lf_ (Conybeare's tr.).

Beowulf gazed down into the deep waters, saw that they also were darkly
dyed with the monster's blood, and, after taking leave of Hrothgar, bade
his men await his return for two whole days and nights ere they definitely
gave him up for lost. He then plunged bravely into the bloody waters, swam
about seeking for the monster's retreat, and dived deep. At last, descrying
a phosphorescent gleam in the depths, he quickly made his way thither,
shrewdly conjecturing that it must be Grendel's hiding place. But on his
way thither he was repeatedly obliged to have recourse to his sword to
defend himself against the clutches of countless hideous sea monsters which
came rushing toward him on all sides.

"While thro' crystal gulfs were gleaming
Ocean depths, with wonders teeming;
Shapes of terror, huge, unsightly,
Loom'd thro' vaulted roof translucent."
J.C. JONES, _Valhalla_.

A strong current seized Beowulf, and swept him irresistibly along into the
slimy retreat of Grendel's mother. She clutched him fast, wrestled with
him, deprived him of his sword, flung him down, and finally tried to pierce
his armor with her trenchant knife. Fortunately, however, the hero's armor
was weapon-proof, and his muscles were so strong that before she could do
him any harm he had freed himself from her grasp. Seizing a large sword
hanging upon a projection of rock near by, he dealt her a mighty blow,
severing her head from the trunk at a single stroke. The blood pouring out
of the cave mingled with the waters without, and turned them to such a
lurid hue that Hrothgar and his men sorrowfully departed, leaving the
Geates alone to watch for the return of the hero, whom they feared they
would never see again.

Beowulf, in the mean while, had rushed to the rear of the cave, where,
finding Grendel in the last throes, he cut off his head also. He seized
this ghastly trophy and rapidly made his way up through the tainted waters,
which the fiery blood of the two monsters had so overheated that his sword
melted in its scabbard and naught but the hilt remained.

"That stout sword of proof,
Its warrior task fulfill'd, dropp'd to the ground
(So work'd the venom of the felon's blood)
A molten mass."
_Beowulf_ (Conybeare's tr.).

The Geates were about to depart in sorrow, notwithstanding the orders they
had received, whe