThen Alsi broke into wrath, which was real enough.\n\n\u201cThis passes all. Where and by whom were you attacked? and why should\nany fall on the party?\u201d\n\n\u201cFive miles on the other side of Ancaster town, where the Ermin Street\nruns among woods, we were fallen on, but who the men were I cannot say.\nWhy they should fall on us seems plain enough, seeing that the ransom\nof a princess is likely to be a great sum.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas it a sharp fight?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was not,\u201d answered Ragnar, \u201cfor it seemed to me that the men looked\nonly to find your Welsh thane Griffin and his men. When they saw my\nNorfolk housecarls, they waited no longer, and we only rode down one or\ntwo of them. But I have somewhat against this Griffin, for he helped me\nnot at all. Until this day he and his men had ridden fairly with us,\nbut by the time this attack came they were half a mile behind us.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean to say that you think Griffin in league with\nthese\u2014outlaws, as one may suppose them?\u201d said Alsi, with wrath and more\nelse written in twitching mouth and crafty eyes.\n\n\u201cI would not have said that,\u201d Ragnar answered, looking in some surprise\nat the king, \u201cit had never come into my head. But I will say that as\nthe Ermin Street is straight as an arrow, and he was in full sight of\nus, he might have spurred his horses to our help, whereas he never\nquickened his pace till he saw that the outlaws, or whoever they were,\nhad gone. I put this as a complaint to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese men seem to have scared you, at least,\u201d sneered the king.\n\nRagnar flushed deeply.\n\n\u201cFor the princess\u2014yes. It is not fitting that a man who is in charge of\nso precious a lady should hold back in danger, even of the least\nseeming, as did Griffin. And I told him so.\u201d\n\nNow I thought that Alsi would have been as angry with Griffin as was\nthe earl, and that he would add that he also would speak his mind to\nhim, hut instead of that he went off in another way.\n\n\u201cIt was a pity that a pleasant journey with a fair companion was thus\nbroken in upon. But it was doubtless pleasant that the lady should see\nthat her kinsman was not unwilling to draw sword for her. A pretty\nlittle jest this, got up between Griffin and yourself, and such as a\nyoung man may be forgiven for playing. I shall hear Goldberga complain\nof honest Griffin presently, and now I shall know how to answer her.\nAy, I will promise him the like talking to that you gave him, and then\nwe three will laugh over it all together.\u201d\n\nAnd with that the king broke into a cackle of laughter, catching hold\nof the earl\u2019s arm in his glee. And I never saw any man look so\naltogether bewildered as did Ragnar.\n\n\u201cLittle jest was there in the matter, lord king, let me tell you,\u201d he\nsaid, trying to draw his arm away.\n\n\u201cNay, I am not angry with you, kinsman; indeed, I am not. We have been\nyoung and eager that bright eyes should see our valour ourselves ere\nnow,\u201d and he shook his finger at the earl gaily. \u201cI only wonder that\nyou induced that fiery Welshman to take a rating in the hearing of the\nprincess quietly.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat I had to say to him I said apart. I will not say that he did take\nit quietly.\u201d\n\n\u201cMeaning\u2014that you had a good laugh over it;\u201d and Alsi shook the earl\u2019s\narm as in glee. \u201cThere now, you have made a clean breast, and I am not\none to spoil sport. Go and meet Goldberga at the gates, and bring her\nto me in state, and you shall be lodged here, if you will. Quite right\nof you to tell me this, or Griffin would have been in trouble. But I\nmust not have the lady scared again, mind you.\u201d\n\nHe turned quickly away, then, with a sort of stifled laugh, as if he\nwanted to get away to enjoy a good jest, and left Ragnar staring\nspeechless at him as he crossed the high place and went through the\nprivate door.\n\nThen the earl turned to me, \u201cBy Loki, fellow countryman, there is\nsomewhat wrong here. What does he mean by feigning to think the whole\naffair a jest? It won\u2019t be much of a jest if Griffin and I slay one\nanother tomorrow, as we mean to do, because of what was not done, and\nwhat was said about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has seemed to me, jarl,\u201d I said plainly, \u201cthat all this is more\nlike a jest between the king and Griffin.\u201d\n\n\u201cCall it a jest, as that is loyal, at least. But I think that you are\nright. If Goldberga had been carried off\u2014Come, we shall be saying too\nmuch in these walls.\u201d\n\nI had only been told to wait while the king and earl spoke together,\nand so I opened the door and followed him out. The horse was yet there\nwaiting for him, and it was plain that the king had not meant him to\nstay.\n\n\u201cBid the grooms lead the horse after us, and we will go to your\ncaptain. Then you shall take me to one of my friends, for you will know\nwhere their houses are.\u201d\n\nBut at that moment a man from the palace ran after us, bringing an\norder from the king that I was to go back to him. So Ragnar bade me\nfarewell.\n\n\u201cCome to me tonight at the gatehouse,\u201d he said. \u201cI will speak to the\ncaptain to let you off duty.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay nothing to him, jarl, for it is needless. I am only with him for a\ntime, and am my own master. I have no turn on watch tonight, and so am\nfree.\u201d\n\nSo I went back, and found the king in the hall again, and he was still\nsmiling. If he had looked me straight in the face, I suppose that he\nmight have seen that I was not a man to whom he was used, but he did\nnot. He seemed not to wish to do so.\n\n\u201cSo, good fellow,\u201d he said, \u201cyou have heard a pleasant jest of our\nyoung kinsman\u2019s contriving, but I will that you say nothing of it. It\nis a pity to take a good guardroom story from you, however, without\nsome recompense, and therefore\u2014\u201d\n\nWith that he put a little bag into my hand, and it was heavy. I said\nnothing, but bowed in the English way, and he went on, \u201cYou understand;\nno word is to be said of what you have heard unless I bid you repeat\nit. That I may have to do, lest it is said that Griffin the thane is\n\u2018nidring\u2019[9] by any of his enemies. You know all the story\u2014how the earl\nand he planned a sham attack on the princess\u2019s party, that Ragnar might\nshow his valour, which, of course, he could not do if Griffin was\nthere. Therefore the thane held back. But maybe you heard all, and\nunderstood it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI heard all, lord king, and I will say naught.\u201d\n\nThe king waved his hand in sign that I was dismissed, and I bowed and\nwent. There were five rings of gold in the bag, worth about the whole\nyear\u2019s wage of a courtman, and I thought that for keeping a jest to\nmyself that was good pay indeed. There must be more behind that\nbusiness, as it had seemed to me already.\n\nNow, as I crossed the green within the old walls on my way to the gate,\nit happened that Havelok came back from the town, and as he came I\nheard him whistling softly to himself a strange wild call, as it were,\nof a hunting horn, very sweet, and one that I had never heard before.\n\n\u201cHo, brother!\u201d I said, for there was no one near us. \u201cWhat is that call\nyou are whistling?\u201d\n\nHe started and looked up at me suddenly, and I saw that his trouble was\non him again.\n\n\u201cIn my dream,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cthere is a man on a great horse, and he\nwears such bracelets as Ragnar of Norwich, and he winds his horn with\nthat call, and I run to him; and then I myself am on the horse, and I\ngo to the stables, and after that there is nothing but the call that I\nhear. Now it has gone again.\u201d\n\nAnd his hand went up in the way that made me sad to see.\n\n\u201cIt will come back by-and-by. Trouble not about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would that we were back in Grimsby,\u201d he said, with a great sigh.\n\u201cThis is a place of shadows. Ghosts are these of days that I think can\nnever have been.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said I, wanting to take him out of himself, \u201cthis is no ghost,\nat all events. I would that one of our brothers would come from home\nthat I might send it to them in Grimsby. We do not need it.\u201d\n\nSo I showed him the gold, and he wondered at it, and laughed, saying\nthat the housecarls had the best place after all. And so he went on,\nand I back to the gate.\n\nSurely he minded at last the days when Gunnar his father had ridden\nhome to the gate, as the Danish earl had ridden even now, and had\ncalled his son to him with that call. It was all coming back, as one\nthing or another brought it to his mind; and I wondered what should be\nwhen he knew that the dream was the truth. For what should Havelok,\nfoster-son of the fisher, do against a king who for twelve long years\nhad held his throne? And who in all the old land would believe that he\nwas indeed the son of the lost king? Better, it seemed to me, that this\nhad not happened, and that he had been yet the happy, careless,\nwell-loved son of Grim, with no thought of aught higher than the good\nof the folk he knew.\n\nWhen I got back to the gate, we were marched down the town, that we\nmight be ready to receive the princess; and as I went through the\nmarket, I saw one of the porters whom I knew, and I beckoned to him, so\nthat he came alongside me in the ranks, and I asked him if he would go\nto Grimsby for me for a silver penny. He would do it gladly; and so I\nsent him with word to Arngeir that I needed one of them here to take a\ngift that I had for them. I would meet whoever came at the widow\u2019s\nhouse, and I set a time when I would look for them. I thought it was\nwell that the king\u2019s gold should not be wasted, even for a day\u2019s use,\nif I could help it. And I wearied to see one of the brothers, and hear\nall that was going on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\nTHE COMING OF THE PRINCESS.\n\n\nThere is no need for me to tell aught of the entry of the Lady\nGoldberga into the town, for anyone may know how the people cheered\nher, and how the party were met by the Norfolk thanes and many others,\nand so rode on up the hill to the palace. What the princess was like I\nhardly noticed at that time, for she was closely hooded, and her\nmaidens were round her. And I had something else to think of; for\nforemost, and richly dressed, with a gold chain round his neck, rode a\nman whose strange way of carrying his head caught my eye at once, so\nthat I looked more than a second time at him.\n\nAnd at last I knew him. It was that man of ours whose neck had been\ntwisted by the way in which he had been hauled on board at the time of\nthe wreck, and had afterwards gone to Ethelwald\u2019s court. One would say\nthat this Mord had prospered exceedingly, for he was plainly a man of\nsome consequence in the princess\u2019s household. He did not know me,\nthough it happened that he looked right at me for a moment; but I did\nnot expect him to do so after twelve years, seeing that I was but a boy\nwhen we parted. I thought that I would seek him presently.\n\nThen I saw Griffin, the Welsh thane, and I did not like the looks of\nhim at all. He was a black-haired man, clean shaven, so that the cruel\nthinness of his lips was not hidden, and his black eyes were restless,\nand never stayed anywhere, unless he looked at Ragnar for a moment, and\nthen that was a look of deadly hatred. He wore his armour well, and had\na steady seat on his horse; but, if all that I had heard of him was\ntrue, his looks did not belie him. Men had much to say of him here,\nfor, being some far-off kin to Alsi\u2019s Welsh mother, he was always about\nthe court, and was hated. He had gone to Dover to fetch the princess\nbefore we came here, but it happened that I had once or twice seen him\nat other times when I was in Lincoln, so that I knew him now.\n\nThere was great feasting that night in the king\u2019s hall, as one may\nsuppose, and I sat with the housecarls at the cross tables beyond the\nfire, and I could see the Lady Goldberga at Alsi\u2019s side. Tired she was\nwith her long journey, and she did not remain long at the table; but I\nhad never seen so wondrously beautiful a lady. Griffin sat next to her\non the king\u2019s right hand, for Ragnar was at the king\u2019s left, in the\nseat of next honour; and I saw that the lady had no love for the Welsh\nthane. But I also thought that I saw how he would give his all for a\nkindly glance from her; and if, as Alsi had seemed to hint, Ragnar was\na favoured lover, I did not wonder that Griffin had been ready to do\nhim a bad turn. I had rather that the thane was my friend than my foe,\nfor he would be no open enemy.\n\nI left the feast when the first change of guard went out, for I saw\nthat the ale cup was passing faster than we Danes think fitting, being\nless given to it than the English. And when the guard was set I waited\nalone in the guardroom of the old gate, for Eglaf was yet at the hall,\nand would be there all night maybe. And presently Earl Ragnar came in\nand sat down with me.\n\nHe was silent for a while, and I waited for him to speak, until he\nlooked up at me with a little laugh, and said, \u201cI told you that I had\nto fight Griffin tomorrow?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou did, earl. Is that matter settled otherwise?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all,\u201d he answered. \u201cI believe now that he was acting under\norders, but I have said things to him which he cannot pass over. I\ncalled him \u2018nidring\u2019 to his face, and that I still mean; for though I\nthought of cowardice at the time, he is none the less so if he has\nplotted against the princess. So naught but the sword will end the\nfeud.\u201d\n\nHe pondered for some moments, and then went on, \u201cIt is a bad business;\nfor if I slay Griffin, he is the king\u2019s favourite; and if he slays me,\nthe Norfolk thanes will have somewhat to say. And all is bad for the\nLady Goldberga, who needs all the friends that she has, for in either\ncase there will be trouble between the two kingdoms that Alsi holds\njust now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf Griffin is slain,\u201d I said, \u201cI think that the lady has one trouble\nout of the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy; and the king will make out, as you heard him do even now, that I\nam looking that way myself. It is not so, for I will say to you at once\nthat to me there is but one lady in all the world, and she is in\nNorfolk at this time. Now I am going to ask you something that is a\nfavour.\u201d\n\nI thought that he would give me some message for this lady, in case he\nfell; but he had more to ask than that. Nothing more or less than that\nI should be his second in the fight, because I was a fellow countryman,\nwhile to ask an East Anglian thane would he to make things harder yet\nfor Goldberga.\n\n\u201cI am no thane, earl,\u201d I said plainly. \u201cThis is an honour that is over\nhigh for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems that you own a town, for I asked Eglaf just now,\u201d he\nanswered; \u201cand that is enough surely to give you thane\u2019s rank in a\nmatter like this. But that is neither here nor there; it is as Dane to\nDane that I ask you. If I could find another of us I would ask him\nalso, that you might not have to stand alone. I am asking you to break\nthe law that bids the keeping of the peace at the time of the meeting\nof the Witan.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is no matter,\u201d I said. \u201cIf I have to fly, it will be with you as\nvictor; and if it is but a matter of a fine, I have had that from the\nking today which will surely pay it.\u201d\n\nAnd I told him of the gift for silence, whereat he laughed heartily,\nand then said that the secret was more worth than he thought. This\nlooked very bad, and like proof that the king was at the bottom of the\nwhole business.\n\nNow I had been thinking, and it seemed better that there should be two\nwitnesses of the fight on our side, and I thought that Havelok was the\nman who would make the second. So I told Ragnar that I could find\nanother Dane who was at least as worthy as I, and he was well pleased.\nThen he told me where the meeting was to be, and where we should meet\nhim just before daylight; and so he went back to the hall, where the\nlights were yet burning redly, and the songs were wilder than ever.\n\nAnd I found Havelok, and told him of the fight that was to be, and\nasked him to come with us. His arms were at the widow\u2019s, and he could\nget them without any noticing him.\n\nThere is no need to say that he was ready as I to help Ragnar, and so\nwe spoke of time and place, and parted for the night.\n\nVery early came Havelok to the house, for I lodged at the widow\u2019s when\nI was not on night duty; and we armed ourselves, and then came Ragnar.\nHe greeted me first, and then looked at Havelok in amaze, as it seemed,\nand then bowed a little, and asked me to make my friend known to him.\n\n\u201cIf you are the friend of whom Radbard has told me, I think that I am\nfortunate in having come to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am his brother, lord earl,\u201d answered Havelok, \u201cand I am at your\nservice.\u201d\n\nRagnar looked from one of us to the other, and then smiled.\n\n\u201cA brother Dane and a brother in arms, truly,\u201d he said. \u201cWell, that is\nall that I need ask, except your name, as I am to be another brother of\nthe same sort.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok looked at me, and I nodded. I knew what he meant; but it\nwas not right that the earl should not know who he was.\n\n\u201cMen call me Curan here, lord earl, and that I must be to you\nhereafter. But I am Havelok of Grimsby, son of Grim.\u201d\n\nIn a moment I saw that the earl knew more of that name than I had\ndeemed possible; and then I minded Mord, the wry-necked, who was the\nchamberlain now. But Ragnar said nothing beyond that he would remember\nthe request, and that he was well seconded. And then we went out into\nthe grey morning, and without recrossing the bridge, away to the level\nmeadows on the south of the river, far from any roadway.\n\n\u201cThere is not an island in the stream,\u201d said Ragnar, \u201cor I should have\nwanted the old northern holmgang battle. I doubt if we could even get\nthese Welshmen to peg out the lists.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat we must see to,\u201d I said. \u201cWe will have all things fair in some\nway.\u201d\n\nHalf a mile from the town we came to what they call a carr\u2014a woody rise\nin the level marsh\u2014and on the skirts of this two men waited us. They\nwere the seconds of Griffin, Welsh or half Welsh both of them by their\nlooks, and both were well armed. Their greeting was courteous enough,\nand they led us by a little track into the heart of the thickets, and\nthere was a wide and level clearing, most fit for a fight, in which\nwaited Griffin himself.\n\nNow I had never taken any part in a fight before, and I did not rightly\nknow what I had to do to begin with. However, one of the other side\nseemed to be well up in the matter, and at once he came to me and\nHavelok and took us aside.\n\n\u201cHere is a little trouble,\u201d he said: \u201cour men have said nothing of what\nweapons they will use.\u201d\n\n\u201cI take it,\u201d said Havelok at once, \u201cthat they meant to use those which\nwere most handy to them, therefore.\u201d\n\nThe Welshman stared, and answered rather stiffly, \u201cThis is not a matter\nof chance medley, young sir, but an ordered affair. But doubtless this\nis the first time you have been in this case, and do not know the\nrules. Let me tell you, therefore, that your earl, being the challenged\nman, has choice of weapons.\n\n\u201cWhy, then,\u201d answered Havelok, \u201cit seems to me that if we say as I have\nalready said, it is fair on our part. For it is certain that the earl\nwill want to use the axe, and your man is about half his weight, so\nthat would be uneven.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs the challenged man, the earl is entitled to any advantage in\nweapons.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe needs none. Let us fight fairly or not at all. The earl takes the\naxe.\u2014What say you, Radbard? Griffin takes what he likes.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou keep to the axe after all, and yet say that it gives an\nadvantage.\u201d\n\n\u201cAxe against axe it does, but if your man chooses to take a twenty-foot\nspear and keep out of its way, we do not object. We give him his own\nchoice.\u201d\n\nThen the other second said frankly, \u201cThis is generous, Cadwal. No more\nneed be said. But this young thane has not yet asked his earl whether\nit will suit him.\u201d\n\n\u201cFaith, no,\u201d said Havelok, laughing; \u201cI was thinking what I should like\nmyself, and nothing at all of the earl.\u201d\n\nSo I went across to Ragnar, who was waiting patiently at one end of the\nclearing, while Griffin was pacing with uneven steps backward and\nforward at the other, and I told him what the question was.\n\n\u201cI thought it would be a matter of swords,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I am Dane\nenough to like the axe best. Settle it as you will. Of course he knows\nnaught of axe play, so that you are right in not pressing it on him. He\nis a light man, and active, and maybe will be glad not even to try\nsword to sword; for look at the sort of bodkin he is wearing.\u201d\n\nThe earl and we had the northern long sword, of course; but when I\nlooked I saw that the Welsh had short, straight, and heavy weapons of\nabout half the length of ours, and so even sword to sword seemed hard\non the lighter man; wherein I was wrong, as I had yet to learn.\n\nI went back, therefore, and told the others.\n\n\u201cThe earl takes the axe, and the thane has his choice, as we have\nsaid.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have to thank you,\u201d said the other second, while Cadwal only\nlaughed a short laugh, and bade us choose the ground with them.\n\nThere was no difficulty about that, for the light was clear and bright,\nand though the sun was up, the trees bid any bright rays that might be\nin the eyes of the fighters. However, we set them across the light, so\nthat all there was might be even; and then we agreed that if one was\nforced back to the edge of the clearing he was to be held beaten, as if\nwe had been on an island. It was nearly as good, for the shore of trees\nand brushwood was very plain and sharp.\n\nNow Ragnar unslung his round shield from his shoulders, and took his\naxe from me, for I had carried it for him, and his face was quiet and\nsteady, as the face of one should be who has a deed to do that must be\nseen through to the end. But Griffin and his men talked quickly in\ntheir own tongue, and I had to tell them that we understood it well\nenough. Then they looked at each other, and were silent suddenly. I\nwondered what they, were about to say, for it seemed that my warning\ncame just in time for them.\n\nGriffin took a shield from the thane they called Cadwal, and it was\nsquare\u2014a shape that I had not seen before in use, though Witlaf had one\nlike it on the wall at Stallingborough. He said that it had been won\nfrom a chief by his forefathers when the English first came into the\nland, and that it was the old Roman shape. It seemed unhandy to me, but\nI had no time to think of it for a moment, for now Cadwal had a last\nquestion.\n\n\u201cIs this fight to be to the death?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d I answered; \u201celse were the rule we made about the boundary of no\nuse.\u201d\n\nThen Griffin cried in a sort of choked voice, \u201cIt shall be to the\ndeath.\u201d\n\nBut I said nothing, and the other second, with Cadwal, shook his head.\n\nRagnar made no sign, but Cadwal said to Havelok, \u201cYou were foremost in\nthe matter just now. What say you?\u201d\n\n\u201cRules are rules, and what my comrade says is right. If the first blow\nslays, we cannot help it, but there shall be no second wound. The man\nwho is first struck is defeated.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not have it so,\u201d said Griffin.\n\n\u201cWell, then, thane, after you have wounded the earl you will have to\nreckon with me, if you must slay someone.\u201d\n\nGriffin looked at the towering form of my brother and made no answer,\nand the other second told him that it was right. There was naught but\nan angry word or two to be atoned for. So there was an end, and Ragnar\nwent on guard. Griffin made ready also, and at once it was plain that\nhere was no uneven match after all.\n\nBoth of them wore ring mail of the best. We had set the two six paces\napart, and they must step forward to get within striking distance. At\nonce Griffin seemed to grow smaller, for he crouched down as a cat that\nis going to spring, and raised his shield before him, so that from\nwhere I stood behind Ragnar I could only see his black glittering eyes\nand round helm above its edge. And his right arm was drawn back, so\nthat only the point of his heavy leaf-bladed sword was to be seen\nglancing from the right edge steadily. And now his eyes were steady as\nthe sword point, which was no brighter than they. If once he got inside\nthe sweep of the great axe it would be bad for Ragnar.\n\nOne step forward went the earl, shield up and axe balanced, but Griffin\nnever moved. Then Ragnar leapt forward and struck out, but I could see\nthat it was a feint, and he recovered at once. Griffin\u2019s shield had\ngone up in a moment above his head, and in a moment it was back in its\nplace, and over it his eyes glared as before, unwavering. And then,\nlike a wildcat, he sprang at Ragnar, making no sweeping blow with his\nsword, but thrusting with straight arm, so that the whole weight of his\nflying body was behind the point. Ragnar struck out, but the square\nshield was overhead to stay the blow, and full on the round Danish\nbuckler the point of the short sword rang, for the earl was ready to\nmeet it.\n\nIn a moment the Welshman was back in his crouching guard, leaving a\ngreat ragged hole in the shield whence he had wrenched his weapon point\nin a way that told of a wrist turn that had been long practised. Ragnar\nhad needed no leech, had his quick eye not saved him from that thrust.\n\nThen for a breathing space the two watched each other, while we held\nour breath, motionless. And then Griffin slowly began to circle round\nhis foe, still crouching.\n\nThen, like a thunderbolt, Ragnar\u2019s axe swept down on the thane, and\nneither shield nor helm would have been of avail had that blow gone\nhome. Back leapt Griffin, and the axe shore the edge only of his\nshield; and then, shield aloft and point foremost, he flew on the earl\nbefore the axe had recovered from its swing, and I surely thought that\nthe end had come, for the earl\u2019s shield was lowered, and his face was\nunguarded.\n\nBut that was what he looked for. Up and forward flew the round shield,\ncatching the thane\u2019s straightened arm along its whole length, and then,\nas sword and arm were dashed upwards, smiting him fairly in the face;\nand, like a stone, the Welshman was hurled from it, and fell backward\nin a heap on the grass three paces away. It seemed to me that he was\noff his feet in his spring as the shield smote him.\n\nThere he lay, and Havelok strode forward and stood between the two,\nwith his face to Griffin, for Ragnar had dropped his axe to rest when\nhis foe fell.\n\n\u201cNo blood drawn,\u201d said my brother, \u201cbut no more fighting can there be.\nThe man\u2019s arm is out.\u201d\n\nAnd so it was, for the mighty heave that turned the thrust had ended\nGriffin\u2019s fighting for a long day. But he did not think so.\n\nThe sweat was standing on his face in great beads from the pain, but he\ngot up and shifted his sword to his left hand.\n\n\u201cIt is to the death,\u201d he cried; \u201cI can fight as well with the left.\nStand aside.\u201d\n\n\u201cAn it had been so, you were a dead man now,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cfor the\nearl held his hand where he might have slain. If he had chosen, you\nmight have felt his axe before you touched the ground.\u201d\n\nThereat, without warning other than a snarl of \u201cYour own saying,\u201d\nGriffin leapt at my brother fiercely, only to meet a swing of his axe\nthat sent his sword flying from his hand. And that was deft of Havelok,\nfor there is nothing more hard to meet than a left-handed attack at any\ntime, and this seemed unlooked for.\n\n\u201cWell, I did say somewhat of this sort,\u201d said Havelok; \u201cbut it was\nlucky that I had not forgotten it.\u201d\n\nThen he took the thane by the waist and left arm and set him down\ngently; and after that all the fury went from him, and he grew pale\nwith the pain of the arm that was hurt. But both I and the Welshmen had\nshouted to Griffin to hold, all uselessly, so quick had been his onset\non his new foe.\n\nCadwal held his peace, biting his lip, but the other Welshman began to\nblame Griffin loudly for this.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Havelok, smiling; \u201cit was my own fault maybe. The thane was\noverhasty certainly, but one does not think with pain gnawing at one.\nLet that pass.\n\n\u201cNow, earl, I think that you may say what you have to say that will set\nthings right once more.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan none of us put the arm back first?\u201d I said. \u201cI will try, if none\nelse has done such a thing before, for it will not be the first time.\u201d\n\n\u201cPut it back, if you can,\u201d said Cadwal. \u201cIf there is anything to be\nsaid, it had better be in some sort of comfort.\u201d\n\nSo I put the arm back, for when once the trick is learned there is not,\nas a rule, much trouble. But Griffin never thanked me. He left that to\nhis seconds, who did so well enough.\n\nThen Ragnar came forward and said gravely, \u201cI was wrong when I called\nyou \u2018nidring,\u2019 and I take back the word and ask you to forget it. No\nman who is that will face the Danish axe as you have faced it, and I\nwill say that the British sword is a thing to be feared.\u201d\n\nBut Griffin made no answer, and when Ragnar held out his hand he would\nnot see it.\n\n\u201cMaybe I have not yet made amends,\u201d Ragnar went on. \u201cI will add,\ntherefore, as I know that my words will go no farther, that I am sure\nthat the thing concerning which we quarrelled yesterday was done by you\nat the orders of another. It was not your own doing, and no thought of\ncowardice is in my mind now.\u201d\n\nBut Griffin never answered; and now he turned his back on the earl, who\nwas plainly grieved, and said no more to him, but turned to us and the\ntwo Welshmen.\n\n\u201cI do not think that I can say more. If there is aught that is needed,\ntell me. We have fought a fair fight, and I have taken back the words\nthat caused it.\u201d\n\nThen said Cadwal, \u201cNo more is needed. I did not think that we had met\nwith so generous a foe. If Griffin will say naught, we say this for\nhim. He has no cause for enmity left. And I say also that he has to\nthank this thane for his life as well as the earl.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo thane am I,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cbut only Havelok Grimsson of Grimsby.\nAnd even that name is set aside for a while, so that I must ask you to\nforget it. I have seen a good fight, if a short one, and one could not\nsmite a wounded man who forgot himself for a moment.\u201d\n\nThere was nothing more to be had from Griffin, for we waited a minute\nor two in silence to see if he would speak, and then we saluted and\nleft the wood.\n\nThe last thing that I saw seemed to be a matter of high words between\nGriffin and his seconds; and, indeed, if they were telling him what\nthey thought, it is likely that he wished he had been more courteous.\nIt is easy enough for a man who wants a quarrel to have done with one\nand then start another.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\nIN LINCOLN MARKETPLACE.\n\n\nWe went quietly back to the town, and there was only one thing that I\nwished, and that was that Havelok had not had to tell his name twice.\nRagnar was full of thanks to us for our help, and said that he would\nthat we would come to Norfolk with him.\n\n\u201cWe have a man who knows you also,\u201d he said, \u201cbut he has been with our\nprincess for a long time now. He is called Mord, and is her\nchamberlain. He has often told me how he came by his wry-neck at the\ntime of your shipwreck.\u201d\n\nSo he said, and looked at Havelok. But this was a thing that he had not\nseen, as he was so sick at the time. I said that I remembered Mord\nwell, and would seek him some time in the day.\n\nAnd as I said this I was thinking that I must find out from Mord\nwhether he knew and had told more than I could of who Havelok was and\nwhence he came to us. It seemed to me that the earl had heard some tale\nor other, and unless it was from him I could not think from whence.\n\nNow the earl said, \u201cThis business has ended better than I could have\nhoped, and I think that Alsi will not hear of it. Griffin can well\naccount for a slipped shoulder by any sort of fall that he likes to own\nto, and Alsi would be hardly pleased to hear that he had run the risk\nof setting all Norfolk against him for nothing after all.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no doubt that he meant you to know that he does not consider\nthe quarrel done with,\u201d I said. \u201cYou have an enemy there.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing new, that,\u201d answered Ragnar, laughing. \u201cHe thinks that I stand\nin his way with the princess. I suppose it is common talk that if he\nwedded her Alsi would still hold the East Anglian kingdom, making him\nealdorman, if only I were out of the way. But were I to wed the lady,\nthen it is certain that she would take the crown at once. I do not mean\nto do so, for then it is likely that three people would be unhappy for\nthe rest of their days. But that would be less wretched for her than to\nwed Griffin.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is no pleasant strait for the poor lady,\u201d said Havelok grimly.\n\u201cDo none ask what she herself can wish?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the trouble,\u201d said the earl, \u201cfor she is in Alsi\u2019s hand, and\nthere is some old promise and oath sworn between him and Ethelwald her\nfather that holds him back. Else had she been wedded to Griffin before\nnow.\u201d\n\nThen we came to the widow\u2019s house, and Havelok left his arms there, and\nwe went on to the marketplace. As we crossed the bridge we saw that\nthere was something going forward, for there was a gathering in the\nwide space, and a shouting and cheering now and then, and even Berthun\nhimself was there looking on and seeming to be highly entertained.\n\n\u201cHere is a crowd that I will not face just now, in my arms,\u201d said the\nearl; \u201cfor this hole in my shield looks bad, not having been there when\nI went out. Farewell for the time, therefore, and think of what I said\nabout your coming to Norwich with me.\u201d\n\nHe turned away therefore, and Havelok looked after him for a moment.\nThe shield hung at his back, plain to be seen.\n\n\u201cIt is a hole, for certain,\u201d he said; \u201cbut there is no need to show it\nin that wise.\u201d\n\nSo he strode after him.\n\n\u201cBy your leave, earl, I will arrange your cloak across the shield, and\nthen you can get it to your armourer without notice.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is well thought of,\u201d answered Ragnar, as Havelok did as he had\nsaid. \u201cI do not forget that I think that I owe you my life, though I\nhave said nothing as yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cGriffin would have flown on me as he did on you, certainly; and it is\nin my mind that you foresaw it, which I did not. I could not have\nstayed him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell I did,\u201d answered my brother; \u201celse had either I or you a hole in\nus like the one that is well covered now. But I feared what came to\npass.\u201d\n\nRagnar held out his hand, and Havelok took it, and so they parted\nwithout more words; but I knew that these two were friends from that\ntime forward, whatever happened.\n\nThere were some sports of some sort on hand, when we came to see what\nall the noise was; and Berthun, seeing us, called Havelok to him.\n\n\u201cI have been looking for you,\u201d he said, with that curious tone of his\nthat always seemed to be asking pardon for his boldness in speaking to\nmy brother; \u201cfor here are games at which they need some one to show the\nway.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a sport that I have not seen before,\u201d answered Havelok,\nlooking over the heads of the crowd. \u201cI should make a poor hand at it.\u201d\n\nThey had been tossing a great fir pole, which was now laid on one side,\nwith its top split from its falls, and they, thanes and freemen in\nturn, were putting a great stone, so heavy that a matter of a few\ninches beyond the longest cast yet made would be something to be proud\nof. Good sport enough it was to see the brawny housecarls heave it from\nthe ground and swing it. But no one could lift it above his knee, so\nthat one may suppose that it flew no great distance at a cast.\n\n\u201cNay, but the thanes are trying,\u201d Berthun said. \u201cIt is open to all to\ndo what they can. One of your porters is best man so far.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will not try to outdo him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would that you would lift the stone, Curan. That is a thing that I\nshould most like to see.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell then, master, as you bid me, I will try. But do not expect too\nmuch.\u201d\n\nThe man who had the stone made his cast, which was nothing to speak of;\nand then the stone lay unclaimed for a time, while all the onlookers\nwaited to see who came forward next. Then Havelok made his way through\nthe crowd, and a silence as of wonder fell on the people; for some knew\nhim, and had heard of his strength, and those who did not stared at him\nas at a wonder. But the silence did not last long, for the porters who\nwere there set up a sort of shout of delight, and that one who had made\nthe longest cast so far began to tell him how best to heft the stone\nand swing it.\n\nThen Havelok bent to raise the stone, and the noise hushed again. I saw\nhis mighty limbs harden and knot under the strain, and up to his knee\nhe heaved it, and to his middle, and yet higher, to his chest, while we\nall held our breaths, and then with a mighty lift it was at his\nshoulder, and he poised it, and swung as one who balances for a moment,\nand then hurled it from him. Then was a shout that Alsi might have\nheard in his hilltop palace, for full four paces beyond the strong\nporter\u2019s cast it flew, lighting with a mighty crash, and bedding itself\nin the ground where it lit. And I saw the young thanes with wide eyes\nlooking at my brother, and from beside me Berthun the cook fairly\nroared with delight.\n\nAnd then from across the space between the two lines of onlookers I saw\na man in a fisher\u2019s dress that caught my eye. It was Withelm, and we\nnodded to each other, well pleased.\n\nNow there seemed to be a strife as to who should get nearest to\nHavelok, for men crowded to pat him and to look up at him, and that\npleased him not at all. One came and bade him take the silver pennies\nthat the thanes had set out for the prize, but he shook his head and\nsmiled.\n\n\u201cI threw the thing because I was bidden, and not for any prize,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cI would have it given to the porter who fairly won it.\u201d\n\nThen he elbowed his way to Berthun, and said, \u201clet us go, master; we\nhave stayed here too long already.