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twg_000012587400 | the right wing, and hasted hither to tell ye." This report had the effect of shaking Herfrida's confidence to the extent of inducing her to give up her preparations for the feast, and assist the others in making arrangements for a hasty flight with such household valuables as could be easily carried about the person. S... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587401 | begun this work, a young man, who was a cripple, and therefore a non-combatant, hobbled into the hall, and announced the fact that Haldor's fleet was routed everywhere, and fleeing. He had seen it from the cliff behind the stede, and indeed it could partly be seen from the hall window. "Now," cried Finn the One-eyed bi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587402 | and I must carry out Erling's last instructions. He told me, if the fight went against us, and the King's men gained the day, I was to lead ye down by the forest path to the cave behind Ulfstede, where there is a ship big enough to carry the whole household. If alive, he and his friends are to meet | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587403 | us there. Come, we must make haste; some of the ships are already on the beach, and if they be the King's men we shall soon see them here." Everyone was now so thoroughly convinced of their desperate case that without reply each went to complete arrangements as fast as possible. "Wilt thou go with us?" said Finn to the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587404 | hermit, when all were assembled in front of the house at the edge of the forest. "I will, since God seems to order it so," said the hermit; "but first I go to my hut for the rolls of the Book. As ye have to pass the bottom of the cliff on which my dwelling is perched, I will easily | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587405 | overtake you." "Let us go with him," said Hilda to Ada. "There is a roll in the hut which Erling and I have been trying to copy; Christian may not be able to find it, as I hid it carefully away--and," she continued, blushing slightly, "I should not like to lose it." "You had better go with _us_," said Finn | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587406 | gravely. "We will do what seems best to ourselves," replied Ada; "go on, Christian, we follow." The hermit advised the girls to go with Finn, but as they were self-willed he was fain to conduct them up the steep and narrow path that led to his hut upon the cliff, while Finn put himself at the head of a sad | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587407 | band of women, children, and aged retainers, who could advance but slowly along the rugged and intricate path which he thought it necessary to take through the forest. Not twenty minutes after they had left Haldorstede the first band of King Harald's men came rushing up the banks of the river, enraged at having found U... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587408 | plunder. They ran tumultuously into the house, sword in hand, and a yell of disappointment followed when they discovered that the inmates had fled. There is no doubt that they would have rushed out again and searched the woods, had not the feast which Herfrida had been preparing proved too attractive. The cold salmon a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587409 | irresistible to the tired and thirsty warriors, who forthwith put the goblets to their bearded lips and quaffed the generous fluid so deeply that in a short time many of them were reeling, and one, who seemed to be more full of mischief than his fellows, set the house on fire by way of a joke. It was the smoke | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587410 | which arose after the perpetration of this wanton act that had attracted the attention of Haldor and his friends, when they were making for the shore after the battle. Of course the hermit and the two girls heard the shouts of the marauders, and knew that it was now too late to escape along with the baud under Finn, fo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587411 | the only practicable path by which they could join them passed in full view of Haldorstede, and it was so hemmed in by a precipice that there was no other way of getting into the wood--at least without the certainty of being seen. Their retreat up the river was also cut off, for the hermit, in selecting the spot for | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587412 | his dwelling, had chosen a path which ascended along the rugged face of a precipice, so that, with a precipice above and another below, it was not possible to get to the bank of the river without returning on their track. There was no alternative, therefore, but to ascend to the hut, and there wait patiently until the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587413 | night should favour their escape. Finn pushed on as fast as was possible with a band in which there were so many almost helpless ones. He carried one of the youngest children in his arms, and Ivor the Old brought up the rear with a very old woman leaning on his arm. They were a long time in descending the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587414 | valley, for the route Finn had chosen was circuitous, and the first part of it was extremely trying to the