One or two of the men looked up from the oars and grinned at me, and of these one had a black eye, being the man I had knocked off the deck.  It was plain that he bore no malice, so I smiled back at him, and lifted the jug of ale toward him as I drank.  He was a pleasant-looking man enough, now that the savagery of battle had passed from him.

Now I would have it remembered that a Saxon lad reared on the west Welsh marches is not apt to think much of a cattle raid and the fighting that ends it, and that with these Danes, who were so like ourselves, we had as yet no enmity.  It seemed to me that being in strange company I must even fit myself to it, and all was wonderful to me in the sight of the splendid ship and her well-armed, well-ordered crew.  Maybe, had we not been speeding to a fight the like of which I had never so much as heard of, I should have thought of home and the fears of those who would hear that I was gone; but as things were, how could I think of aught but what was on hand?

We were nearing the vessel fast, and seeing that she did not turn her head and fly, old Thrond growled that there was some fight in her.

“Unless,” he added with a hard chuckle, “they have never so much as heard of a viking.  Are there pirates in this sea, lad?”

“They say that the seamen from the southern lands are, betimes.  I have heard of ships taken by swarthy men thence.  The Cornish tin merchants tell the tales of them.”

“Tin?” said Thrond.  “Now I would that we had heard thereof before.  I reckon we passed some booty westward.  Eh, well, we shall know better next time.”

After that he was silent, watching the ship ahead.  She was a great heavy trader, with higher sides than this swift longship.

And presently, as I watched her, a thought came to me, and I was ashamed that I had not asked before if it was true that my cousin had not been hurt in the fighting.

“He was not harmed,” answered the old chief.  “He hurt us; he is a good fighter.  Get yon shield and hold it ready to cover me.  It is not worth while to have the helmsman shot, and it will set a man free to fight forward.”

Now the ship was within arrow shot, and we could see that there were few men on her decks.  Thorleif hailed her to heave to, sending an arrow on her deck by way of hint.  Whereon she shot up into the wind, and her sail rattled down.  Thrond whistled to himself.

“Empty as a dry walnut shell, or I am mistaken,” he said between his teeth.

Then he shouted to Thorleif, and some order came back.  The sail was lowered, and the ship swung alongside the stranger under oars only, while a rush of men came aft.  Thorleif hailed the other ship to send him a line from the bows, and one flew on board us as we shot past.  Then in a few moments we were under easy sail again, towing the great trader slowly after us; and the men were grumbling at the ease of the capture, thinking, with Thrond, that it boded a useless chase.  Thorleif came aft to speak with the shipmaster from our stern.