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs it pleases you,\u201d the steward said; and Havelok waved his hand to\nme, and they went their way.\n\nHe had not seen Withelm, and I was glad, for I wanted to speak to him\nalone first.\n\nNow men began to ask who this was, and many voices answered, while the\nporter went to claim the prize from the thane who held it.\n\nTwo silver pennies the thane gave him, and said, \u201cThis seems to be a\nfriend of yours, and it was good to hear you try to help him without\nacrimony. Not that he needed any hints from any one, however. Who is\nhe?\u201d\n\n\u201cMen call him Curan, that being the name he gives himself; but he came\nas a stranger to the place, and none know from whence, unless Berthun\nthe cook may do so. Surely he is a friend of mine, for he shook me\nonce, and that shaking made an honest man of me. He himself taught me\nwhat fair play is, at that same time.\u201d\n\nSo said the porter, and laughed, and the thane joined him.\n\n\u201cWell, he has made a sort of name for himself as a wonder, certainly,\nnow. I think that this cast of his will be told of every time men lift\na stone here in Lincoln,\u201d said the thane.\n\nThey left the stone where he had set it, and any one may see it there\nto this day, and there I suppose it will be for a wonder while\nHavelok\u2019s name is remembered.\n\nThen they began wrestling and the like, and I left the crowd and went\nto Withelm, going afterwards to the widow\u2019s. I was not yet wanted by\nEglaf for any housecarl duty.\n\n\u201cI sent a man to Grimsby yesterday,\u201d I said; \u201cbut you must have passed\nhim on the way somewhere, for he could not have started soon enough to\ntake you a message before you left.\u201d\n\n\u201cI met him on the road last night, for I myself thought it time to come\nand see how you two fared. I bided at Cabourn for the night, and your\nmessenger came on with me.\u201d\n\nThen he told me that all were well at Grimsby; for fish came now and\nthen and kept the famine from the town, though there were none to send\nelsewhere; and it was well that we had left, though they all missed us\nsorely.\n\nThen we began to talk of the doings here; and at last I spoke of\nHavelok\u2019s trouble, as one may well call it, telling him also of the\nstrange dream with which it all began.\n\n\u201cAll this is strange,\u201d he said thoughtfully; \u201cbut if Havelok our\nbrother is indeed a king\u2019s son, it is only what he is like in all his\nways. Wise was our father Grim, and I mind how he seemed always to be\ncareful of him in every way, and good reason must he have had not to\nsay what he knew. We will not ask aught until the time of which Arngeir\nknows has come. Nor can we say aught to Havelok, though he is troubled,\nfor we know nothing. As for the dream, that is part of it all, and it\nis a portent, as I think.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid I know the man who could read it, I would go to him and tell him\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is one man who can read dreams well,\u201d Withelm answered, flushing\na little, \u201cbut I do not know if you would care to seek him. I stayed\nwith him last night, and he is on his way even now to Lincoln, driven\nby the famine. I mean the old British priest David, who has his little\nhut and chapel in the Cabourn woods. His people have no more to give\nhim.\u201d\n\nI knew that Withelm thought much of this old man of late, and I was not\nsurprised to hear him speak of him now. All knew his wisdom, and the\nmarsh folk were wont to seek him when they were in any trouble or\ndifficulty. But I did not care to go to him, for he seemed to belong to\nthe thralls, as one might say.\n\n\u201cWell, if he comes here, no doubt you will know where to find him if we\nneed him,\u201d I said. \u201cBide with us for a few days at least, for here is\nplenty, and there is much going on.\u201d\n\nSo we went into the town, and then to the palace, and found Havelok,\nand after that I had to go to the gate on guard. And what these two did\nI cannot say, but, at all events, there is nothing worth telling of.\n\nNow, however, I have to tell things that I did not see or hear myself,\nand therefore I would have it understood that I heard all from those\nwho took some part or other in the matter, and so know all well.\n\nI have not said much of the meetings of the Witan, for I had naught\nmore to do with them than to guard the doors of the hall where they met\nnow and then; but since the princess and Ragnar came they seem to have\nsomewhat to do with the story, as will be seen.\n\nOn this day one of the Norfolk thanes asked in full meeting what plans\nthe king had for his ward Goldberga, and her coming into her kingdom,\nsaying that she, being eighteen years of age, was old enough to take\nher place.\n\nNow Alsi had thought of this beforehand, and was ready at once.\n\n\u201cIt is a matter of concern to us always,\u201d he said, \u201cand much have I\nthought thereof. It is full time that she took her father\u2019s place with\nthe consent of the Witan, which is needed.\u201d\n\nHe looked round us for reply to this, and at once the Norfolk thanes\nsaid, \u201cWe will have Goldberga for our queen, as was the will of\nEthelwald.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said Alsi, \u201cis as I thought. I needed only to hear it said\nopenly. Now, therefore, it remains but to speak of one other thing and\nthat is a weighty one. It was her father\u2019s will and I swore to carry it\nout, that she should be wedded to the most goodly and mightiest man in\nthe realm. It seems to me that on her marriage hangs all the wealth of\nher kingdom; and ill it would be if, after she took the throne, she\ntook to herself one who made himself an evil adviser. I would say that\nit were better to see her married first, for it does not follow that\nyou would choose to have the man whom I thought fitting to be over you,\nas he certainly would be.\u201d\n\nNow all this was so straightforward in all seeming that none of the\nthanes could be aught but pleased. Moreover, it took away a fear that\nthey had had lest Griffin was to be the man. None could say that he\nfulfilled the conditions of the will of Ethelwald. The spokesman said,\ntherefore, that it was well set before them, and that it was best to\nwait, saying at the end, \u201cFor, after all, we might have to change our\nminds concerning the princess, if with her we must take a man who will\nprove a burden or tyrant to us all.\u201d\n\nThen they asked the king to find a good husband for the princess as\nsoon as might be, so that he was not against her liking.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Alsi, \u201cit is a hard task for a man who has no wife to help\nhim; but we will trust to the good sense of my niece. Now, I had\nthought of Ragnar of Norwich; but it is in my mind that the old laws of\nnear kin are somewhat against this.\u201d\n\nI suppose that he had no intention of letting the earl marry the\nprincess; but this was policy, as it might please the thanes. However,\nthe matter of kinship did not please some, and that was all that he\nneeded, for there was excuse then for him if he forbade that match,\nwhich was the last he wanted.\n\nRagnar sat in his place and heard all this, and he wished himself back\nat Norwich.\n\nSo there the matter ended, and that was the last sitting of the Witan.\nThere was to be a great breaking-up feast that night before the thanes\nscattered to their homes.\n\nNow while this was going on I ended my spell of duty, and bethought me\nof Mord the chamberlain, and so went to Berthun and asked for him. He\nsaid that if I had any special business with Mord I might see him; and\nI said, truly enough, that my errand was special, having to do with\nfriends of his; so it was not long before they took me to him. He was\nin a long room that was built on the side of the great hall, as it\nwere, and I could hear the murmur of the voices of those who spoke at\nthe Witan while I waited.\n\nNow Mord was not so much changed as I, and at first he did not know me\nat all.\n\n\u201cWell, master housecarl, what may your message be, and from whom is\nit?\u201d he said, without more than a glance at me.\n\n\u201cWhy, there are some old friends of yours who are anxious to know if\nyou have forgotten the feeling of a halter round your neck,\u201d I said in\ngood Danish.\n\nThen, after one look, he knew me at once, and ran to me, and took my\nhand, and almost kissed me in his pleasure, for since I could handle an\noar he had known me, and had taught me how to do that, moreover.\n\nThen he called for wine and food; and we sat down together and had a\nlong talk of the old days, and of how we had fared after he left, and\nof all else that came uppermost. And sorely he grieved at my father\u2019s\ndeath, and at the trouble that was on us. The famine had not been so\nsore in the south, and pestilence had not been at all.\n\nAs for himself, he had been courtman, as we call the housecarls, at\nfirst, and so had risen to be chamberlain to the king, and now to the\nprincess, and had been with her everywhere that Alsi had sent her since\nher father died.\n\n\u201cIt was a good day for me, and wise was Grim when he bade me go to\nEthelwald to seek service,\u201d he said; \u201cyet I would that I had seen him\nonce more. I have never been to this place before, else I should have\nsought him.\u201d\n\nNow I was going to ask him about Havelok, but hardly knew how to begin.\nHe saved me the trouble however, by speaking first.\n\n\u201cWho were the lady and the boy we had on board when we came to\nEngland?\u201d he said. \u201cI never heard, and maybe it was as well that I did\nnot.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father never told me. But why do you think that it was well not to\nknow?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I am sure that Grim had good reason for not telling. Before I\nhad been a year at Norwich there came a ship from Denmark into the\nriver, and soon men told me that her master was asking for news of one\nGrim, a merchant, who was lost. So I saw him, not saying who I was or\nthat I had anything to do with Grim; and then I found that it was not\nso much of the master that he wanted news as of the boy we had with us.\nHe did not ask of the lady at all, and I was sure that this was the man\nwho came and spoke to Grim just as we were sailing, if you remember. So\nthen it came to me that we knew nothing of the coming on board of these\ntwo, only learning of their presence when we were far at sea. And now,\nif Hodulf troubled himself so much about this boy, there must be\nsomething that he was not meant to know about his flight, for he must\nbe of some note. Did I not know that the king\u2019s son was in his hands at\nthat time, I should have thought that our passenger was he. However, I\ntold him of the shipwreck as of a thing that I had seen, saying that\nGrim and his family and a few men only had been saved; and I told him\nalso that I had heard that he had lost some folk in an attack by\nVikings. With that he seemed well satisfied, and I heard no more of\nhim. I have wondered ever since who the boy was, and if he was yet\nalive. I mind that he was like to die when he came ashore.\u201d\n\nThen I laughed, and said that he would hear of him soon enough, for all\nthe town was talking of him; and he guessed whom I meant, for he had\nheard of the cook\u2019s mighty man.\n\nNow I said no more but this:\n\n\u201cMy father kept this matter secret all these years, and with reason, as\nwe have seen; and so, while he is here, we call this foster-brother of\nmine Curan, until the time comes when his name may he known. Maybe it\nwill be best for you not to say much of your knowledge of him. What\ndoes Earl Ragnar know of our wreck? For he told me that you knew me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI told him all about it at one time or another,\u201d Mord answered. \u201cHe\nalways wanted to hear of Denmark.\u201d\n\nSo that was all that the chamberlain knew; but it was plain to me that\nthe earl had put two and two together when he heard Havelok\u2019s name, and\nhad remembered that this was also the name of Gunnar\u2019s son. Afterwards\nI found that Mord had heard from Denmark that Hodulf was said to have\nmade away with Havelok, but he never remembered that at this time.\nRagnar knew this, and did remember it.\n\nPleasant it was to talk of old days with an old friend thus, and the\ntime went quickly. Then Mord must go to his mistress and I to my place,\nand so we parted for the time. But my last doubt of who Havelok my\nbrother might be was gone. I was sure that he was the son of Gunnar the\nking.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\nTHE WITAN\u2019S FEASTING.\n\n\nNow I have to tell of a strange thing that happened in the night that\nwas just past, the first that the Lady Goldberga had spent here in\nLincoln for many a year, for on that happening hangs a great deal, and\nit will make clear what I myself saw presently at the breaking-up feast\nof the Witan. That puzzled me mightily at the time, as it did many at\nthe feast, but I see no reason why it should not be told at once.\n\nNow I have said that Goldberga left the hall early overnight, being\nwearied with the journey, and having the remembrance of the attack on\nher party so near to Lincoln to trouble her also. Not much cause to\nlove her uncle Alsi had she; though perhaps, also, not much to make her\nhate him, except that he had kept her so far away from her own people\nof late, in a sort of honourable captivity. Now it was plain to her\nthat had it not been for the presence of Ragnar and his men, her guard\nwould not have been able to drive off the attackers; and the strange\nway in which Griffin had held back had been too plain for her not to\nnotice. Already she feared him, and it seemed that he might have\nplotted her carrying off thus. That Alsi might have had a hand in the\nmatter did not come into her mind, as it did into the minds of others,\nfor she knew little of him, thinking him honest if not very pleasant in\nhis ways, else had not her father made him her guardian.\n\nI will say now that in the attack he did have a hand. Many a long year\nafterward it all came out in some way. He dared not give his niece to\nGriffin openly, but he wished to do so, as then he would have an\nunder-king in East Anglia of his own choosing. Sorely against the grain\nwith him was it that he should have to give up those fair lands to this\ngirl, who would hold the throne by her own right, and not at all under\nhim. So he and Griffin had plotted thus, and only Ragnar\u2019s presence had\nspoilt the plan, though Griffin had tried to save it by holding back.\nBut I must say also that up to this time none had had aught to say\nagainst Alsi as a ruler, though he was over close, and not at all\nhearty in his ways at home. But now, for the sake of the kingdom, he\nhad begun to plot; and this plan having come to naught, he must make\nothers, as will be seen. I do not think that this planning to keep\nEthelwald\u2019s kingdom from his daughter was anything fresh to Alsi, but\nthe time for action had come now.\n\nHe had made ready by keeping the fair princess far away, and there were\nnone who could speak of her goodness, or, indeed, had heard much of her\nsince she was a child. Therefore, as men were content enough with him,\nnone would trouble much if the princess came not to the throne, given\ngood reason why she should not do so. And the very best reason would be\nthat which Alsi had given at the Witan\u2014if her husband was not fit to be\nking.\n\nIt is possible that Goldberga knew that her marriage would be talked of\nat this Witan: but I do not think that she troubled herself much about\nit, not by any means intending to be married against her will. I have\nheard that so ran the will of Ethelwald, that she was to have choice to\nsome extent. However that may be, with so many thoughts to trouble her\nshe went to rest, and her sleep was not easy until the morning was\nnear, and then came quiet.\n\nBut presently, in the grey of the dawn, she woke, and called her old\nnurse, who was in the chamber with her; and when she came she told her\nthat she had had a strange vision or dream, so real that she did not\nknow which it was. And what it portended she could not say, for it was\nwonderful altogether, and surely was good.\n\n\u201cI thought that a voice wakened me, calling me to look on somewhat; and\nso I rose as I was bidden, and saw before me the most mighty and\ncomeliest man that could be thought of. Kinglike he was, though he had\nno crown and was meanly clad, without brooch or bracelet that a king\nshould wear. But the wonder was that from his mouth came a bright shaft\nof flame, as it were of a sunbeam, that lighted all the place, and on\nhis shoulder shone a cross of burning light as of red-hot gold, and I\nknew that it was the mark of a mighty king.\n\n\u201cThen I heard the voice again, and I turned, and saw that it was an\nangel who spoke to me, and his face was bright and kind.\n\n\u201c\u2018Fear not, Goldberga,\u2019 he said, \u2018for this is your husband that shall\nbe. King\u2019s son and heir is he, as that token of the fiery cross shows.\nMore, also, it will betoken\u2014that he shall reign in England and in\nDenmark, a great king and mighty. And this you shall see, and with him\nshall you reign as queen and well-loved lady.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the voice ceased, and the angel was gone, and when I looked up\nthere was naught but the growing dawn across yon window, and the voice\nof the thrush that sings outside.\u201d\n\nNow the old nurse pondered over the dream for a while without speaking,\nfor she could not see what it might mean at first.\n\nBut at last she said, \u201cIt is a good dream surely, because of the angel\nthat spoke; but there seems only one way in which it can come to pass.\nA prince must come for you from Denmark, for there he would reign by\nhis own right, and here he would do so by yours. Yet I have heard that\nthe Danish kings are most terrible heathen, worse than the Saxon kin,\nof whom we know the worst now. Maybe that is why the angel told you to\nhave no fear. I mind Gunnar Kirkeban, and what he wrought on the\nchurches and Christian folk in Wales\u2014in Gower on the Severn Sea, and on\nthe holy Dee\u2014when I was young.\u201d\n\nFor both Goldberga and this old nurse of hers were Christian, as had\nbeen Orwenna, Ethelwald\u2019s wife, her mother. It had been a great day for\nthem when the King of Kent had brought over his fair wife, Bertha, from\nFrance, for she, too, was Christian, and had restored the ancient\nchurch in the very castle where Goldberga was kept.\n\nNow the princess went to sleep again, and woke refreshed; but all day\nlong the memory of the dream and of him whom she saw in it bided with\nher, until it was time for her to go to the great hall for the feast of\nthe Witan.\n\nNow it happened that on this night I must be one of the two housecarls\nwho should stand, torch in hand, behind the king. It was a place that\nnone of the men cared for much, since they saw their comrades feasting\nat the end of the room, while they must bide hungry till the end, and\nmind that no sparks from the flaring pine fell on the guests, moreover.\nEglaf would have excused me this had I wished; but I would take my turn\nwith the rest, and maybe did not mind losing the best of the feast so\nmuch as the others. There were some three hundred guests at that feast,\nand it was a wondrous fair sight to me as I stood on the high place and\nsaw them gather. The long table behind which I was ran right across the\ndais, rich with gold and silver and glass work: and below this, all\ndown the hall, ran long tables again, set lengthwise, that none might\nhave their backs to the king. And at the end of the hall, crosswise,\nwere the tables for the housecarls, and the men of the house, and of\nthe thanes who were guests. And as the housecarls came in they hung\ntheir shields and weapons on the walls in order, so that they flashed\nbright from above the hangings that Berthun and his men had set up\nafresh and more gaily than I had seen yet in this place.\n\nThere was a fire on the great hearth in the midst of the hall; but as\nit was high summer, only a little one, and over it were no cauldrons,\nas there would have been in the winter. Berthun was doing his cookery\nelsewhere. But between the tables were spaces where his thralls and the\nwomen could pass as they bore round the food and drink. And backwards\nand forwards among them went Berthun until the very last, anxious and\nimportant, seeing that all was right, and showing one guest after\nanother to their places. No light matter was that either, for to set a\nthane in too low a place for his rank was likely to be a cause of\nstrife and complaint. Also he must know if there were old feuds still\nremembered, lest he should set deadly enemies side by side. I did not\nenvy him, by any means.\n\nWhen it seemed that there were few more guests to come, and only half a\ndozen seats were vacant on the high place, Berthun passed into the room\nbeyond the hall, and at once a hush fell on the noisy folk, who had\nbeen talking to one another as though they had never met before. The\ngleemen tuned their harps, and I and my comrade lit our torches from\nthose already burning on the wall, and stood ready, for the king was\ncoming.\n\nOut of the door backed Berthun with many bows, and loud sang the\ngleemen, while all in the hall stood up at once; and then came Alsi,\nleading the princess, first; and then Ragnar, with the wife of some\ngreat noble; and after him that noble and another lady; but Griffin was\nnot there. Bright looked Goldberga in her blue dress, with wondrous\njewels on arm and neck, and maybe the brighter for the absence of the\nWelsh thane, as I thought.\n\nSo they sat as last night, save that the noble who had come next to\nRagnar was in Griffin\u2019s place; and therefore I stood behind the king\nand the princess, with the light of my torch falling between the two.\n\nNow they were set, and at once Berthun bore a great beaker of wine to\nthe king, and all down the hall ran his men with the pitchers of wine\nand mead and ale, and with them the women of the household and the\nwives of the courtmen, filling every drinking horn for the welcome cup.\n\nThen the gleemen hushed their song, and Alsi stood up with the\ngold-rimmed horn of the king in his hand, and high he raised it, and\ncried, \u201cWaeshael!\u201d\n\nAnd all the guests rose up, cup in hand, with a wonderful flashing of\nthe glorious English jewels, and cried with one voice, \u201cDrinc hael,\nCyning!\u201d\n\nThen all sat them down, and at once came Berthun\u2019s men with the laden\nspits and the cauldrons, and first they served the high table, kneeling\non the dais steps while each noble helped himself and the lady next him\nwith what he would. And then down the hall the feast began, and for a\ntime befell a silence\u2014the silence of hungry folk who have before them a\ngood reason for not saying much for a little while.\n\nI looked for Havelok among Berthun\u2019s men, but he was not there. Nor was\nhe at the lower cross tables with the other people of the palace. But\nWithelm was there, for Eglaf had seen him with me not an hour ago, and\nhad bidden him come, as a stranger from far off. There were a few other\nstrangers there also, as one might suppose, for the king\u2019s hall must be\nopen at these times.\n\nNow I looked on all this, and it pleased me; and then I began to hear\nthe talk of those at the high table, and that was pleasant also. First\nI heard that Griffin had fallen off his horse, and had put his arm out.\nWhereon one said that he only needed one hand to feed with, and\nmarvelled that so small a hurt kept him away from so pleasant a place\nas was his.\n\n\u201cIt seems that he fell on his face,\u201d answered a thane who had seen him.\n\u201cHe is not as handsome as he was last night. That is what keeps him\naway. Some passerby put his arm in straightway.\u201d\n\nAt that I almost laughed, but kept a face wooden as that of our old\nstatue of Thor, for Eglaf had warned me that I was but a torch, as it\nwere, unless by any chance I was spoken to. But Ragnar glanced my way\nwith a half smile. Presently they began to talk of the stone putting,\nand of the mighty man who had come with Berthun, and I saw several\nlooking idly down the hall to see if they could spy him. One of the\nthanes on the high seat, at the end, was he who had held the prizes at\nthese sports.\n\nNow it seemed that Alsi had not heard of this before; and when he had\nbeen told all about it, he said that he did not know that he had any\nman who was strong enough to make such a cast as they spoke of, though\nEglaf had picked up a big man somewhere lately, whom he had noticed at\nthe hall end once or twice.\n\nThen he ran his eyes over the tables, for now the women folk had sat\ndown among the men, and one could see everywhere. But he did not see\nthe man he meant, and so turned sharply on us two housecarls behind\nhim.\n\n\u201cHere he is,\u201d he said, laughing and looking at me. \u201cWere you the mighty\nstone putter they make such a talk of?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not, lord,\u201d I said, somewhat out of countenance, because every\none looked at me together. It had never seemed to me that I was so big\nbefore; perhaps because I was used to Havelok, and to Raven, who was\nnigh as tall as myself, and maybe a bit broader.\n\n\u201cWhy, then, who was he?\u201d said the king. \u201cWe must ask Berthun, unless\nanyone can see him in the hall.\u201d\n\nThen the thane of the prizes said, \u201cHe is not here, lord; for little\ntrouble would there be in seeing him, if he were, seeing that he is a\nfull head and shoulders over even this housecarl of yours.\u201d\n\nNow the princess had turned to look at me, and she saw that I was\nabashed, and so she smiled at me pleasantly, as much as to say that she\nwas a little sorry for me, and turned away. Then thought I that if ever\nthe princess needed one to fight for her, even to death, I would do so\nfor the sake of that smile and the thought for a rough housecarl that\nwas behind it.\n\nNow came Berthun with more wine, before the matter of the stone was\nforgotten in other talk, and the king said, \u201cIt seems that you have\nfound a new man, steward, for all are talking of him. I mean the man\nwho is said to have thrown a big stone certain miles, or somewhat like\nit, from all accounts. Where is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is my new porter,\u201d answered Berthun, with much pride; \u201cbut he is\nnot in the hail, for he does not like to hear much of himself, being\nquiet in his ways, although so strong.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is a marvel,\u201d laughed Alsi, \u201cand by-and-by we must see him. I\nwonder that Eglaf let you have him.\u201d\n\nNow Eglaf sat at the head of the nearest of the lower tables, and all\nin hearing of the king were of course listening by this time. So he\nsaid, \u201cThe man had his choice, and chose the heavier place, if you will\nbelieve me, lord. It is terrible to see how Berthun loads him at times;\nso that I may get him yet.\u201d\n\nThen all laughed at the steward, whose face grew red; but he had to\nlaugh also, because the jest pleased the king. He went away quickly;\nand one told Eglaf that he had better eat no more, else would he run\nrisk of somewhat deadly at the cook\u2019s hands. But those two were old\nfriends, as has been seen, and they were ever seeking jests at each\nother\u2019s expense.\n\nNow the talk drifted away to other things, and I hoped that Havelok had\nbeen forgotten, for no more than I would he like being stared at. The\nfeast went on, and twice I had to take new torches, but Berthun saw\nthat I had wine, if I could not eat as yet. Then had men finished\neating, and the tables were cleared, and the singing began, very\npleasant to hearken. Not only the gleemen sang, but the harp went\nround, and all who could did so. Well do the Lindsey folk sing, after\ntheir own manner, three men at a time, in a gladsome way, with\nwell-matched voices, and that for just long enough to be pleasant.\n\nSo the harp went its way down the hall, and the great folk fell to talk\nagain; and at last one said, so that Alsi heard him, \u201cWhy, we have not\nseen the strong man yet. Strange that he is not feasting with the\nrest.\u201d\n\nWhereat the king beckoned Berthun.\n\n\u201cBring your new wonder here,\u201d he said. \u201cSay that I have heard of his\ndeed, and would look on him.\u201d\n\nBerthun bowed and went his way; and I wondered how my brother would\nbear this, for the hall and its ordering was wont, as I have said, to\nbring back his troubled thoughts of things half remembered.\n\nPresently he came in at the door at the lower end of the hall, and at\nfirst none noticed him, for there was singing going on, and through\nthat door came and went many with things for the feast from the\nkitchens. Then some one turned to see who towered over them thus, and\nwhen he saw Havelok he went on looking, so that others looked also.\nThen one of the three singers looked, and his voice stayed, for he was\na stranger, and had heard nothing of this newcomer, and then Havelok\nfollowed Berthun up the hall in a kind of hush that fell, and he was\nsmiling a little, as if it amused him. He had on the things that the\nsteward had given him, and they were good enough\u2014as good as, if more\nsober than, my housecarl finery. But I suppose that not one in all the\ngathering looked at what he wore; for as he passed up the long tables,\nit seemed that there was no man worth looking at but he, and even\nRagnar seemed to be but a common man when one turned to him with eyes\nthat had seen Havelok.\n\nNow Alsi the king sat staring at him, still as a carven image, with his\nhand halfway to his mouth, as he raised his horn from the table; and\nRagnar looked wide-eyed, for he knew him again, and I saw a little\nsmile curl the corners of his lips and pass; and then Havelok was at\nthe step of the high place, and there he gave the salute of the\ncourtmen of a Danish king, heeding Berthun, who tried to make him do\nreverence, not at all.\n\nNow a spark from my torch drew my eyes from him, lest it should fall on\nthe princess\u2019s robe; and when it went out, I saw that the fair hand\nthat rested on the arm of the great chair was shaking like a leaf. When\nI looked, her face was white and troubled, and she half rose from her\nseat and then sank back in it gently, and the thane who sat next her\nspoke anxiously to her in a low voice, and the lady by his side rose up\nand came to her.\n\nThen Alsi turned, and he too spoke, asking if aught was amiss.\n\n\u201cThe princess faints with the heat of the hall,\u201d said the thane\u2019s wife.\n\u201cShe yet feels the long journey. May she not go hence?\u201d\n\nThen Goldberga said bravely, \u201cIt is naught, and it will pass.\u201d\n\nBut they made her rise and leave the hall; and the guests stood up as\nshe went with her ladies round her, and many were the murmurs of pity\nthat I heard.\n\n\u201cAs though she had seen a ghost, so white is she,\u201d one whispered.\n\nBut none knew how much the lady was to be pitied. She had seen the man\nof her vision; and, lo! for all that she knew, he was a thrall who\ntoiled in the palace kitchens.\n\nAnd after her, as she withdrew, looked Havelok with eyes in which there\nwas more than pity. I could see him well, but I did not know how he had\nseen the fair princess tremble and grow white as she gazed on him. I\nknow that, as he saw her for this first time, it was with the wish that\nhe were in Ragnar\u2019s place. But I thought that if Havelok were king,\nhere was the queen for him.\n\nNow Alsi bade the feast go on, and be spoke a few words only to\nHavelok, letting him go at once, and I was glad. This sudden faintness\nof the princess had put all out somewhat, and none cared to take up a\njest where it had stayed. Nevertheless, I saw the king\u2019s eyes follow my\nbrother down the hall, and in them was a new and strange look that was\nnot pleasant at all.\n\nThen it seemed that one was staring at me, and as will happen, I must\nlook in a certain place; and there was Cadwal, the Welsh thane, halfway\ndown one of the long tables, glaring first at me, and then at Havelok,\nas he went. It came into my mind that he would be wroth with Ragnar for\nbringing a kitchen knave as his second, as it were, in derision of\nGriffin. I thought that I would find a chance presently to tell him why\nmy fellow second chose to be serving thus, and so make things right\nwith him, for this seemed to be due to Ragnar, if not to all concerned.\n\nNot long after Goldberga had gone, the king withdrew also, and then the\nhall grew noisy enough, and I could leave my place. But by that time\nCadwal had left also; and next day, when I sought him, both he and\nGriffin were no longer in Lincoln, none knowing whither they had gone.\nSo I troubled no more about them.\n\nBut had I known that these two had been among the Welshmen that Hodulf\nled to Denmark when he slew Gunnar Kirkeban, and therefore knew all the\nstory of the loss of Havelok, and how Hodulf had sought for news of\nhim, I should have been in fear enough that we had not yet done with\nthem. Rightly, too, should I have feared that, as will be seen.\n\nNow while I looked about the hall for Cadwal, Mord the chamberlain saw\nme, and made me sit down by him while I ate. Hungry enough was I by\nthat time, as may be supposed, for one cannot make a meal off the sight\nof a feast; and as I ate, the noise of the hall grew apace as the cups\nwent round. Then some of the older thanes left, and soon Mord and I had\nthat table to ourselves. It was plain that he was full of something\nthat he would say to me, and when I was ready to listen he bent near me\nand said, \u201cSo that was the boy who fled with us.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy. He has grown since you saw him last.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not all,\u201d answered Mord. \u201cWell I knew Gunnar, our king, and\ntonight I thought he had come back to us from Valhalla, goodlier yet\nand mightier than ever, as one who has feasted with the Asir might well\nbe. For if this boy of ours is not Gunnar\u2019s son, then he is Gunnar\nhimself.\u201d\n\nNow that was no new thought to me, as I have shown, and I was ready for\nit, seeing that even I had seen the likeness to the king as I\nremembered him.\n\n\u201cKeep that thought to yourself for a while, Mord,\u201d I said. \u201cIt is in my\nmind that you are right, but the time has not yet come for me to know.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is wisdom, too,\u201d he answered; \u201cfor if once he gathers a\nfollowing, there is a bad time in store for Hodulf. And it will be\nbetter that we fall on him unawares, before he knows that Havelok, son\nof Gunnar, lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe fall on him?\u201d\n\n\u201cAy, you and I, mail on chest and weapon in hand, with Havelok to lead\nus. What? think you that I would hold back when Gunnar\u2019s son is\ncalling?\u201d\n\n\u201cSteady, friend,\u201d I said, laughing; \u201cmen will be looking at us.\u201d\n\nSo he was silent again; and now I thought that the time of which my\nfather spoke had surely come, for it was plain that Havelok was a man\nwhom men would gladly follow as he went to win back his kingdom. And I\nwent and fetched Withelm from where he sat, and so we three talked long\nand pleasantly, until it was time for us to go forth from the hall. And\nwe thought that it was good for Arngeir to come here, for the secret\nwas coming to light of itself, as it were, and we would have him speak\nwith Mord.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\nTHE CRAFT OF ALSI THE KING.\n\n\nNow Alsi the king went from the feast with a new and cruel thought in\nhis mind under the smiling face that he wore, and long he sat in his\nown chamber, chin on hand and eyes far off, thinking; and at last he\ncalled Berthun.\n\n\u201cWhat is the name of this big knave of yours?\u201d he asked, when the\nsteward stood before him.\n\n\u201cHe calls himself Curan, lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cCalls himself. Well, it is likely that he knows his own name best. Is\nhe Welsh, therefore?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo I think, lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou might have been certain by this time, surely. I like Welshmen\nabout the place, and I was giving you credit for finding me a good one.\nWhence comes he?\u201d\n\nNow it was on Berthun\u2019s tongue to say that he thought that Curan came\nfrom the marshland, yet clinging to his own thoughts of what he was. He\ndid not at all believe that he came from that refuge of thralls. But he\nmust seem certain unless he was to be laughed at again.\n\nSo he said, \u201cHe comes from the marsh-country.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes he speak Welsh?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have heard him do so to the market people, if he happened to meet a\nBriton there.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then, of course he is Welsh: and here have I found out in two\nminutes what you have taken I do not know how long to think about. Go\nto, Berthun; you grow slow of mind with good living.\u201d\n\nThe king chuckled, and Berthun bowed humbly; but now the steward was\ndetermined to say no more than he was obliged in answer to more\nquestions. Also he began to hope that Alsi would ask nothing about the\nclothes this man of his wore, else he would be well laughed at for\nspending his money on a stranger.\n\nBut Alsi seemed pleased with himself, or else with what he had heard,\nand went on.\n\n\u201cHas this Curan friends in the town?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone, lord, so far as I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me tell you that you may know a man\u2019s friends by the company he\nkeeps. With whom does he talk?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone come to seek him, lord, except one of the housecarls\u2014the big man\nto whom you spoke tonight. Seldom does he go into the town, and then\nonly the porters seem to know him, for he was among them, as a\nstranger, when I met him first.\u201d\n\n\u201cA big man will always make an acquaintance with another,\u201d Alsi said,\n\u201cand the porters are the lowest in the place. One may be sure that he\nhas left his friends in some starving village in the marsh, and has\nnone here. That will do, Berthun. Take care of him, for I may have use\nfor him. But next time you hire a man, use your wits to learn somewhat\nof him, if it is too much trouble to ask.\u201d\n\nSo Berthun was dismissed, and went out in a bad temper with himself.\nYet he knew that he would have been laughed at for a fool if he had\nsaid that he thought Curan more than he seemed.\n\nNow Alsi was alone, and he fell to thought again. By-and-by it was\nplain to be understood what his thoughts had been, and they were bad.\nAnd after he had slept on them they were no better, seeing what came of\nthem. But I think that he was pleased to find that Havelok was, as he\nthought, a Welsh marshman, and well-nigh friendless, for so he would be\nthe more ready to do what he was bidden; though, indeed, there seemed\nlittle doubt that the plan Alsi made for himself would find no\nstumbling block in Curan, if it might meet with a check elsewhere.\nThat, however, was to be seen.\n\nWell pleased was Alsi the king with somewhat, men said in the morning.\n\nBut there was one who rose heavy and sorely troubled, and that was the\nLady Goldberga, for all the fancies that had been brought to her by the\nvision had come to nothing, or worse than nothing, as she looked on\nHavelok and saw in the cook\u2019s knave the very form of him of whom she\nhad dreamed, and whom she could not forget. Glad had she been to go to\nher own chamber and away from the kindly ladies who could not know her\nreal trouble; but not even to her old nurse did she tell what that was.\nHer one thought now was to seek someone who was skilful in the reading\nof dreams, and so find some new hope from it all. But no one could tell\nher of such a one here, unless it were to be a priest of Woden, and\nthat she would not hear of.