After that Asgrim and his band went out, and Skarphedinn asked—­

“Whither shall we go now?”

“To Snorri the Priest’s booth,” says Asgrim.

Then they went to Snorri’s booth.  There was a man outside before the booth, and Asgrim asked whether Snorri were in the booth.

The man said he was.

Asgrim went into the booth, and all the others.  Snorri was sitting on the cross bench, and Asgrim went and stood before him, and hailed him well.

Snorri took his greeting blithely, and bade him sit down.

Asgrim said he should be only a short time there, “but we have an errand with thee”.

Snorri bade him tell it.

“I would,” said Asgrim, “that thou wouldst come with me to the court, and stand by me with thy help, for thou art a wise man, and a great man of business.”

“Suits fall heavy on us now,” says Snorri the Priest, “and now many men push forward against us, and so we are slow to take up the troublesome suits of other men from other quarters.”

“Thou mayest stand excused,” says Asgrim, “for thou art not in our debt for any service.”

“I know,” says Snorri, “that thou art a good man and true, and I will promise thee this, that I will not be against thee, and not yield help to thy foes.”

Asgrim thanked him, and Snorri the Priest asked—­

“Who is that man before whom four go, pale-faced, and sharp-featured, and who shows his front teeth, and has his axe aloft on his shoulder?”

“My name is Hedinn,” he says, “but some men call me Skarphedinn by my full name; but what more hast thou to say to me?”

“This,” said Snorri the Priest, “that methinks thou art a well-knit, ready-handed man, but yet I guess that the best part of thy good fortune is past, and I ween thou hast not long to live.”

“That is well,” says Skarphedinn, “for that is a debt we all have to pay, but still it were more needful to avenge thy father than to foretell my fate in this way.”

“Many have said that before,” says Snorri, “and I will not be angry at such words.”

After that they went out, and got no help there.  Then they fared to the booths of the men of Skagafirth.  There Hafr the wealthy had his booth.  The mother of Hafr was named Thoruna, she was a daughter of Asbjorn baldpate of Myrka, the son of Hrosbjorn.

Asgrim and his band went into the booth, and Hafr sate in the midst of it, and was talking to a man.

Asgrim went up to him, and hailed him well; he took it kindly, and bade him sit down.

“This I would ask of thee,” said Asgrim, “that thou wouldst grant me and my sons-in-law help.”

Hafr answered sharp and quick, and said he would have nothing to do with their troubles.

“But still I must ask who that pale-faced man is before whom four men go, so ill-looking, as though he had come out of the sea-crags.”

“Never mind, milksop that thou art!” said Skarphedinn, “who I am, for I will dare to go forward wherever thou standest before me, and little would I fear though such striplings were in my path.  ’Twere rather thy duty, too, to get back thy sister Swanlauga, whom Eydis ironsword and his messmate Stediakoll took away out of thy house, but thou didst not dare to do aught against them.”