Chapter XII. Edington Fight.
Now after this we held the great Dowsborough fort on Quantocks fora few days, looking out over the land that should see the greatestdeeds of Alfred, the wise king, from Glastonbury in the east to thewide stretches of the great wood, Selwood Forest, beyond theStanmoor fens; and there, in the clear air, and with plenty of goodprovender from the smiling Taunton vale behind us, we grew strongagain.
The Danes marched on Bridgwater, and the garrison must needs leavethe place and retreat to the heights at Petherton, and there hide.I was grieved that my good ship was in Danish hands, but at least Iknew that they would not harm her; and such was our faith in Alfredthe king, that I believed that I should have her back. Old Thordcame up to us when his charge was thus lost.
"Maybe they will finish painting her, and we shall be able tolaunch her, when we go back, without more trouble," he said. "Twoof Hubba's ships, moreover, are worth having."
Then the king rode up to us, and told us that we had done well, andthat the great plan yet held. Already he had messengers outthroughout all the southern counties, and already men weregathering through the land and filling the towns that the Daneswere leaving.
"When I know that the Danes have their eyes fixed on Quantock sideagain, I shall strike," he said.
So began again the life in Athelney and at Stanmoor fort; but nowthe Devon men gathered openly on our hills, and every day theDanish force grew also. When the last fight came, there would be anend to either one side or the other, and Guthrum knew it.
Once in that time I rode with Alfred, and saw Neot again; and if itwere but for a few hours that we might stay with him, he found timeto speak with me, asking if I had learned aught of his faith asyet.
"I have been in Athelney," I answered, "and I saw what might theholy Name has at Chippenham. The old gods have passed from me."
Little have I said of this, for one cannot speak of inmostthoughts; but so it was. Yet I think that, had I been older, theold faith would have died more slowly from my mind. So it was alsowith Harek the scald, but I think that he was Christian in heartbefore I had bent my mind to the matter in earnest. Long talks hadhe with Denewulf, the wise herdsman, while I listened.
So holy Neot rejoiced greatly over us, bidding me seek baptism atonce.
"Nay, father," I said; "I fear it, knowing what it is. Let me bidefor a time till I am stronger in these deep things."
He tried to persuade me gently, but at last let me be, knowing thatI spoke in earnest and with all wish to seek it rightly.
So we left him on the day after we came, and went back to Athelney,and Alfred was very silent all the way.
"What ails you, my king?" I asked him at last, fearing that hispain, which had left him of late altogether, might return.
"I will tell you, cousin," he said. "Plainly has Neot shown me thatall these troubles have come from my own pride and self will whenfirst I was king. It is a long chain of happenings, of which youwould know nought were I to try to tell you. But so it has been,and I weep therefor in my very heart."
Then said I:
"What is past is past, King Alfred, and best friend. Look on to thedays to come, for I think that there shall rise a new and happierEngland before the winter comes again. There is no man whom I havemet in all the hosts in whose heart is not love and best thoughtsof you. Old days are forgotten as if they had never been, save thatyou led and conquered in the great battles beyond the Thames."
He held out his hand to me, and took mine and gripped it, saying noword, and riding on in silence for a mile and more. And after thathe was of good cheer again till we came to Exeter, and there Istayed to see how fared my ships, for it was time they were in thewater again.
Well had my men and the Saxon wrights wrought at building. If allwent like this, King Alfred would have a fleet that could sweep theseas from Dover to Orme's Head, and keep his land from newplunderers at least.
In a week I came back to Athelney, and there was good cheer, andall were in the best of heart, for things went well. Messengerscame and went across the winding paths from the southern hills, andEthered met me laughing, and said:
"The king has robbed you of your glory, Ranald. He has been intothe Danish camp--even to the presence of Guthrum himself."
Then I would hear of this from Alfred himself.
"Ay," he said, when he had greeted me and heard that the ships werealmost ready, "I have outdone you; for I have played the gleeman asI planned, and have been in the midst of them yonder on Edingtonhill."
"It was an awesome risk to run, my king," I said.
