PROVES THAT THE BEST OF FRIENDS MAY QUARREL ABOUT NOTHING, AND THAT WAR
HAS TWO ASPECTS.
"Now, Erling," said Glumm, with a face so cheerful, that had the
expression been habitual, he never would have been styled the Gruff, "I
will go home with thee and wait until thou art busked, after which we
will go together to my house and have a bite and a horn of mead before
setting out on this expedition. I thank the Stoutheart for suggesting
it, for the business likes me well."
"Thou wert ever prone to court danger, Glumm," said Erling with a laugh,
as they hurried towards Haldorstede, "and methinks thou art going to be
blessed with a full share of it just now, for this Harald Haarfager is
not a man to be trifled with. Although thou and I could hold our own
against some odds, we shall find the odds too much for us in the King's
camp, should he set his face against us. However, the cause is a good
one, and to say truth, I am not sorry that they had the goodness to
pitch on thee and me to carry out the plan."
Thus conversing they arrived at Ulfstede, where Herfrida met them at the
door, and was soon informed of their mission. She immediately went to
an inner closet, where the best garments and arms were kept, and brought
forth Erling's finest suit of armour, in order that he might appear with
suitable dignity at court.
She made him change his ordinary shoes for a pair made of tanned
leather, on which he bound a pair of silver spurs, which had been taken
from a cavalier of southern lands in one of Haldor's viking cruises.
She brought, and assisted him to put on, a new suit of mail, every ring
of which had been brightly polished by the busy hands of Ingeborg, who
was unusually fond of meddling with everything that pertained to the art
of war; also a new sword-belt of yellow leather, ornamented with gold
studs. On his head she placed a gilt helmet with his favourite crest, a
pair of hawk's wings expanded upwards, and a curtain of leather covered
with gilt-steel rings to defend the neck. Over his shoulders she flung
a short scarlet cloak, which was fastened at the throat by a large
silver brooch, similar to the circular brooches which are still to be
found in the possession of the rich bonders of Norway. Then she
surveyed her stalwart son from head to foot, and said that he would
stand comparison with any king in the land, small or great.
At this Erling laughed, and asked for his sword.
"Which one, my son?"
"The short one, mother. I had indeed thought of taking my good old axe
with me, but that would not look well in a man bent on a mission of
peace. Would it, Glumm? And if I should have to fight, why, my short
sword is not a light one, and by putting to a little more force I can
make it bite deep enough. So now, Glumm, I am ready for the road.
Farewell, mother."
The young men went out and hastened down the valley to Glummstede, near
Horlingend.
Now it chanced that Hilda and her foster-sister Ada had resolved, about
that time of the day, to walk up the dale together, and as there was
only one road on that side of the river, of necessity they were met by
their lovers; and it so fell out that the meeting took place in a
picturesque part of the dale, where the road passed between two high
precipitous cliffs.
The instant that Ada's eyes fell on Glumm her active brain conceived the
idea of treating him to a disappointment, so she said hurriedly to her
friend:
"Hilda, wilt thou manage to lead Glumm aside and keep talking to him for
a short time, while I speak with Erling? I want to ask him something
about that sword-belt which I am making for Glumm, and which I intend to
send him as the gift of an enemy."
"I will do as ye desire," replied Hilda, with a feeling of
disappointment; "but with what truth canst thou send it, Ada, as an
enemy's gift?"
"Simple Hilda!" said the other, with a laugh, "am I not an enemy to his
peace of mind? But hush! they will overhear us."
It chanced that Hilda was on the same side of the road with Erling, and
Ada on that with Glumm, and both youths observed this fact with secret
satisfaction as they approached and wished the maids "good day"; but
just as they were about to shake hands Ada crossed in front of her
companion, and taking Erling's outstretched hand said:
"Erling, I am glad to meet thee, because I have a knotty point which I
wish thine aid to disentangle. I will turn and walk with thee a short
way, because I know thy business is pressing. It is always so with men,
is it not?"
"I know not," answered Erling, smiling at the girl's arch look, despite
his surprise and chagrin at the unexpected turn affairs had taken, for
he had noted the readiness with which Hilda had turned towards Glumm,
and almost, as he imagined, led him aside purposely! "But it seems to
me, Ada, that, however pressing a man's business may be, woman has the
power to delay it."
