It was always by the rear of the house, where stood the ruined temple,
so associated with the romance of his life, that Harold approached the
home of the Vala; and as now the hillock, with its melancholy diadem
of stones, came in view, Haco for the first time broke the silence.

"Again--as in a dream!" he said, abruptly. "Hill, ruin, grave-mound--
but where the tall image of the mighty one?"

"Hast thou then seen this spot before?" asked the Earl.

"Yea, as an infant here was I led by my father Sweyn; here too, from
thy house yonder, dim seen through the fading leaves, on the eve
before I left this land for the Norman, here did I wander alone; and
there, by that altar, did the great Vala of the North chaunt her runes
for my future."

"Alas! thou too!" murmured Harold; and then he asked aloud, "What said
she?"

"That thy life and mine crossed each other in the skein; that I should
save thee from a great peril, and share with thee a greater."

"Ah, youth," answered Harold, bitterly, "these vain prophecies of
human wit guard the soul from no anger. They mislead us by riddles
which our hot hearts interpret according to their own desires. Keep
thou fast to youth's simple wisdom, and trust only to the pure spirit
and the watchful God."

He suppressed a groan as he spoke, and springing from his steed, which
he left loose, advanced up the hill. When he had gained the height,