wall, and therewith arrayed
themselves to fall on once more. And Thiodolf, now that the foe were
covered by a wall, though it was but a little one, sent a message to the
men of the third battle, them of Up-mark to wit, to come forward in good
array and help to make a ring around the Wolfing Stead, wherein they
should now take the Romans as a beast is taken in a trap. Meanwhile,
until they came, he sent other men to the wood to bring tree-boles to
batter the gate, and to make bridges whereby to swarm over the wall,
which was but breast-high on the Roman side, though they had worked at it
ceaselessly since yesterday morning.

In a long half-hour, therefore, the horns of the men of Up-mark sounded,
and they came forth from the wood a very great company, for with them
also were the men of the stay-at-homes and the homeless, such of them as
were fit to bear arms. Amongst these went the Hall-Sun surrounded by a
band of the warriors of Up-mark; and before her was borne her namesake
the Lamp as a sign of assured victory. But these stay-at-homes with the
Hall-Sun were stayed by the command of Thiodolf on the crown of the slope
above the dwellings, and stood round about the Speech-Hill, on the
topmost of which stood the Hall-Sun, and the wondrous Lamp, and the men
who warded her and it.

When the Romans saw the new host come forth from the wood, they might
well think that they would have work enough to do that day; but when they
saw the Hall-Sun take her stand on the Speech-Hill with the men-at-arms
about her, and the Lamp before her, then dread of the Gods fell upon
them, and they knew that the doom had gone forth against them.
Nevertheless they were not men to faint and die because the Gods were
become their foes, but they were resolved rather to fight it out to the
end against whatsoever might come against them, as was well seen
afterwards.

Now they had made four gates to their garth according to their custom,
and at each gate within was there a company of their mightiest men, and
each was beset by the best of the Markmen. Thiodolf and his men beset
the western gate where they had made that fierce onset. And the northern
gate was beset by the Elkings and some of the kindreds of the
Nether-mark; and the eastern gate by the rest of the men of Nether-mark;
and the southern gate by the kindreds of Up-mark.

All this the Romans noted, and they saw how that the Markmen were now
very many, and they knew that they were men