Ulric the Jarl

by William Stoddard

  “Aye,” said Ulric, “and if thou seest Hilda of the hundred years, thou mayest tell her where I am. Speak thou also to my father, to Brander the Brave, the sea king. Tell him I go on to Asgard, and that I have seen one of the gods in this land and that I seek to see him again.”

  “I also saw him there in the road,” said Sigurd. “I think him one of them by his face and by the word of the evil spirits. If thou meetest him again, greet him for me. Give me thy hand, Ulric the Jarl! The valkyrias! Odin!”

  Half sprang to his feet the mighty son of Thorolf and he uttered a great cry. Then crashing heavily down he fell prostrate, his shield and his mail clanging. Silently around him stood the Saxons, and one of them said:

  “O jarl, so fall we, one by one. I like it not. We shall never again see the Northland. The gods are against us!”

  “He died not in his bed,” said Knud the Bear. “It is well with him, Jarl Ulric.”

  “So die I!” exclaimed Wulf the Skater. “Come! Let us dig, for the ravens must not whet their beaks on the bones of the hero.”

  Therefore, with knives and spearheads and flat stones the Saxons dug a deep hollow in the earth, and into it the sun looked down when he was risen.

  “It will do,” said Ulric; “but now we will eat and drink. We have slain eighteen of these robbers. I would we had slain them all.”

  Many coins had been found upon the dead, especially upon him who had been mounted, and all these the jarl divided among the men, Ben Ezra counting for him their value.

  “Keep thou some,” said Knud the Bear.

  “Not so,” replied Ulric. “I have enough. I like not too many coins. Ye may need them to buy with. What have I to do with such things?”

  “Thou art jarl,” reasoned Knud. “If thou take them not now we will yet compel thee. Thou canst not do altogether as thou wilt. We think thou wilt need many coins. They are the custom of this land.”

  “So be it,” said Ulric. “I am learning much about them. But I would rather be rich in cattle and in horses. I have all the lands of Brander. I think I will take some coins with me when I go, to keep them in a bag like old Oswald, the harper.”

  “We will pay ours here, I think,” said Knud. “But let the Jew make thy bargains for thee; for the sons of Odin are not good merchants.”

  Ben Ezra spoke then, agreeing well with Knud, but the heart of Ulric was heavy because of Sigurd, for the son of Thorolf had kept good faith with him, and the men who are true to friends are the men who are most missed when the valkyrias come to them.

  There were eating and drinking and there was much curious examination of the weapons and clothing and armor of the robbers from beyond Jordan. Ben Ezra and Abbas answered all questions, but they said, also, that there must be no going away from the tower until a messenger should arrive from Julius or from some other Roman officer.

  Even while he was saying this to Ulric there was heard from the southward along the highway the sound of a trumpet.

  “Whoever cometh,” said Ben Ezra, “let me have first speech with him. In slaying these who lie here we have been under the orders of Julius, the centurion, and our official responsibility is to him; but he referreth us to Caius, of the household of the procurator at Jerusalem. We have need of cunning.”

  The sun was high now, and Esdraelon was exceedingly beautiful between its mountains. It was a plain of brown and green under blue heavens, a place where the gods might walk; but Ulric, the son of Brander, listened to the trumpet and looked from the bodies of the dead to the Saxons, who stood in line on guard at the roadside.

  “This is the valley of battles,” he said, aloud. “O Jew, I will heed thee. Knowest thou anything of this Julius?”

  “Not of myself,” said Ben Ezra, “but Abbas knoweth of him that he is said to be a subtle serpent, winning much money on wagers, and that he is cruel.”

  “Mark thou this, then,” said Ulric. “I saw in his face a thing that I read better now that we have lost a brave swordsman. Deal thou carefully with these who come. I like not this place where too many have fallen, and where thou sayest the multitudes are to perish in the latter days.”

  Dark was the brow of the young jarl, and he went and stood by the open tomb and by the body of Sigurd, the son of Thorolf.

  Out stepped Ben Ezra into the highway, and he stood there making due obeisance and uttering a greeting, when a Roman officer wearing a white cloak with a purple border drew rein before him.

