heed; but I mean Sigmund for myself; methinks that is like a man;
but Grim and Helgi, they shall try to slay Skiolld.”
Hauskuld sat him down, but they went until they came up to them.
Skarphedinn said to Sigmund, “Take thy weapons and defend
thyself; that is more needful now than to make mocking songs on
me and my brothers.”
Sigmund took up his weapons, but Skarphedinn waited the while.
Skiolld turned against Grim and Helgi, and they fell hotly to
fight. Sigmund had a helm on his head, and a shield at his side,
and was girt with a sword, his spear was in his hand; now he
turns against Skarphedinn, and thrusts at once at him with his
spear, and the thrust came on his shield. Skarphedinn dashes the
spearhaft in two, and lifts up his axe and hews at Sigmund, and
cleaves his shield down to below the handle. Sigmund drew his
sword and cut at Skarphedinn, and the sword cuts into his shield,
so that it stuck fast. Skarphedinn gave the shield such a quick
twist, that Sigmund let go his sword. Then Skarphedinn hews at
Sigmund with his axe; the “Ogress of war.” Sigmund had on a
corselet, the axe came on his shoulder. Skarphedinn cleft the
shoulder-blade right through, and at the same time pulled the axe
towards him. Sigmund fell down on both knees, but sprang up
again at once.
“Thou hast lilted low to me already,” says Skarphedinn, “but
still thou shalt fall upon thy mother’s bosom ere we two part.”
“III is that then,” says Sigmund.
Skarphedinn gave him a blow on his helm, and after that dealt
Sigmund his deathblow.
Grim cut off Skiolld’s foot at the ankle-joint, but Helgi thrust
him through with his spear, and he got his death there and then.
Skarphedinn saw Hallgerda’s shepherd, just as he had hewn off
Sigmund’s head; he handed the head to the shepherd, and bade him
bear it to Hallgerda, and said she would know whether that head
had made jeering songs about them, and with that he sang a
song —
“Here! this head shalt thou, that heapest
Hoards from ocean-caverns won, (1)
Bear to Hallgerd with my greeting,
Her that hurries men to fight;
Sure am I, O firewood splitter!
That yon spendthrift knows it well,
And will answer if it ever
Uttered mocking songs on us.”
The shepherd casts the head down as soon as ever they parted,
for he dared not do so while their eyes were on him. They fared
along till they met some men down by Markfleet, and told them the
tidings. Skarphedinn gave himself out as the slayer of Sigmund
and Grim and Helgi as the slayers of Skiolld; then they fared
home and told Njal the tidings. He answers them, “Good luck to
your hands I Here no selfdoom will come to pass as things
