The Norsemen in the West

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

  TREATS OF THE FRIENDSHIP AND ADVENTURES OF OLAF AND SNORRO, AND OFSUNDRY SURPRISING INCIDENTS.

  We must now pass over a considerable period of time, and carry our storyforward to the spring of the third year after the settlement of theNorsemen in Vinland.

  During that interval matters had progressed much in the same way as wehave already described, only that the natives had become a little moreexacting in their demands while engaged in barter, and were, on thewhole, rather more pugnacious and less easily pleased. There had been athreatening of hostilities once or twice, but, owing to Karlsefin'spacific policy, no open rupture had taken place.

  During that interval, too, Leif had made two trips to Greenland andback; a considerable amount of merchandise had been sent home; a fewmore colonists had arrived, and a few of the original ones had left;Thorward's ship had been also brought to Vinland; and last, but notleast, Snorro had grown into a most magnificent baby!

  Things were in this felicitous condition when, early one beautifulspring morning, Snorro resolved to have a ramble. Snorro was by thattime barely able to walk, and he did it after a peculiar fashion of hisown. He had also begun to make a few desperate efforts to talk; buteven Gudrid was forced to admit that, in regard to both walking andtalking, there was great room for improvement.

  Now, it must be told that little Olaf was particularly fond of Snorro,and, if one might judge from appearances, Snorro reciprocated theattachment. Whenever Snorro happened to be missed, it was generallyunderstood that Olaf had him. If any one chanced to ask the question,"Where is Snorro?" the almost invariable reply was, "Ask Olaf." In theevent of Olaf _not_ having him, it was quite unnecessary for any one toask where he was, because the manner in which he raged about the hamletshouting, howling, absolutely yelling, for "O'af!" was a sufficientindication of his whereabouts.

  It was customary for Olaf not only to tend and nurse Snorro, in ageneral way, when at home, but to take him out for little walks andrides in the forest--himself being the horse. At first these delightfulexpeditions were very short, but as Snorro's legs developed, and hismother became more accustomed to his absences, they were considerablyextended. Nevertheless a limit was marked out, beyond which Olaf wasforbidden to take him, and experience had proved that Olaf was atrustworthy boy. It must be remembered here, that although he had grownapace during these two years, Olaf was himself but a small boy, with theclustering golden curls and the red chubby cheeks with which he had leftGreenland.

  As we have said, then, Snorro resolved to have a walk one fine springmorning of the year one thousand and ten--or thereabouts. In thefurtherance of his design he staggered across the hall, where Gudrid hadleft him for those fatal "few minutes" during which children of all agesand climes have invariably availed themselves of their opportunity!Coming to a serious impediment in the shape of the door-step, he paused,plucked up heart, and tumbled over it into the road. Gathering himselfup, he staggered onward through the village shouting his usualcry,--"O'af! O'af! O'AF! O-o-o!" with his wonted vigour.

  But "O'af" was deaf to the touching appeal. He chanced to have goneaway that morning with Biarne and Hake to visit a bear-trap. A littleblack bear had been found in it crushed and dead beneath the heavy treethat formed the _drop_ of the trap. This bear had been slung on a polebetween the two men, and the party were returning home in triumph at thetime that Snorro set up his cry, but they were not quite within earshot.

  Finding that his cries were not attended to, Snorro staggered out of thevillage into the forest a short way, and there, standing in the middleof the path, began again,--"O'af! O'af! O'AF! O-o-o!"

  Still there was no reply; therefore Snorro, stirred by the blood whichhad descended to him through a long line of illustrious and warlikesea-kings, lost his temper, stamped his feet, and screeched withpassion.

  Nothing resulting, he changed his mood, shouted "O'af!" once more, inheartrending accents, and--with his eyes half-shut and mouth wide open,his arms and hands helplessly pendent, his legs astraddle, and his wholeaspect what is expressively styled in the Norse tongue begrutten--howledin abject despair!

  In this condition he was found by the bear party not many minutes later,and in another moment he was sobbing out his heart and sorrows into thesympathetic bosom of his dearly-loved friend.

  "What is it, Snorrie? What's the matter?" inquired Olaf tenderly.

  "Hik!--Me--hup!--O!--want--hif!--wak," replied the sobbing child.

