arms. He spoiled us of all we had, but when he laid hand on Hugh's sword
and saw the runes on the blade hastily he thrust it back. Yet his
covetousness overcame him and he tried again and again, and the third
time the Sword sang loud and angrily, so that the rowers leaned on their
oars to listen. Here they all spoke together, screaming like gulls, and
a Yellow Man, such as I have never seen, came to the high deck and cut
our bonds. He was yellow--not from sickness, but by nature--yellow as
honey, and his eyes stood endwise in his head.'

'How do you mean?' said Una, her chin on her hand.

'Thus,' said Sir Richard. He put a finger to the corner of each eye, and
pushed it up till his eyes narrowed to slits.

'Why, you look just like a Chinaman!' cried Dan. 'Was the man a
Chinaman?'

'I know not what that may be. Witta had found him half dead among ice on
the shores of Muscovy. _We_ thought he was a devil. He crawled before us
and brought food in a silver dish which these sea-wolves had robbed from
some rich abbey, and Witta with his own hands gave us wine. He spoke a
little in French, a little in South Saxon, and much in the Northman's
tongue. We asked him to set us ashore, promising to pay him better
ransom than he would get price if he sold us to the Moors--as once
befell a knight of my acquaintance sailing from Flushing.

'"Not by my father Guthrum's head," said he. "The Gods sent ye into my
ship for a luck-offering."

'At this I quaked, for I knew it was still the Danes' custom to