Erling the Bold

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

  GLUMM GAINS A GREAT PRIVATE VICTORY--THE DALESMEN ASSEMBLE TO FIGHT FORFREEDOM--THE FOE APPEARS, AND THE SIGNAL OF BATTLE IS SOUNDED.

  Again we return to the mound near Ulfstede, the top of which was nowbathed in the rays of the morning sun--for the day had only begun, theevents narrated at the end of the last chapter having occurred within aperiod of less than three hours.

  Here stood the fair Hilda and the volatile Ada, the former leaning onthe arm of the latter, and both gazing intently and in silence on theheart-stirring scene before them. Once again Horlingdal with its fiordwas the scene of an assembly of armed men, but this time the concoursewas grander, because much greater, than on a previous occasion. Men hadlearned by recent events that momentous changes were taking place in theland. The news of the King's acts had been carried far and wide.Everyone felt that a decisive blow was about to be struck somewhere, andalthough many hundreds had little or no opinion of their own as to whatwas best for the interests of the kingdom, they knew that a side must betaken, and were quite willing to take that which appeared to be theright, or which seemed most likely to win, while a large proportion ofthem were intelligently and resolutely opposed to the King's designs.Thus, when the war-token was sent round, it was answered promptly.Those who dwelt nearest to the place of rendezvous were soon assembledin great numbers, and, from the elevated point on which the girls stood,their glittering masses could be seen on the shore, while they launchedtheir longships and loaded them with stones--the ammunition of thosedays--or passed briskly to and fro with arms and provisions; while allup the valley, as far as the eye could see, even to the faint bluedistance, in the haze of which the glaciers and clouds and mountain topsseemed to commingle, troops of armed men could be seen pouring down fromgorge and glen, through wood and furze and fen. On the fiord, too, thesame activity and concentration prevailed, though not quite to the sameextent. Constantly there swept round the promontories to the north andsouth, boat after boat, and ship after ship, until the bay close belowUlfstede was crowded with war-craft of every size--their gay sails, andin some cases gilded masts and figureheads, glancing in the sunshine,and their shield-circled gunwales reflected clearly in the sea.

  "What a grand sight!" exclaimed Ada with enthusiasm, as she listened tothe deep-toned hum of the busy multitude below.

  "Would God I had never seen it!" said her companion.

  "Out upon thee, Hilda! I scarce deem thee fit to be a free Norsemaiden. Such a scene would stir the heart of stone."

  "It _does_ stir my heart strangely, sister," replied Hilda, "I scarcelycan explain how. I feel exultation when I see the might of ourdistrict, and the bold bearing of our brave and brisk men; but my heartsinks again when I think of what is to come--the blood of men flowinglike water, death sweeping them down like grain before the sickle; andfor what? Ada, these go not forth to defend us from our enemies, theygo to war with brothers and kindred--with Norsemen."

  Ada beat her foot impatiently on the sod, and frowned a little as shesaid--

  "I know it well enough, but it is a grand sight for all that, and itdoes no good to peep into the future as thou art doing continually."

  "I do not peep," replied Hilda; "the future stares me full in the face."

  "Well, let it stare, sister mine," said Ada, with a laugh, as shecleared her brow, "and stare past _its_ face at what lies before thee atpresent, which is beautiful enough, thou must allow."

  At that moment there seemed to be increasing bustle and energy on thepart of the warriors on the shore, and the murmur of their voices grewlouder.

  "What can that mean, I wonder?" said Ada.

  "Fresh news arrived, perhaps," replied her friend. "The Christians' Godgrant that this war may be averted!"

  "Amen, if it be His will," said a deep voice behind the girls, whoturned and found the hermit standing at their side. "But, Hilda," hecontinued, "God does not always answer our prayers in the way weexpect--sometimes because we pray for the wrong thing, and sometimesbecause we pray that the right thing may come to us in the wrong way. Ilike best to end my petitions with the words of my dear Saviour JesusChrist--`Thy will be done.' Just now it would seem as if war wereordained to go on, for a scout has just come in to say that King Haraldwith his fleet is on the other side of yonder point, and I am sent tofetch thee down to a place of safety without delay."

  "Who sent thee?" demanded Ada.

  "Thy foster-father."

  "Methinks we are safe enough here," she said, with a gesture ofimpatience.

  "Aye, if we win the day, but not if we lose it," said the old man.

  "Come," said Hilda, "we must obey our father."

  "I have no intention of disobeying him," retorted the other, tossing herhead.

  Just then Alric ran up with a look of anxiety on his swelled andblood-stained face.

  "Come, girls, ye are in the way here. Haste--ah! here comes Erling--andGlumm too."

  The two young men ran up the hill as he spoke.

  "Come with us quickly," cried Erling; "we do not wish the King's peopleto see anyone on this mound. Let me lead thee down, Hilda."

