THE STORY OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN WHICH HAS BEEN ALSO CALLED THE LAND OFLIVING MEN OR THE ACRE OF THE UNDYING

WRITTENBY WILLIAM MORRIS

POCKET EDITION

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDONNEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA1913

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

First printed in the _English Illustrated Magazine_, Vol. VII, 1890. 

First Edition in book form, 200 copies printed at the Kelmscott Press inthe Golden Type, quarto, April 1891, Reeves and Turner, with six copieson vellum. 

Printed at the Kelmscott Press in the Troy Type, with wood-engravingsfrom designs by Walter Crane, 250 copies and seven on vellum, January1894. 

Printed September 1891, in imperial 16mo. 

Transferred to Longmans, Green and Co. , June 1896. 

Reprinted February 1898 and August 1904. 

Included in Volume XIV of the _Collected Works of William Morris_, July1912. 

Included in Longmans' Pocket Library, November 1913. 

CHAPTER I: OF THOSE THREE WHO CAME TO THE HOUSE OF THE RAVEN

It has been told that there was once a young man of free kindred andwhose name was Hallblithe: he was fair, strong, and not untried inbattle; he was of the House of the Raven of old time. 

This man loved an exceeding fair damsel called the Hostage, who was ofthe House of the Rose, wherein it was right and due that the men of theRaven should wed. 

She loved him no less, and no man of the kindred gainsaid their love, andthey were to be wedded on Midsummer Night. 

But one day of early spring, when the days were yet short and the nightslong, Hallblithe sat before the porch of the house smoothing an ash stavefor his spear, and he heard the sound of horse-hoofs drawing nigh, and helooked up and saw folk riding toward the house, and so presently theyrode through the garth gate; and there was no man but he about the house, so he rose up and went to meet them, and he saw that they were but threein company: they had weapons with them, and their horses were of thebest; but they were no fellowship for a man to be afraid of; for two ofthem were old and feeble, and the third was dark and sad, and drooping ofaspect: it seemed as if they had ridden far and fast, for their spurswere bloody and their horses all a-sweat. 

Hallblithe hailed them kindly and said: "Ye are way-worn, and maybe yehave to ride further; so light down and come into the house, and takebite and sup, and hay and corn also for your horses; and then if ye needsmust ride on your way, depart when ye are rested; or else if ye may, thenabide here night-long, and go your ways to-morrow, and meantime thatwhich is ours shall be yours, and all shall be free to you. "

Then spake the oldest of the elders in a high piping voice and said:"Young man, we thank thee; but though the days of the springtide arewaxing, the hours of our lives are waning; nor may we abide unless thoucanst truly tell us that this is the Land of the Glittering Plain: and ifthat be so, then delay not, lead us to thy lord, and perhaps he will makeus content. "

Spake he who was somewhat less stricken in years than the first: "Thankshave thou! but we need something more than meat and drink, to wit theLand of Living Men. And Oh! but the time presses. "

Spake the sad and sorry carle: "We seek the Land where the days are many:so many that he who hath forgotten how to laugh, may learn the craftagain, and forget the days of Sorrow. "

Then they all three cried aloud and said:

"Is this the Land? Is this the Land?"

But Hallblithe wondered, and he laughed and said: "Wayfarers, look underthe sun down the plain which lieth betwixt the mountains and the sea, andye shall behold the meadows all gleaming with the spring lilies; yet dowe not call this the Glittering Plain, but Cleveland by the Sea. Heremen die when their hour comes, nor know I if the days of their life belong enough for the forgetting of sorrow; for I am young and not yet ayokefellow of sorrow; but this I know, that they are long enough for thedoing of deeds that shall not die. And as for Lord, I know not thisword, for here dwell we, the sons of the Raven, in good fellowship, withour wives that we have wedded, and our mothers who have borne us, and oursisters who serve us. Again I bid you light down off your horses, andeat and drink, and be merry; and depart when ye will, to seek what landye will. "

They scarce looked on him, but cried out together mournfully:

"This is not the Land! This is not the Land!"

No more than that they said, but turned about their horses and rode outthrough the garth gate, and went clattering up the road that led to thepass of the mountains. But Hallblithe hearkened wondering, till thesound of their horse-hoofs died away, and then turned back to his work:and it was then two hours after high-noon. 

CHAPTER II: EVIL TIDINGS COME TO HAND AT CLEVELAND

Not long had he worked ere he heard the sound of horsehoofs once more, and he looked not up, but said to himself, "It is but the lads bringingback the teams from the acres, and riding fast and driving hard for joyof heart and in wantonness of youth. "

But the sound grew nearer and he looked up and saw over the turf wall ofthe garth the flutter of white raiment; and he said:

"Nay, it is the maidens coming back from the sea-shore and the gatheringof wrack. "

So he set himself the harder to his work, and laughed, all alone as hewas, and said: "She is with them: now I will not look up again till theyhave ridden into the garth, and she has come from among them, and leaptoff her horse, and cast her arms about my neck as her wont is; and itwill rejoice her then to mock me with hard words and kind voice andlonging heart; and I shall long for her and kiss her, and sweet shall thecoming days seem to us: and the daughters of our folk shall look on andbe kind and blithe with us. "

Therewith rode the maidens into the garth, but he heard no sound oflaughter or merriment amongst them, which was contrary to their wont; andhis heart fell, and it was as if instead of the maidens' laughter thevoices of those wayfarers came back upon the wind crying out, "Is thisthe Land? Is this the Land?"

Then he looked up hastily, and saw the maidens drawing near, ten of theHouse of the Raven, and three of the House of the Rose; and he beheldthem that their faces were pale and woe-begone, and their raiment rent, and there was no joy in them. Hallblithe stood aghast while one who hadgotten off her horse (and she was the daughter of his own mother) ranpast him into the hall, looking not at him, as if she durst not: andanother rode off swiftly to the horse-stalls. But the others, leavingtheir horses, drew round about him, and for a while none durst utter aword; and he stood gazing at them, with the spoke-shave in his hand, healso silent; for he saw that the Hostage was not with them, and he knewthat now he was the yokefellow of sorrow. 

At last he spoke gently and in a kind voice, and said: "Tell me, sisters, what evil hath befallen us, even if it be the death of a dear friend, andthe thing that may not be amended. "

Then spoke a fair woman of the Rose, whose name was Brightling, and said:"Hallblithe, it is not of death that we have to tell, but of sundering, which may yet be amended. We were on the sand of the sea nigh the Ship-stead and the Rollers of the Raven, and we were gathering the wrack andplaying together; and we saw a round-ship nigh to shore lying with hersheet slack, and her sail beating the mast; but we deemed it to be noneother than some bark of the Fish-biters, and thought no harm thereof, butwent on running and playing amidst the little waves that fell on thesand, and the ripples that curled around our feet. At last there came asmall boat from the side of the round-ship, and rowed in toward shore, and still we feared not, though we drew a little aback from the surf andlet fall our gown-hems. But the crew of that boat beached her close towhere we stood, and came hastily wading the surf towards us; and we sawthat they were twelve weaponed men, great, and grim, and all clad inblack raiment. Then indeed were we afraid, and we turned about and fledup the beach; but now it was too late, for the tide was at more than halfebb and long was the way over the sand to the place where we had left ourhorses tied among the tamarisk-bushes. Nevertheless we ran, and hadgotten up to the pebble-beach before they ran in amongst us: and theycaught us, and cast us down on to the hard stones. 

"Then they made us sit in a row on a ridge of the pebbles; and we weresore afraid, yet more for defilement at their hands than for death; forthey were evil-looking men exceeding foul of favour. Then said one ofthem: 'Which of all you maidens is the Hostage of the House of the Rose?'

"Then all we kept silence, for we would not betray her. But the evil manspake again: 'Choose ye then whether we shall take one, or all of youacross the waters in our black ship. ' Yet still we others spake not, till arose thy beloved, O Hallblithe, and said:

"'Let it be one then, and not all; for I am the Hostage. '

"'How shalt thou make us sure thereof?' said the evil carle. 

"She looked on him proudly and said: 'Because I say it. '

"'Wilt thou swear it?' said he. 

"'Yea, ' said she, 'I swear it by the token of the House wherein I shallwed; by the wings of the Fowl that seeketh the Field of Slaying. '

"'It is enough, ' said the man, 'come thou with us. And ye maidens sit yethere, and move not till we have made way on our ship, unless ye wouldfeel the point of the arrow. For ye are within bowshot of the ship, andwe have shot weapons aboard. '

"So the Hostage departed with them, and she unweeping, but we weptsorely. And we saw the small boat come up to the side of the round-ship, and the Hostage going over the gunwale along with those evil men, and weheard the hale and how of the mariners as they drew up the anchor andsheeted home; and then the sweeps came out and the ship began to moveover the sea. And one of those evil-minded men bent his bow and shot ashaft at us, but it fell far short of where we sat, and the laugh ofthose runagates came over the sands to us. So we crept up the beachtrembling, and then rose to our feet and got to our horses, and rodehither speedily, and our hearts are broken for thy sorrow. "

At that word came Hallblithe's own sister out from the hall; and she boreweapons with her, to wit Hallblithe's sword and shield and helm andhauberk. As for him he turned back silently to his work, and set thesteel of the spear on the new ashen shaft, and took the hammer and smotethe nail in, and laid the weapon on a round pebble that was thereby, andclenched the nail on the other side. Then he looked about, and saw thatthe other damsel had brought him his coal-black war-horse ready saddledand bridled; then he did on his armour, and girt his sword to his sideand leapt into the saddle, and took his new-shafted spear in hand andshook the rein. But none of all those damsels durst say a word to him orask him whither he went, for they feared his face, and the sorrow of hisheart. So he got him out of the garth and turned toward the sea-shore, and they saw the glitter of his spear-point a minute over the turf-wall, and heard the clatter of his horse-hoofs as he galloped over the hardway; and thus he departed. 

CHAPTER III: THE WARRIORS OF THE RAVEN SEARCH THE SEAS

Then the women bethought them, and they spake a word or two together, andthen they sundered and went one this way and one that, to gather togetherthe warriors of the Raven who were a-field, or on the way, nigh unto thehouse, that they might follow Hallblithe down to the sea-shore and helphim; after a while they came back again by one and two and three, bringing with them the wrathful young men; and when there was upward of ascore gathered in the garth armed and horsed, they rode their ways to thesea, being minded to thrust a long-ship of the Ravens out over theRollers into the sea, and follow the strong-thieves of the waters andbring a-back the Hostage, so that they might end the sorrow at once, andestablish joy once more in the House of the Raven and the House of theRose. But they had with them three lads of fifteen winters orthereabouts to lead their horses back home again, when they should havegone up on to the Horse of the Brine. 

Thus then they departed, and the maidens stood in the garth-gate tillthey lost sight of them behind the sandhills, and then turned backsorrowfully into the house, and sat there talking low of their sorrow. And many a time they had to tell their tale anew, as folk came into thehall one after another from field and fell. But the young men came downto the sea, and found Hallblithe's black horse straying about amongst thetamarisk-bushes above the beach; and they looked thence over the sand, and saw neither Hallblithe nor any man: and they gazed out seaward, andsaw neither ship nor sail on the barren brine. Then they went down on tothe sand, and sundered their fellowship, and went half one way, half theother, betwixt the sandhills and the surf, where now the tide wasflowing, till the nesses of the east and the west, the horns of the bay, stayed them. Then they met together again by the Rollers, when the sunwas within an hour of setting. There and then they laid hand to thatship which is called the Seamew, and they ran her down over the Rollersinto the waves, and leapt aboard and hoisted sail, and ran out the oarsand put to sea; and a little wind was blowing seaward from the gates ofthe mountains behind them. 

So they quartered the sea-plain, as the kestrel doth the water-meadows, till the night fell on them, and was cloudy, though whiles the wadingmoon shone out; and they had seen nothing, neither sail nor ship, noraught else on the barren brine, save the washing of waves and thehovering of sea-fowl. So they lay-to outside the horns of the bay andawaited the dawning. And when morning was come they made way again, andsearched the sea, and sailed to the out-skerries, and searched them withcare; then they sailed into the main and fared hither and thither and upand down: and this they did for eight days, and in all that time they sawno ship nor sail, save three barks of the Fish-biters nigh to the Skerrywhich is called Mew-stone. 

So they fared home to the Raven Bay, and laid their keel on the Rollers, and so went their ways sadly, home to the House of the Raven: and theydeemed that for this time they could do no more in seeking their valiantkinsman and his fair damsel. And they were very sorry; for these twowere well-beloved of all men. But since they might not amend it, theyabode in peace, awaiting what the change of days might bring them. 

CHAPTER IV: NOW HALLBLITHE TAKETH THE SEA

Now must it be told of Hallblithe that he rode fiercely down to the sea-shore, and from the top of the beach he gazed about him, and there belowhim was the Ship-stead and Rollers of his kindred, whereon lay the threelong-ships, the Seamew, and the Osprey and the Erne. Heavy and huge theyseemed to him as they lay there, black-sided, icy-cold with the washingof the March waves, their golden dragon-heads looking seaward wistfully. But first had he looked out into the offing, and it was only when he hadlet his eyes come back from where the sea and sky met, and they hadbeheld nothing but the waste of waters, that he beheld the Ship-steadclosely; and therewith he saw where a little to the west of it lay askiff, which the low wave of the tide lifted and let fall from time totime. It had a mast, and a black sail hoisted thereon and flapping withslackened sheet. A man sat in the boat clad in black raiment, and thesun smote a gleam from the helm on his head. Then Hallblithe leapt offhis horse, and strode down the sands shouldering his spear; and when hecame near to the man in the boat he poised his spear and shook it andcried out: "Man, art thou friend or foe?"

Said the man: "Thou art a fair young man: but there is grief in thy voicealong with wrath. Cast not till thou hast heard me, and mayst deemwhether I may do aught to heal thy grief. "

"What mayst thou do?" said Hallblithe; "art thou not a robber of the sea, a harrier of the folks that dwell in peace?"

The man laughed: "Yea, " said he, "my craft is thieving and carrying offthe daughters of folk, so that we may have a ransom for them. Wilt thoucome over the waters with me?"

Hallblithe said wrathfully:

"Nay, rather, come thou ashore here! Thou seemest a big man, and belikeshall be good of thine hands. Come and fight with me; and then he of uswho is vanquished, if he be unslain, shall serve the other for a year, and then shalt thou do my business in the ransoming. "

The man in the boat laughed again, and that so scornfully that he angeredHallblithe beyond measure: then he arose in the boat and stood on hisfeet swaying from side to side as he laughed. He was passing big, long-armed and big-headed, and long hair came from under his helm like thetail of a red horse; his eyes were grey and gleaming, and his mouth wide. 

In a while he stayed his laughter and said: "O Warrior of the Raven, thiswere a simple game for thee to play; though it is not far from my mind, for fighting when I needs must win is no dull work. Look you, if I slayor vanquish thee, then all is said; and if by some chance stroke thouslayest me, then is thine only helper in this matter gone from thee. Nowto be short, I bid thee come aboard to me if thou wouldst ever hearanother word of thy damsel betrothed. And moreover this need not hinderthee to fight with me if thou hast a mind to it thereafter; for we shallsoon come to a land big enough for two to stand on. Or if thou listestto fight in a boat rocking on the waves, I see not but there may bemanhood in that also. "

Now was the hot wrath somewhat run off Hallblithe, nor durst he lose anychance to hear a word of his beloved; so he said: "Big man, I will comeaboard. But look thou to it, if thou hast a mind to bewray me; for thesons of the Raven die hard. "

"Well, " said the big man, "I have heard that their minstrels are of manywords, and think that they have tales to tell. Come aboard and loiternot. " Then Hallblithe waded the surf and lightly strode over the gunwaleof the skiff and sat him down. The big man thrust out into the deep andhaled home the sheet; but there was but little wind. 

Then said Hallblithe: "Wilt thou have me row, for I wot not whitherwardto steer?"

Said the red carle: "Maybe thou art not in a hurry; I am not: do as thouwilt. " So Hallblithe took the oars and rowed mightily, while the aliensteered, and they went swiftly and lightly over the sea, and the waveswere little. 

CHAPTER V: THEY COME UNTO THE ISLE OF RANSOM

So the sun grew low, and it set; the stars and the moon shone a while andthen it clouded over. Hallblithe still rowed and rested not, though hewas weary; and the big man sat and steered, and held his peace. But whenthe night was grown old and it was not far from the dawn, the alien said:"Youngling of the Ravens, now shalt thou sleep and I will row. "

Hallblithe was exceeding weary; so he gave the oars to the alien and laydown in the stern and slept. And in his sleep he dreamed that he waslying in the House of the Raven, and his sisters came to him and said, "Rise up now, Hallblithe! wilt thou be a sluggard on the day of thywedding? Come thou with us to the House of the Rose that we may bearaway the Hostage. " Then he dreamed that they departed, and he arose andclad himself: but when he would have gone out of the hall, then was it nolonger daylight, but moonlight, and he dreamed that he had dreamed:nevertheless he would have gone abroad, but might not find the door; sohe said he would go out by a window; but the wall was high and smooth(quite other than in the House of the Raven, where were low windows allalong one aisle), nor was there any way to come at them. But he dreamedthat he was so abashed thereat, and had such a weakness on him, that hewept for pity of himself: and he went to his bed to lie down; and lo!there was no bed and no hall; nought but a heath, wild and wide, andempty under the moon. And still he wept in his dream, and his manhoodseemed departed from him, and he heard a voice crying out, "Is this theLand? Is this the Land?"

Therewithal he awoke, and as his eyes cleared he beheld the big manrowing and the black sail flapping against the mast; for the wind hadfallen dead and they were faring on over a long smooth swell of the sea. It was broad daylight, but round about them was a thick mist, whichseemed none the less as if the sun were ready to shine through it. 

As Hallblithe caught the red man's eye, he smiled and nodded on him andsaid: "Now has the time come for thee first to eat and then to row. Buttell me what is that upon thy cheeks?"

Hallblithe, reddening somewhat, said: "The night dew hath fallen on me. "

Quoth the sea-rover, "It is no shame for thee a youngling to remember thybetrothed in thy sleep, and to weep because thou lackest her. But nowbestir thee, for it is later than thou mayest deem. "

Therewith the big man drew in the oars and came to the afterpart of theboat, and drew meat and drink out of a locker thereby; and they ate anddrank together, and Hallblithe grew strong and somewhat less downcast;and he went forward and gat the oars into his hands. 

Then the big red man stood up and looked over his left shoulder and said:"Soon shall we have a breeze and bright weather. "

Then he looked into the midmost of the sail and fell a-whistling such atune as the fiddles play to dancing men and maids at Yule-tide, and hiseyes gleamed and glittered therewithal, and exceeding big he looked. ThenHallblithe felt a little air on his cheek, and the mist grew thinner, andthe sail began to fill with wind till the sheet tightened: then, lo! themist rising from the face of the sea, and the sea's face rippling gailyunder a bright sun. Then the wind increased, and the wall of mistdeparted and a few light clouds sped over the sky, and the sail swelledand the boat heeled over, and the seas fell white from the prow, and theysped fast over the face of the waters. 

Then laughed the red-haired man, and said: "O croaker on the dead branch, now is the wind such that no rowing of thine may catch up with it: so inwith the oars now, and turn about, and thou shalt see whitherward we aregoing. "

Then Hallblithe turned about on the thwart and looked across the sea, andlo! before them the high cliffs and crags and mountains of a new landwhich seemed to be an isle, and they were deep blue under the sun, whichnow shone aloft in the mid heaven. He said nought at all, but satlooking and wondering what land it might be; but the big man said: "Otomb of warriors, is it not as if the blueness of the deep sea had heaveditself up aloft, and turned from coloured air into rock and stone, sowondrous blue it is? But that is because those crags and mountains areso far away, and as we draw nigher to them, thou shalt see them as theyverily are, that they are coal-black; and yonder land is an isle, and iscalled the Isle of Ransom. Therein shall be the market for thee wherethou mayst cheapen thy betrothed. There mayst thou take her by the handand lead her away thence, when thou hast dealt with the chapman ofmaidens and hast pledged thee by the fowl of battle, and the edge of thefallow blade to pay that which he will have of thee. "

As the big man spoke there was a mocking in his voice and his face and inhis whole huge body, which made the sword of Hallblithe uneasy in hisscabbard; but he refrained his wrath, and said: "Big man, the longer Ilook, the less I can think how we are to come up on to yonder island; forI can see nought but a huge cliff, and great mountains rising beyond it. "

"Thou shalt the more wonder, " said the alien, "the nigher thou drawestthereto; for it is not because we are far away that thou canst see nobeach or strand, or sloping of the land seaward, but because there isnought of all these things. Yet fear not! am I not with thee? thou shaltcome ashore on the Isle of Ransom. "

Then Hallblithe held his peace, and the other spake not for a while, butgave a short laugh once or twice; and said at last in a big voice, "Little Carrion-biter, why dost thou not ask me of my name?"

Now Hallblithe was a tall man and a fell fighter; but he said: "Because Iwas thinking of other things and not of thee. "

"Well, " said the big man, in a voice still louder, "when I am at home mencall me the Puny Fox. "

Then Hallblithe said: "Art thou a Fox? It may well be that thou shaltbeguile me as such beasts will but look to it, that if thou dost I shallknow how to avenge me. "

Then rose up the big man from the helm, and straddled wide in the boat, and cried out in a great roaring voice: "Crag-nester, I am one of sevenbrethren, and the smallest and weakest of them. Art thou not afraid?"

"No, " said Hallblithe, "for the six others are not here. Wilt thou fighthere in boat, O Fox?"

"Nay, " said Fox, "rather we will drink a cup of wine together. "

So he opened the locker again and drew out thence a great horn of somehuge neat of the outlands, which was girthed and stopped with silver, andalso a golden cup, and he filled the cup from the horn and gave it intoHallblithe's hand and said: "Drink, O black-fledged nestling! But call ahealth over the cup if thou wilt. " So Hallblithe raised the cup aloftand cried: "Health to the House of the Raven and to them that love it! anill day to its foemen!" Then he set his lips to the cup and drank; andthat wine seemed to him better and stronger than any he had ever tasted. But when he had given the cup back again to Fox, that red one filled itagain, and cried over it, "The Treasure of the Sea! and the King thatdieth not!" Then he drank, and filled again for Hallblithe, and steeredwith his knees meanwhile; and thus they drank three cups each, and Foxsmiled and was peaceful and said but little, but Hallblithe sat wonderinghow the world was changed for him since yesterday. 

But now was the sky blown all clear of clouds and the wind piped shrillbehind them, and the great waves rose and fell about them, and the sunglittered on them in many colours. Fast flew the boat before the wind asthough it would never stop, and the day was waning, and the wind stillrising; and now the Isle of Ransom uphove huge before them, andcoal-black, and no beach and no haven was to be seen therein; and stillthey ran before the wind towards that black cliff-wall, against which thesea washed for ever, and no keel ever built by man might live for onemoment 'twixt the surf and the cliff of that grim land. The sun grewlow, and sank red under the sea, and that world of stone swallowed uphalf the heavens before them, for they were now come very nigh thereto;nor could Hallblithe see aught for it, but that they must be dashedagainst the cliff and perish in a moment of time. 

Still the boat flew on; but now when the twilight was come, and they hadjust opened up along reach of the cliff that lay beyond a high ness, Hallblithe thought he saw down by the edge of the sea something darkerthan the face of the rock-wall, and he deemed it was a cave: they came alittle nearer and he saw it was a great cave high enough to let a round-ship go in with all her sails set. 

"Son of the Raven, " quoth Fox, "hearken, for thy heart is not little. Yonder is the gate into the Isle of Ransom, and if thou wilt, thou maystgo through it. Yet it may be that if thou goest ashore on to the Islesomething grievous shall befall thee, a trouble more than thou canstbear: a shame it may be. Now there are two choices for thee: either togo up on to the Isle and face all; or to die here by my hand having donenothing unmanly or shameful: What sayest thou?"

"Thou art of many words when time so presses, Fox, " said Hallblithe. "Whyshould I not choose to go up on to the Island to deliver my trothplightmaiden? For the rest, slay me if thou canst, if we come alive out ofthis cauldron of waters. "

Said the big red man: "Look on then, and note Fox how he steereth, as itwere through a needle's eye. "

Now were they underneath the black shadow of the black cliff and amidstthe twilight the surf was tossed about like white fire. In the lowerheavens the stars were beginning to twinkle and the moon was bright andyellow, and aloft all was peaceful, for no cloud sullied the sky. Onemoment Hallblithe saw all this hanging above the turmoil of thunderingwater and dripping rock and the next he was in the darkness of the cave, the roaring wind and the waves still making thunder about him, though ofa different voice from the harsh hubbub without. Then he heard Fox say:"Sit down now and take the oars, for presently shall we be at home at thelanding place. "

So Hallblithe took the oars and rowed, and as they went up the cave thesea fell, and the wind died out into the aimless gustiness of hollowplaces; and for a little while was all as dark as dark might be. ThenHallblithe saw that the darkness grew a little greyer, and he looked overhis shoulder and saw a star of light before the bows of the boat, and Foxcried out: "Yea, it is like day; bright will the moon be for such asneeds must be wayfaring to-night! Cease rowing, O Son of the coal-bluefowl, for there is way enough on her. "

Then Hallblithe lay on his oars, and in a minute the bows smote the land;then he turned about and saw a steep stair of stone, and up the slopingshaft thereof the moonlit sky and the bright stars. Then Fox arose andcame forward and leapt out of the boat and moored her to a big stone:then he leapt back again and said: "Bear a hand with the victuals; wemust bring them out of the boat unless thou wilt sleep supperless, as Iwill not. For to-night must we be guests to ourselves, since it is farto the dwelling of my people, and the old man is said to be askin-changer, a flit-by-night. And as to this cave, it is deemed to benowise safe to sleep therein, unless the sleeper have a double share ofluck. And thy luck, meseemeth, O Son of the Raven, is as now somewhatless than a single share. So to-night we shall sleep under the nakedheaven. "

Hallblithe yea-said this, and they took the meat and drink, such as theyneeded, from out the boat, and climbed the steep stair no little way, andso came out on to a plain place, which seemed to Hallblithe bare andwaste so far as he saw it by the moonlight; for the twilight was gonenow, and nought was left of the light of day save a glimmer in the west. 