\n\nThen, early in the morning, Alsi sent for her, saying that he would\nspeak with her alone for a while. So she went to him, where he sat in\nthe chamber beyond the high place; and he greeted her kindly, asking\nafter her rest, and saying that he hoped that the sudden faintness had\nhurt her not. Then he led her to a seat, and bade her rest while he\ntalked of state affairs.\n\n\u201cFor it must be known to you, my niece, that the Witan thinks it time\nthat you should take your father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d\n\nNow Goldberga knew that, and had long made up her mind that when the\ntime came she would not shrink from the burden of the crown.\n\nIt may well have been that Alsi thought that she would wish to wait for\na time yet, for he did not seem altogether pleased when she answered,\n\u201cIf the Witan thinks right, I am ready.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d he said, \u201cthere is one thing to come before that. The Witan must\nknow who your husband shall be. And that is reasonable, for he will\nhave a share in ruling the kingdom.\u201d\n\nThen said Goldberga, \u201cThey need have no fear in that matter, for I will\nwed none but a king or the heir of a king.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Alsi, dryly enough, \u201cthey are not so plentiful as are\nblackberries, and there may be two words to that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not anxious to be wedded,\u201d answered the princess, \u201cand I can\nwait. It is, as you say, a matter that is much to the country.\u201d\n\nThen Alsi tried another plan, seeing that Goldberga was not at all put\nout by this. So he forced a cunning smile that was meant to be\npleasant, and said, \u201cI had thought that your mind ran somewhat on\nRagnar.\u201d\n\nHe looked to see the lady change colour, but she did not.\n\n\u201cRagnar is my cousin,\u201d she said, \u201cor a good brother to me, if you will.\nMoreover, until the other day when he met me in London by some good\nfortune, I had hardly seen him since my father died.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat think you of Griffin?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing at all, for nidring he is,\u201d answered Goldberga with curling\nlip.\n\nNow that angered Alsi, for he had so much to do with that business; and\nif Griffin was to be called thus by his fault, he was likely to lose a\nfriend.\n\n\u201cI would have you remember,\u201d he said, \u201cthat in all this choosing it\nremains for me to give consent or withhold it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall only ask your consent to my wedding such a man as I have told\nyou of, uncle\u2014a king or a king\u2019s son.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo,\u201d said Alsi, \u201cyou would choose first, and ask me afterwards,\nforsooth! That is not the way that things are to be between us. It is\nfor me to choose, and that according to the oath which I took when your\nfather made me guardian of you and his realm.\u201d\n\n\u201cYet,\u201d said Goldberga very gently, \u201cI think that my father would not\nhave meant that I should be the only one not to be asked.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can only go by what I swore, and that I will carry out. I promised\nto see you married to the most goodly and mightiest man in the land.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat can be none but a king, as I think.\u201d\n\nNow Alsi grew impatient, for he meant to settle one matter before he\nwent much farther.\n\n\u201cI will say at once that I can have no king over the East Anglian\nkingdom. It is not to be thought of that after all these years I should\nhave to take second place there. You will hold the kingdom from me, and\nI shall be overlord there. I will send you some atheling who can keep\nthe land in order for you, but there shall be no king to bring that\nland under the power of his own kingdom.\u201d\n\nThat was plain speaking, and it roused Goldberga.\n\n\u201cNever have you been overlord of my kingdom,\u201d she said. \u201cWell have you\nruled it for me while I could not rule it myself, and for that I thank\nyou heartily. But it is not right that I should seem to hold it from\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is to be seen,\u201d sneered Alsi, \u201cfor it lies with me to say what\nmarriage you make, and on that depends whether the Witan, in its\nwisdom, sees fit to hail you as queen. Not until you are married will\nyou take the kingdom at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the princess, growing pale, \u201cI will speak to the Witan\nmyself, and learn their will.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Witan has broken up,\u201d answered Alsi, \u201cand the good thanes are\nmiles on their way homewards by this time. You are too late.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will call them up again.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly\u2014that is, if I let my men run hither and thither to fetch\nthem. But after all, in this matter I am master. Whom you wed lies with\nme.\u201d\n\nGoldberga saw that she was in the hands of the king, and maybe as much\na prisoner as at Dover. So her spirits fled, and she asked what the\nking willed.\n\nAlsi knew now that nothing but his utmost plan would be of any avail to\nsave that kingdom for himself, and so he broke out into wrath, working\nup his fury that he might not go back.\n\n\u201cMy will is that you obey me in this carrying out of the oath I took on\nthe holy ring, [10] and on the Gospels also to please your mother. You\nshall marry the man whom I choose, so that he be according to the words\nof that oath.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that he be king or son of a king, I will obey you,\u201d answered\nGoldberga.\n\n\u201cThen you defy me. For that I have told you that I will not have. Now\nshall we see who is master. You mind yon kitchen knave of last night?\nThere can be none in all England mightier or more goodly than he is to\nlook on, and him shall you wed. So will my oath be well kept. Then if\nyour precious Witan will have him, well and good, for his master shall\nI be.\u201d\n\nThereat the princess said that it were better that she should die; but\nnow Alsi had set out all his plan to her, and he did not mean to flinch\nfrom carrying it out. There was no doubt that the Norfolk people would\nhold that she had disgraced herself by the marriage, and so would\nrefuse to have her as queen. And that was all he needed.\n\nBut Goldberga had no more to say, for she was past speaking, and the\nking was fain to call her ladies. And when they came he went away\nquickly, and gave orders for the safe keeping of the princess, lest she\nshould try to fly, or to get any message to Ragnar or other of the\nNorfolk thanes.\n\nNow he must go through with this marriage, for he had shown himself too\nplainly, and never would the princess trust him again. I have heard\nthat he sent for Griffin at this time; but, as I found, he was gone;\nand if the king thought that perhaps the princess would wed him now to\nescape from the kitchen knave, he had no chance to bring him forward. I\nsuppose he could have made out that Griffin, or for that matter any one\nelse he chose, was such a one as his oath to Ethelwald demanded.\n\nSore wept Goldberga when she was back in her own place, and at first it\nwas hard for her to believe that Alsi could mean what he had\nthreatened. But then she could not forget her dream, and in that she\nhad most certainly seen the very form of him who stood before her at\nthe high place last night; and that perhaps troubled her more than\naught, for it seemed to say that him she must wed. But no king\u2019s son\ncould he be, so that there must be yet such another mighty man to be\nfound.\n\nAnd then in her heart she knew that there could not be two such men,\nboth alike in all points to him of the vision. And she knew also,\nthough maybe she would not own it, that if this Curan had been but a\nthane of little estate, she could have had naught to say against the\nmatter.\n\nAnd so at last she found that in her trouble and doubt and wish for\npeace she was thinking, \u201cWould that he were not the kitchen knave!\u201d\n\nNow, it chanced that the old nurse had gone out into the town, and was\naway all this while, so that she knew nothing of this new trouble; and\npresently she was coming back with her arms full of what she had\nbought, and there met her Havelok and Withelm, who had been to the\nwidow\u2019s, and were on their way to find me at the gate.\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d said Havelok, \u201clet me help you up with these things.\u201d\n\nThat frightened the old lady, for she had been looking at him, and had\nmade up her mind that he was some mighty noble, as did most strangers.\n\n\u201cNay, lord,\u201d she said; \u201cthat is not fitting for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cLess fitting is it that a strong man should see you thus burdened and\nnot help. No lord am I, but only the cook\u2019s man. So I am going to the\npalace.\u201d\n\nBut this she would not believe at first, and still refused. However,\nLincoln Hill is very steep, and she was not sorry when Havelok laughed\nand took the things from her so soon as she had to halt for breath.\n\n\u201cCuran will carry you up also, if you will, mother,\u201d said Withelm.\n\nThe nurse tossed her head at him and made no answer, being on her\ndignity at once. Moreover, she had heard of Curan by this time, though\nshe had not seen him before. So she said no more, and went on proudly\nenough, with her mighty attendant after her; but all the while it was\nin her mind that there was some jest, or maybe wager, between the two.\n\nNow Withelm stopped at the gate; but I was not there, for I had been\nsent to the palace, where guards were to be at each door. The word was\nthat some plot had been found out against the princess, and that\ntherefore we had to be careful. One easily believed that with all the\ntalk about the attack made on her party that was flying about. So he\ncame on to the palace kitchens, for Berthun knew him well, having so\noften bought fish from him in the market; and there he sat down to talk\nwith the steward, for there was nothing much going on at the time, and\nI was on guard.\n\nNow, the old nurse went to her mistress; and Goldberga sat in the\nshadow, and was weeping no longer, seeing that it would not help at\nall.\n\n\u201cThere is a wonder down yonder,\u201d said the old lady, not seeing that\nthere had been any trouble yet\u2014\u201csuch a man as I never saw in all my\ndays; and he even carried my goods up all the hill for me, old and ugly\nas I am. That is not what every young man would do nowadays. Maybe it\nwas different when I was young, or else my being young made the\ndifference. The youth with him called him Curan, which is the name of\nthe strong porter they prate of, but doubtless that was a jest. This is\nthe most kingly man that could be; and I ween that those two made a\nwager that he dared not carry a bundle up to the palace, whereby I was\nthe gainer, for breath grows short up that pitch. And when I thanked\nhim he bowed in that wise that can only come of being rightly taught\nwhen one is young. Now, I am going to ask Berthun who he is, for he\nspoke to him when he saw him, and that humbly, as it seemed.\u201d\n\nSo talked the nurse, and to all Goldberga answered never a word, for\nall the trouble came back again, and with it the thought that she\nhated, that if only\u2014\n\nThen, as the nurse was leaving her, she called her back.\n\n\u201cNurse,\u201d she said, \u201cI am in sore trouble about the dream. It bides with\nme, and will not cease to puzzle me until I weary for some one to read\nit plainly. I would that Queen Bertha\u2019s good chaplain were here, for I\nmight have been helped by him.\u201d\n\nThen the nurse came back, quick to hear the sad tone in the voice of\nher whom she had tended and loved since she was a child.\n\n\u201cWhy, my pretty, have you been weeping?\u201d she said. \u201cThere was naught in\na dream like that to fray you thus.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but it has come to me that this place is altogether heathen; and\nit may have come from the hand of Freya, the false fiend that they\nworship as a goddess, so that I may be ready to wed a heathen. Is there\nno Christian in all this place?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are Welsh folk yet left in the marsh,\u201d said the nurse,\npondering; \u201cand where there is a Briton there is a Christian, and\nthere, also, will be a hidden priest. But it would be as much as his\nlife is worth to come here, even could we find one.\u201d\n\nThen Goldberga said, \u201cAlsi is not altogether heathen. If I asked he\nwould surely grant this.\u201d\n\nFor she thought that she knew how to gain consent.\n\n\u201cIf one can be found, and that is not likely. Well, then, I will ask\nBerthun, who is good-natured enough, and most likely will not trouble\nabout a Christian coming here; and if so, we need not even ask Alsi.\u201d\n\nSo she went, not thinking for a moment that there was a priest of the\nfaith to be heard of. Mostly she wanted to hear more of Havelok, but\nshe would honestly do her other errand.\n\nBut on her way across the courtyard she met Mord, and he was a great\nfriend of hers.\n\n\u201cWhither now, nurse? They will not let you go out of the palace. They\nsay that there is trouble on hand with those folk that fell on us, and\nwe have to bide in shelter for a day or two.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I have been down the town this hour, and all is quiet enough.\nThis Alsi is an over-timid man. But I was seeking Berthun with a\nstrange message from the princess, and one that is not over safe here.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me give it then.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is nothing more or less than to ask if he can find a\nChristian priest. Our mistress has had a strange dream, and it is true\nthat it sorely troubles her. So she wants one to whom she may tell it,\nthat it may be read aright. But though I must ask, I do not hope to\nfind one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said Mord, \u201cthere is not one Christian in all Lindsey.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not say that. When I was first here with Orwenna the queen,\nbefore she married Ethelwald, there were some in the marsh; for one day\nI heard my own tongue spoken there, hunting with my mistress; and so\nshe stayed and talked with these poor folk, though the Welsh they spoke\nwas bad enough. But they were Christians, as they told her in fear and\ntrembling. They have not so much need to fear now.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I can help you,\u201d said Mord gladly. \u201cSay nothing to the cook, for\nI have found old friends who come from far in the marsh, and they will\ntell me at once if they have heard of any priest. Why, when I think,\nthey know Welsh, and one has called himself by a Welsh name, and you\nhave seen him\u2014Curan the porter.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy; then do you ask these friends, and tell them that the sooner they\ncan bring a priest the better shall they be rewarded. I would give much\nto have Goldberga\u2019s mind set at rest.\u201d\n\nSo Mord said that he would go at once; and glad he was to see Withelm\nsitting with Berthun,\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the steward, \u201cI have known Withelm of Grimsby for the last\nten years or so, and I do not suppose that it matters if you speak with\nhim.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should it matter if I speak with any one I choose?\u201d asked Mord,\nsomewhat angrily.\n\n\u201cThat you must ask the king; for his orders are that the people of the\nprincess have no dealings with outsiders for two days.\u201d\n\n\u201cMighty careful of us is Alsi all of a sudden,\u201d said Mord. \u201cI suppose\nhe thinks that someone will stick a seax into some of us in all\nfriendly wise while we are talking.\u201d\n\nBut Berthun only laughed, and went to where the nurse was beckoning to\nhim. He told her his own thoughts of Havelok, being glad to have a\nready hearer.\n\nAt once Withelm was able to tell Mord that the old priest who was his\nfriend was in Lincoln at this time by good chance, and that he would\nsurely come to the princess at need. But when they came to talk of when\nand how, it did not seem all so easy; and Mord went to the nurse to\ntell her all.\n\nThen they had to speak to Berthun about it, and he was kindly and\nwilling to help; but he said that none might come to speak with the\nprincess without leave from the king. No doubt he would grant it\neasily, if asked by Goldberga herself.\n\n\u201cI will go and tell her,\u201d said the old lady. \u201cKeep your man here till I\nreturn.\u201d\n\nNow she brought this good news to the princess, and one need not say\nhow she rejoiced. And now a thought had come to her, and she was eager\nto send a message to Alsi.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d she thought, \u201che does but threaten me with the kitchen knave,\nthat he may make me change my will. And, therefore, if I say that I am\nready to obey him, he will be pleased; and then time is gained at the\nleast, and it is not possible that he will choose so badly for me after\nall.\u201d\n\nSo when the nurse asked her what she would do about getting the priest\nto her presence, she said, \u201cGo and tell my uncle first that I am\nwilling to obey him in the matter of which we spoke this morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that was what has troubled you after all, and not the dream? I\nthought it should not have made all these tear marks,\u201d said the nurse\nquickly. \u201cNow, why did you not tell me? I dare give Alsi a talking to\nif he needs it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, nurse, but it was the dream. My uncle and I did but disagree on\nsomewhat, and maybe I was wrong. By-and-by I will tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me now, and then I shall know better how to ask for what you\nneed.\u201d\n\nBut Goldberga could not bring herself to say what Alsi had threatened,\nand now felt sure that she would hear no more of that. So she told the\nnurse that she had vowed only to marry a king, and that Alsi had been\nangry, saying that kings were not so easily found. Also, that he was\nthe man who had to find her a husband.\n\n\u201cThat is the best sense that this king ever spoke,\u201d said the nurse.\n\u201cMany a long year might you wait if you had your way thus. You are wise\nin sending that message. Well, after that I will ask him to let you see\nthe priest, saying, if he is cross-grained, that a talk with him will\nmake your mind even better fitted to obey. Many things like that I can\nsay. We shall have him here presently.\u201d\n\nNow, all that seemed very good to both of them, and the nurse went her\nway. And when she came to Alsi, she gave the message plainly.\n\n\u201cThat will save a great deal of trouble,\u201d said the king. \u201cTell her that\nI am glad to hear it. She says this of her own accord, and not at your\nadvice?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe told me before I had heard a word of what the trouble was between\nyou. It was no word of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am glad of it. But I will say that I am somewhat surprised.\u201d\n\nAnd that was true, for this message seemed to Alsi to be nothing more\nor less than that Goldberga would marry his man. When he thought for a\nmoment, however, he saw that it could not be thus; and also, it was\nplain to him what the poor girl had in her mind. And now he chuckled to\nthink what a weapon he had against her. Nor would he be slow to use it.\n\nThen the nurse said that he need have no surprise, for Goldberga was\never gentle and willing to be led, though sometimes the pride of her\nrace came uppermost for a time. And then she asked if a certain priest\nof the faith might come and speak with her.\n\nNow, Alsi knew that only one could be meant\u2014namely, the hermit who\nbided at Cabourn. He had heard of him often, and would not suffer him\nto be hurt, for his sister Orwenna had protected him. The heathen\nEnglish minded him not at all by this time, for he was the best leech\nin the land, and so useful to them. So Alsi said pleasantly that he was\nquite willing that the priest should come, deeming that he was at\nCabourn, and that it would be a day or two before he would be brought.\n\nSo he called the housecarl from outside the door, and when he came he\nsaid, \u201cPass the word that when one who calls himself David comes and\nasks for the princess, he is to be admitted to her.\u201d\n\nSo that was made easy, and the nurse thanked him and withdrew; and when\nhe was alone, Alsi grinned evilly and rubbed his hands.\n\n\u201cNow is East Anglia mine in truth,\u201d he said; and with that he bade the\nhousecarl fetch Curan, the cook\u2019s porter, to him. And then he sent one\nto Ragnar with such a message that he rode out that night and away to\nNorwich.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\nTHE FORTUNE OF CURAN THE PORTER.\n\n\nWhile the nurse told Withelm to fetch the priest when Alsi was in the\nhall that evening, the housecarl came for Havelok; and much wondering,\nhe followed the man to the king, and presently stood before him and\nsaluted.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get that salute?\u201d said Alsi sharply, seeing at once that\nit was not English; and, indeed, it was that of Gunnar\u2019s courtmen.\n\n\u201cI cannot tell,\u201d answered my brother. \u201cIt seems to be there when\nneeded.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is not that used here. Get the housecarls to teach you better\nmanners.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok bowed a little, in token that he would do so; and when\nAlsi spoke to him next it was in Welsh.\n\n\u201cYou are a marshman, as I hear?\u201d\n\nNow Havelok had learned fairly well from the poor folk who loved him,\nbut carelessly, so that when he answered Alsi frowned at his way of\nspeaking.\n\n\u201cI am from the marsh,\u201d he said simply.\n\n\u201cWe had better get back to English!\u201d the king said; \u201cyou people forget\nyour own tongue. Now, are you married?\u201d\n\nThereat Havelok laughed lightly.\n\n\u201cThat I am not,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cWell, then, if I find you a fair wife, you would be willing,\ndoubtless?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I should not,\u201d answered Havelok bluntly, and wondering what this\ncrafty-looking king was driving at. \u201cWhat could I do with a wife? For I\nhave neither house nor goods, nor where to take her, nor withal to keep\nher; else had I not been the cook\u2019s knave.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would seem that you carry all your fortune on your back,\ntherefore,\u201d said Alsi, looking at Havelok\u2019s gay attire with somewhat of\na sneer.\n\n\u201cThat may well be, King Alsi, for even these clothes are not my own.\nBerthun gave them me, and I think that they come from yourself.\u201d\n\nAlsi grinned, for Eglaf\u2019s saying of him was not so far wrong; but he\nhad more serious business on hand than to talk of these things with a\nchurl.\n\n\u201cNow, if I bid you, it is your part to obey. I have a wife for you, and\nher you shall wed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are two words to that, King Alsi. Neither will I wed against my\nwill, nor will I wed one who is unwilling.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs to that first,\u201d said the king, for he began to be angered with\nHavelok\u2019s boldness, \u201cif a man will not do my bidding, I have dungeons\nwhere he can have time to think things over, and men who can keep him\nthere, be he never so mighty; and if a man will not see with my eyes\nwhen I bid him, blinded shall he be.\u201d\n\nThis he said somewhat hurriedly, for a dark flush came on the face of\nthe man before him, and he thought that he must try some other plan\nthan force with him.\n\n\u201cAnd as for that other point, I did not so much as hint that the bride\nwas likely to be unwilling. I will say that she is willing, rather.\u201d\n\nNow that troubled Havelok, for it seemed that all was arranged already,\nand the thought of the dungeon was not pleasant. There was no doubt\nthat if the king chose he could cast him into one until he was\nforgotten; and the light and the breath of the wind from the sea were\nvery dear to Havelok. So he thought that he would at least gain time by\nseeming to listen to the proposal; for, after all, it might come to\nnothing, and maybe it was but a jest, though a strange one.\n\n\u201cWell, lord king,\u201d he said, \u201cif the bride knows enough of me to be\nwilling, it is but fair that I should have the like chance of choice.\u201d\n\nNow Alsi thought that it was impossible that this churl, as he deemed\nhim, would not be overjoyed to hear of the match he had made for him,\nand he must needs know it soon. Yet there was that about Havelok that\npuzzled him, for his ways were not those of a churl, and he spoke as a\nfreeman should speak.\n\nSo much the more likely that the people would believe him when he said\nthat Goldberga wedded him of her own wish, he thought. It was as well\nthat he was not altogether a common-seeming man.\n\n\u201cYou have seen the damsel already,\u201d he said therefore. \u201cNow I will not\nsay that this match is altogether of my choosing; but I have an oath to\nkeep, and it seems that I can only keep it by making you her husband.\nBut, as I say, she is willing, and, I will add, well dowered.\u201d\n\nNow it grew plain to my brother that there was something strange in all\nthis, so he said, \u201cAn oath is a thing that must not be hindered in the\nfulfilling, if a man can further it. But what has a king\u2019s oath to do\nwith me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have sworn to find her the goodliest and mightiest man alive; and,\nthough I must needs say it to your face, there is none like yourself.\nNo flattery this to bend you to my will, but sober truth\u2014at least, as I\nsee it.\u201d\n\nAt that Havelok grew impatient.\n\n\u201cWell, if that be so, who is the bride?\u201d he asked, not caring to give\nthe king his title, or forgetting to do so, for on him was coming the\nfeeling that he was this man\u2019s equal here in the palace. And at last,\nnot seeming to notice this, Alsi answered plainly.\n\n\u201cThe Princess Goldberga.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok stared at him in blank wonder for some moments; and Alsi\ngrew red under his gaze, and his eyes were shifty, and would not meet\nthe honest look that was on him.\n\nThen at last said Havelok slowly, and watching the king intently all\nthe while, \u201cWhat this means I cannot tell. If you speak truth, it is\nwonderful; and if not, it is unkingly.\u201d\n\n\u201cOn my word as a king, truth it is,\u201d said Alsi hastily, for there was\nthat in Havelok\u2019s face that he did not like.\n\nOne might think that the king was growing afraid of his own kitchen\nknave.\n\n\u201cIf that is so, there is no more to be said,\u201d answered Havelok. \u201cYet\nyou will forgive me if I say that I must have this from the lips of the\nprincess herself as well. It may be that her mind will change.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is but fair,\u201d answered Alsi; \u201cand you are a wise man. The mind of\na damsel is unsteady, whether she be princess or milkmaid; but have no\nfear.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo man fear I; but I do fear to hurt any lady, and I would not do\nthat.\u201d\n\nThen Alsi thought that all was well, and he spoke smooth words to my\nbrother, so that Havelok doubted him more than ever. Therefore it came\ninto his mind that all he could do for the best was to seem to agree,\nand wait for what the princess herself said. And if Alsi was working\nsome subtlety, then he would wring his neck for him, if need be; and\nafter that\u2014well, the housecarls would cut him in pieces, and he would\nslay some of them, and so go to Valhalla, and dreams would be at an\nend. And he would have died to some purpose here, for he knew that\nGoldberga would come to her kingdom, ay, and maybe Alsi\u2019s as well, for\nshe was his sister\u2019s daughter, and his next of kin, and well loved by\nthose who had been allowed to know aught of her.\n\nBut I would not have any think that the promise of so wondrous a bride\nwas not pleasing to him. It was more, for he had seen her grow white\nand troubled as she looked on him, and he had seen her bear well\nwhatever pain had caused that; and he had known that in the one sight\nhe had of Goldberga somewhat had taught him what it was to have one\nface unforgotten in his mind.\n\nSo he said to Alsi, \u201cAll this fortune that you hold out to me is most\nunlooked for, seeing what I am in your hall; and I have not thanked you\nyet, King Alsi. That, however, is hard to do, as you may understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand well enough,\u201d answered the king, in high good humour\nagain, now that all seemed to be going well. \u201cAnd after all, it is the\nlady whom you must thank.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut when shall I see her to do so?\u201d\n\n\u201cTomorrow, surely; ay, tomorrow early shall you speak with her,\u201d\nanswered the king quickly. \u201cNow go, and hold your peace. Let me warn\nyou that there are those about the court who would go any lengths to\nremove you from the face of the earth if they knew of this. Tell no man\nof the honour that has come to you as yet. Be the porter for a short\ntime longer, and then you will be the man whom all envy. It is likely\nthat I must make you a thane, by right of the choice of the princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know well when to speak and when to keep silence, lord king,\u201d said\nmy brother, and with that he bowed and left the hall.\n\nThen Alsi put his lips to a silver whistle that he carried, and blew a\ncall that brought Eglaf hurriedly to him from the outer door.\n\n\u201cThe guards may go,\u201d said the king; \u201cbut see that the porter Curan\nleaves not the palace until I myself send him forth tomorrow.\u201d\n\nThe captain saluted and went his way. He had had six men within call of\nthe king all the time that he spoke with Havelok, and one may make what\none likes of that. At least the threat of the dungeon was no idle one.\n\nNow went Havelok from the hall very heavy and troubled, for beyond the\nfair talk of the king lurked surely some plan that was not fair at all.\nIt was not to be thought that he could not prevent, if he chose, a\nfoolish marriage of the princess, even did she desire it ever so much.\nAnd my brother could not believe that she had set her heart on one whom\nshe had but seen once, and then in the midst of faintness. That,\nhowever, might be known easily when he was face to face with her. It\nwas a thing that could not be made a matter of pretence.\n\nNow when he came back to the great kitchen, which was nigh as big as\nthe hall, Withelm was yet there, for the priest was at the widow\u2019s, and\nthere was no haste to bring him; and by that time I had come in also,\nand was sitting with him at the far end, where none had need to come.\nIt was Berthun\u2019s own end, as one might say, and he was lord in his own\nplace. Only a few thralls were about, and the cook himself had gone\ninto the town.\n\n\u201cHere is our brother,\u201d I said, \u201cand there is somewhat wrong.\u201d\n\nHe came moodily up to us, and sat him down, saying nothing, and he\nleaned his head on his hands for a while.\n\n\u201cWhat is amiss, brother?\u201d said Withelm.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d he answered. \u201cI will think before I speak.\u201d\n\nI could see that this was not the old puzzlement, but something new and\nheavy, so we held our peace. Long was he before he moved or spoke, and\nwhen he did so it was wearily.\n\n\u201cWell knew I that somewhat was to happen to me in this town, even as I\ntold you, brother, when we first passed its gates. And now it seems to\nbe coming to pass. For this is what is on me, as it seems to me\u2014either\nthat I must see the light of day no more, or must live to be a scorn\nand sorrow to one for whom it were meet that a man should die.\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely the black dream is on you, my brother! Neither of these things\ncan be for you!\u201d I cried.\n\n\u201cWould that it were the dream, for that is not all of sorrow, and that\nalso is of things so long past that they are forgotten. I can bear\nthat, for your voice always drives it away. But now the hand of Alsi\nthe king is on me for some ill of his own\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cStay,\u201d said Withelm. \u201cLet us go out and speak, if that name is to be\nheard. It were safer.\u201d\n\n\u201cLess safe, brother,\u201d answered Havelok. \u201cAt once we should be kept\napart. Listen, and I will tell you all, and then say your say.\u201d\n\nThen he told us, word for word, all that had just passed between him\nand the king. And as we listened, it grew on us that here was no wrong\nto the princess, but rather the beginning of honour. I could see the\ndownfall that was in store for Alsi, and I thought also that I saw hope\nfor the winning back of the Danish kingdom, with an East Anglian host\nto back us. And this also saw Withelm, and his eyes sparkled. But\nHavelok knew not yet all that had grown so plain to us.\n\nHe ended, and we said nothing for a moment.\n\n\u201cWell?\u201d he said, not looking up, but with eyes that sought the floor,\nas if ashamed.\n\n\u201cBy Odin,\u201d said I, speaking the thought that was uppermost, \u201chere will\nbe a downfall for Alsi!\u201d\n\n\u201cAy, you are right, brother. I will not wed her.\u201d\n\nBut that was by no means what I meant, as may be known; and now Withelm\nheld up a warning hand to me, and I knew that his advice was always\nbest.\n\n\u201cIf the maiden is unwilling, wed her not,\u201d he said. \u201cIf she is willing,\neven as the king said, that is another matter. We have no reason to\ndoubt his word as yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou saw not his face as he spoke. And then, how should the princess\nthink of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWho knows? Even Odin owned that the minds of maids were hard to\nfathom. But one may find a reason or two. Maybe that oath has somewhat\nto do with it. A good daughter will go far to carry out her father\u2019s\nwill, and, in the plain sense thereof, she will certainly do it thus.\nThen it is likely that she knows that you are no churl, but the son of\nGrim, though we have fallen on hard times for a while. I have heard say\nthat it is the custom here that a man who has crossed the seas in his\nown ship so many times is a thane by right of that hardihood. Thane\u2019s\nson, therefore, might we call you. Then there is the jealousy of every\nother thane, if she chooses an East Anglian. Then she needs one who\nshall be mighty to lead her forces. Even the greatest thane will be\ncontent to follow a man who is a warrior of warriors. Ragnar can have\ntold her what you are in that way. Faith, brother, there are reasons\nenough.\u201d\n\nHavelok laughed a short laugh at all this, and he grew brighter. There\nwas sense in Withelm\u2019s words, if they would not bear looking deeply\ninto.\n\nThen I said, adding to these words, \u201cMoreover, Alsi could stop the\nwhole foolishness of his niece if he did not think it a fitting match\nin some way.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo he could,\u201d answered Havelok. \u201cBut yet\u2014I tell you that there was\nnaught but evil in his face. Why did he try to force me?\u201d\n\nThen he went back to the thing that weighed mostly on his noble\nheart\u2014the thought that he was unworthy altogether.\n\n\u201cI fear that the princess does but think of me because she must. It is\nin my mind that Alsi may have threatened her also until she has\nconsented. How shall I know this?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost easily, as she speaks with you,\u201d answered Withelm. \u201cTomorrow will\ntell you that. And then, if you find things thus, what shall prevent\nyour flying?\u201d\n\n\u201cBrother Radbard and the other housecarls,\u201d said Havelok grimly.\n\n\u201cNot if you ask the princess to help you out of her own way by\npretending to be most willing. If Alsi thinks you a gladsome couple,\nthere is no difficulty. You walk out of the palace as a master there.\nThen you fly to Ragnar. That is all.\u201d\n\nNow that was such an easy way out of the whole coil that we planned it\nout. And yet it seemed to me that it was a pity that Havelok knew not\nmore of what seemed to us so sure now. So, seeing that things were\nfairly straightened by this last thought, I got up and said that I must\nbe going, making a sign to Withelm to come also; and, with a few more\nwords, we went out. I saw Havelok set himself to a mighty task of water\ndrawing as I looked back.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said I, \u201chere is a strange affair with a vengeance. Neither head\nnor tail can I make of it. But if all we think is right, this is the\nmarriage for the son of Gunnar.\u201d\n\n\u201cSon of Gunnar, or son of Grim,\u201d said Withelm, \u201cprincess or not, happy\nis the maiden who gains Havelok for a husband. Maybe her woman\u2019s wit\nhas told her so. She will have many suitors whom she knows to be\nseeking her throne only, and to him she gives it as a gift unsought.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is all beyond me,\u201d I said; \u201cbut he would fill a throne well. But\nhis own modesty in the matter of his worthiness is likely to stand in\nthe way. Why should we not tell him all that we know? Then he will feel\nthat he is doing no wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause we are not sure, and because it is not for us to choose the\ntime. I have sent for Arngeir this morning, as we said would be well\nlast night. If the princess is unwilling, there are many things that\nmay be said; and if not, there must be many days before the wedding;\nand, ere the day, Havelok may feel that he is her equal in birth at\nleast, if we are not wrong. But since I have waited here, Mord has told\nme the dream that has troubled the princess, that I may tell the\npriest, so that he can think it over. She has dreamed that she is to\nwed a man who shall be king both in Denmark and England, and she saw\nthe man, moreover. Strangely like Havelok\u2019s dream is that. Now what\nelse made her turn faint but that this vision was like Havelok? And\ndoes not that make it possible that she wishes to wed him? Therefore I\nam going to tell the priest the story of Havelok, so far as I know it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell thought of. Tell him this also, for now I may surely tell you\nwhat you have not yet heard thereof.\u201d\n\nSo I told him how Grim and I had taken Havelok from Hodulf, and then he\nwas the more certain that we had saved the son of our king.\n\nNow we thought that we had got to the bottom of the whole matter of the\nwedding. Of course the dream had all to do with the fainting, but\nnothing to do with the supposed wish. But we did not know that.\n\n\u201cSpeak not of Gunnar by name, however,\u201d I said; \u201che was a terror to\nChristian folk. The priest is likely to hinder the marriage with all\nhis might else.\u201d\n\nWithelm flushed as he had when he first spoke of the priest to me.\n\n\u201cI think not, brother; for he knows Havelok well, and loves him.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo,\u201d said I shortly, \u201che hopes to make him a Christian, doubtless.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think that he will do so, if he has a Christian wife to help.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would not suit Havelok,\u201d I said, laughing.\n\n\u201cNay, but such a mind as his it seems to suit well already, though he\nhas not heard much.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then,\u201d said I, wondering, \u201cif it suits our best and bravest, it\nmust be a wondrous faith. It seems strange, however; but I know naught\nof it. What is good for him and you, my brother, is sure to be best.