The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow

by Allen French

  CHAPTER XXII

  NOW KIARTAN RETURNS

  As weakness grew on him, Ar the Peacock kept Grani much by his side.One day Ar said: "I see that thou art troubled at times. Is aughtweighing on thee?"

  Grani answered: "Rolf is on my mind."

  Ar said: "Put away the thought of him."

  "That I cannot do," replied Grani, "for I feel I did wrong inenthralling him, and I cannot be easy until he hath forgiven me."

  "Meseems," quoth Ar, "that thou expectest Rolf to come and say 'Iforgive thee,' before ever thou hast shown him that thou art sorry."

  Grani answered nothing.

  "Go now," said Ar, "and seek him out. Confess thyself in the wrong."

  "It is hard to do that," responded Grani.

  "Thou art well named Grani the Proud," said Ar; but then he added:"Never have I blamed thee till now, but thou shouldst have done thisthing at the very first. And the longer this estrangement lasts, theharder it will be to forget."

  Grani made no answer, but communed for a while with himself; though itwas hard to his pride, at last he decided to humble himself beforeRolf. He went to the dwelling of Rolf and Frodi; they were on theheadland watching the fishing fleet, and thither Grani followed. Hesat down at the edge of the cliff beside those two, and had speechwith Frodi; but between him and Rolf passed at the first only thegood-day.

  Frodi asked: "War with the Scots is expected in the spring?"

  "Aye," answered Grani.

  "I would I were in Iceland!" Frodi said.

  "Oh ye Icelanders!" cried Grani. "Why is it ye always burn toreturn--whether ye love your foggy isle and plain men more, or ourrealm less?"

  "In your realm," answered Frodi, "there are three pests which noIcelander can bear. The first is your baresarks, which in Iceland areheld in restraint, but here they go at large. The second is yourvikings, which dare not come to us, but here they harry the coasts.And the third is the habit of burning a man in his house, which by ushas been done some few times in great matters, yet is always punished;but here it is done in any little quarrel, and little shame is feltfor it. And if I leave this land without being burned, then I amlucky."

  Grani laughed, and then Rolf spoke. Quoth he: "And as for our land ofsimple men against thy realm of kings and earls, all I know is thatwith us there is law to restrain all men. But if thy earls fall out,then the Orkneys are rent with war. And at all times your lives lie inthe power of the Scots, who any summer day may come and sweep theland. Nay, the winter is open: why may they not fall upon us now?"

  "It is possible," said Frodi, but Grani had nothing to reply.

  "And consider this," Rolf said. "Thou art Grani, fosterling of Ar thethane; thou hast honor, and a part of all spoils are thine. But Ar iscoming to his end, and some day another thane will rule here. When thyhonors fall away, and thou must take thy place like other men: howthen wilt thou think of the doings of kings and earls?"

  "I fear no misfortune," answered Grani.

  "Then," quoth Rolf, "thou art fitted to be an Icelander. And now Iwill say what I have many times thought: that thy speech is more ofIceland than of this place. Whence did Ar take thee?"

  Grani grew red, but answered: "Thou hidest thy parentage."

  "True," replied Rolf. "Now I crave thy pardon for questioning thee."

  That was the end of that talk, for Rolf drew within himself, and Granifelt shame that he could not ask pardon so easily as the Icelander;and the more he looked on Rolf's countenance the more it seemed thatthey should be friends. He ceased speaking, and sat with his back halfturned, trying to say the words; but for a long time they would notcome. At length he said:

  "Rolf."

  "Aye?" Rolf answered.

  Grani said nothing for a while more; at length again he said, "Rolf."

  "What is it?" Rolf asked.

  But for a second time Grani could not bring himself to speak. Yet atlast he made ready to speak without fail and ask forgiveness, and thewords were on his tongue.

  Then suddenly Rolf rose, and pointed out upon the water, where a shiphad come into view; and he cried, "At last cometh he for whom I havewaited!"

  No need to ask whose ship that was, for Grani saw that it wasKiartan's. And weakly he put aside the chance to set himself rightwith Rolf, and inquired instead why Rolf waited there for Kiartan solong.

