d gone out a
short time before. She pushed the door open, and stood, silently, in the
doorway for a time. Finnbogi, who was lying on the innermost side of the
room, was awake, and said: "What dost thou wish here, Freydis?" She
answers: "I wish thee to rise, and go out with me, for I would speak with
thee." He did so, and they walked to a tree, which lay close by the wall
of the house, and seated themselves upon it. "How art thou pleased here?"
says she. He answers: "I am well pleased with the fruitfulness of the
land, but I am ill-content with the breach which has come between us,
for, methinks, there has been no cause for it." "It is even as thou
sayest," says she, "and so it seems to me; but my errand to thee is, that
I wish to exchange ships with you brothers, for that ye have a larger
ship than I, and I wish to depart from here." "To this I must accede,"
says he; "if it is thy pleasure." Therewith they parted, and she returned
home, and Finnbogi to his bed. She climbed up into bed, and awakened
Thorvard with her cold feet, and he asked her why she was so cold and
wet. She answered, with great passion: "I have been to the brothers,"
says she, "to try to buy their ship, for I wished to have a larger
vessel, but they received my overtures so ill, that they struck me, and
handled me very roughly; what time thou, poor wretch, wilt neither avenge
my shame nor thy own, and I find, perforce, that I am no longer in
Greenland, moreover I shall part from thee unless thou wreakest vengeance
for this." And now he could stand her taunts no longer, and ordered the
men to rise at once, and take their weapons, and this they did, and they
then proceeded directly to the house of the brothers, and entered it,
while the folk were asleep, and seized and bound them, and led each one
out, when he was bound; and as they came out, Freydis caused each one to
be slain. In this wise all of the men were put to death, and only the
women were left, and these no one would kill. At this Freydis exclaimed:
"Hand me an axe!" This was done, and she fell upon the five women, and
left them dead. They returned home, after this dreadful deed, and it was
very evident that Freydis was well content with her work. She addressed
her companions, saying: "If it be ordained for us, to come again to
Greenland, I shall contrive the death of any man who shall speak of these
events. We must give it out, that we left them living here, when we came
away." Early in the spr