speak of. But you'd better be careful not to lose it at any rate."

"But the thing is of no use to me, sir, is it?" I asked.

"That's for you to find out, Halcro," said he. "You see it is a
sort of charm, or amulet. The old Scandinavian vikings used to
carry such things about with them, in the belief that by so doing
they would be protected from all personal harm. Our Jarl Haffling,
I suppose, wore this same amulet at his neck to ensure his safety
through the perils of the battle and the storm. No doubt he
believed that the possession of such a talisman gave him a charmed
existence. The sea could not drown him, sword could not wound him,
fortune favoured him, so long as he wore this little stone on his
breast."

"And yet, sir, the Jarl Haffling came to his grave in the Bay of
Skaill," I said incredulously.

"Ay, lad, so he did, so he did. But we must suppose that Odin, the
god of the Norsemen, had thought it time to reward him by calling
him off from his earthly battles to the Halls of Valhalla."

Captain Gordon here approached us, and whilst he and Mr. Drever
were bidding each other goodnight, I stood looking into the fire,
meditating upon the strange thing my schoolmaster had told me. I
put the little stone securely into my breast pocket, feeling the
new responsibility I bore in being guarded by such a mysterious
influence; for I did not doubt that the protection given by my
talisman to the dead viking would now be extended to myself.