"Nay, then, if thine is indeed so pressing just now," said Ada, with a
toss of the head (which Glumm, who walked behind with Hilda, took
particular note of), "I will not presume to--"
"Now, Ada," said Erling, with a light laugh, "thou knowest that it is
merely waste of time to affect indignation. I know thee too well to be
deceived. Come, what is it that ye would consult me about? not the
forging of a battle-axe or spear-head, I warrant me."
"Nay, but a portion of armour scarce less important, though not so
deadly. What say you to a sword-belt?"
"Well, I am somewhat skilled in such gear."
"I am ornamenting one for a friend of thine, Erling, but I will not tell
his name unless I have thy promise not to mention to him anything about
our conversation."
"I promise," said Erling, with an amused glance.
"It is for Glumm."
"For Glumm!" repeated Erling in surprise; "does Glumm then know--"
"Know what?" asked Ada, as Erling stopped abruptly.
"Does he know that thou art making this belt for him?"
"Know it? why, how could it be a secret if he knew it?"
"Ah, true, I--well?"
"Besides," continued Ada, "I am not _making_ it; I said I was going to
ornament it. Now it is with reference to that I would consult thee."
Here Ada became so deeply absorbed in the mysteries of ornamental armour
that she constrained Erling at least to appear interested, although,
poor man, his heart was behind him, and he had much difficulty in
resisting the desire to turn round when he heard Hilda's voice--which,
by the way, was heard pretty constantly, for Glumm was so uncommonly
gruff and monosyllabic in his replies that she had most of the talking
to herself.
This unpleasant state of things might have lasted a considerable time,
had not the party reached the path which diverged to the left, and,
crossing the river over a narrow bridge composed of two tall trees
thrown across, led to Glummstede. Here Erling stopped suddenly, and
wheeling round, said:
"I regret that we cannot go farther down the dale to-day, as Glumm and I
must fare with all speed to the Springs to meet King Harald."
"I trust thine errand is one of peace?" said Hilda in a slightly anxious
tone.
"To judge by their looks," said Ada, glancing expressively at Glumm, "I
should say that their intentions were warlike!"
"Despite our looks," replied Erling, with a laugh, "our business with
the King is of a peaceful nature, and as it is pressing, ye will excuse
us if--"
"Oh! it _is_ pressing, after all," cried Ada; "come, sister, let us not
delay them."
So saying, she hurried away with her friend, and the two youths strode
on to Glummstede in a very unenviable frame of mind.
Having refreshed themselves with several cuts of fresh salmon--drawn
that morning from the foaming river--and with a deep horn of home-brewed
ale, the young warriors mounted a couple of active horses, and rode up
the mountain path that led in a zigzag direction over the fells to the
valley of the Springs. They rode in silence at first--partly because
the nature of the track compelled them to advance in single file, and
partly because each was in the worst possible humour of which his nature
was capable, while each felt indignant at the other, although neither
could have said that his friend had been guilty of any definable sin.
It may here be mentioned in passing, that Glumm had clothed and armed
himself much in the same fashion as his companion, the chief difference
being that his helmet was of polished steel, and the centre of his
shield was painted red, while that of Erling was white. His only
offensive weapons were a dagger and the long two-handed sword which had
been forged for him by his friend, which latter was slung across his
back.
An hour and a half of steady climbing brought the youths to the level
summit of the hills, where, after giving their steeds a few minutes to
breathe, they set off at a sharp gallop. Here they rode side by side,
but the rough nature of the ground rendered it necessary to ride with
care, so that conversation, although possible, was not, in the
circumstances, very desirable. The silence, therefore, was maintained
all the way across the fells. When they came to descend on the other
side they were again obliged to advance in single file, so that the
silence remained unbroken until they reached the base of the mountains.
Here Erling's spirit revived a little, and he began to realise the
absurdity of the conduct of himself and his friend.
"Why, Glumm," he exclaimed at last, "a dumb spirit must have got hold of
us! What possesses thee, man?"
"Truly it takes two to make a conversation," said Glumm sulkily.
"That is as thou sayest, friend, yet I am not aware that I refused to
talk with thee," retorted Erling.
