unwar awoke Erik silently, and pointed out to him
that they ought to fly, saying that it was very expedient to return with
safe chariot ere harm was done. He went with her to the shore, where he
happened to find the king's fleet beached: so, cutting away part of
the sides, he made it unseaworthy, and by again replacing some laths he
patched it so that the damage might be unnoticed by those who looked at
it. Then he caused the vessel whither he and his company had retired to
put off a little from the shore.

The king prepared to give them chase with his mutilated ships, but soon
the waves broke through; and though he was very heavily laden with his
armour, he began to swim off among the rest, having become more anxious
to save his own life than to attack that of others. The bows plunged
over into the sea, the tide flooded in and swept the rowers from their
seats. When Erik and Roller saw this they instantly flung themselves
into the deep water, spurning danger, and by swimming picked up the
king, who was tossing about. Thrice the waves had poured over him and
borne him down when Erik caught him by the hair, and lifted him out of
the sea. The remaining crowd of the wrecked either sank in the waters,
or got with trouble to the land. The king was stripped of his dripping
attire and swathed round with dry garments, and the water poured in
floods from his chest as he kept belching it; his voice also seemed
to fail under the exhaustion of continual pantings. At last heat was
restored to his limbs, which were numbed with cold, and his breathing
became quicker. He had not fully got back his strength, and could sit
but not rise. Gradually his native force returned. But when he was asked
at last whether he sued for life and grace, he put his hand to his eyes,
and strove to lift up their downcast gaze. But as, little by little,
power came back to his body, and as his voice became more assured, he
said:

"By this light, which I am loth to look on, by this heaven which I
behold and drink in with little joy, I beseech and conjure you not to
persuade me to use either any more. I wished to die; ye have saved me in
vain. I was not allowed to perish in the waters; at least I will die by
the sword. I was unconquered before; thine, Erik, was the first wit to
which I yielded: I was all the more unhappy, because I had never been
beaten by men of note, and now I let a low-born man defeat me. This
is great cause for a king to be ashamed. This