"Which you taught me yourself, cousin. Howbeit I met no damsel, and Ihad no companion to return with but him with whom I went--Heregar'syoung son, my page. Thane is he now by right of unfearing service.Once, when I climbed the hill, I began to fear greatly, and I stayed,and asked the boy if he was afraid to go on. Tell me truly, Ranald,did you fear when you were in Wareham?"
"Truly I feared at first," I answered; "but since I was there whenit came on me, I must even go through with the business. So itpassed."
"Well, I am glad you confess it," he answered, "for I was minded toturn and run when the first lights of the great camp showed throughthe trees. Then the boy answered me, 'My king, why should I fearwhen you are with me?' I was ashamed, and took Harek's harp fromhim--for he carried it--and went forward boldly, singing the songof Gunnar in the snake pit. And it seemed to me that Harek wouldhave chosen that song as fitting my case; for, putting Danes forsnakes, I was in a close place enough. The warriors came out whenthey heard me; and I was well treated, and listened as I drank.Many things I learned."
Now I cannot believe that Alfred feared at all. He was surely butanxious, and took that feeling for fear. So think all his people.
"It seems that they thought I sang well," he went on; "so they tookme to Guthrum. He indeed looked sharply at me once, and maybetwice; but I went on singing Harek's songs, and paid no heed tohim. Presently he gave me a great horn of ale from his own table,and this gold bracelet that I wear also, and sent me away. Then Iwent about the camp and heard the talk. One man asked me if I hadseen Alfred, and what he was like. 'Faith,' said I, 'men say I amlike him.' Whereat they laughed long at me and at the king also.Then heard I the truth about my own looks for once. I had sometrouble in getting away, but at last I seemed to wax hoarse, and somade as if I would go to Bridgwater, and left them, promising tocome again. Ay, and I will keep my promise," he said; "but asHarek's heathen songs say, it is the sword's mass that I will singto them."
Then his eyes glowed, and he was silent, and I wondered at thecourage and resource in the slight figure that was before me.
"All goes well, and the plan is good," he went on directly. "Theylook for some easily-beaten attack from this side of the Parret,and at the first sign thereof will leave Edington height for thelevel ground below, as they did when Hubba came. Then when theyturn, on Edington hill will be our levy suddenly--a levy of whichthey have not dreamed. And there will be the greatest fight thatEngland has seen yet, and after that there will be a Saxon overlordof England against whom none will dare rise."
"May it be so, my king," I answered.
"It will be so," he said. "Here in this cottage have I had the wordthat tells me thereof; and you, Ranald, brought the sign that madethe word sure to me."
I minded it, and I knew that for all my life my ways were bound tothe service of Alfred the king; for my fate was linked with his, asit seemed, from my first coming.
It was not long now before the day came that will never beforgotten; for word was brought in from every quarter that thanesand freemen and churls alike would not be behind when Alfred gavethe word, and he sent back to bid them meet him at Ecgbryht'sStone, beyond Selwood, on Whitsunday. There is a great and strongcamp there on a rocky hill that looks out far and wide, near thetwo great roads, British and Roman, that cross in the vale beneath;and to that all were to gather, for there would the Golden Dragonbe set up. Men call it White Sheet Castle.
"King Alfred makes some new move," I said to him, "and it ispossible that we may not meet again. I think that what is comingwill end all the trouble between Saxon and Dane."
He shook his head.
"Some day it will end," he said, "but not in my time or yours--notuntil the Danes have grown to know that England is their home, andthat they are English by birth and right of time--maybe not tillDenmark has ceased to send forth the sons for whom she has no placein her own borders."
Then I answered that perhaps he was right. I did not see intothings as far as he, and I was a stranger in the land.
"But this at last will give a strong overlord to England," I said.
"Ay, for the time. So long as a strong king rules, there will beless trouble indeed; but if Alfred's sons are weak, it will beginafresh. England will no longer bear two kings; and while there is aSaxon kingdom alongside a Danish, there cannot be lasting peace."
Then I said:
"What of yourself? Shall you go back to Guthrum when this is over?"
