Gunnar goes out, and drives the butt of his spear into the earth,
and throws himself into the saddle, and rides away,
His mother, Rannveig, went into the sittingroom, where there was
a great noise of talking.
“Ye speak loud,” she says, “but yet the bill gave a louder sound
when Gunnar went out.”
Kolskegg heard what she said, and spoke, “This betokens no small
tidings.
“That is well,” says Hallgerda, “now they will soon prove whether
he goes away from them weeping.”
Kolskegg takes his weapons and seeks him a horse, and rides after
Gunnar as fast as he could.
Gunnar rides across Acretongue, and so to Geilastofna and thence
to Rangriver, and down the stream to the ford at Hof. There were
some women at the milking-post there. Gunnar jumped off his
horse and tied him up. By this time the others were riding up
towards him; there were flat stones covered with mud in the path
that led down to the ford.
Gunnar called out to them and said, “Now is the time to guard
yourselves; here now is the bill, and here now ye will put it to
the proof whether I shed one tear for all of you.”
Then they all of them sprang off their horses’ backs and made
towards Gunnar. Hallbjorn was the foremost.
“Do not thou come on,” says Gunnar; “thee last of all would I
harm; but I will spare no one if I have to fight for my life.”
“That I cannot do,” says Hallbjorn; “thou wilt strive to kill my
brother for all that, and it is a shame if I sit idly by.” And
as he said this he thrust at Gunnar with a great spear which he
held in both hands.
Gunnar threw his shield before the blow, but Hallbjorn pierced
the shield through. Gunnar thrust the shield down so hard that
it stood fast in the earth (1), but he brandished his sword so
quickly that no eye could follow it, and he made a blow with the
sword, and it fell on Hallbjorn’s arm above the writs, so that it
cut it off.
Skamkell ran behind Gunnar’s back and makes a blow at him with a
great axe. Gunnar turned short round upon him and parries the
blow with the bill, and caught the axe under one of its horns
with such a wrench that it flew out of Skamkell’s hand away into
the river.
Then Gunnar sang a song:
“Once thou askedst, foolish fellow,
Of this man, this seahorse racer,
When as fast as feet could foot it
Forth ye fled from farm of mine,
Whether that were rightly summoned?
Now with gore the spear we redden,
Battle-eager, and avenge us
Thus on thee, vile source of strife.”
Gunnar gives another thrust with his bill, and through Skamkell,