Kari says that so it shall be.  So they pulled up to them, and then the battle began the second time; but when they had fought a little while, Kari springs up on Snowcolf’s ship; he turns to meet him and smites at him with his sword.  Kari leaps nimbly backwards over a beam that lay athwart the ship, and Snowcolf smote the beam so that both edges of the sword were hidden.  Then Kari smites at him, and the sword fell on his shoulder, and the stroke was so mighty that he cleft in twain shoulder, arm, and all, and Snowcolf got his death there and then.  Gritgard hurled a spear at Kari, but Kari saw it and sprang up aloft, and the spear missed him.  Just then Helgi and Grim came up both to meet Kari, and Helgi springs on Gritgard and thrusts his spear through him, and that was his death blow; after that they went round the whole ship on both boards, and then men begged for mercy.  So they gave them all peace, but took all their goods.  After that they ran all the ships out under the islands.

CHAPTER LXXXIV.

OF EARL SIGURD.

Sigurd was the name of an earl who ruled over the Orkneys; he was the son of Hlodver, the son of Thorfinn the scull-splitter, the son of Turf-Einar, the son of Rognvald, Earl of M[oe]ren, the son of Eystein the noisy.  Kari was one of Earl Sigurd’s body-guard, and had just been gathering scatts in the Southern Isles from Earl Gilli.  Now Kari asks them to go to Hrossey,[35] and said the Earl would take to them well.  They agreed to that, and went with Kari and came to Hrossey.  Kari led them to see the Earl, and said what men they were.

“How came they,” says the Earl, “to fall upon thee?”

“I found them,” says Kari, “in Scotland’s Firths, and they were fighting with the sons of Earl Moldan, and held their own so well that they threw themselves about between the bulwarks, from side to side, and were always there where the trial was greatest, and now I ask you to give them quarters among your body-guard.”

“It shall be as thou choosest,” says the Earl, “thou hast already taken them so much by the hand.”

Then they were there with the Earl that winter, and were worthily treated, but Helgi was silent as the winter wore on.  The Earl could not tell what was at the bottom of that, and asked why he was so silent, and what was on his mind.

“Thinkest thou it not good to be here?”

“Good, methinks, it is here,” he says.

“Then what art thou thinking about?” asks the Earl.

“Hast thou any realm to guard in Scotland?” asks Helgi.

“So we think,” says the Earl, “but what makes thee think about that, or what is the matter with it?”

“The Scots,” says Helgi, “must have taken your steward’s life, and stopped all the messengers; that none should cross the Pentland Firth.”

“Hast thou the second sight?” said the Earl.

“That has been little proved,” answers Helgi.