The longship's oars bit water and approached him. Indignant voices asking why he had been so long on his errand faded when his passenger was seen. And Svearek the king wept as he took his daughter back into his arms. The hard brown face was still blurred with tears when he looked at the minstrel, but the return of his old self was there too. "What ye have done, Cappen Varra of Croy, is what no other man in the world could have done." "Aye--aye--" The rough northern voices held adoration as the warriors crowded around the slim red-haired figure. "Ye shall have her whom ye saved to wife," said Svearek, "and when I die ye shall rule all Norren." Cappen swayed and clutched the rail. Three nights later he slipped away from their shore camp and turned his face southward. Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ January 1957. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note. End of Project Gutenberg's The Valor of Cappen Varra, by Poul William Anderson