SOME YEARS AGO I came upon the historical story of the discovery of America by Leif Ericsson in A (10 page)

LEIF I met a woman once who showed me one of those. It is a talisman.

KING OLAF You seem to have met some interesting women for so young a man. It is not a talisman. It is the sign of a new religion, the faith in the Lord Jesus who gave His life for you and for all men. It is the sign of a new way of life.

LEIF So I have heard.

KING OLAF We call the men of this religion Christians, from the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I became Christian two years ago, with all my people; this priest that you have seen about the place is a Christian priest, sent to me from Rome. I will not have a pagan colony in my domains. You must take this priest to Greenland with you in your ship to teach the new religion in your country, and you must stop worshipping the old gods, Thor and Odin. And you must give up sacrifices.

LEIF Can't we even sacrifice a cock for a fair wind? It's going to make navigation very difficult if we can't do that.

KING OLAF There are to be no more sacrifices at all. You'll find you get along just as well without them.

LEIF Maybe. I was never a religious man, King, and these things don't mean a great deal to me, personally. (
He sits for a moment deep in thought.
) I think there will be some difficulty in altering the religion of our people. You see, my father was a fighting man. Now in his old age he has got quite religious, but he likes a religion with a bit of blood and fighting in it. I do not think this Jesus-cult would satisfy him at all.

KING OLAF Nevertheless, that is my will.
(He eyes
Leif
shrewdly.
) I would not send a ship each year out to a pagan colony.

LEIF ■
(Smiling)
I am sure that argument will have great weight with my father. I will put it to him in that light.

KING OLAF Good. You are to take the priest back with you, and everybody in the country is to listen to his teaching and become Christian, and obey him in religious matters. I know that a man of your wit and ability can pull this off if he gives his mind to it.

LEIF I'll do what I can. It's not going to be easy; you must warn the priest that he may get a rough passage for the first few months. Our people are conservative. You must give us full support in everything we do.

KING OLAF You shall have it.

LEIF May I take a written parchment back with me saying that we are to be Christians, stamped with your royal seal, sir? Our people won't be able to read it, but they'll like to see the seal, particularly if it's a big, red one.

KING OLAF I will have it prepared for you; the priest can read it to them. You must build the priest a church, that he may teach the people in it. I will give him all the furnishings to take with him.

LEIF Sir, that shall be done.

KING OLAF Now for another thing. I do not think you know enough about the country that you live in, how large it is, or what it can produce in places that you have not visited. I sent one of my galleys to raid Scotland this year to pick up some sheep; they brought a few slaves back with them. (
He glances up at the membrane-covered window.
) Take a look out of the door and tell me if the snow has stopped.

(
Leif
goes to the door of the hall, and returns.
)

LEIF It has stopped snowing, and the clouds are breaking over to the west.

KING OLAF
(Getting up)
Come with me.

(They put on cloaks and go out of the hall into the snow-covered streets.
King Olaf
takes
Leif
to a sort of farmyard with a midden in the middle. At one corner of this there is a small hut. A farm-hand comes forward with a key and unlocks the door of this hut for them; they go in.
)

The Hut

(Inside; this little hut is furnished with a fire in an open hearth, some piles of straw for bedding, and not much else. In it are the two Scotch
Slaves.
The man,
Haki,
is standing and bows awkwardly as they come in. The
Girl
stays crouched upon the straw in the background, not in fear, but in shyness. That is
Haekia.
)

(
Both are very young, about sixteen or seventeen years old. They speak with a slight Scotch accent. They are slim and wiry young people. They are as shy as wild animals, and they have the natural grace of animals. They are clearly of a much lower order of civilization than the Norsemen. The Norsemen treat them kindly, like animals.
)

(
They are dressed each in a single garment of skin, with the fur inside. This has a hood, and is sleeveless. It is knee long, and buttons between the legs. There is a long slit down from each armhole which can be buttoned for warmth or left open for ventilation. This one garment is dressed or painted white, as a sign of slavery. For the same reason their hair is cut short.
)

KING OLAF These are the two Scotch slaves that I was telling you about. The man is called Haki and the woman Haekia.

LEIF
(Curiously)
Are they man and wife?

KING OLAF I don't think they've got around to that just yet. You'd better marry them when they're a bit older. I am going to give them to you.

LEIF Sir, this is a noble gift.

KING OLAF They can run further and faster than anybody in the world; they are swifter than deer. Take them with you when you go back to Greenland and send them running out over your new country, and any other new countries that you may discover.

Then -send word back to me each year by the ship, to say how big your countries are, and what they produce.

LEIF I will do that. The priest can write a letter for us.

KING OLAF By the time the priest has done with you, you'll be able to write a letter for yourself. (
They laugh.
) I will show you what these Scots can do. (
He turns to
Haki.
) You know
Raudulf
in the Osterdal valley?

HAKI Ay, sir, I mind him well.

KING OLAF Go to him quickly, and ask him how many cows he has, how many bulls, how many pigs, and how many sheep. Ask how many of each he has now, and how many of each have died since he came to see me here last summer. You understand what I want to know?

