The king replies, "I did not think I had a forecastle man afraid as well as red."
Says Ulf, "Defend thou the quarterdeck as I shall the forecastle."
The king had a bow in his hands, and laid an arrow on the string, and aimed at Ulf.
Ulf said, "Shoot another way, king, where it is more needful: my work is thy gain."
ENDNOTES: (1) The mode of fighting in sea battles appears, from this and
many other descriptions, to have been for each party to bind
together the stems and sterns of their own ships, forming
them thus into a compact body as soon as the fleets came
within fighting distance, or within spears' throw. They
appear to have fought principally from the forecastles; and
to have used grappling irons for dragging a vessel out of
the line, or within boarding distance.—L.
114. OF KING OLAF.
King Olaf stood on the Serpent's quarterdeck, high over the others. He had a gilt shield, and a helmet inlaid with gold; over his armour he had a short red coat, and was easy to be distinguished from other men. When King Olaf saw that the scattered forces of the enemy gathered themselves together under the banners of their ships, he asked, "Who is the chief of the force right opposite to us?"
He was answered, that it was King Svein with the Danish army.
The king replies, "We are not afraid of these soft Danes, for there is no bravery in them; but who are the troops on the right of the Danes?"