uare sail, and high prow may be seen in the fiords
of Norway.

Each of the vessels which now lay beached in Ericsfiord had a high
forecastle and poop, with figure-heads on stem and stern-posts that
towered higher still. The ships were only half-decked, with benches for
numerous rowers, and each had a crew of sixty men.

When the gangway was laid to the leading ship the first man who
descended to the shore was of striking appearance. It was not so much
that he was tall and strong enough to have been a worthy foeman to the
stoutest colonist in Ericsfiord, as that his demeanour was bland and
courtly, while there was great intellectuality in his dark handsome
countenance. Unlike most Norsemen, his hair and beard were black and
close-curling, and his costume, though simple, was rich in quality.

The moment he landed, Biarne stepped forward, exclaiming, "Karlsefin!"

The stranger's face lighted up with surprise and pleasure.

"Biarne!" he said, seizing his hand, "I thought you were in Iceland."

"So I was, but now I am in Greenland, and right glad to be the first to
welcome my friend."

Hereupon the two shook hands fervently; but, not content with this, they
seized each other in an embrace, and their bearded mouths met with a
hearty masculine smack that did credit to their hearts, and which it
might have gratified the feelings of an affectionate walrus to behold.

CHAPTER TWO.

STRONG EMOTIONS ARE SUCCEEDED BY SUPPER, AND FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSIONS ON
DISCOVERY, WHICH END IN A WILD ALARM!

When Karlsefin had been introduced to Leif Ericsson, the former turned
round and presented to him and Biarne his friend Thorward, the captain
of the other ship. Thorward was not a tall man, but was very broad and
stout, and had a firm yet pleasing cast of countenance. Both Thorward
and Karlsefin were men of about thirty-five years of age.

"Are you not on viking-cruise?" asked Leif as they walked up to the
house together, while the male members of his household and the men of
the settlement assisted the crews to moor the ships.

"No; my friend Thorward and I are not men of war. We prefer the
peaceful occupation of the merchant, and, to say truth, it is not
unprofitable."

"I would that more were of your way of thinking," said Leif. "I do not
love the bloody game of war, and glad am I that we have got into a quiet
corner here in Greenland, where there is small occasion for it. Biarne,
too, is of our way of thinking, a