CHAPTER IV. THE SONG OF THE BOSHAM BELL.
There is a wondrous joy in the heart of a man who sees his own landagain after long days at sea, but none of that joy might be mine asthe long lines of the South Downs showed blue through the haze ofthe late September day. Only the promise of Lodbrok's son, that onEnglish shores I should not fight, helped me a little, else shouldI have been fain to end it all, axe to axe with Rorik on the narrowdeck just now, or in some other way less manful, that would neverhave come into my mind but for the sore grief that I was in. Andthese thoughts are not good to look back upon, and, moreover, Ishould have fully trusted my friend Halfden Lodbroksson.
Hardest of all was it to me when I knew where our landing was to bemade; for if Glastonbury is the most holy place in Wessex, soshould Bosham, the place of Wilfrith the Saint, be held inreverence by every South Saxon; because there, unmindful of hiswrongs {ix}, he was content to labour with the wild heathenfolk, teaching them, both in body and soul, the first lessons ofour holy faith.
Well knew I the stories of those places which I saw as the shipscrept up the haven, for Humbert our bishop had told me them many atime when as a child I sat on his knee and listened, wondering.There was Selsea with its pile of buildings--Wilfrith's own--therethe little cliff over which the starving heathen had castthemselves in their despair, and there, at last, the village,clustering round the little monastery that Dicul, the Irish monk,had founded, and where Wilfrith had first taught. And now, maybe, Imust see the roofs that had sheltered him, and heard the firstpraises of his converts, burnt before my eyes, and that while Imyself was siding with the destroyers.
Then at last I took Halfden aside and told him my trouble, puttinghim in mind of the promise he had made me.
"Aye," said he, "I knew what made you so silent, and I have butwaited for you to speak. Ill should I have thought of you had younot done so. But I have this plan for you. You shall go ashore withthe first, and speak to the Saxons to give us ransom, if they haveaught, or if any man is foolish enough to bide in the place when wecome. Then, if you will, you shall leave us and make your wayhomeward, there to give messages to my father and yours, and tolook for my coming to Reedham shortly. There will I winter withyou, and we will sail to Jutland in the spring."
Then he looked long at me, and put his arm round my shoulder.
"Truly I shall miss you, Wulfric, my brother, yet it is but for ashort time."
Now I knew not how to thank him, for this plan was all that I couldwish. And he would have no delay, but gave me good Saxon arms andhelm, and a chain-mail byrnie {x} of the best, such as Saxon orDane alike would wear, for he had many such, gathered from thedifferent lands he had raided with his father and brothers.
"Any man, seeing you in Danish arms and helm," he said, "might wellmistrust you. So you must needs take these, for you have far togo."
Then, too, he pressed on me a heavy leathern bag, for he said trulyenough that I should need gold withal to buy a horse. And this Itook willingly, saying that it should be as a loan till he came toReedham.
"Nay," quoth he, "this is your share of booty; we surely gainedenough on yonder shores to bring you this much."
Then I was silent, for I was ashamed of those gains, and I did notlook into the bag, but bestowed it inside my mail shirt, for Iwould not offend him. Then, when I was armed and ready, he gave memany messages for his father, and thanks to mine. A ring, too, hegave me for a sure token of his friendship to me; and so as theship crept, under oars only, up Bosham haven, we talked of thehunting we would have together, when the leaves were fallen in ourforests; and that was pleasant to look forward to.
Now began frightened men to run to and fro on the haven's banks,and then suddenly came the ringing of a bell from the low tower ofthe church, and the Danes began to look to their arms, stringingbows, and bringing up the pebble ballast for sling stones, in casethe landing should be resisted.
But when we came to a little wharf, the other ship being perhaps amile astern of us, there was no man. Only a small fishing vessellay alongside, and that we cast adrift, taking its place.
Then Halfden and I and twenty men went quickly ashore and marchedup among the trees of the village street. There was no man insight, but the bell was still ringing.
A great fear for the holy men shut up in the little monastery cameover me now, and I asked Halfden to let me warn them, for I knewthat he was like his father and would not deny me in this.
