The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow

by Allen French

  CHAPTER XX

  HOW ROLF WON HIS FREEDOM

  Now when that meal was ended, Kiartan rose up and said that he mustgo; he thanked Ar, and Grani walked with him to the door. But as theypassed by the bench whereon Rolf and Frodi were sitting, Granibeckoned them to rise up, and he said to Kiartan: "Look on my thralls,now that thou canst see them closer, and tell me what thou thinkest ofthem."

  Kiartan scarcely looked at them. "They seem a good pair," he answered."It is fitting for thy dignity to have thralls." Then he went away.

  Frodi asked of Rolf: "Did he know us?" "He knew us well," answeredRolf.

  "What wilt thou do?" asked Frodi.

  "I see naught to do," said Rolf. "For what he did against my fatherwas done in Iceland, so that I could not bring a suit at law here.Moreover, no thrall can bring a suit in any land."

  "Wilt thou claim kinship with him?" Frodi asked.

  "Wilt thou?" responded Rolf. No more words were said, but it was seenin their eyes that for their pride's sake they would make no claim onKiartan.

  Kiartan found that nothing was said in the matter; so he stayed therein the place, and won the friendship of Ar by gifts, and traded withsuccess. He ate often at the hall, and slept there whenever he would;but no word passed between him and those kinsmen, nor did they everlook at him.

  Grani was proud that he owned thralls, and he commanded them to showwhat they could do. So Rolf shot with the bow, and Grani made him hisbow-bearer. But Frodi said he knew little of weapons; yet when theygave him a spear he shot it through two shields braced togetheragainst posts. He asked for work as a smith, but Grani made himspear-bearer. And the youth often walked abroad with those other twoattending him. Ar was pleased with that show, but the thralls smiledgrimly to each other.

  Once Kiartan saw that smile, and he said to Grani privily: "Thythralls smile at thy back, and make as if they feel shame. Now becareful lest they harm thee sometime when thou art alone with them. IfI were thee, I would set them at the sheep-herding or the field-work."

  Grani answered: "I fear no harm from them, and indeed I like them moreevery day. I cannot spare them."

  Now the truth of the matter was this, that Grani cast a great loveupon Rolf, and would have him as a friend, not thinking that nofriendship can be between master and slave. He gave Rolf gifts,everything but his freedom; he spoke much with Rolf, yet the talk wasmost upon the one side, for Rolf grew very silent. Yet Rolf wenteverywhere after Grani, and did him much service of all kinds, beingclever with his hands and wise in his ways; he knew a boat and all themodes of fishing; when it came to cliff-climbing, no man in that placewas his match. Grani often went seeking adventure with Rolf and Frodi;they managed in such wise that Frodi did the work and Rolf directedwhat should be done. When they went after birds Frodi sat at the topof the cliff and held the rope, but on the cliff's face Rolf would letGrani take no risks. Nay, sometimes it seemed as if Rolf were themaster and Grani the man. But when other people were about, Rolf didall that Grani said.

  One day a bishop came to Hawksness and visited the parish. He heldservice in the church, and lived at the hall for two days. When he wasabout to go away, he asked if any man needed from him counsel orcomfort. Frodi stood up.

  Said he: "Lord Bishop, are all manslayings sinful?"

  The bishop answered: "State me the case, for some manslayings areblameless."

  So Frodi spoke thus: "If a man is on a ship, and vikings come, andthat man casts a viking overboard, and the viking is drowned--hath theman committed a mortal sin?"

  Many men smiled at these words, for the story of Frodi and the vikingshad been told. The bishop said: "Vikings are the worst plague of theland, and they deserve no mercy. Since the viking came to take life,it was no sin to slay him."

  Frodi drew a long breath, but he asked further: "If two vikings weredrowned, what of that?"

  "It is the same," answered the bishop.

  "But if three men were thus drowned," asked Frodi, "what then?"

  "Even if thirty died," answered the bishop, "the answer is still thesame."

  Then Frodi heaved a great sigh, and looked so relieved that all whostood by shouted with merriment. Grani was pleased most of all, and hegave command that Frodi should be called Drowning-Frodi. Frodi likedthat little, yet by that name he was called for a while. And Grani wasso pleased with all this that he boasted much about his thralls.

