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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Sent To Me To Tell Me That Some Day He Hopes To Rescue Me
From Your Hands."
Sweyn Laughed Loudly.
"He Might Have Saved Himself The Trouble," He Said. "Your
Good Father Lies Wounded Near Paris, And By The Time He Is
Able To Set Out To Your Rescue We Shall Be With Hasting On The
Sunny Waters Of Italy, And Long Ere That You Will, I Hope, Have
Abandoned Your Obstinate Disposition, And Consented To Be
My Wife."
Freda Did Not Answer At Once. Now That There Was A
Hope Of Rescue, However Distant, She Thought It Might Be As
Well To Give Sweyn Some Faint Hope That In Time She Might
Yield To His Wishes. Then She Said:
"I Have Told You Often, Jarl, That I Will Never Be Your Wife,
And I Do Not Think That I Shall Ever Change My Mind. It May
Be That The Sunny Skies You Speak Of May Work A Wonderful
Change In Me, But That Remains To Be Seen." Sweyn Retired
Well Satisfied. Her Words Were Less Defiant Than Any She Had
Hitherto Addressed To Him. As To The Message Of Her Father,
Who Could Know Nothing Of His Intention To Sail To The
Mediterranean, He Thought No Further Of It.
Three Days Later The Galleys Were Launched, And After A
Day Spent In Putting Everything In Its Place They Started On
Their Way Down The River. They Rowed Many Miles, And At
Night Moored By The Bank. After Darkness Had Fallen A Small
Boat Rowed At Full Speed Past Them. It Paid No Attention To
The Summons To Stop, Enforced Though It Was By Several Arrows,
But Continued Its Way Down The River, And Was Soon Lost
Part 3 Chapter 16 (Freda) Pg 158In The Darkness. Sweyn Was Much Displeased. As They Rowed
Down They Had Carefully Destroyed Every Boat They Found On
The River, In Order That The News Of Their Coming Might Not
Precede Them.
"The Boat Must Have Been Hauled Up And Hidden," He
Said; "We Might As Well Have Stopped And Landed At Some Of
The Villages And Replenished Our Larder. Now We Shall Find
The Small Places All Deserted, And The Cattle Driven Away From
The River. It Is An Unfortunate Mischance."
As The Northmen Anticipated They Found The Villages
They Passed The Next Day Entirely Deserted By Their Inhabitants,
And Not A Head Of Cattle Was To Be Seen Grazing Near The
Banks. In The Afternoon They Came To Liege. The Gates Were
Shut, And The Walls Bristled With Spears. The Galleys Passed
Without A Stay. Sweyn Had Other Objects In View. Any Booty
That Might Be Obtained Without Severe Fighting He Would Have
Been Glad Enough To Gather In; But With A Long Sea-Voyage
Before Him He Cared Not To Burden His Galleys, And His Principal
Desire Was To Obtain A Sufficient Supply Of Provisions For
The Voyage. For Several Days The Galleys Proceeded Down The
River. The Villages Were All Deserted, And The Towns Prepared
For Defence.
When He Arrived Within A Day's Journey Of The Sea He
Was Forced To Halt. Half The Crews Were Left In Charge Of The
Ships, And With The Others He Led A Foray Far Inland, And After
Some Sharp Fighting With The Natives Succeeded In Driving
Down A Number Of Cattle To The Ships And In Bringing In A
Store Of Flour.
Edmund Had Kept Ahead Of The Galleys, Stopping At Every Town
And Village And Warning The People Of The Approach Of The
Marauders. He Reached The Mouth Of The River Two
Days Before Them, But To His Deep Disappointment Saw That
The Dragon Had Not Arrived At The Rendezvous. On The Following
Afternoon, However, A Distant Sail Was Seen, And As It
Approached Edmund And His Followers Gave A Shout Of Joy As
They Recognized The Dragon, Which Was Using Her Oars As Well
As Sails And Was Approaching At Full Speed. Edmund Leaped
Into The Boat And Rowed To Meet Them, And A Shout Of Welcome
Arose From The Dragon As The Crew Recognized Their
Commander.
"Are We In Time?" Egbert Shouted.
"Just In Time," Edmund Replied. "They Will Be Here To-Morrow."
Edmund Was Soon On Board, And Was Astonished At Seeing Siegbert
Standing By The Side Of His Kinsman.
"What Is The News Of Freda?" The Jarl Asked Eagerly.
"She Is Well And Keeps Up A Brave Heart," Edmund Replied. "She
Part 3 Chapter 16 (Freda) Pg 159Has Sworn To Kill Herself If Sweyn Attempts To Make Her His Wife
By Violence. I Have Spoken To Her And Told Her That Rescue
Will Come. But How Is It That You Are Here?"
"After You Had Left Us Your Good Kinsman Egbert Suggested
To Me That I Should Take Passage In The Dragon. In The
First Place I Should The Sooner See My Daughter; And In The
Next, It Would Be Perilous Work, After The Danish Army Had
Left, For A Small Party Of Us To Traverse France."