"I cannot tell," he answered. "What my fate is I know not yet. Whatmean you to do if all goes well for Alfred? Shall you bide inEngland?"
We had walked apart now, and were looking over all the fairQuantock vale beneath us. I think there is no fairer lookout in allEngland: land and river and hills and sea, and beyond the sea theblue mountains of the Welsh coast--ever changing and ever beautifulunder sun and cloud and flying shadows.
"I have found the fairest land under the northern sun," I said;"and I have found the best king, as I think. I shall bide here. Oneother thing I have found of which I hardly dare to think, so manyare the chances of wartime. Yet, jarl, but for them I should nothave met with Thora, though in my heart I believe that I should nothave spoken to her yet."
"I would not have had it otherwise," he said, kindly taking my arm."I have seen what was coming long before Etheldreda spoke. It hasbeen good for Thora that she did so, whatever befalls."
Then we spoke of my promised place with the king, as if his victorywere certain. Indeed, I believe that we both had no thought of itsbeing otherwise.
"I do not know, however," said Osmund, "if your taking a Danishwife will be well received. It may be likely that Alfred will wishyou to be bound to him by some tie of that nearness which shall beof his making."
I had not thought of that, but it was a thing that was commonenough. Harald Fairhair was wont to give a rich wife to some chiefwhom he would keep at his side.
"If that is so, I shall go hence," I said. "There are things thatcome before friendship."
"Well," he answered, "we shall see. There is always a place for usboth at Rolf's side in his new-won land."
"Yet I should be loth to leave Alfred," I said most truly. "I thinkthat this is the only thing that would make me do so."
"Thora would not stand in your way to honour with him, nor wouldI," said Osmund.
"Honour with Alfred shall not stand in my way, rather," I answered."But we speak of chances, as I think."
We said no more, and he bade me farewell.
I went back to Alfred somewhat sad, and yet with many thoughts thatwere good and full of hope; and soon I had little time to do aughtbut look on at the way in which the king's plans worked out mostwonderfully.
On the eve of the great Whitsunday festival we set out through thefen paths southward to the hills and the first woodlands of SelwoodForest, and when the morning came we were far in its depths,passing eastward towards the place where we were to meet the levy.
Presently we turned aside to a little woodland chapel that hadescaped the sight of the Danes, and from a hut beside it came outan old priest, white-bearded and bent with age and scanty fare. Atfirst he feared that the heathen had found him at last; yet helooked bravely at us, catching up the crucifix that hung at hisside and clasping it in both his hands as he stood in the opendoorway of his church, as if to stay us from it.
Alfred rode forward to him when he saw his fear.
"Father, I am Alfred the king," he said. "Far have I ridden on thisholy day. Now I would fain hear mass and have your blessing beforewe go on."
Thereat the old priest gave thanks openly to the King of kings, whohad brought Alfred again into the land, and hastened to make ready.So that was the king's Whitsuntide mass, and we three heathen andour few men must bide outside while the others went into the holyplace and returned with bright faces and happy; for this was aservice to which we might not be admitted, though all knew that wewould be Christians indeed ere long.
So at last we came to the ancient castle, and saw the valley tonorth and east beneath its height, bright everywhere with sparklingarms that gleamed from lane and field and forest glade, as allWessex gathered to meet their king.
Then the Golden Dragon that we had lost and won was unfurled; andthe war horns blew bravely enough to wake the mighty dead whosemounds were round about us; and soon the hillside was full of menwho crowded upwards and filled the camp and ramparts and fosse, sothat before sunset Alfred had a host that any king might be proudto call his own. Yet he would call it not Alfred's force, butEngland's.
Standing on the old ramparts, he spoke to them, while all the greatgathering was silent. And the words he said sank into the heart ofevery man who heard, so that he felt as if on his arm alone itrested to free England, and that his arm could not fail. Not longdid the king speak, but when he ended there rose a cheering thatwas good to hear, for it came from hearts that had been made strongto dare aught that might come.
After that he spoke to the thanes, giving each one his place, andtelling them all that he had planned, so that each knew what waslooked for from him. It seemed that he had forgotten nothing, andthat the day must go as he said he thought it would.
