about two hours after midnight
Ketill was at first for stoutly refusing the adventure ; but Helgi , whose convictions sat lightly on him compared with his attachment to Estein , persuaded him to consent . `` Are you afraid ? '' he asked , and that question left no room for the proud Viking to hesitate . It was about two hours after midnight when the long ship , stealing under the shadow of the cliffs , turned into a small bay . It lay open to the south , guarded on either side by a precipitous headland , and withdrawn from the tideway and the swell of the western ocean . In the weird grey light of that June night the men could see a valley opening out of great inland hills on to a more level strip of moorland at the head of the bay . On a spit of sandy beach lay three warships , and on the slope of the hill to the left stood a small township of low buildings , clustering round the higher drinking-hall of Liot Skulison .