  "It wants to walk, does it? So it shall, my bold little man. There,dry its eyes and get on my back, hup!--now, away we go! I'll be backsoon," he said to Biarne, who stood laughing at them. "Be sure that youkeep the claws of the bear for me.--Now, Snorrie, off and away! hurrah!"

  "Hoo'ah!" echoed Snorro, as, holding tight with both his fat arms roundOlaf's neck, he was borne away into the wilderness.

  Olaf's usual mode of proceeding was as follows:

  First he dashed along the track of the woodcutters for about half amile. It was a good broad track, which at first had been cleared by theaxe, and afterwards well beaten by the constant passage of men andhorses with heavy loads of timber. Then he stopped and set Snorro onhis legs, and, going down on his knees before him, laughed in his face.You may be sure that Snorro returned the laugh with right good-will.

  "Whereaway next, Snorrie?"

  "Away! a-way!" shouted the child, throwing up his arms, losing hisbalance, and falling plump--in sedentary fashion.

  "Ay, anywhere you please; that means, no doubt, up to the sun or moon,if possible! But come, it must walk a bit now. Give me its hand, oldman."

  Snorro was obedient to Olaf--and, reader, that was an amazing triumph oflove, for to no one else, not even to his mother, did he accordobedience. He quietly took his guide's hand, trotted along by his side,and listened wonderingly while he chatted of trees, and flowers, andbirds, and squirrels, and wild beasts, just as if he understood everyword that Olaf said.

  But Snorro's obedience was not perfect. Olaf's pace being regulated byhis spirits, Snorro soon began to pant, and suddenly pulled up with aviolent "'Top!"

  "Ho! is it tired?" cried Olaf, seizing him and throwing him over hisshoulder into the old position. "Well, then, off we go again!"

  He not only went off at a run, but he went off the track also at thispoint, and struck across country straight through the woods in thedirection of a certain ridge, which was the limit beyond which he wasforbidden to go.

  It was an elevated ridge, which commanded a fine view of the surroundingcountry, being higher than the tree-tops, and was a favourite resort ofOlaf when he went out to ramble with Snorro. Beyond it lay a land thatwas unknown to Olaf, because that part of the forest was so dense thateven the men avoided it in their expeditions, and selected more open andeasier routes. Olaf, who was only allowed to accompany the men on shortexcursions, had never gone beyond the ridge in that direction. Helonged to do so, however, and many a time had he, while playing withSnorro on the ridge, gazed with ever increasing curiosity into the deepshades beyond, and wondered what was there! To gaze at a forbiddenobject is dangerous. We have already said that Olaf was a trustworthyboy, but he was not immaculate. He not only sometimes wished to havehis own way, but now and then took it. On this particular occasion hegave way, alas! to temptation.

  "Snorro," said he, after sitting under a tree for a considerable timebasking in the checkered sunshine with the child beside him, "Snorro,why should not you and I have a peep into that dark forest?"

  "Eh?" said Snorro, who understood him not.

  "It would be great fun," pursued Olaf. "The shade would be so pleasantin a hot day like this, and we would not go far. What does it think?"

  "Ho!" said Snorro, who thought and cared nothing at all about it, for hehappened to be engaged just then in crushing a quantity of wild-flowersin his fat hands.

  "I see it is not inclined to talk much to-day. Well, come, get on myback, and we shall have just one peep--just one run
into it--and thenout again."

  Error number one. Smelling forbidden fruit is the sure prelude to theeating of it!

  He took the child on his back, descended the hill, and entered the thickforest.

  The scene that met his gaze was indeed well calculated to delight aromantic boy. He found that the part of the woods immediately aroundhim consisted of tall straight trees with thick umbrageous tops, thestems of which seemed like pillars supporting a vast roof; and throughbetween these stems he could see a vista of smaller stems which appearedabsolutely endless. There was no grass on the ground, but a species ofsoft moss, into which he sank ankle-deep, yet not so deep as to renderwalking difficult. In one direction the distance looked intensely blue,in another it was almost black, while, just before him, a long way off,there was a bright sunny spot with what appeared to be the glitteringwaters of a pond in the midst of it.

  The whole scene was both beautiful and strange to Olaf, and would havefilled him with intense delight, if he could only have got rid of thatuncomfortable feeling about its being forbidden ground! However, havingfairly got into the scrape, he thought he might as well go through withit.