Men slept on their arms that night, without watch fires, lest anyprowling Danes should see that somewhat was on hand, althoughGuthrum had drawn to him every man from out of Wessex, as was said,and as seemed true. I have heard tales from some that in the nightthe warriors who lie resting in the mounds around their oldstronghold came forth and wandered restless along the ramparts,longing to take their part again in the mighty struggle they knewwas coming. I saw nothing, but Harek the scald says he saw.
Next day we marched towards our foes. Eighteen miles we went, andthen came to the holy place Glastonbury, where the burnt ruinsspoke again, as it were, to the warriors of wrong and cruelty to beavenged.
There we were, but eight miles from the foe, and that night we layin a great meadow they called Iglea, deep down in the folds of thehills, where even so great a host might be hidden for many days ifno chance betrayed them. Alfred took a few of us when night came,and climbed the steep tor above Glastonbury town. Thence we couldsee the long line of fires on Polden Hills that marked where theDanes slept, all unknowing that any host could be gathered in theirrear.
In the grey of morning we set our ranks in order. I was withAlfred, with Ethered of Mercia and Ethelnoth, and more nobles whomI knew; and my few men were in the shield wall, among the bestwarriors of the Saxon levies. None grudged that honour to those whohad made the point of the wedge that broke Hubba's ranks and wonthe Raven banner.
Now, in our Norse land there is ever sacrifice to the Asir when oneleads a host to battle, that luck may be on the right side; and nowI was to see a more wondrous thing than even that. I knew by thistime the meaning of what I saw, and there crept into my heart awish that I might take full part therein with Alfred, who h
adtaught me.
When all the ranks were ordered, and the deep columns were drawn upon Iglea meadows in three sides of a square, there came a littletrain of robed monks, at whose head was Bishop Sigehelm ofSherborne, before whom went a tall gilded cross. Careworn andanxious looked the good fathers, for there was not one of them whohad not a tale of Danish cruelty and destruction to tell, and morethan one had hardly escaped with his life; but now their faces werebrighter with new hope as they came into the open side of the armedsquare and waited for a moment.
Alfred and we stood before them, and the bishop raised his hand. Atthat we all knelt, with a strange clash and rattle of arms thatwent round the great host and ceased suddenly, so that thestillness was very great.
Then was only the voice of the bishop, who in a clear tone spokethe words of peace to those who should pass hence in the comingbattle, that they might fight bravely, and even rejoice in death.
So he shrived the host, and at the end they said "Amen" in onevoice.
Thereafter the bishop prayed to the Lord of hosts--not such aprayer as I had been wont to hear, but more wonderful, and with noboasting therein, nor, as it were, any hate of the foe, but ratherthe wish that the strife should make for peace, and even blessingto them.
Then he lifted his hand and blessed all the host as they baredtheir heads, and again the last word rolled deep and strong roundthe ranks, and that was all; then Alfred cried cheerily to his men,and we began our march that must needs end in battle.
There is a great road that climbs up the slope of the Polden Hillsfrom Glastonbury and then runs along their top to Edington andbeyond, and by this way we went, among pleasant woodlands.Guthrum's own place was on the spur of Edington, because thence onelooks out on all the land that Alfred held, from the fort at Stanehill to Bridgwater and Combwich and the sea beyond. That was onlyeight miles from us, and was the point which we would win. Thenceto Bridgwater is five miles, and the town was now held in force bythe Danes; and where the road leaves the hills to cross the marshto the bridge and town, two miles away, was a camp that guarded thecauseway through the level.
We went quickly as a great host may, and Alfred had so orderedmatters that even as we set out from Iglea, Odda and his force weremoving in battle array from the Petherton heights on the Quantockside of the town, as if to attack it. That was what Guthrum hadlooked for since the time we had beaten Hubba, and the only attackwhich could have seemed possible in any way.