\u201d\n\n\u201cI feared that you would be angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but with you and Havelok? How should that be? Why, if you two\nsaid that we must turn Christian, I should hold it right; so would\nRaven. I suppose that I go to the Ve[11] because you do.\u201d\n\nNow I troubled no more about the matter, being nothing but a sea dog\nwho could use a weapon. And now I said that I was going to Eglaf to say\nthat I might have to leave him at any time for home, in case we had to\nfly with Havelok. So Withelm went his way to the old priest with a\nlight heart, and I to the captain.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Eglaf, \u201cthis is about what I expected when your brother\ncame. Good it has been to have you here; and I think that I shall see\nyou as a housecarl for good yet. When do you go?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first time that I do not turn up on guard I am gone, not till\nthen.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome and drink a farewell cup first.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall be in a great hurry if I do not do that,\u201d I answered,\nlaughing.\n\nBut it was my thought that maybe when once my back was turned on the\ntown, I should not have time to think of going near King Alsi\u2019s guard.\n\nThen I went to find Ragnar the earl, for we thought it well that he\nshould know what was on hand. But when I came to the house of the thane\nwith whom he was quartered, they told me that he had gone hastily with\nall his men, for word had come of some rising in his land that must be\nseen to at once. That was bad; and as one must find a reason for\neverything, I thought that the going of Griffin had much to do with the\noutbreak. There I was wrong, as I found later. But then, too, I knew\nthat the craft of Alsi was at work in this message. He had his own\nreasons for wishing the earl out of the way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\nA STRANGEST WEDDING.\n\n\nLong spoke Withelm and the priest David together, until it was time for\nthem to seek the palace; and when they came there, they spoke to Mord\nalso. Then David thought it was well to say naught to Havelok until\nmore was learned from Goldberga herself, for he would soon see how\nthings stood with her. Then he would see Withelm again, and they would\nplan together for the best. So Withelm waited for the return of the\npriest, whom Mord took to his mistress. Alsi and his men were supping\nin the hall, but Goldberga was waiting in her own chamber.\n\nNow the princess thought that, after her message to the king, she would\nhear no more of the kitchen knave, and so was happier. But all the\nwhile she pondered over her dream the thought of Havelok must needs\ncome into it, and that was troublesome. Nevertheless, it was not to be\nhelped, seeing that there was no doubt at all that he and the man of\nthe vision were like to each other as ever were twins. Wherefore if the\nthought of one must be pleasant so at last must be that of the other.\nAnd then came the nurse with tales of what Berthun thought of this man\nof his\u2014how that he was surely a wandering prince, with a vow of service\non him, like Gareth of the Round Table in the days of Arthur.\n\nSo presently it seemed to the princess that the churl was gone, as it\nwere, and in his place was a wandering atheling, at least, who was not\na terror at all. Then at length the slow time wore away until Mord came\nwith David the priest.\n\nNo priestly garb had the old man on, for that had made his danger\ncertain; but though he was clad in a thrall\u2019s rough dress, he was not\nto be mistaken for aught but a most reverend man.\n\n\u201cPeace be with you, my daughter,\u201d he said; \u201cit is good to look on the\nchild of Orwenna, the queen whom we loved.\u201d\n\nThen the chamberlain left those two alone, and at once Goldberga told\nthe priest why she had asked him to run the risk of coming to her, for\nthere is no doubt that he was in peril, though not from Alsi himself.\n\nAt first she asked him many things about her mother, and learned much\nof her goodness to the poor folk, and of their love to her; and\npresently, when she grew more sure of the kindness and seeming wisdom\nof the priest, she told him all her dream, adding no thoughts of her\nown, as she mistrusted them.\n\nThen said David, \u201cThere seems naught but good in this, and it is not\nhard to unravel. I think that all shall come to pass even as it was\ntold you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI feared the heathen ways of the place, and thought that it might be\nsome snare of the old gods,\u201d said Goldberga.\n\nBut David told her that they could have no power on her, and asked her\nif the king knew of the vision, that being one thing of which he was\nnot sure; and when he found that he did not, the whole affair seemed\nmore strange than before.\n\nBut now the princess asked him, \u201cPlain were the words that I heard, hut\nwhat meant the light as of a sunbeam that came from the mouth of the\nman of the vision?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat surely means that in word and in heart and in all else the man\nshall be kingly altogether, so that there shall be no mistaking the\nsame; and it may also mean that you shall know the man at once when you\nsee him.\u201d\n\nAt that Goldberga grew pale and red by turns, so that David, quick to\nread the thoughts of those who came to him for help, asked if she had\nseen anyone who she thought must be meant, not at all knowing that she\nmust needs say that this was Curan.\n\nNot at all willingly did she tell him this; but she did so, adding at\nlast that Alsi had threatened to wed her to this man.\n\nNow it was plain to David that all was pulling the same way, for surely\nAlsi wrought, unknowing, for the fulfilling of the dream; and all\nseemed to prove that Havelok was the son of the Danish king, and that\nhe would win back his kingdom. Then he found out that the princess had\nno knowledge that the king had spoken to Havelok, but it did not seem\nto be needful that he should tell her that he had done so. That would\nbe told by Alsi himself if he meant, as seemed certain, to carry out\nhis threat. So he thought awhile, and at last he saw what he might do\nwithout saying anything to bend the choice of the princess in any way.\n\n\u201cIt will soon be plain in what way the dream shall be fulfilled,\u201d he\nsaid; \u201cand this is certain, that you shall be wedded to none but the\nright man, else had it not been sent. Have no fear, therefore, even as\nit was bidden you.\u201d\n\nThen the princess said that the only thing which troubled her was the\nfear lest Alsi should yet force her to wed this one who was so like him\nshe had seen in her dream.\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the priest, \u201cis doubtless the most strange part of the\nwhole matter, yet I think that even thus there need be no fear. I will\ntell you now that I know this one who is called Curan well, and I, and\nall who know him, love him. Truly he is not a Christian, but he is no\nhater of the faith, and that is much in these days. Nor is he a churl,\nbut rather one of the most noble of men. It is certain that, whatever\nAlsi might wish, he would not wed you against your will. He has but to\nknow your thoughts in order to help you in any way. But I must also\ntell you this, that he is a Dane, who fled from his land when he was a\nchild; and it is thought that he is the son of the Danish king, who was\nslain at the time when Mord, your servant, fled also. He came to\nEngland in the same ship as did Mord, who can tell you more of him. It\nis certain that there is a secret about his birth, and the one who\nknows that secret is not far off. If need is, we can learn it, for\nthere was a set time for its telling, and maybe this is it. Now, if it\nis true that he is the son of the Danish king, it does seem as if your\ndream might be bidding you to have no fear of what seems doubtful in\nthe matter, though I cannot tell, and do not like to say so for\ncertain. His name is not Curan, but Havelok.\u201d\n\nThen Goldberga said, \u201cI have heard of that flight and of the wreck from\nMord often. He was wont to tell me of the child, and of the lady who\nwas drowned, and he said that he thought him the king\u2019s son.\u201d\n\nAfter that she was greatly cheered, for the worst of the trouble seemed\nto be over and gone. It was in her mind now that Alsi knew who Havelok\nwas, and that he tried her, for she was not one to think ill of any.\n\nSo she let the priest go, with many thanks, saying, \u201cNow I know that\nwhatever happens is the will of Heaven, and must be for the best. I am\nready for whatever shall befall.\u201d\n\nNow I do not know what had seemed good to Alsi, for he had changed his\nmind concerning David\u2019s visit to Goldberga, and had suddenly given\norders that if he came he was to be put in ward at once. So Mord met\nthe old man as he left the chamber, and told him that he must fly; and\nafter that Withelm took him away in the dusk, for none hindered his\ngoing, and went to the widow\u2019s with him, hearing all that had been\nsaid; and that which they thought was even as Goldberga had said, that\nall must needs be for the best. In a day or two all would he plain, for\nArngeir would have come. So Withelm sent forth the old man to his own\nplace with a good store of food, going with him for some miles, and\npromising him help for coming days until the dearth was ended.\n\nNow into the palace none might come after the feast was set; and all\nthis time I was on guard, for there were double posts round the place,\nby reason of Alsi\u2019s fear of the attackers of the princess, as was said.\nSo it happened that neither of us saw Havelok until next morning; and\nnow I have to tell how we saw him, and what happened with the first\nsunlight, when men were thinking of breaking their fast.\n\nWe of the housecarls took that first meal of the day in the great\nhall\u2014so many of us, that is, who were not on duty; and when we had nigh\nfinished, Alsi would come in and seat himself on the high place, where\nEglaf and half a dozen other thanes sat also at times when there was no\nspecial state to be kept.\n\nI was early this morning, having just taken my spell of watching at the\ngate, and being, therefore, free for the rest of the day, and I was\nhungry with the sweet air of the July weather and the freshness that\ncomes with sunrise. So I was not altogether pleased to see that there\nwas seemingly some new affair of state on hand, while the breakfast was\nnot yet set out by reason of preparations that were going on where the\nking\u2019s chair was wont to stand. There was Berthun, looking puzzled and\nby no means pleased, and his men were busy setting out benches on the\nhigh place, of a sort that were not those that were wont to be there,\nin three sides of a square, the open side facing the hall. One bench\nmade each side, and all three were carved from back rail to clawed feet\nwondrously. Old they seemed also. Then, too, instead of the sweet\nsedges that strewed the high place, men had spread a cloth of bright\nhues underfoot there, and the sedges had been swept among the rushes of\nthe lower places. All this was so strange that I went forward, and when\nI had a chance I asked the steward what was on hand.\n\n\u201cIf you know not, master housecarl, no more do I. \u2018Justice to be done,\u2019\nsays the king, and so I suppose that you have some notable prisoner in\nward\u2014maybe the leader of those villains who scared our fair princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut we had taken no man, and I will say that we had wondered that we\nhad not been sent out to hunt those people, instead of biding to see if\nthey came to trouble us here.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then,\u201d said Berthun, \u201csome thane must be bringing a captive\nshortly. But why Alsi orders these benches, it passes me to make out.\nThey are those that have been used for the weddings of his kin since\nthe days of Hengist. Last time was when Orwenna, his sister, wedded\nEthelwald of Norfolk. Maybe he thinks that they need airing.\u201d\n\nHe laughed and went on directing his men; but knowing what I knew, I\nwondered what it all might mean, for there was one wedding that I could\nnot help thinking of.\n\nPresently the hall began to fill as men came in, and every one had\nsomewhat to say, and all marvelled at this that was going on. Then\nBerthun came and beckoned to me, for I must fetch Eglaf the captain at\nonce, as the king had need of him, in haste. Then Eglaf hurried to the\nhall; and after a word or two with Alsi, the horns were blown outside\nthe hall door to call every man of the guard to the place. And when\nthey came, we were all set round the wall as if guarding all that were\nin it. But there were none but the folk of the palace to guard, and\nthey were wondering as were we; and when that was done, and the click\nand rattle of arms as we moved to our places was ended, there was a\nsilence on all\u2014the silence of men who wait for somewhat to happen.\n\nNow Berthun went to the door on the high place, as he was wont when all\nwas ready for the king\u2019s presence, and the hush deepened, none knowing\nwhat they expected to see.\n\nForth came Berthun backward, as was the custom, and he turned aside to\nlet the king pass him. His face was red and angry, as I thought, but\namazed also. I was standing next to Eglaf, and he was at the foot of\nthe dais, at the end of his line of men, so that I could see all\nplainly.\n\nThen came Alsi, leading the princess, and after Goldberga came her\nnurse. No other ladies were with her; and now I noticed that there was\nnot one thane on the high place, which was strange, and the first time\nthat such a thing had been since I came here. I looked down the hall,\nand none were present. Now I looked at Alsi; and on his pale face was a\nsmile that might have been as of one who will be glad, though he does\nnot feel so. But the eyes of the princess were bright with tears, and\nhardly did she look from the floor. Hers was a face to make one sad to\nsee at that time, wondrously beautiful as it was.\n\nAlsi led her by the hand, and set her on the bench that was to his\nleft, and signed to the nurse to sit beside her, which the old lady\ndid, bridling and looking with scorn at the king as she took her place.\nThere she sought the hand of the princess, and held it tightly, as in\ncomforting wise. Very rich garments had the nurse, but Goldberga was\ndressed in some plain robe of white that shone when the light caught\nit. Mostly I do not see these things, but now I wished that she always\nwore that same.\n\nAs for Alsi, he had on his finest gear, even as at the great feast of\nthe Witan\u2014crimson cloak, fur-lined, and dark-green hose, gold-gartered\nacross, and white and gold tunic. He had a little crown on also, and\nthat was the only thing kingly about him, to my mind.\n\nNow he cast one look at Goldberga, which made her shrink into herself,\nas it were, and turned with a smile to us all.\n\n\u201cFriends,\u201d he said, \u201cthis is short notice for a wedding, but all men\nknow that \u2018Happy is the wooing that is not long a-doing,\u2019 so no more\nneed be said of that. All men know also that when good Ethelwald died\nhe made me swear to him that I would wed his daughter to the mightiest\nand goodliest and fairest man that was in the land. I have ever been\nmindful of that oath, and now it seems that the time for keeping it has\ncome. Whether the man whom my niece will wed is all that the oath\nrequires, you shall judge; and if he is such a one, I must not stand in\nthe way. I do not myself know that I have ever seen one who is so fully\nset forth in words as is this bridegroom in those of the oath.\u201d\n\nNow I heard one whisper near me, \u201cWhom has Goldberga chosen?\u201d\n\nAnd that was what Alsi would have liked to hear, for his speech seemed\nto say that thus it was, and maybe that he did not altogether like the\nchoice.\n\nBut now Alsi said to Berthun, \u201cBring in the bridegroom.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhom shall I bring, lord?\u201d the steward asked in blank wonder, and Alsi\nwhispered his answer.\n\nAt that Berthun\u2019s hands flew up, and his mouth opened, and he did not\nstir.\n\n\u201cGo, fool,\u201d said Alsi, and I thought that he would have stamped his\nfoot.\n\nNow I knew who was meant in a moment, and even as the steward took his\nfirst step from off the dais to go down the hail to his own entrance, I\nsaid to Eglaf, \u201cHere is an end to my service with you. My time is up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, what is amiss?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe bridegroom is my brother\u2014that is all; and I must be free to serve\nhim as I may.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if that is so, you are in luck. But I do not think that either\nof Grim\u2019s sons can be the man. Big enough are you, certainly, but\ngoodly? Nay, but that red head of yours spoils you.\u201d\n\nI daresay that he would have said more about Raven and Withelm, for a\ntalk was going round; but a hush came suddenly, and then a strange\nmurmur of stifled wonder, for Havelok came into the hall after Berthun,\nand all eyes were turned to him.\n\nNow I saw my brother smile as he came, seeing someone whom he liked\nfirst of all; and then he looked up the hall, and at once his face\nbecame ashy pale, for he saw what was to be done. Yet he went on\nfirmly, looking neither to right nor left, until he came to the high\nplace. There he caught my eye, and I made a little sign to him to show\nthat I knew his trouble.\n\nThey came to the step, and Berthun stood aside to let Havelok pass, and\nthen Alsi held out his hand to raise my brother to the high place. But\nHavelok seemed not to see that, stepping up by himself as the king bade\nhim come. Then the women who were in the hall spoke to one another in a\nmurmur that seemed of praise; but whiter and more white grew the\nprincess, so that I feared that she would faint. But she did not; and\npresently there seemed to come into her eyes some brave resolve, and\nshe was herself again, looking from Alsi to Havelok, and again at Alsi.\n\nNow, too, the king looked at him up and down, as one who measures his\nman before a fight. And when he met Havelok\u2019s eyes he grew red, and\nturned away to the folk below him.\n\n\u201cSo, friends,\u201d he cried, \u201cwhat say you? Am I true to the words of my\noath in allowing this marriage?\u201d\n\nThere was not one there who did not know Havelok, whom they called\nCuran; and though all thought these doings strange, there was a hum of\nassent, for the oath said naught of the station in life of the\nbridegroom. Good King Ethelwald had been too trustful.\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said Alsi, with a grave face. \u201cAll here will bear\nwitness that this was not done without counsel taken. Now, let the\nbridegroom sit in his place here to my right.\u201d\n\nHe waved his hand, and Havelok sat down on the bench that faced\nGoldberga; and now he looked long at her with a look that seemed to be\nquestioning. Alsi was going to his seat in the cross bench, where the\nparents of the couple are wont to sit at a wedding while the vows are\nmade, but he seemed to bethink himself. It is my belief that he said\nwhat he did in order to shame both Havelok and Goldberga.\n\n\u201cWhy, it is not seemly that the bridegroom should sit alone without one\nto be by him. Where are your friends, Curan?\u201d\n\nAt that Alsi met with more than he bargained for. At once Berthun came\nforward, and forth came I, and without a word we sat one on each side\nof him. There were others who would have come also, for I saw even\nEglaf take a step towards the high place, had we not done so.\n\nAlsi\u2019s face became black at that, for here was not the friendless churl\nhe was scoffing at. But he tried to smile, as if pleased.\n\n\u201cWhy, this is well,\u201d he said. \u201cGood it is to see a master helping his\nman, and a soldier ready to back a comrade of a sort. Now we have\nwitnesses. Let us go on with the wedding.\u201d\n\nNow the golden loving cup that was used at the feasts had been filled\nand set at a little side table that stood there, and it was to be the\nbride cup that should be drunk between the twain when all was settled.\nSo Alsi took this cup and held it, while he sat in the place of the\nfather of the bride. Now, I knew nothing of what should he done, but\nBerthun did so, and well he took my brother\u2019s part, having undertaken\nfor him thus.\n\n\u201cIt is the custom,\u201d said Alsi, \u201cthat the bridegroom should state what\nhe sets forth of the dowry to the bride.\u201d\n\nWhereat Berthun, without hesitation, spoke hastily to Havelok, and told\nhim to let him answer, meaning, as I have not the least doubt, to\npromise all that he had saved in long years of service. But Havelok\nsmiled a little, and set his hand to his neck, and I remembered one\nthing that he had\u2014a ring which had always hung on a cord under his\njerkin since he came to Grimsby, and which my father had bidden him\nkeep ever.\n\n\u201cThis give I,\u201d he said, setting it on the floor at his feet, \u201cand with\nit all that I am, and all that I shall hereafter be, and all that shall\nbe mine at any time.\u201d\n\nAlsi looked at the ring as it flashed before him, and his face changed.\nNo such jewel had he in all his treasures, for it was of dwarf work in\ngold, set with a deep crimson stone that was like the setting sun for\nbrightness. I do not know whence these stones came, unless it were from\nthe East. Eleyn the queen, his mother, was thence, and I know now that\nthe ring was hers. But I think that when Alsi saw this he half repented\nof the match, though he had gone too far now to draw back. So he bowed,\nand said that it was well, as he would have said had there been nothing\nforthcoming.\n\nThen Berthun, in his turn, asked for the bridegroom that the dowry of\nthe bride should be stated for all to hear.\n\n\u201cThe wealth left my niece by her father,\u201d said Alsi. \u201cThe matter of the\nkingdom is for the Witan of the East Anglians to settle.\u201d\n\nThen came from out the king\u2019s chamber two men bearing bags of gold, and\nthat was set before the princess. It was a noble dowry, and honest was\nthe king in this matter at least.\n\nNow were the vows to be said and the bride cup to be drunk, and that\nwas the hardest part of all to Havelok.\n\nSlowly he rose as the king held it out to him, and he took it from his\nhand and stood before Goldberga; and she, too, rose and faced him, and\nfor a moment they stood thus, surely the most handsome couple that had\never been.\n\nThen Havelok said, looking in the clear eyes of the princess, \u201cThis\nhave I sworn, that I will wed no unwilling bride. It is but for you to\nsay one word, and the cup falls, and all is ended.\u201d\n\nAlsi started at that, and I thought he was going to speak, but he held\nhis peace. Still as a rock was Havelok while he waited for the answer,\nand the folk in the hall were as still as he. They began to see that\nall was not right as the king would have it thought.\n\nOnce the princess looked at Alsi, and that with pride in her face, and\nthen she looked long and steadfastly at Havelok, and one by one his\nfingers loosened themselves on the golden stem of the cup, that she\nmight know him ready for her word.\n\nThen she put forth her hand and closed it round his strong fingers,\nthat he must hold it fast by her doing, and that was all that was\nneeded. It was more than words could have told. And she smiled as she\ndid it.\n\nAnd at that a light came on Havelok\u2019s face, and he smiled gravely back\nat her, and he said in a low voice that shook a little, \u201cMay the gods\nso treat me as I treat you, my princess. Can it be that you will trust\nme thus?\u201d\n\nShe answered in no words, but I saw her hand tighten over his, and her\neyes never left his face.\n\nThen Havelok raised his other hand, and took that of Goldberga, which\nwas on the cup, and faced to the people.\n\n\u201cThus do I pledge her who shall be henceforward my wife through good\nand ill; and may Odin, Freya, and Niord be witnesses of my oath of\nfaith to her in all that the word may mean.\u201d\n\nSo he drank, and I stole a glance at the king. Never saw I a man so\namazed, for to him the Danish names of the Asir had come as some sort\nof a shock, seeing that he had deemed this man, with the name of Curan,\na Briton. And he looked at Berthun with a look that seemed to say more\nthan was likely to be pleasant by-and-by. But the steward paid no heed\nto him.\n\nNow Havelok had made his vow, and he gave the cup to the princess; and\nshe, too, turned a little toward the people, but still she looked on\nHavelok.\n\n\u201cFaith shall answer to faith,\u201d she said in a clear voice. \u201cHere do I\ntake this man for my husband, in the sight of God, and with you all as\nwitnesses, and I pray that the blessing of Him may be on us both.\u201d\n\nSo she drank also, and Havelok stopped and raised the wondrous ring\nfrom where it had been unheeded on the floor, and took the band of\nGoldberga, and set it on her finger, and kissed the hand ere he let it\ngo.\n\nBut Goldberga lifted her face toward him, and he bent and kissed her\nforehead, and so they were wedded.\n\nI have heard men scoff at the thought of love at first sight, but never\ncan any one of us do so who saw this wedding.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\nHOW THE BRIDE WENT HOME.\n\n\nNow the folk cheered, and loudest of all honest Eglaf and his warriors.\nI wondered what should come next, for neither feast nor bride ale was\nprepared, and Berthun was looking puzzled. Then I saw that the only\nface in all the wide hall which was not bright was that of Alsi, and\nhis brow was black as a thunder cloud, while his fingers were white\nwith the force with which he clutched and twisted the end of his\njewelled belt. Plainly he was in a royal rage that none had scoffed at\nthis wedding, but that all had taken it as a matter that was right\naltogether.\n\nBut he had one more evil thing in his mind that must be seen through;\nand he came forward, smoothing his face, as best he might, to the fixed\nsmile that I had seen when he spoke with Ragnar, and learned that his\nfirst plot had miscarried.\n\n\u201cNow, friends,\u201d he said, \u201call this has been so hasty that we have\nprepared no feast. Even now, it seems that the horses stand at the door\nto take bride and bridegroom hence, and doubtless there waits somewhere\nthe feast that has been bespoken without my knowledge. Well, strange\nare the ways of lovers, and we will pardon them. I have therefore only\nto bid them farewell.\u201d\n\nWith that he turned to Havelok, and held out his hand, as in all good\nfellowship, but Havelok would not see it.\n\n\u201cFare as it shall be meted to you by the Asir, King Alsi,\u201d he said,\n\u201cfor at least Loki loves craft.\u201d\n\nThen he turned to me, and asked hurriedly where we should go if we must\nleave thus.\n\n\u201cTo Grimsby,\u201d I said. \u201cThat is home.\u201d\n\nAlsi spoke to the princess now, and maybe it was as well that he did\nnot offer so much as his hand. Wise was he in his way.\n\n\u201cFarewell, niece,\u201d he said; \u201call this shall come shortly before the\nWitan of Ethelwald\u2019s folk.\u201d\n\n\u201cFarewell, uncle,\u201d she answered calmly. \u201cThat is a matter which I will\nsee to myself. You have carried out your oath to the letter, so far,\nand now it remains that you should leave the government of the realm to\nme.\u201d\n\nWith that she put her hand on Havelok\u2019s arm.\n\n\u201cCome, husband; we have heard that the horses wait. Let us be gone.\u201d\n\nAnd then in a quick whisper she added, as if nigh overdone, \u201cTake me\nhence quickly, for I may not bear more.\u201d\n\nThey wasted no more words; and through a lane of folk, who blessed\nthem, those two went to the great door down the long hall, and I\nfollowed, and Berthun and the nurse came after me. One flung the door\nopen; and on the steps, all unaware of what had happened, lounged Mord,\nwaiting, and up and down on the green the grooms led the horses of the\nprincess\u2014six in all. On two were packed her goods, and the third had a\npack saddle that waited for the bags that held her dowry. The other\nthree were for herself and Mord and the nurse. There was not one for\nHavelok.\n\n\u201cThis is hasty, my princess,\u201d Mord said. \u201cWhither are we bound?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor Grimsby, Mord,\u201d I answered quickly. \u201cAre there no more horses to\nbe had?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever a one, unless we steal from the king,\u201d he answered.\n\nThe people were crowding out now that they might see the start, and I\nsaw Berthun speak to a man among them who was a stranger to me. And\nfrom him he turned directly with a glad face.\n\n\u201cGo down to such a hostelry,\u201d he said to me, \u201cand there ask for what\nhorses you will. Maybe I shall have to follow you for my part in this\nmatter\u2014that is, if I am not put in the dungeon.\u201d\n\n\u201cFaith,\u201d I answered, \u201cbetter had you come with us than run that risk.\nAlsi is in a bad mood.\u201d\n\nHe shook his head; and then the people behind him made way, for the\nking was coming.\n\n\u201cAlmost had you forgotten this,\u201d he said; \u201cand I think you will want\nit.\u201d\n\nThe men with the money were there, and he waved his hand to them.\nHavelok lifted the princess to her horse without heeding him, and the\nmen set the bags on the pack horses.\n\n\u201cSee the bridegroom down the street, you who were his witnesses,\u201d the\nking went on, with a curling lip; \u201cand if you are a wise man, master\nBerthun, you will not come back again.\u201d\n\nBerthun bowed and went into the hail, past the king, and across to his\nown door, without a word. After him the thronging people closed up, and\nthough I thought that a housecarl would have been sent to see what he\nwas about, this would have made an open talk, and Alsi forbore.\n\n\u201cLet Havelok take your horse, Mord,\u201d I whispered to him; \u201cI will tell\nyou why directly.\u201d\n\nHe nodded, and I told Havelok to mount. Then I helped up the nurse, who\nwept and muttered to herself; and so we started, Alsi standing on the\nsteps with words of feigned goodspeed as we did so.\n\nBut the housecarls and the people shouted with wishes that were real,\nno doubt thinking that we were bound for the far-off kingdom of the\nprince who had won Goldberga by service as a kitchen knave in her\nuncle\u2019s hall for very love of her.\n\nDirectly we were outside the gate that leads down the hill, I saw\nWithelm, who was there waiting for me, and he knew at once what had\nhappened.\n\nHe came to my side, and asked only, \u201cAlready?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlready,\u201d I answered; \u201cbut it is well. Go to the widow\u2019s straightway,\nand bring Havelok\u2019s arms to him at the hostelry at the end of the\nmarketplace, where we have to find more horses.\u201d\n\nHe went at once, and silently we came down the street and to the\ncourtyard of the inn. Some few folk stared at us; but the princess was\nhardly known here, and she had cast her long, white mantle hoodwise\nover her head and face, so that one could not tell who she was. So\nearly in the day there were few people in the marketplace either.\n\nBerthun was in the courtyard of the inn, and I was glad to see him, for\nI did not know what would happen to him. It was likely that Alsi would\nseek for someone on whom to visit his anger at the way things had gone.\nBut the steward had been warned, and was not one to run any risk.\n\n\u201cI did but go back for a few things that I did not care to leave,\u201d he\nsaid; and he showed me that he had brought his own horse from the\nstables, and on it were large saddlebags. No poor man was Berthun after\nyears of service in the palace, where gifts from thane and lady are\nalways ready for the man who has had the care of them. Across the\nsaddle bow also were his mail shirt and arms, and his shield hung with\nhis helm from the peak.\n\n\u201cYou see that I must needs cast in my lot with yours, or rather\nCuran\u2019s,\u201d he said, laughing; \u201cbut it is in my mind that in the end I\nshall not be sorry to have done so. I think that I am tired of the\nfireside, and want adventure for a while.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d I answered, \u201cyou are likely to have them, and that shortly, if\nI am not mistaken; but we shall see. Now about these horses, for we had\nbetter get out of Lincoln as soon as we may.\u201d\n\nThe man he had spoken with was a merchant, who came yearly, and was a\nfriend of his. He had more horses than he meant to keep, as he had here\neach year; for every one knows that a horse can always be sold in\nLincoln, and they were good ones. Then my gold came in well, and I\nbought three, one for each of us brothers. I daresay that I paid dearly\nfor them, but there was no time for haggling in the way that a horse\ndealer loves. Out of the way of Alsi we must get, before he bethought\nhim of more crafty devices. And I thought, moreover, that we should be\nriding towards East Anglia shortly, and it was not everywhere that a\nsteed fit to carry Havelok on a long journey was to be had.\n\nI had bidden him leave all this to me as we came down the hill, and\nglad he was to do so. Now he had dismounted, and stood by the side of\nthe princess, speaking earnestly to her. It was plain that what he said\nwas pleasant to her also. But we left them apart, as one might suppose.\n\nNow came a warrior into the courtyard, and he bore more arms. It was\nWithelm, who had borrowed the gear of the widow\u2019s dead husband, that he\nmight be ready for whatever might happen: and it was good to see\nHavelok\u2019s eyes grow bright as he spied the well-known weapons that his\nbrother had in his arms. He said one word to Goldberga, and then came\nto us.\n\n\u201cLet me get into war gear at once,\u201d he said, laughing in a way that\nlightened my heart. \u201cI shall not feel that I have shaken off service to\nAlsi until I have done so.\u201d\n\nAnd then he saw Berthun here for the first time.\n\n\u201cNay, but here is my master,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd I will say that I owe him\nmuch for his kindness.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow the kindness shall be on your part, if any was on mine. Take me\ninto your service, I pray you, henceforward.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood friend of mine,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cnaught have I to offer you. And\nhow should one serve me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith heart and hand and head, neither more nor less,\u201d answered\nBerthun. \u201cI have seen you serve, and now will see you command. Let me\nbide with you, my master, at least, giving you such service as I may.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuch help as you may, rather. For now we all serve the princess,\u201d\nHavelok said.\n\nAnd with that Berthun was well content for the time.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said I, \u201csee to Havelok\u2019s arms, while we get the horses\nready, for I want Withelm here.\u201d\n\nSo Havelok and his new man went into the house with his arms, and then\nI saw Goldberga beckoning to us. It was the first time that I had\nspoken to her, and I think that I was frightened, if that is what they\ncall the feeling that makes one wish to be elsewhere. But there was\nnothing to fear in the sweet face that she turned to us.\n\n\u201cBrothers,\u201d she said, \u201cHavelok tells me that it was one of you who\nbrought David the priest to me. I do not rightly know yet which is\nWithelm.\u201d\n\nWith that she smiled and blushed a little, and I stood, helm in hand,\nstupidly enough. But my brother was more ready.\n\n\u201cI am Withelm, my princess\u2014\u201d he began.\n\n\u201cNay; but \u2018sister\u2019 it shall be between me and my husband\u2019s brothers.\nNow, brother Withelm, there is one thing that is next my heart, and in\nit I know you will help me.\u201d\n\nThere she wavered for a moment, and then went on bravely.\n\n\u201cChristian am I, and I do not think that we are rightly wedded until\nthe priest has done his part. And to that Havelok agrees most\nwillingly, saying that I must ask you thereof, for he does not know\nwhere the old man is now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWedded in the little chapel that is in the thick of Cabourn woods\nshall you be, for David has gone there already. We can ride and find\nhim before many hours are over, sweet lady of ours.\u201d\n\nShe thanked him in few words, and with much content.\n\nThen came forth from the house Havelok, in the arms that suited him so\nwell\u2014golden, shining mail shirt of hard bronze scales, and steel,\nhorned helm, plain and strong, and girt with sword and seax, and with\naxe and shield slung over shoulder, as noble a warrior surely as was in\nall England, ay, or in the Northlands that gave him birth either; and\nwhat wonder that the eyes of the princess glowed with a new pride as\nshe looked at her mighty husband?\n\nBut Mord almost shouted when he saw him come thus, and to me he said,\n\n\u201cIt is Gunnar\u2014Gunnar, I tell you\u2014come back from Asgard to help my\nprincess.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait till we get to Grimsby, and Arngeir will make all clear,\u201d I said.\n\u201cGet into your arms, and we will start. All is ready now.\u201d\n\nWe did not wait for Mord, but mounted and rode out, and the princess\nlooked round at us as she rode first beside Havelok, and said, \u201cNever\nhave I ridden so well attended, as I think.\u201d\n\nAnd from beside me, with broad face from under his helm, Berthun\nanswered for us all, \u201cNever with men so ready to die for you, at least,\nmy mistress.\u201d\n\nAnd that was true.\n\nHalf a mile out of the town we rode at a quick trot, and then thundered\nMord after us, and his hurry surely meant something. I reined up and\nwaited for him.\n\n\u201cWhat is the hurry, Mord?\u201d said I.\n\n\u201cMaybe it is nothing, and maybe it is much,\u201d he answered; \u201cbut Griffin\nof Chester has gone up to the palace, for I saw him. He has his arm in\na sling, and his face looks as if it had been trodden on. Now Alsi will\ntell him all this, and if we are not followed I am mistaken. He would\nthink nothing of wiping out our party to take the princess, and Alsi\nwill not mind if he does. How shall we give him the slip?\u201d\n\nWithelm rode with his chin over his shoulder, and I beckoned him and\ntold him this. Not long was his quick wit in seeing a way out of what\nmight be a danger.\n\n\u201cLet us ride on quickly down the Ermin Street, and he will think us\nmaking for the south and Norwich. Then we will turn off to Cabourn, and\nhe will lose us. After that he may hear that some of us belong to\nGrimsby, and will go there; but he will be too late to hurt us. Hard\nmen are our fishers, and they would fight for Havelok and the sons of\nGrim.\u201d\n\nSo we did that, riding down the old Roman way to a wide, waste forest\nland where none should see us turn off, and then across the forest\npaths to Cabourn; and there we found the hermit, and there Havelok and\nGoldberga were wedded again with all the rites of Holy Church, and the\nbride was well content.\n\nNow while that was our way, I will say what we escaped by this plan of\nmy brother\u2019s, though we did not hear all for a long time. Presently we\ndid hear what had happened at Grimsby towards this business, as will be\nseen.\n\nTo Lincoln comes Griffin, with Cadwal his thane, just as we had left\nthe town thus by another road, and straightway he betakes himself to\nthe palace. There he finds Alsi in an evil mood, and in the hall the\npeople are talking fast, and there is no Berthun to receive him.\n\nSo, as he sits at the high table and breaks his fast beside the king,\nhe asks what all the wonderment may be. And Alsi tells him, speaking in\nWelsh.\n\n\u201cEast Anglia is mine,\u201d he says, \u201cfor I have rid myself of the girl.\u201d\n\nGriffin sets his hand on his dagger.\n\n\u201cHast killed her?\u201d he says sharply.\n\n\u201cNo; married her.