The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3) - G. A. Henty (best pdf ebook reader .txt) 📗
- Author: G. A. Henty
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Well-Fought Encounter. Each Man, Himself A Warrior, Was Able To
Appreciate The Value Of The Strokes And Parries. The Betting
At The Commencement Had Run High Upon Sweyn, And Horses,
Armour, Arms, And Slaves Had Been Freely Wagered Upon His
Success; But As The Fight Went On The Odds Veered Round, And
The Demeanour Of The Combatants Had As Much To Do With
This As The Skill And Strength Shown By Edmund In His Defence.
The Dane Was Flushed And Furious; His Temper Gave Way Under
The Failure Of His Assaults. The Saxon, On The Contrary,
Part 3 Chapter 10 (The Combat) Pg 99Fought As Calmly And Coolly As If Practicing With Blunted
Weapons; His Eyes Never Left Those Of His Adversary, A Half
Smile Played On His Lips, And Although Drops Of Perspiration
From His Forehead Showed How Great Were His Exertions, His
Breathing Hardly Quickened.
Twice Sweyn Drew Back For Breath, And Edmund Each
Time, Instead Of Pressing Him, Dropped The Point Of His Sword
And Waited For Him To Renew The Combat. At Present He Had
Scarce Struck A Blow, And While His Own Shield Was Riven In
Several Places And His Helmet Dinted, Those Of Sweyn Were
Unmarked.
At The Third Assault Sweyn Came Up Determined To End
The Conflict, And Renewed The Attack With Greater Fury Than
Before. Three Times His Sword Descended With Tremendous
Force, But Each Time It Met The Blade Of The Saxon; The Fourth
Time His Arm Was Raised, Then There Was A Flash And A Sudden
Shout From The Crowd.
With A Mighty Blow Edmund Had Smitten Full On His Opponent's
Uplifted Arm, And, Striking It Just Above The Elbow, The Sword
Clove Through Flesh And Bone, And The Severed Limb, Still Grasping
The Sword, Fell To The Ground.
A Loud Shout Of Approval Burst From The Danes. Although The
Conqueror Was Their Enemy They Appreciated So Highly The Virtues
Of Coolness And Courage That Their Applause Was No Less Hearty
Than If The Victor Had Been A Countryman. Sweyn Had Fallen
Almost The Instant The Blow Had Been Struck. The Ring Was
At Once Broken Up, And His Friends Ran To Him. The Norsemen
Were Adepts At The Treatment Of Wounds, And Everything Had Been
Prepared In Case Of Emergencies.
A Bandage Was Instantly Tied Tightly Round The Upper
Part Of The Arm To Stop The Rush Of Blood, And The Stump Was
Then Dipped Into Boiling Pitch, And Sweyn, Who Had Become
Almost Instantly Insensible From The Loss Of Blood, Was Carried
To His Father's Tent. According To Custom Handsome Presents
Of Swords And Armour Were Made To Edmund By Those Who Had Won
By His Success.
It Would Have Been Considered Churlish To Refuse Them,
And Edmund Had No Thought Of Doing So, For He Needed
Money, And These Things In Those Days Were Equivalent To
Wealth.
"You Have Done Well And Gallantly Indeed, My Young
Friend," Siegbert Said As, Followed By Several Slaves Bearing
Edmund's Presents, They Returned To The Tent. "I Am Glad You
Did Not Slay Him, For I Think Not That He Will Die. Such A Blow
Given In Battle Would Assuredly Have Been Fatal, But Here The
Means Of Stanching The Blood Were At Hand, And I Trust For
Bijorn's Sake That He Will Recover; But Whether Or No He
Part 3 Chapter 10 (The Combat) Pg 100Brought It On Himself."
On Reaching The Tent Freda Ran Out Radiant.
"I Hear That You Have Conquered," She Said, "And I Am
Glad Indeed; It Serves Him Right, For All Say That He Forced The
Fight Upon You."
"I Did Not Know That Your Sympathies Were So Strongly
Against Sweyn," Siegbert Said In A Somewhat Reproachful Tone.
"He Has Always Been Your Devoted Follower."
"He Has Always Been My Tyrant, Father, For He Has Always
Insisted On My Doing His Pleasure; But If He Had Been Ten
Times My Follower, And Had Been A Valiant Warrior Instead Of
A Youth, And I A Maiden Of Twenty Instead Of A Girl Of Fifteen,
I Should Still Be Glad That He Was Conquered, Because Without
Any Reason For Quarrel He Has Sought To Slay This Saxon Youth
Who Did Us Such Great Service, And To Whom As He Knew We Were
So Indebted."
Siegbert Smiled. "Hitherto I Have Wondered, Daughter
Mine, At The Reason Which Induced Sweyn To Challenge
Edmund, But Now Methinks I Understand It. Sweyn Has, As
His Father Has Told Me, Youth As He Is, Set His Heart On
Winning Your Hand When You Shall Reach The Age Of Womanhood,
And It Is Just Because Edmund Has Done You And Me Service
That He Hates Him. You Are Young, Child, For Your Bright Eyes
To Have Caused Bloodshed; If You Go On Like This There Will Be
No End To The Trouble I Shall Have On Your Account Before I
Get You Fairly Wedded."
