let ye go--which I swear I would never have done, for I love ye more
than brothers--if I had let ye go, by now ye might have been horribly
slain by some mere Moor in the Duke of Burgundy's war, or ye might have
been murdered by land-thieves, or ye might have died of the plague at an
inn. Think of this and do not blame me overmuch, Hugh. See! I will only
take a half of the gold."

'"I blame thee not at all, Witta," said Hugh. "It was a joyous venture,
and we thirty-five here have done what never men have done. If I live
till England, I will build me a stout keep over Dallington out of my
share."

'"I will buy cattle and amber and warm red cloth for the wife," said
Witta, "and I will hold all the land at the head of Stavanger Fiord.
Many will fight for me now. But first we must turn North, and with this
honest treasure aboard I pray we meet no pirate ships."

'We did not laugh. We were careful. We were afraid lest we should lose
one grain of our gold, for which we had fought Devils.

'"Where is the Sorcerer?" said I, for Witta was looking at the Wise Iron
in the box, and I could not see the Yellow Man.

'"He has gone to his own country," said he. "He rose up in the night
while we were beating out of that forest in the mud, and said that he
could see it behind the trees. He leaped out on the mud, and did not
answer when we called; so we called no more. He left the Wise Iron,
which is all that I care for--and see, the Spirit still points to the
South."

'We were troubled for fear that the Wise Iron should fail us now that
its Yellow Man had gone, and when we saw the Spirit still served us we
grew afraid of too strong winds, and of shoals, and of careless leaping
fish, and of all the people on all the shores where we landed.'

'Why?' said Dan.

'Because of the gold--because of our gold. Gold changes men altogether.
Thorkild of Borkum did not change. He laughed at Witta for his fears,
and at us for our counselling Witta to furl sail when the ship pitched
at all.

'"Better be drowned out of hand," said Thorkild of Borkum, "than go tied
to a deck-load of yellow dust."

'He was a landless man, and had been slave to some King in the East. He
would have beaten out the gold into deep bands to put round the oars,
and round the prow.

'Yet, though he vexed himself for the gold, Witta waited upon Hugh like
a woman, lending him his shoulder when the ship rolled, and tying of
ropes from side to side that Hugh might hold by