id stringlengths 16 16 | text stringlengths 150 2.3k | word_count int64 30 60 | source stringclasses 1
value | book_id stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
twg_000012586900 | after the A B C class began he perceived how things stood with the young people, and, wisely judging that the causes which were operating in their hearts would proceed to their issue more pleasantly in his absence, he quietly got up and went out to cut firewood. After this the hermit invariably found it necessary to go... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586901 | cut firewood when Erling and Hilda arrived at the school, which they did regularly three times a week. This, of course, was considered a very natural and proper state of things by the two young people, for they were both considerate by nature, and would have been sorry indeed to have interrupted the old man in his regu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586902 | Erling soon began to feel that it was absolutely essential for one of them to be in advance of the other in regard to knowledge, if the work of teaching was to go on; for, while both remained equally ignorant, the fiction could not be kept up with even the semblance of propriety. To obviate this difficulty he paid soli... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586903 | nocturnal visits to the hut, on which occasions he applied himself so zealously to the study of the strange characters that he not only became as expert as his teacher, but left her far behind, and triumphantly rebutted the charge of stupidity which she had made against him. At the same time our hero entered a new and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586904 | of mental and spiritual activity when the hermit laid before him the portions of Holy Scripture which he had copied out before leaving southern lands, and expounded to him the grand, the glorious truths that God had revealed to man through Jesus Christ our Lord. And profoundly deep, and startling even to himself, were ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586905 | active mind while he sat there, night after night, in the lone hut on the cliff, poring over the sacred rolls, or holding earnest converse with the old man about things past, present, and future. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. IN WHICH GLUMM TAKES TO HUNTING ON THE MOUNTAINS FOR CONSOLATION, AND FINDS IT UNEXPECTEDLY, WHILE ALRIC ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586906 | to the fells to-day," said Glumm to Alric one morning, as the latter opened the door of Glummstede and entered the hall. "I go also," said Alric, leaning a stout spear which he carried against the wall, and sitting down on a stool beside the fire to watch Glumm as he equipped himself for the chase. "Art ready, then? fo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586907 | the day is late," said Glumm. "All busked," replied the boy.--"I say, Glumm, is that a new spear thou hast got?" "Aye; I took it from a Swedish viking the last fight I had off the coast. We had a tough job of it, and left one or two stout men behind to glut the birds of Odin, but we | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586908 | brought away much booty. This was part of it," he added, buckling on a long hunting-knife, which was stuck in a richly ornamented sheath, "and that silver tankard too, besides the red mantle that my mother wears, and a few other things--but my comrades got the most of it." "I wish I had been there, Glumm," said Alric. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586909 | were here, lad, she would say it is wrong to wish to fight." "Hilda has strange thoughts," observed the boy. "So has Erling," remarked his companion. "And so has Ada," said Alric, with a sly glance. Glumm looked up quickly. "What knowest _thou_ about Ada?" said he. The sly look vanished before Glumm had time to observe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586910 | expression of extreme innocence took its place as the lad replied-- "I know as much about her as is usual with one who has known a girl, and been often with her, since the day he was born." "True," muttered Glumm, stooping to fasten the thongs that laced the untanned shoes on his feet. "Ada has strange thoughts also, a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586911 | thou sayest. Come now, take thy spear, and let us be gone." "Where shall we go to-day?" asked Alric. "To the wolf's glen." "To the wolf's glen? that is far." "Is it too far for thee, lad?" "Nay, twice the distance were not too far for me," returned the boy proudly; "but the day advances, and there is danger without | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586912 | honour in walking on the fells after dark." "The more need for haste," said Glumm, opening the door and going out. Alric followed, and for some time these two walked in silence, as the path was very steep, and so narrow for a considerable distance, that they could not walk abreast. Snow lay pretty thickly on the mounta... