Ulric the Jarl stood waiting, and he cared not for the owl, but when a torch was handed to him by the Jew he strode forward, looking warily around him as he went, and others followed him closely.
Naught was there to be seen but bare walls of stone and a flight of stone steps that were builded spirally, leading upward.
"O jarl!" suddenly exclaimed Tostig the Red, going past him, sword in hand, "here, also, are other steps. Look! They go down into the under world. Beneath this tower might be vaults and a prison."
"Such places are ever the abode of the evil spirits," said Ben Ezra. "Go not down this at first. It is likely there have been many men slain here, for this tower hath been a place of defense since the old time. It was builded by the Philistines, but the stonework hath been repaired by the kings of the nations who came after them."
Easy it was to obtain enough of fuel for a bright fire upon the stone floor, and the Saxons loved the light of its blaze, although little need was for warmth. There was a well near by, with a bucket for bringing up water and a trough for beasts to drink from. They who planned the tower had provided wisely, but Ben Ezra said of the deep well:
"Many are the demons which dwell in old wells. They entice men to fall in, and they themselves come out to deal evilly with lone wayfarers. Therefore some who encamp by the wells are heard of no more. Only the very learned of the rabbis know how to cast them out. Let us hope that this fountain hath been purified."
"The water is good," said Knud the Bear, "and I was thirsty. The gods make wells."
They ate and drank, and then Ulric the Jarl knew that it was his duty to further explore the tower. He first climbed the stone stairway to the upper part. Here was no roof, and the walls were notched well for bowmen. There was a place, also, for the burning of a beacon light.
"It is a strong tower," said the jarl. "A few men might keep it against many if the portal had a stout gate with arrow holes. We are garrison enough. I will go down."