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Now the southwest wind shifted at last to the west and north, and that shift brought home him whom I most wished to see, my comrade, Halfden. And it chanced that I was the first to see his sail from the higher land along the coast, south of the haven, where I was riding with my falcon and the great dog Vig, which Raud and his brother would have me take for my own after the wolf hunt.
When I looked at it and it was a very good one, and had carved work where the hand grips the shaft, and a carved end I saw that the head was one of Jarl Ingvar's best spearheads, and asked Raud where he got it. "Why," he said, "a good ash shaft deserves a good head, and so I asked the jarl for one. And when he knew for whom it was, he gave me this, saying it was the best he had."
Then when he heard that, Eadmund looked at Raud, smiling on him with a wondrous smile and saying: "Thanks, good friend." So Raud slew him in pity, and that was now the best deed that might be done. Thereat I cried out once, and my senses left me, and I knew no more. When I began to come to myself it was late afternoon.
And it was Raud, his old master, who came, lightly mail clad, and with a short hunting spear instead of staff in his hand, and whistling his "Biarkamal" as ever. Now with Raud I had no quarrel concerning the death of the king, for well I knew that what he had done was truly in mercy, nor had he taken any part in what went before.
There were five or six other men, seemingly of rank, and on horseback also, behind him, but they wore no armour, and were in hunting gear only, and again there were footmen, leading hounds like the great one that stood by Raud and me. And two men there were who led between them Beorn, holding him lest he should fall, either from weakness or terror, close to the jarl.
"Come with me and we will speak of this matter to Eadmund himself. Then will the business be settled at once." That was all I would wish, and being willing to speak yet more with Raud, I said I would follow. He turned again, and looked no more at me. Then I asked Raud of his brother, and of Thoralf, my other companion of flight. They were both slain, one at Gainsborough and one at Medehamstede.
At that the men stayed in amazement, and one threw away his bow and turned aside to where Raud stood, near where I lay. But Ingvar ground his teeth with rage, and stamping on the ground, cried to the men to shoot again.
Now I was pleased with this gift, both because I liked the man Raud, who was both brave and simple minded, and because it showed that the surly jarl had some liking for me. Yet I would that he showed this openly, and telling Osritha of the gift, I dared say so.
And that fight was a hard fight, for there must have been a score of gaunt wolves, half starved and ravenous. And I think we should have fared badly, for at last I was standing over Raud, who was down, dragged to the earth by two wolves, of which the dog slew one and I the other, while the other two men were back to back with me, and the wolves bayed all round us.
Next day, therefore, they set me on a pony that was quiet, and slowly we went towards Hoxne, coming thither in the afternoon early, seeing no Danes anywhere, while many of our folk were back and at work in the fields. Then I asked Raud if these poor people were safe now. "Surely, master," he said, for so he would call me, having heard the farm people name me thus.
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