CHAPTER LXII.

THE SLAYING OF HJORT AND FOURTEEN MEN.

After that Starkad egged on his men, and then they turn down upon them into the ness.  Sigurd Swinehead came first and had a red targe, but in his other hand he held a cutlass.  Gunnar sees him and shoots an arrow at him from his bow; he held the shield up aloft when he saw the arrow flying high, and the shaft passes through the shield and into his eye, and so came out at the nape of his neck, and that was the first man slain.

A second arrow Gunnar shot at Ulfhedinn, one of Starkad’s men, and that struck him about the middle and he fell at the feet of a yeoman, and the yeoman over him.  Kolskegg cast a stone and struck the yeoman on the head, and that was his death-blow.

Then Starkad said, “’Twill never answer our end that he should use his bow, but let us come on well and stoutly”.  Then each man egged on the other, and Gunnar guarded himself with his bow and arrows as long as he could; after that he throws them down, and then he takes his bill and sword and fights with both hands.  There is long the hardest fight, but still Gunnar and Kolskegg slew man after man.

Then Thorgeir Starkad’s son said, “I vowed to bring Hildigunna thy head, Gunnar.”

Then Gunnar sang a song—­

  Thou, that battle-sleet down bringeth,
  Scarce I trow thou speakest truth;
  She, the girl with golden armlets,
  Cannot care for such a gift;
  But, O serpent’s hoard despoiler! 
  If the maid must have my head—­
  Maid whose wrist Rhine’s fire[25] wreatheth,
  Closer come to crash of spear.

“She will not think that so much worth having,” says Gunnar; “but still to get it thou wilt have to come nearer!”

Thorgeir said to his brothers—­

“Let us run all of us upon him at once; he has no shield and we shall have his life in our hands.”

So Bork and Thorkel both ran forward and were quicker than Thorgeir.  Bork made a blow at Gunnar, and Gunnar threw his bill so hard in the way that the sword flew out of Bork’s hand; then he sees Thorkel standing on his other hand within stroke of sword.  Gunnar was standing with his body swayed a little on one side, and he makes a sweep with his sword, and caught Thorkel on the neck, and off flew his head.

Kol Egil’s son said, “Let me get at Kolskegg,” and turning to Kolskegg he said, “This I have often said, that we two would be just about an even match in fight”.

“That we can soon prove,” says Kolskegg.

Kol thrust at him with his spear; Kolskegg had just slain a man and had his hands full, and so he could not throw his shield before the blow, and the thrust came upon his thigh, on the outside of the limb and went through it.

Kolskegg turned sharp round, and strode towards him, and smote him with his short sword on the thigh, and cut off his leg, and said, “Did it touch thee or not?”