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo whom, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo a man whom the Witan will not have as a king at any price.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere you broke faith with me,\u201d says Griffin, snarling. \u201cI would have\ntaken her, and chanced that.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy oath was in the way of that. You missed the chance on the road the\nother day, which would have made things easy for us both. There was no\nother for you.\u201d\n\nNow Griffin curses Ragnar, and the Welsh tongue is good for that\nbusiness.\n\n\u201cWho is the man, then?\u201d he says, when he has done.\n\n\u201cThe biggest and best-looking countryman of yours that I have ever set\neyes on,\u201d answers Alsi, looking askance at Griffin\u2019s angry face. \u201cThere\nis a sort of consolation for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHis name,\u201d fairly shouts Griffin.\n\n\u201cCuran, the kitchen knave,\u201d says Alsi, chuckling.\n\n\u201cO fool, and doubly fool!\u201d cries Griffin; \u201cnow have you outdone\nyourself. Was it not plain to you that the man could be no thrall? Even\nRagnar looks mean beside him, and I hate Ragnar, so that I know well\nhow goodly he is.\u201d\n\nNow Alsi grows uneasy, knowing that this had become plainer and plainer\nto him as the wedding went on.\n\n\u201cWhy, what do you know of this knave of mine?\u201d he asks. \u201cHe was goodly\nenough for the sake of my oath, and the Witan will have none of him.\nThat is all I care for.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do I know of him? Just this\u2014that you have married the queen of\nthe East Angles to Havelok, son of Gunnar Kirkeban of Denmark, for whom\nmen wait over there even now. The Witan not have him? I tell you that\nevery man in the land will follow him and Goldberga if they so much as\nlift their finger. Done are the days of your kingship, and that by your\nown deed.\u201d\n\nAlsi grows white at this and trembles, for he minds the wondrous ring\nand the names of the Asir, but he asks for more certainty.\n\nThen Griffin tells him that he was with Hodulf, and knew all the secret\nof the making away with the boy, and how that came to naught. Then he\nsays that Hodulf had heard from certain Vikings that they had fallen on\nGrim\u2019s ship, and that in the grappling of the vessel the boy and a lady\nhad been drowned. It is quite likely that they, or some of them,\nthought so in truth, seeing how that happened. After that Hodulf had\nmade inquiry, and was told that there were none but the children of\nGrim with him, and so was content. So my father\u2019s wisdom was justified.\n\n\u201cNow I learned his name the other day; and I have a ship waiting to\ntake me at once to Hodulf, that I may warn him. I have ridden back from\nGrimsby even now to say that, given a chance, say on some lonely ride,\nthat might well have been contrived, I would take Goldberga with me\nbeyond the sea. I thought more of that than of Hodulf, to say the\ntruth.\u201d\n\nNow Alsi breaks down altogether, and prays Griffin to help him out of\nthis.\n\n\u201cFollow the party and take her. They are few and unarmed, and it will\nbe easy, for men think that there is a plot to carry her off, and this\nwill not surprise any. Go to the sheriff and tell him that it has\nhappened, and he will hang the men on sight when you have taken them.\nThen get to sea with the girl, and to Hodulf, and both he and I will\nreward you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks,\u201d says Griffin, with a sneer; \u201cI have my own men. Yours might\nhave orders that I am the one to be hanged. It would be worth your\nwhile now to make a friend of your kitchen knave. You are not to be\ntrusted.\u201d\n\nSo these two wrangle for a while bitterly, for Alsi is not overlord of\nGriffin in any way. And the end is that the thane rides towards Grimsby\nfirst of all, with twenty men at his heels, knowing more than we\nthought. But he hears naught of us, and presently meets Arngeir on his\nway thence to see us. Him he knows, for already he has had dealings\nwith him in the hiring of the ship. So he learns from him that\ncertainly no such party as he seeks is on the road, and therefore rides\noff to the Ermin Street to stay us from going south.\n\nBut now we had time for a long start; and so he follows the Roman road\nwhen he reaches it all that day and part of next, and we hear no more\nof him at that time. There are many parties travelling on that way, and\nhe follows one after another.\n\nNow Arngeir knew at once that somewhat had happened when he heard from\nGriffin that the most notable man of those whom he sought was named\nCuran, and therefore he turned back at once and waited for us. And when\nwe came in sight of the long roof of the house that Grim, our father,\nhad built, standing among the clustering cottages of our fishers, with\nthe masts of a trading ship or two showing above it in the haven, he\nwas there on the road to greet us, having watched anxiously for our\ncoming from the beacon tower that we had made.\n\nMaybe we were two miles out of Grimsby at this time, for one can see\nfar along the level marsh tracks from our tower; and Withelm and Mord\nand I rode on to him as soon as we saw him, that we might tell him all\nthat had happened, and we rode slowly and talked for half a mile or so.\n\nThen Withelm waited and brought Havelok to us, staying himself with the\nprincess, that he might tell her the wondrous story of her husband; for\nwe thought that it would be easier for him than for our brother maybe.\nHavelok was not one to speak freely of himself.\n\nAnd when Goldberga had heard all, she was silent for a long way, and\nthen wept a little, but at last told Withelm that all this had been\nforetold to her in her dream.\n\n\u201cYet I am glad,\u201d she said, \u201cthat I did not know this for certain, else\nhad my Havelok thought that I did but wed him for his birth. Tell him,\nbrother, that it was not so; say that I knew him as the husband Heaven\nsent for me when first I saw him.\u201d\n\nNow Havelok listened to Arngeir as he told him the well-kept secret,\nand now and again asked a question.\n\nAnd when all was told he said, \u201cNow have the dreams passed, and the\nlight is come. I mind all plainly from the first.\u201d\n\nAnd he told all that had happened after Hodulf caught him, from the\nmurder of his sisters to the time when I helped my father to take him\nfrom the sack. Only he never remembered the death of his mother or the\nstorm, or how we came to Grimsby. Maybe it is rather a wonder that\nafter all those hard things gone through he should recall anything, for\nhe was nearly dying when we came ashore, as I have told.\n\n\u201cBut I am Grim\u2019s son,\u201d he said, \u201cfor all this, and never shall I forget\nit. By right of life saved, and by right of upbringing, am I his, and\nby right of brotherhood to his sons. Gunnar, who was my father, would\nhave me say this, if I am like him, as Mord tells me I am.\u201d\n\nThen he looked at us in brotherly wise, as if we would maybe not allow\nthat claim now; but there needed naught to be said between us when he\nmet our eyes. He was Grim\u2019s son indeed to us, and we his younger\nbrothers for all the days that were to come.\n\n\u201cOne thing there is that makes me glad,\u201d he said, \u201cand that is because\nI may now be held worthy of this sweet bride of mine so strangely\ngiven, as indeed I fear that I am not. Men will say that she has done\nno wrong in wedding me; and for all that Alsi may say, it will be\nbelieved that she knew well whom she was wedding. There will be no\nblame to her.\u201d\n\nThat seemed to be all his thought of the matter now, and it was like\nhim. Then he went back to his princess, and we spurred on to Grimsby,\nand set all to work, that the greeting might be all that we could make\nit.\n\nAnd so, when those two rode into our garth, and the gates were closed\nafter them, we reined our horses round them, and drew our swords, and\ncried the ancient greeting with one mighty shout:\n\n\u201cSkoal to Havelok Gunnarsson\u2014Skoal to Goldberga, Havelok\u2019s wife! Skoal!\nYours we are, and for you we will die! Skoal!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\nJARL SIGURD OF DENMARK.\n\n\nNow one would like to tell of quiet days at Grimsby; but they were not\nto be. Three days after Havelok\u2019s homecoming we were on the \u201cswan\u2019s\npath,\u201d and heading for Denmark, with the soft south wind of high summer\nspeeding us on the way. And I will tell how that came about, for else\nit may seem strange that Havelok did not see to the rights of his wife\nfirst of all.\n\nThat was his first thought, in truth, and we brothers planned many ways\nof getting to work for her, for it was certain that Alsi would be on\nhis guard. And on the next day came a man from Lincoln to seek Berthun,\nwith news. That good friend had done what none of us had been able to\nmanage, for he had told the merchant, his friend, to bide in the hall\nand hear what went on, and then to let him know all else that seemed\nneedful that we should hear. Now he had learned all from the words of\nGriffin and Alsi, who took no care in their speech, thinking that none\nin the hall knew the Welsh tongue that they used.\n\nIt being the business of a merchant to know that of every place where\nhe trades, and he travelling widely, there was no difficulty to him,\nand mightily he enjoyed the sport. Then he sent off straightway to us;\nand now it was plain that we were in danger\u2014not at once, maybe, but ere\nlong. Griffin would hear sooner or later that his quarry was in Grimsby\nafter all. So we went to our good old friend, Witlaf of\nStallingborough, and told him all.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he said, \u201cI will have no Welsh outsiders harrying my friends.\nLight up your beacon if he comes, and shut your gates in his face, and\nI and the housecarls will take him in the rear, and he will not wait\nhere long. I have not had a fight for these twenty years or so, and it\ndoes me good to think of one.\u201d\n\nSo we thought that there was little fear of the Welshman.\n\nWhen I came back from this errand, however, I chose to pass the mound\nwhere my father slept, and on it, hand in hand, sat Havelok and\nGoldberga\u2014for it was a quiet place, and none came near it often. It was\ngood to see them thus in that place, and happy they seemed together.\n\nGoldberga called me when I came near, and I sat down beside them as she\nbade me.\n\n\u201cHere we have been talking of what we shall do now, for it seems that\nto both of us are many things to hand,\u201d she said. \u201cGood it would be if\nwe could set them aside; but we were born to them, and we cannot let\nthem be. And, most of all, here in this place we may not forget the\nduty that Grim would remind us of. Havelok must go to Denmark and win\nback his kingdom from Hodulf first of all.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have thought that East Anglia was to be won first from Alsi,\u201d I\nsaid.\n\n\u201cSo says Havelok; but I do not think so. For, indeed, I am but the\nwife, and the things of the husband come first of all. Now, this is\nwhat I would say. Sail to Denmark before Hodulf knows what is coming,\nand there will be less trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am slow at seeing things,\u201d said Havelok; \u201cbut the same might be said\nof your kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlsi is ready, and Hodulf is not,\u201d she answered, laughing; \u201cany one\ncan see that.\n\n\u201cIs it not so, brother?\u201d\n\nSo it was; and I thought that she was right.\n\n\u201cLet us ask the brothers,\u201d I said, \u201cfor here are many things to be\nthought of; and, first of all, where to get men.\u201d\n\nThat was the greatest trouble to our minds, but none at all to hers.\n\n\u201cGet them in Denmark,\u201d she said, when we were all together in the great\nroom of the house that evening. \u201cLet us go as merchant folk, and find\nSigurd, or his son if he is dead. If I am not much mistaken, all the\nland will rise for the son of Gunnar so soon as it is known that he has\ncome again.\u201d\n\n\u201cSigurd is yet alive,\u201d Arngeir said; \u201cand more than that, he is\nwaiting. For he promised Grim that he would be ready, and I heard the\npromise. I think that this plan is good, and can well be managed. Here\nis the ship that Griffin was to have taken today, and he is not here.\nGold enough I have, for Grim hoarded against this time.\u201d\n\nThen he showed us the store that, through long years, my father had\nbrought together to take the place of that of Sigurd\u2019s which had been\nlost; and it was no small one. And so we planned at once; and in the\nend we three brothers were to go with Havelok and Goldberga, leaving\nMord to get to Ragnar and tell him that Goldberga was following the\nfortunes of her husband, and would return to see to her own if all went\nwell. Berthun would go with him, and Arngeir would bide at home, for we\nneeded one to whom messages might come; and while none would know us\nnow in Denmark, either Arngeir or Mord might be seen, and men would\ntell Hodulf that the men of Grim had come home, and so perhaps spoil\nall. Word might go to Denmark from Griffin even yet.\n\nWe had little thought of any sorry ending to our plans, for the dreams\nthat had come so true so far cheered us. And so, with the evening tide\nof the next day, we sailed in the same ship that had been hired for\nGriffin.\n\nBut first Havelok spent a long hour on my father\u2019s mound alone,\nthinking of all that he owed to him who rested there. And to him came\nGoldberga softly, presently, lest he should be lonely in that place.\nAnd there she spoke to him of her own faith, saying that already he\nowed much to it. For he was making his vows to the Asir for success.\n\n\u201cShall you pray yet again to the Asir, my husband?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cWhy should I? I have vowed my vows, and there is an end. If they heed\nthem, all is well; and if not, the Norns hinder.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is One whom the Norns hinder not at all,\u201d she said gently, and\nso told him how that her prayers would go up every day.\n\nFain was she that he also prayed in that wise to her God, that naught\nmight be apart in their minds.\n\nThen he said, \u201cI have heard this from David and Withelm also, and it is\ngood. Teach me to vow to your God, sweet wife, and I will do so; and\nyou shall teach me to pray as you pray.\u201d\n\nSo it came to pass that Havelok in the after days was more than ready\nto help the Christian teachers when they came to him; for that was how\nthe vow that he made ran, that he would do so if he was king, and had\nthe power.\n\nNow there is nothing to tell of our voyage, for one could not wish for\na better passage, if the ship was slow. Indeed, she was so slow that a\nsmaller vessel that left Tetney haven on the next day reached the same\nport that we were bound for on the night that we came to our old home.\nAnd that we learned soon after she had come.\n\nInto Sigurd\u2019s haven we sailed on the morning tide, and strange it\nseemed to me to see the well-known place unchanged as we neared it. My\nfather\u2019s house was there, and Arngeir\u2019s, and the great hall of the jarl\ntowered over all, as I remembered it. Men were building a ship in the\nlong shed where ours had been built, and where the queen had hidden;\nand the fishing boats lay on the hard as on the day when Havelok had\ncome to us. The little grove was yet behind our house, and it seemed\nstrange when I remembered that the old stones of its altar were far\nbeyond the seas. I wondered if Thor yet stood under his great ash tree;\nand then I saw one change, for that tree was gone, and in its place\nstood a watchtower, stone built, and broad and high, for haven beacon.\n\nOn the high fore deck stood Havelok, and his arm was round Goldberga as\nwe ran in, but they were silent. The land held overmuch of coming\nwonder for them to put into words, as I think.\n\nPresently the boats came off to us in the old way, and here and there I\nseemed to know the faces of the men, but I was not sure. It was but the\nremembrance of the old Danish cast of face, maybe. I could put no names\nto any of them. And as we were warped alongside the wharf, there rode\ndown to see who we were Sigurd the jarl himself, seeming unchanged,\nalthough twelve years had gone over him. He was younger than my father,\nI think, and was at that age when a man changes too slowly for a boy to\nnotice aught but that the one he left as a man he thought old is so\nyet. He was just the noble-looking warrior that I had always wondered\nat and admired.\n\nWe had arranged in this way: Havelok was to be the merchant, and we his\npartners in the venture, trading with the goods in the ship as our own.\nThat the owner, who was also ship master, had agreed to willingly\nenough, as we promised to make good any loss that might be from our\nwant of skill in bargaining. One may say that we bought the cargo,\nwhich was not a great one, on our own risk, therefore, hiring the\nvessel to wait our needs, in case we found it better to fly or to land\nelsewhere presently. Then Havelok was to ask the jarl\u2019s leave to trade\nin the land, and so find a chance to speak with him in private. After\nthat the goods might be an excuse for going far and wide through the\nvillages to let men know who had come, without rousing Hodulf\u2019s fears.\n\nAnd as we thought of all this on the voyage, Goldberga remembered that\nit was likely that Sigurd would know again the ring that had been the\nqueen\u2019s, and she said that it had better be shown him at once, that he\nmight begin to suspect who his guest was. For we knew that he was true\nto the son of Gunnar, if none else might still be so.\n\nThis seemed good to us all; and, indeed, everything seemed to be well\nplanned, though we knew that there are always some happenings that have\nbeen overlooked. We thought we had provided against these by keeping\nthe ship as our own to wait for us, however, and it will be seen how it\nall worked out in the end.\n\nNow Havelok went ashore as soon as the ship was moored; and the moment\nthat he touched land he made a sign on his breast, and I think that it\nwas not that of the hammer of Thor, for Goldberga watched him with\nbright eyes, and she seemed content as she did so. He went at once to\nwhere the jarl sat on his horse waiting him, and greetings passed. I\nwas so used to seeing men stare at my brother that I thought little of\nthe long look that Sigurd gave him; but presently it seemed that he was\nmightily taken with this newcomer, for he came on board the ship, that\nhe might speak more with him and us.\n\n\u201cPresently,\u201d he said, \u201cyou must come and dine with me at my hall; for\nthe lady whom I saw as you came in will be weary, and a meal on shore\nafter a long voyage is ever pleasant. Now what is your errand here?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrading, jarl,\u201d answered Havelok.\n\n\u201cI thought you somewhat over warlike-looking for a merchant,\u201d said\nSigurd; \u201cwhat is your merchandise?\u201d\n\n\u201cLincoln cloth, and bar iron, and such like; and with it all one thing\nthat is worth showing to you, jarl, for I will sell it to none but\nyourself.\u201d\n\nNow we went aft slowly, and presently Havelok and the jarl were alone\nby the steering oar, by design on our part.\n\n\u201cThis seems to be somewhat special,\u201d said Sigurd. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d\n\nHavelok took the ring from his pouch, and set it in the jarl\u2019s hand\nwithout a word; and long Sigurd looked at it. I saw the red on his\ncheek deepen as he did so, but he said never a word for a long time.\nAnd next he looked at Havelok, and the eyes of these two met.\n\n\u201cThis is beyond price,\u201d said the jarl slowly. \u201cNot my whole town would\nbuy this. It is such as a queen might wear and be proud of.\u201d\n\n\u201cShould I show it to Hodulf the king, therefore?\u201d asked Havelok, with\nhis eyes on those of the jarl.\n\n\u201cLet no man see it until I know if I can buy it,\u201d answered Sigurd.\n\u201cTrust it to my keeping, if you will, for I would have it valued\nmaybe.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is my wife\u2019s, and you must ask her that.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok called Goldberga from her cabin under the after deck, and\nthe jarl greeted her in most courtly wise.\n\n\u201cI will trust it with you, Jarl Sigurd,\u201d she said, when he asked her if\nhe might keep the ring for a time. \u201cYet it is a great trust, as you\nknow, and it will be well to show the ring to none but men who are\ntrue.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is to true men that I would show it,\u201d he answered, with that look\nthat had passed between him and Havelok already; and I was sure that he\nknew now pretty certainly who we were. Yet he could not say more at\nthis time, for the many men who waited for Havelok must be told\nsomewhat of his coming first.\n\nNow men were gathering on the wharf to see the newcomers, and so the\njarl spoke openly for all to hear.\n\n\u201cCome up to my hall, all of you, and take a meal ashore with me; for\ngood is the first food on dry land after days at sea and the fare of\nthe ship.\u201d\n\nSo he went across the gangway, and to his horse, and rode away quickly,\ncalling back to us, \u201cHasten, for we wait for you. And I will find you\nlodgings in the town for the time that you bide with us.\u201d\n\nNow at first that seemed somewhat hazardous, for we had meant to stay\nin the ship, lest we should have to fly for any reason suddenly. But it\nseemed that we had no choice but to do as he bade us, and we could not\ndoubt him in any way. We should go armed, of course, as in a strange\nplace; and, after all, unless Hodulf heard of us, and wanted to see us,\nhe was not to be feared as yet. So I fell to wondering where our\nlodgings would he, and if the old families still dwelt in the houses\nthat I had known, and then who had ours. Many such thoughts will crowd\ninto the mind of one who sees his old land again after many years, and\nfinds naught changed, to the eye at least.\n\nMen have told me that, as we came into the hall presently, they thought\nus the most goodly company that had ever crossed its threshold; and\nthat is likely, for at our head were Havelok and Goldberga. Raven was a\nmighty warrior to look on as he came next, grave and silent, with\nfar-seeing grey eyes that were full of watching, as it were, from his\nlong seafaring, and yet had the seaman\u2019s ready smile in them. And\nWithelm was the pattern of a well-made youth who has his strength yet\nto gather, and already knows how to make the best use of that he has.\nThere were none but thought that he was the most handsome of the three\nsons of Grim. And last came I, and I am big enough, at least, to stand\nat Havelok\u2019s back; and for the rest, one remembers what Eglaf said of\nme. But I do not think that any noticed us with those twain to look at,\nunless they scanned our arms, which were more after the English sort\nthan the Danish, so far as mail and helms are concerned, and therefore\nmight seem strange.\n\nThe old hall was not changed at all; and handsome it seemed after\nAlsi\u2019s, though it was not so large. There were more and better weapons\non the walls, and carved work was everywhere, so that in the swirl and\nheat-flicker of the torches the beams, and door posts, and bench ends,\nand the pillars of the high seat seemed alive with knotted dragons that\nbegan, and ended, and writhed everywhere, wondrous to look on. Our\nEnglish have not the long winter nights, and cruel frosts, and deep\nsnow that make time for such work as this for the men of the household.\n\nThere fell a silence as we came in, and then Sigurd greeted us; and we\nwere set on the high seat, and feasted royally. On right and left of\nour host sat Havelok and Goldberga, and the jarl\u2019s wife next to\nHavelok, and Biorn the Brown, the sheriff, next to our princess. This\nwas a newcomer here since my days, but well we liked him.\n\nThere is nothing to tell of what happened at this feast, for Sigurd\nasked no questions of us but the most common ones of sea, and wind, and\nvoyage, and never a word that would have been hard for Havelok to\nanswer in this company, where men of Hodulf\u2019s might well be present.\nWithelm noticed this, and said that no doubt it was done purposely, and\nhe thought much of it.\n\nWhen we had ended with song and tale, and it was near time for rest,\nSigurd bade Biorn, the sheriff, take us to his house for the night,\ntelling him that he must answer for our safety, and specially that of\nthe fair lady who had come from so far. And then he gave us a good\nguard of his housecarls to take us down the street, as if he feared\nsome danger.\n\n\u201cWhy, jarl,\u201d said Biorn, \u201cour guests will have a bad night if they\nthink that in our quiet place they need twenty men to see them to bed\nthus!\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but the town is strange to the lady,\u201d answered Sigurd; \u201cand who\nknows what she may fear in a foreign land!\u201d\n\nSo Biorn laughed, and was content; and we bade farewell to the jarl,\nand went out. And then I found that it was to my father\u2019s house we were\nto go, for it had been given to Biorn.\n\nNow, I was next to Goldberga as we came to the door, and there was a\nstep into the house which we always had to warn strangers of when it\nwas dark; and so, in the old way, without thinking for a moment, I said\nto her, \u201cOne step into the house, sister.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo, Master Radbard, if that is you, you have sharp eyes in the dark,\u201d\nsaid Biorn at once; \u201cI was just about to say that myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have some feeling in my toes,\u201d I answered; and that turned the\nmatter, for they laughed.\n\nAnd then, when we were inside, and the courtmen had gone clattering\ndown the street homewards, Biorn took the great door bar from its old\nplace and ran it into the sockets in the doorposts, as I had done so\nmany times; and the runes that my father had cut on it when he made the\nhouse were still plain to be seen on it, with the notches I had made\nwith the first knife that I ever had. More I will not say, but\neverywhere that my eyes fell were things that I knew, even to fishing\ngear, for it seemed that Biorn was somewhat of a fisher, like Grim\nhimself.\n\nThen they put me and my brothers into our old loft, and Havelok and\nGoldberga had the room that had been my father\u2019s. As for Biorn, he\nwould be in the great room, before the fire. There was only this one\ndoor to the house, and therefore he would guard that. His thralls were\nin the sheds, as ours used to be, so that we and he were alone in the\nhouse.\n\nNow, as soon as we three had gone into our old place of rest, Raven\nwent at once, as in the old days, to the little square window that was\nin the high-pitched gable, and looked out over the town and sea. We\nused to laugh at him for this, for he was never happy until he had\nseen, as we said, if all was yet there.\n\n\u201cThere are yet lights in the jarl\u2019s hall,\u201d he said, \u201cand there are one\nor two moving about down in the haven. I think that there is a vessel\ncoming in.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome and lie down, brother,\u201d I said. \u201cWe are not in Grimsby, and you\ncannot go and take toll from her if there is.\u201d\n\nHe laughed, and came to his bed; but we talked of old days and of many\nthings more for a long while before we slept. And most of all, we\nthought that Sigurd the jarl knew Havelok by the token of the ring and\nby that likeness to Gunnar which Mord had seen, and that our errand was\nalmost told.\n\nSo we slept without thought of any danger; but the first hour of the\nnight in that house was not so quiet to Goldberga, for presently she\nwoke Havelok, and she was trembling.\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d she said, \u201cit is in my mind that we are in danger in this\nplace; for I cannot sleep by reason of a dream that will come to me so\nsoon as my eyes are closed.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are overtired with the voyage,\u201d Havelok told her gently; and then\nhe asked her what the dream was.\n\n\u201cIt seems that I see you attacked by a boar and many foxes, and hard\npressed, and then that a bear and good hounds help you. Yet we have to\nflee to a great tree, and there is safety. Then come two lions, and\nthey obey you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think that is a dream that comes of waves, and the foam that has\nfollowed us, and the shrill wind in the rigging, and the humming of the\nsail, sweet wife; and the tree is the tall mast maybe, and the lions\nare the surges that you saw along this shore, where is no danger.\u201d\n\nSo she was content; and then all in the house slept.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\nTHE LAST OF GRIFFIN OF WALES.\n\n\nMaybe it was about an hour before midnight when the first waking came\nto any of us, and then it was Biorn himself who was roused by footsteps\nthat stayed at the doorway itself, after coming across the garth, and\nthen a voice that was strange to him which bade him open. At once he\ncaught up his axe and went to the door, and asked quietly who was\nthere.\n\n\u201cOpen at once,\u201d said the man who was without; \u201cwe must speak with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo hence, I pray you, and wait for morning,\u201d said the sheriff. \u201cHere\nare guests of the jarl\u2019s, and they must not be disturbed.\u201d\n\n\u201cOpen, or we will open for ourselves,\u201d was the answer. \u201cWe have no time\nto stay here talking.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is no honest speech,\u201d quoth Biorn. \u201cGo hence, or give me your\nerrand from without.\u201d\n\n\u201cOpen, fool, or we will have the door down.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is an axe waiting for you if you do that. I rede you go hence in\npeace, or it may be worse for you in the end.\u201d\n\nI suppose it was in the mind of the sheriff that here were some friends\nof his who had been overlong at the ale bench in the hall that evening;\nbut on this there was a little talk outside, and then the crash of a\ngreat stone that was hurled against the door; and at that he started\nback and got his mail shirt on him, for the door was strong enough to\nstand many such blows yet. It seemed that there was more than a drunken\nfrolic on hand. Then came another stone against the door, and it shook;\nand at the same moment Havelok came from his chamber to see what was\namiss, for the noise had waked him. He had thrown on the feasting gear\nthat he had been wearing; but he had neither mail nor helm, though he\nhad his axe in his hand.\n\n\u201cWhat is the noise?\u201d he said anxiously, seeing that Biorn was arming.\n\nThe sheriff told him quickly, and again the door was battered.\n\n\u201cIt is a pity that a good door should be spoilt,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cfor\ndown it is bound to come thus. Stand you there with the axe, and I will\neven save them the trouble of breaking in.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Biorn; \u201cwe know not how many are there, and it were better\nthat you should arm first. There is time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, they think that you are alone in the house, no doubt, and will\nrun when they find out their mistake. They are common thieves from the\nforest, or outlaws. Stand you by to cut down the first man that dares\nto enter, if there happen to be one bold enough.\u201d\n\nHe set his axe down, and went to the bar, and began to slide it back\ninto the deep socket that would let it free, and the men outside stayed\ntheir blows as they heard it scraping. It was a very heavy bar of oak,\nsome seven feet long, and over a palm square.\n\n\u201cNow!\u201d cried Havelok, and caught the bar from its place.\n\nHe did not take the trouble to set it down and get his axe; but as the\ndoor opened a little he stood back balancing the great beam in his\nhands, as a boy would handle a quarterstaff, ready for the rush of the\nthieves that he expected, and so he was in the way of Biorn more or\nless.\n\nNow there was silence outside, and one saw that the door was free, and\nset his foot to it, and flung it open, for it went inwards. And then\nHavelok knew that there was a stern fight before him, for the moonlight\nshowed the grim form of Griffin, the Welsh thane, fully armed and\nready.\n\n\u201cStand back, friend,\u201d cried Biorn hastily, fearing for the unarmed man,\nand caring nothing that beyond the foremost was a group of some half\ndozen more warriors.\n\nBut he spoke too late, for as Griffin stepped back a pace on seeing his\nenemy himself in the doorway, Havelok had gone a pace forward, and now\nwas outside, where he had a clear swing of his unhandy weapon.\n\nNow Griffin gathered himself together, and spoke some few words to his\nmen in his own tongue; but my brother paid no heed to them, for he knew\nwhat the way of the Briton was likely to be. And he was not wrong, for\nwithout warning Griffin flew on him, sword point foremost, and left\nhanded, for he might not use the right for many a long day yet.\n\nBiorn shouted; but Havelok was ready, and the heavy bar caught and\nshivered the light sword, and then swung and hurled the thane back\namong his men with a rib broken. Havelok followed that up, falling on\nthe men even as their leader was among their feet. Two he felled with\ndownright strokes, and another shrank away in time to save himself from\nthe like fate. Then a fourth got in under his guard, and wounded\nHavelok slightly in the left arm; and unless Biorn had been out and\nbeside him by that time it would have gone hard with him, for both\nthose who were left were on him, and another was hanging back for a\nchance to come.\n\nThere was shouting enough now, for the Briton does not fight in silence\nas do the northern men, and we had waked. First of all Raven ran down\nto the great room, half dazed with sleep, and blaming himself for all\nthis trouble, for he had seen that a ship was coming in, and he might\nhave thought it possible that it had brought Griffin and his men, whose\ntongue had told him at once what had happened.\n\nNow he called to us to arm quickly, and sought for a weapon for\nhimself; and in that familiar place he went to the old corner where the\noars were wont to be set. There was one, for I have said that this\nBiorn was a fisher, and the place that was handy for us had been so for\nhim. That was a homely weapon to Raven, and out into the moonlight he\ncame with it, and swept a Welshman away from Havelok\u2019s side as he came.\nBut now more men were coming\u2014townsfolk who had been roused by the\nnoise\u2014and they knew nothing of the attackers, and so thought them\nfriends of ours, who joined us in falling on their sheriff; and there\nwas a wild confusion when Withelm and I came down armed.\n\nBut what we saw first was a dim, white figure in the doorway of the\nother room; and there stood Goldberga, wide eyed and trembling.\n\n\u201cMy dream, my dream!\u201d she said.\n\nBut of that we knew nothing; and we could but tell her to be of good\ncourage, for we would win through yet, and so went out to the fight.\n\nBy this time Griffin was up again, and as I came from the door he was\nonce more ready to fall on Havelok from behind. So I thought it best to\nstay him, and I shouted his name, and he turned and made for me. But\nthere was no skill in his coming, or he did not think me worth it, for\nthe axe had the better, and there was an end of Griffin.\n\nWithelm saw at once that Havelok had no weapon but the bar, and he ran\nto him and held out his own axe.\n\n\u201cThanks, brother. Mine is inside the door. Get it for me,\u201d said he; but\nnow he was laughing, and doing not much harm to anyone, and as I got\nbehind his back I saw why this was.\n\nThere was only one of Griffin\u2019s men left, and all the rest of the crowd\nof half-armed men were townsfolk. Havelok and Raven were keeping these\nback with sweeps of their long weapons, and behind them against the\nwall was the sheriff, swearing and shouting vainly to bid his people\nhold off and listen to him. And the noise was so great that they did\nbut think that he was calling them to rescue him from these who had\ntaken him prisoner. It seemed that the Welshman was keeping this up\nalso; but neither he nor any of the men cared to risk any nearness to\nthe sweep of bar and long oar in such hands. There were many broken\nheads in that crowd; but it was growing greater every minute, and those\nwho were coming were well armed, having taken their time over it. They\nsay that there were sixty men there at one time.\n\nNow ran Withelm with the axe, and at that Havelok parted with the door\nbar, and ended the last Welshman at the same time, for he hurled it at\nhim endwise, like a spear, and it took him full in the chest, and he\nwent down to rise no more. And at that the townsmen ran in, and we were\nbusy for a space, until once more they were in a howling circle round\nus. But they had wounded Havelok again; and Biorn was at his wit\u2019s end,\nfor he had had to take part in the fight this time. The men were mad\nwith battle, and forgot who he was, as it seemed. And now some raised a\ncry for bows.\n\nThat was the worst thing that we had to fear, and Raven called to us,\n\u201cInto the house, brothers, and keep them out of it till the jarl comes.\nHe will hear, or be sent for.\u201d\n\nSo we went back and got into the doorway, and we could not bar it at\nfirst. But Withelm hewed off the blade of Raven\u2019s oar, and I went out\nand cleared the folk away for a space, and leapt back; and Havelok and\nI got the door shut quickly against them as they came back on it, and\nwe barred it with the oar loom. That was but pine, however, and it\nwould not last long.\n\nOutside, the people were quiet for a little, wondering, no doubt, how\nto rescue Biorn. He wanted to go out to them, but it did not seem safe\njust yet. If they grew more reasonable it might be so.\n\nThen, as we rested thus, Goldberga came quickly, for she saw that her\nhusband was wounded, and she began to bind his hurts with a scarf she\nhad. She was very pale, but she was not weeping, and her hands did not\nshake as she went to work.\n\n\u201cThis is my dream,\u201d she said. \u201cWas that the voice of Griffin that I\nheard? It does not seem possible; but there is none other who speaks in\nthe old tongue of Britain here, surely.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no more fear of him,\u201d said Havelok, looking tenderly at her.\n\u201cYour dream has come true so far, if he was in it. How did it end?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe fled to a tree,\u201d she said, smiling faintly.\n\nHavelok smiled also, for this seemed dream stuff only to all of us\u2014all\nof us but Withelm, that is, for at once he said, \u201cThis door will be\ndown with a few blows. What of that tower of yours, Biorn? Might we not\nget there and wait till the jarl comes?\u201d\n\nAt that Biorn almost shouted.\n\n\u201cThat is a good thought, and we can get there easily. Well it will be,\nalso, for the men are wild now, and there have been too many slain and\nhurt for them to listen to reason.\u201d\n\n\u201cBide you here,\u201d said Withelm, \u201cfor it is we whom they seek. Then you\ncan talk to them.\u201d\n\nBut he would not do that, seeing that we had been put in his charge by\nthe jarl.\n\n\u201cI go with you,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, if we climb out of the window that is\nin the back of the house we can get to the tower before they know we\nare gone.\u201d\n\nWe went into that chamber where Havelok had once been when he was taken\nfrom the sack, and even as I unbarred the heavy shutter and took it\ndown, the door began to shake with a fresh attack on it. The trees of\nthe grove were two hundred yards from the house, maybe, and among them\nloomed high and black the watchtower I had seen from the sea. A wide\npath had been cut to it, and the moonlight shone straight down this to\nthe door of the building.