s how the causes stood, and then he begins to
draw up his men in array below the "Great Rift," between it and
Hadbooth, and laid down beforehand to his men how they were to behave.

Now the messenger comes to Thorhall Asgrim's son, and tells him how
things stood, and how Mord Valgard's son and his friends would all be
made outlaws, and the suits for manslaughter be brought to naught.

But when he heard that, he was so shocked at it that he could not utter
a word. He jumped up then from his bed, and clutched with both hands his
spear, Skarphedinn's gift, and drove it through his foot; then flesh
clung to the spear, and the eye of the boil too, for he had cut it
clean out of the foot, but a torrent of blood and matter poured out, so
that it fell in a stream along the floor. Now he went out of the booth
unhalting, and walked so hard that the messenger could not keep up with
him, and so he goes until he came to the Fifth Court. There he met Grim
the red, Flosi's kinsman, and as soon as ever they met, Thorhall thrust
at him with the spear, and smote him on the shield and clove it in
twain, but the spear passed right through him, so that the point came
out between his shoulders. Thorhall cast him off his spear.

Then Kari Solmund's son caught sight of that, and said to Asgrim--

"Here, now, is come Thorhall thy son, and has straightway slain a man,
and this is a great shame, if he alone shall have the heart to avenge
the Burning."

"That shall not be," says Asgrim, "but let us turn on them now."

Then there was a mighty cry all over the host, and then they shouted
their war-cries.

Flosi and his friends then turned against their foes, and both sides
egged on their men fast.

Kari Solmund's son turned now thither where Arni Kol's son and Hallbjorn
the strong were in front, and as soon as ever Hallbjorn saw Kari, he
made a blow at him, and aimed at his leg, but Kari leapt up into the
air, and Hallbjorn missed him. Kari turned on Arni Kol's son and cut at
him, and smote him on the shoulder, and cut asunder the shoulder blade
and collar bone, and the blow went right down into his breast, and Arni
fell down dead at once to earth.

After that he hewed at Hallbjorn and caught him on the shield, and the
blow passed through the shield, and so down and cut off his great toe.
Holmstein hurled a spear at Kari, but he caught it in the air, and sent
it back, and it was a man's death in Flosi's band.

Thorgeir Craggeir came up to