d hotly they pushed on," says he "and I
expect it will not be long before they are upon you." On this the earl
rode into every fjord, going in along the one side of the land and out
at the other, collecting men; and thus he drove along night and day.
He sent spies out upon the upper ridges, and also southwards into the
Fjords; and he proceeded north to meet Eirik with his men. This appears
from Eirik's lay:--

"The earl, well skilled in war to speed
O'er the wild wave the viking-steed,
Now launched the high stems from the shore,
Which death to Sigvalde's vikings bore.
Rollers beneath the ships' keels crash,
Oar-blades loud in the grey sea splash,
And they who give the ravens food
Row fearless through the curling flood."

Eirik hastened southwards with his forces the shortest way he could.

42. OF THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS.

Earl Sigvalde steered with his fleet northwards around Stad, and came
to the land at the Herey Isles. Although the vikings fell in with the
country people, the people never told the truth about what the earl was
doing; and the vikings went on pillaging and laying waste. They laid
to their vessels at the outer end of Hod Island, landed, plundered, and
drove both men and cattle down to the ships, killing all the men able to
bear arms.

As they were going back to their ships, came a bonde, walking near to
Bue's troop, who said to them, "Ye are not doing like true warriors, to
be driving cows and calves down to the strand, while ye should be giving
chase to the bear, since ye are coming near to the bear's den."

"What says the old man?" asked some. "Can he tell us anything about Earl
Hakon?"

The peasant replies, "The earl went yesterday into the Hjorundarfjord
with one or two ships, certainly not more than three, and then he had no
news about you."

Bue ran now with his people in all haste down to the ships, leaving all
the booty behind. Bue said, "Let us avail ourselves now of this news we
have got of the earl, and be the first to the victory." When they came
to their ships they rode off from the land. Earl Sigvalde called to
them, and asked what they were about. They replied, "The earl is in the
fjord;" on which Earl Sigvalde with the whole fleet set off, and rowed
north about the island Hod.

43. BATTLE WITH THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS.

The earls Hakon and Eirik lay in Halkelsvik, where all their forces
were assembled. They had 150 ships, and th