Incident of the Helge-Aar 



2 2 ^ 



his war-horns, and bound liis ships together to prepare 

 for battle. Cnut arrived at the estuary with a force 

 one-half greater than that of the allies. But as it was 

 eveninsf, and he found the harbour abandoned, he 

 anchored his fleet there, and many of his men went 

 ashore. Olaf and his men now cut through the dams 

 which pent in the waters of the lake ; then they hastened 

 to rejoin their own fleet. All seemed safe enough to 

 Cnut and his men. But in the morning the river came 

 suddenly rushing down in a great flood, covering the 

 land, drowning all the crews that had gone on shore, 

 and carrying with it great trees, which were dashed 

 against Cnut's ships and destroyed several of them. 

 All the vessels of the Danish fleet were broken from 

 their moorings, and carried out to sea; Cnut's own 

 dragon-ship, the largest warship that had ever yet been 

 built, drifted out among the fleet of Olaf and Onund. 

 They made great efforts to board it ; but it stood so 

 high above their own vessels that these attempts were 

 abortive. This mishap to the Danish fleet gave the 

 allies time enough to withdraw out of its reach ; and 

 while the Danes had suffered severely, the Norse- 

 Swedish force found that it had not lost a single man. 



This was, however, only an incidental triumph. The 

 case of the allies was really desperate. The kings held 

 a council of war, and eventually decided to part. Olaf 

 was obliged to abandon his fleet, and make his way on 

 foot back to Norway. Many of the Norse crews now 

 left their leader; those who remained true to him de- 

 stroyed their vessels ; and the king, with quite a small 

 followino, and after a tedious march through Southern 

 Sweden, returned to the Viken district. 