This Hallblithe deemed wonderful, that no less out on the open heath andbrow of the land than in the shut-in cave, all that tumult of the windhad fallen, and the cloudless night was calm, and with a little airblowing from the south and the landward. 

Therewithal was Fox done with his loud-voiced braggart mood, and spokegently and peaceably like to a wayfarer, who hath business of his to lookto as other men. Now he pointed to certain rocks or low crags that alittle way off rose like a reef out of the treeless plain; then said he:"Shipmate, underneath yonder rocks is our resting-place for to-night; andI pray thee not to deem me churlish that I give thee no better harbour. But I have a charge over thee to bring thee safe thus far on thy quest;and thou wouldst find it hard to live among such housemates as thouwouldst find up yonder amongst our folks to-night. But to-morrow shaltthou come to speech with him who will deal with thee concerning theransom. "

"It is enough, " said Hallblithe, "and I thank thee for thy leading: andas for thy rough and uncomely words which thou hast given me, I pardonthee for them: for I am none the worse of them: forsooth, if I had been, my sword would have had a voice in the matter. "

"I am well content as it is, Son of the Raven, " quoth Fox; "I have donemy bidding and all is well. "

"Tell me then who it is hath bidden thee bring me hither?"

"I may not tell thee, " said Fox; "thou art here, be content, as I am. "

And he spake no more till they had come to the reef aforesaid, which wassome two furlongs from the place where they had come from out of thecave. There then they set forth their supper on the stones, and ate whatthey would, and drank of that good strong wine while the horn bare out. And now was Fox of few words, and when Hallblithe asked him concerningthat land, he had little to say. And at last when Hallblithe asked himof that so perilous house and those who manned it, he said to him:

"Son of the Raven, it avails not asking of these matters; for if I tellthee aught concerning them I shall tell thee lies. Once again let it beenough for thee that thou hast passed over the sea safely on thy quest;and a more perilous sea it is forsooth than thou deemest. But now let ushave an end of vain words, and make our bed amidst these stones as bestwe may; for we should be stirring betimes in the morning. " Hallblithesaid little in answer, and they arrayed their sleeping places cunningly, as the hare doth her form, and like men well used to lying abroad. 

Hallblithe was very weary and he soon fell asleep; and as he lay there, he dreamed a dream, or maybe saw a vision; whether he were asleep when hesaw it, or between sleeping and waking, I know not. But this was hisdream or his vision; that the Hostage was standing over him, and she ashe had seen her but yesterday, bright-haired and ruddy-cheeked and white-skinned, kind of hand and soft of voice, and she said to him:"Hallblithe, look on me and hearken, for I have a message for thee. " Andhe looked and longed for her, and his soul was ravished by the sweetnessof his longing, and he would have leapt up and cast his arms about her, but sleep and the dream bound him, and he might not. Then the imagesmiled on him and said: "Nay, my love, lie still, for thou mayst nottouch me: here is but the image of the body which thou desirest. Hearkenthen. I am in evil plight, in the hands of strong-thieves of the sea, nor know I what they will do with me, and I have no will to be shamed; tobe sold for a price from one hand to another, yet to be bedded without aprice, and to lie beside some foe-man of our folk, and he to cast hisarms about me, will I, will I not: this is a hard case. Therefore to-morrow morning at daybreak while men sleep, I think to steal forth to thegunwale of the black ship and give myself to the gods, that they and notthese runagates may be masters of my life and my soul, and may do with meas they will: for indeed they know that I may not bear the strangekinless house, and the love and caressing of the alien house-master, andthe mocking and stripes of the alien house-mistress. Therefore let theHoary One of the sea take me and look to my matters, and carry me to lifeor death, which-so he will. Thin now grows the night, but lie still alittle yet, while I speak another word. 

"Maybe we shall meet alive again, and maybe not: and if not, though wehave never yet lain in one bed together, yet I would have thee rememberme: yet not so that my image shall come between thee and thyspeech-friend and bed-fellow of the kindred, that shall lie where I wasto have lain. Yet again, if I live and thou livest, I have been told andhave heard that by one way or other I am like to come to the GlitteringPlain, and the Land of Living Men. O my beloved, if by any way thoumightest come thither also, and we might meet there, and we two alive, how good it were! Seek that land then, beloved! seek it, whether or nowe once more behold the House of the Rose, or tread the floor of theRaven dwelling. And now must even this image of me sunder from thee. Farewell!"

Therewith was the dream done and the vision departed; and Hallblithe satup full of anguish and longing; and he looked about him over the drearyland, and it was somewhat light and the sky was grown grey and cloudy, and he deemed that the dawn was come. So he leapt to his feet andstooped down over Fox, and took him by the shoulder, and shook him andsaid: "Faring-fellow, awake! the dawn is come, and we have much to do. "

Fox sat up and growled like a dog, and rubbed his eyes and looked abouthim and said: "Thou hast waked me for nought: it is the false dawn of themoon that shineth now behind the clouds and casteth no shadow; it is butan hour after midnight. Go to sleep again, and let me be, else will Inot be a guide to thee when the day comes. " And he lay down and wasasleep at once. Then Hallblithe went and lay down again full of sorrow:Yet so weary was he that he presently fell asleep, and dreamed no more. 

CHAPTER VI: OF A DWELLING OF MAN ON THE ISLE OF RANSOM

When he awoke again the sun shone on him, and the morning was calm andwindless. He sat up and looked about him, but could see no signs of Foxsave the lair wherein he had lain. So he arose to his feet and soughtfor him about the crannies of the rocks, and found him not; and heshouted for him, and had no answer. Then he said, "Belike he has gonedown to the boat to put a thing in, or take a thing out. " So he went hisways to the stair down into the water-cave, and he called on Fox from thetop of the stair, and had no answer. 

So he went down that long stair with a misgiving in his heart, and whenhe came to the last step there was neither man nor boat, nor aught elsesave the water and the living rock. Then was he exceeding wroth, for heknew that he had been beguiled, and he was in an evil case, left alone onan Isle that he knew not, a waste and desolate land, where it seemed mostlike he should die of famine. 

He wasted no breath or might now in crying out for Fox, or seeking him;for he said to himself: "I might well have known that he was false and aliar, whereas he could scarce refrain his joy at my folly and his guile. Now is it for me to strive for life against death. "

Then he turned and went slowly up the stair, and came out on to the openface of that Isle, and he saw that it was waste indeed, and dreadful: awilderness of black sand and stones and ice-borne rocks, with here andthere a little grass growing in the hollows, and here and there a drearymire where the white-tufted rushes shook in the wind, and here and therestretches of moss blended with red-blossomed sengreen; and otherwherenought but the wind-bitten creeping willow clinging to the black sand, with a white bleached stick and a leaf or two, and again a stick and aleaf. In the offing looking landward were great mountains, some verygreat and snow-capped, some bare to the tops; and all that was far away, save the snow, was deep-blue in the sunny morning. But about him on theheath were scattered rocks like the reef beneath which he had slept thelast night, and peaks, and hammers, and knolls of uncouth shapes. 

Then he went to the edge of the cliffs and looked down on the sea whichlay wrinkled and rippling on toward the shore far below him, and long hegazed thereon and all about, but could see neither ship nor sail, noraught else save the washing of waves and the hovering of sea fowl. 

Then he said: "Were it not well if I were to seek that house-master ofwhom Fox spake? Might he not flit me at least to the Land of theGlittering Plain? Woe is me! now am I of that woful company, and I alsomust needs cry out, Where is the land? Where is the land?"

Therewith he turned toward the reef above their lair, but as he went hethought and said: "Nay, but was not this Stead a lie like the rest ofFox's tale? and am I not alone in this sea-girt wilderness? Yea, andeven that image of my Beloved which I saw in the dream, perchance thatalso was a mere beguiling; for now I see that the Puny Fox was in allways wiser than is meet and comely. " Yet again he said: "At least I willseek on, and find out whether there be another man dwelling on thishapless Isle, and then the worst of it will be battle with him, and deathby point and edge rather than by hunger; or at the best we may becomefriends and fellows and deliver each other. " Therewith he came to thereef, and with much ado climbed to the topmost of its rocks and lookeddown thence landward: and betwixt him and the mountains, and by seemingnot very far off, he saw smoke arising: but no house he saw, nor anyother token of a dwelling. So he came down from the stone and turned hisback upon the sea and went toward that smoke with his sword in itssheath, and his spear over his shoulder. Rough and toilsome was the way:three little dales he crossed amidst the mountain necks, each one narrowand bare, with a stream of water amidst, running seaward, and whether indale or on ridge, he went ever amidst sand and stones, and the weeds ofthe wilderness, and saw no man, or man-tended beast. 

At last, after he had been four hours on the way, but had not gone veryfar, he topped a stony bent, and from the brow thereof beheld a widevalley grass-grown for the more part, with a river running through it, and sheep and kine and horses feeding up and down it. And amidst thisdale by the stream-side, was a dwelling of men, a long hall and otherhouses about it builded of stone. 

Then was Hallblithe glad, and he strode down the bent speedily, his war-gear clashing upon him: and as he came to the foot thereof and on to thegrass of the dale, he got amongst the pasturing horses, and passed closeby the horse-herd and a woman that was with him. They scowled at him ashe went by, but meddled not with him in any way. Although they weregiant-like of stature and fierce of face, they were not ill-favoured:they were red-haired, and the woman as white as cream where the sun hadnot burned her skin; they had no weapons that Hallblithe might see savethe goad in the hand of the carle. 

So Hallblithe passed on and came to the biggest house, the hallaforesaid: it was very long, and low as for its length, not over shapelyof fashion, a mere gabled heap of stones. Low and strait was the doorthereinto, and as Hallblithe entered stooping lowly, and the fire of thesteel of his spear that he held before him was quenched in the mirk ofthe hall, he smiled and said to himself: "Now if there were one anigh whowould not have me enter alive, and he with a weapon in his hand, soonwere all the tale told. " But he got into the hall unsmitten, and stoodon the floor thereof, and spake: "The sele of the day to whomsoever isherein! Will any man speak to the new comer?"

But none answered or gave him greeting; and as his eyes got used to thedusk of the hall, he looked about him, and neither on the floor or thehigh seat nor in any ingle could he see a man; and there was silencethere, save for the crackling of the flickering flame on the hearthamidmost, and the running of the rats behind the panelling of the walls. 

On one side of the hall was a row of shut-beds, and Hallblithe deemedthat there might be men therein; but since none had greeted him herefrained him from searching them for fear of a trap, and he thought, "Iwill abide amidst the floor, and if there be any that would deal with me, friend or foe, let him come hither to me. "

So he fell to walking up and down the hall from buttery to dais, and hiswar-gear rattled upon him. At last as he walked he thought he heard asmall thin peevish voice, which yet was too husky for the squeak of arat. So he stayed his walk and stood still, and said: "Will any manspeak to Hallblithe, a newcomer, and a stranger in this Stead?"

Then that small voice made a word and said: "Why paceth the fool up anddown our hall, doing nothing, even as the Ravens flap croaking about thecrags, abiding the war-mote and the clash of the fallow blades?"

Said Hallblithe, and his voice sounded big in the hall: "Who callethHallblithe a fool and mocketh at the sons of the Raven?"

Spake the voice: "Why cometh not the fool to the man that may not go tohim?"

Then Hallblithe bent forward to hearken, and he deemed that the voicecame from one of the shut-beds, so he leaned his spear against a pillar, and went into the shut-bed he had noted, and saw where there lay along init a man exceeding old by seeming, sore wasted, with long hair as whiteas snow lying over the bed-clothes. 

When the elder saw Hallblithe, he laughed a thin cracked laugh as if inmockery and said: "Hail newcomer! wilt thou eat?"

"Yea, " said Hallblithe. 

"Go thou into the buttery then, " said the old carle, "and there shaltthou find on the cupboard cakes and curds and cheese: eat thy fill, andwhen thou hast done, look in the ingle, and thou shalt see a cask of meadexceeding good, and a stoup thereby, and two silver cups; fill the stoupand bring it hither with the cups; and then may we talk amidst ofdrinking, which is good for an old carle. Hasten thou! or I shall deemthee a double fool who will not fare to fetch his meat, though he behungry. "

Then Hallblithe laughed, and went down the hall into the buttery andfound the meat, and ate his fill, and came away with the drink back tothe Long-hoary man, who chuckled as he came and said: "Fill up now forthee and for me, and call a health to me and wish me somewhat. "

"I wish thee luck, " said Hallblithe, and drank. Said the elder: "And Iwish thee more wits; is luck all that thou mayst wish me? What luck mayan outworn elder have?"

"Well then, " quoth Hallblithe, "what shall I wish thee? Wouldst thouhave me wish thee youth?"

"Yea, certes, " said the Long-hoary, "that and nought else. "

"Youth then I wish thee, if it may avail thee aught, " said Hallblithe, and he drank again therewith. 

"Nay, nay, " said the old carle peevishly, "take a third cup, and wish meyouth with no idle words tacked thereto. "

Said Hallblithe raising the cup: "Herewith I wish thee youth!" and hedrank. 

"Good is the wish, " said the elder; "now ask thou the old carle whatsothou wilt. "

Said Hallblithe: "What is this land called?"

"Son, " said the other, "hast thou heard it called the Isle of Ransom?"

"Yea, " said Hallblithe, "but what wilt thou call it?"

"By no other name, " said the hoary carle. 

"It is far from other lands?" said Hallblithe. 

"Yea, " said the carle, "when the light winds blow, and the ships sailslow. "

"What do ye who live here?" said Hallblithe. "How do ye live, what workwin ye?"

"We win diverse work, " said the elder, "but the gainfullest is robbingmen by the high hand. "

"Is it ye who have stolen from me the Hostage of the Rose?" saidHallblithe. 

Said the Long-hoary, "Maybe; I wot not; in diverse ways my kinsmentraffic, and they visit many lands. Why should they not have come toCleveland also?"

"Is she in this Isle, thou old runagate?" said Hallblithe. 

"She is not, thou young fool, " said the elder. Then Hallblithe flushedred and spake: "Knowest thou the Puny Fox?"

"How should I not?" said the carle, "since he is the son of one of mysons. "

"Dost thou call him a liar and a rogue?" said Hallblithe. 

The elder laughed; "Else were I a fool, " said he; "there are few biggerliars or bigger rogues than the Puny Fox!"

"Is he here in this Isle?" said Hallblithe; "may I see him?"

The old man laughed again, and said: "Nay, he is not here, unless he hathturned fool since yesterday: why should he abide thy sword, since he hathdone what he would and brought thee hither?"

Then he laughed, as a hen cackles a long while, and then said: "What morewilt thou ask me?"

But Hallblithe was very wroth: "It availeth nought to ask, " he said; "andnow I am in two minds whether I shall slay thee or not. "

"That were a meet deed for a Raven, but not for a man, " said the carle, "and thou that hast wished me luck! Ask, ask!"

But Hallblithe was silent a long while. Then the carle said, "Anothercup for the longer after youth!"

Hallblithe filled, and gave to him, and the old man drank and said: "Thoudeemest us all liars in the Isle of Ransom because of thy beguiling bythe Puny Fox: but therein thou errest. The Puny Fox is our chiefestliar, and doth for us the more part of such work as we need: therefore, why should we others lie. Ask, ask!"

"Well then, " said Hallblithe, "why did the Puny Fox bewray me, and atwhose bidding?"

Said the elder: "I know, but I will not tell thee. Is this a lie?"

"Nay, I deem it not, " said Hallblithe: "But, tell me, is it verily truethat my trothplight is not here, that I may ransom her?"

Said the Long-hoary: "I swear it by the Treasure of the Sea, that she isnot here: the tale was but a lie of the Puny Fox. "

CHAPTER VII: A FEAST IN THE ISLE OF RANSOM

Hallblithe pondered his answer awhile with downcast eyes and said atlast: "Have ye a mind to ransom me, now that I have walked into thetrap?"

"There is no need to talk of ransom, " said the elder; "thou mayst go outof this house when thou wilt, nor will any meddle with thee if thoustrayest about the Isle, when I have set a mark on thee and given thee atoken: nor wilt thou be hindered if thou hast a mind to leave the Isle, if thou canst find means thereto; moreover as long as thou art in theIsle, in this house mayst thou abide, eating and drinking and restingwith us. "

"How then may I leave this Isle?" said Hallblithe. 

The elder laughed: "In a ship, " said he. 

"And when, " said Hallblithe, "shall I find a ship that shall carry me?"

Said the old carle, "Whither wouldest thou my son?" Hallblithe wassilent a while, thinking what answer he should make; then he said: "Iwould go to the land of the Glittering Plain. "

"Son, a ship shall not be lacking thee for that voyage, " said the elder. "Thou mayst go to-morrow morn. And I bid thee abide here to-night, andthy cheer shall not be ill. Yet if thou wilt believe my word, it will bewell for thee to say as little as thou mayst to any man here, and thatlittle as little proud as maybe: for our folk are short of temper andthou knowest there is no might against many. Indeed it is not unlikethat they will not speak one word to thee, and if that be so, thou hastno need to open thy mouth to them. And now I will tell thee that it isgood that thou hast chosen to go to the Glittering Plain. For if thouwert otherwise minded, I wot not how thou wouldest get thee a keel tocarry thee, and the wings have not yet begun to sprout on thy shoulders, raven though thou be. Now I am glad that thou art going thy ways to theGlittering Plain to-morrow; for thou wilt be good company to me on theway: and I deem that thou wilt be no churl when thou art glad. "

"What, " said Hallblithe, "art thou wending thither, thou old man?"

"Yea, " said he, "nor shall any other be on the ship save thou and I, andthe mariners that waft us; and they forsooth shall not go aland there. Why should not I go, since there are men to bear me aboard?"

Said Hallblithe, "And when thou art come aland there, what wilt thou do?"

"Thou shalt see, my son, " said the Long-hoary. "It may be that thy goodwishes shall be of avail to me. But now since all this may only be if Ilive through this night, and since my heart hath been warmed by the goodmead, and thy fellowship, and whereas I am somewhat sleepy, and it islong past noon, go forth into the hall, and leave me to sleep, that I maybe as sound as eld will let me to-morrow. And as for thee, folk, bothmen and women, shall presently come into the hall, and I deem not thatany shall meddle with thee; but if so be that any challenge thee, whatsoever may be his words, answer thou to him, 'THE HOUSE OF THEUNDYING, ' and there will be an end of it. Only look thou to it that nonaked steel cometh out of thy scabbard. Go now, and if thou wilt, go outof doors; yet art thou safer within doors and nigher unto me. "

So Hallblithe went back into the main hall, and the sun had gotten roundnow, and was shining into the hall, through the clerestory windows, sothat he saw clearly all that was therein. And he deemed the hall fairerwithin than without; and especially over the shut-beds were many storiescarven in the panelling, and Hallblithe beheld them gladly. But of onething he marvelled, that whereas he was in an island of thestrong-thieves of the waters, and in their very home and chiefesthabitation, there were no ships or seas pictured in that imagery, butfair groves and gardens, with flowery grass and fruited trees all about. And there were fair women abiding therein, and lovely young men, andwarriors, and strange beasts and many marvels, and the ending of wrathand beginning of pleasure and the crowning of love. And amidst these waspictured oft and again a mighty king with a sword by his side and a crownon his head; and ever was he smiling and joyous, so that Hallblithe, whenhe looked on him, felt of better heart and smiled back on the carvenimage. 

So while Hallblithe looked on these things, and pondered his casecarefully, all alone as he was in that alien hall, he heard a noisewithout of talking and laughter, and presently the pattering of feettherewith, and then women came into the hall, a score or more, someyoung, some old, some fair enough, and some hard-featured and uncomely, but all above the stature of the women whom he had seen in his own land. 

So he stood amidst the hall-floor and abided them; and they saw him andhis shining war-gear, and ceased their talking and laughter, and drewround about him, and gazed at him; but none said aught till an old cronecame forth from the ring, and said "Who art thou, standing under weaponsin our hall?"

He knew not what to answer, and held his peace; and she spake again:"Whither wouldest thou, what seekest thou?"

Then answered Hallblithe: "THE HOUSE OF THE UNDYING. "

None answered, and the other women all fell away from him at once, andwent about their business hither and thither through the hall. But theold crone took him by the hand, and led him up to the dais, and set himnext to the midmost high-seat. Then she made as if she would do off hiswar-gear, and he would not gainsay her, though he deemed that foes mightbe anear; for in sooth he trusted in the old carle that he would notbewray him, and moreover he deemed it would be unmanly not to take therisks of the guesting, according to the custom of that country. 

So she took his armour and his weapons and bore them off to a shut-bednext to that wherein lay the ancient man, and she laid the gear withinit, all save the spear, which she laid on the wall-pins above; and shemade signs to him that therein he was to lie; but she spake no word tohim. Then she brought him the hand-washing water in a basin of latten, and a goodly towel therewith, and when he had washed she went away fromhim, but not far. 

This while the other women were busy about the hall; some swept the floordown, and when it was swept strawed thereon rushes and handfuls of wildthyme: some went into the buttery and bore forth the boards and thetrestles: some went to the chests and brought out the rich hangings, thegoodly bankers and dorsars, and did them on the walls: some bore in thestoups and horns and beakers, and some went their ways and came not backa while, for they were busied about the cooking. But whatever they did, none hailed him, or heeded him more than if he had been an image, as hesat there looking on. None save the old woman who brought him the fore-supper, to wit a great horn of mead, and cakes and dried fish. 

So was the hall arrayed for the feast very fairly, and Hallblithe satthere while the sun westered and the house grew dim, and dark at last, and they lighted the candles up and down the hall. But a little afterthese were lit, a great horn was winded close without, and thereaftercame the clatter of arms about the door, and exceeding tall weaponed mencame in, one score and five, and strode two by two up to the foot of thedais, and stood there in a row. And Hallblithe deemed their war-gearexceeding good; they were all clad in ring-locked byrnies, and had steelhelms on their heads with garlands of gold wrought about them and theybore spears in their hands, and white shields hung at their backs. Nowcame the women to them and unarmed them; and under their armour theirraiment was black; but they had gold rings on their arms, and goldencollars about their necks. So they strode up to the dais and took theirplaces on the high-seat, not heeding Hallblithe any more than if he werean image of wood. Nevertheless that man sat next to him who was thechieftain of all and sat in the midmost high-seat; and he bore hissheathed sword in his hand and laid it on the board before him, and hewas the only man of those chieftains who had a weapon. 

But when these were set down there was again a noise without, and therecame in a throng of men armed and unarmed who took their places on theend-long benches up and down the hall; with these came women also, whomost of them sat amongst the men, but some busied them with the serving:all these men were great of stature, but none so big as the chieftains onthe high-seat. 

Now came the women in from the kitchen bearing the meat, whereof nolittle was flesh-meat, and all was of the best. Hallblithe was dulyserved like the others, but still none spake to him or even looked onhim; though amongst themselves they spoke in big, rough voices so thatthe rafters of the hall rang again. 

When they had eaten their fill the women filled round the cups and thehorns to them, and those vessels were both great and goodly. But erethey fell to drinking uprose the chieftain who sat furthest from themidmost high-seat on the right and cried a health: "THE TREASURE OF THESEA!" Then they all stood up and shouted, women as well as men, andemptied their horns and cups to that health. Then stood up the manfurthest on the left and cried out, "Drink a health to the Undying King!"And again all men rose up and shouted ere they drank. Other healths theydrank, as the "Cold Keel, " the "Windworn Sail, " the "Quivering Ash" andthe "Furrowed Beach. " And the wine and mead flowed like rivers in thathall of the Wild Men. As for Hallblithe, he drank what he would butstood not up, nor raised his cup to his lips when a health was drunk; forhe knew not whether these men were his friends or his foes, and he deemedit would be little-minded to drink to their healths, lest he might bedrinking death and confusion to his own kindred. 

But when men had drunk a while, again a horn blew at the nether end ofthe hall, and straightway folk arose from the endlong tables, and tookaway the boards and trestles, and cleared the floor and stood against thewall; then the big chieftain beside Hallblithe arose and cried out: "Nowlet man dance with maid, and be we merry! Music, strike up!" Then flewthe fiddle-bows and twanged the harps, and the carles and queens stoodforth on the floor; and all the women were clad in black raiment, albeitembroidered with knots and wreaths of flowers. A while they danced andthen suddenly the music fell, and they all went back to their places. Then the chieftain in the high-seat arose and took a horn from his side, and blew a great blast on it that filled the hall; then he cried in aloud voice: "Be we merry! Let the champions come forth!"

Men shouted gleefully thereat, and straightway ran into the hall from outthe screens three tall men clad all in black armour with naked swords intheir hands, and stood amidst the hall-floor, somewhat on one side, andclashed their swords on their shields and cried out: "Come forth yeChampions of the Raven!"

Then leapt Hallblithe from his seat and set his hand to his left side, but no sword was there; so he sat down again, remembering the warning ofthe Elder, and none heeded him. 

Then there came into the hall slowly and mournfully three men-at-arms, clad and weaponed like the warriors of his folk, with the image of theRaven on their helms and shields. So Hallblithe refrained him, forbesides that this seemed like to be a fair battle of three against three, he doubted some snare, and he determined to look on and abide. 

So the champions fell to laying on strokes that were no child's play, though Hallblithe doubted if the edges bit, and it was but a little whilebefore the Champions of the Raven fell one after another before the WildMen, and folk drew them by the heels out into the buttery. Then arosegreat laughter and jeering, and exceeding wroth was Hallblithe; howbeithe refrained him because he remembered all he had to do. But the threeChampions of the Sea strode round the hall, tossing up their swords andcatching them as they fell, while the horns blew up behind them. 

