it sufficient
ground on which to have founded an immediate onslaught. But get thee to
bed, Erling, and let me advise thee to sleep with thy windward eye
open."

"Trust me," said Erling, with a laugh, as he pushed off; "I will not
sleep with both eyes shut to-night!"

Getting on board his own ship, Erling said to his foot-boy--

"I will not sleep in my bed to-night, for I suspect there may be
treachery abroad. Thou shalt keep watch, therefore, in case anything
may happen in the night; and if thou shalt see me strive with anyone, do
not alarm the men. Meanwhile go thou and fetch me a billet of wood, and
let it be a large one."

The boy quickly brought from the hold one of the largest billets of wood
he could find, and gave it to his master, who laid it in his own bed,
which was under a small tent spread over the aft part of the vessel,
close to the poop. Having covered it up carefully, he sent the boy
forward, and went himself to lie down elsewhere.

At midnight a boat was rowed stealthily alongside. It was guided by one
man, and moved so silently that the lightest sleeper on board could not
have been awakened by it. The man stepped on board; lifted up the cloth
of the tent over the bulwarks; looked cautiously all round him, and then
went up and struck in Erling's bed with a great axe, so that it stuck
fast in the billet of wood. Next instant the man felt his neck in a
grip like that of an iron vice, and his face was thrust upon the ground
and held there, while a heavy knee pressed into the small of his back,
so that he was utterly unable to rise.

Erling's foot-boy saw the whole of this, and heard what followed, for
the curtain of the tent was raised; but he moved neither hand nor foot,
though he held a spear ready for instant action if required.

"It ill becomes thee, Hake," said Erling, "to seek my life a second
time, after making such poor work of it the first. What! wilt thou not
lie quiet?"

While he was speaking the berserk struggled with the fury of a madman to
free himself, but Erling's grip (perhaps his own wisdom also!) prevented
him from shouting, and Erling's knee prevented the struggles from making
much noise. Finding, however, that he would not be quiet, our hero
tightened the pressure of his left hand until the tongue and eyes of the
berserk began to protrude, and his face to get black, while with his
right hand he drew his knife, and ran the point of it about a quarter of
an inch into t