Chapter 36
It is told that one day in the summer Sigmund Brestesson fared out to little Dimun in a boat, and Thore and Einar the Southrey-man with him. For Sigmund wished to get some of the sheep on that island for slaughter. Sigmund and Thore were on the island when they saw some men landing on the island and the glittering of their bright shields. They counted them, and they were twelve men that had landed. Sigmund asked who they could be. Thore said he could tell that they were the Gate-Beardies, Thrond and his kinsmen. "And what shall we do now?" said he. "That is not hard to tell," said Sigmund; "we will go all together and meet them with our weapons in our hands, and if they make for us, we will run down, each by himself, and get together where the path is that goes up the island. "Thrond and his men fixed it among them that Laf should set on Sigmund and the Thorlacssons with him, and a fourth man with him. Sigmund and they that were with him heard it. They went towards each other, and Thrond and his men ran towards them, but Sigmund and they that were with ran down, each his own way, and got into the path. But one man had got there before them. Sigmund was the first to get at him, and he made short work of him. Then Sigmund kept the path, but Thore and Einar ran down to Thrond's boat. There was one man there holding the painter and another on board. Thore ran at the man that was holding the painter and slew him. Einar ran to Sigmund's boat and launched it. Sigmund was keeping the path, but now he leapt down to the sea on to the shore to try and get at their boat and felled one of their crew on the shore. Then he leapt on board their boat and Thore after him, and threw the man overboard that was in it. Then they rowed away in the two boats, but the man that Sigmund threw overboard swam ashore. Thrond and his men lit a beacon-fire, and men rowed out to them and took them home to Gate. Sigmund gathered men to him and was minded to lay hands on Thrond and his kinsmen on their island, before he heard that they had got away.
A little later on that summer Sigmund and the other two took boat to go and see after his rents. They rowed down a narrow sound between some islands, and when they got out of the sound they saw a ship sailing towards them, and it was very near them already. They could tell who the men were; they were the Gate-Beardies Thrond and eleven men with him. Then speaks Thore: "They are mighty near us," said he, "and what shall we do now, kinsman Sigmund?""No need of much craft," said Sigmund; "but we will do this; row towards them; then they will strike their sail, and when our boat is close alongside of theirs, do you two handle your swords and cut away the stays on the side the sail is not lying, and I will do what I see best to do meanwhile. "So they rowed towards them, and when they lay close alongside of Thrond's, Thore and Einar shore away all the stays on the side the sail was not lying. But Sigmund caught up a fork that lay in his boat and drove it so hard at the hull of their boat that the keel came up out of the water as she heeled over; then he shifted the fork to the side of the boat on which the sail lay, for she had heeled over on that side, and bore on it with all his might. With that the boat capsized suddenly, and five of Thrond's crew were drowned there. Thore said that they ought to kill every one they could come up with. But Sigmund said he would not have that, but that he would rather put them to as much shame as he could. With that they left them. Sigurd Thorlacsson called out, "We shall fare as ill at Sigmund's hands this time as the last. "Then he righted the boat and saved many of the men. When Thrond got on board he said, "Luck must have shifted from Sigmund to us, for it must have warped his eyes just now so that he slew us not, though he could have done as he liked with us; let us therefore fear no ill henceforward, and never stay till we have Sigmund in hell. "They said they were right fain of that, and so they went home to Gate. The summer went by, and they had no more dealings with each other for that time.
Chapter 37
It came to pass that one day, as the winter was drawing nigh, Thrond gathered men to him, and there came to him sixty men, and he told them they should go to seek Sigmund, for he said that he had dreamed they would get very near him this time. They had two ships and a picked crew. There were with Thrond on this raid Laf Ossursson, Sigurd Thorlacsson, Thord the Low, Geat the Red, an Eastrey franklin named Stangrim, and Eldearn Combhood, who had been long with Thrond. Swiney-Bearne took no part in these things ever since he and Sigmund were set at one. Thrond and his men set out and got to Scufey, and drew up their ships, and went up altogether till they came to the path on to the island. Scufey is such good vantage-ground that they say the island could never be won if there were but ten men to keep the path; came there never so many, they should never win it. Eldearn Combhood went up first, and met Sigmund's warder by the path; they made at each other at once, and the end of their struggle was that they fell over the cliff together and got their death there both of them. Then Thrond went up and they all, and came to the homestead and made a ring round it: and their coming was so unawares that they within knew nought of it till they broke down the doors. Sigmund and his men ran quickly to their weapons, and all those that were in the house did likewise. Yea, Thurið the goodwife took weapon in hand, and did as well as any man of them. Thrond and his fellows set fire to the houses, and set on the homestead with fire and weapons, and made a hard onslaught; but when they had been fighting for some time, goodwife Thurið went out to the doors and called out, "How long are you going to fight with the headless men, Thrond?"said she. Thrond answered, "As true as day," said he, "Sigmund must have got away. "Then he