."

"Well, well," said Thorward, "thou art wonderfully smart at giving good
advice."

"Would that I could say thou wert equally smart at taking it! However,
I have hope of thee, Thorward. Come, let us go see what the nets have
produced. I observe Hake and Heika rowing to land."

It was found that the fishermen had loaded their boat with magnificent
trout of all sizes--some above five or six pounds' weight--besides a
large quantity of excellent fish of other kinds, but not a single salmon
had been taken. Nevertheless they had good reason to be content with
their success, for the supply was sufficient to provide a hearty supper
for the whole party, so that the first night in the new home,--like the
first night in the new land,--was a merry one.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

SETTLING DOWN--HAKE PROVES THAT HIS ARMS, AS WELL AS HIS LEGS, ARE
GOOD--A WONDERFUL FISHING INCIDENT, WHICH ENDS IN A SCENE BETWEEN
FREYDISSA AND KRAKE.

The little hamlet on the Vinland lake, which had been so long silent and
deserted, resounded from that time forth with the voices and activities
of energetic labourers, for these adventurous Norsemen had much to do
before their new home could be made comfortable.

The forest and undergrowth around had to be cleared; the huts, of which
there were six, had to be cleaned out, fitted up with new parchment in
the windows--for there was no glass in those days--and new thatch on the
roofs, besides being generally repaired; additional huts had to be built
for the people, pens for the sheep, and stabling for the cattle, all of
which implied felling and squaring timber, while the smaller articles of
household furniture and fittings kept the people generally in full
occupation. Of course a party had to be told off as hunters for the
community, while another party were set to attend to the nets in the
lake, and a third, under the special charge of Karlsefin, went out at
intervals to scour the woods, with the double purpose of procuring food
and investigating the character and resources of the new land.

In regard to this last these settlers had every reason to be satisfied.
The country appeared to be boundless in extent, and was pleasantly
diversified in form; the waters teemed with fish, the land was rich with
verdure, and the forests swarmed with game, large and small.

One day Karlsefin and Biarne, attended by Hake and several men, went out
for a ramble of exploration in the direction of the small rive