Gunnar was a friendly man and made himself pleasant about the place. He used to sit out in the sun and converse with the village people. He told tales to the children and played games with them. The old man who had been wishful to sacrifice him bore him no malice; but Gunnar told him plainly that he did not approve his practices. "In my country, and in Iceland also, there has been much devotion to Frey, who is a great God; but human sacrifice is not required by him, nor are we profaned with it. Prisoners of war may not be used that way. We think it barbarous and abominable." "Well," the old man said, "it has always "The Christians, who are to the fore in Norway just now," replied Gunnar, "have a God who has given them another law altogether. Their God had a Son Who said to His Father, 'Enough of these human sacrifices. I detest them and will have nothing to say to them.' 'What will you do then?' his Father asked. 'Why,' said He, 'I will be made man myself. I will be born of a woman, and put to death. The old man was very much astonished. "You are speaking of marvellous things," he said. "It is the way of you travellers. But I do not believe that the Swedes would be content with such a sacrifice, and I am sure that Frey would not." "We shall see," Gunnar said, but said no more at the time. He was determined that while he remained in Frey's house Frey would go without human blood upon his altar-stone. Sigrid liked him to be there. She found At the end of three days, he asked her what he was to do about staying on. They sat together under the gallery outside the house. Frey was inside behind his curtains. It was the hour before the sacrifice, when his curtains would be opened, and himself shown in his fine new cloak. So far there had been no attempt made to sacrifice a man or child, which Gunnar was glad of, because he was not yet sure enough of his footing. She frowned and nursed her chin. "Why," she said, "I don't know what is to be done. Frey doesn't like you at all; I can see that." "Have you talked it over with him as you promised me?" She nodded her head. "And what did he say?" She looked away as she answered him. "He said very little; but he was very stiff." "I should think he was always rather stiff," Gunnar said, and she frowned and grew red. "But what do you feel about it yourself?" said Gunnar. "I believe that you find me well enough." She nodded. "Yes, I do. I like you to be here. You make me laugh. I feel younger than I did." "That is good news," said Gunnar. "I understand that you are sixteen years old. Do you now feel that you are twelve?" She laughed. "Sometimes I do." "Then," said Gunnar, "keep me here a month or two longer and I shall rock you in your cradle." She considered whether he was laughing at her, and then asked him suddenly, was he married, had he children? "No, sweetheart," he said, "but I Now she reproved him. "You must not say that. I am not to be called so." "Why, what is the harm in that?" he said. "It's what I used to call Sorrel, my mare." "It may be so," she replied, "but I am not your mare." "No indeed," he said. "But what then shall I call you? Shall I say 'Pretty one' or 'Kind lass'?" "No. Frey would dislike it." "But," he said, "all these names are true of you." She said, "Frey will like them all the less." Gunnar said that he would risk it. And certain it is that he did, and that she said nothing more about it. She decided that he should stay on until the winter feasts began. "And then we will see what can be done. Maybe he will be more used to you by then." "Oh, as for him," Gunnar said lightly, "he has had a fine cloak from me, and I suppose that is enough." She frowned, and tossed her foot. "You don't know Frey yet." Then came the hour of sacrifice and a leading-in of sick animals to be blessed by Frey. Gunnar was very useful here, for he was skilled in farriery, and could do much too with sheep and cattle. They called him the new priest of Frey, and held him in great honour. But the more that they thought of Frey on his account the less, naturally, Gunnar thought of him on his own. He did not now believe that even a devil resided in him, or found it difficult of belief. Frey had the appearance of frowning sometimes, and sometimes there seemed to be a red flame in his eyes. Another thing he could do with his eyes: he could cause them to follow you all over the room. Those eyes of his were for ever upon Gunnar and Sigrid so that they used Gunnar, however, began to dislike Frey. He despised him, and yet found that added to his dislike. He told himself that Sigrid's marriage was a black shame. After he had been with her a while she told him what she knew about herself. She had never known her father, nor even what his name was. Her mother had been called Sea-child; and Sigrid remembered being carried on her back, slung in a shawl. Her mother had had black hair and yellow eyes which looked black in the dark, and as pale as the palest amber in strong light. She was rather tall, whereas Sigrid—who also had black hair and amber eyes, though of a darker tint—was a little woman. She thought that she remembered her mother saying that they had crossed the sea; and Well then she told him that the Swedes had ill-treated the old man who used to be with them. They had put him into an osier basket, and pierced that through and through with swords; she remembered the bright blood welling out between the plaited wicker. That had been done upon the altar of a God—she believed it was Frey. As for her mother, some man had taken her to live in his house, and she herself had lain about with the cattle, and had been sent to keep swine in the woods. Nobody had hurt her, but she had gone in terror of Then she remembered a day when her mother brought her into the house, and took off her rags, and put a new gown on her. She twisted up her hair into a long plait, and made her see if she could still sit upon it. That was easy. After that she was kept at home with the children of the house; and men used to take notice of her, kiss her and take her on their knees. She had liked that for a time, because she liked people who were kind and friendly; but there was too much of it, and she used to run away and hide herself. There had been a lad, she said, called Tostig, belonging to the household of her Gunnar stopped her here. "They married you to that block of painted wood?" She said, "They married me to Frey." Gunnar said, "But——" and then he stopped short himself. "There is no more to be said." "No," she said, "that is the end of it. We set out in the ox-wagon soon after that." "How long ago was this?" he asked her. She replied, "I was marriageable, my mother said. I don't know when it was." Then she thought aloud. "One, two, three—yes, it was three springs ago last spring." "And you say you are sixteen years old." "I don't say so," she replied; "the people here say so. My mother died two springs ago when I was away with Frey on his rounds." Gunnar got up from the bench where they were sitting. "Wait here for me," he said, and went into the temple, folding the curtains behind him. There stood Frey, crowned and standing, with his shining scarlet nostrils. Gunnar went up to him and took him by the nose. "God or devil," he said, "I'll get this out of joint before I've done with you, or you with Gunnar." Frey rocked under the force of his passion, but said nothing. Gunnar came back and found Sigrid where she was. She did not look up. He That made her look up smiling. "You seem in good spirits," she said. "I feel considerably better than I did," he told her, "but there is much to do before I am perfectly myself again." GUNNAR TURNS FREY ABOUT AGAINST FREY'S WILL |