“Tell me about these ships,” Hakon said to Bertric when the boat had gone.  “Is there to be fighting, as this Asbiorn says?”

“Heidrek will not fight without surety of gain,” my comrade answered.  “His ships are full of men, but he cannot tell that you are under-manned.  He can see that he must needs lose heavily in boarding, for you have the advantage in height of side.  I doubt if he will chance it.  There is an Irish levy waiting ashore for him, and he has not faced that—­or has been driven off.”

“Rid the seas of him,” growled Earl Osric.  “Get to windward of him and run his ships down, and have done.”

“There is not a seaman in the North Sea who will not thank you if you do so,” said Bertric.  “Those two ships are a pest.”

“See to it, Osric,” answered Hakon.

Then he glanced at us and saw our arms lying at our feet, for his men had brought them from the boat.

“I was going to offer to arm you, but there is no need.  Bertric and I have drawn sword together against Danes before now, but I do not know whether Malcolm may not owe some fealty to Eric, my half brother.  I am going to try to turn him out of Norway—­as men have begged me to do—­and I would sooner have you on my side than against me.”

“Thanks, King Hakon,” I answered.  “I have owned no king as yet.  My sword is yours to command; but first I have promised to see Queen Gerda into safety, at least, in Norway, if her home may not be won again for her.”

Hakon laughed, as if pleased enough.

“I think you have done the first already,” he said.  “As for the winning her home afresh, who knows if you may not be in a fair way to do so from this moment?  It is likely.”

“Hakon does not forget the friends of the house of Harald,” Thoralf the Tall said.  “Tell him all the tale presently, for there seems to be one, and be content.”

“It would be strange if I were not,” I answered.

Hakon held out his hand to me and I took it, and thereby pledged myself to help set him on the Norse throne.  It was a hazardous, and perhaps hopeless errand on which he was setting forth, but I did not stay to weigh all that.  I knew that at least I had found a leader who was worth following, and who had claimed friendship with Gerda from the first.

Maybe there was another thought mixed up with all this.  I will not say that it might not have had the first place.  Gerda was in Hakon’s care now, and I would not be far from her.

Now, there was the bustle of clearing ship for action.  Already it was plain that Heidrek meant fighting, if he could make no gain of these ships elsewise, for we could see that his men had hung the war boards—­the shields—­along the gunwales.  He would see the same here directly, and make up his mind either to fight or fly.  As we armed ourselves, Bertric and I had some thoughts that he might choose the latter.

Now, I would not have it thought that I had forgotten Fergus, who had spent himself so bravely for us.  The two English chaplains and Phelim were caring for him forward, and I had seen that he was himself again, so far as coming to his senses is concerned.  Now we went and spoke to him, with all thanks for his help.