\n\nNow Biorn went out first, and then he helped out Goldberga, and after\nher we made Havelok go; and we called to these three to get to the\ntower as Withelm came next, for every moment I looked to see our\nenemies\u2014if they are to be called so when I hardly suppose they knew\nwhat they were fighting about\u2014come round to fall on the back of the\nhouse.\n\nBecause of Goldberga they went; and Biorn opened the tower door, and\nshe passed into the blackness of its entry, but the two men stayed\noutside for us. And we three were all out of the house when the first\nof the crowd bethought themselves, and made for the back, and saw us.\n\nAt once they raised a shout and a rush, and we did not think it worth\nwhile to wait for them, as they would get between us and the tower,\nwhich was open for us. So we ran, and they were, some twenty of them,\nhard at our heels as we reached the door, and half fell inside, for the\nwinding stairway was close to the entry. I think that Biorn and Havelok\nhad made their plans as they saw what was coming, for Havelok followed\nus and stood in the doorway, while Biorn was just outside with his axe\nready.\n\n\u201cHold hard, friends!\u201d he called, as the men came up and halted before\nhim; \u201cwhat is all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cStand aside and let us get at them,\u201d said the foremost, panting.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Biorn; \u201cwhat harm have they done?\u201d\n\n\u201cSlain a dozen men and lamed twice as many more,\u201d answered several\nvoices; \u201chave them forth straightway.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey were attacked, and defended themselves,\u201d said the sheriff, \u201cand\nit is no fault of theirs that they had to do their best. Get you home,\nand I will answer to the jarl for them. They are the jarl\u2019s guests.\u201d\n\nThen was a howl that was strange, and with it voices which seemed to\nlet some light on the matter.\n\n\u201cThey have slain the jarl\u2019s guests.\u201d\n\nAnd then came forward a big black-bearded man whom I had seen in the\ncrowd already, and he squared up to Biorn.\n\n\u201cLies are no good, master sheriff, for we know that the outlanders who\nspoke the strange tongue must be the guests who came.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am no liar,\u201d answered Biorn. \u201cIs there not one man here who saw the\nship and her folk this afternoon?\u201d\n\nNow this man seemed not to want that question answered, for he shouted\nto the crowd not to waste time in wrangling, but to have out the\nmurderers; and he took a step towards Biorn, bidding him side no more\nwith the men, but let the folk deal with them.\n\n\u201cYou overdo your business as sheriff!\u201d he said.\n\nIt was Biorn who wasted no more time, for he saw that here was deeper\ntrouble than a common riot. He lifted his axe.\n\n\u201cCome nearer at your peril,\u201d he said.\n\nThen the black-bearded man sprang at him, and axe met sword for a parry\nor two, flashing white in the moonlight. Then one weapon flashed red\nsuddenly, and it was Biorn\u2019s, and back into the tower he sprang as his\nfoe fell, and Havelok flung the door to, and I barred it.\n\n\u201cUp,\u201d said Biorn; and in the dark we stumbled from stair to stair,\nwhile the crowd howled and beat on the door below us. It was good to\nget out into the moonlight on the roof, where we could rest. I was glad\nthat the tower was there instead of Thor, and also that it was strong.\nIt was no great height, but wide, and the men below looked comfortably\nfar off at all events.\n\n\u201cHere is a fine affair,\u201d quoth Biorn, sitting himself down with his\nback against the high stone wall round the tower top. \u201cIt will take me\nall my time to set this right.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have stood by us well, friend,\u201d Havelok said, \u201cand it is a pity\nthat you have had to share our trouble so far as this. Who was the man\nwho fell on you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the trouble,\u201d answered Biorn, \u201cfor there will be more noise\nover him than all the rest. He was Hodulf\u2019s steward, the man who\ngathers the scatt, and therefore is not liked. And all men know that\nthere was no love lost between him and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHodulf\u2019s man,\u201d said I; \u201chow long has he been here, and is he a\nNorseman?\u201d\n\nFor I knew him. He was the man who had spoken to me at the boat side\nwhen we had to fly\u2014one, therefore, who knew all of the secret of\nHavelok.\n\n\u201cAy, one of the Norsemen who came here with the king at the first, and\nis almost the last left of that crew. I suppose that you have heard the\nstory.\u201d\n\nWe had, in a way that the honest sheriff did not guess, and I only\nnodded. But I thought that we had got rid of an enemy in him, and that\nGriffin had fallen in with him on landing, and known him, and taken him\ninto his counsel about us. He would have gone down to see the vessel\nand collect the king\u2019s dues from her and from us at the same time. He\nhad not come into the town till late, as we heard afterwards.\n\nThere was no time for asking more now, however, for the shouts of the\nmen round the door ceased, and someone gave orders, as if there was a\nplan to be carried out. So I went and looked over on the side where the\ndoor was to see what was on hand.\n\nIt was about what one would have expected. They had got the trunk of a\ntree, and were going to batter the door in. But now we were all armed,\nfor Raven had brought Havelok\u2019s gear with him when he fetched his own.\nHe had thought also for Goldberga, and she was sitting in the corner of\nthe tower walls wrapped in a great cloak that she had used at sea, with\nher eyes on her husband, unfearing, and as it seemed waiting for the\nend that her dream foretold.\n\nI called the rest, and we looked down on the men. They saw us, and an\narrow or two flew at us, badly aimed in the moonlight.\n\n\u201cWaste of good arrows,\u201d said Havelok; \u201cbut we must keep them from the\ndoor somehow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould that the jarl would come,\u201d growled Biorn, \u201cfor I do not see how\nwe are to do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf they do break in,\u201d said I, \u201cany one can hold a stairway like this\nagainst a crowd.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not want to hurt more of these,\u201d answered Havelok, looking round\nhim. And then his eyes lit up, and he laughed. \u201cWhy, we can keep them\nback easily enough, after all.\u201d\n\nHe went to the tower corner, and shouted to the men below. Four or five\nhad the heavy log that they were to use as a ram, and they were just\nabout to charge the door with it, and no timber planking can stand that\nsort of thing.\n\n\u201cHo, men,\u201d he cried; \u201cset that down, or some of you may get hurt.\u201d\n\nThey set up a roar of laughter at him as they heard, and then Havelok\nlaid hold of the great square block of stone that was on the very\ncorner of the wall, and tore it from its setting.\n\n\u201cOdin!\u201d said Biorn, as he saw that, \u201cwhere do they breed such men as\nthis?\u201d\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d answered Withelm, looking at the sheriff.\n\nNow Havelok hove up the stone over his head, and a sort of gasp went up\nfrom the crowd below. One saw what was coming, and ran to drag back the\nmen with the beam, and stopped short before he reached them in terror,\ncrying to them to beware. But their heads were down, and they were\nstarting into a run.\n\n\u201cHalt!\u201d cried Havelok, but they did not stay. \u201cStand clear!\u201d he shouted\nin the sailor\u2019s way.\n\nAnd then he swung the stone and let it go, while those who watched fled\nback as if it was cast at them. Down is crashed on the attackers,\nfelling the man whom it struck, and dashing the timber from the grasp\nof the others, so that one fell with it across his leg and lay howling,\nwhile the rest gathered themselves up and got away from under the tower\nas soon as they might.\n\nNow no man dared to come forward, and that angered Havelok.\n\n\u201cAre you going to let these two bide there?\u201d he said. \u201cPick the poor\nknaves from under the stone and timber, and see to them.\u201d\n\nBut they hung back yet, and he called them \u201cnidring.\u201d\n\nThereat two or three made a step forward, and one said, \u201cLord, let us\ndo as you bid us, and harm us not.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are safe,\u201d he answered, and Biorn laughed and said that this was\nthe most wholesome word that he had heard tonight.\n\n\u201cLord, forsooth! Mighty little of that was there five minutes ago.\u201d\n\nBut it was not the terrible stone throwing only that wrung this from\nthem, as I think. They had seen Havelok in his arms, with the light of\nbattle on his face in the broad moonlight, and knew him for a king\namong men.\n\nThey took the hurt men from under the tower, and then crowded together,\nwatching us. And some man must needs loose an arrow at us, and it rang\non my mail, and that let loose the crowd again. Soon we had to shelter\nunder the battlement, but they were not able to lodge any arrows among\nus, for that is a bit of skill that needs daylight. Then they dared to\nget to the timber once more, and we saw them coming.\n\nHavelok took his helm, and set it on his sword point, and raised it\nslowly above the wall, and that drew all the arrows in a moment. Then\nhe leapt up, and tore the stone from the other corner; and again, but\nthis time without warning, it fell on the men below, and that wrought\nmore harm than before. But it stayed them for a time, though not so\nlong, for now their blood was up, and the berserk spirit was waking in\nthem. Already the third stone was poised in the mighty hands, and would\nhave fallen, when there was a cry of, \u201cThe jarl! the jarl!\u201d and along\nthe path into the clearing galloped Sigurd himself, with his courtmen\nrunning behind him, and he called on the men to stay.\n\nThey dropped the beam at the command, and were silent. And Sigurd\nlooked up at the tower, and saw who was there, and stayed with his face\nraised, motionless for a space. I minded how Mord had stared and cried\nout when first he saw Havelok, the son of Gunnar, in his war gear.\n\n\u201cBiorn! where is Biorn?\u201d cried Sigurd, looking back on the crowd as if\nhe thought he would be there.\n\n\u201cHere am I, jarl,\u201d came the answer, and the sheriff looked out from\nbeside Havelok.\n\n\u201cWhat is all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn my word, jarl, I cannot tell. Here have I been beset in my own\nhouse, and but for your guests some of us would have come off badly.\nThere were outlanders who fell on us, and, as I think, stirred up the\nfolk to carry on the business, telling them that we had slain\nourselves, as one might say, for it was the cry that we had slain the\njarl\u2019s guests.\u201d\n\n\u201cO fools, to take up the word of a chance stranger against that of your\nown sheriff!\u201d Sigurd cried, facing the people.\n\n\u201cNay, but the steward said so likewise,\u201d cried some.\n\n\u201cHodulf\u2019s steward?\u201d said the jarl suddenly; \u201cwhere is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cYonder. Biorn slew him.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was leading this crowd,\u201d said Biorn from above, \u201ctried to force his\nway into the tower past me, and would not be warned.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat of the outlanders?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll slain. Seven Welshmen they were.\u201d\n\nThen I said plainly, remembering that the jarl would have known him,\n\u201cTheir leader was Griffin, who came with Hodulf at the first. What\nbrought him here, think you, Sigurd the jarl?\u201d\n\nBut Sigurd looked round on the people, and scanned them for a long\ntime, and at last he said, in a hush that fell when he began to speak,\n\u201cMen who mind the old days, look at the man whom you have sought to\nkill, and say if there is that about him which will tell you why\nHodulf\u2019s men have set you on him thus.\u201d\n\nThen the white faces turned with one accord to Havelok, as he stood\nresting the great cornerstone on the battlement before him, and there\ngrew a whisper that became a word and that was almost a shout from the\nmany voices that answered.\n\n\u201cGunnar! Gunnar Kirkeban come again!\u201d\n\nThen was silence, and the jarl spoke to Havelok.\n\n\u201cTell us your name, and whence you come.\u201d\n\n\u201cHavelok Grimsson of Grimsby men call me,\u201d he said.\n\nAnd then men knew who he was indeed, for little by little the secret\nhad been pieced together, if not told from the king\u2019s place, in the\nyears that had passed. And at that there rose and grew a murmur and a\ncry.\n\n\u201cHavelok, son of Gunnar! Havelok the king!\u201d\n\nThen said Sigurd in a great voice, \u201cWho is for Hodulf of us all? Let no\nman go hence who is for him.\u201d\n\nAnd I saw two or three men cut down then and there, and after that\nthere was a roar of voices that called for Havelok to lead them.\n\n\u201cCome down, lord,\u201d said Sigurd, unhelming and looking up.\n\nSo we went from the tower, and round Havelok the men crowded, kissing\nhis hand and asking pardon for what they had wrought in error; and\nSigurd dismounted and knelt before him, holding forth his sword hilt in\ntoken of homage, that his king might touch it.\n\n\u201cOnly Havelok son of Gunnar dares call himself son of Grim also, and in\nthat word all the tale is told. But I have known you from the first by\nthe token of the ring and by this likeness. Yet I waited for you to\nspeak, and for the time that should be best; and now that has come of\nitself, and I am glad.\u201d\n\nSo said Sigurd, as we went from the tower to the hall, with the\ntownsmen at our heels in a wondering crowd. There were many among them\nwho would show the wounds that Havelok had given them with pride\nhereafter, as tokens that they had known him well.\n\nThen we stayed on the steps of the hall door, and the jarl called out\nman by man, and the war arrow was put in their hands with the names of\nthose men who waited for the coming of Havelok, that all through the\nnight the message that should bring him a mighty host on the morrow\nshould go far and wide.\n\nAnd the gathering word was, \u201cCome, for the horn of the king is\nsounding.\u201d\n\nThen Sigurd said, \u201cSpeak to the people, my king, and all is done.\u201d\n\nSo Havelok smiled, and lifted his voice, and spoke.\n\n\u201cStand by me, friends, as steadfastly as you have fought against me,\nand I shall be well content. And see, here is the queen for whom you\nwill fight also. There is not one of you but will play the man under\nher eyes.\u201d\n\nNot many words or crafty, but men saw his face, and heard that which\nwas in the voice, and they needed no word of reward to come, but\nshouted as we had shouted when the bride came home to Grimsby, and I\nthought that with the shout the throne of Hodulf was rocking.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\nTHE OWNING OF THE HEIR.\n\n\nWorn out we were with that long fight, and we all had some small\nwounds\u2014not much worth speaking of; and when these were seen to, we\nslept. Only my brother Raven waked, and he sat through all the rest of\nthe short night on the high place, with his sword across his knees,\nwatching, for he blamed himself, overmuch as we all thought, for the\nhappenings of the attack.\n\n\u201cTrouble not, brother, for we were in the keeping of Biorn, and he\ncould not have dreamt that foes could follow us over seas. It was not\nfor you to be on guard.\u201d\n\nThese were Withelm\u2019s words, but for once Raven did not heed them.\n\n\u201cWould Grim, our father, have slept with a lee shore under him, leaving\na stranger to keep watch? That is not how he taught me my duty; and I\nhave been careless, and I know it. I should have thought of Griffin\nwhen I saw the ship come in.\u201d\n\nSo he had his way, and the last that I saw ere my eyes closed was his\nstern form guarding us; and when I woke he was yet there, motionless,\nwith far-off eyes that noted the little movement that I made, and\nglanced at me to see that all was well.\n\nIn the grey of the morning the first of the chiefs to whom the arrow\nhad sped began to come in; but the jarl would not have Havelok waked,\nfor he was greatly troubled at the little wounds that had befallen this\nlong-waited guest. So the chiefs gathered very silently in the great\nhall, and sat waiting while the light broadened and shone, gleam by\ngleam, on their bright arms and anxious faces. It was not possible for\nthose who had not yet seen Havelok to be all so sure that it was indeed\nhe. They longed to see him, and to know him for the very son of Gunnar\nfor themselves.\n\nPresently there were maybe twenty chiefs in the hall\u2014men who had fought\nbeside Kirkeban, and men who had been boys with Havelok, and some who\nhad known his grandfather\u2014and the jarl thought that it was time that\nthey had the surety that they needed, for time went on, and there was\ncertainty that Hodulf must hear of all this morning. One could not\nexpect that no man would earn reward by warning him.\n\nSo Sigurd went softly to the place where Havelok lay in the little\nguest chamber that opened out of the inner room that was the jarl\u2019s\nown, and he slid the boards that closed it apart gently and looked in\nto wake him. But instead of doing that, he came back to the hall and\nbeckoned the chiefs, and they rose and followed him silently. And when\nthey went Raven went also, without a word, that he might be near his\ncharge while these many strangers spoke with him.\n\nNow Sigurd stood at the spot where the little shifting of the sliding\nboard made it possible to see within the chamber, and one by one the\nchiefs came and peered through the chink for a moment, and stood aside\nfor the next. And it was wondrous to see how each man went and looked\nwith doubt or wonder or just carelessly, and then turned away with a\ngreat light of joy on his face and a new life in the whole turn and\nsway of the body.\n\nIt was dark in the chamber, save for the dim spaces under the eaves\nthat let in the sweet air from the sea to the sleepers. But from\nsomewhere aloft, where the timbering of the upper walls toward the east\nhad shrunk, so that there was a little hole that faced the newly-risen\nsun, came the long shaft of a sunbeam that pierced the darkness like a\nglorious spear, and lit on the mighty shoulder of Havelok that lay bare\nof covering, and on the white hand of Goldberga that was across it. And\non the one they saw the crimson bent-armed cross that was the mark of\nthe line whence he and his father had sprung, and on the other glowed\nand flashed the blood-red stone of the ring of Eleyn the queen. And\nround that circle of sunshine was light enough for the chiefs to see\nthose two noble faces, and they were content.\n\n\u201cGunnar\u2019s son,\u201d said one old chief: \u201cbut were he only the son of Grim,\nfor those twain would I die.\u201d\n\nSo the warriors crept back to the hall silently as they had come; and\nnow they went out to their men and told them that all doubt had gone,\nand along the road that led to Hodulf\u2019s town the jarl sent mounted men\nto watch for his coming. And always fresh men were pouring in, and\namong them went the chiefs who had seen Havelok, and told them the\nnews.\n\nNow it was not long before there was a gathering of all the chiefs in\nthe hall of Sigurd, that they might break their fast, and then they saw\nHavelok as he led in the princess to meet them. He stood on the high\nplace in his arms, and a shout of greeting went up; and when it was\nover, Sigurd asked him to tell all that had happened to him; and he did\nthat in as few words as might be, for he was no great speaker, though\nwhat he did say was always to the point, and left little to be asked.\n\nAnd when he had ended, there rose up a grey-headed old chief, and said,\n\u201cGive this warrior the horn of Gunnar, that we may hear him wind it. I\nwould not say that unless I were sure that he was the right man to have\nit.\u201d\n\nNow I stood beside Havelok, and while Sigurd went from the hall to some\ntreasure chamber to get this that had been asked for, I said to him,\n\u201cMind you the day when we met Ragnar. and a call came into your dream?\nWind that call now; for, if I am not wrong, it will be welcome to those\nwho knew your father.\u201d\n\n\u201cI mind the day but not the call. I have never remembered it since,\u201d he\nsaid, and I was sorry.\n\nSigurd brought the horn, and it was a wondrous one, golden and heavy.\nIt seemed to be a hunting horn, not very long, and little curved, but\nfrom end to end it was wrought with strange figures of men and beasts\nin rings that ran round it.\n\n\u201cHave you seen this before?\u201d asked Sigurd wistfully, and looking into\nHavelok\u2019s face as he gave it into his hand.\n\nOne could feel that men waited his answer, and it came slowly.\n\n\u201cAy, friend, I am sure that I have, but I cannot yet say when or where.\nI am sure that it is not the first time that I have had it in my hand.\u201d\n\nAnd as he said this, Havelok\u2019s face flushed a little, and his brow\nwrinkled as if he tried to bring back the things of that which he had\nthought his dream for so long.\n\nIt would seem that in the years there had grown up a tale that this was\na magic horn, which none but the very son of Gunnar could wind, and to\nthe chiefs who saw Havelok now for the first time this was a test to\nprove him. But all knew that the words he spoke of it were proof\nenough, for a pretender would have said plainly that it had been\nGunnar\u2019s, and that he knew it. I think that Sigurd was wise in what he\ndid next, for he set another horn in my brother\u2019s hand, and asked him\nthe same question; and at this Havelok looked for a moment and shook\nhis head.\n\n\u201cI have not seen that one before, nor one like it. I am sure that I\nhave seen this, or its fellow.\u201d\n\nAt that the faces that watched brightened, for there was no doubt in\nthe way that Havelok spoke; and then the old chief who had asked for\nthe horn said, \u201cThat\u2014\u2018The horn of the king is sounding\u2019\u2014was the\ngathering word of the night that has brought us here, and long have we\nwaited for it. Let Havelok wind his father\u2019s horn, that we may hear it\nonce again.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok set it to his lips, and at once the call that he had\nremembered came back to him, and clear and sweet and full of longing\nits strange notes rang under the arched roof, unfaltering until the\nlast; and then over him came the full remembrance of all that it had\nbeen to him, and he turned away from the many eyes and sank on the high\nseat, and set his head in his arms on the table, that men might not see\nthat he needs must weep; and Goldberga stepped a little before him, and\nset her hand on his, for I think that she knew the loneliness that came\non him.\n\nYet he was not alone in his sorrow, for down in the hall were men to\nwhom the lost call brought back the memory of a bright young king\nriding to his home, and calling the son whom he loved with the call\nthat he had made for him alone; and they saw the fair child running\nfrom the hall, and the mother following more slowly with smiles of\nwelcome; and they saw the grim courtmen, who looked on and were glad;\nand they minded how they had lifted the boy to the war saddle; and\ntheir eyes grew hot with tears also, and they had no need to be\nashamed.\n\nAnd as men stood motionless, with the last notes of the wild horn yet\nringing in their ears, there drifted a shadow across the days, and, lo!\nbeside Havelok, with his hand on his shoulder, stood the form of Gunnar\nthe king for a long moment, bright as any one of us who lived, in the\nmorning sunlight, and his face was full of joy and of hope and promise\nfor the time to come. And then he passed, but as he faded from us his\nhand was on the hand of Goldberga that clasped her husband\u2019s, as though\nhe would wed them afresh there on the high place of his friend\u2019s hall.\n\nNow there went a sigh of wonder among the chiefs, and Havelok looked up\nas if he followed the going of one whom he would not lose, and I know\nthat he saw Gunnar after he was unseen to us.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d he said, \u201csurely that was my father who was here?\u201d\n\nAnd Sigurd answered, \u201cWith your own call you called him, and he was\nhere.\u201d\n\nBut now the last lurking doubt was gone, and there was no more delay,\nfor the chiefs crowded with shouts of joy to the high place, and they\nknelt to Havelok and hailed him as king then and there; and so they led\nhim to the great door of the hall, and the mightiest of them raised him\nhigh on a wide shield before all the freemen who waited on the green\nthat is round the jarl\u2019s house, and they cried, \u201cSkoal to Havelok the\nking!\u201d\n\nAnd there was in answer the most stirring shout that a man may hear\u2014the\nshout of a host that hail the one for whom they are content to die.\n\nThat was the first day of the reign of Havelok the king; and now there\nwere two kings in the land, and one was loved as few have been loved,\nand the other was hated. And one was weak in men, as yet, while the\nother was strong.\n\nNow Sigurd bade all those who were present gather in solemn Thing, that\nthey might make Havelok king indeed; and that was a gathering of all\nthe best in our quarter of the land, so that all would uphold what they\nhad done. And when they were gathered in the great hall in due order,\nthe doors were set wide open, and outside the freemen who followed the\nchiefs sat in silence to see what they might and hear.\n\nThen swore Havelok to keep the ancient laws and customs, and to do\neven-handed justice to all men, and to be bound by all else that a good\nking should hold by. Sometimes these oaths are not kept as well as they\nmight be, but I was certain that here was one who would keep them.\n\nThereafter Sigurd brought forth a crown that he had had made hastily by\nhis craftsmen from two gold arm rings, and they set it on Havelok\u2019s\nhead, and hailed him as king indeed; and one by one the chiefs came and\nswore all fealty to him, beginning with Sigurd, and ending with a boy\nof some seventeen winters, who looked at the king he bent before as\nthough he was Thor himself.\n\nThen they would have had Havelok forth to the people at once; but he\nbade them hearken for a moment, and said, taking Goldberga by the hand,\n\u201cWere it not for this my wife, I do not think that I had been here\ntoday, and without her I am nothing. Now I am king by your word, and I\nthink that I might bid you take her as queen. But I had rather that she\nwas made queen by your word also, that whither I live or fall in the\nstrife that is to come, you may fight for her.\u201d\n\nAt that there was a murmur of praise, and all agreed that she should be\ncrowned at once. So Havelok set the crown on her head while the chiefs\nin one voice swore to uphold her through good and ill, as though she\nwere Havelok himself.\n\nThen said Havelok, \u201cNow have you taken her for queen for her own sake,\nand I will tell you a thing that has not been heard here as yet. On\nthis throne sits the queen of two lands, and there shall come a day\nwhen you and I shall set your lady on that other throne which is hers\nby right. King\u2019s daughter she is, for Ethelwald of the East Angles was\nher father, and out of her right has she been kept by Alsi of Lindsey,\nher evil kinsman.\u201d\n\nAt that men were glad, for great is the magic of kingly descent. And\nthereupon that old warrior who had bidden Havelok sound the horn said,\n\u201cWe have heard of Ethelwald the good king, and of this Alsi moreover,\nand we know men who have seen both, and also Orwenna, the mother of our\nown queen here. I followed your father across the seas in the old days,\nand I seem to hear his voice again as you speak to us. And I saw\nhim\u2014ay, I saw him yonder even now, and I am content. When the time\ncomes that for the sake of Goldberga you will gather a host and cross\nthe \u2018swan\u2019s path,\u2019 I will not hold back, if you will have me.\u201d\n\nThere was spoken the mind of all that company, and they were not\nbackward to say so. For in the heart of the Dane is ever the love of\nthe sea, and of the clash of arms on a far-off strand that comes after\nbattle with wind and wave.\n\nVery bravely did Goldberga thank the chiefs for their love to her\nhusband and herself in a few words that were all that were needed to\nbind the hearers to her, so well and truly were they chosen. And she\nsaid that if the Anglian land was to be won it was for Havelok and not\nfor herself altogether, and she added, \u201cHere we have spoken as if\nalready Hodulf was overthrown, and it is good that we are in such brave\nheart. Yet this has been foretold to me, and I am sure that there will\nbe no mishap.\u201d\n\nThen Sigurd said, \u201cWhat gift do we give our queen, now that she has\ncome among us?\u201d\n\nBut Goldberga replied, \u201cIf it is the custom that one shall be given, I\nwill mind you of the promise hereafter, when Anglia is won, and you and\nI are Havelok\u2019s upholders on that throne. There is one thing that I\nwill ask then, that a wrong may be righted.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but we will give you some gift now, and then you shall ask what\nyou will also.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have given me more than I dared hope,\u201d she said, \u201ceven the brave\nhearts and hands that have hailed us here. I can ask no more. Only\npromise to give me one boon when I need it, and I am happy.\u201d\n\nThen they said, \u201cWhat you will, and when you will, Goldberga, the\nqueen. There is naught that you will ask amiss.\u201d\n\nNow they showed Havelok to the warriors as crowned king, and I need not\ntell how he was greeted. And after that we all went back into the hall\nto speak of the way in which we were to meet Hodulf.\n\nHavelok would have a message sent to him, bidding him give up the land\nin peace.\n\n\u201cIt may be that thus we shall save the sadness of fighting our own\npeople, though, indeed, they love the playground of Hodulf. He is an\noutlander, and perhaps he may think well to make terms with us.\u201d\n\nSome said that it was of no use, but then Havelok answered that even so\nit was good to send a challenge to him.\n\n\u201cFor the sake of peace we will do this, though I would rather meet him\nin open fight, for I have my father to avenge.\u201d\n\nNow I rose up and said, \u201cLet me go and speak with him, taking Withelm\nas my counsellor. For I know all the story, and that will make him sure\nthat he has the right man to fight against. I will speak with him in\nopen hall, and more than he shall learn how he thought to slay\nHavelok.\u201d\n\nAll thought that this was good, and I was to go at once. It was but a\nfew hours\u2019 ride, as has been said, to his town, and the matter was as\nwell done with.\n\nSo they gave me a guard of twenty of the jarl\u2019s courtmen, and in half\nan hour I was riding northward on my errand. And to say the truth I did\nnot know if it was certain that I should come back, for Hodulf was\nhardly to be trusted.\n\nI did wait to break my fast, and that was all, for I had no mind to\nspend the night on the road back from the talk that I should have had;\nbut though I wasted so little time, the people were already beginning\nto prepare for rejoicing in their own way with games of all sorts and\nwith feasting in the open. I saw, as we rode down the street, the piles\nof firewood that were to roast oxen whole, and near them were the butts\nthat held ale for all comers. There were men who set up the marks for\nthe archers, and others who staked out the rings for the wrestling and\nsword play. And as we left the town we met two men who led a great\nbrown bear by a ring in his nose, for the baiting. I was sorry for the\npoor beast, but the men called him \u201cHodulf,\u201d already, and I thought\nthat a good sign in its way.\n\nAnother good sign, and that one which could not be mistaken, was to see\nthe warriors coming in by twos and threes as the news reached them.\nThey were dotted along the roads from all quarters, and across the\nheaths we saw the flash of the arms of more.\n\nAnd ever as they met us they hailed us with, \u201cWhat cheer, comrades? Is\nthe news true? Is Havelok come to his own?\u201d and the like, and they\nwould hurry on, rejoicing in the answer that they had.\n\nBut I will say that presently, when we passed a stretch of wild moor\nwhere we saw no man, the same was going on towards the town of Hodulf;\nfor if the news came to a village, some would be for the king that was,\nand other and older men for the king that might be. Yet all asked that\nquestion; and more than once, when they heard the reply, there would be\na halt and a talk, and then the men would turn and cast in their lot\nwith the son of Gunnar, hastening to him with more eager steps than had\ntaken them to Hodulf.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\nTHE TOKEN OF SACK AND ANCHOR.\n\n\nIt seemed only the other day that I had passed over the well-known\nways, and I showed Withelm the hollow where Grim had met with the king\nand taken his precious burden from him. Then we passed along the wild\nshore, and the linnets were singing and the whinchats were calling as\never, and the old mounds of the heroes of the bygone were awesome to me\nnow as long ago, when I looked at them standing lonesome along the\nshore with only the wash of the waves to disturb them. And so we came\nto the town at high noon, and already there was the bustle of a\ngathering host in the place, for the news had fled before us.\n\nThey had built a new and greater hall in place of that which had been\nburned; and there sat Hodulf with his chiefs, wondering and planning,\nand maybe waiting for more certain news of what had happened. Not long\nwould they wait for that now.\n\nWe rode to the door, and one came to meet us with words of welcome,\nthinking that we were men who came to the levy that was gathering; but\nhis words stayed when I asked to be taken to the presence of Hodulf, as\nI came with a message from Havelok Gunnarsson the king.\n\nThe man, chamberlain or steward, or whatever he was, stared at me, and\nsaid in a low voice, \u201cIt is true then?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue as I am Radbard Grimsson, who helped Havelok to fly from hence.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnwelcome will you be, for Hodulf is in no good mood,\u201d the man said.\n\u201cI hardly think it safe for you to trust yourself with him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said I, \u201copen the door of the hall, and I will go in with my\nmen, and see what he says.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, that will be bad for me, but I have a mind to see Havelok.\u201d\n\nSo I told Withelm to come at my side, and bade half the courtmen follow\nus closely, and when they were inside to see that the door was not\nbarred after us on any pretence. The rest would bide with the horses\noutside.\n\nThen we loosed the peace strings of our weapons, and in we went,\nquietly and in order; and the chiefs turned to look at us, thinking us\nmore of themselves. Hodulf sat on his place on the dais, and there were\nthirty-one others with him, sitting on the benches that were set along\nthe walls. Withelm counted them.\n\nThen the door was closed, and the man with whom I had spoken set his\nback against it, but it was not barred; and I went forward to the steps\nof the high place, and stood before Hodulf.\n\n\u201cWell, what now?\u201d he said, seeing that I was a stranger.\n\n\u201cFirst of all, I ask for safe conduct from this hall as a messenger\nfrom king to king.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you have, of course,\u201d he answered. \u201cWhat is your message?\u201d\n\nIt did not seem that he thought of Havelok at all, but rather that I\ncame from some king to whom he had sent. There were two living not so\nfar off. I thought that there was no good in beating about the bush,\nfor such an errand as mine had better he told boldly. So I spoke out\nfor all to hear.\n\n\u201cThis is the word of Havelok, son of Gunnar the king, to Hodulf of\nNorway, who sits in his place. Home he has come to take his own, and\nnow he would tell you that the time has come that he is able to rule\nthe kingdom for himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what if he has?\u201d said Hodulf, without the least change of face, as\nif he had been expecting this, and nothing more or less.\n\nBut if he was quiet, the chiefs had heard my words in a very different\nway. Some had leaped up, and others bent forward, to hear the answer to\nmy words the better. I heard one or two laugh; but there were some on\nwhose faces seemed to be written doubt and anxiety. I think that some\nwould have spoken, for Hodulf held up his hand for silence, and looked\nto me for answer.\n\n\u201cIt will be well for you to give up the throne to him, making such\nterms as you may,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cThat is a fair offer,\u201d said Hodulf, quite unmoved, to all seeming, but\nlooking at me in a way that told me how his anger was held back by main\nforce, as it were; \u201cbut how am I to know that this one who sends so\nbold a message is the real Havelok? I am not a fool that I should give\nup my throne to the first who asks it. Doubtless you bring some token\nthat you come from the very son of Gunnar.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is right that you should ask one, and also that you should have one\nthat there can be no mistaking,\u201d I said. \u201cThis is it. By the token of\nthe sack and the anchor I bid you know that Havelok sends me to you.\u201d\n\nAt that the face of Hodulf became ashy grey beneath the tan of wind and\nsea, and I saw that his hand clutched the hilt of his sword so that the\nknuckles of his fingers grew white. He had never thought to hear of\nthat deed again, and he knew that he had to deal with the one whom he\nhad thought dead. Some of the young chiefs in the hall laughed at that\ntoken, but he flashed a glance at them which stayed the laugh on their\nlips.\n\n\u201cI know not what you mean,\u201d he said, altogether staggered.\n\n\u201cIt is right,\u201d I said, \u201cthat if the token is not plain I should make it\nso. It is but fair also to the chiefs who are here.\u201d\n\nThen he stayed me. True it is that old sin makes new shame.\n\n\u201cI will take it as enough,\u201d he said hastily. \u201cI mind some old saying of\nthe kind. Ay, that is it\u2014a hidden king and a voyage across the sea. It\nis enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot enough,\u201d said a chief in the hall close to the high seat. \u201cLet\nthis warrior say what he means plainly.\u201d\n\nThere were many who agreed to this, and I did not wait for Hodulf any\nlonger. I told them who I was, and then showed them why that token was\nto be held enough for any man; and as I spoke, there were black looks\ntoward the high seat among the older men. As for Hodulf, he sat with a\nforced smile, and seemed to listen indulgently, as to a well-made tale.\n\nAnd after that the matter was out of my hands, for the same chief who\nhad asked for the tale came and stood by my side, and he faced Hodulf\nand spoke.\n\n\u201cFor twelve years have I served you as king, and now I know that I have\nwasted the faith I gave you. What became of the sisters of Havelok?\nAnswer me that, Hodulf, or I will go and ask their brother concerning\nwhom you have lied to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo and ask him,\u201d answered Hodulf, biting his lips; \u201cgo and hear more\nlies. Who can know the son of Gunnar when he sees him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is answered out of your own mouth,\u201d said the chief. \u201cIs Sigurd a\nfool that he should hail the first man who asks him to do so?\u201d\n\nAnd from beside me Withelm answered also, \u201cMaybe it is a pity that\nGriffin of Wales was slain last night in trying to kill Havelok. He\nknew him, and I have heard that he came here to warn Hodulf that his\ntime was come.