"Nor I with thee," said Glumm sharply, "and thy tongue was glib enough
when ye talked with Ada in Horlingdal."
A light flashed upon Erling as his friend spoke.
"Why, Glumm," he said lightly, "a pretty girl will make most men's
tongues wag whether they will or no."
Glumm remembered his own obstinate silence while walking with Hilda, and
deeming this a studied insult he became furious, reined up and said:
"Come, Erling, if ye wish to settle this dispute at once we need fear no
interruption, and here is a piece of level sward."
"Nay, man, be not so hot," said Erling, with a smile that still more
exasperated his companion; "besides, is it fair to challenge me to fight
with this light weapon while thou bearest a sword so long and deadly?"
"That shall be no bar," cried the other, unslinging his two-handed
sword; "thou canst use it thyself, and I will content me with thine."
"And pray, how shall we give account of our mission," said Erling, "if
you and I cut each other's heads off before fulfilling it?"
"That would then concern us little," said Glumm.
"Nay, thou art more selfish than I thought thee, friend. For my part, I
would not that _she_ should think me so regardless of her welfare as to
leave undelivered a message that may be the means of preventing the ruin
of Horlingdal. My regard for Ada seems to sit more heavily on me than
on thee."
At this Glumm became still more furious. He leaped off his horse, drew
his sword, and flinging it down with the hilt towards Erling, cried in a
voice of suppressed passion:
"No longer will I submit to be trifled with by man or woman. Choose thy
weapon, Erling. This matter shall be settled now and here, and the one
who wins her shall prove him worthy of her by riding forth from this
plain alone. If thou art bent on equal combat we can fall to with
staves cut from yonder tree, or, for the matter of that, we can make
shift to settle it with our knives. What! has woman's love unmanned
thee?"
At this Erling leaped out of the saddle, and drew his sword.
"Take up thy weapon, Glumm, and guard thee. But before we begin,
perhaps it would be well to ask for whose hand it is that we fight."
"Have we not been talking just now of Ada the Dark-eyed?" said Glumm
sternly, as he took up his sword and threw himself into a posture of
defence, with the energetic action of a man thoroughly in earnest.
"Then is our combat uncalled for," said Erling, lowering his point, "for
I desire not the hand of Ada, though I would fight even to the death for
her blue-eyed sister, could I hope thereby to win her love."
"Art thou in earnest?" demanded Glumm in surprise.
"I never was more so in my life," replied Erling; "would that Hilda
regarded me with but half the favour that Ada shows to thee!"
"There thou judgest wrongly," said Glumm, from whose brow the frown of
anger was passing away like a thundercloud before the summer sun. "I
don't pretend to understand a girl's thoughts, but I have wit enough to
see what is very plainly revealed. When I walked with Hilda to-day I
noticed that her eye followed thee unceasingly, and although she talked
to me glibly enough, her thoughts were wandering, so that she uttered
absolute nonsense at times--insomuch that I would have laughed had I not
been jealous of what I deemed the mutual love of Ada and thee. No,
Erling, thy suit will prosper, depend on't. It is I who have reason to
despond, for Ada loves me not."
Erling, who heard all this with a certain degree of satisfaction,
smiled, shook his head, and said:
"Nay, then, Glumm, thou too art mistaken. The dark-eyed Ada laughs at
everyone, and besides, I have good reason to know that her interest in
thee is so great that she consulted me to-day about--about--a--"
The promise of secrecy that he had made caused Erling to stammer and
stop.
"About what?" asked Glumm.
"I may not tell thee, friend. She bound me over to secrecy, and I must
hold by my promise; but this I may say, that thou hast fully greater
cause for hope than I have."
"Then it is my opinion," said Glumm, "that we have nothing to do but
shake hands and proceed on our journey."
Erling laughed heartily, sheathed his sword, and grasped his friend's
hand, after which they remounted and rode forward; but they did not now
ride in silence. Their tongues were effectually loosened, and for some
time they discussed their respective prospects with all the warmth and
enthusiasm of youthful confidants.
"But Ada perplexes me," suddenly exclaimed Glumm, in the midst of a
brief pause; "I know not how to treat her."
"If thou wilt take my advice, Glumm, I will give it thee."
