The Norsemen in the West

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

  REINFORCEMENTS SENT OFF TO KARLSEFIN--FOES DISCOVERED IN THE WOODS--ANIGHT ATTACK, AND OTHER WARLIKE MATTERS.

  We must return now for a little to the settlement of the Norsemen,which, by the way, had by this time come to be called by the name ofLeifsgaard.

  Here, from Thorward's house, there issued tones which indicated theexistence of what is popularly known as a "breeze." Human breezes areusually irregular, and blow after the manner of counter-currents; but inThorward's habitation the breezes almost invariably blew in onedirection, and always issued from the lungs of Freydissa, who possesseda peculiar knack of keeping and enjoying all the breeze to herself, somepassive creature being the butt against which it impinged.

  On the present occasion that butt was Bertha. Indeed, Bertha was aspecies of practising-butt, at which Freydissa exercised herself whenall other butts failed, or when she had nothing better to do.

  "Don't say to me that you can't help it!" she cried, in her own amiablyshrill tones. "You can help it well enough if you choose. You arealways at it, morning, noon, and night; I'm quite sick of you, girl; I'msorry I brought you here; I'd send you back to Greenland to-morrow if Icould. If the ship sank with you on the passage, I'd rejoice--I_would_! There! don't say it again, now; you're going to--I can seethat by your whimpering look. _Don't_ say you can't help it. Don't!don't! Do you hear?"

  "Indeed, _indeed_ I can't--"

  "There! I knew you would," shrieked Freydissa, as she raised herselffrom the wash-tub in which she had been manipulating some articles ofclothing as if she were tearing Bertha to pieces--"_why_ can't you?"

  "It isn't easy to help weeping," whimpered Bertha, as she continued todrive her spinning-wheel, "when one thinks of all that has passed, andpoor--"

  "Weeping! weeping!" cried Freydissa, diving again into the tub; "do youcall that weeping? _I_ call it downright blubbering. Why, your face isas much _begrutten_ as if you were a mere baby."

  This was true, for what between her grief at the sudden disappearance ofOlaf and Snorro, and the ceaseless assaults of her mistress, who wasuncommonly cross that morning, Bertha's pretty little face was indeed agood deal swelled and inflamed about the eyes and cheeks. She againtook refuge in silence, but this made no difference to Freydissa, orrather it acted, if anything, as a provocative of wrath. "Speak, youhussy!" was usually her irate manner of driving the helpless littlehandmaid out of that refuge.

  "What were you going to say? Poor what?" she asked sharply, after a fewminutes' silence.

  "I was going to say that poor Snorro and--"

  "Oh! it's all very well to talk of poor Snorro," interrupted hermistress; "you know quite well that you took to snivelling long beforeSnorro was lost. You're thinking of Hake, you are. You know you are,and you daren't deny it, for your red face would give you the lie if youdid. Hake indeed! Even though he _is_ a thrall, he's too good for sucha silly thing as you. There, be off with you till you can stop your_weeping_, as you call it. Go!"

  Freydissa enforced her command by sending a mass of soapy cloth whichshe had just wrung out after the retreating Bertha. Fortunately she wasa bad shot. The missile flew past its intended object, and, hitting ahen, which had ventured to intrude, on the legs, swept it with aterrific cackle into the road, to the amazement, not to say horror, ofthe cock and chickens.

  As Bertha disappeared Biarne entered the room--"Hallo! Freydissa,stormy weather--eh?"

  "You can go outside and see for yourself," answered Freydissa angrily.

  "So I mean to," returned Biarne, with a smile, "for the weather ispleasanter outside than in; but I must first presume to put the questionthat brought me here. Do you chance to know where Leif is thismorning?"

  "How should I know?"

  "By having become acquainted with the facts of the case somehow,"suggested Biarne.

  "Well, then, I don't know; so you can go study the weather."

  "Oho! mistress: I see that it is time we sent to Iceland for anothercat!"

  This allusion to her husband's former treatment of her pet was almostthe only thing that could calm--or at least restrain--the storm!Freydissa bit her lips and flushed as she went on with her washing, butshe said nothing more.

