The Long Ships (64 page)

Toke said unhesitatingly that, for his part, he was ready and willing to make the voyage. “And my advice to you, Orm,” he said, “is to go in search of this gold. For if you do not, you will sit here brooding over it until you can neither sleep nor eat, and will never again be merry-hearted. Indeed, I should not be surprised if you brooded yourself out of your senses. It is your fate to go and look for this gold, and you cannot escape it; and I have known men have worse fates than that. True, it will be a long voyage, but you cannot expect to get so large a treasure as this without some trouble. As for me, the skin-trade is bad just now, and my wife pregnant, so that I have nothing to keep me from coming with you.”

“Rapp gave me the same advice,” said Orm, “but when he did so, he supposed that he would be accompanying me. But when I told him that he would have to remain here to guard the house and my family, he changed his tone and bade me forget the gold and stay at home. Father Willibald advised me as I had known he would, telling me that I am rich enough already, and old enough to be thinking more of heavenly than of earthly riches. But I find it difficult to be at one with him in this matter.”

“The priest is wrong,” said Toke, “however wise he may be in other matters. For it is so with men that the older they become, the more they hanker after goods and gold. So it was even with King Harald, my woman tells me, and he was the wisest of men, even if he was once fooled by me. I myself grow yearly more resentful of the Gotland merchants at Kalmarna, even when they pay me value for my skins, which is seldom.”

“The years affect a man in more respects than one,” said Orm, “and I am not sure that I could endure a long voyage as well as I used to.”

“I am older than you,” said Toke, “and the years do not weigh upon me. Besides which, it is not so long since, if reports be true, you killed two berserks with a broomstick. That may, without exaggeration, be described as a bold feat, and shows that you still retain some remnant of your youthful vigor, even though you yourself would like to believe that it is otherwise. I am told that your daughter Ludmilla was the subject of the quarrel; if that is so, she will be much envied by women and coveted by men. But let us hear what Olof Summerbird has to say about the matter.”

“Orm and I have discussed it deeply,” said Olof thoughtfully, “and I have been as double-minded as he, unable to decide which will be the wisest course for him to take. I know better than most men how arduous this voyage will be, and how great the dangers we shall encounter; but when a man has a ship filled with good men, much may be achieved. Orm wishes me to join him in this expedition, if he decides to undertake it. There are reasons why I should not; but it is true that my presence would be of use to you, for I know the whole long road to Miklagard, and the great river, and the perils that lie in its water and on its banks. I have at last decided and my answer is this: seek the gold, Orm, and I will come with you if you will give me your daughter Ludmilla to be my wife.”

Orm stared at him in astonishment. Toke roared with laughter.

“What did I say?” Toke said. “Here is the first of the flock.”

“You have a wife already,” said Orm.

“I have two,” said Olof, “for such is the custom of chieftains in Finnveden. But if you give me your daughter, I will send them away.”

“I could think of worse sons-in-law,” said Orm reflectively, “and it might be good to marry her off before more berserks come roaring around her. But this is a serious matter, which requires consideration. Have you talked with my women about it?”

“It would have been dishonorable of me to have spoken with them before I had asked your feelings in the matter,” replied Olof. “But I think Ylva will not be unwilling to have me as a son-in-law. She knows, as you do, that I am the richest chieftain in all Finnveden, with sevenscore head of cattle, and heifers besides; and that I come of a very ancient line.”

“Of my own line I shall say nothing,” said Orm, “though some would regard it as better than most men’s, for the blood of Ivar of the Broad Embrace flows in my veins, and it was after him that my youngest son was named. Do not forget that my daughter is grand-daughter to King Harald Bluetooth, so that you could not find a bride of nobler blood if you were to search every great house in Smaland. You will have to drive your present wives farther from your straw than to the brewhouse or garden cottage if you wish to wed my daughter; and you will not find her a meek wife if you take other women to your bed once you have married her.”

“She is worthy to be accorded such an honor,” said Olof, “and, indeed, I have already noticed that it is difficult to keep the peace in the house when a man has more wives than one. But I am happy that you are not opposed to the match, and thank you for it.”

