Presently Kraken caught sight of the floating bell which marked the entrance to the fairway of the Isles.
The sea-bell had been made in the fiery mountain forges of the Kingdom of Iron. Its round base was of iron, and a band of iron, chiseled about with fish and shells and flowers of the sea, encircled its tossing rim. The warning bell rose from the center of the shield, and two iron figures, one of a giant, one of a dwarf, struck it with iron hammers night and day.
And Kraken laughed and sent men to break the hammers from the hands of the iron figures so that the bell should sound no more. And this they did. But the dwarf and the giant continued to lift and lower their empty hands.
Sailing through the fairway, Kraken continued on his course to the Kingdom of the South, and was soon lost to view.
The wicked deed, however, had not passed unseen. Thyrza, the fisher-maiden, had beheld all.
The long hours of the afternoon dragged to their close. Sunset was at hand. Black clouds rose over the edge of the world, the sea darkened, and the heavy waves grew black and streaked with foam. A wind began to howl.
Suddenly Thyrza beheld the sails of a great ship fleeing before the gale. The hidden sun had almost set, and the black clouds were barred with rays as red as fire.
“’Tis the ship of Altair,” cried Thyrza. “The night is gathering fast, and, unless he hears the bell in the dark, Altair will be wrecked upon the reefs. I must row to the bell, if I can, and sound the warning clang.”
And now the courageous maiden hastened to her little fishing boat and rowed through the dark and the gathering storm to the soundless bell. Long and hard she fought, and presently a great gust of the gale swept her down against the bell. Great waves were breaking over it in bitter spray, and it rolled and tossed and turned and plunged in the sea.
After tying her little boat to one of the figures, Thyrza took a round stone, which she used as a weight for a net, and began to sound the bell.