Where Halfden and his crew went, south of Thames mouth, was no concern of mine--nor, indeed, of any other man in East Anglia in those days.

That was the business of Ethelred, our overlord, if he cared to mind the doings of one ship.

Most of all it was the concern of the sheriff in whose district a landing was made.
So messages were sent to old Kenulf, and glad was he to know that we should not have to give up our passage to London, and maybe still more to feel safe in this powerful company from any other such meetings.

And before the tide served us, Halfden had said that he also would come to London, so that our ship should lead the way up the river.
When we weighed anchor Thormod must needs, therefore, reef and double reef his sail, else our ship had been hull down astern before many hours had passed, so swift was the longship.
Now I have said that old Kenulf had misliked the look of the weather, and now Thormod seemed uneasy.

Yet the breeze came fresh from the southeast; and though it had shifted a good deal, I, for my part, thought little ill of that, for it held in that quarter till we were fairly among the sands of the Thames mouth at nightfall, and Kenulf lit lanterns by which we might follow him.