The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3) by G. A. Henty (e book reading free TXT) 📕

And Collecting Such Goods As He Required And A Good Store Of

Provisions He Marched To The Place Where The Ship Had Been

Hidden. No Wandering Band Of Danes Had Passed That Way,

And The Bushes With Which She Had Been Covered Were Undisturbed.

These Were Soon Removed And A Passage Three Feet

Deep,  And Wide Enough For The Ship To Pass Through,  Was Dug

From The Deep Hole In Which She Was Lying To The River.

When The Last Barrier Was Cut The Water Poured In,  And

The Saxons Had The Satisfaction Of Seeing The Vessel Rise

Gradually Until The Water In The Dock Was Level With That In The

River. Then She Was Taken Out Into The Stream,  The Stores And

Fittings Placed Aboard,  And She Was Poled Down To The Mouth

Of The River. Egbert Had Gone Before And Had Already Engaged

Fifteen Sturdy Sailors To Go With Them. The Danes Had

Not Yet Reached The Sea-Coast From The Interior,  And There Was

Therefore No Difficulty In Obtaining The Various Equipments

Necessary. In A Week Her Masts Were Up And Her Sails In Position.

The Dragon,  As She Was Called,  Excited Great Admiration

At The Port,  All Saying That She Was The Finest And Largest Ship

That Had Ever Been Seen There. While Her Fitting Out Had

Been Going On She Was Hove Up On Shore And Received Several

Coats Of Paint. Edmund Was Loath To Start On His Voyage Without

Again Seeing The King,  But No One Knew Where Alfred

Now Was,  He,  On Finding The Struggle Hopeless,  Having Retired

To The Fastnesses Of Somerset To Await The Time When The Saxons

Should Be Driven By Oppression Again To Take Up Arms.

At Last All Was Ready,  And The Dragon Put Out To Sea. She

Was Provided With Oars As Well As Sails,  But These Were Only To

Be Used When In Pursuit,  Or When Flying From A Superior Enemy.

As Soon As She Had Been Long Enough At Sea To Enable

The Band Again To Recover From The Effects Of Sickness The

Oars Were Got Out And The Men Practised In Their Use.

As In The Models From Which She Had Been Built,  She

Rowed Two Banks Of Oars,  The One Worked By Men Upon Deck,

The Others Through Small Port-Holes. The Latter Could Only

Be Used When The Weather Was Fine; When The Sea Was High

They Were Closed Up And Fastened. The Lower-Deck Oars Were

Each Rowed By One Man,  While The Upper Bank,  Which Were

Longer And Heavier,  Had Each Two Men To Work It.

Before Starting Edmund Had Increased The Strength Of

His Band To Ninety Men,  That Number Being Required For The

Oars,  Of Which The Dragon Had Fifteen On Each Bank On Each

Side. At First There Was Terrible Splashing And Confusion,  But

In Time The Men Learned To Row In Order,  And In Three Weeks

After Putting To Sea The Oars Worked Well In Time Together,

And The Dragon,  With Her Ninety Rowers,  Moved Through The

Water At A Great Rate Of Speed.

During This Time She Had Never Been Far From Land Keeping

But A Short Distance From The Port From Which She Had

Sailed,  As Edmund Did Not Wish To Fall In With The Danes Until

His Crew Were Able To Maneuver Her With The Best Effect.

When,  At Last,  Satisfied That All Knew Their Duty He Returned

To Port,  Took In A Fresh Supply Of Provisions,  And Then Sailed

Away Again In Search Of The Enemy. He Coasted Along The

Shore Of Hampshire And Sussex Without Seeing A Foe,  And

Then Sailing Round Kent Entered The Mouth Of The Thames.

The Dragon Kept On Her Way Until She Reached The Point Where

The River Begins To Narrow,  And There The Sails Were Furled

And The Anchor Thrown Overboard To Wait For Danish Galleys

Coming Down The River.

On The Third Day After They Had Anchored They Perceived

Four Black Specks In The Distance,  And These The Sailors Soon

Declared To Be Danish Craft. They Were Rowing Rapidly,  Having

Ten Oars On Either Side,  And At Their Mast-Heads Floated

The Danish Raven. The Anchor Was Got Up,  And As The Danes

Approached,  The Golden Dragon,  The Standard Of Wessex,

Was Run Up To The Mast-Head,  The Sails Were Hoisted,  The Oars

Got Out,  And The Vessel Advanced To Meet The Approaching

Danes.

These For A Moment Stopped Rowing In Astonishment At

Seeing So Large A Ship Bearing The Saxon Flag. Then They At

Once Began To Scatter In Different Directions; But The Dragon,

Impelled Both By The Wind And Her Sixty Oars,  Rapidly Overtook

Them. When Close Alongside The Galley Nearest To Them

The Men On The Upper Deck,  At An Order From Edmund,  Ran

In Their Oars,  And Seizing Their Bows Poured A Volley Of Arrows

Into The Galley,  Killing Most Of The Rowers. Then The

Dragon Was Steered Alongside,  And The Saxons,  Sword In Hand,

Leaped Down Into The Galley. Most Of The Danes Were Cut

Down At Once; The Rest Plunged Into The Water And Swam For

Their Lives. Leaving The Deserted Galley Behind,  The Dragon

Continued The Pursuit Of The Others,  And Overtook And Captured

Another As Easily As She Had Done The First.

