Vinnie and Mandy froze with fear.
All the sailors stopped rowing or woke up.
They stared at the children.
The large man walked over to Vinnie and Mandy.
Mandy guessed he was the captain.
“Gunnar! Explain! Who are they?” the captain asked the fair boy.
“Sir, I don’t know,” the boy replied.
“Why did you hide here?
Do you want to be warriors like Gunnar?”
The captain pointed his sword at Vinnie and Mandy.
“Yes, sir!” Vinnie shouted.
“Ah, true Viking spirit!” the captain said.
“I like your courage, boy.”
The captain slapped Vinnie on the back.
Vinnie nearly fell over.
The captain stopped and glared at Mandy.
“But you! Little girls should not be sneaking onto a Viking ship.
Especially one as weak as you,” he sneered.
Mandy threw back her head proudly.
“I may look weak, sir,” she replied in a clear, loud voice.
“But I am as strong as a horse.”
“Land ho!” the lookout shouted.
“Finally!” the captain said.
“Get ready to go ashore.”
Turning to Vinnie and Mandy, he said,
“You two—stay with Gunnar.”
Mandy let out a sigh of relief as the captain turned away.
“Vinnie! I don’t think he likes me being on the ship,” she said.
“Don’t worry. You were really brave,” Vinnie replied.
He turned to Gunnar.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“This port is Kaupang.
It is a Viking village where we trade and sell our goods,” Gunnar said proudly.
“The captain is the best bear hunter!
He brought bear skins from our village in the icy North.”
“Here we go, Vinnie. Look!”
Mandy grabbed his arm.
The Sleeping Dragon pulled smoothly into port.
Several other Viking ships were already docked there.
Each ship was long and slender.
Viking sailors carried large chests out of the ships.
Some carried smaller boxes of jewelry.
“Gunnar!” the captain called out.
“Take this to Old Dirk, the blacksmith.”
The captain handed Gunnar a jewelry box.
“Tell him I sent you.
He will know what to do.”
“Yes, captain,” said Gunnar as he took the box.
“Do not disappoint me,” the captain roared.
“And keep an eye on those two.”
He pointed to Vinnie and Mandy.
“Come on!” Gunnar called.
Vinnie and Mandy followed him off the Sleeping Dragon.
Kaupang was a busy open market.
People exchanged furs for iron weapons.
Others bought bear skins, walrus tusks, and whale bones with silver coins.
Finally the children arrived at the blacksmith’s workshop.
The boy introduced himself to the blacksmith.
“I am Gunnar. Captain Skull-Crusher sent me.”
Vinnie and Mandy stared at each other.
“Skull-Crusher?” they gasped.