After a while the hall grew hushed, and the chieftain arose and cried:"Bring in now some sheaves of the harvest we win, we lads of the oar andthe arrow!" Then was there a stir at the screen doors, and folk pressedforward to see, and, lo, there came forward a string of women, led in bytwo weaponed carles; and the women were a score in number, and they werebarefoot and their hair hung loose and their gowns were ungirt, and theywere chained together wrist to wrist; yet had they gold at arm and neck:there was silence in the hall when they stood amidst of the floor. 

Then indeed Hallblithe could not refrain himself, and he leapt from hisseat and on to the board, and over it, and ran down the hall, and came tothose women and looked them in the face one by one, while no man spake inthe hall. But the Hostage was not amongst them; nay forsooth, they noneof them favoured of the daughters of his people, though they were comelyand fair; so that again Hallblithe doubted if this were aught but a feast-hall play done to anger him; whereas there was but little grief in thefaces of those damsels, and more than one of them smiled wantonly in hisface as he looked on them. 

So he turned about and went back to his seat, having said no word, andbehind him arose much mocking and jeering; but it angered him little now;for he remembered the rede of the elder and how that he had doneaccording to his bidding, so that he deemed the gain was his. So sprangup talk in the hall betwixt man and man, and folk drank about and weremerry, till the chieftain arose again and smote the board with the flatof his sword, and cried out in a loud and angry voice, so that all couldhear: "Now let there be music and minstrelsy ere we wend bedward!"

Therewith fell the hubbub of voices, and there came forth three men withgreat harps, and a fourth man with them, who was the minstrel; and theharpers smote their harps so that the roof rang therewith, and the noise, though it was great, was tuneable, and when they had played thus a littlewhile, they abated their loudness somewhat, and the minstrel lifted hisvoice and sang:

 The land lies black With winter's lack, The wind blows cold Round field and fold; All folk are within, And but weaving they win. Where from finger to finger the shuttle flies fast, And the eyes of the singer look fain on the cast, As he singeth the story of summer undone And the barley sheaves hoary ripe under the sun. 

 Then the maidens stay The light-hung sley, And the shuttles bide By the blue web's side, While hand in hand With the carles they stand. But ere to the measure the fiddles strike up, And the elders yet treasure the last of the cup, There stand they a-hearkening the blast from the lift, And e'en night is a-darkening more under the drift. 

 There safe in the hall They bless the wall, And the roof o'er head, Of the valiant stead; And the hands they praise Of the olden days. Then through the storm's roaring the fiddles break out, And they think not of warring, but cast away doubt, And, man before maiden, their feet tread the floor, And their hearts are unladen of all that they bore. 

 But what winds are o'er-cold For the heart of the bold? What seas are o'er-high For the undoomed to die? Dark night and dread wind, But the haven we find. Then ashore mid the flurry of stone-washing surf! Cloud-hounds the moon worry, but light lies the turf; Lo the long dale before us! the lights at the end, Though the night darkens o'er us, bid whither to wend. 

 Who beateth the door By the foot-smitten floor? What guests are these From over the seas? Take shield and sword For their greeting-word. Lo, lo, the dance ended! Lo, midst of the hall The fallow blades blended! Lo, blood on the wall! Who liveth, who dieth? O men of the sea, For peace the folk crieth; our masters are ye. 

 Now the dale lies grey At the dawn of day; And fair feet pass O'er the wind-worn grass; And they turn back to gaze On the roof of old days. Come tread ye the oaken-floored hall of the sea! Be your hearts yet unbroken; so fair as ye be, That kings are abiding unwedded to gain The news of our riding the steeds of the main. 

Much shouting and laughter arose at the song's end; and men sprang up andwaved their swords above the cups, while Hallblithe sat scowling down ontheir merriment. Lastly arose the chieftain and called out loudly forthe good-night cup, and it went round and all men drank. Then the hornblew for bed, and the chieftains went to their chambers, and the otherswent to the out-bowers or laid them down on the hall-floor, and in alittle while none stood upright thereon. So Hallblithe arose, and wentto the shut-bed appointed for him, and laid him down and sleptdreamlessly till the morning. 

CHAPTER VIII: HALLBLITHE TAKETH SHIP AGAIN AWAY FROM THE ISLE OF RANSOM

When he awoke, the sun shone into the hall by the windows above thebuttery, and there were but few folk left therein. But so soon asHallblithe was clad, the old woman came to him, and took him by the hand, and led him to the board, and signed to him to eat of what was thereon;and he did so; and by then he was done, came folk who went into the shut-bed where lay the Long-hoary, and they brought him forth bed and all andbare him out a-doors. Then the crone brought Hallblithe his arms and hedid on byrny and helm, girt his sword to his side, took his spear in hishand and went out a-doors; and there close by the porch lay theLong-hoary upon a horse-litter. So Hallblithe came up to him and gavehim the sele of the day: and the elder said: "Good morrow, son, I am gladto see thee. Did they try thee hard last night?"

And Hallblithe saw two of the carles that had borne out the elder, thatthey were talking together, and they looked on him and laughed mockingly;so he said to the elder: "Even fools may try a wise man, and so it befelllast night. Yet, as thou seest, mumming hath not slain me. "

Said the old man: "What thou sawest was not all mumming; it was doneaccording to our customs; and well nigh all of it had been done, evenhadst thou not been there. Nay, I will tell thee; at some of our feastsit is not lawful to eat either for the chieftains or the carles, till achampion hath given forth a challenge, and been answered and met, and thebattle fought to an end. But ye men, what hindereth you to go to thehorses' heads and speed on the road the chieftain who is no longer way-worthy?"

So they ran to the horses and set down the dale by the riverside, andjust as Hallblithe was going to follow afoot, there came a swain frombehind the house leading a red horse which he brought to Hallblithe asone who bids mount. So Hallblithe leapt into the saddle and at oncecaught up with the litter of the Long-hoary down along the river. Theypassed by no other house, save here and there a cot beside some fold orbyre; they went easily, for the way was smooth by the river-side; so inless than two hours they came where the said river ran into the sea. There was no beach there, for the water was ten fathom deep close up tothe lip of the land; but there was a great haven land-locked all but anarrow outgate betwixt the sheer black cliffs. Many a great ship mighthave lain in that haven; but as now there was but one lying there, around-ship not very great, but exceeding trim and meet for the sea. 

There without more ado the carles took the elder from the litter and borehim aboard, and Hallblithe followed him as if he had been so appointed. They laid the old man adown on the poop under a tilt of precious web, andso went aback by the way that they had come; and Hallblithe went and satdown beside the Long-hoary, who spake to him and said: "Seest thou, son, how easy it is for us twain to be shipped for the land whither we wouldgo? But as easy as it is for thee to go thither whereas we are going, just so hard had it been for thee to go elsewhere. Moreover I must tellthee that though many an one of the Isle of Ransom desireth to go thisvoyage, there shall none else go, till the world is a year older, and hewho shall go then shall be likest to me in all ways, both in eld and infeebleness, and in gibing speech, and all else; and now that I am gone, his name shall be the same as that whereby ye may call me to-day, andthat is Grandfather. Art thou glad or sorry, Hallblithe?"

"Grandfather, " said Hallblithe, "I can scarce tell thee: I move as onewho hath no will to wend one way or other. Meseems I am drawn to gothither whereas we are going; therefore I deem that I shall find mybeloved on the Glittering Plain: and whatever befalleth afterward, let itbe as it will!"

"Tell me, my son, " said the Grandfather, "how many women are there in theworld?"

"How may I tell thee?" said Hallblithe. 

"Well, then, " said the elder, "how many exceeding fair women are there?"

Said Hallblithe, "Indeed I wot not. "

"How many of such hast thou seen?" said the Grandfather. 

"Many, " said Hallblithe; "the daughters of my folk are fair, and therewill be many other such amongst the aliens. "

Then laughed the elder, and said: "Yet, my son, he who had been thyfellow since thy sundering from thy beloved, would have said that in thydeeming there is but one woman in the world; or at least one fair woman:is it not so?"

Then Hallblithe reddened at first, as though he were angry; then he said:"Yea, it is so. "

Said the Grandfather in a musing way: "I wonder if before long I shallthink of it as thou dost. "

Then Hallblithe gazed at him marvelling, and studied to see wherein laythe gibe against himself; and the Grandfather beheld him, and laughed aswell as he might, and said: "Son, son; didst thou not wish me youth?"

"Yea, " said Hallblithe, "but what ails thee to laugh so? What is it Ihave said or done?"

"Nought, nought, " said the elder, laughing still more, "only thou lookestso mazed. And who knoweth what thy wish may bring forth?"

Thereat was Hallblithe sore puzzled; but while he set himself to considerwhat the old carle might mean, uprose the hale and how of the mariners;they cast off the hawsers from the shore, ran out the sweeps, and dravethe ship through the haven-gates. It was a bright sunny day; within, thegreen water was oily-smooth, without the rippling waves danced merrilyunder a light breeze, and Hallblithe deemed the wind to be fair; for themariners shouted joyously and made all sail on the ship; and she lay overand sped through the waves, casting off the seas from her black bows. Soon were they clear of those swart cliffs, and it was but a littleafterwards that the Isle of Ransom was grown deep blue behind them andfar away. 

CHAPTER IX: THEY COME TO THE LAND OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN

As in the hall, so in the ship, Hallblithe noted that the folk were merryand of many words one with another, while to him no man cast a word savethe Grandfather. As to Hallblithe, though he wondered much what all thisbetokened, and what the land was whereto he was wending, he was no man tofear an unboded peril; and he said to himself that whatever else betid, he should meet the Hostage on the Glittering Plain; so his heart rose andhe was of good cheer, and as the Grandfather had foretold, he was a merryfaring-fellow to him. Many a gibe the old man cast at him, and whilesHallblithe gave him back as good as he took, and whiles he laughed as thestroke went home and silenced him; and whiles he understood nought ofwhat the elder said. So wore the day and still the wind held fair, though it was light; and the sun set in a sky nigh cloudless, and therewas nowhere any forecast of peril. But when night was come, Hallblithelay down on a fair bed, which was dight for him in the poop, and he soonfell asleep and dreamed not save such dreams as are but made up of bygonememories, and betoken nought, and are not remembered. 

When he awoke, day lay broad on the sea, and the waves were little, thesky had but few clouds, the sun shone bright, and the air was warm andsweet-breathed. 

He looked aside and saw the old man sitting up in his bed, as ghastly asa dead man dug up again: his bushy eyebrows were wrinkled over hisbleared old eyes, the long white hair dangled forlorn from his gaunthead: yet was his face smiling and he looked as happy as the soul withinhim could make the half-dead body. He turned now to Hallblithe and said:

"Thou art late awake: hadst thou been waking earlier, the sooner hadthine heart been gladdened. Go forward now, and gaze thy fill and comeand tell me thereof. "

"Thou art happy, Grandfather, " said Hallblithe, "what good tidings hathmorn brought us?"

"The Land! the Land!" said the Long-hoary; "there are no longer tears inthis old body, else should I be weeping for joy. "

Said Hallblithe: "Art thou going to meet some one who shall make theeglad before thou diest, old man?"

"Some one?" said the elder; "what one? Are they not all gone? burned, and drowned, and slain and died abed? Some one, young man? Yea, forsooth some one indeed! Yea, the great warrior of the Wasters of theShore; the Sea-eagle who bore the sword and the torch and the terror ofthe Ravagers over the coal-blue sea. It is myself, MYSELF that I shallfind on the Land of the Glittering Plain, O young lover!"

Hallblithe looked on him wondering as he raised his wasted arms towardsthe bows of the ship pitching down the slope of the sunlit sea, orclimbing up it. Then again the old man fell back on his bed andmuttered: "What fool's work is this! that thou wilt draw me on to talkloud, and waste my body with lack of patience. I will talk with thee nomore, lest my heart swell and break, and quench the little spark of lifewithin me. "

Then Hallblithe arose to his feet, and stood looking at him, wondering somuch at his words, that for a while he forgat the land which they werenearing, though he had caught glimpses of it, as the bows of the round-ship fell downward into the hollow of the sea. The wind was but light, as hath been said, and the waves little under it, but there was still asmooth swell of the sea which came of breezes now dead, and the shipwallowed thereon and sailed but slowly. 

In a while the old man opened his eyes again, and said in a low peevishvoice: "Why standest thou staring at me? why hast thou not gone forwardto look upon the land? True it is that ye Ravens are short of wits. "

Said Hallblithe: "Be not wrath, chieftain; I was wondering at thy words, which are exceeding marvellous; tell me more of this land of theGlittering Plain. "

Said the Grandfather: "Why should I tell it thee? ask of the mariners. They all know more than thou dost. "

"Thou knowest, " said Hallblithe, "that these men speak not to me, andtake no more heed of me than if I were an image which they were carryingto sell to the next mighty man they may hap on. Or tell me, thou oldman, " said he fiercely, "is it perchance a thrall-market whereto they arebringing me? Have they sold her there, and will they sell me also in thesame place, but into other hands. "

"Tush!" said the Grandfather somewhat feebly, "this last word of thine isfolly; there is no buying or selling in the land whereto we are bound. Asto thine other word, that these men have no fellowship with thee, it istrue: thou art my fellow and the fellow of none else aboard. Thereforeif I feel might in me, maybe I will tell thee somewhat. "

Then he raised his head a little and said: "The sun grows hot, the windfaileth us, and slow and slow are we sailing. "

Even as he spoke there was a stir amidships, and Hallblithe looked andbeheld the mariners handling the sweeps, and settling themselves on therowing-benches. Said the elder: "There is noise amidships, what are theydoing?"

The old man raised himself a little again, and cried out in his shrillvoice: "Good lads! brave lads! Thus would we do in the old time when wedrew anear some shore, and the beacons were sending up smoke by day, andflame benights; and the shore-abiders did on their helms and trembled. Thrust her through, lads! Thrust her along!" Then he fell back again, and said in a weak voice: "Make no more delay, guest, but go forward andlook upon the land, and come back and tell me thereof, and then the talemay flow from me. Haste, haste!" So Hallblithe went down from the poop, and in to the waist, where now the rowers were bending to their oars, andcrying out fiercely as they tugged at the quivering ash; and he clomb onto the forecastle and went forward right to the dragon-head, and gazedlong upon the land, while the dashing of the oar-blades made thesemblance of a gale about the ship's black sides. Then he came backagain to the Sea-eagle, who said to him: "Son, what hast thou seen?"

"Right ahead lieth the land, and it is still a good way off. High risethe mountains there, but by seeming there is no snow on them; and thoughthey be blue they are not blue like the mountains of the Isle of Ransom. Also it seemed to me as if fair slopes of woodland and meadow come downto the edge of the sea. But it is yet far away. "

"Yea, " said the elder, "is it so? Then will I not wear myself withmaking words for thee. I will rest rather, and gather might. Come againwhen an hour hath worn, and tell me what thou seest; and may happen thenthou shalt have my tale!" And he laid him down therewith and seemed tobe asleep at once. And Hallblithe might not amend it; so he waitedpatiently till the hour had worn, and then went forward again, and lookedlong and carefully, and came back and said to the Sea-eagle, "The hour isworn. "

The old chieftain turned himself about and said "What hast thou seen?"

Said Hallblithe: "The mountains are pale and high, and below them arehills dark with wood, and betwixt them and the sea is a fair space ofmeadowland, and methought it was wide. "

Said the old man: "Sawest thou a rocky skerry rising high out of the seaanigh the shore?"

"Nay, " said Hallblithe, "if there be, it is all blended with the meadowsand the hills. "

Said the Sea-eagle: "Abide the wearing of another hour, and come and tellme again, and then I may have a gainful word for thee. " And he fellasleep again. But Hallblithe abided, and when the hour was worn, he wentforward and stood on the forecastle. And this was the third shift of therowers, and the stoutest men in the ship now held the oars in theirhands, and the ship shook through all her length and breadth as theydrave her over the waters. 

So Hallblithe came aft to the old man and found him asleep; so he tookhim by the shoulder, and shook him and said: "Awake, faring-fellow, forthe land is a-nigh. "

So the old man sat up and said: "What hast thou seen?"

Said Hallblithe: "I have seen the peaks and cliffs of the far-offmountains; and below them are hills green with grass and dark with woods, and thence stretch soft green meadows down to the sea-strand, which isfair and smooth, and yellow. "

"Sawest thou the skerry?" said the Sea-eagle. 

"Yea, I saw it, " said Hallblithe, "and it rises sheer from out the seaabout a mile from the yellow strand; but its rocks are black, like therocks of the Isle of Ransom. "

"Son, " said the elder, "give me thine hands and raise me up a little. " SoHallblithe took him and raised him up, so that he sat leaning against thepillows; and he looked not on Hallblithe, but on the bows of the ship, which now pitched but a little up and down, for the sea was laid quietnow. Then he cried in his shrill, piping voice: "It is the Land! It isthe Land!"

But after a little while he turned to Hallblithe and spake: "Short is thetale to tell: thou hast wished me youth, and thy wish hath thriven; forto-day, ere the sun goes down, thou shalt see me as I was in the dayswhen I reaped the harvest of the sea with sharp sword and hardy heart. For this is the land of the Undying King, who is our lord and our gift-giver; and to some he giveth the gift of youth renewed, and life thatshall abide here the Gloom of the Gods. But none of us all may come tothe Glittering Plain and the King Undying without turning the back forthe last time on the Isle of Ransom: nor may any men of the Isle comehither save those who are of the House of the Sea-eagle, and few ofthose, save the chieftains of the House, such as are they who sat by theeon the high-seat that even. Of these once in a while is chosen one ofus, who is old and spent and past battle, and is borne to this land andthe gift of the Undying. Forsooth some of us have no will to take thegift, for they say they are liefer to go to where they shall meet more ofour kindred than dwell on the Glittering Plain and the Acre of theUndying; but as for me I was ever an overbearing and masterful man, andmeseemeth it is well that I meet as few of our kindred as may be: forthey are a strifeful race. "

Hereat Hallblithe marvelled exceedingly, and he said: "And what am I inall this story? Why am I come hither with thy furtherance?"

Said the Sea-eagle: "We had a charge from the Undying King concerningthee, that we should bring thee hither alive and well, if so be thoucamest to the Isle of Ransom. For what cause we had the charge, I knownot, nor do I greatly heed. "

Said Hallblithe: "And shall I also have that gift of undying youth, andlife while the world of men and gods endureth?"

"I must needs deem so, " said the Sea-eagle, "so long as thou abidest onthe Glittering Plain; and I see not how thou mayst ever escape thence. "

Now Hallblithe heard him, how he said "escape, " and thereat he wassomewhat ill at ease, and stood and pondered a little. At last he said:"Is this then all that thou hast to tell me concerning the GlitteringPlain?"

"By the Treasure of the Sea!" said the elder, "I know no more of it. Theliving shall learn. But I suppose that thou mayst seek thy troth-plightmaiden there all thou wilt. Or thou mayst pray the Undying King to haveher thither to thee. What know I? At least, it is like that there shallbe no lack of fair women there: or else the promise of youth renewed isnought and vain. Shall this not be enough for thee?"

"Nay, " said Hallblithe. 

"What, " said the elder, "must it be one woman only?"

"One only, " said Hallblithe. 

The old man laughed his thin mocking laugh, and said: "I will not assurethee but that the land of the Glittering Plain shall change all that forthee so soon as it touches the soles of thy feet. "

Hallblithe looked at him steadily and smiled, and said: "Well is it thenthat I shall find the Hostage there; for then shall we be of one mind, either to sunder or to cleave together. It is well with me this day. "

"And with me it shall be well ere long, " said the Sea-eagle. 

But now the rowers ceased rowing and lay on their oars, and the shipmencast anchor; for they were but a bowshot from the shore, and the shipswung with the tide and lay side-long to the shore. Then said the Sea-eagle: "Look forth, shipmate, and tell me of the land. "

And Hallblithe looked and said: "The yellow beach is sandy andshell-strewn, as I deem, and there is no great space of it betwixt thesea and the flowery grass; and a bowshot from the strand I see a littlewood amidst which are fair trees blossoming. "

"Seest thou any folk on the shore?" said the old man. "Yea, " saidHallblithe, "close to the edge of the sea go four; and by seeming threeare women, for their long gowns flutter in the wind. And one of these isclad in saffron colour, and another in white, and another in watchet; butthe carle is clad in dark red; and their raiment is all glistening aswith gold and gems; and by seeming they are looking at our ship as thoughthey expected somewhat. "

Said the Sea-eagle: "Why now do the shipmen tarry and have not made readythe skiff? Swillers and belly-gods they be; slothful swine that forgettheir chieftain. "

But even as he spake came four of the shipmen, and without more ado tookhim up, bed and all, and bore him down into the waist of the ship, whereunder lay the skiff with four strong rowers lying on their oars. These men made no sign to Hallblithe, nor took any heed of him; but hecaught up his spear, and followed them and stood by as they lowered theold man into the boat. Then he set his foot on the gunwale of the shipand leapt down lightly into the boat, and none hindered or helped him;and he stood upright in the boat, a goodly image of battle with the sunflashing back from his bright helm, his spear in his hand, his whiteshield at his back, and thereon the image of the Raven; but if he hadbeen but a salt-boiling carle of the sea-side none would have heeded himless. 

CHAPTER X: THEY HOLD CONVERSE WITH FOLK OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN

Now the rowers lifted the ash-blades, and fell to rowing towards shore:and almost with the first of their strokes, the Sea-eagle moaned out:

"Would we were there, oh, would we were there! Cold groweth eld about myheart. Raven's Son, thou art standing up; tell me if thou canst see whatthese folk of the land are doing, and if any others have come thither?"

Said Hallblithe: "There are none others come, but kine and horses arefeeding down the meadows. As to what those four are doing, the women areputting off their shoon, and girding up their raiment, as if they wouldwade the water toward us; and the carle, who was barefoot before, wendethstraight towards the sea, and there he standeth, for very little are thewaves become. "

The old man answered nothing, and did but groan for lack of patience; butpresently when the water was yet waist deep the rowers stayed the skiff, and two of them slipped over the gunwale into the sea, and between themall they took up the chieftain on his bed and got him forth from the boatand went toward the strand with him; and the landsfolk met them where thewater was shallower, and took him from their hands and bore him forth onto the yellow sand, and laid him down out of reach of the creeping rippleof the tide. Hallblithe withal slipped lightly out of the boat and wadedthe water after them. But the shipmen rowed back again to their ship, and presently Hallblithe heard the hale and how, as they got up theiranchor. 

But when Hallblithe was come ashore, and was drawn near the folk of theland, the women looked at him askance, and they laughed and said:"Welcome to thee also, O young man!" And he beheld them, and saw thatthey were of the stature of the maidens of his own land; they wereexceeding fair of skin and shapely of fashion, so that the nakedness oftheir limbs under their girded gowns, and all glistening with the sea, was most lovely and dainty to behold. But Hallblithe knelt by the Sea-eagle to note how he fared, and said: "How is it with thee, O chieftain?"

The old man answered not a word, and he seemed to be asleep, andHallblithe deemed that his cheeks were ruddier and his skin less wastedand wrinkled than aforetime. Then spake one of those women: "Fear not, young man; he is well and will soon be better. " Her voice was as sweetas a spring bird in the morning; she was white-skinned and dark-haired, and full sweetly fashioned; and she laughed on Hallblithe, but notmockingly; and her fellows also laughed, as though it was strange for himto be there. Then they did on their shoon again, and with the carle laidtheir hands to the bed whereon the old man lay, and lifted him up, andbore him forth on to the grass, turning their faces toward the flowerywood aforesaid; and they went a little way and then laid him down againand rested; and so on little by little, till they had brought him to theedge of the wood, and still he seemed to be asleep. Then the damsel whohad spoken before, she with the dark hair, said to Hallblithe, "Althoughwe have gazed on thee as if with wonder, this is not because we did notlook to meet thee, but because thou art so fair and goodly a man: soabide thou here till we come back to thee from out of the wood. "

Therewith she stroked his hand, and with her fellows lifted the old manonce more, and they bore him out of sight into the thicket. 

But Hallblithe went to and fro a dozen paces from the wood, and lookedacross the flowery meads and deemed he had never seen any so fair. Andafar off toward the hills he saw a great roof arising, and thought hecould see men also; and nigher to him were kine pasturing, and horsesalso, whereof some drew anear him and stretched out their necks and gazedat him; and they were goodly after their kind; and a fair stream of watercame round the corner out of the wood and down the meadows to the sea;and Hallblithe went thereto and could see that there was but little ebband flow of the tide on that shore; for the water of the stream was clearas glass, and the grass and flowers grew right down to its water; so heput off his helm and drank of the stream and washed his face and hishands therein, and then did on his helm again and turned back againtoward the wood, feeling very strong and merry; and he looked out seawardand saw the Ship of the Isle of Ransom lessening fast; for a little landwind had arisen and they had spread their sails to it; and he laid downon the grass till the four folk of the country came out of the woodagain, after they had been gone somewhat less than an hour, but the Sea-eagle was not with them: and Hallblithe rose up and turned to them, andthe carle saluted him and departed, going straight toward that far-awayroof he had seen; and the women were left with Hallblithe, and theylooked at him and he at them as he stood leaning on his spear. 

Then said the black-haired damsel: "True it is, O Spearman, that if wedid not know of thee, our wonder would be great that a man so young andlucky-looking should have sought hither. "

"I wot not why thou shouldest wonder, " said Hallblithe; "I will tell theepresently wherefore I come hither. But tell me, is this the Land of theGlittering Plain?"

"Even so, " said the damsel, "dost thou not see how the sun shineth on it?Just so it shineth in the season that other folks call winter. "

"Some such marvel I thought to hear of, " said he; "for I have been toldthat the land is marvellous; and fair though these meadows be, they arenot marvellous to look on now: they are like other lands, though itmaybe, fairer. "

"That may be, " she said; "we have nought but hearsay of other lands. Ifwe ever knew them we have forgotten them. "

Said Hallblithe, "Is this land called also the Acre of the Undying?"