  "Well, good-morning," said Biarne as he left the house to search forLeif.

  He found him busily engaged in executing some repairs on board the"_Snake_."

  "I have a thought in my head," said Biarne.

  "Out with it then," replied Leif, wiping his brow, "because thoughts, ifkept long in the brain, are apt to hatch, and the chicken-thoughts areprone to run away at the moment of birth, and men have a tendency tochase the chickens, to the utter forgetting of the original hens! Whatis thy thought, Biarne?"

  "That I should take as many of the men as you can spare," he replied,"and go off by water to reinforce Karlsefin."

  "That is strange," said Leif. "I sometimes think that there must be amysterious influence which passes between mind and mind. The very samethought came into my head this morning when I was at work on this oar,and I had intended to talk with you on the subject. But why do youthink this course of action needful?"

  "Just because the party of savages may turn out to be larger than weimagined, or they may be joined by others, and it has occurred to methat the force which is out with Karlsefin is barely sufficient to makea good stand against heavy odds. With a small party heavy odds againstyou is a serious matter; but with a large party heavy odds on the sideof the enemy makes little weight--unless, indeed, their men are willingto come on and be killed in large numbers, which my experience ofsavages assures me that they are never willing to do."

  "Your reasons, Biarne, are very much the same as my own; therefore,being of one mind, we shall go about the business without delay, for ifour aid is to reach them at all it must be extended at once. Go, then,select and collect your men; I will be content to guard the place withthe half of those that are now here; and make haste, Biarne, the more Ithink of it the more I fear delay."

  Biarne was not slow to act. In a remarkably brief space of time he hadselected his men, prepared the canoes, loaded them with arms and food,and got everything ready; so that before the afternoon had far advancedhe was enabled to set off with four canoes and thirty-two men.

  Meanwhile Leif had set those that remained to complete a small centralpoint of defence--a sort of fortalice--which had been for some time inpreparation as a last refuge for the colonists in the event of theirever being attacked by overwhelming numbers.

  Karlsefin had long seen the propriety of building some such stronghold;but the friendly relations that had existed for a considerable periodbetween the Norsemen and the natives had induced him to suspend buildingoperations, until several annoying misunderstandings and threats on thepart of the savages had induced him to resume the work. At the time ofwhich we write it was almost completed.

  This fortress was little more than a strong palisade of stout planksabout twelve feet high, placed close together, with narrow slits onevery side for the discharge of arrows, and a platform all round the topinside, on which men could stand to repel an assault or discharge stonesand other missiles over the wall. But the chief strength of the placelay in its foundation, which was the summit of a small isolated rockymound in the centre of the hamlet. The mound was not more than thirtyfeet high, but its sides were so steep that the top could not be reachedwithout difficulty, and its area was so small that the littlefortification embraced the whole of it. It was large enough, however,to contain the whole population of the place, exclusive of the cattle.

  To the completion, then, of this place of refuge, Leif addressed himselfwith all the energy of his nature. A large shed was erected in onecorner of it, with a strong plank roof, to protect the women fromstones, arrows, and javelins, which were the only projectiles in vogueat that period of the world's history. Another shed was built justunder the fortalice, on the lake side, for the safe housing of the livestock. Arrows were made in great nu
mbers by some of the men, whileothers gathered and stored an immense supply of heavy ammunition in theshape of stones. Besides this a large quantity of dried provisions wasstored in the women's shed, also a supply of water; but in regard to thelast, being near the lake, and within easy bow-shot of their vessel,they trusted to bold night-sallies for additional supplies of theindispensable fluid. Finally, the work was carried on with such vigourthat eight days after Biarne's departure it was finished.

  Finished--and not a moment too soon! At the time when Biarne started onhis voyage, the woods were, unknown to the Norsemen, alive with savages.Fortunately these had not observed the departure of the canoes, thewhole of them being engaged at the time deep within the woods, holding acouncil of war, in which it was resolved to attack the white invaders oftheir land, kill them all, and appropriate their property.

  Leif committed a slight mistake in not sending out scouts at this timeto guard against surprise, but he was so eager to have the workscompleted that he grudged sending away any of his small body of men.