  One day he spoke of them with Kiartan, and told how when they wentaway together Rolf took the lead. "And he cares for me," said Grani,"as if I were his brother; but so soon as others are by he is as anyother thrall, and says no word unless spoken to."

  Kiartan said: "In that he appears to me sly."

  "How should that be?" asked Grani.

  "He seeks to gain influence over thee," answered Kiartan.

  "Nay," said Grani, "he and I are friends."

  Kiartan shook his head. Quoth he: "In my country we have a saying:'Ill is a thrall for a friend.' Moreover, to lack dignity at any timeis not seeming in one of thy station."

  Grani took those sayings much to heart; he went no more away alonewith his thralls, but stayed where were other men. Now that was thetime when the summer had passed by and harvests were all in, butwinter had not yet come and the weather was mild. Men were saying thatwhen winter should come, it would be with suddenness.

  There came a day when the wind was high, but it was as soft as summer.A man named Thord the Weatherwise came to Ar and said: "See to it thatall is ready for the winter!" and without more words departed. Arinquired of his men if the sheep were yet gathered in from the downsabove the cliffs. It was answered that they were not. Ar bade send aman quickly to warn the shepherds.

  It was told Ar that the fishers had just come in, and that all theserving-men were busied at the beach, being much needed to save thecatch of fish, for the waves were high. Ar said to Grani: "Lend me oneof thy thralls to take my message."

  "Thou mayest have both of them," answered Grani.

  So Rolf and Frodi prepared to go to the downs, and a long jaunt thatwould be. But when Grani saw they were ready he felt desire to go withthem, since he had not done much for some days, and needed action. Sohe said that Rolf and Frodi should wait till he could go with them.They went outside the hall to wait, and Grani bound on his shoes. NowKiartan had stood by and heard all that, and he said:

  "So thou goest out again with thy friends?"

  Grani answered with pride: "I go with my thralls!"

  He went outside the hall and found Rolf and Frodi waiting. Rolf lookedhim over, and seeing there was no one by, he said: "Take thy cloak,for we may be benighted."

  "Lo," answered Grani, "the thrall gives orders to his master! We shallbe back before men go to bed. No cloak is needed, and I forbid ye totake yours."

  So Rolf and Frodi left their cloaks behind, and went with Grani to themoors. The moors were wide and rolling, and lay above those cliffswhereby they had once been wrecked. The three travelled not as hadbeen their wont, all together; but Grani went ahead, saying to himselfthey should remember that they were thralls. In going so he missed hisway, and they came to the sheepcotes roundabout and late. There theyfound the men busy gathering in the sheep, making ready to drive themto the valleys when this gale should pass. Some men said that would beon the morrow, for the wind was falling. Even while they spoke thewind dropped completely, and there was a calm.

  "See," said Grani, "the storm is over; it was but a gale."

  The head shepherd said he thought not so, and that more was to belooked for. "Moreover, thy Icelanders think the same, as I can see bytheir faces."

  "I ask not what they think," answered Grani. "There is blue sky in thesouth."

  "Thy thralls and I," replied the shepherd, "look to the north. And nowI beg that thou wilt stay here overnight, for company's sake."

  "I see thou hast fear for me," said Grani. "But I will return."

  "Then hasten," begged the shepherd.

  But Grani would not hurry, and started leisurely. T
he shepherd calleda man, and privately told him he should guide those three, for he knewthe moors. Then the shepherd begged Grani that the man might go toHawksness with him, for his work at the folds was done. The fourstarted together.

  Soon a little wind, thin and keen, began to blow from the north; itgrew greater quickly until it was half a gale. By that time they werewhere they could see the sea, and Grani looked out upon it. Quoth he:"Fog is coming from the water."

  Now Rolf had been silent so far, all that afternoon; yet he could beso no longer. Said he: "Not fog is that, but snow, and I beg thee toturn back."

  "Lead forward!" said Grani to the shepherd.

  So they went on as they had been going, another half-hour, and eachminute the wind grew stronger. They neared the line of the cliffs, andwalked parallel with them at a half-mile's distance. Then that whichhad appeared to be fog on the water at last moved inland, so that theysaw it coming like a wall. It left the sea, and swallowed up the landbefore it; then it swept upon them silently, and they bent before itsonslaught. Wind buffeted them and roared in their ears; a fewsnowflakes drove along the ground; then they were enfolded in theswirl of snow. All around them became one gray fleece, they could notsee for a rod in front, and they shivered with the cold.