"What is that?" asked Glumm.
"There is nothing like fighting a woman with her own weapons."
"A pretty speech," said Glumm, "to come from the lips of a man who never
regards the weapons of his foes, and can scarce be prevailed on to carry
anything but a beloved battle-axe."
"The case is entirely the reverse when one fights with woman," replied
Erling. "In war I confess that I like everything to be straightforward
and downright, because when things come to the worst a man can either
hew his way by main force through thick and thin, or die. Truly, I
would that it were possible to act thus in matters of love also, but
this being impossible--seeing that women will not have it so, and insist
on dallying--the next best thing to be done is to act on their own
principles. Fight them with their own weapons. If a woman is outspoken
and straightforward, a man should be the same--and rejoice, moreover,
that he has found a gem so precious. But if she _will_ play fast and
loose, let a man--if he does not give her up at once--do the same. Give
Ada a little taste of indifference, Glumm, and thou wilt soon bring her
down. Laugh at her as well as with her. Show not quite so much
attention to her as has been thy wont; and be more attentive to the
other girls in the dale--"
"To Hilda, for instance," said Glumm slyly.
"Aye, even so, an it please thee," rejoined Erling; "but rest assured
thou wilt receive no encouragement in that quarter; for Hilda the
Sunbeam is the very soul of innocence, truth, and straightforwardness."
"Not less so is Ada," said Glumm, firing up at the implied contrast.
Erling made a sharp rejoinder, to which Glumm made a fierce reply; and
it is probable that these hot-blooded youths, having quarrelled because
of a misunderstanding in regard to their mistresses, would have come to
blows about their comparative excellence, had they not come suddenly
upon a sight which, for the time, banished all other thoughts from their
minds.
During the discussion they had been descending the valley which
terminated in the plain where the recent battle of the Springs had been
fought. Here, as they galloped across the field, which was still strewn
with the bodies of the slain, they came upon the blackened ruins of a
hut, around which an old hag was moving, actively engaged, apparently,
in raking among the ashes with a forked stick for anything that she
could draw forth.
Near to her a woman, who had not yet reached middle age, was seated on
the burnt earth, with her hands tightly clasped, and her bloodshot eyes
gazing with a stony stare at a blackened heap which lay on her lap. As
the young men rode up they saw that part of the head and face of a child
lay in the midst of the charred heap, with a few other portions of the
little one that had been only partially consumed in the fire.
The Northmen did not require to be told the cause of what they saw. The
story was too plainly written in everything around them to admit of
uncertainty, had they even been ignorant of the recent fight and its
consequences. These were two of the few survivors of that terrible
night, who had ventured to creep forth from the mountains and search
among the ashes for the remains of those whose smiles and voices had
once made the sunshine of their lives. The terrible silence of these
voices and the sight of these hideous remains had driven the grandmother
of the household raving mad, and she continued to rake among the still
smouldering embers of the old house, utterly regardless of the two
warriors, and only complaining, in a querulous tone now and then, that
her daughter should sit there like a stone and leave her unaided to do
the work of trying to save at least some of the household from the
flames. But the daughter neither heard nor cared for her. She had
found what was left of her idol--her youngest child--once a ruddy,
fearless boy, with curly flaxen hair, who had already begun to carve
model longships and wooden swords, and to talk with a joyous smile and
flashing eye of war! but now--the fair hair gone, and nothing left save
a blackened skull and a small portion of his face, scarcely enough--yet
to a mother far more than enough--to recognise him by.
Erling and Glumm dismounted and approached the young woman, but received
no glance of recognition. To a remark made by Erling no reply was
given. He therefore went close to her, and, bending down, laid his
large hand on her head, and gently smoothed her flaxen hair, while he
spoke soothingly to her. Still the stricken woman took no notice of him
until a large hot tear, which the youth could not restrain, dropped upon
her forehead, and coursed down her cheek. She then looked suddenly up
in Erling's face and uttered a low wail of agony.
"Would ye slay her too?" shrieked the old woman at that moment, coming
forward with the pole with which she had been raking in the ashes, as if
she were going to attack them.
Glumm turned aside the point of the pole, and gently caught the old
woman by the arm.
