Part 5 (1/2)
”You will fight for your name.”
”I will not fight,” He said once again.
Then I stopped for a moment. Then I went up to Him slowly, and whispering to Him, ”I was the husband of Elsa, and you broke my life when you were young, and now that you are old and I am dead, I shall kill you here where the wolves stand”; and with that, lightly, that I might not strike Him down, I hit Him on the cheek.
For an instant He stared at me, one side of His face white as the other grew crimson, and His old eyes flashed for a moment, and His shoulders squared themselves; but His arms, after one quick motion, hung still at His sides, and I heard Him murmur again, ”I will not fight!” Then a wrath seized me, and swinging my sword on high I stepped slowly towards Him and let my point drop back slowly over my shoulder till it hung down to the snow, then wheeling suddenly and bringing it forward with a shortening of the arms and a yell that echoed through the empty forest, I hit Him with the rusty blade where the neck branches to go to the shoulder, and my blade travelled till it struck the hip-bone on the other side. Then with my foot on His waist, I drew my sword out and wiped it on the snow; wiping it many times till it was quite clean, then picking up the sheath and buckling the belt around me, I covered my sword and pa.s.sed between two of the wolves and up the hill, and away to where the horse was tied. The moon fell down straight into the valley, and as I rode back again the way I had come under the dark trees and past the glittering hill-tops, I heard behind me melancholy howling coming from the place where the wolves danced.
This is all of my tale, except that I stabled the horse before dawn at the farmer's, and gave him food and drink, and then walked by the sea road as the dawn broke.
THE SACRILEGE
The hall was raised at one end into a square stage, where the smoke would gather when the men sat late near the fire, and from this stage two doors opened at the back corners. One of these doors was curtained and led to the apartments of the men of the castle. The other was carved with strange images, and by it stood a long square table of carved oak.
We men sat below at the long board which ran the length of the hall. It was my lord and the monks who lived upon us who sat upon the raised staging; the monks eating at their carved table apart.
It was after the dinner, and Father Peter rose in his place. Motioning to his followers to pa.s.s through the door that led to the chapel, he came and bent and whispered to my lord, who set down his beer-mug on the instant, frowning; then, after a moment's thought my lord lifted his hand and spoke to us all in a loud, clear voice:
”Father Peter and I would speak alone in the hall. It would please me that you men take your beer on the battlements.”
The men went shuffling, all but myself, for I was my lord's own man and counted as nothing more than his follower, doing things which women usually do for men, for he would have no women-folk about him.
Now Father Peter, folding his fat hands across his chest, lowered his head and frowned reflectively. My lord sat silently in the great chair with one leg over the arm.
”Lord Rolf,” said Father Peter at last.
”Yes, Father Peter,” answered my lord.
”Lord Rolf, Christian of this castle,” said Father Peter again.
”Ay! Christian, and certainly lord of this castle,” answered my lord, smiling.
Father Peter raised his head, and lifting one arm, pointed at my lord.
”I have caused it that we should be alone, that I might pray with you, for you are not so good a Christian as I would have you be.”
”Yes,” said my lord.
Then Father Peter, tumbling to his knees, prayed for a long time, while I standing by the fire, cursed his Latin. Then he got up again and coming to my lord he touched him on the shoulder.
”Have you felt that prayer?” he said in a deep voice.
”I have heard it,” said my lord looking down.
”Then I will even say something that will appeal to you in a more militant way-something that has been in your mind for a long time, my lord.” Father Peter became impressive. ”The black frocks that sit and bend over that carved table by that carved door are a greater nation than ever the nation of Denmark will be, or any nation will be, until another nation of such frocks rouses itself against us; and so long as we shall hold the souls of men, and their hopes and fears of the hereafter, in our hands as a sword, so long shall we be more powerful than any sword forged by gnome or fairy.”
Father Peter, extending both hands in blessing over Lord Rolf's head, turned hastily and went through the door that leads to the chapel. Now, this I would not stand, nor my lord, and we dared not tell it to the men for fear of violence, that the priests, who had forced themselves upon us in our house, and built their chapel leaning against our keep, should threaten us over the tables where they fed with us. This had been a long time coming, for Christianity sat hard upon us. There were no tortures in the time of Thor and Odin; and, as I said, Christianity sat grievously upon us.