went round the houses withershins whistling after them, till he came to the mouth of an earth-house a little way off the homestead. There he stopped and put his other hand down on the ground, and then brought it up to his nose once or twice. At last he said, "Three men have gone this way---Sigmund, Thore, and Einar. "Then he went about for a little snuffling as if he were tracking their slot like a hound; then bidding none follow him, he went on till he came to a rift. Now this rift runs across the island of Scufey. Then he said, "They have gone this way, and Sigmund must have leapt over here, whatever they have done with themselves. Now we will deal out our company," says Thrond; "Laf Ossursson and Sigurd Thorlacsson shall go to the other end of the rift and some of the men with them, but I will go to the other end, and we will meet on the other side of the rift. "They did so. Then Thrond called out, "Now is the time, Sigmund, to show thyself if thou hast as brave a heart and wouldst be thought as bold a man as thou hast long been held. "It was then as dark as it could be. Soon after this a man leapt over the rift to where Thrond and his men were, and hewed at Stangrim Thrond's neighbour with his sword, and clove him down to the shoulders. It was Sigmund. Then he leapt swiftly backward over the rift again. "There goes Sigmund," says Thrond; "let us keep after them to the end of the rift. "They did so, and there Laf and Thrond and all their men met. Sigmund and his fellows had now got to a rock that jutted over the sea, and could hear men's voices all round them. Then Thore said, "Let us stand at bay here, as fate will have it. ""I am not fit for fighting," said Sigmund, "for I lost my sword when I leapt backward over the rift; let us therefore leap off the rock and betake us to swimming. ""We will do as it pleases thee," said Thore. They took that counsel, and leapt off the cliff into the sea. And when Thrond heard the splash he said, "There they go!Let us take boat as we can and follow them, some on sea and some on land. "And so did they, but found them not.
Chapter 38
Now it must be told of Sigmund and his friends that they swam for a while, heading for Southrey, for that was the nearest land. But it was a long sea-mile, and when they had swum halfway Einar said, "We must part here. "Sigmund said that should never be. "And do thou, Einar, lean on my shoulders!"And he did so. So Sigmund swam on for a while. Then Thore said, as he swam behind him, "Kinsman Sigmund, how long wilt thou flit a dead man on thy back?""I don't see that I need," said Sigmund. They swam on till they had only a fourth of the way to go, when Thore said, "All our lives long we have been together, kinsman Sigmund, and great love have we twain had towards each other; but now it looks as if our life together was come to an end. I have pushed on as far as I can, and now I would have thee look to thyself and thine own life and give no heed to me, for thou wilt risk thine own life, kinsman, if thou art cumbered with me. "But Sigmund said, "It shall never be that we two part so, kinsman Thore. We will both of us come to land or neither. "Then Sigmund took him on his shoulders, but Thore was so worn out that he could do hardly anything to help himself. Then Sigmund swam on till he got to Southrey. There was a surf running on the island, and Sigmund was so worn out by this time that he was now driven from the land, and another time borne towards it. And Thore slipped off his shoulders there and was drowned, but Sigmund got to land at last, and he was so worn out that he could not walk, but he crawled up the shore and lay down on a heap of seaweed. This was at daybreak, and he lay there till it was quite light. There was a farmstead called Sandwick on the island a little way up, where dwelt a man named Thorgrim the Wicked, a big strong man, who held under Thrond of Gate. He had two sons, Ormstan and Thorstan, both hopeful men. Thorgrim the Wicked went down to the shore that morning, and he had a pole-axe in his hand. As he went by he saw red clothes sticking out of the seaweed heap; he pushed away the wrack and saw a man lying there. He asked him who he was. Sigmund told him his name. "Low lies our lord," said he, "but what hath wrought this?"Sigmund told him all that had happened. With that his sons came up. Then Sigmund prayed them to help him. Thorgrim did not answer at once, but began to talk to his sons in a low voice. "Sigmund has so much gear on him as it seems to me we have never owned the worth of, and his gold ring is mighty thick. The best thing we can do, it seems to me, is to slay him and then hide his body; it will never be known. "His sons spake against it for a while, but at last they were of the same mind. Then they went up to where Sigmund lay and caught hold of his hair, while Thorgrim the Wicked hewed off his head with the pole-axe. In this way Sigmund, that was so good a man in all ways, lost his life. They stripped off his clothes and gear, and then dragged him up under an earth-bank and buried him there. Thore's dead body was cast ashore, and they buried it beside Sigmund, and hid them both.
Chapter 39
Of Thrond and his fellows it must be told that they made homeward after what had happened, and the homestead in Scufey was saved by the time men got to it; it was not much burned, and few had lost their lives there. Goodwife Thurið, who was ever after called the Mighty Widow, kept the homestead at Scufey after her husband Sigmund, and there the children they two had had grew up, and they all promised to be good men. Thrond and Laf Ossursson now got all the Færeys into their hands, and held sway over them. Thrond offered Thurið the Mighty Widow to be set at one with her and her sons, but they would have nothing to do with it. Yet Sigmund's sons sought no help of the Lords of Norway, for they were but young as yet. And so two or three years went by, and there was peace in the Færeys.
