THE FIGHT AT RANGRIVER.
Now we must take up the story, and say that Gunnar was out of doors at
Lithend, and sees his shepherd galloping up to the yard. The shepherd
rode straight into the "town"; and Gunnar said, "Why ridest thou so
hard?"
"I would be faithful to thee," said the man; "I saw men riding down
along Markfleet, eight of them together, and four of them were in
coloured clothes."
Gunnar said, "That must be Otkell".
The lad said, "I have often heard many temper-trying words of
Skamkell's; for Skamkell spoke away there East at Dale, and said that
thou sheddest tears when they rode over thee; but I tell it thee because
I cannot bear to listen to such speeches of worthless men".
"We must not be word-sick," says Gunnar, "but from this day forth thou
shalt do no other work than what thou choosest for thyself."
"Shall I say aught of this to Kolskegg thy brother?" asked the shepherd.
"Go thou and sleep," says Gunnar; "I will tell Kolskegg."
The lad laid him down and fell asleep at once, but Gunnar took the
shepherd's horse and laid his saddle on him; he took his shield, and
girded him with his sword, Oliver's gift; he sets his helm on his head;
takes his bill, and something sung loud in it, and his mother, Rannveig,
heard it. She went up to him and said, "Wrathful art thou now, my son,
and never saw I thee thus before".
Gunnar goes out, and drives the butt of his spear into the earth, and
throws himself into the saddle, and rides away.
His mother, Rannveig, went into the sitting-room, where there was a
great noise of talking.
"Ye speak loud," she says, "but yet the bill gave a louder sound when
Gunnar went out."
Kolskegg heard what she said, and spoke, "This betokens no small
tidings".
"That is well," says Hallgerda, "now they will soon prove whether he
goes away from them weeping."
Kolskegg takes his weapons and seeks him a horse, and rides after Gunnar
as fast as he could.
Gunnar rides across Acretongue, and so to Geilastofna, and thence to
Rangriver, and down the stream to the ford at Hof. There were some women
at the milking-post there. Gunnar jumped off his horse and tied him up.
By this time the others were riding up towards him; there were flat
stones covered with mud in the path that led down to the ford.
Gunnar called out to them and said, "Now is the time to guard
yourselves; here now is the bill, and here now ye will put it to the
proof whether I shed one tear for all of you".
Then they all of them sprang off their horses' backs and made towards
Gunnar. Hallbjorn was the foremost.
"Do not thou come on," says Gunnar; "thee last of all would I harm; but
I will spare no one if I have to fight to my life."
"That I cannot do," says Hallbjorn; "thou wilt strive to kill my brother
for all that, and it is a shame if I sit idly by." And as he said this
he thrust at Gunnar with a great spear which he held in both hands.
Gunnar threw his shield before the blow, but Hallbjorn pierced the
shield through. Gunnar thrust the shield down so hard that it stood fast
in the earth,[23] but he brandished his sword so quickly that no eye
could follow it, and he made a blow with the sword, and it fell on
Hallbjorn's arm above the wrist, so that it cut it off.
Skamkell ran behind Gunnar's back and makes a blow at him with a great
axe. Gunnar turned short round upon him and parries the blow with the
bill, and caught the axe under one of its horns with such a wrench that
it flew out of Skamkell's hand away into the river.
Then Gunnar sang a song.
Once thou askedst, foolish fellow,
Of this man, this sea-horse racer,
When as fast as feet could foot it
Forth ye fled from farm of mine,
Whether that were rightly summoned?
Now with gore the spear we redden,
Battle-eager and avenge us
Thus on thee, vile source of strife.
Gunnar gives another thrust with his bill, and through Skamkell, and
lifts him up and casts him down in the muddy path on his head.
Audulf the Easterling snatches up a spear and launches it at Gunnar.
Gunnar caught the spear with his hand in the air, and hurled it back at
once, and it flew through the shield and the Easterling too, and so down
into the earth.
Otkell smites at Gunnar with his sword, and aims at his leg just below
the knee, but Gunnar leapt up into the air and he misses him. Then
Gunnar thrusts at him the bill, and the blow goes through him.
Then Kolskegg comes up, and rushes at once at Hallkell and dealt him his
death-blow with his short sword. There and then they slay eight men.
A woman who saw all this, ran home and told Mord, and besought him to
part them.
"They alone will be there," he says, "of whom I care not though they
slay one another."
"Thou canst not mean to say that," she says, "for thy kinsman Gunnar,
and thy friend Otkell will be there."
"Baggage that thou art," he says, "thou art always chattering," and so
he lay still indoors while they fought.
Gunnar and Kolskegg rode home after this work, and they rode hard up
along the river bank, and Gunnar slipped off his horse and came down on
his feet.
Then Kolskegg said, "Hard now thou ridest, brother!"
"Ay," said Gunnar, "that was what Skamkell said when he uttered those
very words when they rode over me."
"Well! thou hast avenged that now," says Kolskegg.
"I would like to know," says Gunnar, "whether I am by so much the less
brisk and bold than other men, because I think more of killing men than
they?"