beloved, O Hallblithe, and said:

"'Let it be one then, and not all; for I am the Hostage.'

"'How shalt thou make us sure thereof?' said the evil carle.

"She looked on him proudly and said: 'Because I say it.'

"'Wilt thou swear it?' said he.

"'Yea,' said she, 'I swear it by the token of the House wherein I shall
wed; by the wings of the Fowl that seeketh the Field of Slaying.'

"'It is enough,' said the man, 'come thou with us. And ye maidens sit ye
there, and move not till we have made way on our ship, unless ye would
feel the point of the arrow. For ye are within bowshot of the ship, and
we have shot weapons aboard.'

"So the Hostage departed with them, and she unweeping, but we wept
sorely. And we saw the small boat come up to the side of the round-ship,
and the Hostage going over the gunwale along with those evil men, and we
heard the hale and how of the mariners as they drew up the anchor and
sheeted home; and then the sweeps came out and the ship began to move
over the sea. And one of those evil-minded men bent his bow and shot a
shaft at us, but it fell far short of where we sat, and the laugh of
those runagates came over the sands to us. So we crept up the beach
trembling, and then rose to our feet and got to our horses, and rode
hither speedily, and our hearts are broken for thy sorrow."

At that word came Hallblithe's own sister out from the hall; and she bore
weapons with her, to wit Hallblithe's sword and shield and helm and
hauberk. As for him he turned back silently to his work, and set the
steel of the spear on the new ashen shaft, and took the hammer and smote
the nail in, and laid the weapon on a round pebble that was thereby, and
clenched the nail on the other side. Then he looked about, and saw that
the other damsel had brought him his coal-black war-horse ready saddled
and bridled; then he did on his armour, and girt his sword to his side
and leapt into the saddle, and took his new-shafted spear in hand and
shook the rein. But none of all those damsels durst say a word to him or
ask him whither he went, for they feared his face, and the sorrow of his
heart. So he got him out of the garth and turned toward the sea-shore,
and they saw the glitter of his spear-point a minute over the turf-wall,
and heard the clatter of his horse-hoofs as he galloped over the hard
way; and thus he departed.

CHAPTER III: THE WARRIORS OF THE RAVEN SEARCH THE SEAS

Then the women bethought th