  Error number two. Having become impressed with the fact that he hadsinned, he ought to have turned back _at once_. "In for a penny, in fora pound," is about the worst motto that ever was invented. Interpreted,it means, "Having done a little mischief, I'll shut my eyes and gocrashing into all iniquity." As well might one say, "Having burnt myfinger, I'll shove my whole body into the fire!"

  But Olaf did not take time to think. He pushed boldly forward in thedirection of the lake. As he drew near he found the moss becomingsofter and deeper, besides being rather wet. Going a few steps further,he found that it changed into a swamp.

  "Ho! Snorrie, this is dangerous ground," he said, turning back; "we'lltake a round-about and try to get to the lake by a drier way."

  He did so, but the more he diverged towards dry ground the more did theswamp force him to one side, until it compelled him to go out of sightof the pond altogether.

  "Now, isn't that vexin'?" he said, looking about him.

  "Iss," replied Snorro, who was becoming sleepy, and had laid his head onhis friend's shoulder.

  "Well, as we can't get to the lake, and as this is rather a wild place,we'll just turn back now and get out of it as fast as we can."

  "Iss," murmured Snorro, with a deep sigh.

  Olaf turned back and made for the edge of the wood. He was so long ofcoming to it that he began to be somewhat surprised, and looked abouthim a little more carefully, but the tall straight stems were all somuch alike that they afforded him no clue to his way out of the wood.Young though he was, Olaf knew enough of woodcraft to be able to steerhis course by the sun; but the sky had become clouded, and the directionof the sun could not be ascertained through the dense foliage overhead.He now became seriously alarmed. His heart beat against his ribs as ifit wanted to get out, and he started off at a run in the direction inwhich, he felt sure, the ridge lay. Becoming tired and still morealarmed, he changed his course, eagerly advanced for a short time,hesitated, changed his course again, and finally stopped altogether, asthe terrible fact flashed upon him that he was really lost in the woods.He set Snorro on the ground, and, sitting down beside him, burst intotears.

  We need scarcely say that poor Olaf was neither a timid nor aneffeminate boy. It was not for himself that he thus gave way. It wasthe sudden opening of his eyes to the terrible consequences of hisdisobedience that unmanned him. His quick mind perceived at once thatlittle Snorro would soon die of cold and hunger if he failed to find hisway out of that wilderness; and when he thought of this, and of theawful misery that would thus descend on the heads of Karlsefin andGudrid, he felt a strange desire that he himself might die there andthen.

  This state of mind, however, did not last long. He soon dried his eyesand braced himself up for another effort. Snorro had gone to sleep theinstant he was laid on the ground. As his luckless guide raised him heopened his eyes slightly, murmured "O'af," and again went off to theland of Nod.

  Olaf now made a more steady and persevering effort to get out of thewood, and he was so far successful that he came to ground that was moreopen and broken--more like to that through which he had been accustomedto travel with the men. This encouraged him greatly, for, although hedid not recognise any part of it, he believed that he must now be at allevents not far distant from places that he knew. Here he again lookedfor the sun, but the sky had become so thickly overcast that he couldnot make out its position. Laying Snorro down, he climbed a tall tree,but the prospect of interminable forest which he beheld from that pointof vantage did not afford him any clue to his locality. He looked forthe ridge, but there were many ridges in view, any of which might havebeen _his_ ridge, but none of which looked precisely like it.

  Nevertheless, the upward bound which his spirits had taken when he cameto the more open country did not altogether subside. He still wanderedon manfully, in the hope that he was gradually nearing home.

  At last evening approached and the light began to fade away. Olaf wasnow convinced that he should have to spend the night in the forest. Hetherefore wisely resolved, while it was yet day, to search for asuitable place whereon to encamp, instead of struggling on till he couldgo no farther. Fortunately the weather was warm at the time.

  Ere long he found a small hollow in a sand-bank which was perfectly dryand thickly overhung with shrubs. Into this he crept and carefully laiddown his slumbering charge. Then, going out, he collected a largequantity of leaves. With these he made a couch, on which he laid Snorroand covered him well over. Lying down beside him he drew as close tothe child as he could; placed his little head on his breast to keep itwarm; laid his own curly pate on a piece of turf, and almost instantlyfell into a profound slumber.

  The sun was up and the birds were singing long before that slumber wasbroken. When at last Olaf and his little charge awoke, they yawnedseveral times and stretched themselves vigorously; opened their eyeswith difficulty, and began to look round with some half-formed notionsas to breakfast. Olaf was first to observe that the roof above him wasa confused mass of earth and roots, instead of the customary plankceiling and cross-beams of home.