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586913 | sheltered places, but in exposed parts it had been blown off, and the hunters could advance easily. In about ten minutes after setting out they lost sight of Glummstede. As they advanced higher and deeper into the mountains, the fiord and the sea, with its innumerable skerries, was lost to view, but it was not until th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586914 | and onwards for nearly two hours that they reached those dark recesses of the fells to which the bears and wolves were wont to retreat after committing depredations on the farms in the valleys far below. There was something in the rugged grandeur of the scenery here, in the whiteness of the snow, the blackness of the r... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586915 | out from its voluminous wreaths, the lightness of the atmosphere, and, above all, the impressive silence, which possessed an indescribable charm for the romantic mind of Alric, and which induced even the stern matter-of-fact Glumm to tread with slower steps, and to look around him with a feeling almost akin to awe. No ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586916 | among the stupendous crags which still towered above, or in the depths which they had left below; but there were several footprints of wolves, all of which Glumm declared, after careful examination, to be old. "See here, lad," he said, turning up one of these footprints with the butt of his spear; "observe the hardish ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586917 | the print; that shows that the track is somewhat old. If it had been quite fresh there would have been no such ball." "Thou must think my memory of the shortest, Glumm, for I have been told that every time I have been out with thee." "True, but thou art so stupid," said Glumm, laying his spear lightly across the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586918 | boy's shoulders, "that I have thought fit to impress it on thee by repetition, having an interest in thine education, although thou dost not deserve it." "I deserve it, mayhap, more than ye think." "How so, boy?" "_Why_, because I have for a long time past taken an uncommon interest in thy welfare." Glumm laughed, and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586919 | know that there was any occasion to concern himself about his welfare. "Oh yes, there is!" cried Alric, "for, when a man goes moping about the country as if he were fey, or as if he had dreamed of seeing his own guardian spirit, his friends cannot help being concerned about him." "Why, what is running in the lad's head... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586920 | said Glumm, looking with a perplexed expression at his young companion. "Nothing runs in my head, save ordinary thoughts. If there be any unusual running at all, it must be in thine own." "Speak, thou little fox," said Glumm, suddenly grasping Alric by the nape of the neck and giving him a shake. "Nay then, if that is ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586921 | said the boy, "give it a fair trial. Shake away, and see what comes of it. Thou mayest shake out blood, bones, flesh, and life too, and carry home my skin as a trophy, but be assured that thou shalt not shake a word off my tongue!" "Boldly spoken," said Glumm, laughing, as he released the lad; "but I think | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586922 | thy tone would change if I were to take thee at thy word." "That it would not. Thou art not the first man whom I have defied, aye, and drawn blood from, as that red-haired Dane--" Alric stopped suddenly. He had reached that age when the tendency to boast begins, at least in manly boys, to be checked by increasing | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586923 | good sense and good taste. Yet it is no disparagement of Alric's character to say that he found it uncommonly difficult to refrain, when occasion served, from making reference to his first warlike exploit, even although frequent rebukes and increasing wisdom told him that boasting was only fit for the lips of cowards. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586924 | quite understood the boy's feelings, and admired his exercise of self-control. "Be--because I have said enough." "Good is it," observed the other, "when man or boy knows that he has said enough, and has the power to stop when he knows it. But come, Alric, thou hast not said enough to me yet on the matter that--that--" ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586925 | Alric, with a sly look. "Why, the matter of my welfare, to be sure." "Ah, true. Well, methinks, Glumm, that I could give thee a little medicine for thy mind, but I won't, unless ye promise to keep thy spear off my back." "I promise," said Glumm, whose curiosity was aroused. "It is a sad thing when a man looks | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586926 | sweet and a maid looks sour, but there is a worse thing; that is when the maid _feels_ sour. Thou lovest Ada--" "Hold!" cried Glumm, turning fiercely on his companion, "and let not thy pert tongue dare to speak of such things, else will I show thee that there are other things besides spears to lay across thy shoulders.... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586927 | art thou truly Glumm the Gruff," cried Alric, laughing, as he leaped to the other side of a mass of fallen rock; "but if thy humour changes not, I will show thee that I am not named Lightfoot for nothing. Come, don't fume and fret there like a bear with a headache, but let me speak, and I warrant me | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586928 | thou wilt be reasonably glad." "Go on, then, thou incorrigible." "Very well; but none of thy hard names, friend Glumm, else will I set my big brother Erling at thee. There now, don't give way again. What a storm-cloud thou art! Will the knowledge that Ada loves thee as truly as thou lovest her calm thee down?" "I see t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586929 | hast discovered my secret," said Glumm, looking at his little friend with a somewhat confused expression, "though how the knowledge came to thee is past my understanding. Yet as thou art so clever a warlock I would fain know what ye mean about `Ada's love for me.' Hadst thou said her hatred, I could have believed thee ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586930 | us go on, then," said Alric, "for there is nothing to be gained and only time to be lost by thus talking across a stone." The path which they followed was broad at that part, and not quite so rugged, so that Alric could walk alongside of his stout friend as he related to him the incident that was the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586931 | means of enlightening him as to Ada's feelings towards her lover. It was plain from the expression on the Norseman's face that his soul was rejoiced at the discovery, and he strode forward at such a pace that the boy was fain to call a halt. "Thinkest thou that my legs are as long as thine?" he said, stopping and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586932 | panting. Glumm laughed; and the laugh was loud and strong. He would have laughed at anything just then, for the humour was upon him, and he felt it difficult to repress a shout at the end of it! "Come on, Alric, I will go slower. But art thou sure of all this? Hast not mistaken the words?" "Mistaken the words!" | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586933 | cried the boy; "why, I tell thee they were as plain to my ears and my senses as what thou hast said this moment." "Good," said Glumm; "and now the question comes up, how must I behave to her? But thou canst not aid me herein, for in such matters thou hast had no experience." "Out upon thee for a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586934 | stupid monster!" said the boy; "have I not just proved that my experience is very deep? I have not, indeed, got the length thou hast--of wandering about like a poor ghost or a half-witted fellow, but I have seen enough of such matters to know what common sense says." "And, pray, what does common sense say?" "Why, it sa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586935 | towards the maid like a sane man, and, above all, a true man. Don't go about the land gnashing thy teeth until everyone laughs at thee. Don't go staring at her in grim silence as if she were a wraith; and, more particularly, don't pretend to be fond of other girls, for thou didst make a pitiful mess of that | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586936 | attempt. In short, be Glumm without being Gruff, and don't try to be anybody else. Be kind and straightforward to her, worship her, or, as Kettle Flatnose said the other day, `kiss the ground she walks on,' if thou art so inclined, but don't worry her life out. Show that thou art fond of her, and willing to bide _her_ | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586937 | time. Go on viking cruise, for the proverb says that an `absent body makes a longing spirit,' and bring her back shiploads of kirtles and mantles and armlets, and gold and silver ornaments--that's what common sense says, Glumm, and a great deal more besides, but I fear much that it is all wasted on thee." "Heyday!" exc... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586938 | do I hear? Assuredly we must call thee Alric hinn Frode hereafter. One would think thou must have been born before thine own grandfather." "Truly that is not so difficult to fancy," retorted Alric. "Even now I feel like a great-grandfather while I listen to thee. There wants but a smooth round face and a lisping tongue... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586939 | appearance suitable to thy wisdom! But what is this that we have here?" The boy pointed to a track of some animal in the snow a few yards to one side of the path. "A wolf track," said Glumm, turning aside. "A notably huge one," remarked the boy. "And quite fresh," said the man. "Which is proved," rejoined Alric in | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586940 | a slow, solemn voice, "by the fact that there is no ball of snow beneath the--" "Hold thy pert tongue," said Glumm in a hoarse whisper, "the brute must be close to us. Do thou keep in the lower end of this gorge--see, yonder, where it is narrow. I will go round to the upper end; perchance the wolf is | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586941 | there. If so, we stand a good chance of killing him, for the sides of the chasm are like two walls all the way up. But," added Glumm, hesitating a moment, and looking fixedly at the small but sturdy frame of his companion, whose heightened colour and flashing eyes betokened a roused spirit, "I doubt thy--that is--I hav... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586942 | of the spirit, if the body were a little bigger." "Take thine own big body off, Glumm," said Alric, "and leave me to guard the pass." Glumm grinned as he turned and strode away. The spot which the hunters had reached merits particular notice. It was one of those wild deep rents or fissures which are usually found near ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586943 | summits of almost inaccessible mountains. It was not, however, at the top of the highest range in that neighbourhood, being merely on the summit of a ridge which was indeed very high--perhaps five or six thousand feet--but still far below the serried and shattered peaks which towered in all directions round Horlingdal,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586944 | rest of the world, except through the fiord and the pass leading over to the Springs. On the place where Alric parted from his friend the rocks of the gorge or defile rose almost perpendicularly on both sides, and as he advanced he found that the space between became narrower, until, at the spot where he was to take hi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586945 | stand, there was an opening of scarcely six feet in width. Beyond this the chasm widened a little, until, at its higher end, it was nearly twenty yards broad; but, owing to the widening nature of the defile, the one opening could not be seen from the other, although they were little more than four hundred yards apart. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586946 | of the wolf led directly through the pass into the gorge. As the lad took his stand he observed with much satisfaction that it was that of an unusually large animal. This feeling was tempered, however, with some anxiety lest it should have escaped at the other opening. It was also mixed with a touch of agitation; for a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586947 | had seen his friend and Erling kill wolves and bears too, he had never before been left to face the foe by himself, and to sustain the brunt of the charge in his own proper person. Beyond an occasional flutter of the heart, however, there was nothing to indicate, even to himself, that he was not as firm as the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586948 | rock on which he stood. Now, let it not be supposed that we are here portraying a hero of romance in whom is united the enthusiasm of the boy with the calm courage of the man. We crave attention, more particularly that of boys, to the following observations:-- In the highly safe and civilised times in which we live, ma... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586949 | thousands of us never have a chance, from personal experience, of forming a just estimate of the powers of an average man or boy, and we are too apt to ascribe that to heroism which is simply due to knowledge. A man _knows_ that he can do a certain thing that seems extremely dangerous, therefore he does it boldly, not | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586950 | because he is superlatively bold by any means, but because he knows there is no risk--at least none to him. The proverb that "Familiarity breeds contempt" applies as truly to danger as to anything else; and well is it for the world that the majority of human beings are prone to familiarise themselves with danger in spi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586951 | but weak ones who have been born with a tendency to say perpetually, "Take care," "Don't run such risk", etcetera. "Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;" and man has echoed the sentiment in the proverb, "Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well". Do you climb?--then do it well--do it in such circum... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586952 | spirit will get used to seeing profound depths below you without your heart melting into hot water and your nerves quaking. Do you leap?--then do it well--do it so that you may be able to turn it to some good account in the day of trial; do it so that you may know _how_ to leap off a runaway carriage, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586953 | for instance, without being killed. Learn to jump off high cliffs into deep water, so that, should the opportunity ever offer, you may be able to plunge off the high bulwarks of a vessel to save a sister, or mother, or child, with as little thought about yourself as if you were jumping off a sofa. Observe, we do not | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586954 | advocate recklessness. To leap off a cliff so high that you will be sure to be killed is not leaping "well"; but neither is it well to content yourself with a jump of three or four feet as your utmost attainment, because that is far short of many a leap which may have to be taken in this world to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586955 | save even your own life, not to mention the lives of others. But enough of this disquisition, which, the reader will observe, has been entered upon chiefly in order to prove that we do not ascribe heroic courage to Alric when we say that, having been familiar with danger from his birth, he prepared to face a wolf of un... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586956 | size and ferocity with considerable coolness, if not indifference to danger. Glumm meanwhile reached the other end of the ravine, and there, to his intense disappointment, found the track of the wolf leading away towards the open mountains beyond. Just where it left the ravine, however, the animal had run about so much... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586957 | in confusion. Glumm therefore had difficulty at first in following it up, but when he did so, great was his joy to find that it doubled back and re-entered the defile. Pressing quickly forward, he came to a broken part, near the centre, where, among a heap of grey, weather-worn rocks he perceived two sharp-pointed obje... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586958 | erect ears! To make certain, he hurled a stone towards the place. The objects instantly disappeared! Immediately afterwards, a long grey back and a bushy tail were visible as the wolf glided among the rocks, making for the side of the precipice, with the intention, doubtless, of rushing past this bold intruder. Glumm o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586959 | the same direction. The wolf noticed this, and paused abruptly--remaining still, as if uncertain what to do. The hunter at once put to flight his uncertainty by gliding swiftly towards him. Seeing this, the wolf abandoned the attempt at concealment and bounded into the centre of the ravine, where, with his bristles ere... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586960 | glittering teeth and blood-red gums exposed, he stood for a moment or two the very picture of intensified fury. The hunter advanced with his spear levelled, steadily, but not hastily, because there was sufficient space on either hand to render the meeting of the animal in its rush a matter of extreme difficulty, while ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586961 | precipices on either side drew closer together. The brute had evidently a strong objection to turn back, and preferred to run the risk of passing its foe, for it suddenly sprang to one side and ran up the cliff as far as possible, like a cat, while it made for the upper end of the ravine. The Norseman, whose powerful | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586962 | frame was by this time strung to intensity of action, leaped to the same side with the agility of a panther, and got in before it. The wolf did not stop, but with a ferocious growl it swerved aside, and bounded to the other side of the ravine. Again the hunter leaped across, and stood in its way. He bent | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586963 | forward to resist the animal's weight and impetus, but the baffled wolf was cowed by his resolute front. It turned tail, and fled, followed by Glumm with a wild halloo! When the first growl was heard by Alric, it strung him up to the right pitch instantly, and the next one caused the blood to rush to his face, for | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586964 | he heard the halloo which Glumm uttered as he followed in pursuit. The distance was short. Another moment and the boy saw the infuriated animal springing towards him, with Glumm rushing madly after it. Alric was already in the centre of the pass with the spear levelled, and his body bent in anticipation of the shock. T... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586965 | but did not check its pace--with a furious Norseman bounding behind there was no room for hesitation. It lowered its head, increased its speed, and ran at the opening like a thunderbolt. When within three yards of the boy it swerved, and, leaping up, pawed the cliff on the left while in the air. Alric had foreseen this... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586966 | had been as to which side the brute would incline to. He sprang at the same moment, and met it full in the face as it came down. The point of his spear entered the wolf's chest, and penetrated deep into its body. A terrific yell followed. The spear handle broke in the middle, and the boy fell on his | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586967 | face, while the wolf went right over him, yelling and biting the spear, as, carried on by its impetus, it rolled head over heels for several yards among the rocks. Alric jumped up unhurt, and, for want of a better weapon, seized a mass of stone, which he raised above his head, and hurled at the wolf, hitting it fairly | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586968 | on the skull. At the same moment Glumm ran up, intending to transfix the brute with his spear. "Hold thy hand, Glumm," gasped the boy. Glumm checked himself. "In truth it needs no more," he said, bringing the butt of his weapon to the ground, and leaning on it, while he looked on at the last struggles of the dying | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586969 | wolf. "Fairly done, lad," he added, with a nod of approval, "this will make a man of thee." The boy did not speak, but stood with his chest still heaving, his breath coming fast, and the expression of triumph on his countenance showing that for him a new era had opened up--that the days of boasting had ended, and those | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586970 | of manly action had fairly and auspiciously begun. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. SHOWS WHAT SOME OF THE MEN OF OLD COULD DO IN COLD BLOOD, AND TREATS OF HEATHEN FESTIVITIES AT HARALD'S COURT, MINGLED WITH PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT. Winter--with its frost and snow, its long nights and its short days, its feasts in the great halls, and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586971 | roaring wood fires-- at length began to pass away, and genial spring advanced to gladden the land of Norway. The white drapery melted in the valleys, leaving brilliant greens and all the varied hues of rugged rocks to fill the eyes with harmonious colour. High on the mighty fells the great glaciers--unchanging, almost,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586972 | against the azure sky, and sent floods of water down into the brimming rivers. The scalds ceased, to some extent, those wild legendary songs and tales with which they had beguiled the winter nights, and joined the Norsemen in their operations on the farms and on the fiords. Men began to grow weary of smoked rafters and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586973 | to long for the free, fresh air of heaven. Some went off to drive the cattle to the "saeters" or mountain pastures, others set out for the fisheries, and not a few sailed forth on viking cruises over the then almost unknown sea. Our friends of Horlingdal bestirred themselves, like others, in these varied avocations, an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586974 | from his winter lair in Drontheim like a giant refreshed, assembled his men, and prepared to carry out his political plans with a strong hand. But resolute men cannot always drive events before them as fast as they would wish. Summer was well advanced before the King was ready to take action. There was a man of the Dro... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586975 | named Hauskuld, who was noted for ferocity and wickedness. He was also very strong and courageous, so that King Harald made him one of his berserks. One morning the King sent for this man, and said to him-- "Hauskuld, I have a business for thee to do, which requires the heart of a brave fellow. There is a man near | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586976 | Horlingdal who has not only refused to submit to my will, but has gathered a band of seventy men or more about him, and threatens to raise the country against me. It does not suit me to go forth to punish this dog just now, for my preparations are not yet complete. Nevertheless it is important that he should be | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586977 | crushed, as he dwells in the heart of a disaffected district. It is therefore my purpose to send thee with a small body of picked men to do thy worst by him." "That suits me well," said Hauskuld; "what is his name?" "Atli," answered the King. "He is my foster-brother!" said Hauskuld, with a peculiar and unpleasant smil... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586978 | looked a little perplexed. "Thou wilt not have much heart to the business if that be so," he said. "When you command, sire, it is my duty to obey," replied Hauskuld. "Nay, but I can find other stout men for this thing. There is Hake of Hadeland. Go, send him hither. I will not put this on thy shoulders." "Sire, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586979 | you are considerate," said Hauskuld, "but this foster-brother of mine I count an enemy, for reasons that I need not tell. Besides, he is said to be a warlock, and for my part I firmly believe that he is in league with Nikke, so that it would be a service to the gods to rid the world of him. If | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586980 | you will permit me, I will gladly go on this errand, and as this Atli is a stout man, it would be well to take Hake and a few of the berserkers along with me." "Do as thou wilt," replied the King, with a wave of his hand, as he turned away; "only, what thou doest, see thou do it | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586981 | well and quickly." The berserk shouldered his battle-axe and left the hall. As he walked away the King stood in the doorway looking after him with a mingled expression of admiration and dislike. "A stalwart knave," he muttered to himself, while a grim smile played on his large handsome features; "a good fighting brute,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586982 | spirit, a bad servant, I fear." "There are many such in your army," said a deep, stern voice behind him. The King turned quickly round, with a look of anger, and fixed a searching glance on the huge form of Rolf Ganger, who stood leaning on the hilt of his sword with a quiet, almost contemptuous smile on his face. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586983 | "It is well known that birds of a feather are fond of flying in company," said the King, with a flushed countenance; "no doubt thou speakest from personal knowledge and experience." It was now Rolf's turn to flush, but the King did him injustice, having no ground for such a speech, further than a knowledge that there e... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586984 | mutual antipathy which neither was particularly careful to conceal. "Have I done aught to merit such words?" demanded Rolf sternly. Harald was on the point of making an angry rejoinder, but, placing a powerful restraint upon himself, he said-- "It may be that thine actions are loyal, but, Rolf, thy words are neither wi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586985 | to attempt to shake my confidence in my followers, and it is not true that many of them are untrustworthy. But, if thou wouldst prove thyself a real friend, go, get thy longships ready with all speed, for we fare south a few days hence, and there will be work for the weapons of stout men ere long." "I go | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586986 | to prepare myself for the fight, King Harald," returned Rolf, "but I have no occasion to give thee further proof of friendship. The world is wide enough for us both. My ocean steeds are on the fiord. Henceforth I will fight for my own hand." For one moment the King felt an almost irresistible impulse to draw his sword ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586987 | hew down the bold Rolf, but with characteristic self-restraint he crushed down his wrath at the time and made no reply, good or bad, as the other turned on his heel and left him. When he had gone some distance the King muttered between his set teeth-- "Another good fighting brute and bad servant! Let him go! Better an ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586988 | foe than an unwilling friend." That night Hauskuld and Hake set sail southward with a small body of picked men; and Rolf Ganger, with a large body of devoted followers, left Harald's camp and travelled eastward. In the course of several days Hauskuld and his men arrived at the small fiord near the head of which stood t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586989 | Atli. This Atli was an unusually intelligent man, a man of great influence in his district, and one who, like Erling the Bold, was determined to resist the tyranny of Harald Fairhair. A large force had been gathered by him towards the end of winter, and at the time of Hauskuld's visit he was living in his own house wit... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586990 | about seventy chosen men. Unfortunately for these, the peaceful winter had induced them to relax a little in vigilance. Knowing from the report of spies that the King was still feasting in the Drontheim district, they felt quite safe, and for some time past had neglected to set the usual night watch, which, in time of ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586991 | Thus it happened that when Hauskuld and his men came upon them in the dead of a dark night, they found everything quiet, and went up to the door of the house unchallenged. On trying the latch they found it fast, but from the sounds within they knew that a great many men were sleeping there. Hauskuld and Hake had | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586992 | approached the house alone. They now returned to their companions, who were concealed in the deep shades of the neighbouring woods. "What dost thou advise?" asked Hake of his brother berserk. "That we burn them all in their nest," replied Hauskuld. "What! foster-brother too?" said the other. "Aye, wherefore not? He is ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586993 | with him. Burning is their due." "There is wood enough here for that purpose," said Hake, with a grim smile. Hauskuld immediately directed the greater part of his force to gather dry wood, and silently pile it all round the house, while he and Hake with a few men stood in front of the doors and windows to guard them. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586994 | The work was accomplished in a much shorter time than might have been expected, for those who performed it were strong and active, and well accustomed to such deeds. In less than an hour the whole of Atli's house was surrounded by a thick pile of dry inflammable brushwood. When it was all laid the men completely surrou... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586995 | and stood with arrows fitted to the strings, and swords loosened in the sheaths. Then Hauskuld and several others applied lights to the brushwood at various points. For a few seconds there was an ominous crackling, accompanied by little flashes of flame, then a dense smoke rose up all round. Presently the rushing fire ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586996 | a mighty roar, and lit up the steading with the strength of the sun at noonday, while flame and smoke curled in curious conflict together over the devoted dwelling, and myriads of sparks were vomited up into the dark sky. At the same instant doors and windows were burst open with a crash, and a terrible cry arose as me... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586997 | half clad and partly armed, leaped out and rushed through the circle of fire, with the flame kindling on their hair and garments. Not less relentless than the fire was the circling foe outside. Whizzing arrows pierced the scorched breasts of some, and many fell dead. Others rushed madly on sword or spear point, and wer... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586998 | the fire, or fell fighting desperately for their lives. Some of the attacking party were killed, and a few wounded, but not one of the assailed succeeded in bursting through the line. Atli and all his followers perished there! It is dreadful to think that such diabolical deeds were ever done; but still more dreadful is... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012586999 | the spirit which dictated such atrocities still haunts the breast of fallen men, for the annals of modern warfare tell us all too plainly that unregenerate man is as capable of such deeds now as were the Norsemen in days of old. Having fulfilled his mission, Hauskuld left the place as quickly as possible, and hastened ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.