  “I am Caius, of Thessalonica,” said the Roman. “Who art thou and who are these?”

  “If thou art Caius, thou art well arrived,” said Ben Ezra. “Thy swordsmen rested here at the command of Julius, the centurion, and I have somewhat to tell——”

  “These, then, were hired for me by that traitor Hyles?” suddenly exclaimed Caius, in wrath. “And he sent them on to be murdered by Julius? Thou knowest not that Hyles was slain in Samaria yesterday? Tell all!”

  Rapidly spoke the Jew, while other horsemen and four chariots halted near in the highway.

  Caius dismounted and walked on to where Ulric stood, and the jarl greeted him, pointing down at Sigurd.

  “So! I have lost a good sword by this Julius,” exclaimed Caius. “He meant me to lose all that he might win the games. Are any more of thy men hurt?”

  “None,” said Ulric in Latin, “but this was a chief, a hero, a leader of men. Him we must bury before we march.”

  “I, too, am a soldier!” shouted Caius. “He was a brave man! Bury him according to thy custom. Thinkest thou I am a dog? I, too, will stand by. Brave men grow scarce. I would that Cæsar had ten legions of such as thou art. The new levies are dwarfs!”

  Out went the hand of Ulric freely, for the man’s face had scars on it and he was of good stature.

  “I will go with thee,” he said. “I am Ulric the Jarl, of the sons of Odin. It was promised me that I should have a lion to slay and that I should see Jerusalem. Wilt thou keep faith with me?”

  “No!” said Caius. “I will give thee not to a lion; but thou shalt go where thou wilt, and then thou shalt see Rome and fight before Cæsar. Wait till thou hast seen this lion prepared for thy destruction. I am not thine enemy to betray thee to ruin.”

  “I will wait,” said Ulric, but he turned and beckoned to the Saxons.

  All came and they took up the body of Sigurd, laying it in the deep tomb.

  “Put in stones and earth,” said Ulric; but Caius, of Thessalonica, stepped forward and threw in the first handful.

  “Cunning is he,” whispered Abbas to Ben Ezra. “He knoweth men. He is winning these Saxons for himself. There are no men more cunning than the Romans.”

  Slowly filled they the tomb, but Ulric stood at the head, looking down, and he said aloud: “Who shall sing the tomb song of Sigurd, the son of Thorolf?”

  “Thou, O jarl,” said Knud the Bear. “We have no harp nor any saga woman. Sing thou to the hero and to the gods.”

  Song came upon the soul of Ulric and his lips opened—and it was as if Hilda were with him, for he sang wonderfully. There were women in the chariots and they sat listening to the musical voice of the jarl. The legionaries on the horses sat like statues. The Saxons waited, holding each his war horn in his hand, as did the jarl, until the tomb was filled, and they laid a broad stone thereon from a ruined part of the tower.

  Ulric lifted his war horn and all the rest did likewise, answering his blast and then shouting. He blew again and he cried out:

  “O Sigurd, son of Thorolf, the sea king, I have done as thou didst bid me. Bear thou my messages to the dead. Tell them I come. Keep thou a place for me in Valhalla, in the day when the valkyrias come for me.”

  “Thou hast bidden farewell to thy comrade,” said Caius, frankly. “What doest thou with the corpses of these robbers?”

  “Let the ravens and the wolves care for that matter,” said Ulric. “They are not ours.”

  “It is well,” said the Roman, for there was pride in the manner of the jarl. “Such work is for s
laves, not for thee. An officer will do whatever is needful. Prepare thee to march for Tiberias. Thou wilt have good quarters, near the amphitheater. No man may molest thee, O chief of the Saxons. I like thee well, and I would thy tall comrade were living. Subtle indeed is Julius, the gambler, but he hath obtained only the slaying of robbers, and the quæstor will but laugh as at a jest.”

  Well pleased were all the Saxons at the respect shown to them and to their jarl, but they went and looked curiously at the chariots in the highway. They studied well the wheels and the harness, but most of all did they gaze at the charioteers.

  “Now,” said Knud the Bear, “I believe that which was told me, for I have seen black men. I must slay one some day that I may know the color of his blood and of his flesh. They have strange hair, also, and they wear arm rings of silver and rings in their noses and in their ears.”