"Go and do so if you can," he said, "and so farewell till we meetat Reedham. We shall bide here till Rorik's men join us, and youwill have time."
So he took my hand and I went quickly thereafter, the men callingafter me "Farewell, axeman!" heartily enough, knowing of my goingto Reedham, and caring nothing for the monks, seeing that therewould be no fighting.
Now, guided by the bell, I went on quickly, seeing no man. Thehouses stood open and deserted, and all along the road werescattered goods, showing that the people had fled in haste, so thatthey had soon cast aside the heavier things they had thought tosave.
Soon I came to the gate of the little stone-walled monastery, overwhich rose the tower whence the bell yet rang; for the churchseemed to make one side of the courtyard into which the gate wouldlead. A farm cart stood outside; but the gates were closed, andwhen I looked, I saw that the pin of the wheel was broken, so thatthe cart could go no further. And that made me fear that more thanthe monks were penned inside those four walls.
I knocked loudly on the gate, and for a while was no answer, thoughI thought the ringing of the bell grew more hurried. Then I beat onthe gate with my axe, crying:
"Open, in the name of Eadmund the King."
And I used his name because, though a Dane might well call insubtlety on the name of Ethelred, none but a Saxon who knew howwell loved was the under-king of East Anglia would think of naminghim. And I was right, for at his name the little square wicket inthe midst of the gate opened, and through its bars an old monklooked out, and at once I cried to him:
"Let me in, Father, for the Danes are at my heels."
He muttered a prayer in a voice that trembled, and let me in,holding the gate fast, and closing and barring it after me.
And all the courtyard was full of terrified men, women, andchildren, while among them stood the half-dozen monks of the place,pale and silent, listening to the clang of the bell overhead.
When they saw me some of the women shrieked and clung to childrenor husbands, scared at my arms. But one of the monks, a tall man onwhose breast was a golden cross, came quickly to me, asking: "Isthe sheriff at hand with the levy?"
I told him hastily how that the only hope for these helpless oneswas in flight to the woods, urging him until he understood me.Gathering his monks around him, and rousing the people, he led themto the rearward gate that opened toward the forest land, calling atthe same time to his swineherd, who was there, and bidding him takethem by the forest tracks to Chichester.
Then he bade his monks go also; but they lingered, asking to beallowed to stay with him, and also what should become of the holyvessels if the heathen laid profane hands on them.
"Obey, as your vows bid you," said the prior; "I and this warriorwill care for the holy things."
So they went, weeping, and were lost in the woods; for there waslittle cleared land round the village, and the trees came close tothe monastery walls.
Now we two, the monk and I, stood at the open gate for a moment andlistened. We could hear nothing of the Danes as yet.
Then we closed and barred that gate; and all this while the bellhad tolled unceasingly, calling as it were for help that came not.
"Now do you go and call the sacristan from the bell," the priorsaid, "and bid him lead you to the chancel, where I shall be."
I went to the tower door, unhesitating, for this man seemed to havea wondrous power of command, so that I obeyed him without question,even as had the villagers. And even as I went there came the soundof many rushing feet up the street, and yells from Danish throats,w
hile axe blows began to rain on the gate by which I had entered.
Then the prior bade me hold the gate when he heard that, and hespoke quietly and in no terror, turning and calling to the man inthe tower himself; while I stood opposite the gate, looking to seeit fall with every blow. Yet it was not so weakly made as that, andmoreover I remembered that it was crossed with iron bands insquares so that the axes could not bite it fairly.
Now the bell stopped and the Danes howled the louder. A torch flewover the wall and fell at my feet blazing, and I hurled it back,and the Danes laughed at one whom it struck. Then came the twomonks from the tower and ran into the church, while I watched thetrembling of the sorely-tried gate, and had it fallen I shouldsurely have smitten the first Dane who entered, even had Halfdenhimself been foremost, for in the four walls of that holy place Iwas trapped, and knew that I must fight at last. And now it seemedto me that I was to fight for our faith and our land; and for thosesacred things, if I might do naught in dying, I would give my lifegladly.
