The Wood Beyond the World | Page 8

souls and
understandings I warrant them not; for miscreants they be, trowing
neither in God nor his hallows."
Said the master: "Trow they in Mahound then?"
"Nay," said the elder, "I wot not for sure that they have so much as a
false God; though I have it from them that they worship a certain
woman with mickle worship."
Then spake Walter: "Yea, good sir, and how knowest thou that? dost
thou deal with them at all?"
Said the old man: "Whiles some of that folk come hither and have of
me what I can spare; a calf or two, or a half-dozen of lambs or hoggets;
or a skin of wine or cyder of mine own making: and they give me in
return such things as I can use, as skins of hart and bear and other
peltries; for now I am old, I can but little of the hunting hereabout.
Whiles, also, they bring little lumps of pure copper, and would give me
gold also, but it is of little use in this lonely land. Sooth to say, to me
they are not masterful or rough-handed; but glad am I that they have
been here but of late, and are not like to come again this while; for
terrible they are of aspect, and whereas ye be aliens, belike they would
not hold their hands from off you; and moreover ye have weapons and
other matters which they would covet sorely."
Quoth the master: "Since thou dealest with these wild men, will ye not
deal with us in chaffer? For whereas we are come from long travel, we
hanker after fresh victual, and here aboard are many things which were
for thine avail."
Said the old man: "All that I have is yours, so that ye do but leave me
enough till my next ingathering: of wine and cyder, such as it is, I have
plenty for your service; ye may drink it till it is all gone, if ye will: a

little corn and meal I have, but not much; yet are ye welcome thereto,
since the standing corn in my garth is done blossoming, and I have
other meat. Cheeses have I and dried fish; take what ye will thereof.
But as to my neat and sheep, if ye have sore need of any, and will have
them, I may not say you nay: but I pray you if ye may do without them,
not to take my milch-beasts or their engenderers; for, as ye have heard
me say, the Bear-folk have been here but of late, and they have had of
me all I might spare: but now let me tell you, if ye long after flesh-meat,
that there is venison of hart and hind, yea, and of buck and doe, to be
had on this plain, and about the little woods at the feet of the rock-wall
yonder: neither are they exceeding wild; for since I may not take them,
I scare them not, and no other man do they see to hurt them; for the
Bear- folk come straight to my house, and fare straight home thence.
But I will lead you the nighest way to where the venison is easiest to be
gotten. As to the wares in your ship, if ye will give me aught I will take
it with a good will; and chiefly if ye have a fair knife or two and a roll
of linen cloth, that were a good refreshment to me. But in any case
what I have to give is free to you and welcome."
The shipmaster laughed: "Friend," said he, "we can thee mickle thanks
for all that thou biddest us. And wot well that we be no lifters or
sea-thieves to take thy livelihood from thee. So to-morrow, if thou wilt,
we will go with thee and upraise the hunt, and meanwhile we will come
aland, and walk on the green grass, and water our ship with thy good
fresh water."
So the old carle went back to his house to make them ready what cheer
he might, and the shipmen, who were twenty and one, all told, what
with the mariners and Arnold and Walter's servants, went ashore, all
but two who watched the ship and abode their turn. They went
well-weaponed, for both the master and Walter deemed wariness
wisdom, lest all might not be so good as it seemed. They took of their
sail-cloths ashore and tilted them in on the meadow betwixt the house
and the ship, and the carle brought them what he had for their avail, of
fresh fruits, and cheeses, and milk, and wine, and cyder, and honey, and
there they feasted nowise ill, and were right fain.

CHAPTER VI
: THE OLD MAN TELLS WALTER OF HIMSELF.