beheld them that their faces were pale and woe-begone, and their
raiment rent, and there was no joy in them. Hallblithe stood aghast
while one who had gotten off her horse (and she was the daughter of
his own mother) ran past him into the hall, looking not at him, as if
she durst not: and another rode off swiftly to the horse-stalls.
But the others, leaving their horses, drew round about him, and for a
while none durst utter a word; and he stood gazing at them, with the
spoke-shave in his hand, he also silent; for he saw that the Hostage
was not with them, and he knew that now he was the yokefellow of
sorrow.

At last he spoke gently and in a kind voice, and said: "Tell me,
sisters, what evil hath befallen us, even if it be the death of a
dear friend, and the thing that may not be amended."

Then spoke a fair woman of the Rose, whose name was Brightling, and
said: "Hallblithe, it is not of death that we have to tell, but of
sundering, which may yet be amended. We were on the sand of the sea
nigh the Ship-stead and the Rollers of the Raven, and we were
gathering the wrack and playing together; and we saw a round-ship
nigh to shore lying with her sheet slack, and her sail beating the
mast; but we deemed it to be none other than some bark of the Fish-
biters, and thought no harm thereof, but went on running and playing
amidst the little waves that fell on the sand, and the ripples that
curled around our feet. At last there came a small boat from the
side of the round-ship, and rowed in toward shore, and still we
feared not, though we drew a little aback from the surf and let fall
our gown-hems. But the crew of that boat beached her close to where
we stood, and came hastily wading the surf towards us; and we saw
that they were twelve weaponed men, great, and grim, and all clad in