He thought they were the first ships of the Danes to cruise in these waters, and was proud of it.
"It is a wondrously fair land of yours here," he said, looking inland on the rolling downs and forest-hidden valleys.
"Fairer than your own ?" I asked.
"Surely; else why should we care to leave our homes ?" "Ho, Thrond!" shouted some man from the wharves, "here are cattle coming in." The old warrior turned and left us, going ashore.

Round the turning of the street inland, whence we came, some of the mounted men were driving our red cattle from the nearer meadows, and doing it well as any drover who ever waited for hire at a fair.

I saw that they had great heavy-headed dogs, tall and smooth haired, which worked well enough, though not so well as our rough gray shepherd dogs.
The ship we were in lay alongside the wooden wharf; and one could watch all that went on, for the fore deck was high above the busy crowd ashore.
I wondered for a few minutes what the Danes would do with the cattle; but they had no doubt at all.

Before old Thrond had reached them the work of slaughter had begun, and wonderfully fast the men were carrying the meat on board the ships, heaping it in piles forward, and throwing the hides over the heaps.

I heard one of the guards say to another that this was a good "strand hewing," that being their name for this hasty victualling of the ships.
More cattle came in presently, and sheep also, to be served in the same way.