apple, and even thehardy blackberry briers had no leaves or sign of blossom, and in thedikes the watercress was blackened and evil to see.
But I will say that in Grimsby we felt not the worst, by reason of thatwisdom of my father, and always Witlaf and his house shared with us.Hard it was here, but elsewhere harder.
And then came the pestilence that goes with famine always. I have heardthat men have prayed to their gods for that, for it has seemed better tothem to die than live.
With the first breath of the pestilence died Grim my father, and aboutthat I do not like to say much. He bade us remember the words he hadspoken of Havelok our brother, and he spoke long to Arngeir in privateof the same; and then he told us to lay him in mound in the ancient way,but with his face toward Denmark, whence we came. And thereafter he saidno more, but lay still until there came up suddenly through the thickair a thunderstorm from the north; and in that he passed, and with hispassing the rain came.
Thereof Withelm said that surely Odin fetched him, and that at once hehad made prayer for us. But the Welsh folk said that not Odin but theWhite Christ had taken the man who had been a father to them, and hadstaved off the worst of the famine from them.
Then pined and died my mother Leva, for she passed in her sleep on theday before we made the mound over her husband, and so we laid them in ittogether, and that was well for both, as I think, for so they would havewished.
So we made a great bale fire over my father's mound, where it stood overthe highest sandhill; and no warrior was ever more wept, for English andWelsh and Danes were at one in this. We set his weapons with him, andlaid him in the boat that was the best--and a Saxon gave that--andin it oars and mast and sail, and so covered him therein. And so hewaits for the end of all things that are now, and the beginning of thosebetter ones that shall be.
That thunderstorm was nothing to the land, for it skirted the shores anddied away to the south, and after it came the heat again; but at leastit brought a little hope. There were fish along the shore that night,too, if not many; and though they were gone again in the morning, therewas a better store in every house, for men were mindful of Grim's teaching.
Now, of all men, Havelok seemed to feel the trouble of the famine themost, because he could not bear to see the children hungry in thecottages of the fishers. It seemed to him that he had more than hisshare of the stores, because so mighty a frame of his needed feedingmightily, as he said. And so for two days after my father died and wasleft in his last resting, Havelok went silent about the place. Here bythe shore the pestilence hardly came, and so that trouble was not addedto us, though the weak and old went, as had Grim and Leva, here and there.
Then, on the third day, Havelok called Arngeir and us, and spoke whatwas in his mind.
"Brothers, I may not bear this any longer, and I must go away. I can dono more to help than can the weakest in the town; and even my strengthis an added trouble to those who have not enough without me. Day by daygrows the store in the house less; and it will waste more slowly if I amelsewhere."
Then Arngeir said quickly, "This is foolishness, Havelok, my brother.Whither will you go? For worse is the famine inland; and I think that wemay last out here. The fish will come back presently."
"I will go to Lincoln. All know that there is plenty there, for thetownsfolk were wise in time. There is the court, and at the court astrong man is likely to be welcome, if only as one who shall keep thestarving poor from the doors, as porter."
He spoke bitterly, for Alsi, the king, had no good name for kindness,and at that Withelm laughed sadly.
"Few poor would Havelok turn away," he said, under his breath; "ratherwere he likely to take the king's food from the very board, and share itamong them."
That made us laugh a little, for it was true enough; and one might seemto see our mighty one sweeping the table, while none dared try to stay him.
But many times of late Havelok had gone dinnerless, that he might feedsome weak one in the village. Maybe some of us did likewise; but, if so,we learned from him.
"Well, then," Havelok said, when we had had our wretched laugh, "Alsi,the king, can better afford to feed me than can anyone else. Therefore,I will go and see about it. And if not the king, then, doubtless, somerich merchant will give me food for work, seeing that I can lift thingshandily. But Radbard here is a great and hungry man also, and it will bewell that he come with me; or else, being young and helpless, I may fallinto bad hands."
