se of their pride.

"Soon therewithal comes Fox creeping back to us, and I saw him whisper
into the ear of the War-duke, but heard not the word he said. I saw that
he had hanging to him two Roman saxes, so I deemed he had slain those
two, and so escaped the Romans. Maidens, it were well that ye gave me to
drink again, for I am weary and my journey is done."

So again they brought him the horn, and made much of him; and he drank,
and then spake on.

"Now heard we the horn's voice again quite close, and it was sharp and
shrill, and nothing like to the roar of our battle-horns: still was the
wood and no wind abroad, not even down the oak-lawn; and we heard now the
tramp of many men as they thrashed through the small wood and bracken of
the thicket-way; and those eight men and their leader came forward,
moving like one, close up to the thicket where I lay, just where the path
passed into the thicket beset by the Sons of the Goths: so near they were
that I could see the dints upon their armour, and the strands of the wire
on their sax-handles. Down then bowed the tall bracken on the further
side of the wood-lawn, the thicket crashed before the march of men, and
on they strode into the lawn, a goodly band, wary, alert, and silent of
cries.

"But when they came into the lawn they spread out somewhat to their left
hands, that is to say on the west side, for that way was the clear glade;
but on the east the thicket came close up to them and edged them away.
Therein lay the Goths.

"There they stayed awhile, and spread out but a little, as men marching,
not as men fighting. A while we let them be; and we saw their captain,
no big man, but dight with very fair armour and weapons; and there drew
up to him certain Goths armed, the dastards of the folk, and another
unarmed, an old man bound and bleeding. With these Goths had the captain
some converse, and presently he cried out two or three words of Welsh in
a loud voice, and the nine men who were ahead shifted them somewhat away
from us to lead down the glade westward.

"The prey had come into the net, but they had turned their faces toward
the mouth of it.

"Then turned Thiodolf swiftly to the man behind him who carried the war-
horn, and every man handled his weapons: but that man understood, and set
the little end to his mouth, and loud roared the horn of the Markmen, and
neither friend nor foe misdoubted the tale thereof. Then leaped every
man to his feet, all bow-