On the following morning Edmund, who had returned to his ship to sleep, was aroused by loud shouts on deck.

Hurrying from his cabin he saw a vast fleet of ships approaching the mouth of the river.

They were of all sizes--from great sailing ships to rowing galleys.

It needed but a glance at them to assure him that they were the dreaded ships of the Northmen, for the Black Raven floated at many of the mast-heads.
From the town the sounds of horns and great shoutings could be heard, showing that there too the approaching fleet had just been discerned as the morning fog lifted from the sea.

Edmund held a hurried consultation with his kinsman.