"Come," said the prior's voice, and he was smiling though his facewas pale, while behind him the sacristan bore an oaken chest, ironbound, on his shoulders.
He drew me across the courtyard, but I ever looked back at thegate, thinking it would fall; and now they were at the other gate,and blows rained on it. Yet the monk smiled again and went onwithout faltering, though our way was towards it.
Then we turned under an arch into a second court, and the din wasless plain as we did so. There was the well of the monastery, andwithout a word the sacristan hove the heavy chest from hisshoulders into its black depths, and the splash and bubble of itsfalling came up to us.
"That is safe," said the prior; "now for ourselves."
He hooked the oaken bucket to its rope and let it down to its fulllength in the well, and at once the sacristan swung himself on it,slid down, and was gone. Then the rope swayed to one side, andstayed there, shaking gently in a minute or so.
The prior drew it up, and maybe fifteen feet from the top, therewas a bundle tied--a rope ladder on which were iron hooks. These hefastened to the edge of the oaken platform that covered the wellmouth, and let the other end fall down the well. Then he bade me godown to the sacristan.
That was easy to me, and I went, yet I feared for him who stoodlistening to the splintering of the nearer gate, for it would soonfall surely. I saw the sacristan's face glimmer white before mefrom a hollow in the well shaft, as I set my foot on the last rungof the ladder, and I held out my hand to him. Then in a moment Iwas beside him in a little chamber built in the walling of thewell; and after me came the prior.
He jerked the ladder from side to side till the hooks above losttheir hold and it fell, so that he drew it in. We were but a fewfeet above the water, and the well rope hung down into theblackness before us, but I was sure that no man could see thelittle doorway of the chamber from above, for the trapdoor in thewell cover was small, and light there was hardly any.
"Now all is safe," said the prior; "and we may be careless again."
"They will burn the monastery," I said. "One torch has been thrownalready."
He smiled a little, as I thought, for my eyes were growing used tothe dim light.
"They may burn some things, but roof and benches are soon madeafresh. There is oaken timber in plenty in Andredsweald, and readyhands to hew it. Our stone walls they cannot hurt."
Those were all the words we spoke of the matter at that time, forthere came a great shouting. One of the gates had fallen at last,and the Danes were in the place.
"Father," said the sacristan, "surely they will find this place?"
The prior laughed a short laugh.
"That is a thought born of your fears, Brother," he answered; and Iwho had had the same fear was rebuked also, for indeed that Ishould go down the well had never come into my mind, even in ourneed of shelter, so why should the Danes think of it?
Then we were silent, listening to the feet and voices overhead. TheDanes found the belfry presently, and began to toll the bellunskillfully while the men below jeered at those who handled theropes. Then the bell clashed twice strangely, and the prior laughedoutright.
"The clumsy churls have overthrown her," he said, "now I hope thatone has had his head broken thereby."
I marvelled that he could jest thus, though maybe, after the strainand terror of the danger we had so far escaped, it was but naturalthat his mind should so rebound as it were.
Very soon after this the Danes came clattering into the littlecourt where the well was, and straightway came to its mouth,casting stones down it, as no idle man can help doing. Thesacristan crept to the furthest corner of our little den and satthere trembling, while I and the other monk listened with set teethto the words that came down to us. Nor will I say that I was notsomewhat frightened also, for it seemed to me that the voices wereunknown to me. They were Rorik's men, therefore, and not ourcrew--who likely enough would but have jeered at me had they foundme hiding thus.
"Halfden's men have drunk all the ale in the place, and that wasnot much," said one man; "let us try the water, for the dust ofthese old storehouses is in my throat."
Then he began to draw up the bucket, and it splashed over us as itwent past our doorway.
"There is naught worth taking in this place," growled another man."Maybe they have hove their hoards down the well!"
Now at that the sacristan gave a stifled groan of terror, and Iclutched my axe, ready for need.
"All right, go down and see!" answered one or two, but more in jestthan earnest.
