FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132  
133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   >>   >|  
at pileth clouds before, On either hand what gathereth save the stormy tide of war? Now grows midsummer mirky, and fallow falls the morn, And dusketh the Moon's Sister, and the trees look overworn; God's Ash tree shakes and shivers, and the sheer cliff standeth white As the bones of the giants' father when the Gods first fared to fight." And indeed the morning had grown mirky and grey and threatening, and from far away the thunder growled, and the face of the Kite's Nest showed pale and awful against a dark steely cloud; and a few drops of rain pattered into the smooth water before them from a rag of the cloud-flock right over head. They were in mid stream now, for the water was wide there; on the eastern bank were the warriors gathering, for they had beheld the faring of those men, and the voice of Wolfkettle came to them across the water, so they deemed that great tidings were toward, and would fain know on what errand those were come. Then the waters of the ford deepened till Hiarandi was wading more than waist-deep, and the water flowed over Geirbald's saddle; then Wolfkettle laughed, and turning as he sat, dragged out his sword, and waved it from east to west and sang: "O sun, pale up in heaven, shrink from us if thou wilt, And turn thy face from beholding the shock of guilt with guilt! Stand still, O blood of summer! and let the harvest fade, Till there be nought but fallow where once was bloom and blade! O day, give out but a glimmer of all thy flood of light, If it be but enough for our eyen to see the road of fight! Forget all else and slumber, if still ye let us wake, And our mouths shall make the thunder, and our swords shall the lightening make, And we shall be the storm-wind and drive the ruddy rain, Till the joy of our hearts in battle bring back the day again." As he spake that word they came up through the shallow water dripping on to the bank, and they and the men who abode them on the bank shouted together for joy of fellowship, and all tossed aloft their weapons. The man who had ridden behind Viglund slipped off on to the ground; but Wolfkettle abode in his place behind Geirbald. So the messengers passed on, and the others closed up round about them, and all the throng went up to where Thiodolf was sitting on a rock beneath a sole ash-tree, the face of the Kite's Nest rising behind him on the other side of a bight of the river. There he
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132  
133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Wolfkettle
 

thunder

 

Geirbald

 

fallow

 

heaven

 
shrink
 
Forget
 

nought

 
glimmer
 

slumber


summer

 

harvest

 
beholding
 

passed

 
closed
 

throng

 
messengers
 
slipped
 

Viglund

 

ground


Thiodolf

 

rising

 

sitting

 

beneath

 

ridden

 

hearts

 

battle

 

mouths

 

swords

 

lightening


tossed

 
weapons
 

fellowship

 

shallow

 

dripping

 
shouted
 

morning

 
father
 

standeth

 
giants

steely
 

showed

 
threatening
 
growled
 

shivers

 

stormy

 
gathereth
 

pileth

 
clouds
 

midsummer