cripples, running as it did over a somewhat high spur of the mountain which extended down from the main ridge to the river. Gradually, however, they drew near to the coast, and Finn was in the act of encouraging t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587415 | with the assurance that they had now only a short way to go, when the hearts of all sank within them at the sight of a band of armed men who suddenly made their appearance in their path. The wail of despair which burst from some of them at sight of these, was, however, changed into an exclamation of joy | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587416 | when four of the band ran hastily towards them, and were recognised to be Haldor, Erling, Ulf, and Glumm! "Now thanks be to the gods," said Haldor, stooping to print a kiss on his wife's lips. "But--but--where are Hilda and Ada?" Erling and Glumm, glancing quickly round the group with looks of intense disappointment an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587417 | question to Finn, who explained the cause of their absence. "Now this is the worst luck of all," cried Glumm, grinding his teeth together in passion, and looking at Finn with a dark scowl. Erling did not speak for a few minutes, but his heaving chest and dilated nostrils told of the storm that raged within him. "Art th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587418 | they went to the hermit's hut?" asked Ulf in a stern voice. "Quite sure," replied Finn. "I cautioned them not to go, but--" "Enough," cried Erling. "Father, wilt thou go back to the cave with the women, and a few of the men to guard them?" "I will, my son, and then will I rejoin thee." "That do, an it | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587419 | please thee. It matters little. Death must come sooner or later to all.--Come, men, we will now teach this tyrant that though he may conquer our bodies he cannot subdue our spirits. Up! and if we fail to rescue the girls, everlasting disgrace be to him who leaves this vale alive!" Haldor had already selected a small de... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587420 | and turned back with the women and others, while Erling and his men went on as fast as they could run. A short time sufficed to bring them to the edge of the wood near Haldorstede. The old place was now a smoking ruin, with swarms of men around it, most of whom were busily engaged in trying to put | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587421 | out the fire, and save as much as possible from its fury. The man who had kindled it had already paid dearly for his jest with his life. His body was seen swinging to the limb of a neighbouring tree. Harald Fairhair himself, having just arrived, was directing operations. There were by that time one or two thousand of t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587422 | King's men on the ground, while others were arriving every moment in troops--all bloodstained, and covered with marks of the recent conflict--and Erling saw at once he had no chance whatever of accomplishing his aim by an open attack with only fifty men. He therefore led his force silently by a path that he well knew t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587423 | over the edge of which they could see all that went on below, while they were themselves well concealed. Here the three leaders held a consultation. "What dost thou advise, Ulf?" asked Erling. "_My_ advice," interposed Glumm fiercely, "is that we should make a sudden assault without delay, kill the King, and then sell ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587424 | Ulf, with something like a sneer, "leave the girls without protectors, and without a chance of deliverance. No," he continued, turning to our hero, "my advice is to wait here as patiently as we can until we ascertain where the girls are. Few, perhaps none, of our men are known to Harald's men; one of them we can send d... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587425 | to mingle with the enemy as a spy. Whatever we do must be done cautiously, for the sake of the girls." "That is good advice," said a voice behind them, which was that of the hermit, who had crept towards them on his hands and knees. "Why, Christian, whence comest thou?" said Ulf. "From my own hut," replied the hermit, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587426 | raising himself, "where I have just left Hilda and Ada safe and well. We had deemed ourselves prisoners there till night should set us free; but necessity sharpens the wit even of an old man, and I have discovered a path through the woods, which, although difficult, may be traversed without much chance of our being see... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587427 | I have just passed along it in safety, and was on the point of returning to the hut when I came upon you here." "Lead us to them at once," cried Glumm, starting up. "Nay," said the hermit, laying his hand on the youth's arm, "restrain thine ardour. It would be easier to bring the girls hither, than to lead | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587428 | a band of armed men by that path without their being discovered. If ye will take the advice of one who was a warrior in his youth, there is some hope that, God permitting, we may all escape. Ye know the Crow Cliff? Well, the small boat is lying there. It is well known that men dare not swim down | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587429 | the rapid, unless they are acquainted with the run of the water and the formation of the rock. Thy men know it well, the King's men know it not. With a boat the maidens may descend in safety. The men can leap into the river and escape before the enemy could come at them by the hill road." "Excellently planned," | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587430 | exclaimed Erling in an eager tone; "but, hermit, how dost thou propose to fetch the maidens hither?" "By going and conducting them. There is much risk, no doubt, but their case is desperate, for their retreat is certain to be discovered." "Away then," said Ulf, "minutes are precious. We will await thee here, and, at th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587431 | be captured, we can but die in attempting their rescue." Without uttering another word the hermit rose, re-entered the underwood, sank down on his hands and knees, and disappeared with a cat-like quietness that had been worthy of one of the red warriors of America. CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. IN WHICH IS DESCRIBED A DESPERATE... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587432 | FOR FREEDOM, AND A TRIUMPHANT ESCAPE. The Crow Cliff, to which Christian had referred, was a high precipitous rock that jutted out into the river just below Haldorstede. It was the termination of the high ridge on the face of which Erling had posted his men, and could be easily reached from the spot where they lay conc... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587433 | as from the stede itself, but there was no possibility of passing down the river in that direction by land, owing to the precipitous nature of the ground. The ordinary path down the valley, which elsewhere followed the curvatures of the river, made at this point a wide detour into the woods, went in a zigzag form up th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587434 | ascent of the ridge, descended similarly on the other side, and did not rejoin the river for nearly half a mile below. The waters were so pent up by the Crow Cliff that they rushed along its base in a furious rapid, which, a hundred yards down, descended in a perpendicular fall of about fifteen feet in depth. The desce... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587435 | of this rapid by a boat was quite possible, for there was a little bay at the lower end of Crow Cliff, just above the foss, into which it could be steered by a dexterous rower; but this mode of descent was attended with the imminent risk of being swept over the fall and dashed to pieces, so that none | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587436 | except the daring young spirits of the glen ever attempted it, while all the rest were content to cross the ridge by the longer and more laborious, but safe, path which we have just described. To descend this rapid by swimming was one of the feats which the youths of the place delighted to venture, and often had Erling... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587437 | Glumm dared it together, while not a few of their companions had lost their lives in the attempt. A few words from Erling gave the men to understand what was expected of them. It was arranged that while he, Ulf, Glumm, and the hermit should put the girls into the little boat and guide them down the rapid, the men | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587438 | were to leap into the water and swim down. All were to land in the little bay, and then make for the cave on the coast in a body, and fight their way thither, if need be; but it was believed there would be no occasion for that, because before the plan was carried out most of the King's men | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587439 | would probably be assembled above the Crow Cliff at the stede. A few who could not swim were sent off at once by the track to warn Haldor. All these well-laid plans, however, were suddenly frustrated, for, while Erling was still consulting with Ulf and Glumm as to details, and peeping through the underwood, they beheld... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587440 | their hearts almost to stand still. From the elevated spot where they lay they could see the hermit advancing rapidly towards them in a crouching attitude, closely followed by the maidens, while at the same time there advanced from the stede a large band of men under a chief, who was evidently commissioned to execute s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587441 | Erling and his friends could clearly see these two parties unwittingly approaching each other, at right angles, each making for a point where the two paths crossed, and where they were certain to meet. They could see their friends quietly but swiftly gliding towards the very fate they sought to avoid, and experienced a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587442 | give a shout of warning, or to prevent the foe from capturing them; for, even if there had been time to rush upon them before the meeting, which there was not, Erling by so doing would have been obliged to place the whole of Harald's host between him and the boat at Crow Cliff. This consideration, however, would not ha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587443 | deterred him, but another idea had flashed upon his mind. What that was shall be seen presently. Before the two parties met, the ears of the hermit, albeit somewhat dulled by age, became aware of the tramp of armed men, and at once he drew the girls hastily aside into the bushes; but the bushes at that part happened to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587444 | be not very thick, and part of Ada's dress, which was a gay one with a good deal of scarlet about it, caught the attention of a sharp-eyed warrior. The man uttered a shout and sprang towards them; several others joined in the pursuit, a loud scream from one of the girls was heard, and next moment the fugitives were | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587445 | captured! "Up and at them!" cried Glumm, endeavouring to rise, but he found himself pinned to the earth by Erling's powerful arms. "Stay, Glumm, be quiet, I beseech thee," entreated Erling, as his comrade struggled violently but fruitlessly to escape from his powerful embrace.--"Do listen, Ulf; ye will spoil all by inc... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587446 | not devils, but Norsemen, and will not hurt the girls; they will take them before the King. Hear me, and they shall yet be rescued!" While the power of Erling's muscles restrained Glumm, the deep-toned impassioned earnestness of his voice held back Ulf, who had leaped up and drawn his sword; but it was with evident rel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587447 | and listened. "Now hear me," cried Erling; "I and Glumm will go down and mingle with Harald's men. Our faces are doubtless not known to any of them; besides, we are so bespattered with the blood and dust of battle that even friends might fail to recognise us. We will go boldly about among the men, and keep near to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587448 | the girls until a fitting opportunity offers, when we will seize them and bear them off. This will not be so difficult as ye may think." "Difficult!" cried Glumm, grinding his teeth; "I think nothing difficult except sitting still!" "Because," continued Erling, "the King's men will be taken by surprise, and we shall be... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587449 | they are aware that there is need to draw their blades. But (and on this everything will depend) thou must be ready, Ulf, with all the men, to rush, in the twinkling of an eye, to our aid, the moment my shout is heard, for, if this be not done, we cannot fail to be overpowered by numbers. If thou | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587450 | dost but keep them well in play while we make for the boat, and then follow and leap into the river, we shall all escape." "Come along, then," cried Glumm, in desperate impatience. "Does the plan like thee, Ulf?" asked Erling. "Not much," he replied, shaking his head, "but it is the only chance left, so get thee gone. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587451 | will not fail thee in the moment of need-- away! See, the girls are already being led before the King." Erling and Glumm instantly pulled their helmets well down on their brows, wrapped their mantles round them so as to conceal their figures as much as possible, then entered the wood and disappeared. Meanwhile, on the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587452 | of Haldor's ruined dwelling, King Harald Haarfager stood surrounded by his court men. He was still bespattered with the blood and dust of battle, and furiously angry at the escape of Haldor and the burning of the stede. His gilt helmet restrained the exuberance of his shaggy locks, and he stood on the top of a slight e... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587453 | from the base of which his men extended in a dense ring in front of him, eager to ascertain who it was that had been so unexpectedly captured. Erling and Glumm mingled with the crowd unnoticed, for so many of the men assembled there had been collected from various districts, that, to each, strange faces were the rule i... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587454 | the exception. When the girls were led into the ring there was a murmur of admiration, and many complimentary remarks were made about them. The old hermit was dragged in after them, and excited a little attention for a few moments. He had experienced rough handling from his captors. His grey hair was dishevelled and hi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587455 | he had offered no resistance, some of the men who seized him were so much out of humour in consequence of the burning of the stede and the escape of its inmates, that they were glad to vent their anger on anyone. "Good-looking girls, both of them," remarked the King to Jarl Rongvold, as they were being led forward.--"W... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587456 | ye?" he added, addressing them. Ada looked round on the circle of men with a frightened glance, and cast down her eyes, but did not reply, while Hilda raised her eyes timidly to the King's face, but lacked courage to speak. "Come," said the King sternly, "let us have no false modesty. Ye are before Norway's King, there... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587457 | to the point. Who art thou?" He addressed himself to Hilda, who replied-- "I am Hilda, daughter of Ulf of Romsdal." "And thou?" he added, turning to her companion. "My name is Ada. My father is Hakon of Drontheim." "Ha!" exclaimed the King, with a bitter smile. "Is it so? Thy father has met his desert, then, for he now | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587458 | lies at the bottom of the fiord." Ada turned deadly pale, but made no reply. "Know ye where Haldor the Fierce is, and his insolent son Erling?" asked the King. Hilda flushed at this, and answered with some spirit that she did not know, and that if she did she would not tell. "Of course not," said the King; "I | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587459 | might have guessed as much, and do but waste my time with ye.--Stand aside--bring forward yonder fellow." The hermit was immediately led forward. "Who art thou?" asked the King. "An old wanderer on the face of the earth," replied Christian. "That is easily seen," answered the King; "but not too old, it would seem, to d... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587460 | the chance falls in thy way." "Methinks, sire," whispered Jarl Rongvold, "that this fellow is one of those strange madmen who have taken up with that new religion, which I do not profess to understand." "Sayest thou so?" exclaimed Harald, "then will I test him.--Ho! fetch me a piece of horse flesh." A piece of horse fl... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587461 | delay, for some that had been sacrificed in the Drontheim temple had been packed up and carried off among other provisions when the expedition set forth. "Here, old man, eat thou a portion of that," said Harald, holding the flesh towards him. "I may not eat what has been sacrificed to idols," said the hermit. "Ho! ho! ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587462 | not a worshipper of Odin? Say, dog, what art thou?" "I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Saviour. To Him I live, and for Him I can die." "Can He save you from _me_?" demanded Harald. "He can," answered the hermit earnestly, "and will save you too, King Harald, from your sins, and all who | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587463 | now hear me, if they will but turn to Him." "Now will I test him," said the King. "Stand forth, Hake of Hadeland, and hew me the old man's head from his body." "Spare him! O spare him!" cried Hilda, throwing herself suddenly between Hake and his victim, who stood with the resigned air of a man who had made | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587464 | up his mind to die. "He has twice saved _my_ life, and has never done you evil in thought or deed." "Stand aside, my pretty maid. Nay, then, if thou wilt not, I must grant thy request; but it is upon one condition: that this Saviour shall either come himself or send a champion to deliver the old man.--Come," he | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587465 | added, turning fiercely to the hermit, "pray that thy God shall send thee a champion now, for if He does not, as I live thou shalt die." "I may not pray at thy bidding," said the hermit calmly; "besides, it needs not that I should, because I have already prayed--before dawn this morning--that He would grant me His bles... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587466 | the form that seemed best to Himself." "And hast thou got it?" "I have--in that I possess a quiet spirit, and do not fear to die, now that His time has come." "'Tis something this, I admit," returned the King; "yet methinks 'tis but a poor blessing, after all, with death as the end of it." "Death is not the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587467 | end of it," said the hermit, with a kindling eye, "for after death is everlasting joy and glory with the Lord. Besides, King Harald, which were better, think you: to die with a willing spirit and bright hope, or to live full of restless ambition, disappointment, and rage, even although victorious and King of Norway?" T... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587468 | with anger as he turned to the berserk and said, in a voice of suppressed passion--"Go forward, Hake, and slay him!" "Now--the time has come," whispered Erling to Glumm. "Get as near to Ada as thou canst; for the rest, may Christian's God be with us!" As he spoke he sprang into the circle, sword in hand, and stood sudd... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587469 | between the astonished Hake and the hermit. There was a loud murmur of amazement at this unexpected apparition, and not a few of the spectators were awestricken, supposing that this was actually a champion sent from the spirit world. "Harald," cried Erling, for the berserk had shrunk back dismayed, "I do now accept the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587470 | the old man." At the sound of his voice the King's face lighted up with intelligence. "Ha!" he exclaimed suddenly; "has the old man's God sent Erling the Bold?" "Truly I think he has," replied Erling; "at all events it was not for this purpose that I came hither to-day. But now that I have come, and of mine own | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587471 | free will put myself in thy power, I claim the right to do battle for my old friend with thy stoutest man--so set him forth, King Harald." "What sayest thou, Hake?" said the King, turning to his berserk with a smile; "art willing to join issue with the Bold one?