Then one dropped a great stone in, and waited to hear it bubblefrom the bottom, that he might judge the depth. Now no bubblescame, or so soon that they were lost in the splash, and the priortook some of the crumbling mortar from the cell walls, and cast itin after a few moments. And that was a brave and crafty thing todo, for it wrought well.
"Hear the bubble," said the Dane; "the well must be many a fathomdeep--how long it seemed before they came up!"
So they drank their fill, saying that it was useless to go downtherefore, and anyhow there would be naught but a few silvervessels.
"I have seen the same before," said one; "and moreover no man hasluck with those things from a church."
No man gainsaid him, so they kicked the bucket down the well andwent away.
Now I breathed freely again, and was about to whisper to the priorthat his thought of making what would pass for bubbling was good;but more Danes came. And they were men of Halfden's ship; so wemust wait and listen, and this time I thought that surely we wereto be found. For the men began to play with one another as theydrank from the bucket; pushing each other's heads therein, and thehelm of one fell off and fled past us to the bottom; and some wordspassed pretty roughly. And after they had done quarrelling theycrowded over the trapdoor, as one might know by the darkening ofthe shaft. Then one saw the helm, for it was of leather, ironbound, and had fallen rim upward, so that it floated. Now one wasgoing to swarm down the rope to get it, but as he swung the rope tohim, the bucket swayed in the water under the helm, and he saw thatit did so. Whereon he wound both up, and they too went away.
"That was a lucky chance!" I whispered.
"No chance at all, my son; that was surely done by the same Handthat sent you here to warn us," answered the prior. And I thinkthat he was right.
Now came a whiff of biting smoke down the well shaft, borne by somebreath of wind that eddied into it. The Danes had fired the place!
"Father," I whispered, pulling the prior forward, for he had goneinto the little cell to give thanks for this last deliverance.
He looked very grave as he saw the blue haze across the doorway,hiding the moss and a tiny fern that grew on the shaft walls overagainst us.
"This is what I feared, though I must needs make light of it," hesaid.
"It cannot harm us here," I answered.
"All round this court on three sides the buildings are of wood;sheds and storehouses they are and of no account, but if one falls
across the well mouth--what then?"
"Then we are like to be stifled," said I; for even now the smokegrew thicker, even so far down as we were. And when I looked outand up there was naught but smoke across the well mouth, and withthat, sparks.
"Pent up and stifled both," said the quavering voice of thesacristan from behind us. "How may we get out of this place tillmen come and raise the ruin that will cover us? And who knows weare here but ourselves?"
"Forgive me for bringing you to this pass," said the prior gravely,after a little silence.
The smoke grew even denser, and we must needs cough, while thetears ran from my eyes, for the stinging oak smoke seemed trappedwhen once it was driven down the well.
"I have known men escape from worse than this," I said, thinking ofLodbrok, and turning over many wild plans in my mind.
"I had forgotten this danger of wooden walls," said the prior tohimself, as it were. "Doubtless when this well chamber was made itwas without the inclosure."
Now it seemed to me that this could not be borne much longer, andthat soon the walls he dreaded would fall. So as one might as welldie in one way as another, I thought I would climb to the well'smouth and see if there were any chance of safety for these twomonks. Yet I had no thought of aught but dying with them, if needwere, though as for myself I had but to walk across the courtyardand go away. The Danes would but think I lingered yet for the sakeof plunder.
"If we may not stand this smoke, neither can the Danes," I said. "Iam going to see."
So I set down my axe and sword and leapt sailor-wise at therope--which the men had dropped again when they had taken the helmfrom the bucket--catching it easily and swarming up to thetrapdoor. I only raised myself to the height of my eyes and lookedout.
I could see nothing. The dense smoke eddied and circled round thecourt, and the Danes were gone, leaving us in a ring of fire onthree sides. The wooden buildings were blazing higher every moment,and the heat seemed to scorch my head and hands till I couldscarcely bear it. But as the wind drove aside the smoke I could seethat the way to the rear gate, the last we had barred, was clear.So I slid down and hung opposite the chamber. The monks looked outat me with white faces.
