the midday sun
Then I found that he had his own horses ready for us , and two more men , well armed and mounted also , were waiting with them on the green where I had been set down in the litter . So in a very short time Thorgils had told his men all that he would have done about the ship , and we were riding fast along the road to Norton , while the thawing snow told of the going of the frost at last . I had been gone but these few days , but each of them seemed like a month to look back upon as I rode under the shadow of the hills that I had last seen as a hopeless captive . It grew warm and soft as the midday sun shone on us , and the road was muddy underfoot with the chill water that had filled all the brooks again , but I hardly noticed the change , so eager was I to be back . Glad enough I was when we saw the village and the mighty earthworks above it , and yet more glad when the guards at the gate told us that Owen was even now in the palace . I left Thorgils and his men to the care of the guard for the time , while I went straightway to the entrance doors and asked for speech with him . `` It is the word of the king that you shall have free admittance into the palace and to himself at any time , Thane , '' the captain of the guards said .