Arinbiorn: "What sawest thou therein, O Sweinbiorn, where sat thy
grandsire at the feast? Where were the bones of thy mother lying?"

Said Sweinbiorn:

"We sought the feast-hall over, and nought we found therein
Of the bones of the ancient mothers, or the younglings of the kin.
The men are greedy, doubtless, to lose no whit of the prey,
And will try if the hoary elders may yet outlive the way
That leads to the southland cities, till at last they come to stand
With the younglings in the market to be sold in an alien land."

Arinbiorn's brow lightened somewhat; but ere he could speak again an
ancient thrall of the Galtings spake and said:

"True it is, O warriors of the Bearings, that we might not see any war-
thralls being led away by the Romans when they came away from the burning
dwellings; and we deem it certain that they crossed the water before the
coming of the Romans, and that they are now with the stay-at-homes of the
Wolfings in the wild-wood behind the Wolfing dwellings, for we hear tell
that the War-duke would not that the Hall-Sun should hold the Hall
against the whole Roman host."

Then Sweinbiorn tossed up his sword into the air and caught it by the
hilts as it fell, and cried out: "On, on to the meadow, where these
thieves abide us!" Arinbiorn spake no word, but turned his horse and
rode down to the ford, and all men followed him; and of the Bearings
there were an hundred warriors save one, and of the Wormings eighty and
seven.

So rode they over the meadow and into the ford and over it, and Otter's
company stood on the bank to meet them, and shouted to see them; but the
others made but little noise as they crossed the water.

So when they were on the western bank Arinbiorn came among them of Otter,
and cried out: "Where then is Otter, where is the War-duke, is he alive
or dead?"

And the throng opened to him and Otter stood facing him; and Arinbiorn
spake and said: "Thou art alive and unhurt, War-duke, when many have been
hurt and slain; and methinks thy company is little minished though the
kindred of the Bearings lacketh a roof; and its elders and women and
children are gone into captivity. What is this? Was it a light thing
that gangrel thieves should burn and waste in Mid-mark and depart unhurt,
that ye stand here with clean blades and cold bodies?"

Said Otter: "Thou grievest for the hurt of thine House, Arinbiorn; but
this at least is good, that though ye have lost th