hen I was able to see that we were alongside a sort of landing
place that was partly natural and partly hewn and smoothed from the
living rock into a sort of wharf at the foot of the cliff. From
this landing place a steep road, hewn with untold labour at some
ancient day, slanted sharply upward and toward the head of the cove
along the face of the rocks, which were somewhat less steep on this
side than across the water. I could not see the top of this road,
but no doubt it was that along which Thorgils and the princess had
gone, and no doubt also Evan thought to carry me up it before long.

I had a hope that my friend would return too soon for that, but it
was a slender one. It was plain that he had gone too far for me to
call to him. Yet could I win clear of the ship I might find or
fight my way up after him, and that seemed easy with only these
three Welshmen against me, and they expecting no attack.

I looked for the two who were left if I slew Evan. One sat under
the weather gunwale, wrapped in a great cloak, and seemed to be
sleeping. The other was not far off on the landing place, watching
Evan, who was speaking with a dozen men at the foot of the
rock-hewn road. I suppose that the coming in of the ship had drawn
idlers from the camp I had heard of to see her, for they all had
arms of some sort.

This was bad, for it seemed certain that the whole crowd would join
with Evan in falling on me if he called on them. If I came forth
now I had full twenty yards to cover before I reached them from the
ship's side after I had settled with the men on watch. In that
space all would be ready for me, and they were too many for me to
cut through to the roadway. I thought too that I heard the voices
of more who came downward toward the ship, though I could not see
them whence I was.

Then it came into my mind that if there was any place where I could
hide myself on deck I would try to creep to it while none had their
eyes on the ship. Then Evan, as he went to the cabin to seek me,
would have to deal with me from the rear. But that I soon saw was
hopeless. The deck was clear of lumber big enough to shelter me,
and the moonlight was almost as bright as day on everything, and
all the clearer for the snow that covered all the land. So I began
to turn over many other plans in my mind, and at last it seemed
that the only thing was to wait in the cabin for the best chance
that offered. Most likely Evan would do even as he had said