I could only say what the monk told me,' whispered poor Pelagia.

'Who looks cross at you, my queen?' roared the Amal. 'Let me have
him out here, and by Thor's hammer, I'll--'

'Who spoke to you, you stupid darling?' answered Pelagia, who lived
in hourly fear of thunderstorms. 'Who is going to be cross with any
one, except I with you, for mishearing and misunderstanding, and
meddling, as you are always doing? I shall do as I threatened, and
run away with Prince Wulf, if you are not good. Don't you see that
the whole crew are expecting you to make them an oration?'

Whereupon the Amal rose.

'See you here, Wulf the son of Ovida, and warriors all! If we want
wealth, we shan't find it among the sand-hills. If we want women,
we shall find nothing prettier than these among dragons and devils.
Don't look angry, Wulf. You have no mind to marry one of those dog-
headed girls the monk talked of, have you? Well, then, we have
money and women; and if we want sport, it's better sport killing men
than killing beasts; so we had better go where we shall find most of
that game, which we certainly shall not up this road. As for fame
and all that, though I've had enough, there's plenty to be got
anywhere along the shores of that Mediterranean. Let's burn and
plunder Alexandria: forty of us Goths might kill down all these
donkey-riders in two days, and hang up that lying prefect who sent
us hereon this fool's errand. Don't answer, Wulf. I knew he was
humbugging us all along, but you were so open-mouthed to all he
said, that I wasbound to let my elders choose for me. Let's go
back; send over for any of the tribes; send to Spain for those