watched it was plain that the ships would make for the river mouth
and haven.

"We will ride down and see more of them," said my cousin. "I only
hope--"

There he stayed his words; but I saw that his face had grown grave
of a sudden, and knew that some heavy thought had crossed his mind.

"What?" I asked.

"It must be impossible," he said slowly--"and this is between you
and me--for it seems foolish. But have you heard of the northern
strangers who have harried the Welsh beyond the Severn sea?"

I had heard of them, of course, for they traded with the Devon men
at times, having settled in towns of their own in Wales beyond the
Severn. It was said that they were heathen, worshipping the same
gods whom our forefathers had worshipped, and were akin to
ourselves, with a tongue not unlike our own at all, and easy to be
understood by us. Also they had fought the Welsh, as we had to
fight them; but one heard of them only as strangers who had naught
to do with us Saxons.

"Well, then," my cousin said, "suppose these are more of the
northern folk."

"If they are, they will have come to trade," I said lightly. "But
they will more likely be men from the land across this sea--men
from the land of the Franks, such as we saw at Winchester the other