, and cut him across the shoulders, and many
others she wounded sorely before they took her. Then Arnald stood by
the chair to which she was bound, and poised his sword, and there was
a great silence.

Then he said, "Men of the House of the Lilies, do you justify me in
this, shall she die?" Straightway rang a great shout through the hall,
but before it died away the sword had swept round, and therewithal was
there no such thing as Swanhilda left upon the earth, for in no
battle-field had Arnald struck truer blow.

Then he turned to the few servants of the palace and said, "Go now,
bury this accursed woman, for she is a king's daughter." Then to us
all, "Now knights, to horse and away, that we may reach the good town
by about dawn." So we mounted and rode off.

What a strange Christmas-day that was, for there, about nine o'clock
in the morning, rode Red Harald into the good town to demand
vengeance; he went at once to the king, and the king promised that
before nightfall that very day the matter should be judged; albeit the
king feared somewhat, because every third man you met in the streets
had a blue cross on his shoulder, and some likeness of a lily, cut out
or painted, stuck in his hat; and this blue cross and lily were the
bearings of our house, called "De Liliis." Now we had seen Red Harald
pass through the streets, with a white banner borne before him, to
show that he came peaceably as for this time; but I know he was
thinking of other things than peace.

And he was called Red Harald first at this time, because over all his
arms he wore a great scarlet cloth, that fell in heavy folds about his
horse and all about him. Then, as he passed our house, some one
pointed it out to him, rising there with its carving and its barred
marble, but stronger than many a castle on the hill-tops, and its
great overhanging battlement cast a mighty shadow down the wall and
across the street; and above all rose the great tower, or banner
floating proudly from the top, whereon was emblazoned on a white
ground a blue cross, and on a blue ground four white lilies. And now
faces were gazing from all the windows, and all the battlements were
thronged; so Harald turned, and rising in his stirrups, shook his
clenched fist at our house; natheless, as he did so, the east wind,
coming down the street, caught up the corner of that scarlet cloth and
drove it over his face, and therewithal disordering his long black
hair, well nigh choked hi