In like manner was every man furnished speedily and the burdens were not made uselessly heavy. Nevertheless, Ben Ezra said to Ulric:
"Never before landed boats of thy people bearing to any shore such treasures as are these. We may buy any Roman governor if in so doing we do not hire him to put us to the sword. We will say that we were wrecked, but we must not be seen on the coast."
Now the boats were lowered and all entered them, but in every quarter of The Sword was a hot fire kindled. The Roman trumpet had not sounded again when the Saxons rowed away into the darkness.
"Row harder!" commanded Ulric. "The light of the fire increaseth. We know not how near may be an enemy."
Well had he spoken, for the flames were rising furiously and the light wind fanned them well.
"A shore!" said Sigurd. "A sandy beach!" But all others were looking back at The Sword, to see how fast she was burning, and at that moment there swept past her, outside, as if nearing to grapple her, a vast shape of a warship. Then arose suddenly a great volume of shouts in the Latin tongue, and the notes of a trumpet sounding commands, but Ulric said in a low voice to his comrades:
"A quinquereme! And she also is upon the ledge of rocks. What shall save her from destruction by that fire?"
"She cannot escape," said Wulf the Skater. "It is as if we had set a good trap. I think the fire hath already caught her sail. There will many Romans perish this night."
"Pull!" commanded Ulric. "The beach! We are here. Haul up the boats. Out with all cargo and leave them. Hark to the shouts of them who burn!"
Rashly in swift haste had the Roman warship dashed forward to discover what might be this unusual thing, of a light that grew and of a crew that replied not to a trumpet of hailing. Not of any rocky ledge had her steersman or her sailing master been thinking, and her centurion had deemed it his duty to grapple and to board this strange burning trireme. He would yet have passed her once, only studying her case, but his own ship had smitten a sunken rock, which forced her to swerve aside heavily, plunging her alongside of her fiery destroyer.