Now we were close to her bows, and we heard the great yard creaking and straining, and the dull flapping of the loose canvas of both tack and clew which had blown inboard.
The ship lurched and staggered under the uneasy strain, but the tackle held, and we had her.

Bertric went to our halliards and lowered the sail as I luffed alongside, and then Dalfin had gripped the rail between two of the shining shields.

There was no sea beyond a harmless ripple as yet, and we dropped aft to where a cleat was set for the boats on her quarter, and made fast.
Then as we looked at one another, there came to me as it were a breath from my lost home in far-off Caithness, for a whiff of peat smoke hung round us and was gone so quickly that I thought it almost fancy.

But Dalfin had smelt it also.
"There is a fire alight on board," he said.

"I smelt the smoke.
That means food, and someone on board after all." With that he shouted, but there was no answer.