long ago, I cannot tell--and there
was a place among the other work where such a fitting would go
well.

But I had placed the coin in safety in the house, and I must go and
fetch it, and I passed on for the time. Then I loitered on the
bridge, for the old town and its grim earthworks looks very fair
thence, and so a thane sent from Eadmund caught me up and took me
back to the great house, for he had some word for me. It was near
sunset by this time.

"Redwald, my friend," the Atheling said, when I stood before him,
"I would have you go back to Olaf. You have done your errand well,
and your kinsman will want to have you with him. You will fight for
us no less well with him than here."

Now I could speak plainly with the Atheling ever, and I said, being
anxious to know more of Streone's meanings:

"I am glad that you tell me so, my prince, for Edric the earl would
have it that our king fears that Olaf's good faith may be little."

"That is new to me," Eadmund said, frowning; "but, as you know, my
father and I have had little to say to each other of late."

"Then you doubt him not?" I asked.

"I would as soon doubt Edric himself," he said, "and him I trust as
I would trust myself."

"That is well," answered I. "For I feared that you also might have
been doubtful of Olaf."

"Why, what should the king think of Olaf but that he has been his
best friend?"

"The earl tells me that he has heard that Cnut will offer Olaf some
under-kingship if he will take his part," I said.

"I cannot tell how he has heard that," Eadmund said, and he looked
puzzled.

"By your spies in Cnut's court," said I.

"We have no spies there. I hate spying," the Atheling said. "What
means he?"

Then I saw that for some reason which was beyond me Streone had let
me know more than was safe. It was plain that if he spoke truth, he
had more dealings with Cnut than were known to the Atheling. Yet
the earl might, for Ethelred's sake, watch thus on Cnut, rightly
enough, and think it safer to say nought to Eadmund, whose wisdom
was not so great as his valour. It was a poor watch enough though,
I thought, if he knew the talk about Olaf and not the plans for
sailing, which should surely have been told him first of all.

"Maybe he minded him of some old plan of Cnut's that he heard when
you were in Lindsey," I said, that being all that I could imagine.
"That were enough to return to the mind of our king in his
sickness, and trouble him."

"A