  On the day when everything had been got ready, he sent a man namedHengler, who was an expert bowman, to procure some venison. In lessthan an hour Hengler was seen running towards the hamlet at break-neckspeed, with his eyes almost starting out of his head, his hair streamingin the breeze, and two savages close on his heels.

  "To arms, men!" shouted Leif, as he snatched up a bow, and, withoutwaiting to put on helmet or sword, ran out to meet Hengler.

  Seeing this, the savages stopped, hastily fitted arrows to theirbowstrings and discharged them, the one at Hengler, the other at Leif.The first just grazed the flying Norseman's ear; the other fell short,but before a second discharge was possible Leif had sent an arrowwhizzing at the first savage. It pierced his thigh. Uttering a fierceyell, he plucked the shaft out of the wound, and turning round fled backto the woods followed by his companion.

  "Not a moment to lose," gasped Hengler, as he ran into the hamlet."There are hundreds of them everywhere."

  "Coming towards us?" asked Leif.

  "Not when I saw them, but doubtless when these two return they will comedown like a mountain foss."

  "Quick, get into the fort, lads!--Stay, Hengler, assist me with thewomen."

  "Do you think they really mean to attack us?" asked Gudrid, who, withBertha and Freydissa, came forward at the moment.

  "Assuredly they do," answered Leif; "come, follow Hengler to the fort.Whatever they intended before, the arrow in that fellow's leg willsettle the question. Where are Thora and Astrid?"

  "In the dairy," replied Gudrid.

  "Away, then; I go to fetch them."

  "Would that I were a man!" exclaimed Freydissa, catching up a spear andshaking it as she strode along with the rest. "_I'd_ teach them tothink twice before coming here to disturb peaceable folk!"

  "Peaceable," thought Leif, with a grim smile, as he hurried towards thedairy; but he said nothing, for he deemed that to be a time for silenceand action.

  In a few minutes nearly all the population of the place had taken refugein the fort, and soon afterwards the livestock was driven into the shedbeside the rock. The gate was then shut and the men mounted thebattlements, or breastwork, to watch for the expected foe.

  But no foe made his appearance. Hour after hour passed away; the sundescended behind the tree-tops and below the horizon; the grey mantle ofevening overspread the scene; still the watchers stood on thebattlements and gazed intently into the forest--still there was not theslightest sound or symptom of an enemy in the vast sleeping wilderness.

  "Now this is passing strange," observed Hengler, who had been appointedsecond in command, and stood beside Leif.

  "Not so strange as ye suppose," replied Leif. "Many a time have Ifought with men in the mountains of Norway and on the plains of Valland,and invariably have I found that a surprise is never attempted save inthe night."

  "True," returned Hengler, "but when a very strong foe stands before avery weak one, it seems to me childish to delay the assault."

  "Thine ignorance of war must be great, Hengler," returned Leif,regarding the man with a smile, "if thou hast yet to learn that a bodyof men weak in numbers becomes passing strong when posted behind goodwalls, with plenty of missiles and provender."

  "My knowledge of war is not great," said the man, who was quite a youth,"but methinks it is like to improve now."

  "I fear it is," returned Leif sadly, "but now I will give thee a job toperform that is necessary. From my experience of such matters I feelwell assured that the savages intend an assault during the night, whenthey doubtless expect that their numbers will more easily cope with andovercome us; but in my judgment it is likely that they understandnothing of this fort-work, therefore I shall give _them_ a surprise,instead of receiving one at their hands. Go thou, then, with six of themost active among the men, and slip as quietly as may be into theforest; gather there as many pine cones as shall fill your shields tooverflowing, and bring them hither, along with a quantity of birch bark.If ye are attacked fight your way back, and we will cover your retreatfrom the ramparts."

