CHAPTER XV. THE GREAT FIGHT AT PARRET MOUTH.
Now very silently we drew off from that place to the edge of the hillwhich looks across the road to Stert. And there the bishop drew us up inline, four deep, and told the men what we must do, bidding them besilent till we charged, though that could not prevent a hum of sternapproval going down the line.
One man the bishop called out by name, and when he stood before him,bade him, as a swift runner, hasten back to Eanulf or Osric, and bidthem on here with all speed. And, when the man's face fell, the bishopbade him cheer up and go, for the swifter he went the sooner would he beback at the sword play. Whereat the man bowed, and, leaving his mail ata tree foot, started at a steady run over the ground we had coveredalready, and was lost in the trees.
Then we waited, and the light grew stronger every moment. As we lay inline among the bushes we could see without much fear of being ourselvesseen, and by and by we could make out the ships. They had their mastsraised, and the sails were plain to be seen, ready for hoisting. The menwere busy about their decks, and on shore as well, while the vesselswere yet close up to the land.
They must haul off soon, little by little, or they would be aground, asdoubtless they had been with every tide till this, for rocks are none,only soft mud on which a ship may lie safely, but through which no manmay go, save on such a "horse" as the fishers use to reach their netswithal, sledge-like contrivances of flat boards which sink not.
The wait seemed long, but at last we heard the hum of voices, and thetramp of feet, and our hearts beat fast and thick, for the time was coming.
Over the hill and down it they streamed in a long, loose line, laughingand shouting as the ships came in sight. A long breath came from us, andthere was a little stir among the men; but the time was not yet, and wecrouched low, waiting to make our spring.
Then ran up a long red forked flag, with a black raven on it, from thelargest ship, and that seemed to be a signal for haste, for the tide wasfailing, so that some of the foremost men began to stream away fromtheir comrades. And then I saw that many carried packs full of plunder,and also that the last of them were on the level.
So also saw the bishop, and he rose to his feet, pointing with the greatmace he bore (for he might not wield sword) to the Danes, and saying:
"For the honour of Dorset--for the holy cross--charge!"
With a mighty shout we rose up, each in his place, and down the hill werushed sword and axe aloft, on that straggling line.
Then from the Danes came a howl of wrath and terror, and, for a moment,dropping their burdens, they fled in a panic towards the ships.
Yet that was not the way of Danish men and vikings, and that flightstayed almost before it had gone fifty yards. Up rose amidst the thronga mighty double axe, and a great voice was heard shouting, and roundtheir chief began to form a great ring of tried warriors, shoulder toshoulder as well as might be. But that ring might not be perfect all atonce--too close were we upon them, having already cut down many of thelast to fly.
And then the battle began in earnest, and I will tell what I saw of it.For I was in the centre of our line, as befitted, and on either side ofme were Wulfhere and Wislac, and on either side of them again, mycollier next to Wulfhere, and next to Wislac his young thane. Before mewere Guthlac and two brethren, and the other three behind me. That wasthe standard's shield wall. Behind that came Ealhstan the Bishop, hemmedin by twelve of his own best men.
So, with voice, and gesture of arm and mace the bishop swung our line ina half circle round the face of that grim ring of vikings, and as theyclosed up we closed, and faced them. Then saw I that we were outnumberedby three to one, but we were fresh, and they tired with a long march,quickly made, and under burdens.
Now began the spears to fly from one side to the other, and men began tofall. And yet there was no great attack made on either side. Then grew Iimpatient, for it seemed to me that as we were the weaker side the firstcharge might do all for us. So I spoke to Wulfhere, saying:
"We must charge before they. Let us break into that circle."
"Aye!" said the veteran, and "Aye!" shouted Wislac; and so I pointed thebanner forward and shouted for my shield men to charge.
And that, with a great roar, they did; and down before the brawny armsof those foremost three lay brethren went three of the heathen, and wewere pressing into the circle. Then a brother fell, dragging a Dane withhim, and Wislac took his place, and three more Danes fell. Then wentAldhelm to Wislac's side, and Lo! the circle was broken, and ourstandard stood in the midst.
