They know how to befriend a woman who needs help.
These men whom you fear and who seek the wreck can only be the men
of our enemy."
Then Bertric said:
"I cannot mistake the boat which I have helped to pull so many a
weary time. It is Heidrek's. He has followed us, and has somewhere
heard of the fate of the ship. We have sunk the little boat, lest
the sight of it should bring them ashore straightway."
"Then we must hide somewhere," she said, looking round her as if to
see what place might be.
"Aye, we must hide. There will be fifteen men, or more, in the
boat. Malcolm and I cannot stay their landing."
Gerda caught her breath suddenly. "What of the hermits?" she said.
"We waste time," said I. "Come and let us tell them. They may have
some hiding place."
Then we went swiftly to the cells. Once we looked back to the
strait, from the little rise behind which the cells were sheltered,
and saw the boat still working against the tide along the far
shore. Heidrek had certainly not heard that the wreck was on the
island itself. Most likely it was thought that we had made for the
shelter of the strait, and had gone ashore in trying to reach it.
Unless the ship which we had seen knew the coast well, her crew
could hardly have told that an island was here.
Pages:
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204