It is likely that he overrated the number which Odda had with him;for those who escaped us at Combwich had not been near enough tosee from the far side of the river how small our force was, andwould make much of those who had been able to overcome theirmightiest chief. Moreover, since that time seven weeks had gone by,and the gathering of Devon might be greater yet. So it was, indeed;but Odda had not a thousand men. Perhaps, too, the Danes fearedsome sally from the fens; but however it was, they made not themistake which destroyed Hubba by despising us rashly, for Guthrumdrew his whole force together, and left the hills for a marchtowards the town which he heard was threatened.
So when we came to Edington, Guthrum's hill fort was empty, savefor a camp guard to keep the country folk who lurked in wood andfen from pillaging it. These men fled, and we stood on the ridgewithout striking one blow; and King Alfred turned to us, and criedthat surely his plan was working out well.
Then our host lined the ridge, and a mighty Saxon cheer from tenthousand throats went pealing across the valley below us, and theysay that shout was heard even in Bridgwater. Guthrum heard it as herode with his host across the long causeway, and his men heard itand halted, and saw in their rear the blaze of war gear that shonefrom their own lines, and knew that they were pent in between fensand hills, with an unknown force ready to fall on them.
Whereon a panic very nearly seized them. Hubba's end was fresh intheir minds, and it needed all that Guthrum could say to preventthem making for the town. But he minded them of old victories, andbade them not fear to face the despised Saxons once again, and theyrallied. But it was noon before he could lead them to attack us,and by that time he learned that Odda had halted above the town,and need not be feared. But by that time also every post of vantagealong the hills was in our hands, and if Edington height was to beheld by Danes again, it must be won by hard fighting. That is athing that no Dane shrinks from, and now for Guthrum there wasnought else to be done, for he was surrounded, as it were.
No man saw the whole of that fight, for it began at noon, as I havesaid, when Guthrum turned to find the hillward road blocked behindhim. And from that time on it raged from spur to spur and point topoint, as step by step the Danes won back to the hillsides. But thecrest of the hill they never gained, save where for a time theymight set foot and be driven headlong in turn by those who hadgiven way before them at first. And so the fight swept on to thebase of Edington hill and along its sides, for there Alfred hadheld his best men in reserve. Already the Danes had made forthemselves some shallow lines of earthworks along the crest, andnow these were manned against their own attack.
Men who looked on from afar tell strange tales of the shouts andcries that rang among the quiet Polden hills and woodlands that dayfor long hours. It was very still, as it chanced, and the noise ofbattle went far and wide from the place where Saxon and Dane foughttheir greatest fight for mastery.
Ever rode Alfred with the light of battle on his face, confidentand joyous, among his men from post to post. Ever where the tide ofbattle seemed to set against us his arm brought victory again,until at last Guthrum drew his men together for one final attackthat should end the day.
On Edington hillside he massed them, and steadily they came onunder shield in a dense column to where, in their own camp, wewaited under the Dragon banner. Half our men, the best spearmen ofthe force, were lying down resting, but along the little ridges ofthe earthworks the archers stood, each knowing that he fought underthe eye of the king he loved.
"This is the end," said Alfred, as the Danes came on. "Be ready,spearmen, when I give the word."
And they lay clutching their weapons, with their eyes fixed on himas he stood on the hilltop, surrounded by his thanes, gazing on thelast assault of the Danes, whose archers from the wings werealready at work, so that the men of the shield wall closed inaround him.
I think that the Danes had no knowledge of what force was hidden bythe hill brow. For when they were within half arrow shot, andAlfred gave the word, and the long ranks of spearmen leaped fromthe ground and closed up for their charge, a waver went along theshielded line, and they almost halted, though it passed, and theycame on even more swiftly.
Then Alfred lifted his sword and shouted, and, with that awful roarthat I had heard before on the Combwich meadows, over the hillcrest and down upon the Danes the spearmen rushed. The lines metwith a mighty crash of steel on steel, and while one might counttwo score they swayed in deadly hand-to-hand strife. Then Guthrum'smen gave back one pace, and howled, and won their place again, andagain lost it.
Then forward went Alfred and his shield wall, and I was on one sideof him and Ethered of Mercia on the other, while after him cameHeregar, bearing the banner. The Danes in the centre closed up asthey saw us come, and there were shouts in which Guthrum's name wasplain to be heard, and I saw him across a four-deep rank of hismen.
