oks like him," said the carle.

All doubt on the point was quickly set at rest by the lad, who ran at a
pace which soon brought him near. Waving his cap above his head he
shouted--

"News! news! good news!"

"Out with thy news, then," said Erling, as Alric stood before him,
panting violently, "though I dare say the best news thou hast to give is
that thou hast come back to us safe and well."

"Hah! let me get wind! nay, I have better news than that," exclaimed
Alric; "Harald is coming--King Harald Haarfager--with a monstrous fleet
of longships, cutters, dragons, and little boats, and a mighty host of
men, to lay waste Horlingdal with fire and sword, and burn us all alive,
perhaps eat us too, who knows!"

"Truly if this be good news," said Erling, with a laugh, "I hope I may
never hear bad news. But where got ye such news, Alric?"

"From the widow Gunhild, to be sure, who is true to us as steel, and
comes all the way from Drontheim, out of love to thee, Erling, to tell
it. But, I say, _don't_ you think this good news? I always thought you
would give your best battle-axe to have a chance of fighting Harald!"

"Aye, truly, for a chance of fighting Harald, but not for that chance
coupled with the other chance of seeing Horlingdal laid waste with fire
and sword, to say nothing of being eaten alive, which, I suppose, is
thine own addition to the news, boy. But come, if this be so, we do not
well to waste time chattering here. Fetch the two fish, carle.
To-night we must be content with what luck lies in an even number in
spite of the opinion of Kettle Flatnose.--Come, Alric, thou canst tell
me more of this as we hasten home."

"But I have more good news than that to tell," said the lad, as they
hurried towards Haldorstede. "Solve Klofe with his men have come back
with us--indeed, I may rather say that we have come back with Solve, for
our own ship has been wrecked and lost, but Kettle and I and Thorer and
all the men were saved by Solve, with nearly everything belonging to us,
and all the booty. It is not more than an hour since we sailed into the
fiord, loaded to the shield-circle with, oh! _such_ splendid things--
gold, silver, cups, tankards, gems, shawls--and--and I know not what
all, besides captives. It was just after we landed that a small boat
came round the ness from the north with the widow Gunhild in it, and she
jumped ashore, and told what she had seen and heard at Drontheim, and
that we may expec