  They struggled onwards, bending to the wind; and night came down anhour before its time. The snow began to heap thickly, and now it wasabove the ankle, now a foot in depth; wonderful was that fall of snow.They walked one behind the other, the shepherd in front, then Grani,Rolf, and Frodi, each so close as to touch the next one with his hand.The night grew black, and the wind was loud. Then at last Rolf shoutedthat they should stop.

  "Why sayest thou that?" asked Grani.

  "Because I think we near the cliffs," said Rolf.

  "I hear no surf," answered Grani.

  But the guide thought that Rolf was right. Grani asked what theyshould do. Rolf answered: "Best stay here till morning."

  "Shall I freeze?" asked Grani. "Let us turn away and walk furtherinland."

  "We cannot keep our direction," said Rolf.

  "Wilt thou never be silent?" asked Grani. "We will go inland." So theysought to do so, and they walked for another while. Then Grani askedthe shepherd if he knew where he was, and the man could not say. Whenthey went on again, Frodi pressed forward and took the place behindthe shepherd; and when Grani asked for the place Frodi would not giveit. So they walked thus for another while, their feet clogged by thesnow, their faces stung with the wind, plodding with great effort andweariness. Then at the end that happened which Rolf had feared.

  For of a sudden the roar of the sea burst up at them from their veryfeet, and the guide, with a cry, sank in the darkness. Frodi clutchedat him, but caught only the cloak; the clasp broke, and the man fellto his death. Those other three stood at the edge of the cliff, whilebelow the sea thundered, yet they saw nothing.

  Then Rolf took Grani by the arm and drew him away. Frodi followed. Thenoise of the surf was suddenly lost in the wind, and no one would haveknown they were near the cliff. Rolf led the way inland, and Frodiwalked last; they went very cautiously, and Frodi was ever ready toseize on Grani. At last they reached a mound. In its lee the wind wasless, and the snow was piling deep; Rolf scooped space for them all,and there they sat down side by side.

  After a space Grani said, "It grows cold." Frodi wrapped him in theguide's cloak. For another while they sat silent, until Grani saidagain: "I am too weary to walk another step, yet if I sit here I shallfreeze. Frodi, what can we do?"

  Frodi knew nothing which could be done. "Either we should walk overthe cliffs, or die of freezing in the first mile. We must stay here.Take warmth from us."

  They sat closer to him, but still he was cold. After a while he said:"I am sorry we brought not our cloaks." They answered nothing. Thesnow heaped around them, yet Grani fell to shivering. Then he said: "Iam sorry we turned not back." They still said nothing. At last Granicould bear it no longer, and he cried:

  "Rolf, if thou hast anything to say, say it before we all die!"

  Rolf answered: "I have been thinking. What is this mound behind us?"

  "There is but one mound on all the heaths," answered Grani. "Men callit the barrow of a viking, who died off the coast, and was buried herewith his ship, that he might forever look out upon the sea."

  "Then," said Rolf, "there is one thing we can do, and only one, tosave our lives; and that is to break into the barrow."

  So they fell to digging with their hands at the mound, and they couldhave done nothing had the earth been frozen. But it was still soft;and they dug until they came to timbers, two feet within the mound.Then Frodi thrust his hands between the timbers, and strained at one,and Rolf and Grani tugged at his waist. The timber broke, and theyfell back together in the snow; yet an entrance to the mound was thusmade, and when they had enlarged it Rolf went in first, and the othersfollowed.

  Within, the air was dead and close; they stayed at the entrance tobreathe, yet the place was warmer, and it was a great relief not tofeel the wind. But Grani was still all of a shiver, so Rolf went intothe mound further, and they heard him stumbling and slipping in thedarkness. After a while he came back to them and said: "Here is woodfor a fire."

  Then they pulled stalks of grass and shook them free of snow; theyfound in the shepherd's cloak a flint and steel, and so made a fire atthe mouth of the barrow. The wind bore the smoke away, and by degreesthe air cleared in the mound. Then with brands they went within, andcast the light about.