"It may be done," I said. "Come quickly! it is the only chance."
The prior gave me the rope-ladder end without a word, not needingto be asked for it; nor did I wait to say more, for at that momenta roof fell in with a great crash, and a red glare filled the wellas the flames shot up, and the sparks and bits of burning timbercame down the shaft and hissed into the water below me.
I clomb up, fixed the ladder, and called down to the prior to bringmy arms with him. There was a burning beam not three feet from thewell mouth, part of the fallen roof that had slipped sideways fromit. The flames that shot up from the building were so hot that Icould barely abide them, and I shaded my face with both my hands,crying again to the monks to come quickly.
In a few seconds came the sacristan, white and trembling--I had tohelp him out of the well mouth. The prior was close to him; he wascalm, and even smiled at me as he saw me clutch my arms eagerly.
"To the rear gate," I said, turning and kicking the ladder into thewell, and thinking how cool the splash was compared with thisfurnace of heat. "Kilt up your frocks and go swiftly, but run not,"for in that smoke, save their long garments betrayed them, a manmight be armed or unarmed for all that one could see.
So, walking quickly, we came to the court entrance, and even as westood under its archway the building nearest the well fell with acrash and rumble, covering the well mouth with a pile of blazingtimber. The smoke and flame seemed to wrap us round, while theburning timber flew, and the Danes from the great courtyard yelledwith evil delight; but before that cloud had cleared away we threewere outside the monastery gate, and were safe.
"Just in time," I said.
But "Deo gratias" said the monks in a breath.
"Now run," said I, and into the nearest spur of woodland we went,and stayed not till we were beyond reach of the yells of thedestroyers, who, as it seemed, had not even seen us.
When we were sure that we were not pursued, the prior took my armand pressed it.
"Thanks to you, my son, our people are safe, and we have come outof yon furnace unscathed. May you find help in time of need as nearand ready. Now when I read the story of the Three Children, I thinkI shall know all that they suffered, for we have been in likecase."
And I could make no answer, for it seemed to me that I hadforgotten that I was a Christian of late. And that was true.
Now the prior bade the sacristan hasten to Chichester and tell allthis to the sheriff, and he left us, while we went on alone.Presently I asked who made the chamber in the well, for the silenceweighed on me, and my thoughts were not so lightsome.
"Doubtless by Wilfrith's men," he said, "and for the same turn ithas served us. For in his days there were many heathen round him,and flight or hiding might be the last resort at any time."
Then I wondered, saying that I deemed that surely it was a greaterthing to be a martyr and to die, than to save life.
"Not always so," he answered, and then he told me of the ways ofholy men of old time. "We may by no means save life by denying ourfaith, but we are bidden to flee into another place whenpersecuted. We may not choose the place of our death, nor yet thetime."
So he showed me at last what it was to be truly a martyr, fearingnot, nor yet seeking death.
"Of a truth," he ended, "the Lord may need my death by the hand ofthe heathen at some time, and when the time comes I shall know it,and will die gladly. But while He gives me the power to save lifeblamelessly, I know that He needs me on earth yet, though I am oflittle worth."
So we were silent after that, ever going on through the woods. Atlast he laughed a little, and looked sidewise at me.
"We two are alone," he said, "therefore I do not mind saying that Ihave been fairly afraid--how felt you?"
"I would I might never be so frightened again," I answered, fortruly I had made myself so at one with this brave man that I hadforgotten that there was little fear for myself, as I have said,unless that it had been Rorik's crew who had found us, for only afew of them knew me.
We came now to a place where the trees thinned away on the brow ofa hill, and I could see the broad waters of the haven through theirtrunks. We had reached the crest of that little cliff over whichWilfrith's heathen had cast themselves in the great famine fromwhich he saved them.
"Let us see the last of Bosham," the prior said sadly. So we creptthrough the fern and long grass, and lying down looked out overhaven and village. Even if a prying Dane looked our way he wouldhardly see us thus hidden, or if he did would take us but forvillagers and care not.
