‘If you will have it, then!’ said Wulf. And the two long bright blades flashed round and round their heads, redder and redder every time they swung aloft.... The old men never even checked their steady walk, and knocking at the gate, went in, leaving more than one lifeless corpse at the entrance.
‘We have put the coal in the thatch, now, with a vengeance,’ said Smid, as they wiped their swords inside.
‘We have. Get me out a boat and half a dozen men, and I and Goderic will go round by the canal to the palace, and settle a thing or two with the guards.’
‘Why should not the Amal go, and offer our help himself to the Prefect?’
‘What? Would you have him after that turn against the hound? For troth and honour’s sake, he must keep quiet in the matter.’
‘He will have no objection to keep quiet—trust him for that! But don’t forget Sagaman Moneybag, the best of all orators,’ called Smid laughingly after him, as he went off to man the boat.
CHAPTER XXV: SEEKING AFTER A SIGN
‘What answer has he sent back, father?’ asked Hypatia, as Theon re-entered her chamber, after delivering that hapless letter to Philammon.
‘Insolent that he is! he tore it to fragments and tied forth without a word.’