CHAPTER XIII. OF THOSE FELLOWS AND STEINTHOR

OF ERE.

OF their voyage is nought to tell till they come to Ere ; and it was then the time of day whenas Steinthor was sitting at table with his men : so they went' into the hall with their weapons, four in company; and Howard went before Steinthor, and greeted him ; Steinthor took his greeting well, and asked who he was, and he said he was called Howard.

" Wert thou in our booth last summer ? " He said that so it was. Then said Steinthor : " Lads, have ye seen any man less like to what he is now than the man he was then ? Meseems he might scarce go staffless from booth to booth, and we deemed him like to be a man bedridden, such grief of heart lay upon him : but now a wight man under weapons he seemeth to be. What I tell ye any tidings ? "

Howard answered : " Tidings we tell of : the

Howard the Halt. 43

slaying of Thorbiorn Thiodrekson, and his brethren Liot and Sturla, sons of Thiodrek, of Brand the Strong and the seven of them."

Steinthor answered : " Great tidings ye tell : who is it hath done this, and smitten down these the greatest of champions, these so mighty men ?"

Howard spake and said that he and his kinsmen had done it. Then spake Steinthor, and asked where Howard would seek for safeguard after such great deeds. Said Howard : " I was minded for that which has now come to pass, to wit, to come unto thee, for methought thou saidst last summer at the Thing that if ever I needed some little help I should come to thee no later than to other chiefs,"

Steinthor answered : " I know not when thou mayest deem thyself in want of great help if now thou deemest thy need but a little one ; but thou mightest well think that I were no good friend in need, if I were slow to answer thee herein: neither shall it be so. I will bid thee, Howard, to abide here with thy fellows till this matter is brought to an end ; and I promise to right your case for you all : for meseemeth ye are such men, that he will have the better part who taketh you to him ; nor is it sure that such doughty men as ye be are lightly to be gotten : forsooth matters have gone herein more according to right than according to likelihood."

Then sang Howard a stave :

Due is it for the dealers Of Firth's-sun to be stirring If they be fain to further

44 The Saga Library.

The folk of Valkyrs' fire ; For the pride of Icefirth people Men tell hath had a down -fall By a blow that bodeth unpeace, By sackless sword-stems smitten.

They thanked Steinthor for his noble bidding ; and he bade take their clothes and weapons, and get them dry clothes ; and when Howard did off his helm, and put his byrny from him, he sang :

Laughed the lords of bloodwolf Loud about my sorrow When with steel-shower smitten Fell my son the well-loved. Well, since Odin's woodmen Went along the death-road Otherwise wolf-wailing Echoeth o'er the mountains.

Steinthor bade Howard go to the bench and sit over against him, and to marshal those fellows beside him, and Howard did so, marshalling his kinsman Hallgrim inward from him, and then inward yet sit Thorbrand's sons Thorir and Odd ; but outward from Howard sit Torfi and Eyjulf, the sons of Valbrand, then Thorhall, and then the homemen who sat there afore.

And when they sat down Howard sang a stave :

In this house, O Hallgrim, We shall have abiding; War-gale we deny not Warriors' wrath that bringeth ; Yet that slaying surely Unto straw shall tumble Scarce for those spear-heeders Shall I spend my substance.

Then said Steinthor : " Easy to hear of thee that

Howard the Halt. 45

things are going after thy will ; and so forsooth would it be, if there were no blood-feud after such bold and mighty men as were those kinsmen all ; who have left behind them such great men to follow up the feud."

Howard said that he heeded not the feud, and that there was an end from henceforth of sorrow or grief in his heart, neither should he think any end to the case aught but well. He was as glad and merry with every child of man there as if he were young again. Now are these tidings heard of far and wide, and were deemed to have fallen out clean contrary to what was like to have been. So there they sat at eve with master Steinthor lacking neither plenteous company nor goodly cheer; and there were no fewer there than sixty men defensible. Leave we them now a-sitting at Ere with master Steinthor in good welcome, and costly entertainment.