hile they launched
their longships and loaded them with stones--the ammunition of those
days--or passed briskly to and fro with arms and provisions; while all
up the valley, as far as the eye could see, even to the faint blue
distance, in the haze of which the glaciers and clouds and mountain tops
seemed to commingle, troops of armed men could be seen pouring down from
gorge and glen, through wood and furze and fen. On the fiord, too, the
same activity and concentration prevailed, though not quite to the same
extent. Constantly there swept round the promontories to the north and
south, boat after boat, and ship after ship, until the bay close below
Ulfstede was crowded with war-craft of every size--their gay sails, and
in some cases gilded masts and figureheads, glancing in the sunshine,
and their shield-circled gunwales reflected clearly in the sea.

"What a grand sight!" exclaimed Ada with enthusiasm, as she listened to
the deep-toned hum of the busy multitude below.

"Would God I had never seen it!" said her companion.

"Out upon thee, Hilda! I scarce deem thee fit to be a free Norse
maiden. Such a scene would stir the heart of stone."

"It _does_ stir my heart strangely, sister," replied Hilda, "I scarcely
can explain how. I feel exultation when I see the might of our
district, and the bold bearing of our brave and brisk men; but my heart
sinks again when I think of what is to come--the blood of men flowing
like water, death sweeping them down like grain before the sickle; and
for what? Ada, these go not forth to defend us from our enemies, they
go to war with brothers and kindred--with Norsemen."

Ada beat her foot impatiently on the sod, and frowned a little as she
said--

"I know it well enough, but it is a grand sight for all that, and it
does no good to peep into the future as thou art doing continually."

"I do not peep," replied Hilda; "the future stares me full in the face."

"Well, let it stare, sister mine," said Ada, with a laugh, as she
cleared her brow, "and stare past _its_ face at what lies before thee at
present, which is beautiful enough, thou must allow."

At that moment there seemed to be increasing bustle and energy on the
part of the warriors on the shore, and the murmur of their voices grew
louder.

"What can that mean, I wonder?" said Ada.

"Fresh news arrived, perhaps," replied her friend. "The Christians' God
grant that this war may be averted!"

"Amen, if it be His will