Yet was not that ring destroyed, and in a moment it closed after us, andnow were we ten in the midst of a crowd of foes, while again outsidethem raged Ealhstan and his men, striving to break through to us.
Then knew I that our case was hard, and I struck the spear that held thestandard into the ground, and round it we stood, back to back, Wulfhereand Wislac once more to right and left of me. And it would seem that sogrim looked we in our desperation, that they feared us a little, or, atleast, that each feared to be the first to fall on us, for the Danesdrew back and let us stand for a breathing space, until that great chiefwho rallied the men--leaving the care of the outer ring for a moment--came and faced me, speaking in fair Saxon enough, and bidding ussurrender.
And for answer I threw my seax at him, and as he raised shield to stopit, for it flew straight and hard as a forester can throw, I leapt athim, going in under his shield, and he fell heavily, moving not, for myblow went home. Well it was that Wulfhere came after me, for he wardedblow of axe that would have slain me. And then the Danes howled and fellon us.
Hard fighting it was, but round us grew a ring of dead, and no man hadlaid hands on the standard. Guthlac was down, and Aldhelm, two laybrethren also, and we were all but sped when I was ware of a Saxonshout, and the crash of a great mace on a helmet before me, and then,"Well done, my sons!" cried Ealhstan the Bishop, as he came and ringedus round with his own men, and we might breathe again.
Now was the ring of Danes parted, and the ring was of our men; yet roundit raged the vikings, as we had raged round their ring but a short spacebefore. Yet, every man of us knew that we had won, for, even if each oneof us fell before Eanulf came, the ships would not sail that tide. Forthe tall masts were listing over as two ships took the ground unheeded,and four were hauling out as the tide fell.
And I thought of my vision last night, and of those I had seen, and ofwhat they had bid me think of them; and the roar of battle went onunheeded by me as I leant against the standard staff while I might, andfound my strength again.
"See," cried Wislac, pointing. And I looked over to the hill where theroad came down. It was full of horsemen, charging with levelled spears,and surely that was Osric at their head! Then near me a voice criedthrice "Victory!" but it seemed not as one of our men's rough voices,but very strange.
Over the level the spearmen swept, and a cry broke from the Danes asthey saw the fresh foe upon them, and again they fell back from usquickly, and, spite of our charge on them, and the spears of the leadinghorsemen, once more closed up into their iron ring. But now it was notmotionless, but moved ever towards the ships, going backward steadily.
Round it went Osric and his men: but into it they could not break. Forthe Danes hewed the ash shafts of the spears, and near them no horsemight live, for their axes would shear through man and horse alike.
Then Ealhstan shouted to Osric, bidding us stand. And right glad were weto do this, while ever the Danes shrank away from us.
"Trapped they are, Sheriff," said Ealhstan, when Osric rode up to him,bearing still a headless spear. "Let them bide till Eanulf comes. Nonecan reach the ships."
"He is hard behind me with all the levy," said Osric. "Let us finishthis without him."
But Ealhstan shook his head, pointing to our men. And when he lookedmore coolly, he saw that barely half of us were left, and those wornout. So must we stand and wait; but we had done what we went to do, andhad trapped the heathen when the tide was low
. Yet the Danes wentsteadily back towards their ships, having yet half a mile to cover, butthey left a line of wounded men to mark where they had gone, as oneafter another dropped.
Now were we who were left safe, and knew we had done a deed which wouldhe told and sung till other tales of victory blotted out its remembranceif they might.
Then Ealhstan bade us sit down, for our horsemen were between us and thefoe, and thereon he raised his voice, and with one accord his laybrethren and his own housecarles joined in singing a psalm of victory.And it was just at the matin time--yet that psalm ended not as it waswont, for ere the last verses were sung, it was drowned in a great andthundering war song of Wessex, old as the days of Ceawlin or beyond him.And if I mistake not, in that song bishop and lay brethren joined,leaving the chant for their own native and well-loved tongue, else wouldthey have been the only men of all the host unstirred thereby and silent.
