of the slain, to reach his own dwelling.

"Then was in the morning twilight, at the breaking of day,
Grendel's war-craft revealed to men. Then was lamentation
upraised after the feast, a great noise in the morning.

"The mighty prince, a noble of old goodness, sat unblithe; the
strong in armies suffered, the thanes endured sorrow, after they
beheld the track of the hated one, the accursed spirit."

But in spite of all their grief and horror, when night came the
thanes again lay down to rest in the great hall. And there again
the monster returned and slew yet more thanes, so that in horror
all forsook the hall, and for twelve long years none abode in it
after the setting of the sun.

And now far across the sea a brave man of the Goths, Beowulf by
name, heard of the doings of Grendel, and he made up his mind to
come to the aid of King Hrothgar.

"He commanded to make ready for him a good ship; quoth he, he
would seek the war-king over the swan's path; the renowned prince
since he had need of men.

"The good chieftain had chosen warriors of the Geatish people,
the bravest of those who he could find. With fifteen men he
sought the sea-wood. A warrior, a man crafty in lakes, pointed
out the boundaries of the land.

"The time passed on, the ship was on the waves, the boat beneath