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

My Best To Prevent It,  Pointing Out That The Combat Ought To

Take Place Between A Frank And A Dane. However,  The

Northmen Are Always Glad To See A Good Fight,  And Having

Satisfied Themselves That In Point Of Age And Strength You

Were Not Unfairly Matched,  They Decided That The Conflict

Should Take Place. He Is Taller,  And I Think Somewhat Stronger

Than You,  And Has Proved Himself A Valiant Fighter,  And I

Would Give Much If The Combat Could Be Avoided."

"I Fear Him Not," Edmund Said Quietly,  "Though I Would

Fain That This Could Be Avoided. Had I Met Sweyn Upon A

Battle-Field In England I Would Have Slain Him As A Natural

Enemy; But To Fight Him In Cold Blood,  Either As A Matter Of

Augury Or To Furnish Amusement For The Assembly,  Likes Me

Not. However,  I Must Of Course Defend Myself,  And If Harm

Comes To Him It Is No Blame Of Mine."

"You Will Have No Easy Victory,  I Can Tell You," Siegbert

Said,  "For None Among Our Young Danes Bears A Higher

Reputation."

"But After The Combat Is Over How Shall I Stand?" Edmund

Asked; "For If I Defeat Or Slay Sweyn I Shall Still Be His

Father's Slave."

"That Will You Not," Siegbert Replied. "In These Cases The

Captive If Victorious Is Always Restored To Liberty; But At Any

Rate You Shall Fight As A Free Man,  For When I Have Finished

My Dinner I Will Go To Bijorn And Conclude Our Bargain. Do

Not Look So Cast Down,  Freda; A Northman's Daughter Must

Not Turn Pale At The Thought Of A Conflict. Sweyn Is The Son

Of My Old Friend,  And Was,  Before He Took To Arms,  Your

Playfellow,  And Since Then Has,  Methought,  Been Anxious To Gain

Your Favour,  Though All Too Young Yet For Thinking Of Taking A

Wife; But Never Mind,  There Are As Good As He To Be Found;

And If Our Young Saxon Here Proves His Conqueror Other

Suitors Will Come,  Never Fear."

Freda Was Silent,  But Her Face Flushed Painfully,  And

Edmund Saw The Tears Falling Down Her Cheeks As She Bent

Over Her Plate.

After The Meal Was Over Siegbert Again Went Out,  And

Edmund,  Approaching Freda,  Said,  "Do Not Fret,  Freda; If It

Should Be That I Find My Skill In Arms Greater Than That Of

Sweyn,  I Promise You That For Your Sake I Will Not Wound Him

Mortally."

"I Care Not," The Girl Said Passionately; "Spare Him Not

For My Sake,  For I Hate Him,  And Were There No Other Norseman

In The World I Would Never Be Wife Of His."

So Saying She Left The Tent. Edmund Now Regretted The

Chance Which Had Assigned Him To Siegbert,  For He Would

Rather Have Taken His Chance Of Escape By Sea Than Have

Awaited The Conflict With Sweyn. But He Could Not Carry His

Plan Of Escape Into Effect Now,  For It Would Seem As If He Had

Fled The Conflict. That This Would Be A Desperate One He Did

Not Doubt. The Course Which Sweyn Had Taken Showed A

Bitter Feeling Of Hatred Against Him,  And Even Were It Not So

The Young Northman Would,  Fighting In The Presence Of The

Leaders Of His Nation,  Assuredly Do His Best To Conquer. But

Edmund Had Already Tried His Strength With Older And More

Powerful Men Than His Adversary And Had Little Fear Of Results.

The News Of The Approaching Conflict Caused Considerable

Excitement In The Danish Camp,  And Edmund's Figure

Was Narrowly Scrutinized As He Wandered Through It. All Who

Had Been Engaged In The War In Wessex Had Heard Of Edmund,

And There Was No Slight Curiosity,  When The News Went Abroad

That The Saxon Leader Was A Captive In The Camp,  To See What

He Was Like.

At First When It Was Bruited Abroad That Sweyn,  The Son

Of Jarl Bijorn,  Was To Fight This Noted Saxon Champion The

Idea Was That The Enterprise Was A Rash One,  Strong And

Valiant As Sweyn Was Known To Be For A Young Man; But When It

Was Seen That Edmund Was No Older Than He,  And To The Eye

Less Strong And Powerful,  They Felt Confident In The Power Of

Their Champion To Overcome Him.

Siegbert Spared No Pains To See That His Guest Had An

Even Equal Chance. He Procured For Him A Strong And Well-Made

Helmet Which Fitted Him Comfortably,  And Gave Him

The Choice Out Of A Large Number Of Shields And Swords.

Edmund Selected A Weapon Which Answered Nearly In Weight

And Balance That Which He Was Accustomed To Wield. There

Was Feasting Again That Night In Siegbert's Tent; But He Did

Not Allow Edmund To Join In It,  Insisting After The Meal Was

Over That He Should Retire To A Small Hut Hard By.

"You Will Want Your Head And Your Nerves In Good Order

To-Morrow," He Said. "Feasting Is Good In Its Way,  And The

Night Before Battle I Always Drink Deeply,  But For A Single

Combat It Were Best To Be Prudent." As Edmund Left The Tent

Freda,  Who Had Not Appeared At Dinner,  Came Up To Him.