As he spake the words the smile faded from the damsel's face; she and herfellows grew pale, and she said: "Hold thy peace of such words! They arenot lawful for any man to utter here. Yet mayst thou call it the Land ofthe Living. "

He said: "I crave pardon for the rash word. "

Then they smiled again, and drew near to him, and caressed him with theirhands, and looked on him lovingly; but he drew a little aback from themand said: "I have come hither seeking something which I have lost, thelack whereof grieveth me. "

Quoth the damsel, drawing nearer to him again, "Mayst thou find it, thoulovely man, and whatsoever else thou desirest. "

Then he said: "Hath a woman named the Hostage been brought hither of latedays? A fair woman, bright-haired and grey-eyed, kind of countenance, soft of speech, yet outspoken and nought timorous; tall according to ourstature, but very goodly of fashion; a woman of the House of the Rose, and my troth-plight maiden. "

They looked on each other and shook their heads, and the black-haireddamsel spake: "We know of no such a woman, nor of the kindred which thounamest. "

Then his countenance fell, and became piteous with desire and grief, andhe bent his brows upon them, for they seemed to him light-minded andcareless, though they were lovely. 

But they shrank from him trembling, and drew aback; for they had all beenstanding close to him, beholding him with love, and she who had spokenmost had been holding his left hand fondly. But now she said: "Nay, looknot on us so bitterly! If the woman be not in the land, this cometh notof our malice. Yet maybe she is here. For such as come hither keep nottheir old names, and soon forget them what they were. Thou shalt go withus to the King, and he shall do for thee what thou wilt; for he isexceeding mighty. "

Then was Hallblithe appeased somewhat; and he said: "Are there many womenin the land?"

"Yea, many, " said that damsel. 

"And many that are as fair as ye be?" said he. Then they laughed andwere glad, and drew near to him again and took his hands and kissed them;and the black-haired damsel said: "Yea, yea, there be many as fair as webe, and some fairer, " and she laughed. 

"And that King of yours, " said he, "how do ye name him?"

"He is the King, " said the damsel. 

"Hath he no other name?" said Hallblithe. 

"We may not utter it, " she said; "but thou shalt see him soon, that thereis nought but good in him and mightiness. "

CHAPTER XI: THE SEA-EAGLE RENEWETH HIS LIFE

But while they spake together thus, came a man from out of the wood verytall of stature, red-bearded and black-haired, ruddy-cheeked, full-limbed, most joyous of aspect; a man by seeming of five and thirtywinters. He strode straight up to Hallblithe, and cast his arms abouthim, and kissed his cheek, as if he had been an old and dear friend newlycome from over seas. 

Hallblithe wondered and laughed, and said: "Who art thou that deemest meso dear?"

Said the man: "Short is thy memory, Son of the Raven, that thou in solittle space hast forgotten thy shipmate and thy faring-fellow; who gavethee meat and drink and good rede in the Hall of the Ravagers. " Therewithhe laughed joyously and turned about to the three maidens and took themby the hands and kissed their lips, while they fawned upon him lovingly. 

Then said Hallblithe: "Hast thou verily gotten thy youth again, whichthou badest me wish thee?"

"Yea, in good sooth, " said the red-bearded man; "I am the Sea-eagle ofold days; and I have gotten my youth, and love therewithal, and somewhatto love moreover. "

Therewith he turned to the fairest of the damsels, and she waswhite-skinned and fragrant as the lily, rose-cheeked and slender, and thewind played with the long locks of her golden hair, which hung down belowher knees; so he cast his arms about her and strained her to his bosom, and kissed her face many times, and she nothing loth, but caressing himwith lips and hand. But the other two damsels stood by smiling andjoyous: and they clapped their hands together and kissed each other forjoy of the new lover; and at last fell to dancing and skipping about themlike young lambs in the meadows of Spring-tide. But amongst them all, stood up Hallblithe leaning on his spear with smiling lips and knittedbrow; for he was pondering in his mind in what wise he might further hisquest. 

But after they had danced a while the Sea-eagle left his love that he hadchosen and took a hand of either of the two damsels, and led themtripping up to Hallblithe, and cried out: "Choose thou, Raven's baby, which of these twain thou wilt have to thy mate; for scarcely shalt thousee better or fairer. "

But Hallblithe looked on them proudly and sternly, and the black-haireddamsel hung down her head before him and said softly: "Nay, nay, sea-warrior; this one is too lovely to be our mate. Sweeter love abideshim, and lips more longed for. "

Then stirred Hallblithe's heart within him and he said: "O Eagle of theSea, thou hast thy youth again: what then wilt thou do with it? Wiltthou not weary for the moonlit main, and the washing of waves and thedashing of spray, and thy fellows all glistening with the brine? Wherenow shall be the alien shores before thee, and the landing for fame, anddeparture for the gain of goods? Wilt thou forget the ship's black side, and the dripping of the windward oars, as the squall falleth on when thesun hath arisen, and the sail tuggeth hard on the sheet, and the shiplieth over and the lads shout against the whistle of the wind? Has thespear fallen from thine hand, and hast thou buried the sword of thyfathers in the grave from which thy body hath escaped? What art thou, OWarrior, in the land of the alien and the King? Who shall heed thee ortell the tale of thy glory, which thou hast covered over with the hand ofa light woman, whom thy kindred knoweth not, and who was not born in ahouse wherefrom it hath been appointed thee from of old to take thepleasure of woman? Whose thrall art thou now, thou lifter of the spoil, thou scarer of the freeborn? The bidding of what lord or King wilt thoudo, O Chieftain, that thou mayst eat thy meat in the morning and lie softin thy bed in the evening?"

"O Warrior of the Ravagers, here stand I, Hallblithe of the Raven, and Iam come into an alien land beset with marvels to seek mine own, and findthat which is dearest to mine heart; to wit, my troth-plight maiden theHostage of the Rose, the fair woman who shall lie in my bed, and bear mechildren, and stand by me in field and fold, by thwart and gunwale, before the bow and the spear, by the flickering of the cooking-fire, andamidst the blaze of the burning hall, and beside the bale-fire of thewarrior of the Raven. O Sea-eagle, my guester amongst the foemen, myfellow-farer and shipmate, say now once for all whether thou wilt help mein my quest, or fall off from me as a dastard?"

Again the maidens shrank before his clear and high-raised voice, and theytrembled and grew pale. 

But the Sea-eagle laughed from a countenance kind with joy, and said:"Child of the Raven, thy words are good and manly: but it availeth noughtin this land, and I wot not how thou wilt fare, or why thou hast beensent amongst us. What wilt thou do? Hadst thou spoken these words tothe Long-hoary, the Grandfather, yesterday, his ears would have been deafto them; and now that thou speakest them to the Sea-eagle, this joyousman on the Glittering Plain, he cannot do according to them, for there isno other land than this which can hold him. Here he is strong and stark, and full of joy and love; but otherwhere he would be but a gibberingghost drifting down the wind of night. Therefore in whatsoever thoumayst do within this land I will stand by thee and help thee; but not oneinch beyond it may my foot go, whether it be down into the brine of thesea, or up into the clefts of the mountains which are the wall of thisgoodly land. 

"Thou hast been my shipmate and I love thee, I am thy friend; but here inthis land must needs be the love and the friendship. For no ghost canlove thee, no ghost may help thee. And as to what thou sayest concerningthe days gone past and our joys upon the tumbling sea, true it is thatthose days were good and lovely; but they are dead and gone like the ladswho sat on the thwart beside us, and the maidens who took our hands inthe hall to lead us to the chamber. Other days have come in their stead, and other friends shall cherish us. What then? Shall we wound theliving to pleasure the dead, who cannot heed it? Shall we curse theYuletide, and cast foul water on the Holy Hearth of the winter feast, because the summer once was fair and the days flit and the times change?Now let us be glad! For life liveth. "

Therewith he turned about to his damsel and kissed her on the mouth. ButHallblithe's face was grown sad and stern, and he spake slowly andheavily: "So is it, shipmate, that whereas thou sayest that the daysflit, for thee they shall flit no more; and the day may come for theewhen thou shalt be weary, and know it, and long for the lost which thouhast forgotten. But hereof it availeth nought for me to speak anylonger, for thine ears are deaf to these words, and thou wilt not hearthem. Therefore I say no more save that I thank thee for thy helpwhatsoever it may be; and I will take it, for the day's work lieth beforeme, and I begin to think that it may be heavy enough. "

The women yet looked downcast, and as if they would be gone out ofearshot; but the Sea-eagle laughed as one who is well content, and said:"Thou thyself wilt make it hard for thyself after the wont of thy proudand haughty race; but for me nothing is hard any longer; neither thyscorn nor thy forebodings of evil. Be thou my friend as much as thoucanst, and I will be thine wholly. Now ye women, whither will ye leadus? For I am ready to see any new thing ye will show us. "

Said his damsel: "We will take you to the King, that your hearts may bethe more gladdened. And as for thy friend the Spearman, O Sea-warrior, let not his heart be downcast. Who wotteth but that these two desires, the desire of his heart, and the desire of a heart for him, may not beone and the same desire, so that he shall be fully satisfied?" As shespoke she looked sidelong at Hallblithe, with shy and wheedling eyes; andhe wondered at her word, and a new hope sprang up in his heart that hewas presently to be brought face to face with the Hostage, and that thiswas that love, sweeter than their love, which abode in him, and his heartbecame lighter, and his visage cleared. 

CHAPTER XII: THEY LOOK ON THE KING OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN

So now the women led them along up the stream, and Hallblithe went sideby side by the Sea-eagle; but the women had become altogether merryagain, and played and ran about them as gamesome as young goats; and theywaded the shallows of the clear bright stream barefoot to wash theirlimbs of the sea-brine, and strayed about the meadows, plucking theflowers and making them wreaths and chaplets, which they did uponthemselves and the Sea-eagle; but Hallblithe they touched not, for stillthey feared him. They went on as the stream led them up toward thehills, and ever were the meads about them as fair and flowery as mightbe. Folk they saw afar off, but fell in with none for a good while, saving a man and a maid clad lightly as for mid-summer days, who werewandering together lovingly and happily by the stream-side, and who gazedwonderingly on the stark Sea-eagle, and on Hallblithe with his glitteringspear. The black-haired damsel greeted these twain and spake somethingto them, and they laughed merrily, and the man stooped down amongst thegrasses and blossoms of the bank, and drew forth a basket, and spreaddainty victuals on the grass under a willow-tree, and bade them be hisguests that fair afternoon. So they sat down there above the glisteringstream and ate and drank and were merry. Thereafter the new-comers andtheir way-leaders departed with kind words, and still set their facestowards the hills. 

At last they saw before them a little wooded hill, and underneath itsomething red and shining, and other coloured things gleaming in the sunabout it. Then said the Sea-eagle: "What have we yonder?"

Said his damsel: "That is the pavilion of the King; and about it are thetents and tilts of our folk who are of his fellowship: for oft he abidethin the fields with them, though he hath houses and halls as fair as theheart of man can conceive. "

"Hath he no foemen to fear?" said the Sea-eagle. 

"How should that be?" said the damsel. "If perchance any came into thisland to bring war upon him, their battle-anger should depart when oncethe bliss of the Glittering Plain had entered into their souls, and theywould ask for nought but leave to abide here and be happy. Yet I trowthat if he had foemen he could crush them as easily as I set my foot onthis daisy. "

So as they went on they fell in with many folk, men and women, sportingand playing in the fields; and there was no semblance of eld on any ofthem, and no scar or blemish or feebleness of body or sadness ofcountenance; nor did any bear a weapon or any piece of armour. Now someof them gathered about the new-corners, and wondered at Hallblithe andhis long spear and shining helm and dark grey byrny; but none askedconcerning them, for all knew that they were folk new come to the blissof the Glittering Plain. So they passed amidst these fair folk littlehindered by them, and into Hallblithe's thoughts it came how joyous thefellowship of such should be and how his heart should be raised by thesight of them, if only his troth-plight maiden were by his side. 

Thus then they came to the King's pavilion, where it stood in a bight ofthe meadow-land at the foot of the hill, with the wood about it on threesides. So fair a house Hallblithe deemed he had never seen; for it waswrought all over with histories and flowers, and with hems sewn withgold, and with orphreys of gold and pearl and gems. 

There in the door of it sat the King of the Land in an ivory chair; hewas clad in golden gown, girt with a girdle of gems, and had his crown onhis head and his sword by his side. For this was the hour wherein heheard what any of his folk would say to him, and for that very end he satthere in the door of his tent, and folk were standing before him, andsitting and lying on the grass round about; and now one, now another, came up to him and spoke before him. 

His face shone like a star; it was exceeding beauteous, and as kind asthe even of May in the gardens of the happy, when the scent of theeglantine fills all the air. When he spoke his voice was so sweet thatall hearts were ravished, and none might gainsay him. 

But when Hallblithe set eyes on him, he knew at once that this was hewhose carven image he had seen in the Hall of the Ravagers, and his heartbeat fast, and he said to himself: "Hold up thine head now, O Son of theRaven, strengthen thine heart, and let no man or god cow thee. For howcan thine heart change, which bade thee go to the house wherefrom it wasdue to thee to take the pleasure of woman, and there to pledge thy faithand troth to her that loveth thee most, and hankereth for thee day by dayand hour by hour, so that great is the love that we twain have buildedup. "

Now they drew nigh, for folk fell back before them to the right and left, as before men who are new come and have much to do; so that there wasnought between them and the face of the King. But he smiled upon them sothat he cheered their hearts with the hope of fulfilment of theirdesires, and he said: "Welcome, children! Who be these whom ye havebrought hither for the increase of our joy? Who is this tall, ruddy-faced, joyous man so meet for the bliss of the Glittering Plain?And who is this goodly and lovely young man, who beareth weapons amidstour peace, and whose face is sad and stern beneath the gleaming of hishelm?"

Said the dark-haired damsel: "O King! O Gift-giver and assurer of joy!this tall one is he who was once oppressed by eld, and who hath comehither to thee from the Isle of Ransom, according to the custom of theland. "

Said the King: "Tall man, it is well that thou art come. Now are thydays changed and thou yet alive. For thee battle is ended, and therewiththe reward of battle, which the warrior remembereth not amidst the hardhand-play: peace hath begun, and thou needest not be careful for theendurance thereof: for in this land no man hath a lack which he may notsatisfy without taking aught from any other. I deem not that thine heartmay conceive a desire which I shall not fulfil for thee, or crave a giftwhich I shall not give thee. "

Then the Sea-eagle laughed for joy, and turned his head this way andthat, so that he might the better take to him the smiles of all thosethat stood around. 

Then the King said to Hallblithe: "Thou also art welcome; I know thee whothou art: meseemeth great joy awaiteth thee, and I will fulfil thy desireto the uttermost. "

Said Hallblithe: "O great King of a happy land, I ask of thee nought savethat which none shall withhold from me uncursed. "

"I will give it to thee, " said the King, "and thou shalt bless me. Butwhat is it which thou wouldst? What more canst thou have than the Giftsof the land?"

Said Hallblithe: "I came hither seeking no gifts, but to have mine ownagain; and that is the bodily love of my troth-plight maiden. They stoleher from me, and me from her; for she loved me. I went down to the sea-side and found her not, nor the ship which had borne her away. I sailedfrom thence to the Isle of Ransom, for they told me that there I shouldbuy her for a price; neither was her body there. But her image came tome in a dream of the night, and bade me seek to her hither. Therefore, OKing, if she be here in the land, show me how I shall find her, and ifshe be not here, show me how I may depart to seek her otherwhere. Thisis all my asking. "

Said the King: "Thy desire shall be satisfied; thou shalt have the womanwho would have thee, and whom thou shouldst have. "

Hallblithe was gladdened beyond measure by that word; and now did theKing seem to him a comfort and a solace to every heart, even as he haddeemed of his carven image in the Hall of the Ravagers; and he thankedhim, and blessed him. 

But the King bade him abide by him that night, and feast with him. "Andon the morrow, " said he, "thou shalt go thy ways to look on her whom thououghtest to love. "

Therewith was come the eventide and beginning of night, warm and fragrantand bright with the twinkling of stars, and they went into the King'spavilion, and there was the feast as fair and dainty as might be; andHallblithe had meat from the King's own dish, and drink from his cup; butthe meat had no savour to him and the drink no delight, because of thelonging that possessed him. 

And when the feast was done, the damsels led Hallblithe to his bed in afair tent strewn with gold about his head like the starry night, and helay down and slept for sheer weariness of body. 

CHAPTER XIII: HALLBLITHE BEHOLDETH THE WOMAN WHO LOVETH HIM

But on the morrow the men arose, and the Sea-eagle and his damsel came toHallblithe; for the other two damsels were departed, and the Sea-eaglesaid to him:

"Here am I well honoured and measurelessly happy; and I have a messagefor thee from the King. "

"What is it?" said Hallblithe; but he deemed that he knew what it wouldbe, and he reddened for the joy of his assured hope. 

Said the Sea-eagle: "Joy to thee, O shipmate! I am to take thee to theplace where thy beloved abideth, and there shalt thou see her, but not soas she can see thee; and thereafter shalt thou go to the King, that thoumayst tell him if she shall accomplish thy desire. "

Then was Hallblithe glad beyond measure, and his heart danced within him, and he deemed it but meet that the others should be so joyous and blithewith him, for they led him along without any delay, and were glad at hisrejoicing; and words failed him to tell of his gladness. 

But as he went, the thoughts of his coming converse with his belovedcurled sweetly round his heart, so that scarce anything had seemed sosweet to him before; and he fell a-pondering what they twain, he and theHostage, should do when they came together again; whether they shouldabide on the Glittering Plain, or go back again to Cleveland by the Seaand dwell in the House of the Kindred; and for his part he yearned tobehold the roof of his fathers and to tread the meadow which his scythehad swept, and the acres where his hook had smitten the wheat. But hesaid to himself, "I will wait till I hear her desire hereon. "

Now they went into the wood at the back of the King's pavilion andthrough it, and so over the hill, and beyond it came into a land of hillsand dales exceeding fair and lovely; and a river wound about the dales, lapping in turn the feet of one hill-side or the other; and in each dale(for they passed through two) was a goodly house of men, and tillageabout it, and vineyards and orchards. They went all day till the sun wasnear setting, and were not weary, for they turned into the houses by theway when they would, and had good welcome and meat and drink and whatthey would of the folk that dwelt there. Thus anigh sunset they cameinto a dale fairer than either of the others, and nigh to the end wherethey had entered it was an exceeding goodly house. Then said the damsel:

"We are nigh-hand to our journey's end; let us sit down on the grass bythis river-side whilst I tell thee the tale which the King would havethee know. "

So they sat down on the grass beside the brimming river, scant twobowshots from that fair house, and the damsel said, reading from a scrollwhich she drew from her bosom:

"O Spearman, in yonder house dwelleth the woman foredoomed to love thee:if thou wouldst see her, go thitherward, following the path which turnethfrom the river-side by yonder oak-tree, and thou shalt presently come toa thicket of bay-trees at the edge of an apple-orchard, whose trees areblossoming; abide thou hidden by the bay-leaves, and thou shalt seemaidens come into the orchard, and at last one fairer than all theothers. This shall be thy love fore-doomed, and none other; and thoushalt know her by this token, that when she hath set her down on thegrass beside the bay-tree, she shall say to her maidens 'Bring me now thebook wherein is the image of my beloved, that I may solace myself withbeholding it before the sun goes down and the night cometh. '"

Now Hallblithe was troubled when she read out these words, and he said:"What is this tale about a book? I know not of any book that liethbetwixt me and my beloved. "

"O Spearman, " said the damsel, "I may tell thee no more, because I knowno more. But keep up thine heart! For dost thou know any more than I dowhat hath befallen thy beloved since thou wert sundered from her? and whyshould not this matter of the book be one of the things that hathbefallen her? Go now with joy, and come again blessing us. "

"Yea, go, faring-fellow, " said the Sea-eagle, "and come back joyful, thatwe may all be merry together. And we will abide thee here. "

Hallblithe foreboded evil, but he held his peace and went his ways downthe path by the oak-tree; and they abode there by the water-side, andwere very merry talking of this and that (but no whit of Hallblithe), andkissing and caressing each other; so that it seemed but a little while tothem ere they saw Hallblithe coming back by the oak-tree. He wentslowly, hanging his head like a man sore-burdened with grief: thus hecame up to them, and stood there above them as they lay on the fragrantgrass, and he saying no word and looking so sad and sorry, and withal sofell, that they feared his grief and his anger, and would fain have beenaway from him; so that they durst not ask him a question for a longwhile, and the sun sank below the hill while they abided thus. 

Then all trembling the damsel spake to the Sea-eagle: "Speak to him, dearfriend, else must I flee away, for I fear his silence. "

Quoth the Sea-eagle: "Shipmate and friend, what hath betided? How artthou? May we hearken, and mayhappen amend it?"

Then Hallblithe cast himself adown on the grass and said: "I am accursedand beguiled; and I wander round and round in a tangle that I may notescape from. I am not far from deeming that this is a land of dreamsmade for my beguiling. Or has the earth become so full of lies, thatthere is no room amidst them for a true man to stand upon his feet and gohis ways?"

Said the Sea-eagle: "Thou shalt tell us of what hath betid, and so easethe sorrow of thy soul if thou wilt. Or if thou wilt, thou shalt nursethy sorrow in thine heart and tell no man. Do what thou wilt; am I notbecome thy friend?"

Said Hallblithe: "I will tell you twain the tidings, and thereafter askme no more concerning them. Hearken. I went whereas ye bade me, and hidmyself in the bay-tree thicket; and there came maidens into theblossoming orchard and made a resting-place with silken cushions close towhere I was lurking, and stood about as though they were looking for someone to come. In a little time came two more maidens, and betwixt themone so much fairer than any there, that my heart sank within me: whereasI deemed because of her fairness that this would be the fore-doomed lovewhereof ye spake, and lo, she was in nought like to my troth-plightmaiden, save that she was exceeding beauteous: nevertheless, heart-sickas I was, I determined to abide the token that ye told me of. So she laydown amidst those cushions, and I beheld her that she was sad ofcountenance; and she was so near to me that I could see the tears wellinginto her eyes, and running down her cheeks; so that I should have grievedsorely for her had I not been grieving so sorely for myself. Forpresently she sat up and said 'O maiden, bring me hither the book whereinis the image of my beloved, that I may behold it in this season of sunsetwherein I first beheld it; that I may fill my heart with the sightthereof before the sun is gone and the dark night come. '

"Then indeed my heart died within me when I wotted that this was the lovewhereof the King spake, that he would give to me, and she not mine ownbeloved, yet I could not choose but abide and look on a while, and shebeing one that any man might love beyond measure. Now a maiden went awayinto the house and came back again with a book covered with gold set withgems; and the fair woman took it and opened it, and I was so near to herthat I saw every leaf clearly as she turned the leaves. And in that bookwere pictures of many things, as flaming mountains, and castles of war, and ships upon the sea, but chiefly of fair women, and queens, andwarriors and kings; and it was done in gold and azure and cinnabar andminium. So she turned the leaves, till she came to one whereon waspictured none other than myself, and over against me was the image ofmine own beloved, the Hostage of the Rose, as if she were alive, so thatthe heart within me swelled with the sobbing which I must needs refrain, which grieved me like a sword-stroke. Shame also took hold of me as thefair woman spoke to my painted image, and I lying well-nigh within touchof her hand; but she said: 'O my beloved, why dost thou delay to come tome? For I deemed that this eve at least thou wouldst come, so many andstrong as are the meshes of love which we have cast about thy feet. Ohcome to-morrow at the least and latest, or what shall I do, and wherewithshall I quench the grief of my heart? Or else why am I the daughter ofthe Undying King, the Lord of the Treasure of the Sea? Why have theywrought new marvels for me, and compelled the Ravagers of the Coasts toserve me, and sent false dreams flitting on the wings of the night? Yea, why is the earth fair and fruitful, and the heavens kind above it, ifthou comest not to-night, nor to-morrow, nor the day after? And I thedaughter of the Undying, on whom the days shall grow and grow as thegrains of sand which the wind heaps up above the sea-beach. And lifeshall grow huger and more hideous round about the lonely one, like theling-worm laid upon the gold, that waxeth thereby, till it lies allaround about the house of the queen entrapped, the moveless unending ringof the years that change not. '

"So she spake till the weeping ended her words, and I was all abashedwith shame and pale with anguish. I stole quietly from my lair unheededof any, save that one damsel said that a rabbit ran in the hedge, andanother that a blackbird stirred in the thicket. Behold me, then, thatmy quest beginneth again amidst the tangle of lies whereinto I have beenentrapped. "

CHAPTER XIV: HALLBLITHE HAS SPEECH WITH THE KING AGAIN

He stood up when he had made an end, as a man ready for the road; butthey lay there downcast and abashed, and had no words to answer him. Forthe Sea-eagle was sorry that his faring-fellow was hapless, and was sorrythat he was sorry; and as for the damsel, she had not known but that shewas leading the goodly Spearman to the fulfilment of his heart's desire. Albeit after a while she spake again and said:

"Dear friends, day is gone and night is at hand; now to-night it were illlodging at yonder house; and the next house on our backward road is overfar for wayworn folk. But hard by through the thicket is a fair littlewood-lawn, by the lip of a pool in the stream wherein we may bathe us to-morrow morning; and it is grassy and flowery and sheltered from all windsthat blow, and I have victual enough in my wallet. Let us sup and restthere under the bare heaven, as oft is the wont of us in this land; andon the morrow early we will arise and get us back again to Wood-end, where yet the King abideth, and there shalt thou talk to him again, OSpearman. "

Said Hallblithe: "Take me whither ye will; but now nought availeth. I ama captive in a land of lies, and here most like shall I live betrayed anddie hapless. "

"Hold thy peace, dear friend, of such words as those last, " said she, "orI must needs flee from thee, for they hurt me sorely. Come now to thispleasant place. "

She took him by the hand and looked kindly on him, and the Sea-eaglefollowed him, murmuring an old song of the harvest-field, and they wenttogether by a path through a thicket of white-thorn till they came unto agrassy place. There then they sat them down, and ate and drank what theywould, sitting by the lip of the pool till a waning moon was bright overtheir heads. And Hallblithe made no semblance of content; but the Sea-eagle and his damsel were grown merry again, and talked and sang togetherlike autumn stares, with the kissing and caressing of lovers. 

