for many years, and had taken care of Leif when he was a
little boy. So Leif loved him.

Now one day they had been wandering about and all came back to camp at
night except Tyrker. When Leif looked around on his comrades, he said:

"Where is Tyrker?"

No one knew. Then Leif was angry.

"Is a man of so little value in this empty land that you would lose
one?" he said. "Why did you not keep together? Did you not see that he
was gone? Why did you not set out to look for him? Who knows what
terrible thing may have happened to him in these great forests?"

Then he turned and started out to hunt for him. His men followed,
silent and ashamed. They had not gone far when they saw Tyrker running
toward them. He was laughing and talking to himself. Leif ran to him and
put his arms about him with gladness at seeing him.

[Illustration: "_He pointed to the woods and laughed and rolled his
eyes_"]

"Why are you so late?" he asked. "Where have you been?"

But Tyrker, still smiling and nodding his head, answered in German. He
pointed to the woods and laughed and rolled his eyes. Again Leif asked
his question and put his hand on Tyrker's shoulder as though he would
shake him. Then Tyrker answered in the language of Iceland:

"I have not been so very far, but I have found something wonderful."

"What is it?" cried the men.

"I have found grapes growing wild," answered Tyrker, and he laughed, and
his eyes shone.

"It cannot be," Leif said.

Grapes do not grow in Greenland nor in Iceland nor even in Norway. So it
seemed a wonderful thing to these Norsemen.

"Can I not tell grapes when I see them?" cried Tyrker. "Did I not grow
up in Germany, where every hillside is covered with grapevines? Ah! it
seems like my old home."

"It is wonderful," Leif said. "I have heard travelers tell of seeing
grapes growing, but I myself never saw it. You shall take us to them
early in the morning, Tyrker."

So in the morning they went back into the woods and saw the grapes. They
ate of them.

"They are like food and drink," they cried.

That day Leif said:

"We spent most of the summer on the ocean. Winter will soon be coming on
and the sea about Greenland will be frozen. We must start back. I mean
to take some of the things of this land to show to our people at home.
We will fill the rowboat with grapes and tow it behind us. The ship we
will load with logs from these great trees. That will be a welcome
shipload in Greenland, where w