go to your captain.Then you shall take me to one of my friends, for you will know wheretheir houses are."
But at that moment a man from the palace ran after us, bringing an orderfrom the king that I was to go back to him. So Ragnar bade me farewell.
"Come to me tonight at the gatehouse," he said. "I will speak to thecaptain to let you off duty."
"Say nothing to him, jarl, for it is needless. I am only with him for atime, and am my own master. I have no turn on watch tonight, and so amfree."
So I went back, and found the king in the hall again, and he was stillsmiling. If he had looked me straight in the face, I suppose that hemight have seen that I was not a man to whom he was used, but he didnot. He seemed not to wish to do so.
"So, good fellow," he said, "you have heard a pleasant jest of our youngkinsman's contriving, but I will that you say nothing of it. It is apity to take a good guardroom story from you, however, without somerecompense, and therefore--"
With that he put a little bag into my hand, and it was heavy. I saidnothing, but bowed in the English way, and he went on, "You understand;no word is to be said of what you have heard unless I bid you repeat it.That I may have to do, lest it is said that Griffin the thane is'nidring' [9] by any of his enemies. You know all thestory--how the earl and he planned a sham attack on the princess'sparty, that Ragnar might show his valour, which, of course, he could notdo if Griffin was there. Therefore the thane held back. But maybe youheard all, and understood it."
"I heard all, lord king, and I will say naught."
The king waved his hand in sign that I was dismissed, and I bowed andwent. There were five rings of gold in the bag, worth about the wholeyear's wage of a courtman, and I thought that for keeping a jest tomyself that was good pay indeed. There must be more behind thatbusiness, as it had seemed to me already.
Now, as I crossed the green within the old walls on my way to the gate,it happened that Havelok came back from the town, and as he came I heardhim whistling softly to himself a strange wild call, as it were, of ahunting horn, very sweet, and one that I had never heard before.
"Ho, brother!" I said, for there was no one near us. "What is that callyou are whistling?"
He started and looked up at me suddenly, and I saw that his trouble wason him again.
"In my dream," he said slowly, "there is a man on a great horse, and hewears such bracelets as Ragnar of Norwich, and he winds his horn withthat call, and I run to him; and then I myself am on the horse, and I goto the stables, and after that there is nothing but the call that Ihear. Now it has gone again."
And his hand went up in the way that made me sad to see.
"It will come back by-and-by. Trouble not about it."
"I would that we were back in Grimsby," he said, with a great sigh."This is a place of shadows. Ghosts are these of days that I think cannever have been."
"Well," said I, wanting to take him out of himself, "this is no ghost,at all events. I would that one of our brothers would come from homethat I might send it to them in Grimsby. We do not need it."
So I showed him the gold, and he wondered at it, and laughed, sayingthat the housecarls had the best place after all. And so he went on, andI back to the gate.
Surely he minded at last the days when Gunnar his father had ridden hometo the gate, as the Danish earl had ridden even now, and had called hisson to him with that call. It was all coming back, as one thing oranother brought it to his mind; and I wondered what should be when heknew that the dream was the truth. For what should Havelok, foster-sonof the fisher, do against a king who for twelve long years had held histhrone? And who in all the old land would believe that he was indeed theson of the lost king? Better, it seemed to me, that this had nothappened, and that he had been yet the happy, careless, well-loved sonof Grim, with no thought of aught higher than the good of the folk he knew.
When I got back to the gate, we were marched down the town, that wemight be ready to receive the princess; and as I went through themarket, I saw one of the porters whom I knew, and I beckoned to him, sothat he came alongside me in the ranks, and I asked him if he would goto Grimsby for me for a silver penny. He would do it gladly; and so Isent him with word to Arngeir that I needed one of them here to take agift that I had for them. I would meet whoever came at the widow'shouse, and I set a time when I would look for them. I thought it waswell that the king's gold should not be wasted, even for a day's use, ifI could help it. And I wearied to see one of the brothers, and hear allthat was going on.
