he point of death.

Then he told Halfred how Sudha had prevailed upon him to speak, and
begged him to forgive him the death of so many heroes. And Halfred held
his hand until he was dead.

But Dame Harthild's body they did not find, although many of her women
lay burnt or slain in the dwelling-house.

But many bodies were so burnt and charred they could not be recognised.

And then they turned their search to the ships.

And all the ships of the foreign guests were burnt, and all those of
the Icelanders which lay in the bay. For at the last, by reason of
Halfred's furious attack, no one had thought any more about
extinguishing them.

And Halfred, with his trumpet, hailed the Singing Swan, which floated
saved in the moonlight, and went on board with his little troop.

And there lay slain many hundreds of Halfred's Icelanders,

The foreign guests, however, who had come to the midsummer feast, lay
all all dead, save only Hartvik and Eigil.

And Halfred counted when he called all hands before the mast still
seventy men alive.

All the rest had fallen in that one midsummer night. And there fell
after that wild tumult an awful stillness upon land and sea. And sad
and silent floated the Singing Swan, with scorched sails, upon the
Fjord.

CHAPTER IX.

And Halfred has sunk into deep deep silence. Since the fight had ended,
and he had heard Vandrad's dying words, he had not spoken a word.

But when it was full daylight the Singing Swan drew near the land, and
the men came ashore.

Silently Halfred signed to his sailing comrades to carry out all the
bodies from the drinking hall, the dwelling-house, and the ships; and
to collect them altogether on the shore. He had seven funeral piles
erected, and upon these all the dead were burned with their weapons.
The ashes, however, of friends and foes Halfred ordered them to mingle.

And these he poured himself into a great stone-lined grave which he had
had dug on the shore, hard by the water line. And he had earth heaped
thickly upon them, and a huge black block of stone which had once been
thrown out of Hekla rolled thereon. And this cost many days work.

But Halfred spoke not. And all through the nights he sat upon the grave
and looked now upwards to the stars of the summer night, now downwards
rigidly upon the earth, and the stone grave. And gently gently he
oftimes shook his head.

But he spoke no word.

And when after seven n