"Here, then, have Thor and Odin contended with the other gods," responded Ulric. "Thy god hath been here——"
"And all the gods of Africa and all the gods of the East!" shouted the Jew, enthusiastically. "Here the hosts of Joshua contended with the hosts of Canaan. Here have Judah, and Israel, and Egypt, and Babylon, and Nineveh, and Persia, and Greece, and Assyria drawn the sword. In the last days here in Armageddon will perish Gog and Magog, going down before the spear of Jehovah."
"Glad am I to have seen the place," said Ulric, and every viking shouted for joy that he had looked upon the greatest battlefield of the broad world.
Well was it worth coming so far to see, and gladly would they have gone into one of those great combats of the kings; but now they were led on rapidly, for the day was passing. Not long did it take them to walk down to the level plain, but all the while their eyes were busy.
Cities they saw and villages, and many scattered abodes of men. The fields were long since reaped, but here had grown much wheat. There were many vineyards, with groves of olive trees and other fruit trees. Rivers not large but shining. Small hills whereon were towers, as if for watchmen and for garrisons. Names were given to some villages by Ben Ezra, but the greatest town of all was dimly seen, far away across the plain, and he said it was the ancient city of Jezreel. Beyond all, toward the east, arose mountains in long ridges, and they knew from him that these were the Gilboa to which he was leading them.
"O Jew," said Ulric, "where halt we this night?"
"Not on all the plain," said Ben Ezra. "Even now we near the great highway from the south and in it walks a multitude, but I see no armed men. I think that many eyes are already aware of our coming."
That might well be, for the sunlight flashed upon their armor and their helmets and their spear points, but Tostig answered:
"O jarl, what care we for armed men? I think the Jew is right. We must hasten, even if we have to slay a few Romans."
"None are here," said Ben Ezra. "And the people will trouble us not. Pontius the Spearman, the procurator of Judea, hath many gladiators and he hath mercenaries whose speech is strange to the nation. None will question you because ye are not legionaries."