Read Online New Found Land by John Christopher - Free Book Online Page A

contempt. He turned the point against Brad later when Brad suggested he and Curtius ought to cut down on their drinking after supper, so as to keep clearer heads.
    â€œThat really would be suspicious, eh Curtius? Don’t worry, lad. A man who has been schooled on wine can outdrink any of these ale swillers and stay cold sober.”
    When at last they went back to the hut, the night sky was bright with starlight and the incandescence of a moon close to full. They allowed an hour before setting out again, their footsteps crunching on the packed snow. The things they needed for the voyage had been hidden beneath rubbish in one of the abandoned huts. It was not far from there to the chief’shut. From a distance, Bos gave the owl hoot which was the signal to Lundiga.
    It sounded exactly like an owl; if she were asleep it would scarcely wake her. And they were committed now; could not wait. Bos hooted again and, after a few moments, turned to them, shaking his head. But at that moment Lundiga slipped out of the shadows.
    They had earmarked Wulfgar’s own longship for the enterprise. As they made their way down the hill, they could see its dragon head swaying against the moonlit waters of the bay. The noise of their footsteps on the snow seemed very loud, and Simon was glad when they were clear of the village. Despite the cold, he was sweating.
    When they were no more than fifty yards from the quay, there was a sudden outburst of wild screeching behind them. Simon glanced back quickly. The din was emanating from the chief’s hut, or rather from a figure just outside it: Lundiga’s mother.
    Even at this distance the sound was shattering; up among the huts it must have been ear-piercing. Viking men came running out.
    Curtius spoke sharply. “Into the boat! I’ll cast off.”
    His voice carried the authority of a Romancenturion, and they did not argue. The quay was a narrow wooden structure, raised on piles and connected with the shore by a rickety causeway. They clattered over it. Lundiga seemed to hesitate, and Bos picked her up as though she were a baby and dropped her into the longship; then he and Simon and Brad followed. Curtius was wrestling with the rope that secured the ship to its mooring pole.
    â€œAxe it!” Bos shouted.
    Curtius swung his axe violently. The deck beneath them shuddered from the impact, but the rope failed to part. He swung a second time, and a third. By now the Vikings were charging down the slope and very close.
    An end of rope dropped loose on the deck and Bos shouted to Curtius to jump. Simon was in the prow and could see across the quay to the galloping Vikings. One was in advance of the rest: Wulfgar, barefooted and without his helmet but brandishing his axe, bellowing incoherent threats. Curtius too could see him. He uttered a growl which swelled to a roar of anger.
    Brad shouted: “You fool, Curtius! Never mind about him. Jump!”
    Instead of doing so, Curtius leapt back and stood blocking the causeway. Wulfgar came at him, and they swung their axes. There was a howl of pain from Wulfgar, of triumph from Curtius, and the Viking went down. But as he did, he grappled with the Roman, holding him.
    Lundiga gave a great howl of anguish at the sight and made for the side of the ship. Simon grabbed her but could not hold her; it took Bos’s strength to prevent her leaping off. The ship was already drifting away: there was a widening gap of water between them and the quay.
    They watched helplessly as the pack of Vikings crowded forward and Curtius sank under their assault. For a moment or two he was invisible, but then amazingly rose again out of the melee, his axe arm flailing. A figure toppled from the causeway and splashed into the water. But the rest were all round him, and a couple had got between him and the quay.
    Bos said in a low voice: “We can do nothing.”
    He grabbed an oar and jabbed it hard against the next ship in line: the gap of water