e rejoiced in this seeming chance of a
fight at sea, but with Nona and her maidens on board there was a
sort of terror for me in what all this might mean.

No honest vessel hid her men thus, and waited for the coming of two
strangers.

"Get your arms on, prince and comrade," said Thorgils. "It is in my
mind that these are desperate folk of sorts. We are pranked up with
that dragon like any longship, and here is Eric astern of us, and
yet there is some look of fighting in the hiding of these men. Will
they face two of us, or what is it?"

"We may not fight with the lady on board, Thorgils," Owen said
under his breath. "If so be we can get away from them we must. Yet
it will be the first time that Oswald and I have thought of
flying."

"There is no merit in staying for a fight if there is need why one
should be out of it," Thorgils said. "See, she is going to try to
get to windward of us, and now will be a bit of a sailing match."

Then he called one of the men, and he came aft and took a pole with
a round red board on its top from where it hung along the gunwale,
and, standing on the stern rail with his arm round the high stern
post, waved it slowly. He was signalling to Eric as Thorgils bade
him.

The ship forged up into the wind closer and closer, and the spray
flew over her bows as she met the sea. But the strange vessel was
no less weatherly, and kept pace with us, and now Eric was bearing
down on us more or less, sailing a little more free than we, though
he also had to luff somewhat to keep near us, taking a long slant
across our course as we sailed now.

I sent Evan for our arms, for the men were arming silently. They
were in the chests in the fore cabin where I had once been bound,
and Nona knew nought of possible trouble on hand. To keep her from
it altogether I went to the low door of her rude shelter before I
put on my mail, and looked in, telling her to keep the cabin closed
against the spray that was flying, and had a bright smile for my
thought. Then I went back to the deck and armed, and all the while
the two ships reached to windward, but even in that little time I
saw that the stranger had gained on us. The man was at work
signalling to Eric again.

"We shall know if he means fighting in no long time," said Thorgils
to me. "If he does I think that he is going to be surprised."

"How?"

"Well, unless every man on board is clean witless they must deem us
both harmless. Maybe they have heard