  “Those women are like other women,” thought Ulric. “Not yet have I seen her who stood by Hilda in my dreams. She is tenfold more beautiful than any of these.”

  Nevertheless, haste was made, and when the trumpet sounded the march the Saxons were ready for the highway; but it was after the middle of the day, and Ben Ezra had all directions for the way. On went the chariots and the horsemen, and then Ulric and his men followed, saluting first the tomb of Sigurd.

  * * *

  CHAPTER XXIII. In a Place Apart at Night.

  “Halt thou! This is the place provided for thy band.”

  So said to Ulric the Jarl the Roman soldier who stood in the highway before the inn.

  It was near the setting of the sun and the Saxons were weary with the heat. They were thirsty, likewise, and they were glad of a light red wine which was brought to them, but Ulric said to the bringers:

  “For me water only. I fear much the evil spirit that hideth in the wine of this land. I think he is mine enemy and that my gods are at war with him.”

  So he drank only water, but they all went in to the supper which had been ordered for them by Caius. They talked not much with any, for the people of the inn were afraid of them, and men and women and children of the neighborhood who came to gaze did so as those who look but in readiness to run away.

  The place was but a hamlet in Esdraelon, and around it were vineyards with many olive trees and fig trees.

  There was a spirit of unrest upon Ulric, the son of Brander, and his soul was troubled within him. He remained not in the inn after supper, but walked out alone fully armed. He conversed in Latin a brief space with the soldier on duty there, asking him questions, and the answers did not please him.

  “Thou wilt feed the beasts of the circus right well,” said the legionary scornfully. “They will be hungry when they are let loose upon thee and thine. Thou art no Roman. All barbarians are fit to be crucified.”

  Down into his face looked Ulric the Jarl. “O Roman,” he said, “I am a match for seven such as thou art. I could lift thee above my head and cast thee like a stone from a sling. Well said Caius that these new legions were worthless against the strong in battle. Thou hast no part in Thor the Hammerer.”

  The soldier’s face was dark with anger, but the jarl laughed and passed on, and neither of them knew that Knud the Bear in the door of the inn had been balancing his spear.

  “If he lifteth but a hand against the jarl, I will smite him through!” muttered Knud. “The jarl is imprudent. I like it not.”

  “Lower thy spear,” said Ben Ezra near him. “There will be no harm to thy chief. Thou art overhasty and thou wilt soon die.”

  “There will be blood at my dying,” said Knud. “I will strike for the jarl if all the legions of Cæsar should come.”

  “Wait,” said Ben Ezra. “Thou wilt find a better hour to use thy spear.”

  “So be it,” replied Knud. “Thou art old and thou art wise and thou hatest Romans.”

  On walked the jarl, but he was thinking, and the thoughts in his mind were heated.

  “Where am I now?” he said, but not aloud. “Where is the good ship The Sword? Where are my companions who sailed with me from the Northland? Where is Asgard? I have seen one god, but when shall I look into his face again? When shall I find the maiden who stood by Hilda? My heart is on fire when I think of her. None like her was ever seen in the Northland. O Hilda, canst thou tell me does this thy beautiful companion dwell among the gods? Then will I go to them that I may greet her, for she is mine.”

  Other thoughts came to be uttered, but he spoke them not, and he walked onward into the deepening gloom. Very dark it was until the moon arose, and he knew not that the Saxons at the inn were inquiring angrily concerning him.

  “What are we if we lose our jarl?” said Wulf the Skater. “But for him we had been lost long since. We would have no more help of Odin if our jarl were taken away.”

  Ben Ezra and Abbas pacified them, and Tostig the Red said to the others:

  “There are but few Romans near and they are bound under Caius. What danger to the son of Brander were a drove of these Syrian cattle, even if they were armed?”

  “The son of Thorolf was slain by an arrow shot in the dark,” said a viking, surlily. “The jarl doeth not well to go among arrows. I would see his face again.”

  Murmurs were many, and they all came out and stood before the inn examining their weapons and tightening their mail.