  While Hengler and six men were absent on this duty, another small partywas sent to fetch into the fort a log about eighteen feet long, whichlay on the ground close at hand; at the same time they were ordered torun down to the lake and bring up three or four old planks which hadlain for a long time in the water, and were quite sodden. These thingswere all secured and carried into the fortress in the course of a fewminutes. The log was then set up on end and sunk deep into a hole inthe ground, so that it remained standing in the centre of the fort withthe top just reaching a little above the walls. Pegs were driven intoit all the way up, so that a man could easily ascend it. On the top ofthis pole was affixed a platform made of the soaked planks, about sixfeet square, with a hole left near the head of the pole through which aman could thrust himself. These Norsemen were smart in using theirhands and axes. The contrivance which we have taken so long to describewas erected in a very few minutes. It was well-nigh completed whenHengler and his party returned with the pine cones and birch bark, bothof which substances are exceedingly resinous and inflammable. Leif madethe men carry them to the top of the pole, and pile them on theplatform. He then ordered a small fire to be kindled in a corner of thefort, but to be kept very low and small, so that the tiny wreath ofsmoke which arose from it might be dissipated before it reached thebattlements. After that he called all the men to him.

  "Now, my lads," said he, "it is likely that these savages will try totake us by surprise. This they will not find it easy to do. From whatI know of them they will come like the fox--slily--and try to pounceupon us. We will let them come; we will let them pounce, and not showface until such time as I give the word--then ye will know how to quityou like men. Away, all of you, to rest--each man with his shield abovehim and his sword by his side. I myself will do the part of sentinel."

  The men quietly obeyed this order. Leif did not think it necessary tosay more to them, but to Hengler and two others who had been selected asleaders he revealed more minutely the intended plan of action beforethey lay down.

  Leaving Hengler for a few minutes to guard the walls, he entered theshed where the women were seated.

  "You must keep well under cover, Gudrid," he said, "for it is likelythat these fellows will shower some arrows upon us--perhaps somethingheavier; but we are well prepared to receive them."

  "Are our enemies numerous?" asked Gudrid anxiously.

  "So it is said, but that will do them little service so long as we arebehind these walls."

  "I wish I had my fingers in their chief's hair!" muttered Freydissabetween her teeth.

  "I echo the wish you expressed not long ago," said Leif laughing."Would that thou wert a man, Freydissa, for assuredly a spirit likethine is invaluable on the field of battle."

  "Thankful am I that there are other fields besides battle-fields wherewomen may be useful," observed Bertha, who was seated on a box besideAstrid, with her arm
round her waist.

  Freydissa merely cast on her handmaid a look of scorn, for she was awarethat neither the time nor place was suited to the exercise of herpeculiar talents.

  "I just looked in to assure you that all goes well," said Leif,addressing the women generally, "and that you have nothing to fear."

  "We fear _nothing_!" said Freydissa, answering for the rest.

  The somewhat flippant remark, "Speak for yourself," might have beenappropriately made by some of her sisterhood, but they were all tooanxious about the impending danger to heed what she said.

  When Leif rejoined Hengler on the walls, the shades of night had fallenon the forest. He advised his lieutenant to lie down, but Henglerbegged and obtained permission to share his vigil.

  There was no moon that night, and it became extremely dark--just such anight as was suited to the purpose of the natives. Leif stoodmotionless, like a statue, leaning on his spear. His man sat on therampart; both gazed and listened with painful intensity.

  At last Leif pointed to what appeared to be a moving object on the spaceof cleared ground that intervened between the slight wall of the hamletand the edge of the forest.

  "Awake the men," he whispered, "and let not a sound of voice or clank ofsword be heard."

  Hengler made no reply, but glided silently away. One by one the mencame up with the light tread of cats, and manned the walls, keeping wellunder cover of the parapet--each taking his appointed station beside hisparticular pile of stones and sheaf of arrows, which lay on theplatform, while below a man with a bow was stationed at every slit.

  Suddenly there arose on the night air a yell so fierce, so prolonged,and so peculiar, that it made even the stout hearts of the Norsemenquail for a moment--it was so unearthly, and so unlike any war-cry theyhad ever before heard. Again and again it was repeated, then a rushingsound was heard, and hundreds of dark objects were indistinctly seenleaping over the slight wall of felled trees that surrounded the hamlet.

