any companionship was out of the question. He pointed as he
spoke to Editha, the wife of Kenna, a red-faced, elderly woman, who
walked among the others, her chin in the air, taking no more notice than
if they did not exist.

Whilst I was talking to my friend Eric, a sudden altercation broke out
upon the deck, and a great number of the men paused in their work, and
flocked towards the spot with faces which showed that they were deeply
interested in the matter. Eric and I pushed our way among the others,
for I was very anxious to see as much as I could of the ways and manners
of these Barbarians. A quarrel had broken out about a child, a little
blue-eyed fellow with curly yellow hair, who appeared to be greatly
amused by the hubbub of which he was the cause. On one side of him stood
a white-bearded old man, of very majestic aspect, who signified by his
gestures that he claimed the lad for himself, while on the other was a
thin, earnest, anxious person, who strongly objected to the boy being
taken from him. Eric whispered in my ear that the old man was the tribal
high priest, who was the official sacrificer to their great god Woden,
whilst the other was a man who took somewhat different views, not upon
Woden, but upon the means by which he should be worshipped. The majority
of the crew were on the side of the old priest; but a certain number,
who liked greater liberty of worship, and to invent their own prayers
instead of always repeating the official ones, followed the lead of the
younger man. The difference was too deep and too old to be healed among
the grown men, but each had a great desire to impress their view upon
the children. This was the reason why these two were now so furious with
each other, and the argument between them ran so high that several of
their followers on either side had drawn the short saxes, or knives
from which their name of Saxon is derived, when a burly, red-headed man
pushed his way through the throng, and in a voice of thunder brought the
controversy to an end.

"You priests, who argue about the things which no man can know, are more
trouble aboard this ship than all the dangers of the sea," he cried.
"Can you not be content with worshipping Woden, over which we are all
agreed, and not make so much of those small points upon which we may
differ? If there is all this fuss about the teaching of the children,
then I shall forbid either of you to teach them, and they must be
content with as muc