  "Tell me first," responded Rolf, "why he cometh in such haste, withoars and sails both. He thinks that by this time I am surely gone; buthis debts and goods will not flee from him, and he hath hours beforesunset to make the harbor. Can he be pursued by aught? Let us watchthe headland to the eastward."

  "There comes another ship," cried Frodi.

  They watched that ship appear: a war-ship, long and low. Grani criedthat that must be a viking, and was for running to the hall; but Rolfbade him wait. Then there came a second war-ship, and two moretogether, and then a great ship, very large; after that the nose ofyet another vessel pushed around the headland.

  "Is Earl Thorfinn," asked Grani, "coming to visit his realm?"

  "Why should Kiartan," responded Rolf, "flee before the Earl, who hathsold him permission to trade here? That is the fleet of the Scots!"

  "More of them are in sight," said Frodi.

  So they stayed only long enough to see that the fisher fleet, leavingnets and lines, was hurrying to the shore. Those three left theheadland and ran to Hawksness; there they told the tidings andgathered men, arming all those who came to the hall. The women weresent into the church with the children, but the men went down to thebeach. There the fishermen first made a landing, and hurried for theirarms; but when all were gathered together they were very few againstwhat must be the might of the Scots.

  Then the ship of Kiartan neared the shore. Frodi said to Rolf: "Beforethe Scots come there will be time to claim thy due of him."

  "Not in the face of this danger," answered Rolf.

  Kiartan ran his ship upon the beach, and his men leaped out and pushedher higher up the shingle. Kiartan ran to Ar, and begged protection."Fight thou with us," quoth Ar. "We shall be but six score against sixhundred." Kiartan turned pale and bit his fingers.

  Frodi said, "He is as big a coward as I." Grani laughed.

  Now when the Scots neared the shore, the people gave way from thebeach and drew a little up the hillside; and the nearer the Scotscame, the more the Orkneymen withdrew. Then when the Scots werelanding, some of the Hawksness men threw away their arms and sat downwhere they were; and some fled away to the downs and the heather,where they might hide. But Ar said he would not flee, and went backagain to fight. Those who went with him were only Grani and Sweyn, andRolf and Frodi followed behind.

  "This is no Icelanders quarrel," said Ar. "We go to die, but the Scotswill give you peace."

  "Nevertheless we will look on a while," answered Rolf.

  Then Ar took his stand on that knoll whence Rolf had slain thebaresark; he had his church and his hall at his back, and thinking todie as became a man he seemed to gain his strength again, and shotarrows in marvellous wise. Twenty he sent among the Scots as theylanded, and hurt a man with each; then he took his spear, and waitedfor the Scots to come nearer.

  "Now," said Frodi to Rolf, "shall we stay or go?"

  "If we stay," answered Rolf, "we never see Iceland again. Yet I havenot the heart to leave those three as they stand there." So he andFrodi drew still nearer to Ar, and stood at his back.

  But some archer in the fleet sent forth a shaft, and it smote Ar; inthe throat it smote him, and he fell. Like a man he died there, nearhis father's hall; and the Scots, shouting, began to come forward."Flee!" said Sweyn to Grani.

  "Wilt thou flee?" asked Grani.

  A spear struck Sweyn in the leg, and down he sat. "Here I stay," quothhe.

  "Then here stay I," answered Grani.

  But those fisher-folk who had thrown down their arms ran to Grani in acrowd, and cried that he should not stay to be killed. Some bore Sweynwithin the church, where no Scot would slay him before the al
tar; andwhen Grani saw that, he suffered himself to be pushed away. So he cameto the hillside before ever the Scots reached him; and when they beganto shoot at him with arrows, he ran. And Rolf and Frodi ran along thehillside a little higher up.

  Now the Scots sent swift archers in chase. Grani was armed and hadheavy weapons; Frodi was slow and Rolf would not leave him; so thearchers began to come up on them, and it looked bad for them. Graniknew the country; he sought the best ways, calling to Rolf that theyshould meet at the Vale of the Hermit. Then he threw off his mail andran freely, and shook off his pursuers in a little wood. But in thatsame wood Rolf took the wrong course; for thinking he knew the way tothe Vale he led Frodi where should be a glen with a growth oftrees.--Nothing was there of the kind, but a bare hillside rose, wherewas no cover, and the Scots began to shout as they saw them close infront.

