seen was of rank was bending over the lady, who lay where
the wild men had left her; and his unhurt servant was watching
beside him. The wounded man was sitting up and trying to bind a
hurt in his thigh with a scarf, which, from its gold fringes, was
plainly that of his mistress.

The thane rose up when he heard us coming, and saluted us. He was a
handsome man of sixty years or so, richly dressed, who had plainly
had a bad fall when his horse went down. There were three or four
of his assailants lying where they had been round him as I came.

"Many thanks, sirs," he said. "It was going hard with us when you
came up. Now is no time for ceremony, or I would say more. I do not
know if my daughter lives yet."

I dismounted, and Werbode held my horse while I went to the side of
the thane and looked at his charge. Wonderfully beautiful that
young maiden seemed in the red light of the sunset, even though her
face was white and her fair hair all tangled over her shoulders,
and her rich dress all in tatters from the hands of the wild men.
And at first I thought that she was dead. Then I minded that unless
she had died of fright, which was possible, I had seen no harm done
her beyond rough handling, while those who held her had fled from
me without delay or heed to how she fell from their hands; and I
knelt and tried to find the pulse in her wrist, very gently.

Her white hand fell limp and cold, but the fluttering beat was
there.

"Not dead, thane, but fainting," I said. "Let your man get water;
there is a pool yonder."

The housecarl started toward it, but as he passed one of the
helpless horses, he turned to that and brought me a horn from the
saddlebags. It had wine in it, and that was better. The old thane
tried to get some of it into the lips of the lady, and succeeded
while I rubbed her hands.

And all the while Werbode had his eyes on Erling, whose gaunt form
was clear against the sky as he sat still on his horse and watched
the heath for the trolls to return on us. Behind him the two hounds
sat, careless.

"She is coming round," said the thane, with a sigh of relief.

Seeing that so she was, I rose up and stood aside, not caring to be
right before her eyes as she opened them, lest she should be
frightened again. Slowly she came to herself, trembling, and
looking round fearful of what she might find about her. But when
she saw only her father and the man, she tried to smile and sat up,
with a little clutch a