  He took her by the hand and led her away. Glumm went forward to Ada,whose old spirit was evidently still alive, for she glanced at thehermit, and appeared as if inclined to put herself under his protection,but there was something in Glumm's expression that arrested her. Hisgruffness had forsaken him, and he came forward with an unembarrassedand dignified bearing. "Ada," he said, in a gentle but deliberatevoice, while he gazed into her face so earnestly that she was fain todrop her eyes, "thou must decide my fate _now_. To-day it is likely Ishall fight my last battle in my fatherland. Death will be abroad onthe fiord, more than willing to be courted by all who choose to woo him.Say, dear maid, am I to be thy protector or not?"

  Ada hesitated, and clasped her hands tightly together, while thetell-tale blood rushed to her cheeks. Glumm, ever stupid on thesematters, said no other word, but turned on his heel and strode quicklyaway.

  "Stay!" she said.

  She did not say this loudly, but Glumm heard it, turned round, andstrode back again. Ada silently placed her hand in his--it trembled asshe did so--and Glumm led her down the hill.

  The girls were escorted by their lovers only as far as Ulfstede. Withall the other women of the place, and the old people, they were putunder the care of the hermit, who conveyed them safely to Haldorstede,there to await the issue of the day.

  Meanwhile, Haldor, Erling, Glumm, Hakon of Drontheim, Ulf, GuttormStoutheart, and all the other Sea-kings, not only of Horlingdal, but ofthe surrounding valleys, with a host of smaller bonders, unfreemen, andthralls, went down to the shores of the bay and prepared for battle.

  It is needless to say that all were armed to the teeth--with coats ofmail and shirts of wolf-skin; swords and battle-axes, bows and arrows,halberds and spears, "morning stars" and bills, scythes, javelins,iron-shod poles--and many other weapons.

  The principal ships of the fleet were of course those belonging toHaldor, Ulf, and the wealthier men of the district. Some of these werevery large--having thirty benches of rowers, and being capable ofcarrying above a hundred and fifty men. All of them were more or lessdecorated, and a stately brilliant spectacle they presented, with theirquaint towering figureheads, their high poops, shield-hung sides, andnumerous oars. Many proud thoughts doubtless filled the hearts of theseSea-kings as they looked at their ships and men, and silently wendedtheir way down to the strand. In the case of Haldor and Erling,however, if not of others, such thoughts were tempered with the feelingthat momentous issues hung on the fate of the day.

  Well was it for all concerned that the men who led them that day were sofull of forethought and energy, for scarcely had they completed theirpreparations and embarked their forces when the ships of Harald Fairhairswept round the northern promontory.

  If the fleet of the small kings of Horlingdal and the south wasimposing, that of the King of Norway was still more so. Besides,
beingstronger in numbers, and many of the warships being larger--his own hugevessel, the Dragon, led the van, appearing like a gorgeous and giganticsea-monster.

  The King was very proud of this longship. It had recently been built byhim, and was one of the largest that had ever been seen in Norway. Theexact dimensions of it are not now known, but we know that it hadthirty-two banks for rowers, from which we may infer that it must havebeen of nearly the same size with the Long Serpent, a war vessel ofthirty-four banks, which was built about the end of the tenth century,and some of the dimensions of which are given in the Saga of OlafTryggvesson. The length of her keel that rested on the grass, we aretold, was about 111 feet, which is not far short of the length of thekeel of one of our forty-two gun frigates. As these warships were longin proportion to their breadth, like our modern steamers, this speaks toa size approaching 400 tons burden. As we have said, the Dragon was agorgeous vessel. It had a high poop and forecastle, a low waist, ormiddle part, and a splendidly gilt and painted stern, figurehead, andtail. The sides, which were, as usual, hung round with the red andwhite painted shields of the crew, were pierced for sixty-four oars,that is, thirty-two on each side, being two oars to each bank or bench,and as there were three men to each oar, this gave a total crew of 192men; but in truth the vessel contained, including steersmen andsupernumeraries, above 200 men. Under the feet of the rowers, in thewaist, were chests of arms, piles of stones to be used as missiles,provisions, clothing, goods, and stores, all of which were protected bya deck of movable hatches. On this deck the crew slept at nights,sheltered by an awning or sail, when it was not convenient for them toland and sleep on the beach in their tents, with which all the vesselsof the Norsemen were usually supplied. There was but one great mast,forty feet high, and one enormous square sail to this ship. The mastwas tipped with gilding, and the sail was of alternate strips of red,white, and blue cloth. Each space between the banks served as the berthof six or eight men, and was divided into half berths--starboard andlarboard--for the men who worked the corresponding oars. On the richlyornamented poop stood the King himself, surrounded by his bodyguard andchief men of the Court, including Jarl Rongvold and Thiodolph the scald.From the stem to the mid-hold was the forecastle, on which werestationed the King's berserkers, under Hake of Hadeland. All the men ofHake's band were splendid fellows; for King Harald, having a choice ofmen from the best of every district, took into his house troop only suchas were remarkable for strength, courage, and dexterity in the use oftheir weapons.

