this treasure ship you
picked up."

"Then you had some pact with Arnkel?"

"More or less," he said; "but there was a deal of chance in the
matter. In the gale I was outsailed, for your ship is not speedy,
as you know. The other two took refuge among the islands on the
Norse shore, and there heard of the great mound laying of Thorwald
which was to be. The ship had passed in the dawn of that morning,
and had not far to go. Whereon my father sent a message to Arnkel,
whom he knew, to say that he was at hand, and landed and fell on
him. As it turned out, he had better have taken his ships, for
Thorwald's folk set the ship adrift to save her from pillage. It
seems that they meant her to burn, but blundered that part. There
was nothing to fight for then, so they ceased. I came to the
islands and there had news of my father, and followed him. On the
way I passed Thorwald's ship at a distance, and was afraid of her,
she seeming to be a fully-armed war vessel. So I let her pass."

"Then you brought the news to Arnkel that she was not burning?"

"So it was. Whereon he would have us sail at once in chase of her
on his account. As we would not do that, and he would not let us go
on our own, there was a small fight. In the end Arnkel's men manned
your ship and we sailed in company, the bargain being that the
treasure was to fall to the finder. We thought we might have little
difficulty in overhauling the vessel, and should have had none if
it had not been for you. Had you picked up a crew of fishers?"

"No; we managed somehow by ourselves."

"I always told my father that Bertric was the best seaman we had in
all our crowd," Asbiorn said frankly. "You did well that time."

Then he told us how they had searched for us much in the way which
we had thought likely, and so at last had heard of a wreck when
they reached the river Bann.

"Asbiorn," I said, "did you know that there was a lady on board
this ship which was to be burnt?"

"No, on my word," he said, starting somewhat. "So that is where the
young queen was hidden, after all? There was wailing when her men
found that she was missing, and they said that she must have gone
distraught in her grief, and wandered to the mountains. How was she
left on board?"

"Arnkel put her there," I answered.

"So that explains his way somewhat. He seemed to want that ship
caught, and yet did not. When we did sail, he steered wide of the
course she took, and too far to the northward."