  "Where am I?" he murmured lazily, yet with a look of sleepy curiosity.

  He was evidently puzzled, and there is no saying how long he might havelain in that condition had not a very small contented voice close besidehim replied:

  "You's here, O'af; an' so's me."

  Olaf raised himself quickly on his elbow, and, looking down, observedSnorro's large eyes gazing from out a forest of leaves in quietsatisfaction.

  "Isn't it nice?" continued Snorro.

  "Nice!" exclaimed Olaf in a voice of despair, when the whole truth inregard to their lost condition was thus brought suddenly to his mind."Nice! No, Snorrie, my little man, it isn't nice. It's dread-ful!It's awful! It's--but come, I must not give way like a big baby as Idid yesterday. We are lost, Snorrie, lost in the woods."

  "Lost! What's lost?" asked Snorro, sitting up and gazing into hisfriend's face with an anxious expression--not, of course, in consequenceof being lost, which he did not understand, but because of Olaf's woefulcountenance.

  "Oh! you can't understand it, Snorrie; and, after all, I'm a stupidfellow to alarm you, for that can do no good. Come, my mannie, you andI are going to wander about in the woods to-day a great long way, andtry to get home; so, let me shake the leaves off you. There now, weshall start."

  "Dat great fun!" cried Snorro, with sparkling eyes; "but, O'af, me wantmik."

  "Milk--eh? Well, to be sure, but--"

  Olaf stopped abruptly, not only because he was greatly perplexed aboutthe matter of breakfast thus suggested to him, but because he chanced atthat moment to look towards the leafy entrance of the cave, and therebeheld a pair of large black eyes glaring at him.

  To say that poor Olaf's heart gave a violent leap, and then apparentlyceased to beat al
together, while the blood fled from his visage, is notto say anything disparaging to his courage. Whether you be boy or man,reader, we suspect that if you had, in similar circumstances, beheldsuch a pair of eyes, you might have been troubled with somewhat similaremotions. Cowardice lies not in the susceptibility of the nervoussystem to a shock, but in giving way to that shock so as to become unfitfor proper action or self-defence. If Olaf had been a coward, he would,forgetting all else, have attempted to fly, or, that being impossible,would have shrunk into the innermost recesses of the cave. Not being acoward, his first impulse was to start to his feet and face the pair ofeyes; his second, to put his left arm round Snorro, and, still keepinghis white face steadily turned to the foe, to draw the child close tohis side.

  This act, and the direction in which Olaf gazed, caused Snorro to glancetowards the cave's mouth, where he no sooner beheld the apparition, thanshutting his own eyes tight, and opening his mouth wide, he gave vent toa series of yells that might have terrified the wildest beast in theforest!

  It did not, however, terrify the owner of the eyes, for the bushes wereinstantly thrust aside, and next instant Snorro's mouth was violentlystopped by the black hand of a savage.

  Seeing this, Olaf's blood returned to its ordinary channels with a rush.He seized a thick branch that lay on the ground, and dealt the savage awhack on the bridge of his nose, that changed it almost immediately froma snub into a superb Roman! For this he received a buffet on the earthat raised a brilliant constellation in his brain, and laid him flat onthe ground.

  Rising with difficulty, he was met with a shower of language from thesavage in a voice which partook equally of the tones of remonstrance andabuse, but Olaf made no reply, chiefly because, not understanding whatwas said, he could not. Seeing this plainly indicated on his face, thesavage stopped speaking and gave him a box on the other ear, by way ofinterpreting what he had said. It was not quite so violent as thefirst, and only staggered Olaf, besides lighting up a few faint stars.Very soon little Snorro became silent, from the combined effects ofexhaustive squeezes and horror.

  Having thus promptly brought matters to what he seemed to consider asatisfactory condition, the savage wiping his Roman nose, which had bleda little, threw Snorro over his shoulder and, seizing Olaf by the collarof his coat, so as to thrust him on in advance, left the cavern withrapid strides.