“Do not thank me yet,” said Orm. “First we must hear what Ylva has to say about it. It is I who shall decide whether or not the marriage will take place, but a wise man always allows his wife to speak when so important a matter as this has to be decided.”

So Ylva was sent for. When she heard what the matter was, she said that it did not altogether surprise her.

“And I think such a suitor should not be denied,” she said, “for, Olof, you are both rich and of noble family, so that a better match would not easily be found in these parts. Besides, you are a man of good sense, which has always seemed to me to be a quality worth having in a husband. It is true that you would have impressed me more with your wisdom if you had asked for Oddny, who is meek and submissive and no less well-shaped than her sister; but in matters such as this a man must choose as his inclinations lead him and cannot choose otherwise. It suits me well that you have chosen Ludmilla, for she is unruly and difficult to live with; but women sometimes improve when they have found a man.”

“That is true,” said Toke. “There is no harm in the girl. Her temper is no worse than yours was when Orm and I first met you in your father’s castle. But you tamed quickly, and I have never heard Orm regret his choice.”

“You talk nonsense, Toke,” said Ylva. “I was never tamed. We of Gorm’s blood do not tame; we are as we are, and shall be so even when we appear before the judgment throne of God Himself. But Orm killed Sigtrygg, you must remember, and gave me Almansur’s chain; and then I knew that he belonged to me, for no other man would have acted thus. But do not speak to me of taming.”

“That chain proved useful,” said Orm. “I do not think anyone can deny that. Perhaps we shall have another such for Ludmilla when we have returned home with the gold. You must now speak to the girl yourself, Olof; and then she shall be regarded as your betrothed. You shall be married to her as soon as we have returned from our voyage if you can get rid of your wives as easily as you claim to be able to.”

Olof said that such matters presented no difficulty in Finnveden; one merely paid one’s women well, and they went. This would take no time, and he saw no reason why the marriage should not take place before they started. But both Orm and Ylva opposed this suggestion, and at length he yielded.

So far all had gone well for Olof Summerbird in this business, even if he had not had matters entirely as he wished them to be. Ludmilla received his suggestion amiably, and they began at once to discuss their plans. It was evident that she was well satisfied with the prospect of becoming his wife, even if she afterwards confided in Oddny and Ylva that she felt that so great a chieftain might have come with his hands full of ornaments. She asked him if he was ill-tempered when he was drunk, and whether he was merrier in the mornings or the evenings; and she wished to know exactly how the two women looked of whose company he was depriving himself for her sake, as well as details concerning his house and cattle, the number of his slaves and serving-maids, and a precise account of all that he had in his coffers. To all these questions he returned satisfactory answers.

But when Father Willibald heard what was afoot, he was by no means pleased. For in their excitement it had not occurred to them that Olof Summerbird was not a Christian, and this fact greatly troubled Father Willibald. A Christian maiden, whom he had baptized with his own hand, could not, he said, be bestowed upon a heathen; and this marriage could only take place if Olof first allowed himself to be baptized. On this point there was now a sharp exchange of opinions among the women, for Asa sided with the priest, while Ylva and Ludmilla opposed him. At length Orm told them to stop arguing and close their mouths; their immediate concern, he said, was to plan the voyage, and they would have time enough to discuss this other matter later. If Olof was prepared to allow himself to be baptized, he said, all would be well; if not, he was to have the girl none the less.

“For she will have plenty of opportunities to convert him,” he said, “if she thinks it worth her while to try.”

Asa rebuked him sharply for this judgment; but Orm bade her think of Are and remember that his present condition was the work of Christian hands.

Father Willibald sat dejected in his chair. He said that since the thousandth year had passed without Christ appearing in the sky, people had shown less willingness to become converted. “If things continue the way they are going,” he added, “the Devil will triumph after all, and you will all become heathens again.”

But Orm bade him be cheerful and not think so ill of them all. “I am content with Christ,” he said, “and I hope He will remain content with me, even if I marry my daughter to the suitor who pleases me best. Much will have to happen before I abandon Him, for He has always helped me well.”

