“Thinkst thou thou canst do it better,” said Thorwald.
“There’s one thing to be done which I can do better than thou,”
said Thiostolf, and then he went on, “The woman who is thy wife
has made a bad match, and you shall not live much longer
together.”
Then Thorwald snatched up a fishing-knife that lay by him, and
made a stab at Thiostolf; he had lifted his axe to his shoulder
and dashed it down. It came on Thorwald’s arm and crushed the
wrist, but down fell the knife. Then Thiostolf lifted up his axe
a second time and gave Thorwald a blow on the head, and he fell
dead on the spot.
12. THIOSTOLF’S FLIGHT
While this was going on, Thorwald’s men came down with their
load, but Thiostolf was not slow in his plans. He hewed with
both hands at the gunwale of the skiff and cut it down about two
planks; then he leapt into his boat, but the dark blue sea poured
into the skiff, and down she went with all her freight. Down too
sank Thorwald’s body, so that his men could not see what had been
done to him, but they knew well enough that he was dead.
Thiostolf rowed away up the firth, but they shouted after him
wishing him ill luck. He made them no answer, but rowed on till
he got home, and ran the boat up on the beach, and went up to the
house with his axe, all bloody as it was, on his shoulder.
Hallgerda stood out of doors, and said, “Thine axe is bloody;
what hast thou done?”
“I have done now what will cause thee to be wedded a second
time.”
“Thou tellest me then that Thorwald is dead,” she said.
“So it is,” said he, “and now look out for my safety.”
“So I will,” she said; “I will send thee north to Bearfirth, to
Swanshol, and Swan, my kinsman, will receive thee with open arms.
He is so mighty a man that no one will seek thee thither.”
So he saddled a horse that she had, and jumped on his back, and
rode off north to Bearfirth, to Swanshol, and Swan received him
with open arms, and said: “That’s what I call a man who does not
stick at trifles! And now I promise thee if they seek thee here,
they shall get nothing but the greatest shame.”
Now, the story goes back to Hallgerda, and how she behaved. She
called on Liot the Black, her kinsman, to go with her, and bade
him saddle their horses, for she said, “I will ride home to my
father.”
While he made ready for their journey, she went to her chests and
unlocked them and called all the men of her house about her, and
gave each of them some gift; but they all grieved at her going.
Now she rides home to her father; and he received her well, for
as yet he had not heard the news. But Hrut said to Hallgerda,
“Why did not Thorwald come with thee?” and she answered, “He is
dead.”
Then said Hauskuld, “That was Thiostolf’s doing.”
“It was,” she said.
