ing 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. T