  Now Grani knew the way better. When he reached the copse he stood andlooked where Rolf and Frodi ran on the hillside above him. Then heheard a panting, and looked down. There was Kiartan hiding in thefern.

  "Look up now," said Grani, "and see who runneth there above us."

  When Kiartan saw Rolf, first he started and then he looked sidewise atGrani. "They can never escape," said he.

  "I will call them hither," replied Grani.

  "That will bring us in danger!" Kiartan cried.

  But Grani leaped upon a boulder and prepared to shout. Then as hestood there, Kiartan snatched up a billet of wood and smote at himfrom the side: foul was that assault. The stroke fell on the shoulder,but Grani twisted his arm and cast the billet aside; he smote inreturn, and Kiartan fell. So Grani shouted aloud to Rolf, who stood onthe hillside with Frodi and studied his road.

  So many copses did Rolf see that he knew not where to go, for mostwere but small clumps, where was no safety; and only one led to thehidden winding watercourse and the secluded dell. But when he heardGrani and saw him, he turned thither, although he must go back alittle way. He and Frodi ran hastily, rushing down the hillside withmuch speed. And they saw they could avoid all but one of the Scots.

  That man had run wide of their track, flanking them lest they shoulddouble back; now he ran in on them and prepared to strike with hissword. On that slope was no good footing; but the Scot braced himselfwhere the Icelanders must pass, and they could hardly both escape himwithout a wound. But when Rolf rushed down on him, with sword raised,and those two looked into each other's eyes, then the Scot did notstrike, but stood like stone. Neither did Rolf smite, but Frodi struckhard with the butt of his bill; they left that Scot lying in a heap,and sped downward into the hollow.

  There they found Grani with Kiartan, and Grani had bound theshipmaster's hands behind his back. Hastily they went into the copse,driving Kiartan before them; they found the crooked watercourse andfollowed it among the stones; it was dry and they wet not their feet.So in a while they came to a little dell, nestled among the hills; theplace was called the Vale of the Hermit. But no one lived there, onlyin one place had been a farm; the hall had been burned, but astorehouse still stood stout against the weather. Thither they wentand rested, knowing that no Scot could find them in that place.

  Grani loosed Kiartan and bade him gather wood. "And if thou seekest toflee thou wilt carry an arrow in the ribs. Make a fire, for I see beefis in the storehouse, drying, and the green hide hangs against thewall. We will sup." So Kiartan gathered wood and made a fire.

  "One thing I fail to understand," said Frodi to Rolf: "why neitherthou nor that Scot smote at the other, and it was left to me to knockhim down."

  "That was strange to me also," said Grani.

  Rolf said: "I knew that man, and he was Malcolm, my father's thrall.For very astonishment we could not strike."

  "Then I gave him a headache," quoth Frodi, "to make him remember hismanner of gaining his freedom."

  "Preserve me from such headaches as thou dealest!" said Rolf. "Thebutt of thy bill is worse than the point."

  Then Grani told why he had bound Kiartan. "And now," said he, "thoucanst take on him thy vengeance, whatever that may be."

  "Call him here," said Rolf.

  So Kiartan was called thither and crouched thereby; it was plain thathe expected to be killed. "In what has he offended thee?" asked Grani.

  "Now," answered Rolf, "that which I say in his hearing will be to himthe worst part of his punishment. He is my uncle, and through him myfather came to his death."

  But when they looked to see him weep, or hear him blame himself,Kiartan rose and thanked them that his life was spared. In loathingthey bade him go into the storehouse and lie; then they laidthemselves down inside the door, and slept.

  For the sake of air, they left the door wide. In the morning theyfound that Kiartan was gone; and while they were asking where he mightbe, they heard his voice at a little distance, saying that there thosethree lay in that storehouse, and the Scots should slay them. Then washeard the rush of feet.