CHAPTER XI. THE COMING OF THE PRINCESS.
There is no need for me to tell aught of the entry of the Lady Goldbergainto the town, for anyone may know how the people cheered her, and howthe party were met by the Norfolk thanes and many others, and so rode onup the hill to the palace. What the princess was like I hardly noticedat that time, for she was closely hooded, and her maidens were roundher. And I had something else to think of; for foremost, and richlydressed, with a gold chain round his neck, rode a man whose strange wayof carrying his head caught my eye at once, so that I looked more than asecond time at him.
And at last I knew him. It was that man of ours whose neck had beentwisted by the way in which he had been hauled on board at the time ofthe wreck, and had afterwards gone to Ethelwald's court. One would saythat this Mord had prospered exceedingly, for he was plainly a man ofsome consequence in the princess's household. He did not know me, thoughit happened that he looked right at me for a moment; but I did notexpect him to do so after twelve years, seeing that I was but a boy whenwe parted. I thought that I would seek him presently.
Then I saw Griffin, the Welsh thane, and I did not like the looks of himat all. He was a black-haired man, clean shaven, so that the cruelthinness of his lips was not hidden, and his black eyes were restless,and never stayed anywhere, unless he looked at Ragnar for a moment, andthen that was a look of deadly hatred. He wore his armour well, and hada steady seat on his horse; but, if all that I had heard of him wastrue, his looks did not belie him. Men had much to say of him here, for,being some far-off kin to Alsi's Welsh mother, he was always about thecourt, and was hated. He had gone to Dover to fetch the princess beforewe came here, but it happened that I had once or twice seen him at othertimes when I was in Lincoln, so that I knew him now.
There was great feasting that night in the king's hall, as one maysuppose, and I sat with the housecarls at the cross tables beyond thefire, and I could see the Lady Goldberga at Alsi's side. Tired she waswith her long journey, and she did not remain long at the table; but Ihad never seen so wondrously beautiful a lady. Griffin sat next to heron the king's right hand, for Ragnar was at the king's left, in the seatof next honour; and I saw that the lady had no love for the Welsh thane.But I also thought that I saw how he would give his all for a kindlyglance from her; and if, as Alsi had seemed to hint, Ragnar was afavoured lover, I did not wonder that Griffin had been ready to do him abad turn. I had rather that the thane was my friend than my foe, for hewould be no open enemy.
I left the feast when the first change of guard went out, for I saw thatthe ale cup was passing faster than we Danes think fitting, being lessgiven to it than the English. And when the guard was set I waited alonein the guardroom of the old gate, for Eglaf was yet at the hall, andwould be there all night maybe. And presently Earl Ragnar came in andsat down with me.
He was silent for a while, and I waited for him to speak, until helooked up at me with a little laugh, and said, "I told you that I had tofight Griffin tomorrow?"
"You did, earl. Is that matter settled otherwise?"
"Not at all," he answered. "I believe now that he was acting underorders, but I have said things to him which he cannot pass over. Icalled him 'nidring' to his face, and that I still mean; for though Ithought of cowardice at the time, he is none the less so if he hasplotted against the princess. So naught but the sword will end the feud."
He pondered for some moments, and then went on, "It is a bad business;for if I slay Griffin, he is the king's favourite;
and if he slays me,the Norfolk thanes will have somewhat to say. And all is bad for theLady Goldberga, who needs all the friends that she has, for in eithercase there will be trouble between the two kingdoms that Alsi holds justnow."
"If Griffin is slain," I said, "I think that the lady has one troubleout of the way."
"Ay; and the king will make out, as you heard him do even now, that I amlooking that way myself. It is not so, for I will say to you at oncethat to me there is but one lady in all the world, and she is in Norfolkat this time. Now I am going to ask you something that is a favour."
I thought that he would give me some message for this lady, in case hefell; but he had more to ask than that. Nothing more or less than that Ishould be his second in the fight, because I was a fellow
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