Now, from that war song came a strange thing. It caused two great Danesto go berserk in their rage, and back they flew on us, their shieldscast aside, and their broad axes overhead, howling and foaming as theycame.
One of Osric's men tried to stop them. But he and his horse fell, for (Isay truth) one leapt high above the horse, smiting downwards with hisaxe, so that the man was swept in twain under that blow, and the berserkDane came on unhindered, straight for the standard, for his comrade hadhewed off the horse's head.
Now I rested, by the standard, a long spear's length in front of ourline. But by this I had leapt to my feet; and it was time, for he wasalmost on me. Spear had I none; so I dragged out the standard shaft fromthe ground where I had struck it, and levelled that sharp butt end fullat his chest. Overhead was his axe again, and I had no shield to stopthe blow; but I must leap aside from it.
He paid no heed to the spear-ended shaft, but rushed straight on it,spitting himself through and through, while his axe fell; but I hadwrenched myself and the shaft at once to one side, and he fell over,burying the axe head in the ground but an inch from the collier's foot.Yet had he not done with me, for, leaving the axe, he clawed the ashenshaft and dragged himself up along it, howling, not with the pain, butwith madness, and I must needs smite him with my sword, for his daggerwas already at my throat.
Then looked I round for the other, but at first could not see him, forhe was dead also, pinned to the ground by another of the horsemen, frombehind. And all our men were on their feet, and the ring of Danes wereshouting, and cheering their two mad men, yet keeping close order.
This seems long in telling; but it was all done in a flash, as it were,for the first I knew of the coming of these men was by the wheeling ofthe horse and the leaping of the berserk above it.
Then my men came and rid the standard of its burden, not easily, whileEalhstan stood with his arm on my shoulder, looking white and scared:for that had been the greatest danger he had seen that day, as he toldme, which, indeed, it must have been, for else he had never changedcountenance.
"Gratias Domino," he said, "verily into these heathen evil spiritsenter, driving them to death. Now have you fought the evil one, bothspiritually and bodily, my son, and have won the victory!"
Even as he spoke, the men, being sure of no more of such comings, beganto crowd round me, shouting and cheering as though I had done some greatdeed. Which, if it were such, it seems to me that great deeds are forcedon men at times; for what else I could have done I know not, unless, asWislac says, I had run away, even as he was minded to do. But I had notime for that, nor do I believe his saying concerning himself.
When the Danes were nigh their ships Ealhstan bade us tend our wounded.And the first man tended was myself, for Wulfhere came to me, looking meover, and at last binding a wound on my left shoulder, of which I knewnot, saying that my good mail had surely saved me. He himself had a gashacross his face, and Wislac one on the leg, but none of us was much hurt.
Then Wislac sought Aldhelm, whom he found sitting up, dazed, from a blowacross the helm that had stunned him, but he was soon able to walk,though dizzy and sick. But Guthlac was slain outright, and two others ofthe brethren.
Well, so might I go on, for of all our two hundred men there were leftbut ninety fit to go on with the fight, the rest being slain or sorewounded by the Danish axes. Ealhstan was unhurt; for, save that oncewhen he had broken the ring to reach us when we were hemmed in, his menhad kept before him.
Now what befell after that will not bear telling; for it was not longbefore Eanulf and all the Somerset and the rest of the Dorset levy camedown and fell on the Danes as they fought their last fight as brave menshould, with a quarter mile of deep mud between them and their ships.
Into that fight none of us bishop's men went, for we had done our part.But we lay and saw the Danes charge again and again against odds, theirline growing thinner each time, until our men swept the last of themfrom the bank into the ooze, and there was an end.
Yet a few managed, I know not how, to reach the ships, and there theywere safe; but thence they constantly shot their arrows into our men,harmless enough, but yet showing their mettle.
So was a full end made of that host, for none but those few were leftalive from Stert field, and Somerset and Dorset had taken their fill ofvengeance.
But, for all the victory, down sat Ealhstan the Bishop, and hiding hisface in his hands wept that such things could be, and must be till waris no more.
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