ntly Hallblithe heard the hale and how, as they got up their
anchor.

But when Hallblithe was come ashore, and was drawn near the folk of the
land, the women looked at him askance, and they laughed and said:
"Welcome to thee also, O young man!" And he beheld them, and saw that
they were of the stature of the maidens of his own land; they were
exceeding fair of skin and shapely of fashion, so that the nakedness of
their limbs under their girded gowns, and all glistening with the sea,
was most lovely and dainty to behold. But Hallblithe knelt by the Sea-
eagle to note how he fared, and said: "How is it with thee, O chieftain?"

The old man answered not a word, and he seemed to be asleep, and
Hallblithe deemed that his cheeks were ruddier and his skin less wasted
and wrinkled than aforetime. Then spake one of those women: "Fear not,
young man; he is well and will soon be better." Her voice was as sweet
as a spring bird in the morning; she was white-skinned and dark-haired,
and full sweetly fashioned; and she laughed on Hallblithe, but not
mockingly; and her fellows also laughed, as though it was strange for him
to be there. Then they did on their shoon again, and with the carle laid
their hands to the bed whereon the old man lay, and lifted him up, and
bore him forth on to the grass, turning their faces toward the flowery
wood aforesaid; and they went a little way and then laid him down again
and rested; and so on little by little, till they had brought him to the
edge of the wood, and still he seemed to be asleep. Then the damsel who
had spoken before, she with the dark hair, said to Hallblithe, "Although
we have gazed on thee as if with wonder, this is not because we did not
look to meet thee, but because thou art so fair and goodly a man: so
abide thou here till we come back to thee from out of the wood."

Therewith she stroked his hand, and with her fellows lifted the old man
once more, and they bore him out of sight into the thicket.

But Hallblithe went to and fro a dozen paces from the wood, and looked
across the flowery meads and deemed he had never seen any so fair. And
afar off toward the hills he saw a great roof arising, and thought he
could see men also; and nigher to him were kine pasturing, and horses
also, whereof some drew anear him and stretched out their necks and gazed
at him; and they were goodly after their kind; and a fair stream of water
came round the corner out of the wood and down the me