Great was
sparing of his reward to those who had fought for him. I did not
need that, for he had been more than generous to us for all these
years, and any man knows that it is an honour to have served with
the greatest of kings, and to have spoken freely with him.

I told Ecgbert that I must return to him when I was free from the
fever, but he shook his head.

"Nay, but you have your work at home, and mine lies here," he said.
"Your father has no other child, and, he needs you. I am well off
here till that day we wot of comes. Wait for it in patience, and
then we shall meet again. There will be no comrade like you for me
till then, but I shall know I have one at least who will welcome me
presently if you go now."

He made it light for me; but it was a hard parting, and I will say
no more of it. The ship left the little Frisian port whence we
sailed, and he stood on the shore and watched us until I could see
him no more; then for a time a loneliness fell on me which made me
a poor companion for the gay Frankish nobles with whom I was to go
to East Anglia.

Not that it mattered much after an hour or so, when we met the
waves of the open sea; for they were no sort of companion to any
one, even to themselves, and the seamen had their laugh at them.

But for myself, not being troubled with the sickness, the sea
worked wonders. For the first time for many a long month the ague
fit had less hold on me when its time came next day. Then a Frisian
sailor saw that I had the illness he knew so well and over well,
and would have me take some bitter draught he made for me out of
willow bark, saying that Carl's leeches knew somewhat less than
nothing concerning ague. Whether it was the sea air, or the
draught, or both, the fit did not come when next it was due; and
the seaman said I was cured, for the power of the ill was broken.
He had time to say that again, for we had head winds the whole way
across, and were nigh a week before we made the mouth of the great
river which goes up to Norwich, where we hoped to find the king,
Ethelbert. And by that time the Franks were themselves again, and
my colour was coming back, and the joy of home was on me, and we
were gay enough.

It was on the last day of April that we saw the English shores
again, early in the morning, with the sun on the low green hills of
Norfolk. By sunset we were far in the heart of the land, at
Norwich, and across the wide river the cuckoo was calling. We had