here
finding out the man most noted for his skill in building ships, they
told him the object they had in view, and showed him the drawings the
king had made. There were two of them, the one a long galley rowed with
double banks of oars, the other a heavy trading ship.

"This would be useless to you," the shipwright said, laying the second
drawing aside. "It would not be fast enough either to overtake or to
fly. The other galley would, methinks, suit you well. I have seen a
drawing of such a ship before. It is a war galley such as is used by
the Genoese in their fights against the African pirates. They are fast
and roomy, and have plenty of accommodation for the crews. One of them
well manned and handled should be a match for six at least of the
Danish galleys, which are much lower in the water and smaller in all
ways. But it will cost a good deal of money to build such a ship."

"I will devote all the revenues of my land to it until it is finished,"
Edmund said. "I will place a hundred serfs at your service, and will
leave it to you to hire as many craftsmen as may be needed. I intend to
build her in a quiet place in a deep wood on the river Parrot, so that
she may escape the eyes of the Danes."

"I shall require seasoned timber," the shipwright urged.

"That will I buy," Edmund replied, "as you shall direct, and can have
it brought up the river to the spot."

"Being so large and heavy," the shipwright said, "she will be difficult
to launch. Methinks it were best to dig a hole or dock at some little
distance from the river; then when she is finished a way can be cut to
the river wide enough for her to pass out. When the water is turned in
it will float her up level to the surface, and as she will not draw
more than two feet of water the cut need not be more than three feet
deep."

"That will be the best plan by far," Edmund agreed, "for you can make
the hole so deep that you can build her entirely below the level of the
ground. Then we can, if needs be, fill up the hole altogether with
bushes, and cover her up, so that she would not be seen by a Danish
galley rowing up the river, or even by any of the enemy who might enter
the wood, unless they made special search for her; and there she could
lie until I chose to embark."

The shipwright at once set to work to draw out his plans, and a week
later sent to Edmund a messenger with an account of the quantity and
size of wood he should require. This was purchased at