Now I saw that the tide was on the turn, and that Halfden'sship--my own ship, as I have ever thought her--had hauled out, andher boats waited for the last of the crew at the wharf side. ButRorik's ship was there still, and her men were busy rigging a craneof spars as though they would lower some heavy thing on board her.Nor could I guess what that might be.
Then I looked at the village, which was burning here and there, andat the monastery. They had not fired the church, and the Danesclustered round the tower doorway, busied with something, and Icould see them well, for the smoke from the burning buildings blewaway from us.
Now I asked the prior what heavy things worth carrying away mightbe in the monastery.
"Naught," he said; "since they have drunk all the ale that was inthe cask or two we had.
"But," he added, "there is the great bell, it is the only weightything else."
Then I knew what was toward, and said:
"I fear, Father, that your bell is going to be taken to becomemetal for mail shirts, and axe heads, and arrowheads, and helms."
"Holy St. Wilfrith!" cried the monk, in great grief; "would that wecould have saved it. There is no such bell in all England, and ifthey take it, many a sailor will miss its call through fog anddriving mist, and many a shepherd on yonder d
owns will wait for itsringing, and be the wearier for lack thereof."
"Never have I seen bell too large for one man to handle," I said;"this must be a wondrous bell!"
So it was, he told me, and while we watched the busy Danes, hebegan to sing to me in low tones the song of Bosham bell which hispeople would sing by the fireside.
"Hard by the haven,Wilfrith the holyBade men a bell towerSturdily build.Thence should a bell soundOver the wide seas,Homeward to hailThe hardy shipmen.Thus was the bell wroughtBy skilful workmen:Into the fierce fire,When it was founded,Helm and harnessThe warriors hove;Willingly women,The jewel wearers,Golden and silver gaudsGave for the melting;And a great anchorThe seamen added.Thus was a wealthOf wondrous metal.When all was moltenMore grew its marvel!Cast in a chalice,Cuthred the priest."
"Aye, Father," said I, "that is a wondrous bell."
He nodded, and went on, with his eyes fixed on the monastery.
"Thus as the bell swingsSoothly it speaketh:Churchward it callethWith voice of the chalice,Speaking to shipmenWith voice that is sea born.Homeward the husbandHailing with voicesFresh from the fireside,Where flashed the gold gifts--Clashing the war call,Clear with its warrior voice."
"That was the voice of the bell that sounded as we came," Ithought; and even as I would have said it, the bell of Bosham spokeagain, and the prior stopped with an exclamation, and pointed.
Out of the gateway came four Danes, bearing the bell between them,and as they crossed the threshold, one stumbled, and the bellclanged as they dropped it on the courtyard pavement. The tears randown the holy man's face as he saw this mishap to his beloved bell,which was kept bright as when it was first founded, by the lovinghands of his people.
Now the Danes put it on that farm cart I had seen, and which theyhad mended, and took the bell down to the wharf, and we watchedthem sling it to the crane they had rigged, and place it amidshipson deck. Then they all went hastily on board, and put out into thehaven, down which Halfden's ship was already a mile distant, anddancing on the quick waves of wind against tide where the watersbroadened into a wide lake.
Now when the ship was fairly under way, the prior rose up frombeside me, and lifting his hand, cursed ship and crew with so greatand bitter a curse that I trembled and looked to see the shipfounder at once, so terrible were his words.
Yet the ship held on her course, and the words seemed vain andwasted, though I know not so certainly that they were so. For thisis what I saw when the ship met the waves of that wider stretch ofwater that Halfden had now crossed.
She pitched sharply, and there was a bright gleam of sunlight fromthe great bell's polished sides, and then another--and the shiplisted over to starboard and a wave curled in foam over hergunwale. Then she righted again quickly, and as though relieved ofsome weight, yet when a heavier, crested roller came on her sherose to it hardly at all, and it broke on board her. And at thatshe sank like a stone, and I could hear the yell that her men gavecome down the wind to me.