So at last those twain lay down amongst the flowers, and slept in eachother's arms; but Hallblithe betook him to the brake a little aloof, andlay down, but slept not till morning was at hand, when slumber andconfused dreams overtook him. 

He was awaked from his sleep by the damsel, who came pushing through thethicket all fresh and rosy from the river, and roused him, and said:

"Awake now, Spearman, that we may take our pleasure in the sun; for he ishigh in the heavens now, and all the land laughs beneath him. "

Her eyes glittered as she spoke, and her limbs moved under her raiment asthough she would presently fall to dancing for very joy. But Hallblithearose wearily, and gave her back no smile in answer, but thrust throughthe thicket to the water, and washed the night from off him, and so cameback to the twain as they sat dallying together over their breakfast. Hewould not sit down by them, but ate a morsel of bread as he stood, andsaid: "Tell me how I can soonest find the King: I bid you not lead methither, but let me go my ways alone. For with me time presses, and withyou meseemeth time is nought. Neither am I a meet fellow for the happy. "

But the Sea-eagle sprang up, and swore with a great oath that he wouldnowise leave his shipmate in the lurch. And the damsel said: "Fair man, I had best go with thee; I shall not hinder thee, but further theerather, so that thou shalt make one day's journey of two. "

And she put forth her hand to him, and caressed him smiling, and fawnedupon him, and he heeded it little, but hung not aback from them sincethey were ready for the road: so they set forth all three together. 

They made such diligence on the backward road that the sun was not set bythen they came to Wood-end; and there was the King sitting in the door ofhis pavilion. Thither went Hallblithe straight, and thrust through thethrong, and stood before the King; who greeted him kindly, and was noless sweet of face than on that other day. 

Hallblithe hailed him not, but said: "King, look on my anguish, and ifthou art other than a king of dreams and lies, play no longer with me, but tell me straight out if thou knowest of my troth-plight maiden, whether she is in this land or not. "

Then the King smiled on him and said: "True it is that I know of her; yetknow I not whether she is in this land or not. "

"King, " said Hallblithe, "wilt thou bring us together and stay my heart'sbleeding?"

Said the King: "I cannot, since I know not where she is. "

"Why didst thou lie to me the other day?" said Hallblithe. 

"I lied not, " said the King; "I bade bring thee to the woman that lovedthee, and whom thou shouldst love; and that is my daughter. And lookthou! Even as I may not bring thee to thine earthly love, so couldstthou not make thyself manifest before my daughter, and become herdeathless love. Is it not enough?"

He spake sternly for all that he smiled, and Hallblithe said: "O King, have pity on me!"

"Yea, " said the King; "pity thee I do: but I will live despite thysorrow; my pity of thee shall not slay me, or make thee happy. Even insuch wise didst thou pity my daughter. "

Said Hallblithe: "Thou art mighty, O King, and maybe the mightiest. Wiltthou not help me?"

"How can I help thee?" said the King, "thou who wilt not help thyself. Thou hast seen what thou shouldst do: do it then and be holpen. "

Then said Hallblithe: "Wilt thou not slay me, O King, since thou wilt notdo aught else?"

"Nay, " said the King, "thy slaying wilt not serve me nor mine: I willneither help nor hinder. Thou art free to seek thy love wheresoever thouwilt in this my realm. Depart in peace!"

Hallblithe saw that the King was angry, though he smiled upon him; yet socoldly, that the face of him froze the very marrow of Hallblithe's bones:and he said within himself: "This King of lies shall not slay me, thoughmine anguish be hard to bear: for I am alive, and it may be that my loveis in this land, and I may find her here, and how to reach another land Iknow not. "

So he turned from before the face of the King as the sun was setting, andhe went down the land southward betwixt the mountains and the sea, notheeding whether it were night or day; and he went on till it was longpast midnight, and then for mere weariness laid him down under a tree, not knowing where he was, and fell asleep. 

And in the morning he woke up to the bright sun, and found folk standinground about him, both men and women, and their sheep were anigh them, forthey were shepherd folk. So when they saw that he was awake, theygreeted him, and were blithe with him and made much of him: and they tookhim home to their house, and gave him to eat and to drink, and asked himwhat he would that they might serve him. And they seemed to him to bekind and simple folk, and though he loathed to speak the words, so sickat heart he was, yet he told them how he was seeking his troth-plightmaiden, his earthly love, and asked them to say if they had seen anywoman like her. 

They heard him kindly and pitied him, and told him how they had heard ofa woman in the land, who sought her beloved even as he sought his. Andwhen he heard that, his heart leapt up, and he asked them to tell himmore concerning this woman. Then they said that she dwelt in the hill-country in a goodly house, and had set her heart on a lovely man, whoseimage she had seen in a book, and that no man but this one would contenther; and this, they said, was a sad and sorry matter, such as was unheardof hitherto in the land. 

So when Hallblithe heard this, as heavily as his heart fell again, hechanged not countenance, but thanked the kind folk and departed, and wenton down the land betwixt the mountains and the sea, and before nightfallhe had been into three more houses of folk, and asked there of all comersconcerning a woman who was sundered from her beloved; and at none of themgat he any answer to make him less sorry than yesterday. At the last ofthe three he slept, and on the morrow early there was the work to beginagain; and the next day was the same as the last, and the day afterdiffered not from it. Thus he went on seeking his beloved betwixt themountains and the plain, till the great rock-wall came down to the sideof the sea and made an end of the Glittering Plain on that side. Then heturned about and went back by the way he had come, and up the countrybetwixt the mountains and the plain northward, until he had been intoevery house of folk in those parts and asked his question. 

Then he went up into that fair country of the dales, and even anigh towhere dwelt the King's Daughter, and otherwhere in the land andeverywhere, quartering the realm of the Glittering Plain as the heronquarters the flooded meadow when the waters draw aback into the river. Sothat now all people knew him when he came, and they wondered at him; butwhen he came to any house for the third or fourth time, they wearied ofhim, and were glad when he departed. 

Ever it was one of two answers that he had: either folk said to him, "There is no such woman; this land is happy, and nought but happy peopledwell herein;" or else they told him of the woman who lived in sorrow, and was ever looking on a book, that she might bring to her the man whomshe desired. 

Whiles he wearied and longed for death, but would not die until there wasno corner of the land unsearched. Whiles he shook off weariness, andwent about his quest as a craftsman sets about his work in the morning. Whiles it irked him to see the soft and merry folk of the land, who hadno skill to help him, and he longed for the house of his fathers and themen of the spear and the plough; and thought, "Oh, if I might but get meback, if it were but for an hour and to die there, to the meadows of theRaven, and the acres beneath the mountains of Cleveland by the Sea. Thenat least should I learn some tale of what is or what hath been, howsoeverevil the tidings were, and not be bandied about by lies for ever. "

CHAPTER XV: YET HALLBLITHE SPEAKETH WITH THE KING

So wore the days and the moons; and now were some six moons worn sincefirst he came to the Glittering Plain; and he was come to Wood-end again, and heard and knew that the King was sitting once more in the door of hispavilion to hearken to the words of his people, and he said to himself:"I will speak yet again to this man, if indeed he be a man; yea, thoughhe turn me into stone. "

And he went up toward the pavilion; and on the way it came into his mindwhat the men of the kindred were doing that morning; and he had a visionof them as it were, and saw them yoking the oxen to the plough, andslowly going down the acres, as the shining iron drew the long furrowdown the stubble-land, and the light haze hung about the elm-trees in thecalm morning, and the smoke rose straight into the air from the roof ofthe kindred. And he said: "What is this? am I death-doomed this morningthat this sight cometh so clearly upon me amidst the falseness of thisunchanging land?"

Thus he came to the pavilion, and folk fell back before him to the rightand the left, and he stood before the King, and said to him: "I cannotfind her; she is not in thy land. "

Then spake the King, smiling upon him, as erst: "What wilt thou then? Isit not time to rest?"

He said: "Yea, O King; but not in this land. "

Said the King: "Where else than in this land wilt thou find rest? Withoutis battle and famine, longing unsatisfied, and heart-burning and fear;within it is plenty and peace and good will and pleasure without cease. Thy word hath no meaning to me. "

Said Hallblithe: "Give me leave to depart, and I will bless thee. "

"Is there nought else to do?" said the King. 

"Nought else, " said Hallblithe. 

Therewith he felt that the King's face changed though he still smiled onhim, and again he felt his heart grow cold before the King. 

But the King spake and said: "I hinder not thy departure, nor will any ofmy folk. No hand will be raised against thee; there is no weapon in allthe land, save the deedless sword by my side and the weapons which thoubearest. "

Said Hallblithe: "Dost thou not owe me a joy in return for my beguiling?"

"Yea, " said the King, "reach out thine hand to take it. "

"One thing only may I take of thee, " said Hallblithe; "my troth-plightmaiden or else the speeding of my departure. "

Then said the King, and his voice was terrible though yet he smiled: "Iwill not hinder; I will not help. Depart in peace!"

Then Hallblithe turned away dizzy and half fainting, and strayed down thefield, scarce knowing where he was; and as he went he felt his sleeveplucked at, and turned about, and lo! he was face to face with the Sea-eagle, no less joyous than aforetime. He took Hallblithe in his arms andembraced him and kissed him, and said: "Well met, faring-fellow! Whitheraway?"

"Away out of this land of lies, " said Hallblithe. 

The Sea-eagle shook his head, and quoth he: "Art thou still seeking adream? And thou so fair that thou puttest all other men to shame. "

"I seek no dream, " said Hallblithe, "but rather the end of dreams. "

"Well, " said the Sea-eagle, "we will not wrangle about it. But hearken. Hard by in a pleasant nook of the meadows have I set up my tent; andalthough it be not as big as the King's pavilion, yet is it fair enough. Wilt thou not come thither with me and rest thee to-night; and to-morrowwe will talk of this matter?"

Now Hallblithe was weary and confused, and downhearted beyond his wont, and the friendly words of the Sea-eagle softened his heart, and he smiledon him and said: "I give thee thanks; I will come with thee: thou artkind, and hast done nought to me save good from the time when I first sawthee lying in thy bed in the Hall of the Ravagers. Dost thou rememberthe day?"

The Sea-eagle knitted his brow as one striving with a troublous memory, and said: "But dimly, friend, as if it had passed in an ugly dream:meseemeth my friendship with thee began when I came to thee from out ofthe wood, and saw thee standing with those three damsels; that I rememberfull well ye were fair to look on. "

Hallblithe wondered at his words, but said no more about it, and theywent together to a flowery nook nigh a stream of clear water where stooda silken tent, green like the grass which it stood on, and flecked withgold and goodly colours. Nigh it on the grass lay the Sea-eagle'sdamsel, ruddy-cheeked and sweet-lipped, as fair as aforetime. She turnedabout when she heard men coming, and when she saw Hallblithe a smile cameinto her face like the sun breaking out on a fair but clouded morning, and she went up to him and took him by the hands and kissed his cheek, and said: "Welcome, Spearman! welcome back! We have heard of thee inmany places, and have been sorry that thou wert not glad, and now are wefain of thy returning. Shall not sweet life begin for thee fromhenceforward?"

Again was Hallblithe moved by her kind welcome; but he shook his head andspake: "Thou art kind, sister; yet if thou wouldst be kinder thou wiltshow me a way whereby I may escape from this land. For abiding here hasbecome irksome to me, and meseemeth that hope is yet alive without theGlittering Plain. "

Her face fell as she answered: "Yea, and fear also, and worse, if aughtbe worse. But come, let us eat and drink in this fair place, and gatherfor thee a little joyance before thou departest, if thou needs mustdepart. "

He smiled on her as one not ill-content, and laid himself down on thegrass, while the twain busied themselves, and brought forth fair cushionsand a gilded table, and laid dainty victual thereon and good wine. 

So they ate and drank together, and the Sea-eagle and his mate becamevery joyous again, and Hallblithe bestirred himself not to be amar-feast; for he said within himself: "I am departing, and after thistime I shall see them no more; and they are kind and blithe with me, andhave been aforetime; I will not make their merry hearts sore. For when Iam gone I shall be remembered of them but a little while. "

CHAPTER XVI: THOSE THREE GO THEIR WAYS TO THE EDGE OF THE GLITTERINGPLAIN

So the evening wore merrily; and they made Hallblithe lie in an ingle ofthe tent on a fair bed, and he was weary, and slept thereon like a child. But in the morning early they waked him; and while they were breakingtheir fast they began to speak to him of his departure, and asked him ifhe had an inkling of the way whereby he should get him gone, and he said:"If I escape it must needs be by way of the mountains that wall the landabout till they come down to the sea. For on the sea is no ship and nohaven; and well I wot that no man of the land durst or can ferry me overto the land of my kindred, or otherwhere without the Glittering Plain. Tell me therefore (and I ask no more of you), is there any rumour ormemory of a way that cleaveth yonder mighty wall of rock to other lands?"

Said the damsel: "There is more than a memory or a rumour: there is aroad through the mountains known to all men. For at whiles the earthlypilgrims come into the Glittering Plain thereby; and yet but seldom, somany are the griefs and perils which beset the wayfarers on that road. Whereof thou hadst far better bethink thee in time, and abide here and behappy with us and others who long sore to make thee happy. "

"Nay, " said Hallblithe, "there is nought to do but tell me of the way, and I will depart at once, blessing you. "

Said the Sea-eagle: "More than that at least will we do. May I lose thebliss whereto I have attained, if I go not with thee to the very edge ofthe land of the Glittering Plain. Shall it not be so, sweetheart?"

"Yea, at least we may do that, " said the damsel; and she hung her head asif she were ashamed, and said: "And that is all that thou wilt get fromus at most. "

Said Hallblithe: "It is enough, and I asked not so much. "

Then the damsel busied herself, and set meat and drink in two wallets, and took one herself and gave the other to the Sea-eagle, and said: "Wewill be thy porters, O Spearman, and will give thee a full wallet fromthe last house by the Desert of Dread, for when thou hast enteredtherein, thou mayst well find victual hard to come by: and now let uslinger no more since the road is dear to thee. "

So they set forth on foot, for in that land men were slow to feelweariness; and turning about the hill of Wood-end, they passed by somebroken country, and came at even to a house at the entrance of a longvalley, with high and steeply-sloping sides, which seemed, as it were, tocleave the dale country wherein they had fared aforetime. At that housethey slept well-guested by its folk, and the next morning took their waydown the valley, and the folk of the house stood at the door to watchtheir departure; for they had told the wayfarers that they had fared buta little way thitherward and knew of no folk who had used that road. 

So those three fared down the valley southward all day, ever mountinghigher as they went. The way was pleasant and easy, for they went overfair, smooth, grassy lawns betwixt the hill-sides, beside a clearrattling stream that ran northward; at whiles were clumps of tall trees, oak for the most part, and at whiles thickets of thorn and eglantine andother such trees: so that they could rest well shaded when they would. 

They passed by no house of men, nor came to any such in the even, but laydown to sleep in a thicket of thorn and eglantine, and rested well, andon the morrow they rose up betimes and went on their ways. 

This second day as they went, the hill-sides on either hand grew lower, till at last they died out into a wide plain, beyond which in thesouthern offing the mountains rose huge and bare. This plain also wasgrassy and beset with trees and thickets here and there. Hereon they sawwild deer enough, as hart and buck, and roebuck and swine: withal a lioncame out of a brake hard by them as they went, and stood gazing on them, so that Hallblithe looked to his weapons, and the Sea-eagle took up a bigstone to fight with, being weaponless; but the damsel laughed, andtripped on her way lightly with girt-up gown, and the beast gave no moreheed to them. 

Easy and smooth was their way over this pleasant wilderness, and clear tosee, though but little used, and before nightfall, after they had gone along way, they came to a house. It was not large nor high, but was builtvery strongly and fairly of good ashlar: its door was shut, and on thejamb thereof hung a slug-horn. The damsel, who seemed to know what todo, set her mouth to the horn, and blew a blast; and in a little whilethe door was opened, and a big man clad in red scarlet stood therein: hehad no weapons, but was somewhat surly of aspect: he spake not, but stoodabiding the word: so the damsel took it up and said: "Art thou not theWarden of the Uttermost House?"

He said: "I am. "

Said the damsel: "May we guest here to-night?"

He said: "The house lieth open to you with all that it hath of victualand plenishing: take what ye will, and use what ye will. "

They thanked him; but he heeded not their thanks, and withdrew him fromthem. So they entered and found the table laid in a fair hall of stonecarven and painted very goodly; so they ate and drank therein, andHallblithe was of good heart, and the Sea-eagle and his mate were merry, though they looked softly and shyly on Hallblithe because of thesundering anigh; and they saw no man in the house save the man inscarlet, who went and came about his business, paying no heed to them. Sowhen the night was deep they lay down in the shut-bed off the hall, andslept, and the hours were tidingless to them until they woke in themorning. 

On the morrow they arose and broke their fast, and thereafter the damselspake to the man in scarlet and said: "May we fill our wallets withvictual for the way?"

Said the Warden: "There lieth the meat. "

So they filled their wallets, while the man looked on; and they came tothe door when they were ready, and he unlocked it to them, saying noword. But when they turned their faces towards the mountains he spake atlast, and stayed them at the first step. Quoth he: "Whither away? Yetake the wrong road!"

Said Hallblithe: "Nay, for we go toward the mountains and the edge of theGlittering Plain. "

"Ye shall do ill to go thither, " said the Warden, "and I bid youforbear. "

"O Warden of the Uttermost House, wherefore should we forbear?" said theSea-eagle. 

Said the scarlet man: "Because my charge is to further those who would goinward to the King, and to stay those who would go outward from theKing. "

"How then if we go outward despite thy bidding?" said the Sea-eagle, "wilt thou then hinder us perforce?"

"How may I, " said the man, "since thy fellow hath weapons?"

"Go we forth, then, " said the Sea-eagle. 

"Yea, " said the damsel, "we will go forth. And know, O Warden, that thisweaponed man only is of mind to fare over the edge of the GlitteringPlain; but we twain shall come back hither again, and fare inwards. "

Said the Warden: "Nought is it to me what ye will do when you are pastthis house. Nor shall any man who goeth out of this garth toward themountains ever come back inwards save he cometh in the company of new-corners to the Glittering Plain. "

"Who shall hinder him?" said the Sea-eagle. 

"The KING, " said the Warden. 

Then there was silence awhile, and the man said:

"Now do as ye will. " And therewith he turned back into the house andshut the door. 

But the Sea-eagle and the damsel stood gazing on one another, and atHallblithe; and the damsel was downcast and pale; but the Sea-eagle criedout:

"Forward now, O Hallblithe, since thou willest it, and we will go withthee and share whatever may befall thee; yea, right up to the very edgeof the Glittering Plain. And thou, O beloved, why dost thou delay? Whydost thou stand as if thy fair feet were grown to the grass?"

But the damsel gave a lamentable cry, and cast herself down on theground, and knelt before the Sea-eagle, and took him by the knees, andsaid betwixt sobbing and weeping: "O my lord and love, I pray thee toforbear, and the Spearman, our friend, shall pardon us. For if thougoest, I shall never see thee more, since my heart will not serve me togo with thee. O forbear! I pray thee!"

And she grovelled on the earth before him; and the Sea-eagle waxed red, and would have spoken but Hallblithe cut his speech across, and said"Friends, be at peace! For this is the minute that sunders us. Get yeback at once to the heart of the Glittering Plain, and live there and behappy; and take my blessing and thanks for the love and help that ye havegiven me. For your going forward with me should destroy you and profitme nothing. It would be but as the host bringing his guests one fieldbeyond his garth, when their goal is the ends of the earth; and if therewere a lion in the path, why should he perish for courtesy's sake?"

Therewith he stooped down to the damsel, and lifted her up and kissed herface; and he cast his arms about the Sea-eagle and said to him:"Farewell, shipmate!"

Then the damsel gave him the wallet of victual, and bade him farewell, weeping sorely; and he looked kindly on them for a moment of time, andthen turned away from them and fared on toward the mountains, stridingwith great strides, holding his head aloft. But they looked no more onhim, having no will to eke their sorrow, but went their ways back againwithout delay. 

CHAPTER XVII: HALLBLITHE AMONGST THE MOUNTAINS

So strode on Hallblithe; but when he had gone but a little way his headturned, and the earth and heavens wavered before him, so that he mustneeds sit down on a stone by the wayside, wondering what ailed him. Thenhe looked up at the mountains, which now seemed quite near to him at theplain's ending, and his weakness increased on him; and lo! as he looked, it was to him as if the crags rose up in the sky to meet him and overhanghim, and as if the earth heaved up beneath him, and therewith he fellaback and lost all sense, so that he knew not what was become of theearth and the heavens and the passing of the minutes of his life. 

When he came to himself he knew not whether he had lain so a great whileor a little; he felt feeble, and for a while he lay scarce moving, andbeholding nought, not even the sky above him. Presently he turned aboutand saw hard stone on either side, so he rose wearily and stood upon hisfeet, and knew that he was faint with hunger and thirst. Then he lookedaround him, and saw that he was in a narrow valley or cleft of themountains amidst wan rocks, bare and waterless, where grew no blade ofgreen; but he could see no further than the sides of that cleft, and helonged to be out of it that he might see whitherward to turn. Then hebethought him of his wallet, and set his hand to it and opened it, thinking to get victual thence; but lo! it was all spoilt and wasted. None the less, for all his feebleness, he turned and went toiling slowlyalong what seemed to be a path little trodden leading upward out of thecleft; and at last he reached the crest thereof, and sat him down on arock on the other side; yet durst not raise his eyes awhile and look onthe land, lest he should see death manifest therein. At last he looked, and saw that he was high up amongst the mountain-peaks: before him and oneither hand was but a world of fallow stone rising ridge upon ridge likethe waves of the wildest of the winter sea. The sun not far from itsmidmost shone down bright and hot on that wilderness; yet was there nosign that any man had ever been there since the beginning of the world, save that the path aforesaid seemed to lead onward down the stony slope. 

This way and that way and all about he gazed, straining his eyes ifperchance he might see any diversity in the stony waste; and at lastbetwixt two peaks of the rock-wall on his left hand he descried a streakof green mingling with the cold blue of the distance; and he thought inhis heart that this was the last he should see of the Glittering Plain. Then he spake aloud in that desert, and said, though there was none tohear: "Now is my last hour come; and here is Hallblithe of the Ravenperishing, with his deeds undone and his longing unfulfilled, and hisbridal-bed acold for ever. Long may the House of the Raven abide andflourish, with many a man and maiden, valiant and fair and fruitful! Okindred, cast thy blessing on this man about to die here, doing noneotherwise than ye would have him!"

He sat there a little while longer, and then he said to himself: "Deathtarries; were it not well that I go to meet him, even as the cot-carlepreventeth the mighty chieftain?"

Then he arose, and went painfully down the slope, steadying himself withthe shaft of his gleaming spear; but all at once he stopped; for itseemed to him that he heard voices borne on the wind that blew up themountain-side. But he shook his head and said: "Now forsooth beginneththe dream which shall last for ever; nowise am I beguiled by it. " Nonethe less he strove the more eagerly with the wind and the way and hisfeebleness; yet did the weakness wax on him, so that it was but a littlewhile ere he faltered and reeled and fell down once more in a swoon. 

When he came to himself again he was no longer alone: a man was kneelingdown by him and holding up his head, while another before him, as heopened his eyes, put a cup of wine to his lips. So Hallblithe drank andwas refreshed; and presently they gave him bread, and he ate, and hisheart was strengthened, and the happiness of life returned to it, and helay back, and slept sweetly for a season. 

When he awoke from that slumber he found that he had gotten back much ofhis strength again, and he sat up and looked around him, and saw threemen sitting anigh, armed and girt with swords, yet in evil array, andsore travel-worn. One of these was very old, with long white hairhanging down; and another, though he was not so much stricken in years, still looked an old man of over sixty winters. The third was a man someforty years old, but sad and sorry and drooping of aspect. 

So when they saw him stirring, they all fixed their eyes upon him, andthe oldest man said: "Welcome to him who erst had no tidings for us!" Andthe second said: "Tell us now thy tidings. " But the third, the sorryman, cried out aloud, saying: "Where is the Land? Where is the Land?"

Said Hallblithe: "Meseemeth the land which ye seek is the land which Iseek to flee from. And now I will not hide that meseemeth I have seenyou before, and that was at Cleveland by the Sea when the days werehappier. "

Then they all three bowed their heads in yea-say, and spake: "'Where isthe Land? Where is the Land?"

Then Hallblithe arose to his feet, and said: "Ye have healed me of thesickness of death, and I will do what I may to heal you of your sicknessof sorrow. Come up the pass with me, and I will show you the land afaroff. "

Then they arose like young and brisk men, and he led them over the browof the ridge into the little valley wherein he had first come to himself:there he showed them that glimpse of a green land betwixt the two peaks, which he had beheld e'en now; and they stood a while looking at it andweeping for joy. 

