Author: H. Rider Haggard
Category: Adventure
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After Freydisa and I had sought the oracle of Odin, three long shipsof war sailed by the light of the moon from Fladstrand for Athalbrand'sIsle of Lesso. I do not know when we sailed, but in my mind I canstill see those ships creeping out to sea. In command of the first wasThorvald, my father; of the second, Ragnar, my brother; and of the thirdmyself, Olaf; and on each of these ships were fifty men, all of themstout fighters.
The parting with Thora, my mother, had been sad, for her heart forebodedill of this war, and her face could not hide what her heart told her.Indeed, she wept bitterly, and cursed the name of Iduna the Fair, whohad brought this trouble on her House. Freydisa was sad also. Yet,watching her opportunity, she glided up to me just before I embarked andwhispered to me,
"Be of good cheer, for you will return, whoever is left behind."
"It will give me little comfort to return if certain others are leftbehind," I answered. "Oh, that the folk had hearkened to me and madepeace!"
"Too late to talk of that now," said Freydisa, and we parted.
This was our plan: To sail for Lesso by the moonlight, and when the moonwent down to creep silently towards the shores of the island. Then, justat the first break of dawn, we proposed to beach the ships on a sandystrand we knew, and rush to attack Athalbrand's hall, which we hoped tocarry before men were well awake. It was a bold scheme and one fullof dangers, yet we trusted that its very boldness would cause itto succeed, especially as we had put it about that, owing to theunreadiness of our ships, no attack would be made until the coming ofthe next moon.
Doubtless all might have gone well with us but for a strange chance. Asit happened, Athalbrand, a brave and skilful captain, who from his youthhad seen much war by sea and land, had a design of his own whichbrought ours to nothing. It was that he and his people should sail toFladstrand, burn the ships of Thorvald, my father, that he knew werefitting out upon the beach, which he hoped to find unguarded, or at mostonly watched by a few men, and then return to Lesso before he couldbe fallen upon. By ill luck he had chosen this very night for hisenterprise. So it came about that just as the moon was sinking ourwatchmen caught sight of four other ships, which by the shields thathung over their bulwarks they knew must be vessels of war, glidingtowards them over the quiet sea.
"Athalbrand comes to meet us!" cried one, and in a minute every manwas looking to his arms. There was no time for plans, since in that lowlight and mist the vessels were almost bow to bow before we saw eachother. My father's ship ran in between two of Athalbrand's that weresailing abreast, while mine and that of Ragnar found themselves almostalongside of the others. On both sides the sails were let down, for nonehad any thought of flight. Some rushed to the oars and got enough ofthem out to work the ships. Others ran to the grappling irons, and therest began to shoot with their bows. Before one could count two hundredfrom the time of sighting, the war cry of "_Valhalla! Valhalla! Victoryor Valhalla!_" broke upon the silence of the night and the battle hadbegun.
It was a very fierce battle, and one that the gathering darkness mademore grim. Each ship fought without heed to the others, for as thefray went on they drifted apart, grappled to their foes. My father,Thorvald's, vessel fared the worst, since it had an enemy on eitherbulwark. He boarded one and cleared it, losing many men. Then the crewof the other rushed on to him as he regained his own ship. The end of itwas that my father and all his folk were killed, but only after they hadslain the most of their foes, for they died fighting very bravely.
Between Ragnar's ship and that of Athalbrand himself the fray was moreeven. Ragnar boarded Athalbrand and was driven back. Athalbrand boardedRagnar and was driven back. Then for the second time Ragnar boardedAthalbrand with those men who were left to him. In the narrow waist ofAthalbrand's ship a mighty battle was fought, and here at last Ragnarand Athalbrand found themselves face to face.
They hacked at each other with their axes, till at length Ragnar, witha fearful blow, drove in Athalbrand's helmet and clove his skull in two,so that he died. But even as he fell, a man, it may have been friendor foe, for the moon was sinking and the darkness grew dense, thrust aspear into Ragnar's back, and he was carried, dying, to his own vesselby those who remained to him.
Then that fight ceased, for all Athalbrand's people were dead or woundedto the death. Meanwhile, on the right, I was fighting the ship thatwas commanded by Steinar, for it was fated that we two should be throwntogether. Here also the struggle was desperate. Steinar and his companyboarded at the prow, but I and my men, charging up both boards, drovethem back again. In that charge it is true that I, Olaf, fighting madly,as was my wont when roused, killed three of the Lesso folk with theWanderer's sword. Still I see them falling one by one. Followed by sixof my people, I sprang on to the raised prow of Steinar's ship. Justthen the grapnels parted, and there we were left, defending ourselvesas best we could. My mates got their oars and once more brought ourboat alongside. Grapple they could not, because the irons were lost.Therefore, in obedience to the order which I shouted to them from thehigh prow of the enemy's ship, they began to hurl their ballast stonesinto her, and thus stove out her bottom, so that in the end she filledand sank.
Even while she was down the fray went on. Nearly all my people weredown; indeed but two remained to me when Steinar, not knowing who I was,rushed up and, having lost his sword, gripped me round the middle.We wrestled, but Steinar, who was the stronger, forced me back to thebulwarks and so overboard. Into the sea we went together just asthe ship sank, drawing us down after her. When we rose Steinar wassenseless, but still clinging to me as I caught a rope that was thrownto me with my right hand, to which the Wanderer's sword was hanging by aleathern loop.
The end of it was that I and the senseless Steinar were both drawn backto my own ship just as the darkness closed in.