Straight for him went Alfred, and the Danish line grew thin beforeus. But as their king went forward our Saxons cheered again andpressed their attack home, and right and left the Danish line fellback and broke. At that a wild shout and charge with levelledspears swept them down the hillside in full rout, and the end hadcome. His courtmen closed round Guthrum and bore him from beforeus, and the full tide of pursuit swept him away before we reachedhim.
Alfred stayed his horse and let the men go on. His face was good tosee as he glanced round at the hills to our right; but when it fellon the slain, who lay thickly where the lines had met, he bared hishead and looked silently on them for a space, while his lips movedas if he prayed.
&n
bsp; Then he said:
"These have given their lives not in vain, for they have helped tobring peace, and have died to set an English king over the Englishland."
He put on his crown-circled helm again, and as he did so, among thefallen there was a stir and movement, and the wounded rose up onarms and knees and turned on their sides, and raised their hands,waving broken weapons, and crying in a strange, wearied voice thatyet had a ring of victory in it:
"Waeshael to Alfred the king!"
For the silence that had fallen, and the lessening shouts of thepursuers, told them that they had won, and they were content.
Thereat Alfred flushed red, and I think that he almost wept, for heturned from us. And then he spoke to the men who yet stood roundhim, and said:
"Let every man who has any knowledge of care for the wounded, orwho has known a wound of his own and the way it was cared for, goamong these brave ones and help them."
Nor would he leave the place till he saw men going up and downamong the hurt, tending them as well as they could; and he was themore content when he saw Bishop Sigehelm and many other clergy comeon the field from the rear, where he had bidden them stay. Thebishop had mail under his robes, having been eager to join in thefight, as would Eahlstan, his great forerunner, have certainlyjoined; but Alfred would not suffer him to do so.
Once more Guthrum tried to rally his men, when the flight bore himto his camp at the hill foot, on the way across the fens to thetown. There was a sharp fight there, and Ethelnoth was wounded ashe led on his men; and thence the Danes fled to Bridgwater, makingno more delay. So close on them were our men that Guthrum'shousecarls closed the gates after their king on many of theircomrades, who fell under the Saxon spear in sight of safety. Nordid we give them time to drive in the cattle that were gatheredfrom all the countryside to the meadows round the place.
Then came Thord to me and put me in mind of somewhat.
"Now is our work to be done, king. These Danes will take Hubba'sships and be gone down the river next. We must stop them in someway, for the king's plan is to starve them out, as it seems."
We had left the king at that time, for we would not suffer him tojoin in pursuit, which has its dangers, if men turn desperate andmake a stand, as many did, dying like brave warriors that theywere. So I rode on quickly with my followers, and came to the riverbank below the bridge. The Danes were swarming on the ramparts ofthe fortress like angry bees, and in the ships, which lay beneaththe walls, men were busy, even as Thord had guessed they would be,making ready to sail when tide served. We could not reach them byany means, for every boat had been taken from this side long ago,when the first news of defeat was brought back by flying horsemen.
Then Thord's face glowered under his helm, and he pointed to theship that was farthest from the bridge, and therefore likely to bethe first to start away when the tide was full. It was my own ship,which they had got afloat.
"Thor's hammer smite them!" he growled; "they have launched the oldkeel without finishing her painting--just as I left her. How are weto stay their going off with her?"
"Is there a chain cable anywhere?" I asked.
"Not one in the place," he said; "and if we did get one across theriver, we should have to fight to keep the far end of it."
The tide was rising fast, and I thought we should surely lose everyship, while Guthrum and his chiefs would escape us at the sametime. One might line the banks with archers, certainly, but thatwould not stay the going. Evening was closing in, moreover. Bymidnight they would be gone, and I was in a difficulty out of whichI could not see my way.
Suddenly Thord smote his hands together, and his face grewbrighter.
"I have it," he cried. "There is an old vessel that lies in a creeka mile down the river. A great buss {xvi} she is, and worthnothing; but she will float, and maybe will be afloat now. If wecan sink her across the channel in a place that I know, not one ofthese ships will get away till she is raised."
