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A murmur rose from the three watchers. Helga's hand moved toward her knife. Rolf shook his head gently. "Fair play," he reminded her; and she fell back. Tossing away his broken blade, Egil folded his arms across his breast and waited in scornful silence; but in a moment Alwin also was empty-handed. "I do no murder," he panted. "Man to man we will finish it."
The young Icelander's hot temper soon brewed trouble. Sickness kept him from going with Thorolf to the house of Björn the Yeoman, whose daughter, Aasgard, he was to marry; but he soon got well and went on a visit to Baard, a steward of the king. As fortune decreed he met there King Erik and Queen Gunhild. Egil was not the man to play the courtier and his hot blood was under little control.
They leapt on board a dozen armed Danes with Egil at their head and there before them stood Elfric the abbot with his cross in his hand, facing them alone. His priests were forward under cover, praying doubtless, with the athelings. The great ship sheered off again, and bided within half arrow shot of us, all her rail crowded with men looking on. "Neither gold nor goods have we," Elfric cried.
"It will be unsafe for him," I said savagely, for my temper was sorely tried by my failure, as I have said. Egil laughed. "Why, then, all the more must I keep you out of his way." "Hang me and have done," I said; "I am of no more use." "That," quoth Egil, "is what I thought concerning myself when you had me down in the fight. Now I am here to let you go, and bid you take heart.
Now I took hasty leave of Elfric and the athelings, and sad was I at parting with them. But I told Eadward that Egil was worthy of his charge, and a generous foe. "You will not blame me that this matter has failed even at the last, my prince," I said. "Not I, Redwald, good friend; you and I will laugh over it at some time hereafter," the atheling said. I shook my head.
Therewith Egil clave the throng; he was not so roughly dealt with as was Wolfkettle, for he was a bowman, and had this while past shot down on the Romans from aloof; and he yet held his bended bow in his hand. He also came up on to the dais and stood beside Wolfkettle glancing down on the hall-crowd, looking eagerly from side to side.
Nor is there less virtue in the spear of Achilleus, in the swords of Perseus and Sigurd, in Roland's stout blade Durandal, or in the brand Excalibur, with which Sir Bedivere was so loath to part. All these are solar weapons, and so, too, are the arrows of Tell and Palnatoki, Egil and Hemingr, and William of Cloudeslee, whose surname proclaims him an inhabitant of the Phaiakian land.
When he held his peace there was but little noise among the stay-at-homes, for still were they thinking about the deaths of their kindred and their lovers. But Egil spoke again.
Editha will tell you that my father was Earl of Northumbria, and my mother a princess of the royal blood of Alfred." Helga uttered an exclamation of surprise and interest; but he would not deign to look at her. For a while longer Rolf hesitated, looking long and strangely at Egil, and long and keenly at Sigurd. But at last he put forth his huge paw.
They went on to Egil, mounted the chariot and drove the goats swiftly on to AEger's, where the gods were impatiently waiting for the kettle. There was straightway a mighty brewing of ale, Thor told the story of his adventures in search of the kettle, and the feast went merrily on. Annie and Eliza Keary
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