"I Would I Had Thought Of It," Edmund Said; "But My
Mind Was So Disturbed With The Thought Of Freda's Peril That
It Had No Room For Other Matters. And How Fares It With
You?"
"Bravely," The Northman Replied. "As Soon As I Sniffed
The Salt Air Of The Sea My Strength Seemed To Return To Me.
My Wound Is Well-Nigh Healed; But The Joint Has Stiffened,
And My Leg Will Be Stiff For The Rest Of My Life. But That
Matters Little. And Now Tell Me All Your Adventures. We Have
Heard From The Messenger You Sent How Shrewdly You Hunted
Out Sweyn's Hiding-Place."
Part 3 Chapter 17 (A Long Chase) Pg 160
The Following Morning The Weather Was Still And Dull.
Not A Breath Of Wind Ruffled The Surface Of The River.
"This Is Unfortunate," Edmund Said To His Companion.
"Sweyn's Galleys Will Row Faster Than We Can Go With Oars
Alone, And Though They May Not Know The Dragon They Will Be
Sure That She Is Not One Of Their Own Ships. We Must Hope That
They May Attack Us."
The Day Passed On Without A Sight Of The Galleys, But
Late In The Afternoon They Were Seen In The Distance. The
Dragon Was Moored Near The Middle Of The Rivet. Her Oars
Were Stowed Away, And The Crews Ordered To Keep Below The
Bulwarks, In Hopes That The Danes, Seeing But Few Men About
And Taking Her For An Easy Prize, Might Attack Her. When
They Approached Within Half A Mile The Danish Galleys
Suddenly Ceased Rowing.
"What Is That Strange-Looking Vessel?" Sweyn Asked The
Northmen Standing Round Him.
"I Know Her," One Of Them Said, "For I Have Twice Seen
Her Before To My Cost. The First Time She Chased Us Hotly At
The Mouth Of The Thames, Destroying Several Of The Vessels
With Which We Were Sailing In Convoy. The Next Time Was In
The Battle Where King Alfred Defeated Us Last Year, Nearly In
The Same Water. She Is A Saxon Ship, Wondrous Fast And
Well-Handled. She Did More Damage In The Battle Than Any
Four Of Her Consorts."
"Were It Not That I Have Other Game In View," Sweyn Said,
"We Would Fight Her, For We Are Two To One And Strongly
Manned, And The Saxon Can Scarce Carry More Men Than One
Of Our Galleys; But She Is Not Likely To Be Worth The Lives She
Would Cost Us To Capture Her; Therefore We Will E'en Let Her
Alone, Which Will Be Easy Enough, For See That Bank Of Sea-Fog
Rolling Up The River; Another Ten Minutes And We Shall Not See
Across The Deck. Give Orders To The Other Galley To Lay In Oars
Till The Fog Comes, Then To Make For The Left Bank Of The River
And To Drift With The Tide Close Inshore. Let None Speak A
Word, And Silence Be Kept Until They Hear My Horn. I Will
Follow The Right Bank Till We Reach The Mouth."
Freda Was Standing Near And Heard These Orders With A
Sinking Heart. She Had No Doubt That Edmund Was On Board
The Saxon Ship, And She Had Looked Forward With Confidence
To Be Delivered From Her Captor; But Now It Seemed That Owing
To The Evil Change Of The Weather The Hope Was To Be
Frustrated.
Edmund And The Saxons Had Viewed With Consternation
The Approach Of The Sea-Fog. The Instant It Enveloped The
Ship The Oars Were Got Out And They Rowed In The Direction Of
The Danish Vessels, Which They Hoped Would Drop Anchor When
The Fog Reached Them. Not A Word Was Spoken On Board The
Dragon. Edmund, Egbert, And Siegbert Stood On The Forecastle
Intently Listening For Any Sound Which Would Betray The
Position Of The Danes, But Not A Sound Was To Be Heard. They
Had, They Calculated, Already Reached The Spot Where The Dane
Should Have Been Anchored When From The Left, But Far Away
Astern, A Loud Call In A Woman's Voice Was Heard.
"That Must Be Freda!" Edmund Exclaimed. "Turn The
Ship; They Have Passed Us In The Fog."
The Dragon's Head Was Turned And She Was Rowed Rapidly
In The Direction Of The Voice. No Further Sound Was Heard.
Presently There Was A Sudden Shock Which Threw Everyone
Part 3 Chapter 17 (A Long Chase) Pg 161On To The Deck. The Dragon Had Run High On The Low Muddy
Bank Of The River. The Tide Was Falling; And Although For A
Few Minutes The Crew Tried Desperately To Push Her Off They
Soon Found That Their Efforts Were In Vain, And It Was Not
Until The Tide Again Rose High Nine Hours Later That The Dragon
Floated. Until Morning Broke Nothing Could Be Done, And
Even When It Did So Matters Were Not Mended, For The Fog
Was Still Dense.
The Disappointment Of Edmund And Siegbert At
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