d dressed in the dark, swearing at the clumsy leggings. When he left,
Hildigund put on her clothes and hurried after him.

The troll-wife squatted by the fire and glared at them as they went by.
Cappen hefted his sword and looked at her. "I do not love you," he said
mildly, and hewed out.

She backed away, shrieking as he slashed at her. In the end, she
crouched at the mouth of a tunnel, raging futilely. Cappen pricked her
with his blade.

"It is not worth my time to follow you down underground," he said, "but
if ever you trouble men again, I will hear of it and come and feed you
to my dogs. A piece at a time--a very small piece--do you understand?"

She snarled at him.

"An _extremely_ small piece," said Cappen amiably. "Have you heard me?"

Something broke in her. "Yes," she whimpered. He let her go, and she
scuttled from him like a rat.

He remembered the firewood and took an armful; on the way, he
thoughtfully picked up a few jeweled rings which he didn't think she
would be needing and stuck them in his pouch. Then he led the girl
outside.

The wind had laid itself, a clear frosty morning glittered on the sea
and the longship was a distant sliver against white-capped blueness. The
minstrel groaned. "What a distance to row! Oh, well--"

* * * * *

They were at sea before Hildigund spoke. Awe was in the eyes that
watched him. "No man could be so brave," she murmured. "Are ye a god?"

"Not quite," said Cappen. "No, most beautiful one, modesty grips my
tongue. 'Twas but that I had the silver and was therefore proof against
her sorcery."

"But the silver was no help!" she cried.

Cappen's oar caught a crab. "What?" he yelled.

"No--no--why, she told ye so her own self--"

"I thought she lied. I _know_ the silver guards against--"

"But she used no magic! Trolls have but their own strength!"

Cappen sagged in his seat. For a moment he thought he was going to
faint. Then only his lack of fear had armored him; and if he had known
the truth, that would not have lasted a minute.

He laughed shakily. Another score for his doubts about the overall value
of truth!

The longship's oars bit water and approached him. Indignant voices
asking why he had been so long on his errand faded when his passenger
was seen. And Svearek the king wept as he took his daughter back into
his arms.

The hard brown face was still blurred with tears when he looked at the
minstrel, but the return