"I Have Been Crying All Day," She Said Simply. "I Know

Not Why,  For I Have Often Seen My Father Go Out To Battle

Without A Tear. I Think You Must Have Upset Me With Your Talk

This Morning. I Hope That You Will Win,  Because It Was Wrong And

Unfair Of Sweyn To Force This Battle Upon You; And I Hate Him

For It! I Shall Pray Odin To Give You Victory. You Don't Believe

In Him,  I Know; Still My Prayers Can Do You No Harm."

"Thank You," Edmund Said. "I Shall Pray To One Greater

And Better Than Odin. But Weep Not Any Longer,  For I Trust

Neither Of Us Will Be Killed. I Shall Do My Best To Guard Myself,

And Shall Try Not To Slay Him; For This Fight Is Not For My

Nation Or For My Religion,  But Concerns Myself Only."

The Following Morning The Northmen Assembled. The

Jarls And Other Leading Men Formed The Inner Line Of A Circle

Some Thirty Yards In Diameter,  The Others Stood Without; Jarl

Eric Entered The Ring With Sweyn,  While Edmund,  Accompanied

By Siegbert,  Entered At The Other Side Of The Circle.

"I Protest," Siegbert Cried In A Loud Voice,  "Against This

Conflict Taking Place. Edmund The Saxon Is No Captive Here,

But A Free Man,  And My Guest; Moreover,  Being A Saxon,  The

Issue Of This Fight Between Him And A Northman Can Serve No

Purpose As An Augury As To The Success Of Our Expedition

Against The Franks. Therefore Do I Protest Against

The Conflict."

There Was Again A Consultation Between The Leaders,  For

A Murmur Of Approbation Had Run Round The Ranks Of The

Spectators,  Who It Was Evident Were Impressed In Favour Of

The Young Saxon,  And Considered That The Jarl's Words Were

Just And Reasonable. Eric Spoke For A Minute With Sweyn.

"I Feel," He Said In A Loud Voice,  "That What Jarl Siegbert

Says Is Reasonable,  That No Augury Can Be Drawn From The

Fight,  And That,  Since Edmund Is No Longer A Captive,  And A

Friend Of Siegbert's,  He Cannot Be Forced Into Fighting In

Order That We May Have An Augury. But The Saxon,  Though So

Young,  Has Won A Reputation Even Among Us,  The Enemies Of

His Race; And My Friend Sweyn,  Who Has Shown Himself One Of

The Bravest Of Our Young Men,  Considers That He Has Cause Of

Quarrel With Him,  And Challenges Him To Fight--Not Necessarily

To The Death,  Or Till One Is Slain,  But Till The Jarls Here

Assembled Do Pronounce One Or The Other To Be The Victor.

This Is A Fair Challenge--First,  There Is A Private Quarrel;

Next,  There Is Emulation Between These Young Men,  Who May

Fairly Claim To Be The Champions Of The Youth Of The Two Races.

Such A Challenge The Saxon Will Hardly Refuse."

In Accordance With The Customs Of The Day It Would Have

Been Impossible For Edmund To Have Refused Such A Challenge

Without Disgrace,  And He Did Not For A Moment Think Of

Doing So.

"I Am Ready To Fight Sweyn," He Said. "I Have No Great

Cause Of Quarrel With Him; But If He Conceives That He Has

Grounds Of Quarrel With Me,  That Is Enough. As To Championship

Of The Saxons,  We Have No Champions; We Fight Not For

Personal Honour Or Glory,  But For Our Homes,  Our Countries,

And Our Religion,  Each Doing His Best According To The Strength

God Has Given Him,  And Without Thought Of Pride On The One

Hand Or Envy On The Other Because The Strength Or Courage

Of One May Be Somewhat Greater Than That Of Another. Still,

As A Saxon Standing Here As The Only Representative Of My

Nation In An Assembly Of Northmen,  I Cannot Refuse Such A

Challenge,  For To Do So Would Be To Infer That We Saxons Are

Less Brave Than You. Therefore I Am Ready For The Combat."

The Northmen Clashed Their Weapons Against Their Shields

In Token Of Their Approval Of The Young Saxon's Words,  And

The Young Champions Prepared For The Combat. They Were

Naked To The Waist Save For Shield And Helmet; Below The Waist

Each Wore A Short And Tightly-Fitting Garment Covered With

Plates Of Brass; The Legs Were Naked,  And Each Wore A Pair Of

Light Sandals; Their Weapons Were Long Straight Swords. The

Weapon Edmund Had Chosen Was Considerably Lighter Than

That Of His Opponent,  But Was Of Toughest Steel,  On Which

Were Engraved In Rough Characters,  "Prayers To Woden For

Victory."

The Difference In Height Between The Combatants Was

Considerable. Edmund Stood Five Feet Ten,  But Looked Shorter

From The Squareness And Width Of His Shoulders. Sweyn Was

Nearly Four Inches Taller,  And He Too Was Very Strongly Built.

His Muscles Indeed Stood Out In Stronger Development Than

Did Those Of Edmund,  And If Pure Strength Was To Win The Day

Few Of Those Who Looked On Doubted That The Dane Would Be

The Victor.

The Combat Was A Long One. For Some Time Edmund Contented

Himself With Standing Upon The Defensive And Guarding The

Tremendous Blows Which Sweyn Rained Upon Him. In Spite Of The

Efforts Of The Northman,  He Could Neither Beat Down The Saxon's

Guard Nor Force Him To Fall Back A Single Step.

Again And Again The Rattle Of The Spectators' Arms Clashed

An Approval Of Edmund's Steady Resistance To His Opponent's

Assaults. The Norsemen Delighted Beyond All