Freda Coloured Hotly.
"That Is Nonsense, Father; Another Five Years Will Be Soon
Enough To Begin To Think Of Such Things. At Any Rate," She
Said With A Laugh, "I Am Rid Of Sweyn, For He Can Hardly
Expect Me Ever To Love A One-Armed Man."
"There Have Been Brave Warriors," Seigbert Said, "With
But One Arm."
"It Makes No Difference," Freda Laughed; "If He Had Fifty
Arms I Should Never Love Him."
Edmund Now Entreated Siegbert To Repay Himself From
The Presents He Had Received For The Goods He Had The Evening
Before Given To Bijorn As The Price Of His Liberty, But This The
Jarl Would Not Hear Of. Edmund Then Begged Him To Buy
With Them, Of Bijorn, The Four Saxon Slaves With Whom He
Had Agreed To Attempt An Escape, And To Expend The Rest Of
The Presents In Freeing As Many Other Saxon Prisoners As He
Could.
Part 3 Chapter 10 (The Combat) Pg 101
This Siegbert Did, And By The Evening Edmund Had The
Satisfaction Of Finding Around Him Twelve Saxons Whose Freedom
He Had Purchased. He Remained As The Guest Of Siegbert
Until The Expedition Sailed In The Last Week Of March. Then
With The Twelve Saxons He Embarked In Siegbert's Ship, Which,
Instead Of Keeping With The Others, Sailed For The Mouth Of
The Thames. The Wind Was Favourable And The Passage Quick,
And Three Days After Sailing Edmund And His Companions Were
Disembarked On The Coast Of Kent. His Adieus With Siegbert
Were Hearty And Earnest.
"I Would You Had Been A Northman," The Jarl Said, "For I
Love You As A Son, And Methinks That When The Time Comes,
Had You Been So Inclined, You Might Have Really Stood In That
Relation To Me, For I Guess That My Little Freda Would Not Have
Said No Had You Asked Her Hand; But Now Our Paths Are To
Part. I Shall Never War Again With The Saxons, For Indeed
There Is But Scant Booty To Be Gained There, While You Are Not
Likely Again To Be Cast Upon Our Shores; But Should The Fates
Ever Throw Us Together Again, Remember That You Have A Friend
For Life In Jarl Siegbert."
Freda, Who Had Accompanied Her Father As Usual, Wept
Bitterly At The Parting, Which, However, She Did Not Deem To
Be As Final As It Appeared To Her Father; For The Evening Before,
As She Was Standing On The Poop With Edmund, He Had
Said To Her, "You Will Not Forget Me, Freda; We Are Both Very
Young Yet; But Some Day, When The Wars Are Over, And England
No Longer Requires My Sword, I Will Seek You Again."
"Is That A Promise, Edmund?"
"Yes, Freda, A Solemn Promise."
"I Will Wait For You," She Said Simply, "If It Were Till The
End Of My Life."
The Youth And Girl Ratified The Promise By A Kiss, And
Freda, As Through Her Tears She Watched The Boat Which
Conveyed Edmund And His Companions To Shore, Felt Sure That
Some Day She Should See Her Saxon Hero Again.
On Landing, Edmund Soon Learned That The Danes Were
Everywhere Masters, And That Since The Autumn Nothing Had
Been Heard Of The King, Who Was Supposed To Be Somewhere
In Hiding.
In Every Village Through Which They Passed They Found
Evidence Of The Mastership Of The Danes. Many Of The Houses
Were Burnt Or Destroyed, The People Were All Dressed In The
Poorest Garb, And Their Sad Faces And Listless Mien Told Of The
Despair Which Everywhere Prevailed. In Every Church The
Altars Had Been Thrown Down, The Holy Emblems And Images
Destroyed, The Monks And Priests Had Fled Across The Sea Or
Had Been Slain.
Part 3 Chapter 10 (The Combat) Pg 102The Danish Gods, Thor And Woden, Had Become The Divinities
Of The Land, And The Saxons, In Whom Christianity
Had But Recently Supplanted The Superstitions Of Paganism,
Were Fast Returning To The Worship Of The Pagan Gods. Edmund
And His Companions Were Shocked At The Change. On Reaching
Home They Found That The Ravages Of The Danes Had Here
Been Particularly Severe, Doubtless In Revenge For The Heavy
Loss Which Had Been Sustained By Them In Their Attack Upon
Edmund's Fortification. His Own Abode Had Been Completely
Levelled To The Ground, And The Villages And Farm-Houses For
The Most Part Wholly Destroyed. His People Were Lying In
Rude Shelters Which They Had Raised, But Their Condition Was
Very Much Better Than That Of The People In General.
The News Of Edmund's Return Spread Like Wildfire, And
Excited The Most Extreme Joy Among His People, Who Had
Long Given Him Up For Lost. He Found To His Delight That The
Dragon Had Returned Safely, And That She Was Laid Up In Her
Old Hiding-Place. The Great Amount Of Spoil With Which She
Was Loaded Had Enabled Her Crew Largely To Assist Their Friends,
And It Was This Which Had Already Raised The Condition Of The
People Above That Of Their Neighbours. Houses Were
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