er with meal and fish.
Meantime it is said that Hallgerda sat out of doors heavy at
heart. Thiostolf went up to her and saw the wound on her face,
and said, "Who has been playing thee this sorry trick?"
"My husband, Thorwald," she said, "and thou stoodst aloof, though
thou wouldst not if thou hadst cared at all for me."
"Because I knew nothing about it," said Thiostolf, "but I will
avenge it."
Then he went away down to the shore and ran out a six-oared boat,
and held in his hand a great axe that he had with a haft overlaid
with iron. He steps into the boat and rows out to the
Bear-isles, and when he got there all the men had rowed away but
Thorwald and his followers, and he stayed by the skiff to load
her, while they brought the goods down to him. So Thiostolf came
up just then and jumped into the skiff, and began to load with
him, and after a while he said, "Thou canst do but little at this
work, and that little thou dost badly."
"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 th
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