"Oh! spare her," she cried, falling on her knees and clasping her
withered hands; "spare her, she is the last left--the last. I tried to
save the others--but, but, they are gone--all gone. Will ye not spare
_her_?"
"They won't harm us, mother," said the younger woman huskily. "They are
friends. I _know_ they are friends. Come, sit by me, mother."
The old woman, who appeared to have been subdued by exhaustion, crept on
her hands and knees to her side, and laying her head on her daughter's
breast, moaned piteously.
"We cannot stay to aid thee," said Erling kindly; "but that matters not
because those will soon be here who will do their best for thee. Yet if
thou canst travel a few leagues, I will give thee a token which will
ensure a good reception in my father's house. Knowest thou Haldorstede
in Horlingdal?"
"I know it well," answered the woman.
"Here is a ring," said Erling, "which thou wilt take to Herfrida, the
wife of Haldor, and say that her son Erling sent thee, and would have
thee and thy mother well cared for."
He took from his finger, as he spoke, a gold ring, and placed it in the
woman's hand, but she shook her head sadly, and said in an absent tone:
"I dare not go. Swart might come back and would miss me."
"Art thou the wife of Swart of the Springs?"
"Yes; and he told me not to quit the house till he came back. But that
seems so long, long ago, and so many things have happened since, that--"
She paused and shuddered.
"Swart is dead," said Glumm.
On hearing this the woman uttered a wild shriek, and fell backward to
the earth.
"Now a plague on thy gruff tongue," said Erling angrily, as he raised
the woman's head on his knee. "Did you not see that the weight was
already more than she could bear? Get thee to the spring for water,
man, as quickly as may be."
Glumm, whose heart had already smitten him for his inconsiderate haste,
made no reply, but ran to a neighbouring spring, and quickly returned
with his helmet full of water. A little of this soon restored the poor
woman, and also her mother.
"Now haste thee to Horlingdal," said Erling, giving the woman a share of
the small supply of food with which he had supplied himself for the
journey. "There may be company more numerous than pleasant at the
Springs to-morrow, and a hearty welcome awaits thee at Haldorstede."
Saying this he remounted and rode away.
"I was told last night by Hilda," said Erling, "that, when we were out
after the Danes, and just before the attack was made by the men of their
cutter on Ulfstede, the hermit had been talking to the women in a
wonderful way about war and the God whom he worships. He thinks that
war is an evil thing; that to fight in self-defence--that is, in defence
of home and country--is right, but that to go on viking cruise is wrong,
and displeasing to God."
"The hermit is a fool," said Glumm bluntly.
"Nay, he is no fool," said Erling. "When I think of these poor women, I
am led to wish that continued peace were possible."
"But it is, happily, _not_ possible; therefore it is our business to
look upon the bright side of war," said Glumm.
"That may be thy business, Glumm, but it is my business to look upon
_both_ sides of everything. What would it avail thee to pitch and paint
and gild the outside of thy longship, if no attention were given to the
timbering and planking of the inside?"
"That is a different thing," said Glumm.
"Yes, truly; yet not different in this, that it has two sides, both of
which require to be looked at, if the ship is to work well. I would
that I knew what the men of other lands think on this point, for the
hermit says that there are nations in the south where men practise
chiefly defensive warfare, and often spend years at a time without
drawing the sword."
"Right glad am I," said Glumm, with a grim smile, "that my lot has not
fallen among these."
"Do you know," continued Erling, "that I have more than once thought of
going off on a cruise far and wide over the world to hear and see what
men say and do? But something, I know not what, prevents me."
"Perchance Hilda could tell thee!" said Glumm.
Erling laughed, and said there was some truth in that; but checked
himself suddenly, for at that moment a man in the garb of a thrall
appeared.
"Ho! fellow," cried Glumm, "hast heard of King Harald Haarfager of
late?"
"The King is in guest-quarters in Updal," answered the thrall, "in the
house of Jarl Rongvold, my master."
"We must speed on," said Erling to Glumm, "if we would speak with the
King before supper-time."
"If you would speak with the King at all," said the thrall, "the less
you say to him the better, for he is in no mood to be troubled just now.
He sets out for the Springs to-morrow morning."
Without making a reply the youths clapped spurs to their horses and
galloped away.