is natural you should feel hard toward me. I--"

She stared at him dully. "Why should I be angry with you? You could not
help what you did; and Leif thought I would wish rather to go to my own
mother than to Thorhild."

It had never occurred to Alwin that she would be reasonable. His remorse
became the more eager. He bethought himself of some slight comfort. "At
least it cannot happen for a year, lady. And in--"

She raised her head quickly. "Why can it not happen for a year?"

"Because Gilli is away on a trading voyage, and will not be back until
fall, when it will be too late to start for Greenland. Nor will he come
early in spring and so lose the best of his trading season. It is sure
to be more than a year."

Youth can construct a lifeboat out of a straw. Hope crept back to
Helga's eyes.

"A year is a long time. Many things can happen in a year. Gilli may be
slain, --for every man a mistletoe-shaft grows somewhere. Or I may marry
someone in Greenland. Already two chiefs have asked my hand of Leif, so
it is not likely that I shall lack chances."

"That is true; and it may also happen that the Lady Bertha will never
get my runes. She was absent on a visit when Valbrand left them at her
farm. Or even if she gets them, she may lack courage to tell the news to
Gilli. Or he may dislike the expense of a daughter. Surely, where there
are so many holes, there are many good chances that the danger will fall