shalt not be left alive to tell the tale;” and with that he
caught up a spear and hurled it at Hrut’s ship, and the man who
stood before it got his death. After that the battle began, and
they were slow in boarding Hrut’s ship. Wolf, he went well
forward, and with him it was now cut, now thrust. Atli’s
bowman’s name was Asolf; he sprung up on Hrut’s ship, and was
four men’s death before Hrut was aware of him; then he turned
against him, and when they met, Asolf thrust at and through
Hrut’s shield, but Hrut cut once at Asolf, and that was his
deathblow. Wolf the Unwashed saw that stroke, and called out,
“Truth to say, Hrut, thou dealest big blows, but thou’st much to
thank Gunnhillda for.”
“Something tells me,” says Hrut, “that thou speakest with a `fey’
mouth.”
Now Atli sees a bare place for a weapon on Wolf, and shot a spear
through him and now the battle grows hot: Atli leaps up on Hrut’s
ship, and clears it fast round about, and now Auzur turns to meet
him, and thrust at him, but fell down full length on his back,
for another man thrust at him. Now Hrut turns to meet Atli: he
cut at once at Hrut’s shield, and clove it all in two, from top
to point; just then Atli got a blow on his hand from a stone, and
down fell his sword. Hrut caught up the sword, and cut his foot
from under him. After that he dealt him his deathblow. There
they took much goods, and brought away with them two ships which
were best, and stayed there only a little while. But meantime
Soti and his crew had sailed past them, and he held on his course
back to Norway, and made the land at Limgard’s side. There Soti
went on shore, and there he met Augmund, Gunnhillda’s page; he
knew him at once, and asks, “How long meanest thou to be here?”
“Three nights,” says Soti.
“Whither away, then?” says Augmund.
“West, to England,” says Soti, “and never to come back again to
Norway while Gunnhillda’s rule is in Norway.”
Augmund went away, and goes and finds Gunnhillda, for she was a
little way off, at a feast, and Gudred, her son, with her.
Augmund told Gunnhillda what Soti meant to do, and she begged
Gudred to take his life. So Gudred set off at once, and came
unawares on Soti, and made them lead him up the country, and hang
him there. But the goods he took, and brought them to his
mother, and she got men to carry them all down to the King’s
Crag, and after that she went thither herself.
Hrut came back towards autumn, and had gotten great store of
goods. He went at once to the king, and had a hearty welcome.
He begged them to take whatever they pleased of his goods, and
the king took a third. Gunnhillda told Hrut how she had got hold
of the inheritance, and had Soti slain. He thanked her, and gave
her half of all he had.
ENDNOTES:
(1) Oresound, the gut between Denmark and Sweden, at the
