word is my god, and my ship is my temple, and I like this land to
set them up in."

They sat about the fire long that night making plans.

"You shall go home and get our women and our things, Ingolf," said Leif.
"I will off to Ireland and have a frolic. There will be little play of
swords in this empty land, and I want to have one last game before I
hang up my battle-knife. Besides, I will come to you with a ship full of
gold and clothes and house-hangings such as we cannot get here, and they
will cost me nothing but the swing of a sword."

As they talked, Ingolf looked up at the sky. The northern lights were
quivering there. They were like great flames of yellow and green and
red.

"See," he said, and pointed. "We are not so far that the gods will
forget us. There is the flash of the armor of the Valkyrias.[11] A
battle is on somewhere, and Odin has sent his maidens to choose the
heroes for Valhalla."

Leif only laughed and lay down to sleep.

So in the spring they all went back to Norway. Leif got ready the boat
again and merrily sailed for Ireland.

"Here I go to get riches for our new land," he said.

Ingolf set his men to cutting down pines in the forest and some to
building a new ship. He had his thralls plant large crops of grain and
grind flour and make new kegs and chests of wood. He himself worked much
at the forge, making all kinds of tools--spades, axes, hammers,
hunting-knives, cooking kettles. The women were busy weaving and sewing
new clothes. Ingolf sold his house and land and everything that he could
not take with him.

After about two years Leif came back. He had ten thralls that he had got
in Ireland. He took Ingolf aboard his ship and raised the covers of
great chests. Gold helmets, silver-trimmed drinking-horns, embroidered
robes, and swords flashed out.

"Did I not say that I would come back with a full ship?" he laughed.

At last all things were ready for starting.

"To-day I will sacrifice to Thor and Odin," Ingolf said. "If the omens
are good we will start to-morrow."

"Well, go, foster-brother," laughed Leif. "But I have better things to
do. I will be putting the cattle into the ship and will have all ready."

So Ingolf and his men went into the forests a little way. There in a
cleared space stood a large building. In front of this temple the men
killed two horses for Odin. Ingolf caught some of the blood in a brass
bowl. He raised it and looked up at the sky and said:

"All-