rd therewith even to the prow of
the King's ship. There was a candle lit & was incense carried forward &
thereafter was ye Holy Rood set at the prow.

The gospel was read and also many prayers, and the Bishop sprinkled holy
water over the whole of the ship. Thereafter bade he the crew unship the
tilts and row up the fjord, and the King commanded that the other ships
should row after them.

No sooner had the crew of the 'Crane' fallen to their oars, & she the
ship was set well up to the fjord, than felt they that there was no more
wind against them, & in her wake was free sea and calm; but on both
sides of her flew the spray & it drave so that no man could perceive the
mountains on either side of the fjord. So it fared that one ship rowed
after the other in the calm, and thus pursued they one another the whole
livelong day, & throughout the night thereafter; and a little before
dawn came they to Godey, and brought-to off the house of Raud, and there
found his great dragon lying off-shore.

Forthwith went King Olaf to the house with his men and made for the
upper chamber wherein Raud was sleeping, and his folk burst open the
door and ran in.

Then was Raud taken and bound, but of the other men who were therein
some were killed & others taken prisoners. Thereafter the King's men
went to the room wherein slept the house-carles of Raud, and some of
them were then slain and some bound & some beaten. Then caused the King
Raud to be led before him & offered him baptism. 'Take from thee thy
possessions I then will not,' quoth the King, 'but will the rather be
thy friend, an thou wilt show thyself worthy of my friendship.' Against
this did Raud loudly raise his voice, saying that never would he believe
on Christ, and blaspheming God.

Then did the King wax wroth, and swore that Raud should suffer the worst
of deaths, and the King commanded that he be taken and bound with his
back to a pole and that a bit of wood be placed betwixt his teeth so
that his mouth might be open, and caused an adder to be taken and set in
his mouth, but the adder would in no wise enter therein but writhed away
when Raud blew upon it. Then did the King cause the adder to be taken &
put in a hollow stick of angelica and set in the mouth of Raud (albeit
some say that the King let his horn be taken & put into the mouth of
Raud, and that the adder was placed in this and pushed down with a
red-hot rod of iron), and then the adder slid into the mouth of Ra