Ulric the Jarl: A Story of the Penitent Thief

by William O. Stoddard

"When thou canst," said Ulric, "but the distance is yet too great."

Like fierce and angry music rang out the laugh of the Greek, but his arrow was on the string and he raised the bow.

The Sword sank heavily into the trough of a sea wave and the Roman keel was lifted high upon a surge, just as a long, vivid sheet of lightning seemed to bring her nearer by its brightness. Her steersman was a giant, unarmored, straining hard at her tiller and bracing himself. At him was Ulric looking when suddenly he threw up his hands, letting the tiller go, and the feathered shaft of the young Greek's long arrow quivered against his naked bosom.

"Odin! Well shot!" shouted Ulric, but the bowstring twanged again and another Roman fell upon the deck beside the dead steersman.

Left to itself and to the will of the wind and the waves, around swung the keel of the Romans, while a great surge poured over her bulwarks and her rowers were hurled from their seats. Wild was their shouting and another surge poured in.

"Strike her not!" said Sigurd. "Be thou prudent with thine own keel, lest thou shouldst be in some manner disabled. Let the Greek send his arrows, but steer upon thy course."

Ulric so ordered, but shaft after shaft did Lysias send, not all of them hitting, but not all failing of a mark. Other war horns than that of Ulric were sounding and other bows were also quickly plying.

"I think," said Tostig the Red, "that we have no better bowman than this Greek. He will be a good help in a sea fight. I like well to see his long arrows go so straight to their places. Then the mark goeth down and it is time to laugh."

The Roman rowers were toiling hard to recover control of their vessel, but the Saxons knew little of the astonishment and dismay that reigned on board of her. Her crew had not thought of an open enemy at the first. They had deemed The Sword a friend until the sounding of the jarl's war horn. Even then they had expected no resistance, at least no attack, until their steersman fell and a man of rank near him was pierced by an arrow.