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misadventure of their voyage, yet were they well received. Kveldulf said all was tending to what he
had foreboded, that Thorolf would not in the end have good luck in his friendship with king Harold.
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 And I care little, said he,  for Thorolf s money loss in this, if worse does not come after; but I
misdoubt, as before, that Thorolf will not rightly rate his own means against the stronger power with
which he has to deal.
And he bade Thorgils say this to Thorolf:
 My counsel is that you go away out of the land, for maybe you will do better for yourself if you serve
under the king of England, or of Denmark, or of Sweden.
Then he gave Thorgils a rowing-cutter with tackling complete, a tent also, and provisions, and all
things needful for their journey. So they departed, and stayed not their journey till they came to
Thorolf and told him all that had happened.
Thorolf took his loss cheerfully, and said that he should not be short of money;   tis good, said he,  to
be in partnership with a king. He then bought meal and all that he needed for the maintenance of his
people; his house-carles must for awhile, he said, be less bravely attired than he had purposed. Some
lands he sold, some he mortgaged, but he kept up all expenses as before; he had no fewer men with
him than last winter, nay, rather more. And as to feasts and friends entertained at his house, he had
more means for all this than before. He stayed at home all that winter.
Chapter 19 - Thorolf retaliates.
When spring came, and the snow and ice were loosed, then Thorolf launched a large warship of his
own, and he had it made ready, and equipped his house-carles, taking with him more than a hundred
men; and a goodly company there were, and well weaponed. And when a fair wind blew, Thorolf
steered southwards along the coast till he came to Byrda; then they held an outer course outside the
islands, but at times through channels between hill-slopes. Thus they coasted on southwards, and had
no tidings of men till they came eastwards to Vik. There they heard that king Harold was in Vik,
meaning in the summer to go into Upland. The people of the country knew nothing of Thorolf s
voyage. With a fair wind he held on south to Denmark, and thence into the Baltic, where he harried
through that summer, but got no good booty. In the autumn he steered back from the east to Denmark,
at the time when the fleet at Eyrar was breaking up. In the summer there had been, as was usual, many
ships from Norway. Thorolf let all these vessels sail past, and did not show himself. One day at
eventide he sailed into Mostrarsound , where in the haven was a large ship of burden that had come
from Eyrar. The steersman was named Thorir Thruma; he was a steward of king Harold s, manager of
his farm at Thruma, a large farm in which the king used to make a long stay when he was in Vik.
Much provision was needed for this farm, and Thorir had gone to Eyrar for this, to buy a cargo, malt,
wheat, and honey; and much wealth of the king s had he for that end. Thorolf made for this ship, and
offered Thorir and his crew the choice to defend themselves, but, as they had no force to make defence
against such numbers, they yielded. The ship with all its freight Thorolf took, but Thorir he put out on
an island.
Then he sailed northwards along the coast with both the ships; but when they came to the mouth of the
Elbe, they lay there and waited for night. And when it was dark, they rowed their long-ship up the
river and stood in for the farm-buildings belonging to Hallvard and Sigtrygg. They came there before
daybreak, and formed a ring of men round the place, then raised a war-whoop and wakened those
within, who quickly leapt up to their weapons. Thorgeir at once fled from his bedchamber. Round the
farmhouse were high wooden palings: at these Thorgeir leapt, grasping with his hand the stakes, and
so swung himself out of the yard. Thorgils Yeller was standing near; he made a sweep with his sword
at Thorgeir, and cut off his hand along with the fence-stake. Then Thorgeir escaped to the wood, but
Thord, his brother, fell slain there, and more than twenty men. Thorolf s band plundered and burnt the
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house, then went back down the river to the sea.
With a fair wind they sailed north to Vik; there again they fell in with a large merchant-ship belonging
to men of Vik, laden with malt and meal. For this ship they made; but those on board, deeming they
had no means of defence, yielded, and were disarmed and put on shore, and Thorolf s men, taking the
ship and its cargo, went on their way.
Thorolf had now three ships, with which he sailed westwards by Fold. Then they took the high road of
the sea to Lidandisness, going with all despatch, but making raid and lifting cattle on ness and shore.
Northwards from Lidandisness they held a course further out, but pillaged wherever they touched land.
But when Thorolf came over against the Firths, then he turned his course inward, and went to see his
father Kveldulf, and there they were made welcome. Thorolf told his father what had happened in his
summer voyage; he stayed there but a short time, and Kveldulf and his son Grim accompanied him to
the ship. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]