tell the king your words."

"As you will," I answered; "they are plain enough. I would say also
that Harald our king has about him paid warriors whose living is to
serve him, and more who hold lands on condition that they bear arms
for him at any time."

Now Harek had listened to all this, and could tell the thane more
of Harald's ordering of things than I; so he took up the talk for a
time, and presently asked about the war and its beginning.

"Faith," answered the Saxon, with a grim smile, "I cannot tell when
the war began, for that was when the first Danes came to the
English shores. But if you mean the trouble that is on hand now, it
is easily told. Ten years has this host been in England--coming
first with Ingvar and Halfden and Hubba, the three sons of Lodbrok.
Ingvar has gone away, and Guthrum takes his place. Halfden is in
Northumbria, Hubba is in Wales, and Guthrum is king over East
Anglia and overlord of Mercia. It is Guthrum against whom we are
fighting."

"He is minded to be overlord of all England," said Harek.

"That is to be seen if a Dane shall be so," the Saxon answered,
flushing. "We beat them at first, as I have said, and have had
peace till last year. Then they came to Wareham from East Anglia.
There they were forced to make peace, and they swore on the holy
ring {v} to depart from Wessex; and we, on our part, swore
peace on the relics of the holy saints. Whereon, before the king,
Alfred, was ware of their treachery, they fell on our camp, slew
all our horsemen, and marched here. Then we gathered the levies
again--ay, I know why you look so impatiently, King Ranald--and
came here after them. As for the rest, you have taken your part.
Now we have them all inside these walls, and I think we have done."

Then his face grew dark, and he added:

"But I cannot tell. What can one do with oath breakers of this
sort?"

Then I said:

"Surely you do not look for the men of one chief to be bound by
what another promises?"

He looked wonderingly at me for a moment, and then said:

"How should it be that the oath of their king should not bind the
people?"

"Why," said I, "you have spoken of several chiefs. If Guthrum
chooses to make peace, that is not Halfden's business, or Hubba's,
or that of any chief who likes it not. One is as free as the
other."

"What mean you? I say that Guthrum and his chiefs swore by the
greatest oath they knew to return to Mercia."

"If they swore by the holy ring,