But it soon went away, and he forgot his terror, beginning to blame me for not having gained the shore yet.
I could say nothing, for I knew not how far we had run; yet we had come a long way, and I thought that surely we must have sailed as swiftly as Lodbrok, for the sea had favoured us rather than given trouble.

Even now I thought the colour of the water changed a little, and I began to think that we neared some land at last.
As the sun set, the wind shifted more to the westward, and I thought a change was coming.

It was very dark overhead until the waning moon rose.
Now, soon after moonrise Beorn began to groan, in his sleep as I thought; but presently he rose up, stiffly, from long sitting, and I saw that his eyes were flashing, and his face working strangely in the pale moonlight.

I bade him lie down again, but he did not, and then I saw that he was surely out of his mind through the terror of the sea and the long nothingness of the voyage to which he was all unused.

Then he made for me with a shout, and I saw that I must fight for my life.