One day Thrond told Laf Ossursson that he wished to seek a match for him. "Where shall we seek?"said Laf. "Where Thora Sigmund's daughter is," answered Thrond. "I don't think that is a likely look-out," says Laf. "You will never get a wife if you don't ask for one," said Thrond. They set out to Scufey with a few men, and were coldly welcomed. Thrond and Laf offered Thurið and her sons to be set at one with them according to the award of the best men in the islands. They did not answer at once. Then Thrond spoke for Laf and asked Thora Sigmund's daughter for him in marriage, saying that he thought it the most likely way to get a firm peace, and promising to better Laf's lot with much wealth. This was taken well by them all, but Thora herself made answer, saying, "Ye must think me right eager to marry; now I will set this price on my hand. If Laf will take his oath that he was not my father's bane, and that he set no men to slay him; then will I give you this task, that he shall find out what was my father's bane, or who wrought his death; and when these things are fulfilled, then we will be set at one with you, as it shall please my brothers and my mother, and all our kinsmen and friends. "They all thought this well said and wisely thought of, and it was settled so that Laf and Thrond promised what she wished: and with that they parted.
Chapter 40
A little after this Thrond gat him ready to set out from Gate, and Laf [would go] with him. They took ship and went twelve together. They got to Southrey and landed at Sandwick, Thorgrim the Wicked's homestead. This was some winters after Sigmund and his friend had lost their lives. They went up the island and came to the homestead. Thorgrim welcomed Thrond and his men, and they went in. Thrond and yeoman Thorgrim went into the inner room, but Laf and the others sat outside in the house by a fire that was kindled for them. Thrond and Thorgrim had a long talk. Thrond said, "What do men guess was Sigmund Brestesson's bane?""Men don't think that is clearly known,' answered Thorgrim, "but some guess that you must have found him on the shore or swimming off and slain him. ""That is a wicked guess and unlikely to boot," said Thrond, "for all men know that we wished to slay Sigmund, and why should we wish to murder him?And such things are not spoken with friendly intent. ""Others say," said Thorgrim, "that they must have sunk in their swim, or that Sigmund may have got to land somewhere, for he was a passing good man in many ways, and have been slain there, as he reached the land weak and worn out, and murdered!""That is a likely tale," says Thrond, "and it is my belief it was so; but come, fellow mine, is it as I think or not, that thou art he that wrought Sigmund's death?"Thorgrim denied it as strongly as he could. "It will do thee no good to deny it," said Thrond, "for I think I know that thou art guilty of this deed. "He denied it as before. Then Thrond let call Laf and Sigurd to him and commanded that Thorgrim and his sons should be fettered; and it was done, and they were fettered and fast bound. Thrond had had a great fire kindled in the fire-house, and had four lattices set up, one at each corner; he drew also nine squares out all ways from the lattices. Then he sat down on a stool between the fire and the littices and bade no man speak to him, and they did as he bid them. He sat so for a time, and after a while there walked a man into the fire-house; he was dripping wet; they knew the man for Einar the Southrey-man. He walked up to the fire and stretched out his hands to it for a short time, then turned and went out again. After a while another man walked into the fire-house; he walked up to the fire also, stretched his hands to it, and then went out. They knew him for Thore. Soon after that a third man came into the fire-house; he was a big man, all bloody he was, and he had his head in his hand; they all knew him for Sigmund Brestesson. He stood for a while on the hearth, and then went out again. After this Thrond rose off his stool and drew a deep breath, and said, "Ye can see now what was these men's bane. "Einar lost his life first, frozen to death or drowned, for he was the weakest of them; and Thore must have lost his next, and Sigmund must have carried him, and that must have tired him most of all; but he must have came ashore very weak, and these men have slain him, since he showed himself to us bloody and headless. "Thrond's fellows held that he had spoken truly, and that it must have happened as he said. Then Thrond said that they must ransack everything, and so they did, but found no trace of aught. Thorgrim and his sons denied it all, and said they had not wrought the deed. Thrond told them it was no good for them to deny it, and bade his men ransack the house thoroughly, and they did so again. There was a big old ark standing in the fire-house. Thrond asked them whether they had ransacked the ark. They said they had not, and broke it open, but they could see nought but rubbish therein, though they searched it through for some time. Then said Thrond, "Turn the ark upside down," and they did so, and found a rag bag that had laid in the ark, and brought it to Thrond. He untied it, and there were a great many rags wrapped together in it, but at last Thrond found a great gold ring, and knew it was the ring that had belonged to Sigmund Brestesson, the one Earl Hacon had given him. And when Thorgrim saw this, he acknowledged the murder of Sigmund, and told all that had happened. He showed them also where Sigmund and Thore were buried; and they took their bodies away with them. Thrond likewise brought Thorgrim and his sons away with him. And afterwards they were both laid to earth, Sigmund and Thore, in the church at Scufey that Sigmund had built.