And when this was done, the King said that indeed Guthred was a fit man to be King of Northumbria. "He is of the old stock," he said, "and in the direct line. Ay, let this be, if it may. Travel back yet once more--well may we call you 'Wanderer'--and when all is ready, if the people will listen to advice and do this thing, then I will journey down; and perchance Edgiva will be glad to see her brother, and a crowning may also mean a wedding"; and thereat the King smiled. So Wulnoth hurried to see Edgiva, and to tell her the news, and how her brother fared, and what the King purposed; and then he once more set out on his journey, and without adventure came to Northumbria. Now, this is how Wulnoth found Guthred the Prince, and how it was purposed to give a thrall the crown of Northumbria. CHAPTER XXV _The Crowning of Guthred_ With haste and gladness did Wulnoth set out for the North once more, and all the world seemed filled with a love-song and a joy-song as he rode upon his way. For the sun was shining at last for him, and for those whom he loved, and, better still, for all the land of England; and Alfred the King, who had labored so long and so patiently to weld the land into one strong people, would now have his reward also, in seeing the prosperity of his kingdom. And Wulnoth reflected as he journeyed, for he was a man given to thinking when he was alone, that all this happiness had its fount in the truth concerning the Lord Jesus; and he remembered how Wyborga had said, in the long ago of his childhood, that the story of the thorn cross turned darkness to light, weakness to strength, and sorrow into joy; and lo, this was happening throughout the length and breadth of England. And then he thought of the differences between the Danes and the Saxons; and yet these people were almost from the same stock and the same land, and both peoples had ever been lovers of the war game, and sea-lords and vikings at heart. And those differences all sprang from the same source--the Saxons had turned to the White Christ, and the Danes still worshipped the old cruel gods of the Northland. Like the wind his good horse journeyed, and in good time he arrived at the Bishop's house, and told him of King Alfred's pleasure in the matter; and at that the Bishop smiled, and said that the way was a clear way now. "But how will you make these people accept Guthred for their king?" asked Wulnoth. "If they be not willing, then it can only be done by the sword, and there is more war and desolation."