  Ulric walked on, but not far, in the brightening moonlight.

  “It is like the North country moon in winter,” he said, for the air was clear and many things could be seen as in the day.

  Beyond him arose a hill, such as may be in so great a plain, and on it there were ruins, grass-grown and mossy. In the old time there had been here a castle or a pleasure palace, none could tell which, and some of the stones were large, arising as pillars with stones laid across their summits.

  “Not a temple,” said Ulric, thoughtfully. “I hope not. I would not go too near an abiding place of the dead gods. Oft they come back again to trouble men. So saith Ben Ezra. So saith Abbas. They hate men, for men worship them no more.”

  He walked more slowly, thinking of the gods and of Hilda and of the strangeness that he himself was here without a ship or a strong company, and not knowing what might be before him on the morrow.

  “I am jarl no more,” he began to say, but at that moment he was suddenly silenced and he stood still to listen.

  Not many paces beyond him was an open space on the summit of the hill and around it were fallen pillars, many and great, made of white stone. From this open there arose a voice and the light of the moon trembled among the white pillars.

  “He kneeleth!” said Ulric to himself. “Ben Ezra called him the rabbi of Nazareth. If there be dead gods or evil demons here, he feareth them not, for they know him.”

  Not loudly but with exceeding melody of voice the tongue of the kneeling man spoke on, and Ulric said:

  “He singeth not to the dead of this place. It is not a saga of heroes. He asketh many things, that they may be given him. I am glad of the old Hebrew tongue that I understand him somewhat, but much that he speaketh I do not understand.”

  So he listened more, and the voice went on and the moonlight fell gloriously upon the face of him who was kneeling.

  “I have been gone long from the inn,” said Ulric in his thoughts. “I must return, but I have learned a thing. He is not alone here, as I am. The gods are with him, and he talketh with them as one god may talk to another, as friend to friend, right kindly. He is not at war with them, and one of them is his father. I would it were Odin, for I like this god and I like his asking for these things that he needeth. I, too, need many things, but Odin is far away and I know him not very well. The face of a god is very beautiful in the moonlight. He is a tall, strong man, a good fighter. But the gods have a strength of their own, greater than that of men. They can uproot trees and overturn rocks and drive the ice out of the fiords. This god could do a great many mighty things. I will have a talk with him some day, and I will ask him concerning Asgard.”

&
nbsp; Ulric gazed earnestly at the face of Jesus of Nazareth, but the closed eyes did not open and the wonderful voice continued its many petitions.

  “I would I might see some of the other gods,” thought the jarl, “but to remain here is not well. He hath come to this place to be alone with his father and his friends, and no brave warrior would be an intruder upon the affairs of others. I will go.”

  He turned and walked away, but his thoughts were dark and heavy within him.

  “This man is of the sons of Odin,” he said. “So am I. Therefore he and I are of kin, and I would know more of him. I would ask him concerning Hilda and my father. If he may thus talk with the gods, my right is the same. But he is more than I, for the evil spirits obey him. He is no magician, to be friendly with them, but he was not unkind to the demon whom he sent away. If I were a god, I think I would deal well with demons and make them fight for me.”

  So he communed with himself, walking, until he was loudly greeted at the door of the inn.

  “O jarl,” shouted Knud, “thou art safe! I did not know where to search for thee. It is wrong for thee to leave us in this manner.”

  “O Knud,” said Ulric, “I am not a child. The night is quiet. Let us all sleep, for the march on the morrow may be long, under a hot sun.”

  The others reproved him sharply, but they now were glad to rest, and the night waned.

  There was no sound of trumpet at the sun’s rising, but a quaternion of legionaries came and the guard was changed. The officer also brought orders from Caius that the gladiators should move on toward Galilee. Also a chariot came to carry for them their burdens and their heavier arms and armor, of which there was too much in weight for those who would march rapidly.

  “This is not a country for bearskins,” said Knud. “Even Wulf the Skater is willing to take off his mail and his helmet. He never would do that thing until this day.”

  “There is no fighting to be done among these vineyards,” said Wulf, “and I think this red wine maketh one’s blood hot. I am thinking that I would gladly see a tiger.”