ell as of a woman! But do not
trouble yourself over that, either. Have you never heard the love-tale
of Hagberth and Signe? How, the same moment in which she saw him hanged
upon the gallows, she set fire to her house and strangled herself with
her ribbons, so that their two souls met on the threshold of Paradise
and went in together? If you die, I will die too; and that will arrange
everything." She clung to him for a moment, and he feared that she was
about to dishonor her shield by a burst of tears.

But in an instant she looked up at him with her brave smile. "We will
end this talk about dying, however. Remember the old saying, 'If a man's
time has not come, something is sure to aid him.' There is another fate
in store for you than to lose your life in this matter, or you would
have died when Leif struck you down. I love the cap that saved you! We
will not talk about dying, but only of our hopes. I have planned how
Gilli may be made useful, so that on his vessel you can escape to
Norway."

She put her hand over his mouth as he would have spoken. "No, listen to
me before you say anything against it. Gilli will sail next week. At
that time Leif will be absent on a visit to Biorn Herjulfsson, who has
just returned to Greenland from Norway. With Leif, Kark will go, so that
we shall not have his prying eyes to fear. What would prevent you from
stealing down to the shore, the night before we sail, and swimming out
to the ship and hiding yourself in one of the great chests in the
foreroom? The steersman will not hinder you, for I have spoken so many
fine words to him, with this deed in view, that he is ready to chop off
his head at my bidding. Thus will you get far out at sea before they
discover you. Gilli will not know that he has ever seen you before, you
are so white and changed; and when he has taken away all the property
you have on you, he will say nothing further about the matter. So will
you be brought to Norway,--and thence it is not far to your England,
though I do not know if that is of any importance. But if you say that
this plan is otherwise than ingenious, I shall be angry with you."

Alwin vented a short laugh. "It is most ingenious, comrade. The only
trouble with it is that I have no ambition to go either to Norway or to
England."

This time it was he who sealed her lips, as her amazement was about to
burst through them.

"Give me a hearing and you will understand. I do not wish to go to
England beca