Her conscience smote
her now, for her shirking, and she struggled to her feet.
None too soon; above the outside din a horn clarioned, loud and clear. Through
the hush that followed could be heard the voice of Canute, assigning their
positions to the different bands.
"I and my kinsman, Ulf Jarl, shall be foremost. To the right of my standard
Edric Jarl shall stand, and the men with whom he joined us. He shall have
another standard. To the left of my bodyguard shall stand the men of Eric of
Norway. Friends and kinsmen shall stand together. There each will defend the
other best."
Then Rothgar's harsh voice sounded, shouting her name,--Fridtjof's name.
Giving her scarf a hasty twist about her arm, she knotted it with her teeth;
and seizing the sword in her little brown hand clotted with her own blood, she
ran out into the tumult.
Chapter VII
The Game of Swords
It is better for the brave man
Than for the coward
To join in the battle.
It is better for the glad
Than for the sorrowing
In all circumstances.
Fafnisma'l.
It would have been a dull soul that would not have been stirred by a sight of
Danish camp. The host was like a forest of mighty trees tossing and swaying
before the approach of a storm. Lines of moving shot lightning flashes through
the dusk of the shady grove; while the hundreds of jubilant voices blended
into rumbling thunder.
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