  The mound was made of a viking-ship, a small one, which had been bornethere on the shoulders of men. It was propped upright with stones, androofed over with timbers and planks; dirt had been cast over thewhole. They climbed into that ship, and saw by the light of thetorches where the old viking sat in the stern. He was in such armor asmen had worn long before; he had a helm on his head, and held a swordin his hand, and was very stern of face. There he sat as if he werestill alive, but there was no sight in his eyes.

  Before him in the ship were precious things of gold and silver,cloths, and weapons. All the oars lay in their places as if ready formen to use them. Very strange was that sight, and those three gazed atit in silence.

  "He looks," said Frodi, "as if he would walk."

  "There he sat as if he were still alive, but there wasno sight in his eyes"]

  "Now," said Grani, "I remember the shepherds say he has been seen, andlights have burned at this mound sometimes of nights. Yet he has neverdone harm."

  "If he is ever to do it, he will do it now," said Rolf. "For he looksas if he mislikes us here."

  By that time the place was very smoky from the torches, so they wentback again to the entrance and lay down to sleep; they took with themcloths and broidered hangings which had lain by the viking, and withthese and the fire they made themselves warm. So, very weary fromtheir walking, they fell asleep.

  In the middle of the night Rolf and Grani waked, and missed Frodi fromtheir side. Moreover they heard a noise, which was not the howling ofthe storm, but was like the splintering of wood and the snarling ofmen's breaths as they wrestled in fight. Then Rolf snatched a torchfrom the fire and ran within the mound; Grani followed, and theyclimbed on board the ship.

  There lay Frodi and the viking together: they had been fighting allabout the place, and the thwarts and oars were broken; in one placeeven the bulwark of the ship was torn away. But Frodi had forced theviking into the seat where first he had sat; and there Frodi held him,while the viking struggled still, glaring from glassy eyes, and Frodicould do naught but keep him where he was. Little more breath hadFrodi, but yet he held his grip on the viking's arms.

  Then Rolf drew his short-sword, and sprang in at the viking, and hewedat the neck of him, so that the head sprang off at the stroke; but noblood followed. Frodi lay and breathed deeply, but Rolf took the headof the viking and laid it at his thigh.

  With those heathen ghosts which did harm to man, there was no way toquiet them except to hew off the head and lay it at
the thigh. Andsuch things happened to many men, even as is here told; but thegreatest ghost-layer, says Sturla the Lawman, was Grettir the Strong.

  When Frodi had got his breath, they asked him how all that had comeabout. "Nothing do I know about it," answered Frodi, "save that hecame and dragged me in my sleep hither, and sought to throttle me. Ihad much ado to master him."

  They went back and slept until the day came, but the storm was stillso violent that they could not travel. Then they made larger theentrance to the mound so that light came into the ship; and theyburied the viking in the ground. Now when they came to examine histreasures, Grani and Frodi were busy long, casting aside each thingfor something better. But after Rolf had searched for only a shortwhile, he sat still and looked no further. Grani saw that he hadsomething.

  "What precious thing hast thou there?" asked he.

  "This," said Rolf, "which I found on the back of the viking's seat."

  He showed them a bow which had hung there in a leathern case. Of someforeign wood it was, tipped with horn, and bound at the middle withwire of fine gold to form a grip. It seemed very strong, cunninglymade: a wonderful weapon. And there was a quiver with it, bearingthirty arrows, long and barbed for war.

  "Now," said Grani, "this is far better than jewels or fine cloths, andit is the best weapon here. Thou shalt give it to me."

  Rolf gave him the bow. And when they went again to look out upon thestorm, the clouds were breaking and sunbeams were coming through. Sothey took the bow and some small gear, and started for Hawksness,where they found Ar nigh wild for fear; but their coming made himhappy. And Grani told all that had happened to them.

  Said Ar: "Methinks thy thralls have saved thy life."

  "That is true," answered Grani.

  "What wilt thou give them?" asked Ar.

  "Whatever they wish," answered Grani. He called on Rolf to say whatgift he would like at his hands.

  "That bow and those arrows," said Rolf.

  "Now," asked Grani, "which is dearest to thee, that bow, or thyfreedom and Frodi's?"

  "Our freedom," answered Rolf.

  "Your freedom shall you have," said Grani. Then, before all who werein the hall, he spoke Rolf and Frodi free.