Then all the water was dotted with men for a little, and the brightred and white of her sail floated on the waves for a minute, andthen all that was left of her were the masthead and yard--and onthem a few men. The rest were gone, for they were in their mail,and might not swim. Only a few yet clung to floating oars and thelike.
"Little have these heathen gained from Bosham," said the prior, andhis eyes flashed with triumph. "Wilfrith the holy has punishedtheir ill doing."
So, too, it seemed to me, and I thought to myself that the weightof that awesome curse had indeed fallen on the robbers.
Yet I know that, as I watched the ship in her trouble, in my ownmind I had been going over what was amiss, as any seaman will,without thought of powers above. And I thought that the sharppitching of the vessel had cast the great bell from amidships,where I had seen the Danes place it unsecured, against the frailgunwale, first to one side, and then, with greater force yet,against the other; so that it burst open gunwale and plankingbelow, and already she was filling when the wave came and endedall. For these swift viking ships are built to take no heavy cargo,and planks and timbers are but bound together by roots and withies;so that as one stands on the deck one may feel it give and springto the blow of a wave, and the ship is all the swifter. But thoughthe outer planking is closely riveted together with good iron, thatcould not withstand the crashing weight of so great a bell when itwas thus flung against it.
However that may have been--and thus I surely think it was--Boshambell passed not into the power of the heathen, but destroyed them;and it lies at the bottom of the deepest reach of the haven whencethe depth and swiftness of the tide will hardly let men bring itagain. So I suppose that, profaned by heathen hands, it may nolonger call men from across the water and woodland to the church ofGod.
Soon came the boats from Halfden's ship and picked up those who yetclung to what they might of the wreck, and then ship and Danespassed from Bosham haven, leaving the silent tower and burningvillage to mark where they had been.
Then the prior sighed, and turning away, said:
"Let us go to Chichester and find shelter. Night comes soon, andrest."
Sadly enough we went, though not for long: for when we came intothe roadway from the forest land, the prior put his heavy thoughtsaside, and spoke cheerfully to me.
"What is done is done; and but for you, my son, things would havebeen worse. And their greed for the bell has made them spare thechurch itself. Surely you must have fallen from the clouds to helpus--borne hither from the East Anglian land whose tongue bewraysyou."
"I marvel that you trusted me," I said.
"I trusted your face, my son, and when one is in a hard case thefirst help is ever the best. Yet now I would fain know somewhat ofmy good comrade."
Now I think that to any but this monk, with his friendly smile andway of quiet authority, I should have been ashamed to own my partwith the Danes. But a few hours of companionship in danger knitcloser than many a long day of idleness together, and he seemed tome as a near friend. Moreover, he had trusted me without question;so I told him all my tale and he listened patiently.
"Now I am glad that I cursed not your friend's ship--for I forgother," he said, smiling.
At that I was glad, for how he would hold my being with the heathenI somewhat doubted, and I told him so.
"Why, my son, I know not that you had much choice. And as forfighting against outlanders--let me heft that axe of yours."
He took it, and it fell into his hands in a way that told me thathe, too, had been a stark fighting man at some time.
"Take it away, my son, take it away!" he cried, thrusting it backon me; "I am not the man to blame you. And I know that much goodhas come to us from your being with them. And from your talk aboutmartyrs I know that you have done no honour to their gods."
I said truly that the question had never come into my mind. For,save as oath or war cry, the names of Thor and Odin were not heard.They sacrificed on going to sea, and on return; and meanwhile carednaught, so far as I knew, for none had questioned my faith.
He said it was well, and so talking we went on. And he said that, asfriend of his, none would question me, so that I should find all Ineeded for my journey in the town. And when we came there--meetingthe sheriff's ill-armed levy on the way--we went to the house of agreat thane, and there were well and kindly received.
Yet once and again as I slept I dreamed and woke with the cry ofRorik's men in my ears, and before me the bell seemed to flashagain as it crashed through the ship's side. And once I wokethinking that the smell of burning was round me, and felt, halfawake, for the stone walls of the well chamber. But at last I sleptsoundly and peacefully.