Toke said that this reminded him that he had news from Värend which would interest them all.

“You doubtless remember the priest Rainald,” he said, “the fellow who, for Christ’s sake, knocked old Styrkar down from the Stone. The old woman to whom he was given as a slave is now dead, and he is a free man and much admired and respected. He is still a priest, but no longer serves Christ. For he wearied of Him while he was the old woman’s slave, and now he curses everything that has to do with Him, and follows the old god Frey instead, and is amassing great wealth by his knowledge of witchcraft. All women obey him, whatever he commands them to do, and hold him to be the best priest there has ever been among the Virds. And I have heard it said that he has gathered a band of followers and has set himself up as a chieftain for vagabonds and outlaws.”

Father Willibald heard this news with horror. Hereafter, he said, he would no longer offer prayers for this man; he had never before heard of a Christian priest giving himself openly to the Devil.

Ylva thought that he had had good qualities, and that it was a pity that things had gone so ill with him. But Orm laughed.

“Let him and the Devil do as they please together,” he said. “We have more important matters to worry about.”

He was now no longer doubtful whether or not to voyage after the gold. Between them they decided that if they managed to buy a good ship down at the coast, they would sail at midsummer.

“Our hardest task will be to find a good crew,” said Orm. “We must have good sailors, who know the ways of ships, but there are few of them to be found here, inland, and it will be dangerous to hire men who are not known to us, with such a cargo as we hope to be bringing home. It might be wise to take but a few men, for then we shall have less money to pay out; but it might be wiser to take many, for we do not know what dangers await us.”

OLOF SUMMERBIRD rode home to make ready for the voyage and to hire men whom he knew in Halland to serve as crew, while Orm, Toke, and Harald Ormsson rode down to the coast in search of a ship. At the mouth of the river they found one for sale. The man who owned it was growing old and wanted to sell it in order to have a good inheritance to leave his daughters when he died. They examined it carefully and found it in good order. It carried twenty-four pairs of oars; ships of such a size were reckoned to be large, but Orm thought it could without harm have been bigger, and Toke agreed with him.

“For great chieftains will be sailing in it,” he said, “and thirty pairs of oars would not be too many for us.”

“When we come to the portage, which Olof Summerbird has told us of,” said Harald Ormsson, “we may be glad that it is no larger.”

“You are luckier even than I had supposed you to be, Orm,” said Toke, “for I see that wisdom does not reside in you only, but in your children also.”

“It is a bad thing when a man receives instruction from his son,” said Orm, “and it shall not happen in my house, so long as I retain my tongue and my good right arm. But in this instance I admit that the boy is right. This will be heavier work than when we dragged St. James’ bell.”

“We were young men then,” said Toke. “Now we are great chieftains and shall not need to touch the rope ourselves. The young men will strain at the harness, while we walk beside them with our thumbs in our belts, marveling at the paucity of their strength. But it may be that a ship such as this will be too big for them to manage.”

At length, after much bargaining, Orm bought the ship.

Around the mouth of the river, there lay great houses; and from these he bought malt, hogs, and oxen and arranged with the farmers that they should brew, butcher, and smoke his purchases, that the ship might be well provided with food and drink. He was astonished when he discovered how much all this was to cost him in silver; his astonishment became even greater when he sought to hire a number of young men from the houses for a year’s voyage; and he rode dejectedly home with the others, mumbling that this Bulgar gold would surely bring him into poverty and wretchedness.

“One thing I have learned,” said Harald Ormsson, “namely, that a man needs to have much silver before he can go in search of gold.”

“That is well said,” said Toke. “If you continue as you have begun, you will, with experience, become as wise as your mother’s father was. The old ones used to say that from Odin’s bracelet a new bracelet used to issue every Wednesday, so that he came to have many; but that if he had not had the first, he would never have had any. Never set yourself up as a Viking if you have not plenty of silver; nor as a skin-trader, neither. That is my advice to you. Only poets can win wealth with empty hands; but then they must make better songs than other poets, and competition spoils the pleasures of composition.”