avus Vasa, and at once he was declared
an outlaw, and a great price was offered for his head; for the king knew
that here survived one man whom he could neither terrify nor bribe. One
castle still held out against the besieging Danes, and for this Gustavus
set out. But its defenders were disheartened by their hopeless position,
and were almost on the point of surrender. They answered angrily to his
brave words, and he left them to try and rouse the peasantry all over
the land.

Now began for him such a period of danger, sorrow, and privation, as few
men could have endured and lived. The land was filled with Danes eager
for his capture. The peasants were timid and disheartened. To his
passionate patriotic appeal they answered only, "We have salt and
herring still. If we rebel we will lose them too." Often they drove him
away with stones. Sometimes his own countrymen would have slain him for
the promised reward. At length it was no longer possible for him to
remain in Southern Sweden, and with a single servant he fled to the
highlands of Dalecarlia, a province in the north. From this on his life
reads like some wild romance of adventure. He had the grim courage and
grit and perseverance of a bull-dog. Nothing could dishearten him in his
seemingly hopeless and insane resolve to raise the Swedes once more
against Christian.

He found as much devotion in some places, as he did treachery in others.
Having crossed a ferry in advance of his servant, this latter rode off
with their small stock of money. Gustavus plunged his horse into the
river, and riding back after the faithless servitor, pursued him all day
straight back into the enemy's country, until the terrified thief,
abandoning horse and money and all, fled into the woods. Gustavus
recovered his property and pursued his course. The Danes swarmed into
Dalecarlia after him. He disguised himself as a woodcutter, and lived as
such. One day he met in the woods a giant Dalesman named Liss Lars, and,
as they were chatting together, a great bear attacked Gustavus. After a
fierce battle Lars slew the brute with a blow of his axe. The two
woodcutters became friends, and Lars got his companion a place under the
same master as himself, where Gustavus remained a whole winter
unsuspected. Often he himself was questioned by the Danish spies,
hunting for the now famous Vasa.

[Illustration: Abdication of Gustavus Vasa.]

Once there was like to have been trouble between the two frie