Erling the Bold Part 22

There was a great shout and clash of arms when this was said, and the King's face became crimson with rage, for he saw clearly that the feeling of the majority was against him.

At this point Jarl Rongvold stood up and spoke in the bland tones of a man who wishes to throw oil on troubled waters.

He said that it was his earnest entreaty to the bonders and house-holding men, both great and small, then and there a.s.sembled, that they should calmly consider the proposals of the King, and not allow themselves to be carried away by unsound reasoning, although it might seem very plausible, for he was certain that the King's desire was the good of the country; and although circ.u.mstances had rendered it necessary that some of the rebellious should be punished, no one could say that the King was not willing and ready to do all that he did in a fair, open, and straightforward manner.

At this Erling was unable to restrain himself. He sprang up, and, with a pa.s.sionate flow of words that burst forth like a mountain torrent, exclaimed--

"Thinkest thou, Jarl Rongvold, that our brains are so addled that we cannot distinguish between black and white? Is thy memory so short, is thy slavery to the King so complete, that thou must say evil is good and good evil? Hast thou and has the King so soon forgotten that two strangers came to the court with a message from one of the legal a.s.semblies of this land,--that, trusting to the honour of the King, they came without following, and with only such arms as were needful for personal defence,--and that the honour to which they trusted was not proof against the temptation to send a noted berserk and nineteen men to waylay and slay them? Is all this clean gone from your memory, Jarl and King? or is your wit so small that ye should think we will believe in soft words about fair play when such foul deeds are so recent that the graves are yet wet with the blood of those whom Glumm and I were compelled to slay in self-defence?"

At this the King started up, and his face became white and red by turns, as he said--

"Ye shall, both of you, rue this day, Erling and Glumm!"

Erling made no reply, but Glumm started up and was in so great a pa.s.sion that he could hardly speak; nevertheless he made s.h.i.+ft to splutter out--

"Threats, King Harald, are like water spilt on a s.h.i.+eld which can only rust if left there; I wipe them off and fling them away!"

He could add no more, but with a contemptuous motion of the hand he struck his fist violently against his s.h.i.+rt of mail, and the bonders laughed while they applauded him.

Then stood up a man in the troop of the Springdal men, who was of great stature and grim countenance, clad in a leather cloak, with an axe on his shoulder and a great steel hat upon his head. He looked sternly, and said--

"When rights are not respected then the crows flap their wings and caw, for they know that ere long they shall glut themselves with human blood."

He sat down, and immediately after Ulf of Romsdal stood up. Ulf had fully as much fire as Erling or Glumm, but he possessed greater power of self-restraint, and, as he spoke with deliberation, his words had all the more weight. He said--

"King Harald, when in the exercise of our udal rights we bonders elected thee to be our King at the Thing held in Drontheim, we stated and traced thy descent from Odin through the Vingling dynasty, proved thy udal right to the crown, and truly thought that we had placed it on the head of one who would walk in the footsteps of his father, and respect that authority and power in virtue of which he held his own high position.

But we now find that thou hast const.i.tuted thyself a law higher than the law which made thee what thou art, and thou now wouldst have us, of our own free will, bend our necks so low that thou mayest with the more ease set thy foot on them and keep us down. We have served thee in all good faith up to the present time; we have readily met thy demands for men, s.h.i.+ps, arms, and money, by calling together our a.s.semblies and voting these supplies; and now thou wouldst rob us of this our old right, and tax us without our consent, so that thou mayest raise men for thyself, and have it all thine own way. This must not, shall not, be. Even now, we bonders will unanimously hold by the law if it be pa.s.sed in the proper a.s.sembly and receives our yea, and we will follow thee and serve thee as our King as long as there is a living man amongst us. But thou, King, must use moderation towards us, and only require of us such things as it is lawful or possible for us to obey thee in. If, however, thou wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt try thy power and strength against us, we have resolved among ourselves to part with thee, and to take to ourselves some other chief who will respect those laws by which alone society can be held together. Now, King Harald, thou must choose one or other of these conditions before the Thing is ended."

The loud applause which followed this speech showed that the bonders heartily sympathised with it, and indeed several of them rose and said that it expressed their will exactly, and they would stand or fall by what had been spoken.

When silence had been restored, Jarl Rongvold, who had whispered in the King's ear some earnest words, stood forth and said:

"It is King Harald's will to give way to you in this matter for he does not wish to separate himself from your friends.h.i.+p."

This brought the Thing to a close. Thereafter the two parties returned to their s.h.i.+ps, intending to feast and pa.s.s the night in them.

The King was very affable, and invited Haldor and some of the others whose language had been comparatively moderate to feast with him, but they declined the honour, and retired to their own s.h.i.+ps.

In the evening, while the sounds of revelry were heard everywhere, a boat approached Erling's s.h.i.+p. It was rowed by a single man, who, when it touched her side, leaped on board and went aft to where Erling was seated with Guttorm Stoutheart.

"King Harald would speak with thee," said the man, who was no other than Hake the berserk.

"Methinks his intentions can scarce be friendly," said Erling, with a grim smile, "when he sends so trusty a messenger."

