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

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

In 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

Has 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."

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

On 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