The Story of Sigurd the Volsung

and rested not, though he was weary; and the big man sat and steered, and held his peace. But when the night was grow

he arose and clad himself: but when he would have gone out of the hall, then was it no longer daylight, but moonlight, and he dreamed that he had dreamed: nevertheless he would have gone abroad, but might not find the door; so he said he would go out by a window; but the wall was high and smooth (quite other than in the House of the Raven, where were low windows all along one aisle), nor was there any way

mast; for the wind had fallen dead and they were faring on over a long smooth swell of the sea. It was broad daylig

on him and said: "Now has the time come for thee first to e

mewhat, said: "The night

mber thy betrothed in thy sleep, and to weep because thou lackest

at and drink out of a locker thereby; and they ate and drank together, and Hallblithe gre

over his left shoulder and said: "Soon sh

felt a little air on his cheek, and the mist grew thinner, and the sail began to fill with wind till the sheet tightened: then, lo! the mist rising from the face of the sea, and the sea's face rippling gaily under a bright sun. T

ow is the wind such that no rowing of thine may catch up with it: so in wit

"O tomb of warriors, is it not as if the blueness of the deep sea had heaved itself up aloft, and turned from coloured air into rock and stone, so wondrous blue it is? But that is because those crags and mountains are so far away, and as we draw nigher to them, thou shalt see them as they verily are, that they are coal-black; and yonder land is a

allblithe uneasy in his scabbard; but he refrained his wrath, and said: "Big man, the longer I look, the less I can thin

re far away that thou canst see no beach or strand, or sloping of the land seaward, but because there is n

e, but gave a short laugh once or twice; and said at last in a big

fighter; but he said: "Because I was th

oice still louder, "when I am at

hat thou shalt beguile me as such beasts will but look

and cried out in a great roaring voice: "Crag-nester, I am one of seve

six others are not here. Wilt

her we will drink a c

allblithe raised the cup aloft and cried: "Health to the House of the Raven and to them that love it! an ill day to its foemen!" Then he set his lips to the cup and drank; and that wine seemed to him better and stronger than any he had ever tasted. But when he had given the cup back again to Fox, that red one filled it again, a

now the Isle of Ransom uphove huge before them, and coal-black, and no beach and no haven was to be seen therein; and still they ran before the wind towards that black cliff-wall, against which the sea washed for ever, and no keel ever built by man might live for one moment 'twixt the surf and th

high ness, Hallblithe thought he saw down by the edge of the sea something darker than the face of the rock-wall, and he deemed i

Yet it may be that if thou goest ashore on to the Isle something grievous shall befall thee, a trouble more than thou canst bear: a shame it may be. Now the

I not choose to go up on to the Island to deliver my trothplight maiden? For th

n, and note Fox how he steereth, a

and aloft all was peaceful, for no cloud sullied the sky. One moment Hallblithe saw all this hanging above the turmoil of thundering water and dripping rock and the next he was in the darkness of the cave, the roaring w

as dark as dark might be. Then Hallblithe saw that the darkness grew a little greyer, and he looked over his shoulder and saw a star of light before the bows of the boat, and Fox

e: then he leapt back again and said: "Bear a hand with the victuals; we must bring them out of the boat unless thou wilt sleep supperless, as I will not. For to-night must we be guests to ourselves, since it is far to the dwelling of my people, and the old man is said to be a skin-c

ep stair no little way, and so came out on to a plain place, which seemed to Hallblithe bare and waste so far as he saw

land than in the shut-in cave, all that tumult of the wind had fallen, and the clou

reef out of the treeless plain; then said he: "Shipmate, underneath yonder rocks is our resting-place for to-night; and I pray thee not to deem me churlish that I give thee no better harbour. But I have a charge over thee to bring thee saf

h and uncomely words which thou hast given me, I pardon thee for them: for I am none th

of the Raven," quoth Fox; "I have

t is hath bidden th

said Fox; "thou art her

et forth their supper on the stones, and ate what they would, and drank of that good strong wine while the horn bare out. And now was Fox of few words, and when Hall

sea safely on thy quest; and a more perilous sea it is forsooth than thou deemest. But now let us have an end of vain words, and make our bed amidst these stones as best we may; for we shou

up and cast his arms about her, but sleep and the dream bound him, and he might not. Then the image smiled on him and said: "Nay, my love, lie still, for thou mayst not touch me: here is but the image of the body which thou desirest. Hearken then. I am in evil plight, in the hands of strong-thieves of the sea, nor know I what they will do with me, and I have no will to be shamed; to be sold for a price from one hand to another, yet to be bedded without a price, and to lie beside some foe-man of our folk, and he to cast his arms about me, will I, will I not: this is a hard case. Therefore to-morrow m

lie where I was to have lain. Yet again, if I live and thou livest, I have been told and have heard that by one way or other I am like to come to the Glittering Plain, and the Land of Living Men. O my beloved, if by any way thou mightest come thither also, a

ary land, and it was somewhat light and the sky was grown grey and cloudy, and he deemed that the dawn was come. So he leapt to his feet and

w behind the clouds and casteth no shadow; it is but an hour after midnight. Go to sleep again, and let me be, else will I not be a guide to thee when the day comes."