Then spake the oldest of the seekers: "Show us the way to the land. "

"Nay, " said Hallblithe, "I may not; for when I would depart thence, Imight not go by mine own will, but was borne out hither, I wot not how. For when I came to the edge of the land against the will of the King, hesmote me, and then cast me out. Therefore since I may not help you, findye the land for yourselves, and let me go blessing you, and come out ofthis desert by the way whereby ye entered it. For I have an errand inthe world. "

Spake the youngest of the seekers: "Now art thou become the yoke-fellowof Sorrow, and thou must wend, not whither thou wouldst, but whither shewill: and she would have thee go forward toward life, not backward towarddeath. "

Said the midmost seeker: "If we let thee go further into the wildernessthou shalt surely die: for hence to the peopled parts, and the City ofMerchants, whence we come, is a month's journey: and there is neithermeat nor drink, nor beast nor bird, nor any green thing all that way; andsince we have found thee famishing, we may well deem that thou hast novictual. As to us we have but little; so that if it be much more thanthree days' journey to the Glittering Plain, we may well starve and diewithin sight of the Acre of the Undying. Nevertheless that little willwe share with thee if thou wilt help us to find that good land; so thatthou mayst yet put away Sorrow, and take Joy again to thy board and bed. "

Hallblithe hung his head and answered nought; for he was confused by themeshes of ill-hap, and his soul grew sick with the bitterness of death. But the sad man spake again and said: "Thou hast an errand sayest thou?is it such as a dead man may do?"

Hallblithe pondered, and amidst the anguish of his despair was borne inon him a vision of the sea-waves lapping the side of a black ship, and aman therein: who but himself, set free to do his errand, and his heartwas quickened within him, and he said: "I thank you, and I will wend backwith you, since there is no road for me save back again into the trap. "

The three seekers seemed glad thereat, and the second one said: "Thoughdeath is pursuing, and life lieth ahead, yet will we not hasten theeunduly. Time was when I was Captain of the Host, and learned how battleswere lost by lack of rest. Therefore have thy sleep now, that thou maystwax in strength for our helping. "

Said Hallblithe: "I need not rest; I may not rest; I will not rest. "

Said the sad man: "It is lawful for thee to rest. So say I, who was oncea master of law. "

Said the long-hoary elder: "And I command thee to rest; I who was oncethe king of a mighty folk. "

In sooth Hallblithe was now exceeding weary; so he laid him down andslept sweetly in the stony wilderness amidst those three seekers, theold, the sad, and the very old. 

When he awoke he felt well and strong again, and he leapt to his feet andlooked about him, and saw the three seekers stirring, and he deemed bythe sun that it was early morning. The sad man brought forth bread andwater and wine, and they broke their fast; and when they had done hespake and said: "Abideth now in wallet and bottle but one more full mealfor us, and then no more save a few crumbs and a drop or two of wine ifwe husband it well. "

Said the second elder: "Get we to the road, then, and make haste. I havebeen seeking, and meseemeth, though the way be long, it is not utterlyblind for us. Or look thou, Raven-son, is there not a path yonder thatleadeth onward up to the brow of the ghyll again? and as I have seen, itleadeth on again down from the said brow. "

Forsooth there was a track that led through the stony tangle of thewilderness; so they took to the road with a good heart, and went all day, and saw no living thing, and not a blade of grass or a trickle of water:nought save the wan rocks under the sun; and though they trusted in theirroad that it led them aright, they saw no other glimpse of the GlitteringPlain, because there rose a great ridge like a wall on the north side, and they went as it were down along a trench of the rocks, albeit it waswhiles broken across by ghylls, and knolls, and reefs. 

So at sunset they rested and ate their victual, for they were very weary;and thereafter they lay down, and slept as soundly as if they were in thebest of the halls of men. On the morrow betimes they arose soberly andwent their ways with few words, and, as they deemed, the path still ledthem onward. And now the great ridge on the north rose steeper andsteeper, and their crossing it seemed not to be thought of; but theirhalf-blind track failed them not. They rested at even, and ate and drankwhat little they had left, save a mouthful or two of wine, and then wenton again by the light of the moon, which was so bright that they stillsaw their way. And it happened to Hallblithe, as mostly it does with menvery travel-worn, that he went on and on scarce remembering where he was, or who his fellows were, or that he had any fellows. 

So at midnight they lay down in the wilderness again, hungry and weary. They rose at dawn and went forward with waning hope: for now the mountainridge on the north was close to their path, rising up along a sheer wallof pale stone over which nothing might go save the fowl flying; so thatat first on that morning they looked for nothing save to lay their bonesin that grievous desert where no man should find them. 

But, as beset with famine, they fared on heavily down the narrow track, there came a hoarse cry from Hallblithe's dry throat and it was as if hiscry had been answered by another like to his; and the seekers turned andbeheld him pointing to the cliff-side, and lo! half-way up the pale sun-litten crag stood two ravens in a cranny of the stone, flapping theirwings and croaking, with thrusting forth and twisting of their heads; andpresently they came floating on the thin pure air high up over the headsof the wayfarers, croaking for the pleasure of the meeting, as thoughthey laughed thereat. 

Then rose the heart of Hallblithe, and he smote his palms together, andfell to singing an old song of his people, amidst the rocks whereas fewmen had sung aforetime. 

 Whence are ye and whither, O fowl of our fathers? What field have ye looked on, what acres unshorn? What land have ye left where the battle-folk gathers, And the war-helms are white o'er the paths of the corn?

 What tale do ye bear of the people uncraven, Where amidst the long hall-shadow sparkle the spears; Where aloft on the hall-ridge now flappeth the raven, And singeth the song of the nourishing years?

 There gather the lads in the first of the morning, While white lies the battle-day's dew on the grass, And the kind steeds trot up to the horn's voice of warning, And the winds wake and whine in the dusk of the pass. 

 O fowl of our fathers, why now are ye resting? Come over the mountains and look on the foe. Full fair after fight won shall yet be your nesting; And your fledglings the sons of the kindred shall know. 

Therewith he strode with his head upraised, and above him flew theravens, croaking as if they answered his song in friendly fashion. 

It was but a little after this that the path turned aside sharp towardthe cliffs, and the seekers were abashed thereof, till Hallblithe runningforward beheld a great cavern in the face of the cliff at the path'sending: so he turned and cried on his fellows, and they hastened up, andpresently stood before that cavern's mouth with doubt and joy mingled intheir minds; for now, mayhappen, they had reached the gate of theGlittering Plain, or mayhappen the gate of death. 

The sad man hung his head and spake: "Doth not some new trap abide us?What do we here? is this aught save death?"

Spake the Elder of Elders: "Was not death on either hand e'en now, evenas treason besetteth the king upon his throne?"

And the second said: "Yea, we were as the host which hath no road savethrough the multitude of foe-men. "

But Hallblithe laughed and said: "Why do ye hang back, then? As for me, if death be here, soon is mine errand sped. " Therewith he led the wayinto the dark of the cave, and the ravens hung about the crag overheadcroaking, as the men left the light. 

So was their way swallowed up in the cavern, and day and its time becamenought to them; they went on and on, and became exceeding faint andweary, but rested not, for death was behind them. Whiles they deemedthey heard waters running, and whiles the singing of fowl; and toHallblithe it seemed that he heard his name called, so that he shoutedback in answer; but all was still when the sound of his voice had diedout. 

At last, when they were pressing on again after a short while of resting, Hallblithe cried out that the cave was lightening: so they hastenedonward, and the light grew till they could dimly see each other, anddimly they beheld the cave that it was both wide and high. Yet a littlefurther, and their faces showed white to one another, and they could seethe crannies of the rocks, and the bats hanging garlanded from the roof. So then they came to where the day streamed down bright on them from abreak overhead, and lo! the sky and green leaves waving against it. 

To those way-worn men it seemed hard to clamber out that way, andespecially to the elders: so they went on a little further to see ifthere were aught better abiding them, but when they found the daylightfailing them again, they turned back to the place of the break in theroof, lest they should waste their strength and perish in the bowels ofthe mountain. So with much ado they hove up Hallblithe till he got himfirst on to a ledge of the rocky wall, and so, what by strength, what bycunning, into the daylight through the rent in the roof. So when he waswithout he made a rope of his girdle and strips from his raiment, for hewas ever a deft craftsman, and made a shift to heave up therewith the sadman, who was light and lithe of body; and then the two together dealtwith the elders one after another, till they were all four on the face ofthe earth again. 

The place whereto they had gotten was the side of a huge mountain, stonyand steep, but set about with bushes, which seemed full fair to thosewanderers amongst the rocks. This mountain-slope went down towards afair green plain, which Hallblithe made no doubt was the outlying wasteof the Glittering Plain: nay, he deemed that he could see afar offthereon the white walls of the Uttermost House. So much he told theseekers in few words; and then while they grovelled on the earth and weptfor pure joy, whereas the sun was down and it was beginning to grow dusk, he went and looked around soberly to see if he might find water and anykind of victual; and presently a little down the hillside he came upon aplace where a spring came gushing up out of the earth and ran down towardthe plain; and about it was green grass growing plentifully, and a littlethicket of bramble and wilding fruit-trees. So he drank of the water, and plucked him a few wilding apples somewhat better than crabs, and thenwent up the hill again and fetched the seekers to that mountain hostelry;and while they drank of the stream he plucked them apples and bramble-berries. For indeed they were as men out of their wits, and were dazedby the extremity of their jog, and as men long shut up in prison, to whomthe world of men-folk hath become strange. Simple as the victual was, they were somewhat strengthened by it and by the plentiful water, and asnight was now upon them, it was of no avail for them to go further: sothey slept beneath the boughs of the thorn-bushes. 

CHAPTER XVIII: HALLBLITHE DWELLETH IN THE WOOD ALONE

But on the morrow they arose betimes, and broke their fast on thatwoodland victual, and then went speedily down the mountain-side; andHallblithe saw by the clear morning light that it was indeed theUttermost House which he had seen across the green waste. So he told theseekers; but they were silent and heeded nought, because of a fear thathad come upon them, lest they should die before they came into that goodland. At the foot of the mountain they came upon a river, deep but notwide, with low grassy banks, and Hallblithe, who was an exceeding strongswimmer, helped the seekers over without much ado; and there they stoodupon the grass of that goodly waste. 

Hallblithe looked on them to note if any change should come over them, and he deemed that already they were become stronger and of more avail. But he spake nought thereof, and strode on toward the Uttermost House, even as that other day he had stridden away from it. 

Such diligence they made, that it was but little after noon when theycame to the door thereof. Then Hallblithe took the horn and blew uponit, while his fellows stood by murmuring, "It is the Land! It is theLand!"

So came the Warden to the door, clad in red scarlet, and the elder wentup to him and said: "Is this the Land?"

"What land?" said the Warden. 

"Is it the Glittering Plain?" said the second of the seekers. 

"Yea, forsooth, " said the Warden. Said the sad man: "Will ye lead us tothe King?

"Ye shall come to the King, " said the Warden. 

"When, oh when?" cried they out all three. 

"The morrow of to-morrow, maybe, " said the Warden. 

"Oh! if to-morrow were but come!" they cried. 

"It will come, " said the red man; "enter ye the house, and eat and drinkand rest you. "

So they entered, and the Warden heeded Hallblithe nothing. They ate anddrank and then went to their rest, and Hallblithe lay in a shut-bed offfrom the hall, but the Warden brought the seekers otherwhere, so thatHallblithe saw them not after he had gone to bed; but as for him he sleptand forgot that aught was. 

In the morning when he awoke he felt very strong and well-liking; and hebeheld his limbs that they were clear of skin and sleek and fair; and heheard one hard by in the hall carolling and singing joyously. So hesprang from his bed with the wonder of sleep yet in him, and drew thecurtains of the shut-bed and looked forth into the hall; and lo on thehigh-seat a man of thirty winters by seeming, tall, fair of fashion, withgolden hair and eyes as grey as glass, proud and noble of aspect; andanigh him sat another man of like age to look on, a man strong and burly, with short curling brown hair and a red beard, and ruddy countenance, andthe mien of a warrior. Also, up and down the hall, paced a man youngerof aspect than these two, tall and slender, black-haired and dark-eyed, amorous of countenance; he it was who was singing a snatch of song as hewent lightly on the hall pavement: a snatch like to this

 Fair is the world, now autumn's wearing, And the sluggard sun lies long abed; Sweet are the days, now winter's nearing, And all winds feign that the wind is dead. 

 Dumb is the hedge where the crabs hang yellow, Bright as the blossoms of the spring; Dumb is the close where the pears grow mellow, And none but the dauntless redbreasts sing. 

 Fair was the spring, but amidst his greening Grey were the days of the hidden sun; Fair was the summer, but overweening, So soon his o'er-sweet days were done. 

 Come then, love, for peace is upon us, Far off is failing, and far is fear, Here where the rest in the end hath won us, In the garnering tide of the happy year. 

 Come from the grey old house by the water, Where, far from the lips of the hungry sea, Green groweth the grass o'er the field of the slaughter, And all is a tale for thee and me. 

So Hallblithe did on his raiment and went into the hall; and when thosethree saw him they smiled upon him kindly and greeted him; and the nobleman at the board said: "Thanks have thou, O Warrior of the Raven, for thyhelp in our need: thy reward from us shall not be lacking. "

Then the brown-haired man came up to him, and clapped him on the back andsaid to him: "Brisk man of the Raven, good is thy help at need; even soshall be mine to thee henceforward. "

But the young man stepped up to him lightly, and cast his arms about him, and kissed him, and said: "O friend and fellow, who knoweth but I may oneday help thee as thou hast holpen me? though thou art one who by seemingmayst well help thyself. And now mayst thou be as merry as I am to-day!"

Then they all three cried out joyously: "It is the Land! It is theLand!"

So Hallblithe knew that these men were the two elders and the sad man ofyesterday, and that they had renewed their youth. 

Joyously now did those men break their fast: nor did Hallblithe make anygrim countenance, for he thought: "That which these dotards anddrivellers have been mighty enough to find, shall I not be mighty enoughto flee from?" Breakfast done, the seekers made little delay, so eageras they were to behold the King, and to have handsel of their new sweetlife. So they got them ready to depart, and the once-captain said: "Artthou able to lead us to the King, O Raven-son, or must we seek anotherman to do so much for us?"

Said Hallblithe: "I am able to lead you so nigh unto Wood-end (where, asI deem, the King abideth) that ye shall not miss him. "

Therewith they went to the door, and the Warden unlocked to them, andspake no word to them when they departed, though they thanked him kindlyfor the guesting. 

When they were without the garth, the young man fell to running about themeadow plucking great handfuls of the rich flowers that grew about, singing and carolling the while. But he who had been king looked up anddown and round about, and said at last: "Where be the horses and themen?"

But his fellow with the red beard said: "Raven-son, in this land whenthey journey, what do they as to riding or going afoot?"

Said Hallblithe: "Fair fellows, ye shall wot that in this land folk goafoot for the most part, both men and women; whereas they weary butlittle, and are in no haste. "

Then the once-captain clapped the once-king on the shoulder, and said:"Hearken, lord, and delay no longer, but gird up thy gown, since here isno mare's son to help thee: for fair is to-day that lies before us, withmany a new fair day beyond it. "

So Hallblithe led the way inward, thinking of many things, yet but littleof his fellows. Albeit they, and the younger man especially, were ofmany words; for this black-haired man had many questions to ask, chieflyconcerning the women, what they were like to look on, and of what moodthey were. Hallblithe answered thereto as long as he might, but at lasthe laughed and said: "Friend, forbear thy questions now; for meseemeth ina few hours thou shalt be as wise hereon as is the God of Love himself. "

So they made diligence along the road, and all was tidingless till on thesecond day at even they came to the first house off the waste. There hadthey good welcome, and slept. But on the morrow when they arose, Hallblithe spake to the Seekers, and said: "Now are things much changedbetwixt us since the time when we first met: for then I had all mydesire, as I thought, and ye had but one desire, and well nigh lackedhope of its fulfilment. Whereas now the lack hath left you and come tome. Wherefore even as time agone ye might not abide even one night atthe House of the Raven, so hard as your desire lay on you; even so itfareth with me to-day, that I am consumed with my desire, and I may notabide with you; lest that befall which befalleth betwixt the full man andthe fasting. Wherefore now I bless you and depart. "

They abounded in words of good-will to him, and the once-king said:"Abide with us, and we shall see to it that thou have all the dignitiesthat a man may think of. "

And the once-captain said: "Lo, here is mine hand that hath been mighty;never shalt thou lack it for the accomplishment of thine uttermostdesire. Abide with us. "

Lastly said the young man: "Abide with us, Son of the Raven! Set thineheart on a fair woman, yea even were it the fairest; and I will get herfor thee, even were my desire set on her. "

But he smiled on them, and shook his head, and said: "All hail to you!but mine errand is yet undone. " And therewith he departed. 

He skirted Wood-end and came not to it, but got him down to the side ofthe sea, not far from where he first came aland, but somewhat south ofit. A fair oak-wood came down close to the beach of the sea; it was somefour miles end-long and over-thwart. Thither Hallblithe betook him, andin a day or two got him wood-wright's tools from a house of men a littleoutside the wood, three miles from the sea-shore. Then he set to workand built him a little frame-house on a lawn of the wood beside a clearstream; for he was a very deft wood-wright. Withal he made him a bow andarrows, and shot what he would of the fowl and the deer for hislivelihood; and folk from that house and otherwhence came to see him, andbrought him bread and wine and spicery and other matters which he needed. And the days wore, and men got used to him, and loved him as if he hadbeen a rare image which had been brought to that land for its adornment;and now they no longer called him the Spearman, but the Wood-lover. Andas for him, he took all in patience, abiding what the lapse of daysshould bring forth. 

CHAPTER XIX: HALLBLITHE BUILDS HIM A SKIFF

After Hallblithe had been housed a little while, and the time was againdrawing nigh to the twelfth moon since he had come to the GlitteringPlain, he went in the wood one day; and, pondering many things withoutfixing on any one, he stood before a very great oak-tree and looked atthe tall straight bole thereof, and there came into his head the words ofan old song which was written round a scroll of the carving over the shut-bed, wherein he was wont to lie when he was at home in the House of theRaven: and thus it said:

 I am the oak-tree, and forsooth Men deal by me with little ruth; My boughs they shred, my life they slay, And speed me o'er the watery way. 

He looked up into that leafy world for a little and then turned backtoward his house; but all day long, whether he were at work or at rest, that posy ran in his head, and he kept on saying it over, aloud or notaloud, till the day was done and he went to sleep. 

Then in his sleep he dreamed that an exceeding fair woman stood by hisbedside, and at first she seemed to him to be an image of the Hostage. But presently her face changed, and her body and her raiment; and, lo! itwas the lovely woman, the King's daughter whom he had seen wasting herheart for the love of him. Then even in his dream shame thereof overtookhim, and because of that shame he awoke, and lay awake a little, hearkening the wind going through the woodland boughs, and the singing ofthe owl who had her dwelling in the hollow oak nigh to his house. Slumberovercame him in a little while, and again the image of the King'sdaughter came to him in his dream, and again when he looked upon her, shame and pity rose so hotly in his heart that he awoke weeping, and laya while hearkening to the noises of the night. The third time he sleptand dreamed; and once more that image came to him. And now he looked, and saw that she had in her hand a book covered outside with gold andgems, even as he saw it in the orchard-close aforetime: and he beheld herface that it was no longer the face of one sick with sorrow; but glad andclear, and most beauteous. 

Now she opened the book and held it before Hallblithe and turned theleaves so that he might see them clearly; and therein were woods andcastles painted, and burning mountains, and the wall of the world, andkings upon their thrones, and fair women and warriors, all most lovely tobehold, even as he had seen it aforetime in the orchard when he laylurking amidst the leaves of the bay-tree. 

So at last she came to the place in the book wherein was paintedHallblithe's own image over against the image of the Hostage; and helooked thereon and longed. But she turned the leaf, and, lo! on one sidethe Hostage again, standing in a fair garden of the spring with thelilies all about her feet, and behind her the walls of a house, grey, ancient, and lovely: and on the other leaf over against her was painted asea rippled by a little wind and a boat thereon sailing swiftly, and oneman alone in the boat sitting and steering with a cheerful countenance;and he, who but Hallblithe himself. Hallblithe looked thereon for awhile and then the King's daughter shut the book, and the dream flowedinto other imaginings of no import. 

In the grey dawn Hallblithe awoke, and called to mind his dream, and heleapt from his bed and washed the night from off him in the stream, andclad himself and went the shortest way through the wood to that House offolk aforesaid: and as he went his face was bright and he sang the secondpart of the carven posy; to wit:

 Along the grass I lie forlorn That when a while of time is worn, I may be filled with war and peace And bridge the sundering of the seas. 

He came out of the wood and hastened over the flowery meads of theGlittering Plain, and came to that same house when it was yet very early. At the door he came across a damsel bearing water from the well, and shespake to him and said: "Welcome, Wood-lover! Seldom art thou seen in ourgarth; and that is a pity of thee. And now I look on thy face I see thatgladness hath come into thine heart, and that thou art most fair andlovely. Here then is a token for thee of the increase of gladness. "Therewith she set her buckets on the earth, and stood before him, andtook him by the ears, and drew down his face to hers and kissed himsweetly. He smiled on her and said: "I thank thee, sister, for the kissand the greeting; but I come here having a lack. "

"Tell us, " she said, "that we may do thee a pleasure. "

He said: "I would ask the folk to give me timber, both beams and battensand boards; for if I hew in the wood it will take long to season. "

"All this is free for thee to take from our wood-store when thou hastbroken thy fast with us, " said the damsel. "Come thou in and rest thee. "

She took him by the hand and they went in together, and she gave him toeat and drink, and went up and down the house, saying to every one: "Hereis come the Wood-lover, and he is glad again; come and see him. "

So the folk gathered about him, and made much of him. And when they hadmade an end of breakfast, the head man of the House said to him: "Thebeasts are in the wain, and the timber abideth thy choosing; come andsee. "

So he brought Hallblithe to the timber-bower, where he chose for himselfall that he needed of oak-timber of the best; and they loaded the waintherewith, and gave him what he would moreover of nails and treenails andother matters; and he thanked them; and they said to him: "Whither nowshall we lead thy timber?"

"Down to the sea-side, " quoth he, "nighest to my dwelling. "

So did they, and more than a score, men and women, went with him, some inthe wain, and some afoot. Thus they came down to the sea-shore, and laidthe timber on the strand just above high-water mark; and straightwayHallblithe fell to work shaping him a boat, for well he knew the wholecraft thereof; and the folk looked on wondering, till the tide had ebbedthe little it was wont to ebb, and left the moist sand firm and smooth;then the women left watching Hallblithe's work, and fell to paddlingbarefoot in the clear water, for there was scarce a ripple on the sea;and the carles came and played with them so that Hallblithe was leftalone a while; for this kind of play was new to that folk, since theyseldom came down to the sea-side. Thereafter they needs must dancetogether, and would have had Hallblithe dance with them; and when henaysaid them because he was fain of his work, in all playfulness theyfell to taking the adze out of his hand, whereat he became somewhatwroth, and they were afraid and went and had their dance out without him. 

By this time the sun was grown very hot, and they came to him again, andlay down about him and watched his work, for they were weary. And one ofthe women, still panting with the dance, spake as she looked on theloveliness of her limbs, which one of the swains was caressing:"Brother, " said she, "great strokes thou smitest; when wilt thou havesmitten the last of them, and come to our house again?"

"Not for many days, fair sister, " said he, without looking up. 

"Alas that thou shouldst talk so, " said a carle, rising up from the warmsand; "what shall all thy toil win thee?"

Spake Hallblithe: "Maybe a merry heart, or maybe death. "

At that word they all rose up together, and stood huddled together likesheep that have been driven to the croft-gate, and the shepherd hath leftthem for a little and they know not whither to go. Little by little theygot them to the wain and harnessed their beasts thereto, and departedsilently by the way that they had come; but in a little time Hallblitheheard their laughter and merry speech across the flowery meadows. Heheeded their departure little, but went on working, and worked the sundown, and on till the stars began to twinkle. Then he went home to hishouse in the wood, and slept and dreamed not, and began again on themorrow with a good heart. 

To be short, no day passed that he wrought not his full tale of work, andthe days wore, and his ship-wright's work throve. Often the folk of thathouse, and from otherwhere round about, came down to the strand to watchhim working. Nowise did they wilfully hinder him, but whiles when theycould get no talk from him, they would speak of him to each other, wondering that he should so toil to sail upon the sea; for they loved thesea but little, and it soon became clear to them that he was looking tonought else: though it may not be said that they deemed he would leavethe land for ever. On the other hand, if they hindered him not, neitherdid they help, saving when he prayed them for somewhat which he needed, which they would then give him blithely. 

Of the Sea-eagle and his damsel, Hallblithe saw nought; whereat he waswell content, for he deemed it of no avail to make a second sundering ofit. 

So he worked and kept his heart up, and at last all was ready; he hadmade him a mast and a sail, and oars, and whatso-other gear there wasneed of. So then he thrust his skiff into the sea on an evening whenasthere were but two carles standing by; for there would often be a scoreor two of folk. These two smiled on him and bespake him kindly, butwould not help him when he bade them set shoulder to her bows and shove. Albeit he got the skiff into the water without much ado, and got intoher, and brought her to where a stream running from out of his wood madea little haven for her up from the sea. There he tied her to atree-hole, and busied himself that even with getting the gear into her, and victual and water withal, as much as he deemed he should need: andso, being weary, he went to his house to sleep, thinking that he shouldawake in the grey of the morning and thrust out into the deep sea. Andhe was the more content to abide, because on that eve, as oftenest betid, the wind blew landward from the sea, whereas in the morning it oftenestblew seaward from the land. In any case he thought to be astir so timelythat he should come alone to his keel, and depart with no leave-takings. But, as it fell out, he overslept himself, so that when he came out intothe wood clad in all his armour, with his sword girt to his side, and hisspear over his shoulder, he heard the voices of folk, and presently foundso many gathered about his boat that he had some ado to get aboard. 