  With furious shouts the savages surrounded the houses, burst open thedoors, and rushed in; but they rushed out again almost immediately, andtheir yells were exchanged for exclamations of surprise as they wentabout searching in the dark for their concealed enemies. Of course theycame to the rock-fortress almost immediately after, and another war-crywas uttered as they surrounded the place in hundreds, but as there wasstill no sound or appearance of their expected foe, they became suddenlysilent, as if under the impression that there was something mysteriousin the affair which was not in accordance with their past experiences.

  They nevertheless clambered to the top of the rock, and began to feelround the bottom of the wooden palisades for a door.

  At that moment, while they were clustering thick as bees round the baseof the building, Leif gave a preconcerted signal. One of the menapplied a light to the pile of bark and fir-cones, and a bright flash offlame shot upward as Leif said,--"Up, lads!" in deep stern tones.

  Instantly a shower of heavy stones descended on the pates of thesavages, who rolled down the steep sides of the mound with shrieks andcries and yells very different indeed from those which had characterisedtheir assault. From all directions the savages now concentrated on thefortress. At the same time the fire suddenly shot up with such a glarethat the whole scene was made nearly as light as day, and from theparapets and every loop-hole of the fortress a very hail of arrowspoured forth into the midst of them, while their own shafts eitherquivered in the palisade or fell harmless from the shields and helmetsof the Norsemen.

  Even in that hour of extreme danger, Leif's desire to spare life, with aview to future proposals of peace, was exemplified in his ordering themen to draw their bows slightly, so as to wound without killing, as muchas possible, and to aim as well as they could at the legs of the foe!One result of this was, that the wounded men were soon very numerous,and, as they fled away, filled the woods with such howls of agony thattheir still unhurt comrades were more alarmed than they would probablyhave been if the ground had been strewn with the dead.

  At this point a vigorous sally from the fortress, and a deep-toned Norsecheer, settled the question for the time being. The entire army ofdark-skinned warriors turned and fled into its native wilderness!

  There was not, it may be well to remark here, so much danger in thissally as we moderns might suppose, for, even though the savages had notrun, but had faced and surrounded their enemy, these Norsemen, withtheir massive limbs, sweeping swords, large shields, and defensivearmour, could have cut their way back again to the fort through hundredsof such half-naked foes.

  Of course Leif had expected them to fly, and had no intention ofretiring immediately to the fort. He merely went the length of theouter wall, and then, with half of his men, kept up a vigorous shoutingto expedite the flight of the foe, while the other half picked up asmany arrows as they could find. Leif was glad to learn, on returning tothe fort, that only two dead men had been discovered on the ground.

  But the savages had not given in by any means, as became pretty clearfrom the noise they made in the woods soon afterwards. This continuedall night, and Leif ordered the fire to be extinguished, lest theyshould be tempted by its light to send a flight of arrows among them,which might wound some of his people when off their guard.

  When the first grey light of dawn appeared, it became evident to thebeleaguered Norsemen what the savages had been about. Not very far fromthe fortress an enormous pile of dry timber had been raised, and,although it was within easy bow-shot, the savages managed, by dodgingfrom tree to tree, to get under its shelter with fresh logs on theirshoulders, and thus increased the pile continually.

  "They mean to burn us out!" exclaimed Hengler anxiously.

  "Rather to smoke us out," observed one of the men. "Fire can neverreach us from that distance."

  Leif, who was very grave, shook his head and said:--

  "If they make the pile very big it may reach us well enough. They haveplenty of hands and no lack of wood. See, they are piling it towindward. God grant that the breeze may not increase, else shall wehave to forsake the fortress. Nevertheless our good ship is at hand,"he added, in a more cheerful tone, "and they will find us tough to dealwith when we get upon the water.--Come, lads, we will at all eventsharass if we cannot stop them."

  So saying, Leif ordered the men to keep up a constant discharge ofarrows whenever they obtained a glimpse of the savages, and he himselfheaded a sally and drove them back to the woods. But as soon as he andhis men had returned to the fortress, out came the savages again like aswarm of bees, and continued their work vigorously.

  Thus the morning passed away, and the pile of the intended bonfire,despite the arrows and the frequent sallies of the Norsemen, continuedslowly but steadily to grow.