s, came flocking down in haste. The planks had already been thrown
overboard. The Danes strove by pulling at the ropes to haul the vessels
nearer to land. Some ran towards their ships, others jumped into boats,
and pushing out to the platforms strove to get on board them; but by
this time the flames were rising high through the hatchways. According
to previous agreement Edmund and the leaders of the other two parties,
seeing that the flames had now firm hold, cut the ropes which fastened
them to the bank, and as soon as the stream began to swing them out
leaped into the boats and rowed for the opposite shore.

The uproar was now tremendous; and shouts of rage rose from the
Northmen, who were amazed and puzzled by the appearance of the Saxons,
whose attire differed but slightly from their own; and the general
belief among them was that this sudden alarm was the result of
treachery among themselves. There was no time to waste in conjecture;
the three groups of ships were now masses of flame, in the midst of
which the lofty towers rose high. The shouts of the sailors in the
vessels crowded together in helpless confusion in the stream below rose
higher and higher as the blazing vessels drifted down and threatened to
overtake them.

Some tried to hoist their sails; others got out long oars and strove to
sweep their vessels towards the shore, but they were huddled too
closely in the stream; the yards and rigging of many having become
interlocked with each other. The Northmen leaped into the rowing boats
by the bank above where the tower-ships had been moored, and rowing
down endeavoured to tow them to the bank; but they were now in a blaze
from end to end, the heat was so great that it was difficult to
approach them, and all endeavours to fasten ropes to them were
frustrated, as these were instantly consumed. The Northmen, finding
their efforts unavailing, then turned their attention to trying to tow
the ships below to the banks.

In some cases they were successful. A few of the vessels also at the
lower end of the mass succeeded in getting up their sails and drawing
out from their fellows, for the wind was blowing down stream. This,
however, proved the destruction of the rest of the ships, for the great
towers rising amid the lofty pillars of flames acted as sails and bore
the fire-ships down upon the helpless crowd of vessels.

Soon they reached those nearest to them, and the flames, borne forward
by the wind, sprang fr