The folk had brought many gifts for him of such things as they deemed hemight need for a short voyage, as fruit and wine, and woollen cloths tokeep the cold night from him; he thanked them kindly as he stepped overthe gunwale, and some of the women kissed him: and one said (she it was, who had met him at the stead that morning when he went to fetch timber):"Thou wilt be back this even, wilt thou not, brother? It is yet butearly, and thou shalt have time enough to take all thy pleasure on thesea, and then come back to us to eat thy meat in our house at nightfall. "

She spake, knitting her brows in longing for his return; but he knew thatall those deemed he would come back again soon; else had they deemed hima rebel of the King, and might, as he thought, have stayed him. So hechanged not countenance in any wise, but said only: "farewell, sister, for this day, and farewell to all you till I come back. "

Therewith he unmoored his boat, and sat down and took the oars, and rowedtill he was out of the little haven, and on the green sea, and the keelrose and fell on the waves. Then he stepped the mast and hoisted sail, and sheeted home, for the morning wind was blowing gently from themountains over the meadows of the Glittering Plain, so the sail filled, and the keel leapt forward and sped over the face of the cold sea. Andit is to be said that whether he wotted or not, it was the very daytwelve months since he had come to that shore along with the Sea-eagle. So that folk stood and watched the skiff growing less and less upon thedeep till they could scarce see her. Then they turned about and wentinto the wood to disport them, for the sun was growing hot. Nevertheless, there were some of them (and that damsel was one), who came back to thesea-shore from time to time all day long; and even when the sun was downthey looked seaward under the rising moon, expecting to see Hallblithe'sbark come into the shining path which she drew across the waters roundabout the Glittering Land. 

CHAPTER XX: SO NOW SAILETH HALLBLITHE AWAY FROM THE GLITTERING PLAIN

But as to Hallblithe, he soon lost sight of the Glittering Plain and themountains thereof, and there was nought but sea all round about him, andhis heart swelled with joy as he sniffed the brine and watched thegleaming hills and valleys of the restless deep; and he said to himselfthat he was going home to his Kindred and the Roof of his Fathers of oldtime. 

He stood as near due north as he might; but as the day wore, the windheaded him, and he deemed it not well to beat, lest he should make hisvoyage overlong; so he ran on with the wind abeam, and his little craftleapt merrily over the sea-hills under the freshening breeze. The sunset and the moon and stars shone out, and he still sailed on, and durstnot sleep, save as a dog does, with one eye. At last came dawn, and asthe light grew it was a fair day with a falling wind, and a bright sky, but it clouded over before sunset, and the wind freshened from the northby east, and, would he, would he not, Hallblithe must run before it night-long, till at sunrise it fell again, and all day was too light for him tomake much way beating to northward; nor did it freshen till after themoon was risen some while after sunset. And now he was so weary that hemust needs sleep; so he lashed the helm, and took a reef in the sail, andran before the wind, he sleeping in the stern. 

But past the middle of the night, towards the dawning, he awoke with thesound of a great shout in his ears. So he looked over the dark waters, and saw nought, for the night was cloudy again. Then he trimmed hiscraft, and went to sleep again, for he was over-burdened with slumber. 

When he awoke it was broad daylight; so he looked to the tiller and gotthe boat's head a little up to the wind, and then gazed about him withthe sleep still in his eyes. And as his eyes took in the picture beforehim he could not refrain a cry; for lo! there arose up great and grimright ahead the black cliffs of the Isle of Ransom. Straightway he gotto the sheet, and strove to wear the boat; but for all that he could doshe drifted toward the land, for she was gotten into a strong current ofthe sea that set shoreward. So he struck sail, and took the oars androwed mightily so that he might bear her off shore; but it availednothing, and still he drifted landward. So he stood up from the oars, and turned about and looked, and saw that he was but some three furlongsfrom the shore, and that he was come to the very haven-mouth whence hehad set sail with the Sea-eagle a twelvemonth ago: and he knew that intothat haven he needs must get him, or be dashed to pieces against the highcliffs of the land: and he saw how the waves ran on to the cliffs, andwhiles one higher than the others smote the rock-wall and ran up it, asif it could climb over on to the grassy lip beyond, and then fell backagain, leaving a river of brine running down the steep. 

Then he said that he would take what might befall him inside the haven. So he hoisted sail again, and took the tiller, and steered right for themidmost of the gate between the rocks, wondering what should await himthere. Then it was but a few minutes ere his bark shot into thesmoothness of the haven, and presently began to lose way; for all thewind was dead within that land-locked water. Hallblithe looked steadilyround about seeking his foe; but the haven was empty of ship or boat; sohe ran his eye along the shore to see where he should best lay his keeland as aforesaid there was no beach there, and the water was deep rightup to the grassy lip of the land; though the tides ran somewhat high, andat low water would a little steep undercliff go up from the face of thesea. But now it was near the top of the tide, and there was scarce twofeet betwixt the grass and the dark-green sea. 

Now Hallblithe steered toward an ingle of the haven; and beyond it, alittle way off, rose a reef of rocks out of the green grass, and therebywas a flock of sheep feeding, and a big man lying down amongst them, whoseemed to be unarmed, as Hallblithe could not see any glint of steelabout him. Hallblithe drew nigh the shore, and the big man stirred not;nor did he any the more when the keel ran along the shore, and Hallblitheleapt out and moored his craft to his spear stuck deep in the earth. Andnow Hallblithe deems that the man must be either dead or asleep: so hedrew his sword and had it in his right hand, and in his left a sharpknife, and went straight up to the man betwixt the sheep, and found himso lying on his side that he could not see his face; so he stirred himwith his foot, and cried out: "Awake, O Shepherd! for dawn is long pastand day is come, and therewithal a guest for thee!"

The man turned over and slowly sat up, and, lo! who should it be but thePuny Fox? Hallblithe started back at the sight of him, and cried out athim, and said: "Have I found thee, O mine enemy?"

The Puny Fox sat up a little straighter, and rubbed his eyes and said:"Yea, thou hast found me sure enough. But as to my being thine enemy, aword or two may be said about that presently. "

"What!" said Hallblithe, "dost thou deem that aught save my sword willspeak to thee?"

"I wot not, " said the Puny Fox, slowly rising to his feet, "but I supposethou wilt not slay me unarmed, and thou seest that I have no weapons. "

"Get thee weapons, then, " quoth Hallblithe, "and delay not; for the sightof thee alive sickens me. "

"Ill is that, " said the Puny Fox, "but come thou with me at once, where Ishall find both the weapons and a good fighting-stead. Hasten! timepresseth, now thou art come at last. "

"And my boat?" said Hallblithe. 

"Wilt thou carry her in thy pouch?" said the Puny Fox; "thou wilt notneed her again, whether thou slay me, or I thee. "

Hallblithe knit his brows on him in his wrath; for he deemed that Fox'smeaning was to threaten him with the vengeance of the kindred. Howbeit, he said nought; for he deemed it ill to wrangle in words with one whom hewas presently to meet in battle; so he followed as the Puny Fox led. Foxbrought him past the reef of rock aforesaid, and up a narrow cleft of thecliffs overlooking the sea, whereby they came into a little grass-grownmeadow well nigh round in shape, as smooth and level as a hall-floor, andfenced about by a wall of rock: a place which had once been the mouth ofan earth-fire, and a cauldron of molten stone. 

When they stood on the smooth grass Fox said: "Hold thee there a little, while I go to my weapon-chest, and then shall we see what is to be done. "

Therewith he turned aside to a cranny of the rock, and going down on hishands and knees, fell to creeping like a worm up a hole therein, whichbelike led to a cavern; for after his voice had come forth from theearth, grunting and groaning, and cursing this thing, and that, out hecomes again feet first, and casts down an old rusty sword without asheath; a helm no less rusty, and battered withal, and a round target, curled up and outworn as if it would fall to pieces of itself. Then hestands up and stretches himself, and smiles pleasantly on Hallblithe andsays: "Now, mine enemy, when I have donned helm and shield and got mysword in hand, we may begin the play: as to a hauberk I must needs golack; for I could not come by it; I think the old man must have chafferedit away: he was ever too money-fain. "

But Hallblithe looked on him angrily and said: "Hast thou brought mehither to mock me? Hast thou no better weapons wherewith to meet awarrior of the Raven than these rusty shards, which look as if thou hadstrobbed a grave of the dead? I will not fight thee so armed. "

"Well, " said the Puny Fox, "and from out of a grave come they verily: forin that little hole lieth my father's grandsire, the great Sea-mew of theRavagers, the father of that Sea-eagle whom thou knowest. But since thouthinkest scorn of these weapons of a dead warrior, in go the old carle'streasures again! It is as well maybe; since he might be wrath beyond hiswont if he were to wake and miss them; and already this cold cup of theonce-boiling rock is not wholly safe because of him. "

So he crept into the hole once more, and out of it presently, and stoodsmiting his palms one against the other to dust them, like a man who hasbeen handling parchments long laid by; and Hallblithe stood looking athim, still wrathful, but silent. 

Then said the Puny Fox: "This at least was a wise word of thine, thatthou wouldst not fight me. For the end of fighting is slaying; and it isstark folly to fight without slaying; and now I see that thou desirestnot to slay me: for if thou didst, why didst thou refuse to fall on mearmed with the ghosts of weapons that I borrowed from a ghost? Nay, whydidst thou not slay me as I crept out of yonder hole? Thou wouldst havehad a cheap bargain of me either way. It would be rank folly to fightme. "

Said Hallblithe hoarsely: "Why didst thou bewray me, and lie to me, andlure me away from the quest of my beloved, and waste a whole year of mylife?"

"It is a long story, " said the Puny Fox, "which I may tell thee some day. Meantime I may tell thee this, that I was compelled thereto by one farmightier than I, to wit the Undying King. "

At that word the smouldering wrath blazed up in Hallblithe, and he drewhis sword hastily and hewed at the Puny Fox: but he leapt aside nimblyand ran in on Hallblithe, and caught his sword-arm by the wrist, and torethe weapon out of his hand, and overbore him by sheer weight and stature, and drave him to the earth. Then he rose up, and let Hallblithe risealso, and took his sword and gave it into his hand again and said: "Crag-nester, thou art wrathful, but little. Now thou hast thy sword again andmayst slay me if thou wilt. Yet not until I have spoken a word to thee:so hearken! or else by the Treasure of the Sea I will slay thee with mybare hands. For I am strong indeed in this place with my old kinsmanbeside me. Wilt thou hearken?"

"Speak, " said Hallblithe, "I hearken. "

Said the Puny Fox: "True it is that I lured thee away from thy quest, andwore away a year of thy life. Yet true it is also that I repent methereof, and ask thy pardon. What sayest thou?"

Hallblithe spake not, but the heat died out of his face and he was becomesomewhat pale. Said the Puny Fox: "Dost thou not remember, O Raven, howthou badest me battle last year on the sea-shore by the side of theRollers of the Raven? and how this was to be the prize of battle, thatthe vanquished should serve the vanquisher year-long, and do all hiswill? And now this prize and more thou hast won without battle; for Iswear by the Treasure of the Sea, and by the bones of the great Sea-mewyonder, that I will serve thee not year-long but life-long, and that Iwill help thee in thy quest for thy beloved. What sayest thou?"

Hallblithe stood speechless a moment, looking past the Puny Fox, ratherthan at him. Then the sword tumbled out of his hand on to the grass, andgreat tears rolled down his cheeks and fell on to his raiment, and hereached out his hand to the Puny Fox and said: "O friend, wilt thou notbring me to her? for the days wear, and the trees are growing old roundabout the Acres of the Raven. "

Then the Puny Fox took his hand; and laughed merrily in his face, andsaid: "Great is thine heart, O Carrion-biter! But now that thou art myfriend I will tell thee that I have a deeming of the whereabouts of thybeloved. Or where deemest thou was the garden wherein thou sawest herstanding on the page of the book in that dream of the night? So it is, ORaven-son, that it is not for nothing that my grandsire's father lieth inyonder hole of the rocks; for of late he hath made me wise in mightylore. Thanks have thou, O kinsman!" And he turned him toward the rockwherein was the grave. 

But Hallblithe said: "What is to do now? Am I not in a land of foemen?"

"Yea, forsooth, " said the Puny Fox, "and even if thou knewest where thylove is, thou shouldst hardly escape from this isle unslain, save forme. "

Said Hallblithe: "Is there not my bark, that I might depart at once? forI deem not that the Hostage is on the Isle of Ransom. "

The Puny Fox laughed boisterously and said: "Nay, she is not. But as tothy boat, there is so strong a set of the flood-tide toward this end ofthe isle, that with the wind blowing as now, from the north-north-east, thou mayst not get off the shore for four hours at least, and I misdoubtme that within that time we shall have tidings of a ship of ours cominginto the haven. Thy bark they shall take, and thee also if thou arttherein; and then soon were the story told, for they know thee for arebel of the Undying King. Hearken! Dost thou not hear the horn'svoice? Come up hither and we shall see what is towards. "

So saying, he led hastily up a kind of stair in the rock-wall, until theyreached a cranny, whence through a hole in the cliff, they could see allover the haven. And lo! as they looked, in the very gate and entry of itcame a great ship heaving up her bows on the last swell of the outer sea(where the wind had risen somewhat), and rolling into the smooth, land-locked water. Black was her sail, and the image of the Sea-eagleenwrought thereon spread wide over it; and the banner of the FlamingSword streamed out from the stern. Many men all-weaponed were on thedecks, and the minstrels high up on the poop were blowing a merry song ofreturn on their battle-horns. 

"Lo, you, " said the Puny Fox, "thy luck or mine hath served thee thistime, in that the Flaming Sword did not overhaul thee ere thou madest thehaven. We are well here at least. "

Said Hallblithe: "But may not some of them come up hither perchance?"

"Nay, nay, " said the Puny Fox; "they fear the old man in the cleftyonder; for he is not over guest-fain. This mead is mine own, as forother living men; it is my unroofed house, and I have here a house with aroof also, which I will show thee presently. For now since the FlamingSword hath come, there is no need for haste; nay, we cannot depart tillthey have gone up-country. So I will show thee presently what we shalldo to-night. "

So there they sat and watched those men bring their ship to the shore andmoor her hard by Hallblithe's boat. They cried out when they saw her, and when they were aland they gathered about her to note her build, andthe fashion of the spear whereto she was tied. Then in a while the morepart of them, some fourscore in number, departed up the valley toward thegreat house and left none but a half dozen ship-warders behind. 

"Seest thou, friend of the Ravens, " said the Fox, "hadst thou been there, they might have done with thee what they would. Did I not well to bringthee into my unroofed house?"

"Yea, verily, " said Hallblithe; "but will not some of the ship-wards, orsome of the others returning, come up hither and find us? I shall yetlay my bones in this evil island. "

The Puny Fox laughed, and said: "It is not so bad as thy sour looks wouldhave it; anyhow it is good enough for a grave, and at this present I maycall it a casket of precious things. "

"What meanest thou?" said Hallblithe eagerly. 

"Nay, nay, " said the other, "nought but what thou knowest. Art thou nottherein, and I myself? without reckoning the old carle in the holeyonder. But I promise thee thou shalt not die here this time, unlessthou wilt. And as to folk coming up hither, I tell thee again they durstnot; because they fear my great-grandsire over much. Not that they arefar wrong therein; for now he is dead, the worst of him seemeth to comeout of him, and he is not easily dealt with, save by one who hath someshare of his wisdom. Thou thyself couldst see by my kinsman, the Sea-eagle, how much of ill blood and churlish malice there may be in ourkindred when they wax old, and loneliness and dreariness taketh hold ofthem. For I must tell thee that I have oft heard my father say that hisfather the Sea-eagle was in his youth and his prime blithe and buxom, agreat lover of women, and a very friendly fellow. But ever, as I say, asthe men of our kind wax in years, they worsen; and thereby mayst thoudeem how bad the old man in yonder must be, since he hath lain so long inthe grave. But now we will go to that house of mine on the other side ofthe mead, over against my kinsman's. "

Therewith he led Hallblithe down from the rock while Hallblithe said tohim: "What! art thou also dead that thou hast a grave here?"

"Nay, nay, " said Fox, smiling, "am I so evil-conditioned then? I am noolder than thou art. "

"But tell me, " said Hallblithe, "wilt thou also wax evil as thou growestold?"

"Maybe not, " said Fox, looking hard at him, "for in my mind it is that Imay be taken into another house, and another kindred, and amongst them Ishall be healed of much that might turn to ill. "

Therewith were they come across the little meadow to a place where was acave in the rock closed with a door, and a wicket window therein. Foxled Hallblithe into it, and within it was no ill dwelling; for it was dryand clean, and there were stools therein and a table, and shelves andlockers in the wall. When they had sat them down Fox said: "Heremightest thou dwell safely as long as thou wouldst, if thou wouldst riskdealings with the old carle. But, as I wot well that thou art in hasteto be gone and get home to thy kindred, I must bring thee at dusk to-dayclose up to our feast-hall, so that thou mayst be at hand to do what hathto be done to-night, so that we may get us gone to-morrow. Also thoumust do off thy Raven gear lest we meet any in the twilight as we go upto the house; and here have I to hand home-spun raiment such as our war-taken thralls wear, which shall serve thy turn well enough; but this thouneedst not do on till the time is at hand for our departure; and then Iwill bring thee away, and bestow thee in a bower hard by the hall; andwhen thou art within, I may so look to it that none shall go in there, orif they do, they shall see nought in thee save a carle known to them byname. My kinsman hath learned me to do harder things than this. But nowit is time to eat and drink. "

Therewith he drew victual from out a locker and they fell to. But whenthey had eaten, Fox taught Hallblithe what he should do in the hall thatnight, as shall be told hereafter. And then, with much talk about manythings, they wore away the day in that ancient cup of the seething rock, and a little before dusk set out for the hall, bearing with themHallblithe's gear bundled up together, as though it had been wares fromover sea. So they came to the house before the tables were set, and thePuny Fox bestowed Hallblithe in a bower which gave into the buttery, sothat it was easy to go straight into the mid-most of the hall. There wasHallblithe clad and armed in his Raven gear; but Fox gave him a vizard togo over his face, so that none might know him when he entered therein. 

CHAPTER XXI: OF THE FIGHT OF THE CHAMPIONS IN THE HALL OF THE RAVAGERS

Now it is to be told that the chieftains came into the hall that nightand sat down at the board on the dais, even as Hallblithe had seen themdo aforetime. And the chieftain of all, who was called the Erne of theSea-eagles, rose up according to custom and said: "Hearken, folk! this isa night of the champions, whereon we may not eat till the pale bladeshave clashed together, and one hath vanquished and another been overcome. Now let them stand forth and give out the prize of victory which thevanquished shall pay to the vanquisher. And let it be known, that, whosoever may be the champion that winneth the battle, whether he be akinsman, or an alien, or a foeman declared; yea, though he have left thehead of my brother at the hall-door, he shall pass this night with ussafe from sword, safe from axe, safe from hand: he shall eat as we eat, drink as we drink, sleep as we sleep, and depart safe from any hand orweapon, and shall sail the sea at his pleasure in his own keel or inours, as to him and us may be meet. Blow up horns for the champions!"

So the horns blew a cheerful strain, and when they were done, there cameinto the hall a tall man clad in black, and with black armour and weaponssaving the white blade of his sword. He had a vizard over his face, buthis hair came down from under his helm like the tail of a red horse. 

So he stood amidst the floor and cried out: "I am the champion of theRavagers. But I swear by the Treasure of the Sea that I will cross noblade to-night save with an alien, a foeman of the kindred. Hearestthou, O chieftain, O Erne of the Sea-eagles?"

"Hear it I do, " said the chieftain, "and I deem that thy meaning is thatwe should go supperless to bed; and this cometh of thy perversity: for weknow thee despite thy vizard. Belike thou deemest that thou shalt not bemet this even, and that there is no free alien in the island to drawsword against thee. But beware! For when we came aland this morning wefound a skiff of the aliens tied to a great spear stuck in the bank ofthe haven; so that there will be one foeman at least abroad in theisland. But we said if we should come on the man, we would set his headon the gable of the hall with the mouth open toward the North for a tokenof reproach to the dwellers in the land over sea. But now give out theprize of victory, and I swear by the Treasure of the Sea that we willabide by thy word. "

Said the champion: "These are the terms and conditions of the battle;that whichso of us is vanquished, he shall either die, or serve thevanquisher for twelve moons, to fare with him at his will, to go hiserrands, and do according to his commandment in all wise. Hearest thou, chieftain?"

"Yea, " said he, "and by the Undying King, both thou and we shall abide bythis bargain. So look to it that thou smite great strokes, lest our halllack a gable-knop. Horns, blow up for the alien champion!"

So again the horns were winded; and ere their voice had died, in from thebuttery screens came a glittering image of war, and there stood the alienchampion over against the warrior of the sea; and he too had a vizardover his face. 

Now when the folk saw him, and how slim and light and small he lookedbeside their champion, and they beheld the Raven painted on his whiteshield, they hooted and laughed for scorn of him and his littleness. Buthe tossed his sword up lightly and caught it by the hilts as it fell, anddrew nigher to the champion of the sea and stood facing him within reachof his sword. Then the chieftain on the high-seat put his two hands tohis mouth and roared out: "Fall on, ye champions, fall on!"

But the folk in the hall were so eager that they stood on the benches andthe boards, and craned over each other's shoulders, so that they mightlose no whit of the hand-play. Now flashed the blades in the candle-lithall, and the red-haired champion hove up his sword and smote two greatstrokes to right and to left; but the alien gave way before him, and thefolk cried out at him in scorn and in joy of their champion, who fell toraining down great strokes like the hail amidst the lightning. But sodeft was the alien, that he stood amidst it unhurt, and laid many strokeson his foeman, and did all so lightly and easily, that it seemed as if hewere dancing rather than fighting; and the folk held their peace andbegan to doubt if their huge champion would prevail. Now the red-hairedfetched a mighty stroke at the alien, who leapt aside lightly and gat hissword in his left hand and dealt a great stroke on the other's head, andthe red-haired staggered, for he had over-reached himself; and again thealien smote him a left-handed stroke so that he fell full length on thefloor with a mighty clatter, and the sword flew out of his hand: and thefolk were dumb-founded. 

Then the alien threw himself on the sea-champion, and knelt upon him, andshortened his sword as if to slay him with a thrust. But thereon the manoverthrown cried out: "Hold thine hand, for I am vanquished! Now give mepeace according to the bargain struck between us, that I shall serve theeyear-long, and follow thee wheresoever thou goest. "

Therewith the alien champion arose and stood off from him, and the man ofthe sea gat to his feet, and did off his helm, so that all men could seethat he was the Puny Fox. 

Then the victorious champion unhelmed himself, and lo, it was Hallblithe!And a shout arose in the hall, part of wonder, part of wrath. 

Then cried out the Puny Fox: "I call on all men here to bear witness thatby reason of this battle, Hallblithe of the Ravens is free to come and goas he will in the Isle of Ransom, and to take help of any man that willhelp him, and to depart from the isle when he will and how he will, taking me with him if so he will. "

Said the chieftain: "Yea, this is right and due, and so shall it be. Butnow, since no freeman, who is not a foe of the passing hour, may abide inour hall without eating of our meat, come up here, Hallblithe, and sit byme, and eat and drink of the best we have, since the Norns would not giveus thine head for a gable-knop. But what wilt thou do with thy thrallthe Puny Fox; and whereto in the hall wilt thou have him shown? Or wiltthou that he sit fasting in the darkness to-night, laid in gyves andfetters? Or shall he have the cheer of whipping and stripes, asbefitteth a thrall to whom the master oweth a grudge? What is thy willwith him?"

Said Hallblithe: "My will is that thou give him a seat next to me, whether that be high or low, or the bench of thy prison-house. That heeat of my dish, and drink of my cup, whatsoever the meat and drink maybe. For to-morrow I mean that we twain shall go under the earth-collartogether, and that our blood shall run together and that we shall bebrothers in arms henceforward. " Then Hallblithe did on his helm againand drew his sword, and looked aside to the Puny Fox to bid him do thelike, and he did so, and Hallblithe said: "Chieftain, thou hast bidden meto table, and I thank thee; but I will not set my teeth in meat, out ofour own house and land, which hath not been truly given to me by one whowotteth of me, unless I have conquered it as a prey of battle; neitherwill I cast a lie into the loving-cup which shall pass from thy lips tomine: therefore I will tell thee, that though I laid a stroke or two onthe Puny Fox, and those no light ones, yet was this battle nought trueand real, but a mere beguiling, even as that which I saw foughten in thishall aforetime, when meseemeth the slain men rose up in time to drink thegood-night cup. Therefore, O men of the Ravagers, and thou, O Puny Fox, there is nought to bind your hands and refrain your hearts, and ye mayslay me if ye will without murder or dishonour, and may make the head ofHallblithe a knop for your feast-hall. Yet shall one or two fall toearth before I fall. "

Therewith he shook his sword aloft, and a great roar arose, and weaponscame down from the wall, and the candles shone on naked steel. But thePuny Fox came and stood by Hallblithe, and spake in his ear amidst theuproar: "Well now, brother-in-arms, I have been trying to learn thee thelore of lies, and surely thou art the worst scholar who was ever smittenby master. And the outcome of it is that I, who have lied so long andwell, must now pay for all, and die for a barren truth. "

Said Hallblithe: "Let all be as it will! I love thee, lies and all; butas for me I cannot handle them. Lo you! great and grim shall be theslaying, and we shall not fall unavenged. "

Said the Puny Fox: "Hearken! for still they hang back. Belike it is Ithat have drawn this death on thee and me. My last lie was a fool's lieand we die for it: for what wouldst thou have done hadst thou wotted thatthy beloved, the Hostage of the Rose--" He broke off perforce; forHallblithe was looking to right and left and handling his sword, andheard not that last word of his; and from both sides of the hall thethrong was drawing round about those twain, weapon in hand. ThenHallblithe set his eyes on a big man in front who was heaving up a heavyshort-sword and thought that he would at least slay this one. But orever he might smite, the great horn blared out over the tumult, and menforbore a while and fell somewhat silent. 

