There are no signs of rocks." For I hesitated, not altogether liking not to stand by him at the last.

However, he was right, and I went forward with Gerda, bidding Dalfin get one of the oars and follow us.
Now, what that beach may have been like in a winter gale I can only guess.

Even now the breakers were terrible enough, as we watched them from the high bows, though the wind was, as I have said, not what one would trouble about much in the open sea, in a well-found ship.

But naught save dire necessity would make a seaman try to beach his ship here at any time, least of all when half a gale was piling the seas one over the other across the shallows.

Only, we could see that no jagged reef waited us under the surges.
Gerda stood with her arm round the dragon head which stared forward.