At that they took courage,
and came nearer.
The stern of the ship was not more than a couple of fathoms from
the rock, and there they stood, and it was good to hear their
welcome of the lady whom they had deemed lost. Then they came on
board, and there was rejoicing enough, both in the finding, and in
the peace which would come with Gerda's return. They told us how
that Arnkel was carrying on his mastership here with a high hand,
being in no wise loved. They said that men blamed him for bringing
Heidrek on the land, seeing that he had made terms with him when it
would have been as well to fight; and that, moreover, there were
not a few who believed that in some way he had a hand in the loss
of Gerda. Now, he was trying to gather the men in order to go to
the help of Eric the King, who was fighting in the Wick, as we had
heard, and that was not at all to the mind of those who had
followed Thorwald. War in the Wick, beyond their ken altogether,
was no affair of theirs.
Whereby it was plain that here we were likely to do a very good
turn to Hakon at once, and we were just in time. Our ship, which
Heidrek had left here, was ready for sailing, as it seemed, and if
we had come a day or two later we should have lost Arnkel, and
maybe had trouble to follow.
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