e that he was off
his feet in his spring as the shield smote him.

There he lay, and Havelok strode forward and stood between the two, with
his face to Griffin, for Ragnar had dropped his axe to rest when his foe
fell.

"No blood drawn," said my brother, "but no more fighting can there be.
The man's arm is out."

And so it was, for the mighty heave that turned the thrust had ended
Griffin's fighting for a long day. But he did not think so.

The sweat was standing on his face in great beads from the pain, but he
got up and shifted his sword to his left hand.

"It is to the death," he cried; "I can fight as well with the left.
Stand aside."

"An it had been so, you were a dead man now," said Havelok, "for the
earl held his hand where he might have slain. If he had chosen, you
might have felt his axe before you touched the ground."

Thereat, without warning other than a snarl of "Your own saying,"
Griffin leapt at my brother fiercely, only to meet a swing of his axe
that sent his sword flying from his hand. And that was deft of Havelok,
for there is nothing more hard to meet than a left-handed attack at any
time, and this seemed unlooked for.

"Well, I did say somewhat of this sort," said Havelok; "but it was lucky
that I had not forgotten it."

Then he took the thane by the waist and left arm and set him down
gently; and after that all the fury went from him, and he grew pale with
the pain of the arm that was hurt. But both I and the Welshmen had
shouted to Griffin to hold, all uselessly, so quick had been his onset
on his new foe.

Cadwal held his peace, biting his lip, but the other Welshman began to
blame Griffin loudly for this.

"Nay," said Havelok, smiling; "it was my own fault maybe. The thane was
overhasty certainly, but one does not think with pain gnawing at one.
Let that pass.

"Now, earl, I think that you may say what you have to say that will set
things right once more."

"Can none of us put the arm back first?" I said. "I will try, if none
else has done such a thing before, for it will not be the first time."

"Put it back, if you can," said Cadwal. "If there is anything to be
said, it had better be in some sort of comfort."

So I put the arm back, for when once the trick is learned there is not,
as a rule, much trouble. But Griffin never thanked me. He left that to
his seconds, who did so well enough.

Then Ragnar came forward and said gravely, "I was wrong when I called
you 'nidring,'