Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 134: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

608 make his camp-more secure. He doubtless felt no fear of a Saxon king who was be- lieved to be either dead or hiding on the continent, and there were few Saxons gath- ered together at any one point in that re- gion. In the afternoon Alfred went up into the hills and surveyed the camp from cer- tain points of vantage, taking note of its boundaries and the apparent disposition of ‘troops and defenses. Conrad offered to - write down notes upon his observations, but Alfred declined the service, explaining that they must be without incriminating evidence upon their persons when they en- tered the camp. His memory was good, he said, and already a map of the cantonments was graven on his brain. At nightfall the landscape was dotted with the cheerfully leaping fires of the pagan army, and the two men guided their march upon them and went down into the valley. As the king had expected, they were challenged by a small outpost some two or three miles from the camp’s borders, and he affected a merry air and sang a gay ditty for the soldiers. He and his com- panion had made a painful journey from the Welsh country, he explained glibly, and were in quest of an audience where there was good cheer and some liberal folk who might show substantial recognition of skill in entertaining. The outpost fed them from their rough rations, and readily passed them on to the inner guards, through which they passed with little more difficulty to the precincts of the great camp itself. In a street of thatched huts and some imposing tents the king astonished his in- experienced companion by executing a merry dance for some Danish officers. They applauded his performance, gave ~him a horn of wine, and ordered him to play on the harp. : He played well, and sang a lilting Welsh ballad, unintelligible to the wondering Conrad, but evidently pleasing to their hosts. A Danish captain joined the group and appeared to like the entertainment, applauding vigorously every stanza of the ballad. Sy = ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. Presently the captain stopped the singer and directed him, with gruff good humor, to follow him to the royal pavilion. The king, he said, had supped well and heartily, and was doubtless in a mood for light en- tertainment such as vagabonds like the two strangers could furnish. Alfred bowed his acknowledgments of the order, but did not glance at Conrad, lest their mutual satisfaction be betrayed by their eyes. They took up their harps and followed the officers through the streets, and Al- fred stared about him as they went, much as any simple mountebank might do, but making mental notes of every feature of the camp, and estimating the numbers and fighting power of the companies of soldiers that were ranged in order, street by street. Near the center of the temporary city was the king’s pavilion. The early spring nights were warm enough for the northern chieftain, and he had spread a great tent of striped cloth of various colors and deco- rated it with pennons and royal emblems. At the front was a platform, raised above the damp ground, and reached by a flight of ten steps, and on this was placed the great throne chair under a gay canopy of Oriental fabric. Guthrum was seated on the throne, and the visitors noted with some anxiety that he observed their approach without ob- vious pleasure. He was a man of heavy frame, getting stout amid the luxuries of camp life in a land that had furnished rich plunder, and he looked weary and bored. He was wearing sumptuous robes and a gold crown of heavily embossed plates, stud- ded with jewels, and it was easy to fancy that he pined for his rough armor and the thrill of the heaving deck under him, for he was a sea king of the race of Vikings, and unused to the quiet life of camp in winter. : The officer bowed low before the throne and begged the royal permission to intro- duce the minstrels. The king glowered upon him with ill humor, but grudgingly gave the permission and told him to direct the gleemen to sing some bright and lively ballad. Alfred acknowledged the com- 8A (G com s) OX)