  It must not be supposed that the rest of Harald's fleet was composed ofsmall vessels. On the contrary, some of them were not far short of hisown in point of size. Many of his jarls were wealthy men, and hadjoined him, some with ten or twenty, and others with thirty, or evenforty, ships of various sizes. Many of them had from twenty to thirtybanks for rowers, with crews of 100 or 150 men. There were also greatnumbers of cutters with ten or fifteen banks, and from thirty to fiftymen in each, besides a swarm of lesser craft, about the size of ourordinary herring boats.

  There were many men of note in this fleet, such as King Sigurd of Royerand Simun's sons; Onund and Andreas; Nicolas Skialdvarsson; Eindrid, ason of Mornef, who was the most gallant and popular man in the Drontheimcountry, and many others; the whole composing a formidable force ofseven or eight thousand warriors.

  With Haldor the Fierce, on the other hand, there was a goodly force ofmen and ships; for the whole south country had been aroused, and theycame pouring into the fiord continuously. Nevertheless they did notnumber nearly so large a force as that under King Harald. Besides thosewho have been already named, there were Eric, king of Hordaland; Sulke,king of Rogaland, and his brother Jarl Sote; Kiotve the Rich, king ofAgder, and his son Thor Haklang; also the brothers Roald Ryg, and Haddthe Hard, of Thelemark, besides many others. But their whole number didnot exceed four thousand men; and the worst of it all was that amongthese there were a great many of the smaller men, and a few of thechiefs whose hearts were not very enthusiastic in the cause, and who hadno very strong objection to take service under Harald Fairhair. These,however, held their peace, because the greater men among them, and thechief leaders, such as Haldor and Ulf, were very stern and decided intheir determination to resist the King.

  Now, when the report was brought that Harald's fleet had doubled thedistant cape beyond Hafurdsfiord, the people crowded to the top of thecliffs behind Ulfstede to watch it; and when it was clearly seen that itwas so much larger than their own, there were a few who began to saythat it would be wiser to refrain from resistance; but Haldor called aThing together on the spot by sound of horn, and a great many shortpithy speeches were made on both sides of the question. Those who werefor war were by far the most able men, and so full of fire that theyinfused much of their own spirit into those who heard them. Erling inparticular was very energetic in his denunciation of the illegality ofHarald's proceedings; and even Glumm plucked up heart to leap to hisfeet and declare, with a face blazing with wrath, that he would ratherbe drowned in the fiord like a dog, or quit his native land for ever,than remain at home to be the slave of any man!

  Glumm was not, as the reader is aware, famed for eloquence; neverthelessthe abruptness of his fiery spirit, the quick rush of his few sputteredwords, and the clatter of his arms, as he struck his fist violentlyagainst his shield, drew from the multitude a loud burst of applause.He had in him a good deal of that element which we moderns call "go".Whatever he did was effectively done.

  The last who spoke was Solve Klofe. That redoubtable warrior ascendedthe hill just as Glumm had finished his remarks. He immediately stoodforward, and raised his hand with an impassioned gesture. "Glumm isright," he cried. "It is now clear that we have but one course to take;and that is to rise all as one man against King Harald, for althoughoutnumbered, we still have strength enough to fight for our ancientrights. Fate must decide the victory. If we cannot conquer, at allevents we can die. As to becoming his servants, that is no conditionfor _us_! My father thought it better to fall in battle than to gowillingly into King Harald's service, or refuse to abide the chance ofweapons like the Numedal kings."

  "That is well spoken," cried Haldor, after the shout with which this wasreceived had subsided. "The Thing is at an end, and now we shall makeready, for it can be but a short time until we meet. Let the peopletake their weapons, and every man be at his post, so that all may beready when the war-horn sounds the signal to cast off from the land.[See note 1.] Then let us throw off at once, and together, so that nonego on before the rest of the ships, and none lag behind when we row outof the fiord. When we meet, and the battle begins, let people be on thealert to bring all our ships in close order, and ready to bind themtogether. Let us spare ourselves in the beginning, and take care of ourweapons, that we do not cast them into the sea, or shoot them away inthe air to no purpose. But when the fight becomes hot, and the shipsare bound together, _then_ let each man show what spirit is in him, andhow well he can fight for country, law, and freedom!"

  A loud ringing cheer was the answer to this speech, and then the wholeconcourse hurried down the hill and embarked; the vessels were quicklyarranged in order according to their size; the war-horn sounded;thousands of oars dipped at the same moment, the blue waters of thefiord were torn into milky foam, and slowly, steadily, and in good orderthe fleet of the Sea-kings left the strand, doubled the cape to thenorth of Horlingfiord, and advanced in battle array to meet the foe.

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  Note 1. Signals by call of trumpet were well understood in those times.We read, in the ancient Sagas, of the trumpet-call to arm, to advance,to attack, to retreat, to land, and also to attend a Court Thing, aHouse Thing, a General Thing. These instruments were made of metal, andthere were regular trumpeters.