South."

'We were troubled for fear that the Wise Iron should fail us now that
its Yellow Man had gone, and when we saw the Spirit still served us we
grew afraid of too strong winds, and of shoals, and of careless leaping
fish, and of all the people on all the shores where we landed.'

'Why?' said Dan.

'Because of the gold--because of our gold. Gold changes men altogether.
Thorkild of Borkum did not change. He laughed at Witta for his fears,
and at us for our counselling Witta to furl sail when the ship pitched
at all.

'"Better be drowned out of hand," said Thorkild of Borkum, "than go tied
to a deck-load of yellow dust."

'He was a landless man, and had been slave to some King in the East. He
would have beaten out the gold into deep bands to put round the oars,
and round the prow.

'Yet, though he vexed himself for the gold, Witta waited upon Hugh like
a woman, lending him his shoulder when the ship rolled, and tying of
ropes from side to side that Hugh might hold by them. But for Hugh, he
said--and so did all his men--they would never have won the gold. I
remember Witta made a little, thin gold ring for our Bird to swing in.

'Three months we rowed and sailed and went ashore for fruits or to clean
the ship. When we saw wild horsemen, riding among sand-dunes,
flourishing spears, we knew we were on the Moors' coast, and stood over