Here we saw whales, and fish in the shape of shields, but longer than our
ship. Some slept, some opened their mouths at us, and some danced on the
hot waters. The water was hot to the hand, and the sky was hidden by hot,
grey mists, out of which blew a fine dust that whitened our hair and
beards of a morning. Here, too, were fish that flew in the air like birds.
They would fall on the laps of the rowers, and when we went ashore we
would roast and eat them.'

The knight paused to see if the children doubted him, but they only nodded
and said, 'Go on.'

'The yellow land lay on our left, the grey sea on our right. Knight though
I was, I pulled my oar amongst the rowers. I caught seaweed and dried it,
and stuffed it between the pots of beads lest they should break.
Knighthood is for the land. At sea, look you, a man is but a spurless
rider on a bridleless horse. I learned to make strong knots in ropes--yes,
and to join two ropes end to end, so that even Witta could scarcely see
where they had been married. But Hugh had tenfold more sea-cunning than I.
Witta gave him charge of the rowers of the left side. Thorkild of Borkum,
a man with a broken nose, that wore a Norman steel cap, had the rowers of
the right, and each side rowed and sang against the other. They saw that
no man was idle. Truly, as Hugh said, and Witta would laugh at him, a ship
is all more care than a Manor.

'How? Thus. There was water to fetch from the shore when we could find it,
as well as wild fruit and grasses, and sand for scrubbing of the decks and
benches to keep them sweet. Also we hauled the ship out on low islands and
emptied all her gear, even to the iron wedges, and burned off the weed,
that had grown on her, with torches of rush, and smoked below the decks
with rushes dampened in salt water, as Hlaf the Woman orders in her
Ship-Book. Once when we were thus stripped, and the ship lay propped on
her keel, the bird cried, "Out swords!" as though she saw an enemy. Witta
vowed he would wring her neck.'

'Poor Polly! Did he?' said Una.

'Nay. She was the ship's bird. She could call all the rowers by name....
Those were good days--for a wifeless man--with Witta and his heathen--beyond
the world's end.... After many weeks we came on the Great Shoal which
stretched, as Witta's father had said, far out to sea. We skirted it till
we were giddy with the sight and dizzy with the sound of bars and
breakers; and when we reached land again we found a naked