  Words cannot describe the condition of poor Olaf's mind, as he was thusforced violently along through the forest, he knew not whither. Fearfulthoughts went flashing swiftly through his brain. That the savage wouldtake him and Snorro to his home, wherever that might be, and kill,roast, and eat him, was one of the mildest of these thoughts. Hereflected that the hatred of the savage towards him must be veryintense, in consequence of his recent treatment of his nose, and thatthe pain of that feature would infallibly keep his hatred for a longtime at the boiling-point; so that, in addition to the roasting andeating referred to, he had every reason to expect in his own case theaddition of a little extra torture. Then he thought of the fact, thatlittle Snorro would never more behold his mother, and the torture ofmind resulting from this reflection is only comparable to the roastingof the body; but the worst thought of all was, that the dreadful pass towhich he and Snorro had come, was the consequence of his own wilful_disobedience_! The anguish of spirit that filled him, when hereflected on this, was such that it caused him almost to forget the paincaused by savage knuckles in his neck, and savage prospects in thefuture.

  Oh how he longed for a knife! With what fearful gloating did hecontemplate the exact spot in the savage groin into which he would haveplunged it until the haft should have disappeared! And this, not somuch from a feeling of revenge--though that was bad enough--as from anintense desire to rescue Snorro ere it should be too late.

  Several times he thought of a final dying effort at a hand-to-handstruggle with his captor, but the power of the grip on the back of hisneck induced him to abandon that idea in despair. Then he thought of asudden wrench and a desperate flight, but as that implied the leaving ofSnorro to his fate, he abandoned that idea too in disdain. Suddenly,however, he recurred to it, reflecting that, if he could only manage tomake his own escape, he might perhaps find his way back to thesettlement, give the alarm, and lead his friends to Snorro's rescue.The power of this thought was so strong upon him, that he suddenlystooped and gave his active body a twist, which he considered absolutelyawful for strength, but, much to his astonishment, did not find himselffree. On the contrary, he received such a shake, accompanied by such akick, that from that moment he felt all hope to be gone.

  Thus they proceeded through the woods, and out upon an open spacebeyond, and over a variety of ridges, and down into a number of hollows,and again through several forests not unlike the first, until poor Olafbegan to wonder whether they had not passed the boundaries of the worldaltogether and got into another region beyond--until his legs, sturdythough they were, began to give way beneath him--until the noon-day sunshone perpendicularly down through the trees, and felt as if it wereburning up his brain. Then they came to a rivulet, on the banks ofwhich were seen several tents of a conical form, made of skins, from thetops of which smoke was issuing.

  No sooner did the savage come in sight of these tents than he uttered alow peculiar cry. It was responded to, and immediately a band ofhalf-naked savages, like himself, advanced to meet him.

  There was much gesticulation and loud excited talking, and a great dealof pointing to the two captives, with looks expressive of surprise anddelight, but not a word could Olaf understand; and the gestures were notdefinite in their expression.

  When Snorro was placed sitting-wise on the ground--nearly half dead withfatigue, alarm, and hunger--he crept towards Olaf, hid his face in hisbreast, and sobbed. Then did Olaf's conscience wake up afresh and stabhim with a degree of vigour that was absolutely awful--for Olaf'sconscience was a tender one; and it is a strange, almost paradoxical,fact, that the tenderer a conscience is the more wrathfully does it staband lacerate the heart of its owner when he has done wrong!

  There was, however, no uncertainty as to the disposition of the savages,when, after a thorough inspection of the children, they took them to thetents and set before them some boiled fish and roast venison.

  Need we remark that, for the time, Olaf and Snorro forgot their sorrow?It would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that Snorro was as ravenousas any wolf in Vinland. From the day of his birth that well-cared-forchild had, four times a day, received regular nutriment in the form ofmilk, bread, eggs, and other substances, and never once had he beenpermitted to experience the _pangs_ of hunger, though the _intimations_thereof were familiar. No wonder, then, that after an evening, a night,and half a day of abstinence, he looked with a longing gaze on victuals,and, when opportunity offered, devoured them desperately. Olaf, thoughtrained a little in endurance, was scarcely less energetic, for hisappetite was keen, and his fast had been unusually prolonged.

  When they had eaten as much as they could--to the delight of thenatives, excepting, of course, the man with the temporary Roman nose--they were ordered by signals, which even Snorro understood, to remainstill and behave themselves. Thereafter the natives struck their tents,packed up their goods and chattels, embarked in sixteen large canoes,and descended the rivulet a hundred yards or so to the spot where itflowed into a large river. Here they turned the canoes upstream, andsilently but swiftly paddled away into the interior of the land.