--bold enough, truly, and insolent as well." Hake, who had... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587472 | his self-possession the instant he recognised Erling's voice, and who was by no means wanting in courage, suddenly uttered one of his terrible roars, and rushed upon Erling like a thunderbolt. Our hero was too well accustomed to the ways of his class to be caught off his guard. Although Hake rained blows upon him so fa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587473 | almost impossible for the spectators to follow the motions of his flashing sword, Erling received them all on his shield, or parried them with his short sword--which, as being more manageable in a _melee_, he had selected for his present enterprise. The instant, however, that the berserk's furious onset began to slacke... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587474 | the sword that the weapon was broken close off at the hilt. Disdaining to slay an unarmed foe, he leaped upon the berserk, and struck him a blow with the hilt of his sword, which drove the casque down upon his head and stretched him flat upon the sward. Without waiting an instant Erling flung down his shield and walked | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587475 | to the place where Hilda stood, took her by the hand, and whispered, "Courage! come with me and thou shalt be saved." At the same moment Glumm stepped to Ada's side, and took her right hand in his left. No sword was drawn, for Glumm had not drawn his, and no one present had the faintest idea of what the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587476 | young men intended to attempt. Indeed, they were all so amazed at the sudden termination of the fight, that the men of the inner part of the ring actually stood aside to let them pass, before the King had time to shout:-- "Seize them!" In other circumstances, at Harald's word a thousand swords would have been drawn, an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587477 | of Erling and his friends at once been sealed; but the natural ferocity of the tyrant's followers had been spellbound, and for the time paralysed by the calm bearing of old Christian and the prowess of his champion, whose opportune appearance had all the effect of a supernatural interposition, as it might well be deeme... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587478 | believed that our hero and Glumm did not fail to use the advantage thus offered. Leading those whom they had come to rescue, and closely followed by the hermit, they passed completely through the circle of men. But at the repetition, in a voice of thunder, of the royal mandate, some hundreds of the King's men surrounde... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587479 | their wondrous strength and skill, they were being gradually overpowered by numbers, when suddenly a tremendous shout was heard, and next moment Ulf with his fifty men in battle array rushed out of the forest. King Harald endeavoured hastily to draw up his men in something like order. Hearing the cry in rear, the men i... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587480 | Glumm fell aside, so that they quickly cut down those who still stood in their way, and ran towards their friends, who opened their ranks to let them pass--then reclosed, and fell upon the King's men with incredible fury. Although outnumbered by at least twenty to one, the disparity did not at first tell against them, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587481 | in the enemy's ranks, and the confined space of ground on which they fought. They were thus enabled to act with great vigour, and, being animated by the spirit of desperate men, they actually for some time kept driving back the King's forces. But the continual assault of fresh foes began to tell, and several of Ulf's m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587482 | fallen, when Erling's voice was heard ringing high above the din of battle. Instantly every man turned on his heel and fled towards the river madly pursued by the whole of the King's host. By this time Erling and Glumm had got the girls into the boat, and steered them safely down the rapid into the little bay, where th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587483 | waited for their companions as patiently as they could. Meanwhile Ulf's men reached the foot of the Crow Cliff and one by one sprang into the boiling rapid. Ulf was among the first there, but he stayed to see them all pass. Before the last could do so their enemies were upon them, but Ulf kept them at bay for | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587484 | a few moments; and when the last of his men took the water he retreated fighting, and leaped backwards into the flood. One or two of the King's men followed, but they failed to catch him, were carried down stream, and, being ignorant of the dangers of the place, were swept over the foss and killed. Most of the host, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587485 | however, turned suddenly, and set off at full speed to cross the ridge and pursue their enemies, by the path to which we have already referred. Before they had crossed it, Erling and his men were far on their way down the valley; and when the pursuers reached the coast there was no sign of the fugitives anywhere. On re... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587486 | the cave Erling found that his father had got everything in readiness to start; so, assembling the people together without delay, he divided them into two bands, one of which he sent into the Swan, the other into Glumm's vessel, the Crane. Haldor also went in the Swan, along with Ulf of Romsdal, Thorer the Thick, Kettl... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587487 | the hermit, besides Dames Herfrida and Astrid, and the widow Gunhild, Ingeborg, and all Haldor's younger children. With Glumm there were also several women besides Ada. Ivor the Old and Finn the One-eyed also went with him; but most of the old and crippled hangers-on of both families, as well as Glumm's mother, were ta... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587488 | as the accommodation there was better than on board the Crane. "Now, Glumm," said Erling, when all were on board, "we must say farewell to Norway. Keep close in my wake. If they give chase we will do our best to escape, but if that may not be, we will fight and fall together." The friends shook hands; then, each | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587489 | getting into his ship, the stern ropes were cast off, the oars were dipped, and they shot out upon the blue fiord, which the sinking sun had left in a solemn subdued light, although his beams still glowed brightly on the snow-clad mountain peaks. They had proceeded some distance down the fiord before their pursuers obs... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587490 | shout told that they were discovered; and the grinding of the heavy ships' keels was distinctly heard upon the shore, as they were pushed off into deep water. Immediately after, the splash of hundreds of oars warned them to make haste. "Pull, my lads,--pull with heart," cried Erling; "and let these slaves see how freem... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587491 | leap across the sea! Pull! I see a breeze just off the mouth of the fiord. If we reach that, we may laugh at the tyrant King." "What may yonder line on the water be?" said Haldor, with an anxious look, as he pointed towards the mouth of the fiord. Erling caught his breath, and the blood rushed to his | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587492 | temples as he gazed for a moment in silence. "'Tis a boom," cried Kettle, who had recovered by this time, and who now leaped towards the fore deck with terrible energy. "All is lost!" exclaimed Ulf, in a tone of bitterness which words cannot express. "Are ye sure it is a boom?" cried Erling quickly. Everyone looked wit... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587493 | at the black line that stretched completely across the mouth of the fiord, and each gave it as his opinion that it was a boom. There could not indeed be any doubt on the point. King Harald's berserk, although somewhat tardy, had fulfilled his orders but too well; and now a succession of huge logs, or tree trunks, joine... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587494 | by thick iron chains, completely barred their progress seaward. "Surely we can burst through," suggested Kettle, returning to the poop, his huge frame quivering with contending emotions. "Impossible," said Haldor; "I have tried it before, and failed. Of course we must make the attempt, but I have no hope except in this... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587495 | in that either, _now_." "But I have tried it before, and did not fail, and I'll try it again," cried Erling heartily. "Come aft, men, quick, all of ye; every man except the rowers. Women, children, and cripples, get ye into the waist. The stoutest men to the oars--jump!" These orders were obeyed at once. All the best m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587496 | the ship seized the oars, Erling himself, Kettle, and Haldor setting the example, while Thorer took the helm, and, hailing Glumm, bade him do as they did. The effect of this was that the stern of the Swan was so weighed down with the weight of people on the poop, that her bows and a third of her keel were | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587497 | raised high out of the water, while the men, straining with every fibre of their muscles at the oars, sent her careering forward with trebled speed, and the foam rolled in milky billows in her wake. "When I give the word `Forward,'" cried Erling, "leap like lightning, all of ye, to the fore deck." The pursuers, elated ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587498 | with the certainty of success, pulled also with unwonted energy. When the Swan came within about twenty yards of the boom, which floated almost on a level with the water, Thorer gave the word-- "One stroke for freedom!" "Ho! ho!" shouted Erling and Haldor, straining until their oars cracked again. The foam hissed from ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012587499 | as if she had been suddenly endued with true vitality. Next moment she stuck fast--with the boom amidships beneath her! "Forward!" shouted Erling. All the unengaged men sprang instantly to the forecastle, and their weight sank it slowly down, but it seemed inclined for a moment to remain balanced on the boom. Hereupon ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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