Then came down to them the voice of the chieftain, a loud voice, butclear and with mirth mingled with anger in it, and he said: "What dothese fools of the Ravagers cumbering the floor of the feast-hall, andshaking weapons when there is no foeman anigh? Are they dreaming-drunkbefore the wine is poured? Why do they not sit down in their places, andabide the bringing in of the meat? And ye women, where are ye, why do yedelay our meat, when ye may well wot that our hearts are drooping forhunger; and all hath been duly done, the battle of the champions foughtand won, and the prize of war given forth and taken? How long, O folk, shall your chieftains sit fasting?"

Then there arose great laughter in the hall, and men withdrew them fromthose twain and went and sat them down in their places. 

Then the chieftain said: "Come up hither, I say, O Hallblithe, and bringthy war-thrall with thee if thou wilt. But delay not, unless it be sothat thou art neither hungry nor thirsty; and good sooth thou shouldst beboth; for men say that the ravens are hard to satisfy. Come then andmake good cheer with us!"

So Hallblithe thrust his sword into the sheath, and the Puny Fox did thelike, and they went both together up the hall to the high-seat. AndHallblithe sat down on the chieftain's right hand, and the Puny Fox nextto him; and the chieftain, the Erne, said: "O Hallblithe, dost thou needthine armour at table; or dost thou find it handy to take thy meat cladin thy byrny and girt with a sword?"

Then laughed Hallblithe and said: "Nay, meseemeth to-night I shall needwar-gear no more. " And he stood up and did off all his armour and gaveit, sword and all, into the hands of a woman, who bore it off, he knewnot whither. And the Erne looked on him and said: "Well is that! and nowI see that thou art a fair young man, and it is no marvel though maidensdesire thee. "

As he spake came in the damsels with the victual and the cheer wasexceeding good, and Hallblithe grew light-hearted. 

But when the healths had been drunk as aforetime, and men had drunk a cupor two thereafter, there rose a warrior from one of the endlong benches, a big young man, black-haired and black-bearded, ruddy of visage, and hesaid in a voice that was rough and fat: "O Erne, and ye other chieftains, we have been talking here at our table concerning this guest of thine whohath beguiled us, and we are not wholly at one with thee as to thydealings with him. True it is, now that the man hath our meat in hisbelly, that he must depart from amongst us with a whole skin, unless ofhis own will he stand up to fight some man of us here. Yet some of usthink that he is not so much our friend that we should help him to a keelwhereon to fare home to those that hate us: and we say that it would notbe unlawful to let the man abide in the isle, and proclaim him a wolf's-head within a half-moon of to-day. Or what sayest thou?"

Said the Erne: "Wait for my word a while, and hearken to another! Is theGrey-goose of the Ravagers in the hall? Let him give out his word onthis matter. "

Then arose a white-headed carle from a table nigh to the dais, whoseblack raiment was well adorned with gold. Despite his years his face wasfair and little wrinkled; a man with a straight nose and a well-fashionedmouth, and with eyes still bright and grey. He spake: "O folk, I findthat the Erne hath done well in cherishing this guest. For first, if hehath beguiled us, he did it not save by the furtherance and sleight ofour own kinsman; therefore if any one is to die for beguiling us, let itbe the Puny Fox. Secondly, we may well wot that heavy need hath driventhe man to this beguilement; and I say that it was no unmanly deed forhim to enter our hall and beguile us with his sleight; and that he hathplayed out the play right well and cunningly with the wisdom of awarrior. Thirdly, the manliness of him is well proven, in that havingovercome us in sleight, he hath spoken out the sooth concerning ourbeguilement and hath made himself our foeman and captive, when he mighthave sat down by us as our guest, freely and in all honour. And this hedid, not as contemning the Puny Fox and his lies and crafty wiles (for hehath told us that he loveth him); but so that he might show himself a manin that which trieth manhood. Moreover, ye shall not forget that he isthe rebel of the Undying King, who is our lord and master; therefore incherishing him we show ourselves great-hearted, in that we fear not thewrath of our master. Therefore I naysay the word of the War-brand thatwe should make this man a wolf's-head; for in so doing we shall showourselves lesser-hearted than he is, and of no account beside of him; andhis head on our hall-gable should be to us a nithing-stake, and a tree ofreproach. So I bid thee, O Erne, to make much of this man; and thoushalt do well to give him worthy gifts, such as warriors may take, sothat he may show them at home in the House of the Raven, that it may bethe beginning of peace betwixt us and his noble kindred. This is my say, and later on I shall wax no wiser. "

Therewith he sat down, and there arose a murmur and stir in the hall; butthe more part said that the Grey-goose had spoken well, and that it wasgood to be at peace with such manly fellows as the new guest was. 

But the Erne said: "One word will I lay hereto, to wit, that he whodesireth mine enmity let him do scathe to Hallblithe of the Ravens andhinder him. "

Then he bade fill round the cups, and called a health to Hallblithe, andall men drank to him, and there was much joyance and merriment. 

But when the night was well worn, the Erne turned to Hallblithe and said:"That was a good word of the Grey-goose which he spake concerning thegiving of gifts: Raven-son, wilt thou take a gift of me and be myfriend?"

"Thy friend will I be, " said Hallblithe, "but no gift will I take of theeor any other till I have the gift of gifts, and that is my troth-plightmaiden. I will not be glad till I can be glad with her. "

Then laughed the Erne, and the Puny Fox grinned all across his wide face, and Hallblithe looked from one to the other of them and wondered at theirmirth, and when they saw his wondering eyes, they did but laugh the more;and the Erne said: "Nevertheless, thou shalt see the gift which I wouldgive thee; and then mayst thou take it or leave it as thou wilt. Ho ye!bring in the throne of the Eastland with them that minister to it!"

Certain men left the hall as he spake, and came back bearing with them athrone fashioned most goodly of ivory, parcel-gilt and begemmed, andadorned with marvellous craftsmanship: and they set it down amidst of thehall-floor and went aback to their places, while the Erne sat and smiledkindly on the folk and on Hallblithe. Then arose the sound of fiddlesand the lesser harp, and the doors of the screen were opened, and thereflowed into the hall a company of fair damsels not less than a score, each one with a rose on her bosom, and they came and stood in orderbehind the throne of the Eastlands, and they strewed roses on the groundbefore them: and when they were duly ranged they fell to singing:

 Now waneth spring, While all birds sing, And the south wind blows The earliest rose To and fro By the doors we know, And the scented gale Fills every dale. Slow now are brooks running because of the weed, And the thrush hath no cunning to hide her at need, So swift as she flieth from hedge-row to tree As one that toil trieth, and deedful must be. 

 And O! that at last, All sorrows past, This night I lay 'Neath the oak-beams grey! O, to wake from sleep, To see dawn creep Through the fruitful grove Of the house that I love! O! my feet to be treading the threshold once more, O'er which once went the leading of swords to the war! O! my feet in the garden's edge under the sun, Where the seeding grass hardens for haysel begun!

 Lo, lo! the wind blows To the heart of the Rose, And the ship lies tied To the haven side! But O for the keel The sails to feel! And the alien ness Growing less and less; As down the wind driveth and thrusts through the sea The sail-burg that striveth to turn and go free, But the lads at the tiller they hold her in hand, And the wind our well-willer drives fierce to the land. 

 We shall wend it yet, The highway wet; For what is this That our bosoms kiss? What lieth sweet Before our feet? What token hath come To lead us home? 'Tis the Rose of the garden walled round from the croft Where the grey roof its warden steep riseth aloft, 'Tis the Rose 'neath the oaken-beamed hall, where they bide, The pledges unbroken, the hand of the bride. 

Hallblithe heard the song, and half thought it promised him somewhat; butthen he had been so misled and mocked at, that he scarce knew how torejoice at it. 

Now the Erne spake: "Wilt thou not take the chair and these dainty song-birds that stand about it? Much wealth might come into thine hall ifthou wert to carry them over sea to rich men who have no kindred, noraffinity wherein to wed, but who love women as well as other men. "

Said Hallblithe: "I have wealth enow were I once home again. As to thesemaidens, I know by the fashion of them that they are no women of theRose, as by their song they should be. Yet will I take any of thesemaidens that have will to go with me and be made sisters of my sisters, and wed with the warriors of the Rose; or if they are of a kindred, andlong to sit each in the house of her folk, then will we send them homeover the sea with warriors to guard them from all trouble. For this giftI thank thee. As to thy throne, I bid thee keep it till a keel comeththy way from our land, bringing fair gifts for thee and thine. For weare not so unwealthy. "

Those that sat nearby heard his words and praised them; but the Ernesaid: "All this is free to thee, and thou mayst do what thou wilt withthe gifts given to thee. Yet shalt thou have the throne; and I havethought of a way to make thee take it. Or what sayst thou, Puny Fox?"

Said the Puny Fox: "Yea if thou wilt, thou mayst, but I thought it not ofthee that thou wouldst. Now is all well. "

Again Hallblithe looked from one to the other and wondered what theymeant. But the Erne cried out: "Bring in now the sitter, who shall fillthe empty throne!"

Then again the screen-doors opened, and there came in two weaponed men, leading between them a woman clad in gold and garlanded with roses. Sofair was the fashion of her face and all her body, that her coming seemedto make a change in the hall, as though the sun had shone into itsuddenly. She trod the hall-floor with firm feet, and sat down on theivory chair. But even before she was seated therein Hallblithe knew thatthe Hostage was under that roof and coming toward him. And the heartrose in his breast and fluttered therein, so sore he yearned toward theDaughter of the Rose, and his very speech-friend. Then he heard the Ernesaying, "How now, Raven-son, wilt thou have the throne and the sittertherein, or wilt thou gainsay me once more?"

Thereafter he himself spake, and the sound of his voice was strange tohim and as if he knew it not: "Chieftain, I will not gainsay thee, butwill take thy gift, and thy friendship therewith, whatsoever hathbetided. Yet would I say a word or two unto the woman that sittethyonder. For I have been straying amongst wiles and images, and mayhappenI shall yet find this to be but a dream of the night, or a beguilement ofthe day. " Therewith he arose from the table, and walked slowly down thehall; but it was a near thing that he did not fall a-weeping before allthose aliens, so full his heart was. 

He came and stood before the Hostage, and their eyes were upon eachother, and for a little while they had no words. Then Hallblithe began, wondering at his voice as he spake: "Art thou a woman and myspeech-friend? For many images have mocked me, and I have beenencompassed with lies, and led astray by behests that have not beenfulfilled. And the world hath become strange to me, and empty offriends. "

Then she said: "Art thou verily Hallblithe? For I also have beenencompassed by lies, and beset by images of things unhelpful. "

"Yea, " said he, "I am Hallblithe of the Ravens, wearied with desire formy troth-plight maiden. "

Then came the rosy colour into the fairness of her face, as the risingsun lighteth the garden of flowers in the June morning; and she said: "Ifthou art Hallblithe, tell me what befell to the finger-gold-ring that mymother gave me when we were both but little. "

Then his face grew happy, and he smiled, and he said: "I put it for theeone autumntide in the snake's hole in the bank above the river, amidstthe roots of the old thorn-tree, that the snake might brood it, and makethe gold grow greater; but when winter was over and we came to look forit, lo! there was neither ring nor snake, nor thorn-tree: for the floodhad washed it all away. "

Thereat she smiled most sweetly, and whereas she had been looking on himhitherto with strained and anxious eyes, she now beheld him simply andfriendly; and she said: "O Hallblithe, I am a woman indeed, and thyspeech-friend. This is the flesh that desireth thee, and the life thatis thine, and the heart which thou rejoicest. But now tell me, who arethese huge images around us, amongst whom I have sat thus, once in everymoon this year past, and afterwards I was taken back to the women'sbower? Are they men or mountain-giants? Will they slay us, or shut usup from the light and air? Or hast thou made peace with them? Wilt thouthen dwell with me here, or shall we go back again to Cleveland by theSea? And when, oh when, shall we depart?"

He smiled and said: "Quick come thy questions, beloved. These are thefolks of the Ravagers and the Sea-eagles: they be men, though fierce andwild they be. Our foes they have been, and have sundered us; but now arethey our friends, and have brought us together. And to-morrow, O friend, shall we depart across the waters to Cleveland by the Sea. "

She leaned forward, and was about to speak softly to him, but suddenlystarted back, and said: "There is a big, red-haired man, as big as anyhere, behind thy shoulder. Is he also a friend? What would he with us?"

So Hallblithe turned about, and beheld the Puny Fox beside him, who tookup the word and spoke, smiling as a man in great glee: "O maiden of theRose, I am Hallblithe's thrall, and his scholar, to unlearn the craft oflying, whereby I have done amiss towards both him and thee. Whereof Iwill tell thee all the tale soon. But now I will say that it is truethat we depart to-morrow for Cleveland by the Sea, thou and he, and I incompany. Now I would ask thee, Hallblithe, if thou wouldst have mebestow this gift of thine in safe-keeping to-night, since there is an endof her sitting in the hall like a graven image: and to-morrow the waywill be long and wearisome, What sayest thou?"

Said the Hostage: "Shall I trust this man and go with him?"

"Yea, thou shalt trust him, " said Hallblithe, "for he is trusty. Andeven were he not, it is meet for us of the Raven and the Rose to do asour worth biddeth us, and not to fear this folk. And it behoveth us todo after their customs since we are in their house. "

"That is sooth, " she said; "big man, lead me out of the hall to my place. Farewell, Hallblithe, for a little while, and then shall there be no moresundering for us. "

Therewith she departed with the Puny Fox, and Hallblithe went back to thehigh-seat and sat down by the Erne, who laughed on him and said: "Thouhast taken my gift, and that is well: yet shall I tell thee that I wouldnot have given it to thee if I could have kept it for myself in suchplight as thou wilt have it. But all I could do, and the Puny Fox tohelp withal, availed me nought. So good luck go with thine hands. Nowwill we to bed, and to-morrow I will lead thee out on thy way; for to saysooth, there be some here who are not well pleased with either thee orme; and thou knowest that words are wasted on wilful men, but that deedsmay avail somewhat. "

Therewith he cried out for the cup of good-night, and when it wasdrunken, Hallblithe was shown to a fair shut-bed; even that wherein hehad lain aforetime; and there he went to sleep in joy, and in good likingwith all men. 

CHAPTER XXII: THEY GO FROM THE ISLE OF RANSOM AND COME TO CLEVELAND BYTHE SEA

In the morning early Hallblithe arose from his bed, and when he came intothe mid-hall, there was the Puny Fox and the Hostage with him; Hallblithekissed her and embraced her, and she him; yet not like lovers longsundered, but as a man and maid betrothed are wont to do, for there werefolk coming and going about the hall. Then spake the Puny Fox: "The Erneis abiding us out in the meadow yonder; for now nought will serve him buthe must needs go under the earth-collar with us. How sayest thou, is heenough thy friend?"

Said Hallblithe, smiling on the Hostage: "What hast thou to say to it, beloved?"

"Nought at all, " she said, "if thou art friend to any of these men. Imay deem that I have somewhat against the chieftain, whereof belike thisbig man may tell thee hereafter; but even so much meseemeth I haveagainst this man himself, who is now become thy friend and scholar; forhe also strove for my beguilement, and that not for himself, but foranother. "

"True it is, " said the Fox, "that I did it for another; even as yesterdayI took thy mate Hallblithe out of the trap whereinto he had strayed, andcompassed his deliverance by means of the unfaithful battle; and even asI would have stolen thee for him, O Rose-maiden, if need had been; yea, even if I must have smitten into ruin the roof-tree of the Ravagers. Andhow could I tell that the Erne would give thee up unstolen? Yea, thousayeth sooth, O noble and spotless maiden; all my deeds, both good andill, have I done for others; and so I deem it shall be while my lifelasteth. "

Then Hallblithe laughed and said: "Art thou nettled, fellow-in-arms, atthe word of a woman who knoweth thee not? She shall yet be thy friend, OFox. But tell me, beloved, I deemed that thou hadst not seen Fox before;how then can he have helped the Erne against thee?"

"Yet she sayeth sooth, " said Fox, "this was of my sleight: for when I hadto come before her, I changed my skin, as I well know how; there areothers in this land who can do so much as that. But what sayest thouconcerning the brotherhood with the Erne?"

"Let it be so, " said Hallblithe, "he is manly and true, though masterful, and is meet for this land of his. I shall not fall out with him; forseldom meseemeth shall I see the Isle of Ransom. "

"And I never again, " said the Puny Fox. 

"Dost thou loathe it, then, " said the Hostage, "because of the evil thouhast done therein?"

"Nay, " said he, "what is the evil, when henceforth I shall do but good?Nay, I love the land. Belike thou deemest it but dreary with its blackrocks and black sand, and treeless wind-swept dales; but I know it insummer and winter, and sun and shade, in storm and calm. And I knowwhere the fathers dwelt and the sons of their sons' sons have long lainin the earth. I have sailed its windiest firths, and climbed itssteepest crags; and ye may well wot that it hath a friendly face to me;and the land-wights of the mountains will be sorry for my departure. "

So he spake, and Hallblithe would have answered him, but by now were theycome to a grassy hollow amidst the dale, where the Erne had already madethe earth-yoke ready. To wit, he had loosened a strip of turf all savethe two ends, and had propped it up with two ancient dwarf-wroughtspears, so that amidmost there was a lintel to go under. 

So when he saw those others coming, he gave them the sele of the day, andsaid to Hallblithe: "What is it to be? shall I be less than thy brother-in-arms henceforward?"

Said Hallblithe: "Not a whit less. It is good to have brothers in otherlands than one. "

So they made no delay, but clad in all their war-gear, they went underthe earth-yoke one after the other; thereafter they stood together, andeach let blood in his arm, so that the blood of all three mingledtogether fell down on the grass of the ancient earth; and they sworefriendship and brotherhood each to each. 

But when all was done the Erne spake: "Brother Hallblithe, as I lay awakein bed this morning I deemed that I would take ship with thee toCleveland by the Sea, that I might dwell there a while. But when I cameout of the hall, and saw the dale lying green betwixt hill-side and hill-side, and the glittering river running down amidmost, and the sheep andkine and horses feeding up and down on either side the water: and Ilooked up at the fells and saw how deep blue they stood up against thesnowy peaks, and I thought of all our deeds on the deep sea, and themerry nights, in yonder abode of men: then I thought that I would notleave the kindred, were it but for a while, unless war and lifting calledme. So now I will ride with thee to the ship, and then farewell tothee. "

"It is good, " said Hallblithe, "though not as good as it might be. Gladhad we been with thee in the hall of the Ravens. "

As he spoke drew anigh the carles leading the horses, and with them camesix of those damsels whom the Erne had given to Hallblithe the nightbefore; two of whom asked to be brought to their kindred over sea; butthe other four were fain to go with Hallblithe and the Hostage, andbecome their sisters at Cleveland by the Sea. 

So then they got to horse and rode down the dale toward the haven, andthe carles rode with them, so that of weaponed men they were a score incompany. But when they were half-way to the haven they saw where hard bythree knolls on the way-side were men standing with their weapons and war-gear glittering in the sun. So the Erne laughed and said: "Shall we havea word with War-brand then?"

But they rode steadily on their way, and when they came up to the knollsthey saw that it was War-brand indeed with a score of men at his back;but they stirred not when they saw Erne's company that it was great. ThenErne laughed aloud and cried out in a big voice, "What, lads! ye rideearly this morning; are there foemen abroad in the Isle?"

They shrank back before him, but a carle of those who was hindermostcried out: "Art thou coming back to us, Erne, or have thy new friendsbought thee to lead them in battle?"

"Fear it nought, " quoth Erne, "I shall be back before the shepherd'snoon. "

So they went their ways and came to the haven, and there lay the FlamingSword, and beside her a trim bark, not right great, all ready for sea:and Hallblithe's skiff was made fast to her for an after-boat. 

Then the Hostage and Hallblithe and the six damsels went aboard her, andwhen the Erne had bidden them farewell, they cast off the hawsers andthrust her out through the haven-mouth; but ere they had got midmost ofthe haven, they saw the Erne, that he had turned about, and was riding upthe dale with his house-carles, and each man's weapon was shining in hishand: and they wondered if he were riding to battle with War-brand; andFox said: "Meseemeth our brother-in-arms hath in his mind to give thosewaylayers an evil minute, and verily he is the man to do the same. "

So they gat them out of the haven, and the ebb-tide drave out seawardstrongly, and the wind was fair for Cleveland by the Sea; and they ranspeedily past the black cliffs of the Isle of Ransom, and soon were theyhull down behind them. But on the afternoon of the next day they hove upthe land of the kindreds, and by sunset they beached their ship on thesand by the Rollers of the Raven, and went ashore without more ado. Andthe strand was empty of all men, even as on the day when Hallblithe firstmet the Puny Fox. So then in the cool of the evening they went up towardthe House of the Raven. Those damsels went together hand in hand two bytwo, and Hallblithe held the Hostage by the hand; but the Puny Fox wentalong beside them, gleeful and of many words; telling them tales of hiswiles and his craft, and his skin-changing. 

"But now, " quoth he, "I have left all that behind me in the Isle ofRansom, and have but one shape, and I would for your behoof that it werea goodlier one: and but one wisdom have I, even that which dwelleth inmine own head-bone. Yet it may be that this may avail you one time orother. But lo you! though I am thy thrall, have I not the look of athrall-huckster from over sea leading up my wares to the cheaping-stead?"They laughed at his words and were merry, and much love there was amongstthem as they went up to the House of the Raven. 

But when they came thither they went into the garth, and there was no mantherein, for it was now dusk, and the windows of the long hall wereyellow with candle-light. Then said Fox: "Abide ye here a little; for Iwould go into the hall alone and see the conditions of thy people, OHallblithe. "

"Go thou, then, " said Hallblithe, "but be not rash. I counsel thee; forour folk are not over-patient when they deem they have a foe beforethem. "

The Puny Fox laughed, and said: "So it is then the world over, that happymen are wilful and masterful. "

Then he drew his sword and smote on the door with the pommel, and thedoor opened to him and in he went: and he found that fair hall full offolk and bright with candles; and he stood amidst the floor; all menlooked on him, and many knew him at once to be a man of the Ravagers, andsilence fell upon the hall, but no man stirred hand against him. Then hesaid: "Will ye hearken to the word of an evil man, a robber of thefolks?"

Spake the chieftain from the dais: "Words will not hurt us, sea-warrior;and thou art but one among many; wherefore thy might this eve is but asthe might of a new-born baby. Speak, and afterwards eat and drink, anddepart safe from amongst us!"

Spake the Puny Fox: "What is gone with Hallblithe, a fair young man ofyour kindred, and with the Hostage of the Rose, his troth-plight maiden?"

Then was the hush yet greater in the hall, so that you might have heard apin drop; and the chieftain said: "It is a grief of ours that they aregone, and that none hath brought us back their dead bodies that we mightlay them in the Acre of the Fathers. "

Then leapt up a man from the end-long table nigh to Fox, and cried out:"Yea, folk! they are gone, and we deem that runagates of thy kindred, Onew-come man, have stolen them from us; wherefor they shall one day payus. "

Then laughed the Puny Fox and said: "Some would say that stealingHallblithe was like stealing a lion, and that he might take care ofhimself; though he was not as big as I am. "

Said the last speaker: "Did thy kin or didst thou steal him, O evil man?"

"Yea, I stole him, " quoth Fox, "but by sleight, and not by might. "

Then uprose great uproar in the hall, but the chieftain on the high-seatcried out: "Peace, peace!" and the noise abated, and the chieftain said:"Dost thou mean that thou comest hither to give us thine head for makingaway with Hallblithe and the Hostage?"

"I mean to ask rather, " said the Fox, "what thou wilt give me for thebodies of these twain?"

Said the chieftain: "A boat-load of gold were not too much if thoushouldst live a little longer. "

Quoth the Puny Fox: "Well, in anywise I will go and bring in the bodiesaforesaid, and leave my reward to the goodwill of the Ravens. "

Therewith he turned about to go, but lo! there already in the door stoodHallblithe holding the Hostage by the hand; and many in the hall sawthem, for the door was wide. Then they came in and stood by the side ofthe Puny Fox, and all men in the hall arose and shouted for joy. Butwhen the tumult was a little abated, the Puny Fox cried out: "Ochieftain, and all ye folk! if a boat-load of gold were not too muchreward for the bringing back the dead bodies of your friends, what rewardshall he have who hath brought back their bodies and the souls therein?"

Said the chieftain: "The man shall choose his own reward. " And the menin the hall shouted their yeasay. 

Then said the Puny Fox: "Well, then, this I choose, that ye make me oneof your kindred before the fathers of old time. "

They all cried out that he had chosen wisely and manfully; but Hallblithesaid: "I bid you do for him no less than this; and ye shall wot that heis already my sworn brother-in-arms. "

Now the chieftain cried out: "O Wanderers from over the sea, come uphither and sit with us and be merry at last!"

So they went up to the dais, Hallblithe and the Hostage, and the Puny Foxand the six maidens withal. And since the night was yet young, thesupper of the men of the Ravens was turned into the wedding-feast ofHallblithe and the Hostage, and that very night she became a wife of theRavens, that she might bear to the House the best of men and the fairestof women. 

But on the morrow they brought the Puny Fox to the mote-stead of thekindreds that he might stand before the fathers and be made a son of thekindred; and this they did because of the word of Hallblithe, and becausethey believed in the tale which he told them of the Glittering Plain andthe Acre of the Undying. The four maidens also were made sisters of theHouse; and the other twain were sent home to their own kindred in allhonour. 

Of the Puny Fox it is said that he soon lost and forgot all the lorewhich he had learned of the ancient men, living and dead; and became asother men and was no wizard. Yet he was exceeding valiant and doughty;and he ceased not to go with Hallblithe wheresoever he went; and manydeeds they did together, whereof the memory of men hath failed: butneither they nor any man of the Ravens came any more to the GlitteringPlain, or heard any tidings of the folk that dwell there. 

HEREWITH ENDETH THE TALE. 

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At Paul's Work, Edinburgh