M IN PORTLAND RACE.

All the rest of that afternoon we two had to bide on the narrow
fore deck of the long ship, watching the pillage of the little
town. Once I waxed impatient, and asked my cousin if we might not
try to escape, seeing that little heed was paid to us, and that our
staying here as hostages had been of no use. But he shook his head,
telling me that until he had spoken with Thorleif or Thrond, to
whom we had passed our word, we must bide; which I saw was right.

Presently, as the evening began to close in, Thorleif came to us,
and with him was the old chief. After them came a man with food in
plenty in a ship's cauldron, and a leathern jack of ale, which he
set before us as we sat on the coils of rope which were stowed
forward.

"Welsh mutton and Welsh ale," said Thorleif, smiling. "That is
plunder one may ask a Saxon to share without offence. Fall to, I
pray you."

There was a rough courtesy in this, at the least intended, and we
were hungry, so we did not delay. And as we ate, the chief spoke
with us plainly.

"I had hoped," he said, "to manage this raid without fighting, but
I never met so headstrong a man as your sheriff. Truly, I would
have sent him home in peace, if in a hurry, had we been given a
chance, but, as you saw, we had none. Now, if you will, I will send
one of you home to say that if your folk will pay us fair ransom in
coined silver or weighed gold, we will harry no more, and will not
burn the town. One of you shall go at once, and bring me word by
noon at latest tomorrow, while the other shall bide as hostage for
his return. We will do no harm to aught until the time is up."

"Plain speaking, chief," said Elfric. "If we go, we must not have
more than a reasonable sum named, else will the message be
useless."

Then they talked of what sum should be named, and in the end agreed
on what was possible, I think; at all events, it was far less than
has been paid to the like force of Danes since. The riches of our
peaceful Wessex were as yet unknown to the vikings, save by
hearsay; indeed, it has been said that these three ships came to
spy out the land. And then came the question as to which of us two
was to go.

That was ended by Thorleif himself. I said that Elfric should go,
and he was most anxious that I should be freed from the clutches of
the Danes. And as we spoke thereof, neither of us being willing to
give way--for, indeed, it did not seem to me that it mattered much
whe