him.

At last, when Olaf told him plainly of the needs of England and of
her king, and of what he feared of the return of Cnut, Earl
Wulfnoth answered:

"Had you come to ask me to go a-viking with yourself, gladly would
I have joined with or followed you. Godwine my son has yet some
things to learn which a Norseman could teach him, and it would have
been well. But Ethelred holds me as a traitor; and while Edric
Streone is at his side I will not have aught to do with him. I will
drive any Dane out of my land, and that is all. Neither Ethelred
nor Cnut is aught to me. I and my son are earls of Sussex."

Then he rose up from his high seat and strode out of the hall,
bidding us follow him. He led us to the eastern gate, and climbed
to the broad top of the ramparts.

"See yonder," he said, and pointed eastward across the river and
marsh. "There is the hill where our standard has been raised time
after time since OElla and Cissa drove in flight the Welsh who had
raised theirs in the same place before us. There will I raise it
again against Cnut or Streone or any other of his men."

"Edric Streone is with King Ethelred," said Olaf; "he is not Cnut's
man."

"He has been Swein's man; and if it suits him will be Cnut's. I
will not alter my saying of him."

"Ethelred believes in him," answered Olaf, "and Eadmund the
Atheling believes in him as in himself."

"So much the worse for them," said the earl; "you will see if I am
not right. I know Edric Streone over well, and he knows it, and
hates me."

"Come, therefore, and take Ethelred out of his hands," Olaf said.

"Not I. Let him inlaw me again first. I will not go and ask pardon
for what I have not done."

And after that the earl would say no more on the matter, waxing
wroth if Olaf would try to persuade him. So it seemed that our
journey was lost; and Olaf began to be anxious to return to the
Thames, where our ships should go into winter quarters. But the
wind held in the east, and kept us for a while.

Wulfnoth was not sorry for this, for it was full harvest time, and
he sent his housecarles out to his other manors to gather it, so
that he had few folk about him. Godwine went with them to a place
on the downs called Chancton, where was a great house of the earl.
We parted unwillingly; but we might sail at any time if the wind
shifted, and the earl would have him go.

"When you have done with fighting for Ethelred the Unredy," said
the boy to me, "bring Olaf ba