The Other Two Boats Reached The Shore Before They Were

Overtaken,  And Those On Board Leaping Out Fled. The Saxons

Took Possession Of The Deserted Galleys. They Found Them,

As They Expected,  Stored Full Of Plunder Of All Kinds--Rich

Wearing Apparel,  Drinking Goblets,  Massive Vessels Of Gold And

Silver Which Had Been Torn From Some Desecrated Altar,  Rich

Ornaments And Jewels And Other Articles. These Were At Once

Removed To The Dragon. Fire Was Applied To The Boats,  And

They Were Soon A Mass Of Flames. Then The Dragon Directed

Her Course To The Two Galleys She Had First Captured. These

Were Also Rifled Of Their Contents And Burned. The Saxons

Were Delighted At The Success Which Had Attended Their First

Adventure.

"We Shall Have Rougher Work Next Time," Egbert Said.

"The Danes Who Escaped Will Carry News To London,  And We

Shall Be Having A Whole Fleet Down To Attack Us In A Few Days."

"If They Are In Anything Like Reasonable Numbers We Will

Fight Them; If Not,  We Can Run. We Have Seen To-Day How

Much Faster We Are Than The Danish Boats; And Though I Shall

Be In Favour Of Fighting If We Have A Fair Chance Of Success,

It Would Be Folly To Risk The Success Of Our Enterprise By

Contending Against Overwhelming Numbers At The Outset,  Seeing

That We Shall Be Able To Pick Up So Many Prizes Round The

Coast."

"We Can Beat A Score Of Them," Egbert Grumbled. "I Am

In Favour Of Fighting The Danes Whenever We See Them."

"When There Is A Hope Of Success,  Egbert,  Yes; But You

Know Even The Finest Bull Can Be Pulled Down By A Pack Of

Dogs. The Dragon Is A Splendid Ship,  And Does Credit Alike To

King Alfred's First Advice,  To The Plans Of The Italian

Shipbuilders,  And To The Workmanship And Design Of The

Shipwright Of Exeter,  And I Hope She Will Long Remain To Be A

Scourge To The Danes At Sea As They Have Been A Scourge To

The Saxons On Shore; And It Is Because I Hope She Is Going To

Do Such Good Service To England That I Would Be Careful Of

Her. You Must Remember,  Too,  That Many Of The Danish Galleys

Are Far Larger Than Those We Had To Do With To-Day. We

Are Not Going To Gobble Them All Up As A Pike Swallows

Minnows."

The Dragon Had Now Anchored Again,  And Four Days

Elapsed Before Any Danish Galleys Were Seen. At The End Of

That Time Six Large Danish War-Ships Were Perceived In The

Distance. Edmund And Egbert From The Top Of The Lofty Poop

Watched Them Coming.

"They Row Thirty Oars Each Side," Egbert Said,  "And Are

Crowded With Men. What Say You,  Edmund,  Shall We Stop

And Fight Them,  Or Shall The Dragon Spread Her Wings?"

"We Have The Advantage Of Height," Edmund Said,  "And

From Our Bow And Stern Castles Can Shoot Down Into Them;

But If They Lie Alongside And Board Us Their Numbers Will Give

Them An Immense Advantage. I Should Think That We Might

Run Down One Or Two Of Them. The Dragon Is Much More

Strongly Built Than These Galleys Of The Danes,  And If When

They Close Round Us We Have The Oars Lashed On Both Sides As

When We Are Rowing,  It Will Be Next To Impossible For Them To

Get Alongside Except At The Stern And Bow,  Which Are Far Too

High For Them To Climb."

"Very Well," Egbert Said,  "If You Are Ready To Fight,  You

May Be Sure I Am."

The Anchor Was Got Up And The Oars Manned,  And The

Dragon Quietly Advanced Towards The Danish Boats. The Men

Were Instructed To Row Slowly,  And It Was Not Until Within A

Hundred Yards Of The Leading Galley That The Order Was Given

To Row Hard.

The Men Strained At The Tough Oars,  And The Dragon Leapt

Ahead To Meet The Foe. Her Bow Was Pointed As If She Would

Have Passed Close By The Side Of The Danish Galley,  Which Was

Crowded With Men. When Close To Her,  However,  The Helmsman

Pushed The Tiller Across And The Dragon Swept Straight

Down Upon Her. A Shout Of Dismay Rose From The Danes,  A

Hasty Volley Of Arrows And Darts Was Hurled At The Dragon,

And The Helmsman Strove To Avoid The Collision,  But In Vain.

The Dragon Struck Her On The Beam,  The Frail Craft Broke Up

Like An Egg-Shell Under The Blow,  And Sank Almost Instantly

Under The Bows Of The Dragon.

Without Heeding The Men Struggling Thickly In The Water,

The Dragon Continued Her Course. Warned By The Fate Of

The First Boat,  The Next Endeavoured To Avoid Her Path. Her

Commander Shouted Orders. The Rowers On One Side Backed

While Those On The Other Pulled,  But She Was Not Quite Quick

Enough. The Dragon Struck Her A Few Feet From The Stern,

Cutting Her In Two.

The Other Galleys Now Closed In Alongside. The Saxons

Hastily Fastened Their Oars As They Had Been Rowing And Then

Betook Themselves To Their Posts,  Those With Spears And Swords

To The Sides To Prevent The Enemy From Climbing Up,  The Archers

To The Lofty Castles At Either End. The Danes Had The

Greatest Difficulty In