HAKI Ay, sir.

KING OLAF Then go on to Sigurd in the Haukboer and ask him to give you the horse bridle that I lent him in the fall, and bring it back to me.

HAKI Ay, Lord. We will gae quick.

KING OLAF How long will it take you?

(
Haki
turns to the girl and speaks to her in Gaelic; she uncurls from the straw and stands up. They talk in Gaelic for a moment.
)

HAKI It will be gloaming, Lord. We shall be back by dark.

KING OLAF Will you take food with you?

HAKI Lord, food makes us heavy. We will eat when we get back.

(
They set off from the door of the hut, running out over the snow-covered fields, side by side. They run at a steady pace for they have a long way to go. The
King
and
Leif
stand to
gether
by the door of
the hut
watching till they vanish in
the distance,
)

LEIF How far is it?

KING OLAF From here to Osterdal is fourteen miles, and six from Osterdal to Haukboer. The round trip is about thirty-four miles.

LEIF Why did you send them both?

KING OLAF The country is not easy, and one helps the other. (
Laughs
) I remember one of my herdsmen once, got half way up a cliff and couldn't get up or down. I had to go and get him down myself. It's better to send two.

[DISSOLVE TO:

The Journey

(A
series of scenes without dialogue showing
Haki
and
Haekia
on this journey. The country is wild moorland and forest, partly snow covered. The Scots are running barefoot, steady and purposeful. In one place they have to wade a torrent, in another they go by a goat path over a steep crag. Emphasis should be laid upon the way in which they help each other at these difficult places. In general,
Haekia
should be shown in the lead, to balance her shyness in society.
)

[DISSOLVE TO:

King Olaf's Hall

(
An evening scene; the hall is lit by torches, so that it is filled with a haze of smoke.
Leif
is sitting with the
King
before the fire of huge wood logs.
A
Man
comes to them.
)

MAN King, the two Scots are at the door.

KING OLAF Bring them in.

(
He glances at a thick candle burning by the hearth, roughly marked off in inch lengths, and turns to
Leif.
)

—About six hours.

LEIF They have been very quick.

(The
Scots
are brought forward, and stand together before the
King.
They are flushed and sweating a little, and splashed with mud, but they are not unduly distressed.
Haki
carries a crude bridle in his hand, and
Haekia
has a number of small skin bags.)

KING OLAF You saw Sigurd?

HAKI Lord, he sent this bridle.
(He gives it to the
King.)
He said to tell you that the waters are out at Jotunheim and the little bridge is down, but the river has stopped rising.

KING OLAF Good. And Raudulf?

HAKI
(To
Haekia
) The beasts first.

(
She gives him one of the little bags. They go down on their knees on the stone floor before the
King
and open it, and spread out thirty-eight white pebbles and three black ones from the bag.
Haki
points to the black pebbles.
)

—Lord, these are the bulls he has, one stone for each.
(Points to the white ones
) These are the cows, one stone for each. None have died.

LEIF I make that thirty-eight cows, sir.

KING OLAF That's just about what he should have.

(
Haki
opens another bag and shows three black pebbles and five white ones, and nine bits of slate. He puts the slates on one side.
)

HAKI Lord, these slates are for the pigs that died; they had pig sickness, very bad. These are the boars now living, and these the sows. He thinks the sickness is over now.

(
Haekia
opens the last bag and shows seven bits of slate, fifty-four white stones, and eight black ones.
)

HAEKIA Lord, these are the sheep that died, and these the rams that he has now, and these the ewes.

KING OLAF Good. Did you find much snow upon the road? Did you see any animals?

HAKI By Haukboer the snow is deep, but for the rest of the way it was not deeper than it is here, Lord. There is much water in the second river between here and Osterdal. Between Osterdal and Haukboer near the forest there were tracks of very many deer; they had been there to-day, but we saw one only.

KING OLAF You have done very well. Go now, and eat, and wash yourselves; you must not go to sleep with all that mud on you.

HAKI
(Obediently)
No, Lord.

KING OLAF (
Signing to an attendant
) Give them food and ale, as much as they can eat.

(
The
Scots
are led away.
)

LEIF King, may I go and talk to them when they have eaten?

KING OLAF By all means. They are now your slaves.

(
Cut to a scene of the
Scots
at the conclusion of their meal. They eat with their hands, of course, but not with excessivecrudity. They have eaten a good deal, and there are many bones upon their platters. There is a pewter jug of ale before them, and they drink from earthenware flagons.
)

(
They are seated alone at the lowest bench in the hall, at the very far end from the
King,
amongst the litter of handwork at that end. A camera effect of their isolation at the extreme end of a long table in the vast hall should show their social grade. It may be emphasized by
Leif
walking down the whole length of the hall to them. He sits down informally on a bench beside them.)

LEIF Haki, did you understand what the King said this morning? He has given Haekia and you to me. My name is Leif, the son of
Eric.