He pondered for some moments, and then went on, “It is a bad business; for if I slay Griffin, he is the king’s favourite; and if he slays me, the Norfolk thanes will have somewhat to say.  And all is bad for the Lady Goldberga, who needs all the friends that she has, for in either case there will be trouble between the two kingdoms that Alsi holds just now.”

“If Griffin is slain,” I said, “I think that the lady has one trouble out of the way.”

“Ay; and the king will make out, as you heard him do even now, that I am looking that way myself.  It is not so, for I will say to you at once that to me there is but one lady in all the world, and she is in Norfolk at this time.  Now I am going to ask you something that is a favour.”

I thought that he would give me some message for this lady, in case he fell; but he had more to ask than that.  Nothing more or less than that I should be his second in the fight, because I was a fellow countryman, while to ask an East Anglian thane would he to make things harder yet for Goldberga.

“I am no thane, earl,” I said plainly.  “This is an honour that is over high for me.”

“It seems that you own a town, for I asked Eglaf just now,” he answered; “and that is enough surely to give you thane’s rank in a matter like this.  But that is neither here nor there; it is as Dane to Dane that I ask you.  If I could find another of us I would ask him also, that you might not have to stand alone.  I am asking you to break the law that bids the keeping of the peace at the time of the meeting of the Witan.”

“That is no matter,” I said.  “If I have to fly, it will be with you as victor; and if it is but a matter of a fine, I have had that from the king today which will surely pay it.”

And I told him of the gift for silence, whereat he laughed heartily, and then said that the secret was more worth than he thought.  This looked very bad, and like proof that the king was at the bottom of the whole business.

Now I had been thinking, and it seemed better that there should be two witnesses of the fight on our side, and I thought that Havelok was the man who would make the second.  So I told Ragnar that I could find another Dane who was at least as worthy as I, and he was well pleased.  Then he told me where the meeting was to be, and where we should meet him just before daylight; and so he went back to the hall, where the lights were yet burning redly, and the songs were wilder than ever.

And I found Havelok, and told him of the fight that was to be, and asked him to come with us.  His arms were at the widow’s, and he could get them without any noticing him.

There is no need to say that he was ready as I to help Ragnar, and so we spoke of time and place, and parted for the night.

Very early came Havelok to the house, for I lodged at the widow’s when I was not on night duty; and we armed ourselves, and then came Ragnar.  He greeted me first, and then looked at Havelok in amaze, as it seemed, and then bowed a little, and asked me to make my friend known to him.