Then I called every man to me whom I could see, and we went quicklyto the place where this buss was, and she was just afloat. Thordknew where her tackle was kept, and he had the oars out--what therewere of them at least, for they were old and rotten enough. Then wehad to shove her off and get her boat into the water, and thevessel itself floated up on the tide towards the narrow place whereshe might best be sunk to block the channel against ships that camefrom the town.
We had not gone far when there came a sound at which I started, forit was nothing more or less than the quick beat of oars coming downthe river against the tide. Thord and I and eight men of my owncrew were in the buss, while I had maybe thirty men ashore who werekeeping pace with us along the bank. The rest of my own men werewith these, and one shouted that he could see the ship, and that itwas our own, crammed with men too.
Now at first it seemed as if the only thing for us to do was to goashore in the boat as quickly as we could and get away; but Thordcried to me:
"Then will the Danes take our ship to sea, and we have lost her forgood. It should not be said of us that we let her go without a blowstruck to save her."
"Sink this hulk straightway, then," I said, falling to work, withthe axe I had in thy hand, on the lowest strakes. My men leaped towork as well, and in two minutes the seams began to gape, and thenwas a rush of water from broken planking that sent us over the sideand into the boat in hot haste.
Then we pulled for shore, towing the bows of the fast-sinking busswith us till they grounded in the mud, and even as her stern swungwith the tide across the channel she lurched and sank.
"We should have bided in her and fought," growled Thord. "Now infive minutes we shall see the bottom ripped out of our own ship byour own deed."
But a foot of the bows and the mast of the buss stood out of thewater, and I thought the Danes would see these marks.
Even as we gained the shore our dragon stem swept round the bendthat had hidden us, and came on swiftly. Then the Danes saw us, andthose on the fore deck shouted, and the oars plashed wildly, andmany on the side next to us stopped altogether; and at the sametime the steersman saw the stem of the wreck, and, as I think, losthis head between fear of it and the sudden appearance of the foewhom he thought he had escaped. The larboard oars were going yet,and the starboard had almost stopped. He paid no heed to it, andthe ship swung over. Then the tide caught her bows, and in a momentshe ran hard and fast on our bank, and the men in her fell rightand left with the shock.
I had seen what was coming, and so had Thord, and we ran our bestto meet her as she struck. The tide was a good one, and she camewell on the hard bank, and there was no need to tell my men what todo. Before the Danes knew what had happened we were climbing overthe bows on board, and the Danes aft were leaping into the river toget away from us.
Some few tried to fight; but there must have been two hundred menpacked along the gangways, and they could do nothing. They threwthemselves into the water like the rats that had left the old busseven now, and we slew many, and the good ship was our own again.Some of the Danes got ashore on the far bank, some were met by ourSaxons on this side, and but few got back to Bridgwater, for theriver had most of them.
Another ship was coming at this time, but those in her heard theshouting and the cries; and it would seem that their hearts failedthem, for they went back before we could see more than the tallmast above the banks from our decks.
Then we thought we might rest, for we were wearied out; but Thordwould not suffer us to do so till he had got the ship carefullybelow the wreck, so that she was free. Had we waited for the nexttide we could not have done it, as it turned out; for the rise offlood shortened quickly to the neap tides, and a bank of mud grewround the sunken hull, making the channel impassable altogether forthe time, and so the last way of escape for Guthrum and his men wasbarred.
So I thought we had done well, and left Thord and my men to guardthe ship and take her back to Combwich, where she would lie safelyin the creek, while I rode to Alfred, almost sleeping on my weariedhorse as I went.
There were two wrecks in that place in the morning; for theybrought down one of Hubba's ships in the dark on the next tide, andshe ran on the sunken stem of the buss, and went down almost atonce. After that no more attempt was made to fly by water.
Then began a siege that lasted for a fortnight, without anythinghappening that is worth telling; for the fear of Alfred was on theDanes, and they had not heart so much as to make one sally from thegates.
King Alfred's Viking Page 13