"It may be so," replied Hake coolly, "but that is nothing to me. My business is to deliver the message and offer to conduct thee to him."

"And pray, what surety have I that thou wilt not upset me in the fiord?"

asked Erling, laughing.

"The surety that if I upset thee we shall be on equal terms in the water," replied Hake gruffly.

"Nay, that depends on which of us can swim best," returned Erling; "and, truly, if thou canst fight as well in the water as on the land, we should have a rare struggle, Hake."

"Am I to say to the King that thou art afraid of him?" asked the berserk, with a look of scorn.

"Yea, truly, if it is thy desire to tell him a lie," retorted Erling.

"But get thee into the boat, fellow; I will follow anon."

Hake turned on his heel and returned to the boat, while Erling took Guttorm aside.

"Now, art thou fey?" [death-doomed] said Guttorm. "What has made thee so tired of life that thou shouldest put thy neck under his heel thus readily?"

"Fear not, my friend," said Erling; "now that I have seen King Harald a second time, I think him a better man than at first I did. Ambition will no doubt lead him to do many things that are contrary to his nature; but I do not think he will violate the laws of hospitality after what has pa.s.sed. However, I may be wrong; so I would ask thee, Guttorm, to go aboard of your s.h.i.+p, which lies nearest to that of the King, and, should ye see anything like a struggle, or hear a shout do thou haste to the rescue. I will have my men also in readiness."

While the stout-hearted old Sea-king, in compliance with this request, got into a small boat and rowed to his own vessel, Erling gave particular directions to his chief house-carle to keep a sharp lookout and be ready to act at a moment's notice. Then he went into Hake's boat, and was rowed alongside the Dragon, where the King received him with much condescension, and took him aft to the cabin under the high p.o.o.p. Here he offered him a horn of ale, which, however, Erling declined, and then began to use his utmost powers of persuasion to induce him to enter his service. At first he tried to influence him by flattery, and commended him for his bold and straightforward conduct at the Thing, which, he said, showed to all men that he merited well his distinctive t.i.tle; but, on finding that our hero was not to be won by flattery, he quickly and adroitly changed his ground, began to talk of the future prospects of Norway, and the necessity for improved legislation. In this he was so successful that he secured the interest, and to some extent the sympathy, of the young warrior, who entered eagerly and somewhat more respectfully into the discussion.

"But, sire," he said, at the close of one of the King's remarks, "if these are your sentiments, why did you not state them more fully to-day at the Thing, and why should you not even now call a meeting of the Stor Thing, and have the matter properly discussed by all in the land who have a right to speak?"

"Hadst thou had any experience of kingcraft, Erling, thou hadst not asked the question. If I were now to do as thou dost suggest, the numerous small kings who have already been put down by force would band against me, and bring such a following of opponents to the Thing that fair discussion would be out of the question."

Erling thought in his own mind, "One false step always necessitates another; you should have called a meeting of the Thing before putting down anyone;" however, he did not give utterance to the thought, but said--

"I think you are mistaken, sire; there may be many who, out of revenge, might oppose you, but certain am I that those who would vote for that which is for the wellbeing of the land would form a vast majority.

Besides, it is the only course left open to you."

At this the King flushed with a feeling of anger, and, drawing himself up, touched the hilt of his sword without uttering a word.

"When I said the only course," remarked Erling, "I meant the only lawful course. Sorry should I be to see you, King Harald, draw the sword in a bad cause; but if you do, be a.s.sured that thousands of good blades will gleam in opposition."

At this the King's eyes flashed, and, turning suddenly upon Erling, he shook back the ma.s.ses of his yellow hair with lion-like ferocity, exclaiming--

"Dost thou dare to speak thus to me in mine own s.h.i.+p, Erling?"

"It is because I am in your s.h.i.+p that I dare. Were I in my own, the laws of hospitality had shut my mouth."

"Knowest thou not," said the King, waxing still more angry at the rebuke conveyed in this speech, and laying his hand on his sword, "that I have power to shut thy mouth now and for ever?"

"It may be so, and it may be not so," replied Erling, stepping back, and laying his hand on the hilt of his own weapon.

At this the King laughed sarcastically. "And if," said he, "thou hadst the power and skill to overcome my feeble arm, hast thou the folly to think that ye could clear the Dragon of all her men?"

Erling replied: "The remembrance, King Harald, of the way in which I treated some of thy men in the woods not long ago, inclines me to believe that I could give them some trouble to slay me, and the thought of that transaction induced me, before I came hither, to make such arrangements that at all events my fall should not go unavenged."

For a moment or two the King's countenance lowered ferociously on the youth, and he ground his teeth together as if unable to restrain his pa.s.sion; but suddenly he uttered a short laugh, and said--

"Truly thou shouldst have been styled prudent as well as bold. But go, I will take counsel with others, and perhaps thou shalt hear again of this matter."

Our hero retired immediately, but he observed in pa.s.sing that Hake was summoned to attend the King, and that another man stepped into the boat to row him to his own s.h.i.+p.