Thorgils

This edition has been proof an corrected from the original hard cover book.


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an excerpt from the beginning of the story:


CHAPTER I
THE KILLING OF THE HORSE


TREADHOLT lies in the South-west country between Markfleet and Cogsound. It is all pasture thereabouts, deep and good land; but behind that, the tumble of rock begins, great rocks brought down from Eyjafell in old days; and after them the heather and peat hags mount upwards to the fells; and over the top of the fells are waste and desolate places, rent apart by crevasses and deep ghylls; and if you have heart enough to carry you on, beyond this region lie the snow slopes which will take you to the top of Eyjafell itself.


But all that was a long way from Treadholt where Thord Domne, or Timber Thord, as we should say, lived, and where Thorgils and his brother were born.


Timber Thord Lad been a strong and bold man, who became a famous man by the slaying of Raven Thorwidsson. He had had an old quarrel with Raven, who was reckoned a hero in those parts, and laid in wait for him one day as he was riding down to Einarshaven, to a ship he had there. He came riding through the howes in his fine blue cloak, thinking of pleasant things, when he saw Timber Thord standing between two howes, waiting for him. Raven hailed him, but Thord would not return the greeting; but instead hurled his spear and hit Raven full in the breast and transfixed him. The manslaughter was written off against others done by Raven—but Thord's name stood high after such a deed, and Thord himself married Thorwen, who was Osgar's daughter, Osgar's the Eastmen-Smiter, and settled down at Treadholt, where his fathers had been established a long time. Thorwen gave him two sons, Thorgils and Thorleik. All their names were of this stamp, for this was in the days before Iceland was christened, and Thor had the devotion of all the South country, rather than Frey, who prevailed in the North and North-west, or Odin, who had his worship elsewhere.


When Thorgils was a bare-breeched youngster of two-three years old, a blue-eyed, red cheeked, tumble-haired, bare-breeched youngster more often dirty than not, Timber Thord had become rich, and intended to become richer. What store he had in silver money and goods he buried in the earth, and then bought a ship in Cogsound and prepared for a voyage to Norway. He wanted Thorwen, his wife, to go with him; but she said, No, she would stay at home. There were the children, and the treasure in the ground. So she looked after house and stock at Treadholt, as well she might, being a notable housewife; and Thord stood out to sea in his new ship.


He never came back. All the summer and winter following Thorwen looked for him. She got into the way of crossing the river at the ford and mounting the peat moss to a ridge from where you could see Cogsound, and beyond that to Portland Neb. Somehow or another she did that every day; and even through the winter she managed to get up there. She took Thorgils with her when it was possible. Then the weather broke up, the rain came, and the days grew longer. There was work to be done on the land; a man called Thorgrim Scarleg came to Treadholt as reeve, and Thorwen gave up her daily walk to the ridge.


Thorgils was puzzled at that. He did not see why she left off doing what she had always done. He couldn't remember when she had not done it. "Aren't you going to look for my father's ship?"


She shook her head.


" He won't come any more," she said. He thought that very odd.


" Why won't he? " he wanted to know.


She looked out over the sea. "He is drowned, my son."


" Drowned? " said Thorgils. " Do you mean he is dead? "


She nodded her head sharply, and that set the tears running down….