\u201d\n\nHodulf\u2019s face grew whiter when he heard that; but it was what he\nneeded, as some sort of excuse to let loose his passion.\n\nWhite and shaking with wrath and fear, he rose up and he cried,\n\u201cMurdered is Griffin! Ho, warriors, let not these go forth!\u201d\n\nWhereon the old chief lifted his voice also, \u201cHo, Gunnar\u2019s men! Ho, men\nwho love the old line! To Grim\u2019s son, ahoy!\u201d\n\nAnd he drew his sword, snapping the thongs that had bound it to the\nsheath, so manfully tugged he at them in his wrath, and there was a\nrush of men to us, and another to Hodulf.\n\nNow I think that we might have slain him there, and after that have\nbeen slain ourselves, for the odds were against us, even though I had\nthe courtmen; but that was Havelok\u2019s deed to do, for the sake of father\nand sisters to be avenged, and so we only cut our way out of the hall\nto the door, which my men threw open at once. There were two of\nHodulf\u2019s men hurt only, for the most of them had run to the high place,\nand few were between us and our going. So we took five chiefs and their\nfollowers back with us, and that was worth the errand.\n\nWe thought that it would not be long now before Hodulf was on us; but\nthe days passed, and there was no news of him, and all the while we\ngrew stronger. I do not know if the same could be said of him, and it\nis doubtful if time made much difference to his forces. Those who\nfollowed him were the men who owed all to him, either as men raised to\nsome sort of power when he first came, or else strangers whom he had\nbrought in with him. Some of the younger chiefs of the old families\nheld by him also, for they had known no other, and then there were old\nfeuds with Gunnar that held back some from us; but these few took part\nwith neither side.\n\nSo before a week was out we had a matter of six thousand men in and\nabout the town; and it seemed that, with so good a force, it was as\nwell to march on Hodulf as to wait for him. And that was good hearing\nfor us all, for there was not a man who did not long to be up and\ndoing, though to smite a blow for Havelok should be the last deed that\nhe might do.\n\nThey made me captain of the courtmen who were Havelok\u2019s own, maybe\nbecause I had served with Alsi, and Withelm was captain of Goldberga\u2019s\nown guard. High honour was that for the sons of Grim, for there was not\none in either of these companies but was of high birth; but then we\nwere Havelok\u2019s brothers, and all seemed well content to serve under us.\nI wanted Raven to be in my place, but he said that he was no warrior on\nshore.\n\n\u201cJust now I am Havelok\u2019s watchdog, to be at his heels always.\nPresently, if he likes to give me a ship when we sail to England, that\nwill suit me.\u201d\n\nSo Havelok made him his standard bearer; and as that would keep him at\nthe king\u2019s side in the thickest fight, he was well pleased. Goldberga\nwrought the standard that he bore, with the help of Sigurd\u2019s wife, and\non it was the figure of Grim, sword and shield in hand, but with his\nhelm at his feet, as showing that he had laid it by; and on either side\nof him stood Havelok and his wife, each with a crown above their heads,\nas though they waited for the coming time when they should be set there\nfirmly by the bearing forward of this banner. Havelok bore his axe,\nholding out the ring to Goldberga with the other hand, while she had\nher sceptre in the left, and stretched the right hand to her husband.\nThere were runes that told the names of these three, for that is\nneedful in such work, as it passes the skill of woman to make a good\nlikeness, nor do I think it would be lucky to do so if it could be\ncompassed. Wondrous was the banner with gold and bright colours, and it\nwas hung from a gilded spear, ashen hafted, and long, that it might be\nseen afar in battle.\n\nNow on the day when Havelok set his men in order for the march on\nHodulf word came that he was coming at last. It is likely that he knew\nwe were on the point of marching, and would choose his own ground on\nwhich to wait for us. So we went to certain battle, as it seemed, and\nnone were sorry for that. So in the bright sunshine of a cloudless\nmorning Havelok and Goldberga rode down the line of the men, who would\nfight to the death for them, and those two were good to look on. Day\nand night Sigurd\u2019s weapon smiths had wrought to make a mail shirt that\nshould be worthy of a king, and I thought that they had wrought well.\nThey had set a crown round the helm that they made for him, and Sigurd\nhad given him a sword that had been his father\u2019s at one time, golden\nhilted, and with runes on its blue blade. But Havelok would not part\nwith the axe that Grim had given him, plain as it was, and that was his\nchosen weapon.\n\nBut for once I think that men looked more at her who rode at Havelok\u2019s\nside than at him, goodly and kingly as he was in the war gear. For\nGoldberga had on a silver coat of chain mail, and a little gold circlet\nwas round the silver helm that she wore, while at her saddle bow was an\naxe, on which were runes written in gold, and a sword light enough for\nher hand was in a gem-studded baldric from her shoulder. There was a\nchief who had given her these, and it was said that they had first of\nall belonged to one who had fought as a shield maiden at the great\nbattle of Dunheidi, by the side of Hervoer, the sister of the mighty\nhero Angantyr. His forefather had won them at that time, and now they\nwere worn by one who was surely like the Valkyries, for no fairer or\nmore wondrous to look on in war gear could they be than our English\nqueen.\n\nShe would have gone even into the battle with Havelok, but that neither\nhe nor we would suffer. She was to bide here in the town until we came\nback in triumph or defeat; and as men looked on her, they grew strong,\nthat no tears might be for those bright eyes.\n\nNow I left them before the march began, for I and the courtmen were to\ngo forward and see where the foe was posted, and so bring word again.\nAnd we went some five miles before we saw the first sign of them. Then\non a rise in the wild heath waited a few horsemen, who watched us for a\nlittle while, and then rode away from us and beyond it. We followed\nthem, and when we came to where they had been, we saw that they had\nfallen back on a company of about the same strength as ours, save that\nthere were more horsemen. I was the only mounted man of my little\nforce, and that rather to save my strength than because I liked riding.\nI should certainly fight on foot, as would Havelok himself, in the old\nway. It is not good to trust to the four feet of a horse when one means\nbusiness.\n\nWe bided where we were, waiting to see what these men did, and soon\nbeyond them grew the long cloud of dust starred with shifting sparks\nthat told us that the host of Hodulf was on foot and advancing. It\nseemed to me that here we had a good place to meet it, for the land\nwent down in a long slope that was in our favour, and therefore I set a\nman on my horse, and sent him back with all speed to Havelok to bid him\nhasten. Our host was not so far behind me, and I could see both from\nthis hill. We had full time to take position here before Hodulf\u2019s army\nwas in reach.\n\nNow it seemed that the foemen would see what they could also, and they\nbegan to move toward us. It was plain that we should have a small fight\non our own account directly, for I did not mean to let them take our\nplace. We moved, therefore, toward them, and at that the half-dozen\nhorsemen made for us at a trot. Then I saw that their leader was Hodulf\nhimself.\n\nWe were in a track that led across the hill, and here on the slope it\nwas worn deep with ages of traffic between the two towns, and on either\nside the heather grew thick and high, so that the horsemen could not\nget round us. So Hodulf rode forward to where we barred the way, and\ntold me to stand aside.\n\n\u201cWhat next?\u201d I asked. \u201cI may as well bid you go back, for I came here\nto stop you.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome over to me, and leave this half-crowned kinglet of yours. It\nshall be worth your while.\u201d\n\n\u201cHard up for men must you be, Hodulf,\u201d said one of my courtmen,\nlaughing.\n\nAt that he made a sign to his followers, for they came on us at the\ngallop, with levelled spears. We closed up, and hewed the spear points\noff, and then dealt with the horses and men who foundered among us, and\nthey struggled back, leaving three men and four horses in the roadway.\nIt was bravely done, too, for there were only eight of them, and they\ndid us no harm beyond a bruise or two. I wished that we had taken or\nslain Hodulf, however, for that might have made things easier in the\nend.\n\nHodulf got back to his courtmen, and now they came on. At that moment\nover the hill behind us rode Havelok and Raven, and saw at once what\nwas on hand. They had ridden on, but the host was hard after them.\n\n\u201cSend a man to bid the host halt,\u201d Havelok said to me, \u201cfor we can end\nthe matter here. Now shall I be hand to hand with Hodulf, even as I\nwould wish.\u201d\n\nI sent a man back as he bade me, and he stayed the host half a mile\nbeyond the hill, where they were not seen. Hodulf\u2019s army was yet two\nmiles away across the heath, and none had gone back to hasten it.\n\nNow Havelok went forward, holding up his hand in token of parley, and\nhis enemy rode from his men to meet him.\n\n\u201cThere is much between us, Hodulf,\u201d Havelok said, \u201cand we have been\ntogether along this road before. Yet for the sake of the men who follow\nus it may be that we can make peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is for me to say,\u201d answered Hodulf, \u201cfor you have invaded my\nland, and are the peace breaker.\u201d\n\n\u201cI might mind you of a blood feud between us two,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cbut\nthat is not the business of the host. For the sake of the land I will\nsay this. Give up the throne that you have held for me, and you shall\ngo hence with what treasure you have gathered, taking your Norsemen\nwith you. There will be no shame in doing that, for I am able now to\nhold the land for myself.\u201d\n\nHodulf laughed a short laugh.\n\n\u201cFine talk that for the son of Grim the thrall, who drowned Havelok for\nme! \u2018Nidring\u2019 should I be if I gave up to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf things must go in that way, we will settle the matter here and now.\nWill you that we fight hand to hand while our men look on, or shall we\ngo back to them and charge? I like the first plan best myself, as I\nwould avenge my father and sisters, and also that insult of the way in\nwhich we passed this road together twelve years ago.\u201d\n\nSo said Havelok, and his words fell like ice from his lips, and he was\nvery still as he spoke, though the red flush crept into his cheek and\nhis brows lowered.\n\nAnd Hodulf did not answer at once. He looked at the towering young\nwarrior before him, and maybe into his mind there crept the thought of\nthe children whom he had slain, whom this one would avenge. Well he\nknew that the true Havelok was speaking with him, though he would not\nown it, and branded my father with the name of thrall for the sake of\ninsult to his foster son.\n\nAt last he said, \u201cWe will go back to the men, for you have advantage in\nthat bulk of yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you will,\u201d answered Havelok. \u201cTwelve years ago that was on your\nside.\u201d\n\nHe reined round at once, and touched his horse with the spur without\nanother glance at his enemy. And then we shouted, and Raven spurred\nforward with a great oath, for Hodulf plucked his sword from the\nscabbard, and with a new treachery in his heart, rode after our brother\nand was almost on him. The shout was just in time, for Havelok turned\nin his saddle as the blow was falling.\n\nQuick as light, he took it on the shaft of the spear he carried, and\nturned it, wheeling his horse short round at the same time. Lindsey\ntraining was there in that horsemanship of his. Hodulf\u2019s horse shot\npast as the blow failed, and then Raven seemed to be the next man to be\ndealt with.\n\nBut Havelok called to him to stand aside, for this was his own fight;\nand at that Hodulf had his horse in hand again, and was ready to meet\nhis foe fairly.\n\nAnd now Havelok had cast aside the spear, and taken the axe from the\nsaddle bow; and these two met, unshielded, for neither had time to\nunsling the round buckler from his shoulder.\n\nIt was no long fight, for now Hodulf\u2019s men were coming up, and there\nneed be no more thought of aught but ending one who was ready to smite\na foul blow before us all shamelessly. Havelok spurred his horse, and\nthe two met and closed for one moment. Then down went the Norseman with\ncleft helm, and the old wrongs were avenged, and there was but one king\nin the land.\n\nThen Hodulf\u2019s men were on Havelok, but not before Raven was at his\nback, and over Hodulf there was a struggle in which Havelok was in\nperil for a short time before we closed round him. Well fought the\ncourtmen of the fallen king, and well fought my men, and we bore them\nback, fighting every foot of ground, until there were only five of them\nleft, and these five yielded in all honour, being outnumbered. Yet ours\nwas a smaller band by half ere there was an end.\n\nIt had not lasted long, and still the host of Hodulf was so far off\nthat they knew not so much as that there was any fighting. Then we went\nto the hilltop, and set the banner there, and our line came on and\nhalted along the crest.\n\nOne hardly need say what wonder and rejoicing there was when it was\nknown how Hodulf had met his end, and Sigurd and other chiefs went to\nwhere we had fought, and looked on him. And one took the helm, which\nhad round it the stolen crown, and gave it to Havelok.\n\n\u201cSet it on the standard,\u201d he said, \u201cfor we may need that it shall be\nshown presently. As for Hodulf, bear him aside out of the path of the\nhost, that we may lay him in mound when all is ended.\u201d\n\nOne cried that he did not deserve honour of any kind, and there were\nsome who agreed to that openly. I will not say that I was not one of\nthem, for I had seen the foul play, and heard the insult to Grim, my\nfather.\n\nBut Havelok answered gravely, \u201cHe has been a king, and I have not heard\nthat he was altogether a bad one. All else was between him and me, and\nthat is paid for by his death. Think only of the twelve years in which\nyou have owned him as lord, and then you will know that it is right\nthat he should be given the last honours. You had no feud as had I.\u201d\n\nThen they did as he bade them, and that gladly, for the words were\nking-like, and of good omen for the days to come. I saw Sigurd and the\nolder chiefs glance at each other, and it was plain that they were well\npleased.\n\nNow the host came on, and it was greater than ours; but when there was\nno sign of its leader the march wavered, and at last halted altogether.\nWhereon some chiefs rode to speak to us, and Havelok met them with his\nleaders. He had to speak first, for they could not well ask where\nHodulf was. The helm was a token that told them much.\n\n\u201cI met your king even now,\u201d he said, \u201cand I offered him peace and\nhonourable return to Norway with his property if he would give up the\nthrone that is mine by right. Maybe I was wrong in thinking that he\nmight do so, but he refused. There were certain matters between us two,\nbesides that of the crown, which needed settling; and therefore, after\nthat, I challenged him to fight on these points, that being needful\nbefore they were done with. So we fought, and our feud was ended.\nHodulf is dead, and his courtmen would not live after him while there\nwas a chance of avenging his fall. That was before the host came up.\nNow I offer peace and friendship to all, and I can blame none who have\nheld to the king who has fallen. It was not to be expected that all\nwould own me at once. Only those Norsemen who came with Hodulf or have\ncome hither since must leave the land, and they shall go in honour,\ntaking their goods with them. Their time is up; that is all.\u201d\n\nIt was a long speech for Havelok, but in it was all that could be said.\nLong and closely did the chiefs look at him as he spoke, for none of\nthem had seen him before. His words were not idly to be set aside\neither, and they spoke together in a low voice when he had ended.\n\n\u201cThis is a matter for the whole host to settle,\u201d one said at last. \u201cWe\nwill speak to them, and give you an answer shortly.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake one of Hodulf\u2019s courtmen with you, that he may tell all of the\nfight,\u201d Havelok said: \u201che need not come back.\u201d\n\nI gave the man his arms again, for he might as well have them if he\nstayed.\n\n\u201cThanks, lord,\u201d he said. \u201cHere is one who will tell the truth for\nHavelok.\u201d\n\nThen our host sat down, and we watched the foemen as the news came to\nthem. We could not hear, of course, for they were a quarter of a mile\naway, but if any tumult rose we should be warned in time. They were\nvery still, however. There was a long talk, and then one chief came\nback to us.\n\n\u201cI am going to ask a strange thing,\u201d he said, \u201cbut the men wish to see\nHavelok face to face.\u201d\n\nNow Sigurd said that this was too great a risk, and even Withelm agreed\nwith him.\n\nBut Havelok answered, \u201cThe men are my own men, but they are not sure\nthat I am the right king. It is plain that I am like my father, and\ntherefore it is safe for me to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the chief, \u201cis what we told them, and what they wish to\nsee.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cI will come. Bid your men sit down, and bid the\nhorsemen dismount, and I will ride to them with five others. Then can\nbe no fear on either side.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will do well,\u201d said Sigurd; and the chief went back, and at once\nthe host sat down.\n\nThen Havelok rode to them, and with him went we three and Sigurd and\nBiorn.\n\nThere was a murmur of wonder as he came, and it grew louder as he\nunhelmed and stayed before them.\n\nAnd then one shouted, \u201cSkoal to Havelok Gunnarsson!\u201d and at once the\nshout was taken up along the line. And that shout grew until the chiefs\njoined in it, for it was the voice of the host, which cannot be\ngainsaid; and without more delay, one by one the leaders pressed\nforward and knelt on one knee to their king, and did homage to him.\nOnly the Norsemen held back; and presently, when we were talking to the\nDanish chiefs in all friendly wise, they drew apart with their men, and\nformed up into a close-ranked body that looked dangerous.\n\n\u201cSurely they do not mean to fight!\u201d said Withelm.\n\nThen one of them shouted that he must speak to the king, and that\nseemed as if they owned him at least, so Havelok went to them.\n\n\u201cYou have heard my terms,\u201d he said, \u201cand I think that they are all that\nyou could ask. What is amiss?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour terms are good enough,\u201d the speaker said, \u201cand we know that our\ntime is come. But we must have surety that the people will not fall on\nus, for we are flying, as it were. And we want the body of our king. We\nwould not have him buried any wise, as if he was a thrall.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe shall be given to you, and as for the rest none shall harm you.\nMoreover, for that saying about your king I will add this: that if\nthere are any of you who hold lands to which there is no Danish heir,\nhe shall take service with me if he will, and so keep them.\u201d\n\nSo there was no man in all the host who was not content; and that was\nthe second king-making of Havelok, as it were, for now there was no man\nagainst him. The hosts were disbanded then and there, and we went that\nday to Hodulf\u2019s town, and took possession of all that had been in his\nhands. Then was rejoicing over all the land, for a king of the old line\nwas on the throne once more, and his way was full of promise.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\nKING ALSI\u2019S WELCOME.\n\n\nNow there was one thing that was in the minds of all of us, and that\nwas the winning of Goldberga\u2019s kingdom for her; but that was a matter\nwhich was not to be thought of yet for a long while. Two years were we\nin Denmark, and well loved was Havelok by all, whether one speaks of\nthe other kings who owned him as Gunnar\u2019s heir at once, or the people\nover whom he and Goldberga reigned. But we sent messages to Arngeir and\nto Ragnar to say that all was well, and we heard from them in time how\nAlsi feared what was to come, and had rather make friends with the\nAnglians than offend them. So he had not given out anything that was\nagainst the princess, but had told all how she had wedded the heir of\nDenmark, and that she had given up her land to himself, and followed\nher husband across the sea. It was not hard for him to feign gladness\nin her well-doing; and Berthun counselled Ragnar to let things be thus,\nand yet prepare for her return.\n\nIn my own heart was the wish to go back to England always, for there\nwas my home; and I found that it was the same with my brothers, for\nthere is that in the English land which makes all who touch it love it.\nAnd there was the mound that held my father, and there were the folk\namong whom we had been brought up in the town that we had made; and I\nlonged to see once more the green marshes and the grey wolds of\nLindsey, and the brown waves of the wide Humber rolling shorewards,\nline after line. I tired of the heaths and forests and peat mosses of\nthis land of my birth. And if that was so to me, it was a yet deeper\nlonging in the hearts of the brothers who hardly remembered this place;\nand after a while we spoke of it more often.\n\nI do not know if we said much to others, but at last the younger chiefs\nbegan to wonder when the promised time when they should cross the\n\u201cswan\u2019s path\u201d for Goldberga should come. Maybe they tired of the long\npeace, as a Dane will. But when that talk began, Withelm knew that\nthings were ripe, and he told Havelok. That was in the third spring of\nHavelok\u2019s kingship, when it grew near to the time when men fit out\ntheir ships.\n\n\u201cThis is what I have looked for,\u201d he said; \u201cand now we will delay no\nlonger, for here am I king indeed, and there is none who will rise\nagainst me. Wonderful it is that men have hailed me thus. And now I\nwill tell you, brother, that I long for England. If I might take my\nfriends with me, I do not think that I should care if I never came here\nagain. It is not my home; and here my Goldberga is not altogether\nhappy, well as the folk love her.\u201d\n\nThereafter he called a great Thing[12] of all the freemen in the land,\nand set the matter plainly before them, asking if they minded the words\nhe spoke when they crowned the queen, and if they were still ready to\nfollow him to the winning of her crown beyond the sea.\n\nThere was no doubt what the answer would be; and it was said at once\nthat the sooner the ships were got ready the better.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cwho shall mind this land while I am away? It may\nbe long ere I come back.\u201d\n\nNow there was a cry that I should be king while Havelok was away,\nforsooth! and a poor hand I should have made at the business. But I\nsaid that it was foolishness, and that, moreover, I would go with\nHavelok. And when they said that this was modesty on my part, I\nanswered that I had seen several kings, and that there was but one who\nwas worth thinking of, and that was my brother; therefore, I would go\non serving him where I could see him.\n\n\u201cThis is what Grim, my father, said to me long ago,\u201d I said\u2014\u201cI was to\nmind the old saying, \u2018Bare is back without brother behind it;\u2019 and,\ntherefore, I must see Havelok safe through this.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, brother,\u201d says Havelok, laughing, \u201cif that saying must be\nremembered\u2014and I at least know it is true\u2014it would make for leaving you\nbehind me here to see all fair when my back was turned.\u201d\n\nThen he saw that I was grieved, for I thought for the moment that he\nwould bid me to stay, and so I should have to do so; but he took my\npart.\n\n\u201cI cannot be without my brothers,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I had any word in the\nmatter\u2014which mainly concerns the folk to be ruled, as it seems to me\n(for I do not know of any man who would not uphold me)\u2014I should say\nthat Sigurd the jarl was the right man, for all know that he is a good\nruler, nor will it be any new thing to submit to him.\u201d\n\nThat pleased all, and the end of it was that Sigurd was chosen to hold\nthe land for Havelok.\n\nThen Sigurd sat on the steps of the high place at Havelok\u2019s feet, and\nthe king said, \u201cI have no need to tell any man here who this is, and\nwhy I think him worthy of the highest honour, for all know him and his\nworth as well as I. Mainly by him was the thought of my return kept in\nthe minds of men, so that when the time came all were ready to hail me,\nas you have done. Therefore, as by him I am king, so I make him king\nalso for me. He shall rule all the land while I am away, and to him\nshall all men account as to me. And because it is right that his\nkingship should be certain, I give him all his jarldom as a kingdom\nfrom henceforth, only subject to me and my heirs as overlord. King\ntherefore he is, and none can say that you are ruled by naught but a\njarl.\u201d\n\nThen Havelok girt on the new king\u2019s sword, and set his own crowned helm\non his head for a moment; and all the Thing hailed him gladly, for he\nwas the right man without doubt.\n\nThen Sigurd did homage for his new honour; and after that he rose up,\nand grew red and uneasy, as if there was somewhat that he wished to\nsay, and was half afraid to do so.\n\nThereat some friend in the hall said, \u201cYou take your kingship worse\nthan did Radbard himself, as it seems. What is amiss?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, I wanted to go on the Viking path with Havelok, and now it seems\nthat I cannot.\u201d\n\nThen one shouted, \u201cI never heard of a land going wrong while its king\nwas away risking his life to get property for his men. There is no man\nhere who is going to rise against either you or Havelok. And it is only\nto send a message to our great overlord to say what we are about, and\nhe will see that the land is in peace. Nor do I think that any king\nwould harry Havelok\u2019s land, for he is well loved by all his peers.\u201d\n\nWherefore it seemed that Sigurd must go also, and we had to set Biorn\nas head man while Sigurd was away; but that would only be for a month\nor two. So all things were ordered well, and in a month we set sail\nwith twenty ships, and in them a matter of fifteen hundred men.\n\nAt first we thought that we would make for Grimsby; but then it seemed\nbest to land elsewhere, and more to the south, for we would have\nmessages sent at once to Ragnar to call East Anglia to Havelok\u2019s\nbanner, and Alsi would have less chance of cutting us off from him. So\nwe sailed to Saltfleet haven, which lies some twenty-five miles\nsouthward from Grimsby. Raven piloted us in safely, and there were none\nto hinder our landing. The town was empty, indeed, when the ships came\ninto the haven, for all had fled in haste, except a few thralls, for\nfear of the Vikings.\n\nYet when we sent these thralls to say that Goldberga had come for her\nown, the people came back and made us welcome, for her story was in\nevery mouth; and after that we fared well in Saltfleet, and men began\nto gather to us.\n\nWe sent to Arngeir and to Ragnar at once, and next day the Grimsby folk\nwere with us, but long before any word could come to Norwich, Alsi had\nset about gathering a host against us.\n\nBut we had not come to fight him for Lindsey, and our errand was to bid\nhim give up her own rights to Goldberga. One must be ready with the\nstrong hand if one expects to find justice from such a man; and Havelok\nhad thought it possible that if we came here first we should bring him\nto reason at once, whereas if we went to Norfolk there would be\nfighting with all the host of the Lindsey kingdom before long; while if\nhe did fight here we might save Goldberga\u2019s land from that trouble, and\nmaybe have fewer to deal with.\n\nSo a message was to be sent to Alsi at once, bidding him know that\nGoldberga had come to ask for her rights, and that he might give them\nto her in all honour. Arngeir was to take this, for it did not seem\nright that a Dane should do so, and he was one who would be listened\nto. I was to go with him, with my courtmen as guard; and we rode to\nLincoln on the fourth day after our coming to Saltfleet. Good it was to\nride over the old land again, and I thought that it had never looked\nmore fair with the ripening harvest, for when last I had seen it there\nwas none. The track of the famine was yet on all the villages, for\nfewer folk were in them than in the days before the pestilence and the\ndearth, but these had enough and to spare.\n\nAnd when these poor folk heard from us that Curan and his princess had\ncome again for what was hers, they took rusty weapons and flint-tipped\narrows and stone hammers from the hiding places in the thatch of their\nhovels, and went across the marshlands to where the little hill of\nSaltfleet stands above its haven, that they might help the one whom\nthey had loved as a fisher lad to become a mighty king.\n\nSo we came to Lincoln, and already there was a gathering of thanes and\ntheir men in the town, and they knew on what errand we had come well\nenough. But they were courteous, and we were given quarters in the town\nat once, that we might see Alsi with the first light in the morning.\n\nI will not say that we had a quiet night there, for we did not trust\nAlsi; but we had no need to fear. In the morning Eglaf came to bid us\nto the palace to speak with the king.\n\n\u201cThis is about what I expected, when I heard of the mistake that our\nking had made,\u201d he said, \u201cand so far you are in luck. It is not\neveryone who is a fisher one day and captain of the courtmen next, as\none might say. I like the look of your men, and I am going to take some\nof the credit of that to myself, for a man has to learn before he can\ncommand.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not deny your share in the matter,\u201d I answered, laughing, \u201cfor\nhad it not been for my time with you I had been at sea altogether. Now,\nshall we have to fight you?\u201d\n\nHe shrugged his broad shoulders.\n\n\u201cWho knows what is in the mind of our king? I do not, and you know\nenough of him by this time to be certain that one cannot guess. He may\nbe all smiles and rejoicing that his dear niece has come back safely,\nor just the other way. He has been very careful how he has dealt with\nthe Norfolk thanes of late, and what that means I do not know.\u201d\n\nThen he asked what had become of Griffin, and I told him. I do not\nthink that he was surprised, for some word of the matter had reached\nhere by the news that chapmen bring from all parts.\n\nNow there was no more time for talk, for we came to the hall; and we\nwent in, Arngeir leading, and the rest of us following two by two. The\nhall was pretty full of thanes and their men, and it was just as I had\nlast seen it. Alsi sat alone on his high seat, and there was no man\nwith him on the dais. I thought that he looked thinner and anxious.\n\nArngeir went up the hall at once, and stood before the king, and\ngreeted him in the English way, which seemed strange to me after the\ntwo years of Danish customs; and then Alsi bade him tell his errand.\n\n\u201cI have come from Goldberga of East Anglia, and from Havelok the Dane,\nher husband, to say that she has returned to her land, and would ask\nthat you would give her the throne that you have held for her since the\nday that her father made you her guardian. It has been said that she\nmight ask you to give account of your management of the realm to her;\nbut that she does not wish to do, being sure that all will be rightly\ndone in the matter, and she only asks to be set in the place that was\nher father\u2019s.\u201d\n\nSo said Arngeir, plainly, and I could see that the thanes thought the\nwords good.\n\nAnd Alsi answered, \u201cHas this matter been put before the Witan of the\nEast Angles?\u201d\n\nI suppose that he thought to hear Arngeir say that there had been no\ntime for so doing at present, but my brother was readier than I should\nhave been.\n\n\u201cDoubtless it has,\u201d he said, \u201cfor that was your own promise to\nGoldberga on her marriage.\u201d\n\nAt that Alsi flushed, and his brows wrinkled. He had said nothing to\nthe Witan at all, but had waited in hopes that he should hear no more\nof his niece, telling the tale that we had heard.\n\n\u201cI have had no answer from them,\u201d he said at last, for Arngeir was\nlooking at him in a way that he could not meet. \u201cIt was her saying that\nshe would do this for herself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen they do not refuse,\u201d said Arngeir quietly, \u201cnor did I think that\nthey would do so. It only remains therefore, that you, King Alsi,\nshould do your part. Then can the queen speak to the Witan, even as she\nsaid, concerning her husband.\u201d\n\nNow it must have been clear to the king that nothing short of a plain\nanswer would be taken, and he sat and thought for a while. One could\nsee that he was planning what to say, as if things had not gone as he\nexpected. Maybe he hoped to put off the matter by talk of asking the\nWitan, and so to gain time, for we had certainly taken him unawares.\n\nAt last he said, \u201cHow am I to know that you are here with full power to\nspeak for Goldberga? For this is a weighty matter.\u201d\n\nArngeir held out his hand, and on it was the ring of Orwenna the queen,\nwhich Alsi had last seen here on the high place.\n\n\u201cThere is the token, King Alsi, and it is one which you know well,\u201d he\nanswered.\n\n\u201cAy, I know it,\u201d answered the king with a grin that was not pleasant.\n\nAnd then he said, \u201cI will speak with my thanes, and give you word to\ncarry back in an hour\u2019s time, now that I know you to be a true\nmessenger.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere should be no reason for waiting so long as that, nor do I think\nthat the matter of the throne of East Anglia is a question for Lindsey\nthanes,\u201d answered Arngeir at once. \u201cAll this is between you and the\nprincess.\u201d\n\nThereat one of the thanes rose up and said, \u201cIf a kingdom has been\nhanded over to our king, it is not to be taken again without our having\na good deal to say about it. I do not know, moreover, if we can have a\nforeigner over any part of our land.\u201d\n\n\u201cGoldberga never gave up her right to the kingdom,\u201d Arngeir answered,\n\u201cas anyone who was here at the wedding would tell you. And as for\nHavelok, her husband, being a foreigner, it seems to me that a Jute who\nhas been brought up here in Lindsey since he was seven winters old is\nless a foreigner than a Briton is to us.\u201d\n\nNone made any answer to that, and I could see that the king was growing\nangry at being met thus at every turn. But he began to smile in that\nway of his that I had learned to mistrust.\n\n\u201cThat is not altogether courteous to either Goldberga or myself,\u201d he\nsaid, as if he would think the words a jest, seeing that he was half\nWelsh. \u201cGive me time, I pray you, to think of this, as I have asked,\nand you shall go back with your answer.\u201d\n\nThere was no help for it, and we had to leave the hall in order that\nAlsi might say what he had to say to his thanes. And I said to Arngeir\nthat it seemed that we should have to fight the matter out.\n\n\u201cAlsi risks losing both kingdoms if he does that,\u201d he answered, \u201cfor we\nshall take what we choose if we are the victors. The visions that have\nbeen thus right so far say that we shall be so.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall be glad if we do come out on the right side,\u201d I said; \u201cbut I\nhave not so much faith in these dream tellings as some. Nor do I think\nthat it seems altogether fair to fight on a certainty.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen it is a matter of punishing one who does not keep faith, I do not\nthink that it matters much,\u201d he answered, laughing. \u201cI should like\ncertainty that he would not get the best of the honest side in that\ncase.\u201d\n\nWe were outside on the wide green within the square of the Roman walls\nat this time, and now from within the hall came the sound of shouts and\ncheering which we heard plainly enough. But whether it meant that the\nthanes cheered Alsi because he would fight, rather than that they\napplauded his justice to his niece, was not to be known as yet. As for\nme, I thought that it was hardly likely to be the latter.\n\nThen came three thanes from the hail with the message, and it was this,\n\u201cAlsi bids Havelok go back to his own land and bide content therewith.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat word is there for Goldberga, then?\u201d asked Arngeir.\n\n\u201cNone. She has thrown in her lot with the Dane, and it is he with whom\nwe will not deal.\u201d\n\nThen said I, \u201cHow was it that she had to throw in her lot with Havelok?\nHe was Alsi\u2019s own choice for her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not what we have heard,\u201d the spokesman answered. \u201cNow it is\nbest that you go hence, for you have the answer.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis means fighting for Goldberga\u2019s rights,\u201d said Arngeir, \u201cand I will\ntell you that Havelok will not be backward in the matter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case we shall meet again on the battlefield ere long,\u201d\nanswered the thane. \u201cI will not say that Havelok is in the wrong, and\nthings might have been better settled. Farewell till then. The Norns\nwill show who is right.\u201d\n\nSo we went, and I thought, as did Arngeir, that there was some little\nfeeling among his men that Alsi was wrong.\n\nNow Alsi set to work to gather forces in earnest, and he went to work\nin a way that was all his own: for, saying nothing about Goldberga, he\nsent to all his thanes with word that the Vikings had come in force and\ninvaded the land, led by the son of Gunnar Kirkeban, whose ways were\nworse than those of his father, for he spared none, whereas Kirkeban\nharried but the Welsh Christian folk. He prayed them therefore to\nhasten, that this scourge might be driven back to the sea whence he\ncame. And that brought men to him fast, for no Englishman can bear that\nan invader shall set foot on his shore, be he who he may. Few knew who\nthe wife of Havelok was at that time, but I do not know that it would\nhave made so much difference if they had. None thought that into\nEngland had come the fair princess who was so well loved.\n\nSorely troubled was Goldberga when she heard this answer, but it was\nall that the rest of us looked for. And the next question was how best\nto meet the false king.\n\nIn the end we did a thing that may seem to some to have been rash\naltogether, but it was our wish to compel Alsi to fight before his\nforce was great enough to crush us. It might be long before Ragnar\ncould raise a host and join us, for there was always a chance that he\nmight have trouble in getting the Norfolk thanes to come to his\nstandard for a march on Lindsey. If we had gone to Norfolk at once\nthere would have been no fear of that kind, but the fighting might have\nbeen more bitter and longer drawn out.\n\nWe sent the fleet southward into the Wash, that it might wait for us at\nthe port of the Fossdyke, on what men call the Frieston shore; and then\nwe left Saltfleet and marched across country to the wolds, and\nsouthward and westward along them, that we might draw Alsi from\nLincoln. And all the way men joined us for the sake of Curan, whom they\nknew, and of Goldberga, of whom they had heard, so that in numbers at\nleast our host was a great one. Ragged it might be, as one may say,\nwith the wild marshmen, who had no sort of training and no chiefs to\nkeep them in hand; but I knew that no host Alsi could get together had\nany such trained force in it as we had in the fifteen hundred Vikings,\nfor they had seen many fights, and the ways of the sea teach men to\nhold together and to obey orders at once and without hesitating.