“One more,” I said, “but I left him asleep in the boat that brought us here.  We are from the sea, having been blown here.”

“Then he may bide till he wakes,” the man said, going on with his meal.

Presently he stopped eating, and after taking a great draught of ale, said that he wondered the dog had not torn me.

“Whereby I know you to be an honest man.  For I cannot read a man’s face as some can, and therefore trust to the dog, who is never wrong,” and he laughed and went on eating.

Now that set me thinking of what account I might give of myself, and I thought that I would speak the truth plainly, though there was no reason to say more than that we were blown off the English coast.  What Beorn would say I knew not; most likely he would lie, but if so, things must work themselves out.

I looked at the man in whose house I was, and was pleased with him.  Red haired and blue eyed he was, with a square, honest face and broad shoulders, and his white teeth shone beneath a red beard that covered half his face.

When he had eaten even more than I, he laughed loudly, saying that brother Rolf would have to go short this time, and then came and sat by the fire over against me, and waited for me to say my say.

So I told him how we had come, and at that he stared at me as our folk stared at Lodbrok, and started up, crying that he must go and see this staunch boat that had served me so well.

“Bide here and rest,” he said, “and I will bring your comrade to you,” and with that he swung out of the house, taking the dog with him.  And at once the thought of leaving the hut and plunging into the forest came into my mind, but I knew not why I should do so, except that I would not see Beorn again.  However, there was a third man now, and I would see what befell him.

Now I waited long, and had almost fallen asleep beside the warm fire, when I heard a horn away in the woods, and roused up to listen.  Twice or thrice it sounded, and then I heard it answered from far off.  So I supposed that there was a hunt going on.

Then I heard no more, and fell asleep in earnest; for I needed rest badly, as one might well suppose.

Something touched my hand and I awoke.  It was the great dog, who came and thrust his nose against me, having made up his mind to be friendly altogether.  So when his master came in I was fondling his head, and he looked puzzled.

“Say what men will,” he said, “I know you are an honest man!”

“Do you hold that any will doubt it?” I asked, wondering what he meant; for he looked strangely at me.

“Aye; the jarl has found your boat, and has sent me back to keep you fast.  Know you whose boat you have?”

“It belonged to Jarl Lodbrok, who came ashore in it, as I have come here—­and he gave it me.”

“Hammer of Thor!” said the man.  “Is the jarl alive?”

“What know you of him?” I asked.