apon hitherto had
scathed Aslak, though he had been laying about him on either side.

He was the foster-son of Bui, and his forecastle man. Yet another of the
men to Bui was Havard the Hewer; even stronger was he, and a man of
great valour. During this struggle the men of Eirik went up aboard Bui's
ship, & made aft to the poop, towards Bui, and Thorstein Midlang struck
him full across the nose, cleaving asunder the nose-piece of his helmet,
and leaving a great wound.

Bui then smote Thorstein in the side in such a manner that he cut the
man right athwart his middle, and then seizing two chests of gold he
shouted: 'Overboard all the men of Bui,' and plunged into the sea with
the chests, and many of his men likewise sprang overboard, though others
fell on the ship, for little avail was it to ask for quarter. The ship
was now cleared from stem to stern, and the other craft were likewise
cleared one after the other.

|| After this Earl Eirik brought his ships alongside that of Vagn, and
from the latter met with right stout resistance; in the end however the
ship was cleared, and Vagn and thirty men taken prisoners. Bound were
they & taken on land, and Thorkel Leira went up to them and spoke thus:
'Vagn, thou didst vow to slay me, but me seemeth it is I who am more
like to slay thee.'

Now it happened that Vagn and his men were all sitting on the felled
trunks of a mighty tree, and Thorkel had a big axe, & with it he struck
at the man who was sitting farthest off on the trunk.

Vagn and his men were so bound that a rope was passed round their feet,
but their hands were free. Then said one of them, 'I have in my hand a
cloak-clasp, and into the earth will I thrust it if I wot anything after
my head is off'-- and his head was struck off, and down fell the clasp
from his hand.

Hard by sat a fair man with goodly hair and he swept his hair forward
over his face, saying as he stretched forth his neck: 'Make not my hair
bloody.' A certain man took the hair in his hand and held it fast, and
Thorkel swang the axe so as to strike, but the viking drew back his head
suddenly & he who was holding his hair moved forward with him, and lo,
the axe came down on both his hands and took them off, thereafter
cleaving the earth. Then Earl Eirik came up and asked: 'Who is that fine
man?' 'Sigurd the lads call me,' said he, 'and I am thought to be a son
to Bui: not yet are all the vikings of Jomsborg dead.' 'Thou must of a
surety be a tr