at England
had no overlord, seeing that even now Alfred of Wessex and Guthrum
of East Anglia were fighting for mastery, so that the whole land
was racked and torn with strife.

Maybe I thought too much of myself at that time, but I was in no
haste to do aught but cruise about and find where I might best make
a name. I had but my one ship and crew, and I would not throw them
away on some useless business for want of care in choosing.

Now, when we came into the English Channel, a gale began to blow up
from the southwest; and we held over to the French shore, and there
put into a haven that was sheltered enough. The gale strengthened,
and lasted three days; but the people were kindly enough, being of
Saxon kin, who had settled there under the headland they call
Greynose, since Hengist's times of the winning of England across
the water. And when the gale was over, we waited for the sea to go
down, and then came a fair wind from the eastward, as we expected.
So we got provisions on board, and sailed westward again, taking a
long slant over to the English coast, until we sighted the great
rock of Portland; and then the wind came off the land, and in the
early morning veered to the northwest.

The tide was still with us as the light strengthened; then as the
day broke, with the haze of late summer over the land, we found
that we were right in the track of a strange fleet that was coming
up fast from the westward--great ships and small, in a strange
medley and in no sort of order, so that we wondered what they would
be.

"Here comes Rolf Ganger back from Valland," said Kolgrim. "He has
gathered any vessels he could get together, and is going to land in
England."

"We will even head out to sea from across their course," I said.
"Maybe they are Danes from Exeter, flying from the Saxons."

So we headed away for the open channel until at least we knew more.
The fleet drew up steadily, bringing the tide with them; and
presently we fell to wondering at the gathering. For there were
some half-dozen ships that were plainly Norse like ourselves, maybe
twenty Danish-built longships, and about the same number of heavy
trading vessels. There were a few large fishing boats also; but
leading the crowd were five great vessels the like of which none of
us had ever seen or heard of before. And even as we spoke of them,
two of these shook out reefs in their sails, and drew away from the
rest across channel, as if to cut us off.

"Ho,