So he spoke, jesting and making little of the matter. But I saw that hewas right, and that we who were strong to take what might come should goaway. It was likely that a day of our meals would make a week's fare forArngeir's three little ones, and they were to be thought for.
Now for a little while Arngeir tried to keep us back; but it was plainthat he knew also that our going was well thought of, and only his carefor Havelok stood in the way. Indeed, he said that I and Raven might go.
"Raven knows as much about the fish as did our father," Havelok said."He will go out in the morning, and look at sky and sea, and sniff atthe wind; and if I say it will be fine, he says that the herrings willbe in such a place; and so they are, while maybe it rains all day tospite my weather wisdom. You cannot do without Raven; for it is ill tomiss any chance of the sea just now. Nor can Withelm go, for he knowsall in the place, and who is most in want. It will not do to be withouthouse steward. So we two will go. Never have I been to Lincoln yet, andRadbard knows the place well."
I think that I have never said that Grim would never take Havelok to thecity, lest he should be known by some of the Danish folk who came nowand then to the court, some from over seas, and others from the court ofKing Ethelwald, of whom I have spoken, the Norfolk king. But that dangerwas surely over now, for Havelok would be forgotten in Denmark; andEthelwald was long dead, and his wife also, leaving his daughterGoldberga to her uncle Alsi, as his ward. So Alsi held both kingdomsuntil the princess was of age, when she would take her own. It was saidthat she lived at Dover until that time, and so none of her Danes werelikely to be at court if we went there and found places.
So Havelok's plan was to be carried out, and he and I were to set forthnext morning. Arngeir was yet uneasy about it, nevertheless, as onecould see; but I did not at that time know why it should be so doubtfula matter that two strong men should go forth and seek their fortune butthirty miles away. So we laughed at him.
"Well," he said, "every one knows Radbard; but they will want to knowwho his tall comrade may be. Old foes has Havelok, as Radbard knows, andtherefore it may be well to find a new name for him."
"No need to go far for that," Withelm said. "The marsh folk call him Curan."
"Curan, the wonder, is good," Arngeir said, after a little thought, forwe all knew Welsh enough by this time. "Or if you like a Danish namebetter, brother, call it 'Kwaran,' but silent about yourself you mustsurely be."
We used to call him that at times--for it means "the quiet" in our oldtongue--seeing how gentle and courtly he was in all his ways. So thename was well fitting in either way.
"Silent and thoughtful should the son of a king be," says the Havamal,and so it was with Havelok, son of Gunnar.
Now when I came to think, it was plain that we three stood in the mindof our brother in the place which my father had boded for us, and I wasglad. Well I knew that Raven, the watchful, and Withelm, the wise andthoughtful, would do their parts; and I thought that whether I could domine was to be seen very shortly. If I failed in help at need it shouldnot be my fault. It had been long growing in my mind who Havelok mustbe, though I said nothing of what I thought, because my father hadbidden me be silent long ago, and I thought that I knew why.
We were to start early in the morning, so that we should get to the citybetimes in the evening; and there was one thing that troubled the goodsisters more than it did us. They would have had us go in all ourfinery, such as we were wont to wear on holidays and at feastings; butnone of that was left. It had gone in buying corn, while there was anyleft to buy, along with e
very silver penny that we had. So we must go inthe plain fisher gear, that is made for use and not for show, frayed andstained, and a trifle tarry, but good enough. It would not do to go inour war gear into a peaceful city; and so we took but the seax thatevery Englishman wears, and the short travelling spear that allwayfarers use. Hardly was it likely that even the most hungry outlaw ofthe wild woldland would care to fall on us; for by this time such as weseemed had spent their all in food for themselves and their families,and all the money in Lindsey seemed to have gone away to places wherethere was yet somewhat to buy.
Busy were those kind sisters of ours that night in making ready the lastmeal that we should need to take from them. And all the while theyforetold pleasant things for us at the king's court--how that weshould find high honour and the like. So they set us forth well andcheerfully.
With the dawn we
Havelok the Dane Page 14