\n\nSo we went until we came to Tetford, above Horncastle town; and there\nis a great camp on a hilltop, made by the British, no doubt, in the\ndays when they fought with Rome. There we stayed, for Alsi was upon us.\nWe saw the fires of his camp in the village and on the hillsides across\nthe valley, but a mile or two from us that night; and it seemed that\nhis host was greater than ours, as we thought it would be, but not so\nmuch so as to cause dread of the battle that was to come.\n\nNow there were two men who came to us that night, and we thought that\nthey had brought some message from Alsi at first. But all that they\nwanted was to join Havelok, and we were glad of them. They were those\ntwo seconds of Griffin\u2019s, Cadwal and the other, whose name was Idrys,\nand with them was David the priest, who had fled to us.\n\n\u201cWe know that Havelok is one who is worth fighting for,\u201d they said,\n\u201cfor we have proved it already. We are not Alsi\u2019s men, and our fathers\nfought for his mother\u2019s Welsh kin against the English long ago. Let us\nfight for the rights of Goldberga, at least.\u201d\n\nHavelok welcomed them in all friendliness, though he asked them if they\nhad no grudge against him for the slaying of Griffin.\n\n\u201cAs to that,\u201d they said, \u201cafter the duel we think that he deserved all\nthat has befallen him. We were ashamed to be his seconds.\u201d\n\nNow these two took in hand to lead the marshmen, and set to work with\nthem at once, for they were ready to follow them as known thanes of the\nBritish. And that was something gained.\n\nWe slept on our arms that night, and all night long David woke and\nprayed for our success, and I think that his prayers were not lost.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\nBY TETFORD STREAM.\n\n\nIn the early morning Alsi set his men in order in the valley, and\nseemed to wait for us to come down to him, for it was of no use to try\nto take the strong camp which sheltered us. And so, after council held,\nwe did not keep him waiting, but left the hill and marched on him. We\nhad the camp to fall back on if things went the wrong way, and beyond\nthat the road to the sea and the ships was open, with a chance of\nmeeting Ragnar on the way, moreover.\n\nVery long and deep seemed the line as we neared it, and it was formed\non the banks of a stream that runs down the valley, so that we must\ncross the water to attack. But the stream was shallow now with the\nAugust heat, and it was not much sunk between its banks.\n\nWhen he saw that, Sigurd, who was a man of many fights, said that we\nhad better send the marshmen round to fall on the wings of the foe,\nwhile we went straight for the centre of the line in the wedge\nformation that the Viking loves. For so we should have no trouble in\ncrossing the stream, and should cut the force against us in two.\n\nSo the two Welsh thanes led their wild levies out on either side of us\nDanes, who were in the centre, and then we formed the wedge. Havelok\nhimself would have gone first of all at its point: but that we would\nnot suffer, for if he fell the battle was lost at its beginning.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d he said, \u201cfor we fight for Goldberga.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what would she say were we to set you foremost of us all?\u201d asked\nWithelm. \u201cLittle love were there to either of you in that. You are the\nheart of the host, and one shields that although it gives strength to\nall the hands which obey it.\u201d\n\nSo Withelm and Arngeir and I went foremost, and behind us came the\ncourtmen, and in the midst of their shield wall was Havelok, with Raven\nand the banner at his side. After them, rank on rank and with\nclose-locked shields, was such a force as had not been seen in Lindsey\nfor many a long day. Alsi\u2019s men grew very silent as they saw us come\non, until we reached, through a storm of arrows that could not stay us,\nthe bank of the stream, and then they raised a war song that roared and\nthundered among the hills as though the tide was coming up the valley\nin one great wave. But we saved our breath until the first of us were\non the banks of the stream, and then I shouted, and with a great shout\nof \u201cAhoy!\u201d in answer, we charged through the stream and up the far\nbank, where Alsi\u2019s spearmen waited for us.\n\nThey crowded together as they saw how narrow our front was, and there\nwas a hedge of steel before us three brothers; but the spear is not the\nweapon to use if one would check the onrush of the Northman\u2019s wedge,\nand shield and axe between them dashed and hewed a way to the men who\ngot to their swords too late, and then we were in the midst of Alsi\u2019s\nline, with the gap that we had made widening behind us with each step\nthat we took forward.\n\nNow it was sheer hewing at the mass who crowded on us; and I mind how\nwe seemed to fight in silence, although the battle cries were\nunceasing, and waxed ever louder; for it was as when one walks by the\nshore and thinks not at all of the noise of breakers that never ends.\nNow and then there was one shout that was new, and it seemed to be the\nonly voice. Most of all, the noise grew on the wings where the savage\nWelsh fell on their masters and ancient foes in wild tumult.\n\nWe tried to cut our way to Alsi, for we could see him as he sat on his\nhorse\u2014the only mounted man in all the hosts; but we could not reach\nhim. And presently the time came when we who were foremost must let\nfresh men take our places. Sigurd stepped to my side, and Withelm fell\nback, and another took the place of Arngeir, and then my turn came, and\nwe went slowly from the front to where the hollow centre of the wedge\ngave us rest. Only a few arrows fell there now and then; but the time\nfor using bows was past, seeing that we were hand to hand with all the\nLindsey host. And then I saw that Sigurd had done what we had failed\nin, for he had reached the shield wall that was round the king himself.\nAnd for a moment I was savage that the chance came to him so soon after\nI had left the fighting line; but then I minded that Eglaf, my friend,\nwould be there, and I was glad that I need not cross swords with him\nafter all. I had thought of that happening before the fight began, but\nin the turmoil of hottest struggle I had forgotten it.\n\nNow Sigurd was before the thick mass of the housecarls, and hand to\nhand with them; and then he was among them, and he leapt at the bridle\nof Alsi\u2019s horse and grasped it. I saw the king\u2019s sword flash down on\nhis helm, and he reeled under the stroke, but without letting go of the\nrein. Then the housecarls made a rush, and bore back our men, and the\nhorse reared suddenly. There was a wild shout, and the war saddle was\nempty; and again our men surged forward, so that I could not see what\nhad happened.\n\nBut now our Welshmen had been beaten back from the wings\u2014not easily,\nbut for want of training\u2014and they were forced back across the brook,\nand there held our bank well, giving way no step further. The water\nkept them in an even front, against their will, as it were; and Alsi\u2019s\nmen charged them in vain, knee deep in the stream that ran red. But\nthat let loose the men who had been held back from us; and now we were\noverborne by numbers, and we began to go back. That was the worst part\nof the whole fight, and the hardest hour of all the battle, as may be\nsupposed, for the wedge grew closer, as it was forced together by sheer\nweight. None ever broke into it.\n\nPresently our rear was on the water\u2019s edge, and it seemed likely that\nin crossing there might be a breaking of the line; and when he saw\nthat, Havelok called to me, and he went to the front with the courtmen\nround him. It was good to hear the cheers of our men as they saw the\ndancing banner above the fight, and beneath it, in the bright sun, the\ngold-circled helm of their king. The Lindseymen drew back a foot\u2019s pace\nas they saw the giant who came on them, and I heard some call that this\nwas Curan of Grimsby, as if in wonder. Then we had to fight hard, and\nSigurd fell back past me, with a wound on his shoulder where Alsi\u2019s\nsword had glanced from the helm. No life had been left to Sigurd had a\nbetter hand wielded the weapon; but he was not badly hurt. I could not\nsee Alsi anywhere, nor Eglaf.\n\nSteadily the numbers drove us back, though before Havelok was always a\nspace into which men hardly dared to come. The wedge was pushed away\nfrom us, and we had to fall back with it, until we crossed the stream;\nand there Sigurd swung the massed men into line, and then came the\nfirst pause in the fight. The two hosts stood, with the narrow water\nbetween them, and glared on each other, silent now. And then the bowmen\nbegan to get to work from either side, until the arrows were all gone.\n\nNow Havelok called to the foe, and they were silent while he spoke to\nthem.\n\n\u201cIs Alsi yet alive?\u201d he said; \u201cfor if not, I have no war with his men.\nIf he is, let me speak with him.\u201d\n\nNone answered for a while, and the men looked at each other as if they\nknew not if the man they were fighting for lived or not.\n\nThen one came forward and said, \u201cAlsi lives, and we have not done with\nyou yet. Get you back to your home beyond the sea!\u201d\n\nAnd then they charged us again; but the water was a better front for us\nthan it had been for them, and across it they could not win. We drove\nthem back once and twice; and again came a time when both sides were\nwearied and must needs rest.\n\nSo it went on until night fell. We never stirred from that water\u2019s\nedge, and the stream was choked with valiant English and hardy Danes;\nand yet the attacks came with the shout of \u201cOut! out!\u201d and the answer\nfrom us of \u201cHavelok, ahoy!\u201d\n\nAt last one who seemed a great chief came and cried a truce, for night\nwas falling; and he said that if Havelok would claim no advantage\ntherefrom, the men of Lindsey would get back from the field, and leave\nit free for us to take our fallen.\n\n\u201cBut I must have your word that with the end of that task you go back\nto the place you now hold, that we may begin afresh, if it seems good\nto us, in the morning.\u201d\n\nThen said Havelok, \u201cThat is well spoken, and I cannot but agree. Who\nare you, however, for I must know that this is said with authority?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the Earl of Chester,\u201d he answered. \u201cAlsi has set the leading of\nthe host in my hands, for he is hurt somewhat.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not think that Mercians would have troubled to fight to uphold\nAlsi of Lindsey in his ways with his niece,\u201d Havelok said.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d said the earl. \u201cHither came I for love of fighting,\nmaybe, in the first place; and next to drive out certain Vikings. I\nknow naught of the business of which you speak.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said I, \u201cgo and ask Eglaf, the captain of the housecarls, for\nhe knows all about it. We are no raiding Danes, but those who fight for\nGoldberga of East Anglia.\u201d\n\nAt that a hum of voices went down the English line, and this earl bit\nhis lip in doubt.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cthat is Alsi\u2019s affair, and I will speak to him. We\nhave had a good fight, and I will not say that either of us has the\nbest of it. Shall it be as I have said?\u201d\n\n\u201cAy,\u201d answered Havelok; and the earl drew off his men for half a mile,\nand in the gathering dusk we crossed the brook, and went on our errand\nacross the field. It was not hard to find our men, for they lay in a\ngreat wedge as we had fought. There had been no straggling from that\narray, and no break had been made in its lines. Alsi had lost more than\nwe, for his men had beaten against that steel wall in vain, and the\narms of the Northman are better than those of any other nation.\n\nWe took the wounded back to the camp, and there Goldberga and the wives\nof our English thanes tended them; and as we gathered up the slain the\nLindsey men were among us at the same work, and we spoke to them as if\nnaught was amiss between us, nor any fight to begin again in the\nmorning. And then we learned how few knew what we had come for. It was\nwith them as with the Earl of Chester. They had no knowledge of\nGoldberga\u2019s homecoming, and least of all thought that at the back of\nthe trouble were the wiles of Alsi. It was two years ago that Goldberga\nhad gone, and her wedding had seemed to end her story. Now the men\nheard and wondered; and it is said that very many left Alsi that night\nand went home, angry with him for his falsehood.\n\nNow when all was done we sought rest, and weary we were. I will say for\nmyself that I did not feel like fighting next morning at all, for I was\ntired out, and the one or two wounds that I had were getting sorely\nstiff. Raven was much in the same case, and grumbled, sailor-wise, at\nthe weight of the banner and aught else that came uppermost in his\nmind. Yet I knew that he would be the first to go forward again when\nthe time came.\n\nThe host slept on their arms along the bank of the stream through the\nhot night, and the banner was pitched in their midst. Soon the moon\nrose, and only the footsteps of the sentries along our front went up\nand down, while across the water was the same silence; for both hosts\nwere wearied out, and each had learned that the other were true men,\nand there was no mistrust on either side. When the light came once more\nwe should fight to prove who were the best men at arms, and with no\nhatred between us.\n\nPresently the mists crept up from the stream and wreathed the sleepers\non either bank with white, swaying clouds, and I mind that the last\nthought I had before I closed my eyes was that my armour would be\nrusted by the clinging damp\u2014as if it were not war-stained from helm to\ndeerskin shoe already with stains that needed more cleansing than any\nrust.\n\nThen I waked suddenly, for someone went past me, and I sat up to see\nwho it might be. The moon was very bright and high now, but the figure\nthat I saw wading in the white mist was shadowy, and I could not tell\nwho it was. And then another and yet another figure came from the rear\nof our line, and passed among the sleeping ranks, and joined the first\nnoiselessly; and after a little while many came, hurrying, and they\nformed up on the bank of the stream into the mighty wedge. And I feared\ngreatly, for not one of the sleepers stirred as the warriors went among\nus, and I had looked on the faces of those who passed me, and I knew\nthat they were the dead whom I had seen the men gather even now and lay\nin their last rank beyond our line.\n\nThen I saw that on the far bank was gathered another host, and that was\nof Alsi\u2019s men, and among them I knew the forms of some who had fallen\nin the first onset when I led the charge.\n\nI tried to put forth my hand to wake Withelm, but I could not stir, and\nwhen I would have spoken, I could frame no word, so that alone in all\nthe host I saw the slain men fight their battle over again, step by\nstep. The wedge of the Northmen won to the far shore as we had won\u2014as\nthey had won in life but a few hours ago\u2014and into the line of foemen\nthey cut their way, and on the far side of the stream they stayed and\nfought, as it had been in the battle. Yet though one could see that the\nmen shouted and cried, there was no sound at all, and among the wildest\nturmoil walked the sentries of Alsi\u2019s host unconcerned and unknowing.\nAnd to me they seemed to be the ghosts, and the phantom strife that\nwhich was real.\n\nThen I was ware of a stranger thing yet than all I had seen so far, for\non the field were more than those whom I knew. There stood watching on\neither side of the battle two other ghostly hosts, taking no part in\nthe struggle, but watching it as we had watched from our place when we\nfell back into the rear to rest, pointing and seeming to cheer strokes\nthat were good and deeds that were valiant. And I knew that these were\nmen who had fought and died on this same field in older days, for on\none side were the white-clad Britons, and on the other the stern,\ndark-faced Romans, steel and bronze from head to foot.\n\nSo the battle went onward to where we had won and had been pressed\nback; and then, little by little, the hosts faded away, and with them\nwent the watchers, and surely across the field went the quick gallop of\nno earthly steeds, the passing to Odin of the choosers of the slain,\nthe Valkyries.\n\nThen came across the brook to me one through the mist, and the sentries\npaid no heed to him, and he came to my side and spoke to me. It was\nCadwal, the Welsh thane, and his breast was gashed so that I thought\nthat he could not have lived.\n\n\u201cAy, I am dead,\u201d he said, \u201cas men count death, and yet I would have\npart in victory over Alsi, for the sake of Havelok and of Goldberga.\nStay up my body on the morrow, that I may seem to fight at least, that\nI may bide in the ranks once more in the day of victory. Little victory\nhave the British seen since Hengist came. Say that you will do this.\u201d\n\nThen he looked wistfully at me, and I gave him some token of assent;\nand at that came back all the shadows of our men, and seemed to pray\nthe same. And then was a stir of feet near me, and a shadow across the\ntrampled grass, and instead of the dead the voice of Havelok spoke\nsoftly to me, and with him was Goldberga, clad in her mail. And I\nthought that they and I were slain also, and I cried to this one who\nseemed to be one of Odin\u2019s maidens that I too would fain be stayed up\nwith Cadwal and the rest, that I might have part in victory.\n\nThen Goldberga stooped to me, and laid her soft hand on my forehead,\nand took off my helm, so that the air came to me, and thereat I woke\naltogether.\n\n\u201cBrother,\u201d she said, \u201cyou are restless and sorely wounded, as it seems.\nIt is not good that you should lie in this mist.\u201d\n\nAt her voice the others woke, and for a while she talked with us in a\nlow tone, cheering us. And presently she asked of that strange request\nthat I had made to her.\n\nI told her, for it was a message that should not be kept back, thus\ngiven; and when he heard it, Withelm sighed a little, and said, \u201cWould\nthat we had all those who have fallen. Yet if it is as they have asked\nour brother, our host will seem as strong as before we joined battle in\nthe morning. Leave this to me, brother, for it may be done.\u201d\n\nThen he rose up and went softly to where Idrys, the friend of Cadwal,\nlay, and spoke long with him. It was true that Cadwal was slain, though\nI had not yet heard of it until he told me himself thus.\n\nThen I slept heavily, while the others talked for a while. It is a hard\nplace at a wedge tip when Englishmen are against one; and I am not much\nuse in a council. Presently they would wake me if my word was wanted.\n\nBut it was not needed, for the sunlight woke me. There was a growing\nstir in our lines and across the water also, and I looked round. The\nmists were yet dense, for there was not enough breeze to stir the heavy\nfolds of the banner, and Raven slept still with his arm round its\nstaff. Havelok was not here now, and I thought that he had gone to the\ncamp with Goldberga, and would be back shortly.\n\nThen I saw that our rear rank was already formed up, as I thought, and\nthat is not quite the order of things, as a rule, and it seemed far off\nfrom the stream. I thought that they should have asked me about this,\nfor there were some of my courtmen in that line.\n\nAnd then I saw that in the line was no movement, and no flash of arms,\nas when one man speaks to another, turning a little. And before that\nline stood the form of a chief who leant on his broad spear, motionless\nand seeming watchful. I knew him at once, and it was Cadwal, and those\nhe commanded were the dead. That was even to me an awesome sight, for\nin the mists they seemed ready and waiting for the word that would\nnever come to their ears, resting on the spears that they could use no\nmore. It had been done by the marshmen in the dark hours of the\nmorning, and from across the stream I saw Alsi\u2019s men staring at the new\nforce that they thought had come to help us. There were men enough\nmoving along our bank with food to us to prevent them seeing that this\nline stirred not at all.\n\nThere was a scald who came with us from Denmark, and now with the full\nrising of the sun he took his harp and went along the stream bank\nsinging the song of Dunheidi fight and so sweet was his voice, and so\nstrong, that even Alsi\u2019s men gathered to hearken to him. His name was\nHeidrek, and he has set all that he saw with Havelok into a saga; but\nwe, here, mostly remember the brave waking that he gave us that\nmorning. It was wonderful how the bright song cheered us. One saw that\nthe stiffened limbs shook themselves into litheness once more, and the\nlistless faces brightened, and into the hearts that were heavy came new\nhope, and that was the song\u2019s work.\n\nNow men began to jest with their foes across the stream, and those who\nhad Danish loaves threw them across in exchange for English, that they\nmight have somewhat to talk of. Ours were rye, and theirs of barley;\nbut it was not a fair change after ours had been so long a voyage.\n\nIt was not long before our war horns sounded for the mustering, and men\nran to their arms. The Lindsey host drew back from the talk with our\nmen at the same time, and, without waiting for word from their leaders,\nbegan to get in line along the stream, where they had been when we\nhalted last night. But we had no thought of falling on them until we\nhad had some parley with the king or the Earl of Chester. And now it\nwas plain that with the grim rearguard behind us we outnumbered the men\nof Alsi who were left.\n\nNow came from the village in rear of the foe a little company, in the\nmidst of which was one horseman, and that was the king himself. His arm\nwas slung to his breast, and he sat his horse weakly, so that it was\ntrue enough that he had been hurt. With him were the earl and Eglaf,\nand the housecarls, and I sent one to fetch Havelok quickly, that there\nmight be no delay in the words that were to be said.\n\nAlsi rode to the water\u2019s edge and looked out over our host, and his\nwhite face became whiter, and his thin lips twitched as he saw that our\nline was no weaker than it had seemed when first he saw it. He spoke to\nthe earl, and he too counted the odds before him, and he smiled a\nlittle to himself. He had not much to say to Alsi.\n\nThen broke out a thunderous cheer from all our men, for with Havelok\nand Sigurd at her horse\u2019s rein, and with Withelm\u2019s courtmen of her own\nguard behind her, came Goldberga the queen to speak with the man who\nhad broken his trust. She had on her mail, as on the day when we ended\nHodulf; and she rode to the centre of our line, and there stayed, with\na flush on her cheek that the wild shouts of our men had called there.\n\nThen I heard the name of \u201cGoldberga, Goldberga!\u201d run down the English\nline, and I saw Alsi shrink back into himself, as it were; and then\nsome Lincoln men close to him began to grow restless, and all at once\nthey lifted their helms and cheered also, and that cheer was taken up\nby all the host, as it seemed, until the ring of hills seemed alive\nwith voices. And with that Alsi half turned his horse to fly.\n\nYet his men did not mean to leave him. It was but the hailing of the\nlady whom they knew, and her coming thus was more than the simple\nwarriors had wit or mind to fathom. But now Goldberga held up her hand,\nand the cries ceased, and silence came. Then she lifted her voice,\nclear as a silver bell, and said, \u201cIt seems strange to me that English\nfolk should be fighting against me and my husband\u2019s men who have\nbrought me home. I would know the meaning of this, King Alsi, for it\nwould seem that your oath to my father is badly kept. Maybe I have\nthought that the people would not have me in his place; but their voice\ndoes not ring in those shouts, for which I thank them with all my\nheart, as if they hated me. Now, therefore, I myself ask that my\nguardian will give up to me that which is my own.\u201d\n\nWe held our peace, but a hum of talk went all through the English\nranks. The Earl of Chester sat down on the bank, and set his sword\nacross his knees, and began to tie the peace strings round the hilt, in\ntoken that he was going to fight no more. Now and then he looked at\nGoldberga, and smiled at her earnest face. But Alsi made no sign of\nanswer.\n\nThen the queen spoke again to him.\n\n\u201cThere must be some reason why you have thus set a host in arms against\nme,\u201d she said, \u201cand what that may be I would know.\u201d\n\nThen, as Alsi answered not at all, the earl spoke frankly.\n\n\u201cWe were told that we had to drive out the Vikings, and I must say that\nthey do not go easily. But it was not told us that they came here to\nright a wrong, else had I not fought.\u201d\n\nMany called out in the same words, and then sat down as the earl had\ndone.\n\nAnd at last Alsi spoke for himself.\n\n\u201cWe do not fight against you, my niece, but against the Danes. We\ncannot have them in the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey do not mean to bide here, but they will not go before my throne\nis given to me. Never came a foreign host into a land in more friendly\nwise than this of mine.\u201d\n\nAt that Alsi\u2019s face seemed to clear, and his forced smile came to him.\nHe looked round on the thanes who were nearest him, and coughed, and\nthen answered, \u201cHere has been some mistake, my niece, and it has cost\nmany good lives. If it is even as you say, get you to your land of\nAnglia, and there shall be peace. I myself will send word to Ragnar\nthat he shall hail you as queen.\u201d\n\nThen up spoke a new voice, and it was one that I knew well.\n\n\u201cNo need to do that, lord king,\u201d said Berthun the cook. \u201cHere have I\ncome posthaste, and riding day and night, to say that Ragnar is but a\nday\u2019s march from here, that he and all Norfolk may see that their queen\ncomes to her own.\u201d\n\nThen Alsi\u2019s face grew ashy pale, and without another word he swung his\nhorse round and went his way. I saw him reel in the saddle before he\nhad gone far, and Eglaf set his arm round him and stayed him up. After\nhim Goldberga looked wistfully, for she was forgiving, and had fain\nthat he had spoken one word of sorrow. But none else heeded him, for\nnow the thanes, led by the earl himself, came thronging across the\nwater, that they might ask forgiveness for even seeming to withstand\nGoldberga. And on both sides the men set down their arms, and began to\npile mighty fires, that the peace made should not want its handfasting\nfeast.\n\nFor the fair princess had won her own, and there was naught but\ngladness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\nPEACE, AND FAREWELL.\n\n\nNow there was feasting enough, and somewhere they found at a thane\u2019s\nhouse a great tent, and they set that up, so that Havelok and Goldberga\nmight have their own court round them, as it were. Gladly did Berthun\nrid himself of war gear and take to his old trade again. I suppose that\nthe little Tetford valley had never heard the like sounds of rejoicing\nbefore.\n\nNear midnight a man came to me and said that a message had come to me\nfrom the other side, and I rose from the board and went out, to find\nEglaf waiting for me in the moonlight. He was armed, and his face was\nwan and tired.\n\n\u201cCome apart, friend,\u201d he said; \u201cI have a message from the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, to Havelok. But you must hear it first, and then tell him as you\nwill.\u201d\n\nWe walked away from the tent and across the hillside for some way, and\nthen he said without more words, \u201cThis is the message that Alsi sends\nto Havelok, whose name was Curan. \u2018Forgive the things that are past,\nfor many there are that need forgiving. I have no heir, and it is for\nmyself that I have schemed amiss. In Lincoln town lies a great\ntreasure, of which Eglaf and I alone know. Give it, I pray you, to your\nDanes, that they may harm the land not at all, and so shall I ward off\nsome of the evil that might come through me even yet. I think that,\nafter me, you shall be king.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is wise of Alsi; but is there no word for Goldberga?\u201d\n\n\u201cAy, but not by my mouth. I fetched David the priest two hours ago, and\nhe bears those messages.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there yet more to say?\u201d I asked, for it seemed to me that there\nwas.\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d he answered. \u201cAlsi is dead.\u201d\n\nSo there was an end of all his schemings, and I will say no more of\nthem. It was Eglaf\u2019s thought that it was not so much his hurts that had\nkilled the king, but a broken heart because of this failure. For the\nsecond time now I knew that it is true that \u201cold sin makes new shame.\u201d\n\nNow how we told Havelok this, and how Goldberga was somewhat comforted\nby the words that David the priest brought her from her uncle, there is\nno need to say. But when the news was known in all the host of Lindsey,\nthere was a great gathering of all in the wide meadow, and we sat in\nthe camp and wondered what end should be to the talk. Ragnar had come;\nbut his host was now no great one, for we had sent word to him of the\npeace, and there was a great welcome for him and his men.\n\nThe Lindsey thanes did not talk long, and presently some half dozen of\nthe best of them came to us, and said that with one accord the\ngathering would ask that Havelok and Goldberga should reign over them.\n\n\u201cWe will answer for all in the land,\u201d they said. \u201cIf there are other\nthanes who should have had a word in the matter, they are not here\nbecause, knowing more than we, they would not fight for Alsi in this\nquarrel. If there is any other man to be thought of, he cannot go\nagainst the word of the host.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have my kingdom in Denmark,\u201d said Havelok, \u201cand my wife has hers in\nAnglia. How should we take this? See, here is Ragnar of Norwich; he is\nworthy to be king, if any. Here, too, is the Earl of Chester, who led\nyou. It will be well to set these two names before the host.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe host will have none but Havelok and Goldberga,\u201d they said.\n\nSo the long-ago visions came to pass, and in a few days more we were\nfeasting in the old hall at Lincoln. But before we left the valley of\nthe battle we laid in mound in all honour those who had fallen. Seven\ngreat mounds we made, at which men wonder and will wonder while they\nstand at Tetford. For well fought the Danes of Goldberga, and well\nfought the Lindseymen on that day. Yet I think that those who would\nfain have lived to see the victory had their share in it, as they stood\nin their grim and silent ranks behind us.\n\nThen was a new crowning of those two, and messages to the overlord of\nLindsey, sent by the thanes, to say that all was settled on the old\nlines of peaceful tribute to be paid; and then, when word and presents\ncame back from him, Goldberga rose up on the high place where she had\nbeen so strangely wedded, and looked down at the joyous faces of her\nnobles at the long tables.\n\n\u201cWhen I was crowned in Denmark,\u201d she said, \u201cthere was a promise made\nme, that when this day came to me in Norfolk I might ask one boon of\nall who upheld me. I do not know if I may ask it here and now, for the\npromise was made by my husband\u2019s people. Yet it is a matter that is\ndear to my heart that I shall seek from you all, if I may.\u201d\n\nThen all the hall rang with voices that bade her ask what she would;\nand she bowed and flushed red, and hesitated a little. Then she took\nheart and spoke.\n\n\u201cIt is but this,\u201d she said. \u201cLet the poor Christian folk bide in peace;\nand if teachers come from the south or from the north presently who\nwill speak of that faith, bear with them, I pray you, for they work no\nharm indeed.\u201d\n\nAlmost was she weeping as she said this, and her white hands were\nclasped tightly before her. But she looked bravely at the thanes, and\nwaited for the answer, though I think that she feared what it would be.\n\nBut an old thane rose up in his place, smiling, and he answered, \u201cIf\nyou had commanded us this, my queen, it would have been done. The\nChristian folk, if there are any, shall have no hurt. I think that we\nhad forgotten the old days of trouble with them. Yet I hear that in\nKent the new faith, as it seems to us, is being taught, and that the\nking looks on it with favour. It may be that here it will come also.\nFor your sake I will listen if a teacher comes to me.\u201d\n\nThe thanes thought little of this boon, and they all answered that it\nwas freely granted. But they said that it was no boon to give, and bade\nher ask somewhat that was better.\n\n\u201cWhy then,\u201d she said, \u201cif I must ask more, think no more of me as queen\nsave as that I am the wife of the king. Havelok is your ruler in good\nsooth.\u201d\n\nThat pleased them all well, and they laughed and wished that all had\nwives who had no mind to rule.\n\n\u201cHere is word that is going home to my wife,\u201d said one to his\nneighbour. \u201cIf the queen sets the fashion of obedience, it behoves all\ngood wives to follow her leading.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe I would let some other than yourself tell the lady that,\u201d\nanswered the other thane with a great laugh, for he knew that household\nand its ruler.\n\nSo Goldberga had her will, and then began the long years of peace and\nhappiness to the kingdoms of which all men know. Wherefore I think that\nmy story is done. What I have told is halting maybe, and rough, but it\nis true. And Goldberga, my sister, says that it is good. Which is all\nthe praise that I need.\n\n\nSo far went Radbard, my friend, and then he would tell no more. So it\nis left to me, Wislac the priest, who have written for him, to finish.\nHe says that everyone knows the rest, and so they do just now. But in\nthe years to come, when this story is read, men will want to know more.\nSo it is fit that I should end the story, telling things that I myself\nknow to be true also.\n\nSigurd\u2019s host went back in the autumn, rich with the treasure of Alsi\nthe king; and from that time forward no Danish host ever sought our\nshores. Wars enough have been in England here, but they have not harmed\nus. No host has been suffered to cross the borders of Lindsey or East\nAnglia, save in peace, and in the wars of Penda of Mercia Havelok has\ntaken no part. Yet he has had to fight to hold his own more than once,\nbut always with victory, for always the prayers of the few Christians\nhave been with him.\n\nThey set Earl Ragnar to hold the southern kingdom for Havelok and his\nwife; and presently, when he was left a widower, he wedded the youngest\ndaughter of Grim, Havelok\u2019s foster father. Eglaf was captain of the\nLincoln courtmen or housecarls, whichever the right name may be among\nthose who speak of them. One name is Danish and the other English, but\nthey mean the same. As for my good friend Radbard, he was high sheriff\nbefore long, and that he is yet. He wedded Ragnar\u2019s sister the year\nthat Havelok was crowned in Norwich, which was the next year after the\ncrowning at Lincoln.\n\nRaven went back to the sea, and he will now be in Denmark or else on\nthe Viking path with Sigurd, for that is what he best loves. Arngeir\nbides at Grimsby, high in honour with all, and the port and town grow\ngreater and more prosperous year by year. Wise was Grim when he chose\nto stay in the place where he had chanced to come, if it were not more\nthan chance that brought him. I suppose that for all time the ships\nthat are from Grimsby will be free from all dues in the ports that are\nHavelok\u2019s in the Danish land. Witlaf, the good old thane, bides in his\nplace yet, and he rejoices ever that he had a hand in bringing Havelok\nup. Nor does our king forget that.\n\nIndeed, I think that he forgets naught but ill done toward him. Never\nis a man who has done one little thing for him overlooked, if he is met\nby our king after many years, and that is a royal gift indeed.\n\nI would that all married folk were as are this royal couple of ours.\nNever are they happy apart, and never has a word gone awry between\nthem. If one speaks of Havelok, one must needs think of Goldberga; and\nif one says a word of the queen, one means the king also. Happy in\ntheir people and in their wondrous fair children are they, and that is\nall that can be wished for them.\n\nThere was one thing wanting for long years, that I and Withelm ever\nlonged for for Havelok\u2014a thing for which Goldberga prayed ever. I came\nto them from Queen Bertha in Kent, when good old David died; and at\nthat time Havelok was not a Christian, but surely the most Christian\nheathen that ever was. I knew that he must come into the faith at some\ntime; and I, at least, could not find it in my heart to blame him\naltogether for holding to the Asir whom his fathers worshipped. It was\nin sheer honesty and singleness of heart that he did so, and I had\nnever skill enough to show him the right. But Withelm, who has long\nbeen a priest of the faith, and shall surely be our bishop ere long,\nhad more to do with his conversion than any other.\n\nYet it did not come until the days when Paulinus came from York and\npreached with the fire of the missionary to us all. And then we saw the\nmighty warrior go down to the water in the white robe of the\ncatechumen, and come therefrom with his face shining with a new and\nwondrous light.\n\nThen he founded a monastery at Grimsby, that there the men of the\nmarsh, who had been kind to him in the old days, might find teachers in\nall that was good; and there it will surely be after many a long year,\nuntil there is need for its work no more, if such a time ever comes.\n\nSo the land grows Christian fast, and good will be its folk if they\nfollow the way of king and queen and their brothers.\n\nNow have I finished also, and this is farewell. Look you, husbands and\nwives, that you may be said to be like Havelok and Goldberga; and see,\nbrothers, that you mind the words that Grim spoke to his sons, and\nwhich they heeded so well\u2014\n\n\u201cBare is back without brother behind it.\u201d And that is a true word,\nthough it was a heathen who spoke it.\n\nTHE END.\n\n\n\n\n [1] I have to thank the Mayor of Grimsby for most kindly furnishing me\n with an impression of this ancient seal.\n\n [2] Now Nishni-Novgorod, from time immemorial the great meetingplace\n of north and south, east and west.\n\n [3] The _garth_ was the fenced and stockaded enclosure round a\n northern homestead.\n\n [4] The _seax_ was the heavy, curved dagger carried by men of all\n ranks.\n\n [5] The northern sea god and goddess.\n\n [6] Men drowned at sea were thought to go to the halls of Pan and\n Aegir. Ran is represented as fishing for heroes in time of storm.\n\n [7] The Norns were the Fates of the northern mythology.\n\n [8] The \u201cWitanagemot,\u201d the representative assembly for the kingdom,\n whence our Parliament sprang.\n\n [9] The greatest term of reproach for a coward.\n\n [10] The gold ring kept in the Temple of the Asir, on which all oaths\n must be sworn.\n\n [11] The sanctuary of the Asir. Thorsway and Withern in Lincolnshire\n both preserve the name in the last and first syllable respectively,\n both meaning \u201cThor\u2019s sanctuary.\u201d\n\n [12] The northern equivalent of the Saxon \u201cFolkmote,\u201d or general\n assembly of the people.","title":"Havelok the Dane: A Legend of Old Grimsby and Lincoln","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":100346}