Edmund and Egbert from the top of the lofty poop watched them coming.
"They row thirty oars each side," Egbert said, "and are crowded with men.

What say you, Edmund, shall we stop and fight them, or shall the Dragon spread her wings ?" "We have the advantage of height," Edmund said, "and from our bow and stern castles can shoot down into them; but if they lie alongside and board us their numbers will give them an immense advantage.

I should think that we might run down one or two of them.

The Dragon is much more strongly built than these galleys of the Danes, and if when they close round us we have the oars lashed on both sides as when we are rowing, it will be next to impossible for them to get alongside except at the stern and bow, which are far too high for them to climb." "Very well," Egbert said, "if you are ready to fight, you may be sure I am." The anchor was got up and the oars manned, and the Dragon quietly advanced towards the Danish boats.

The men were instructed to row slowly, and it was not until within a hundred yards of the leading galley that the order was given to row hard.
The men strained at the tough oars, and the Dragon leapt ahead to meet the foe.